Daily News Roundup - Mar 8 2011

GAIL has been told to reduce it by 6%, instead of getting the 53% rise in rates it had sought for supply along the 581 km Dahej-Uran/Dabhol-Panvel pipeline. (BS)

The first coal-bed methane gas produced from Raniganj block is commanding a 67% premium over the price of RIL’s KG-D6 gas. (ET)

United Phosphorus to acquire a 50% stake in Sipcam Isagro Brazil for an undisclosed amount. (ET)



Hotel Leela Venture will offer 14.95% its equity to "prospective investors" by issue of fresh shares to help cut debt and lower interest costs. (FE)

Tata Steel signed a binding agreement with Canadian iron ore miner New Millennium Capital Corp to develop the taconite iron ore deposit in Canada. (BS)

UTV Software is likely to sell its stake in online gaming company India games for around Rs2.2-2.4bn. (ET)

BHEL has bagged an order worth Rs14.4bn for a 600 MW thermal power project in Andhra Pradesh. (FE)

The government will infuse Rs17.4bn in Oriental Bank of Commerce as recapitalisation package to shore up the bank's equity capital. (ET)

Blackstone's arm Sithe Capital is close to investing Rs12bn in the power project of SKS Ispat & Power. (ET)

The GoI is likely to increase its holding in Andhra bank to 58% by infusing additional capital. (ET)

Reduced gas supply from RIL’s Krishna Godavari D6 block has hit power generation of four Andhra Pradesh units. (BS)

Production resumed at M&M’s plant at Nashik after workers resorted to a one-day flash strike. (BS)

The oil ministry has refuted UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s allegations that "unexpected regulatory hurdles" were delaying the US$9.6bn Cairn-Vedanta deal and said the British firm was responsible for the deferment. (BS)

The department of telecommunications (DoT) plans to support ailing state-run telecom public sector units BSNL and MTNL by giving an annual subsidy of about Rs30bn to sustain their operations. (BS)

M&M may team up with SsangYong Motor in an attempt to bolster its electric vehicles’ business as rising fuel prices have triggered growing demand for eco-friendly products. (ET)

Carmakers across the world, including Tata Motors and M&M, are chasing green technologies such as hybrid and electric vehicles to cope with rising oil prices. (ET)

JSW Steel has reported an 8% yoy growth in crude steel production in February ’11 at 0.54mn tons. (ET)

BGR Energy gets Rs0.37bn contracts from Powergrid. (BS)
Economy Snippets

The government is likely to roll back the budget proposal to levy a service tax on healthcare services after it evoked strong reaction from general public and industry. (ET)

The government will soon be issuing a standard format for e-tickets issued by different airlines to make it easier for the security personnel at the airports to verify passenger and flight details therein. (ET)

According to CMIE, India's agriculture output is expected to rise by 3.8% in 2011-12 on assumption of favorable weather conditions. (FE)

The Reserve Bank of India aims to revamp regulations for non-banking finance companies for the first time in 15 years. (ET)

The Reserve Bank of India has allowed trading interest rate futures in 91-day treasury bills issued by the government. (ET)

IRDA plans to permit insurers to trade in equity futures and options contracts, which will help the companies protect returns from equity-linked products against sharp stock market declines. (ET)

The government is planning to allow developers of ultra mega power projects to use surplus coal from allocated blocks for other projects in which they hold majority stake. (ET)

The Union coal ministry has decided to renew a decade-old proposal of opening up the sector for private investors. (BS)