Daily News Roundup - Jan 5 2012

Adani Power has approached the Supreme Court to scrap an electricity sales contract because of fuel supply uncertainty and unexpected rise in cost of imported coal, in a case that can make or break mega projects worth Rs1600bn and their lenders. (ET)

Rejecting GMR-led Delhi airports proposal for a seven-fold increase in airport charges, AERA has suggested only a three-fold rise in these tariffs in a recent consultation paper. (ET)

A consortium led by the Welspun Group is likely to get the contract to operate an international seaport at Vizhinjam in Kerala, after the union home ministry rejected Mundra Port and Special Economic Zones bid. (ET)

ONGC will buyout British energy major BG Groups stake in three of its eastern offshore oil and gas exploration blocks. (ET)




Hero MotoCorp unveiled three new models for 2012, including a scooter positioned at men. (BL)

Tata Consultancy Services is likely to start work for its new campus at the satellite township of Rajarhat, near Kolkata. The campus, spread across 40 acres in the satellite township, will employ nearly 16,000 people. (BL)

Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd has announced its plan to have a pan-India presence with projects across 10 major cities. (BL)

Reliance Industries and Apollo Global Management LLC are among companies in talks to buy El Paso Corp’s oil and gas exploration and production unit. (BS)

The Sun TV Network informed NSE about the launch of four ad-free action movie channels, one each in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. (ET)

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has seized a plane owned by Punj Lloyd for violating Indian rules by allegedly flying domestic routes without being registered in the country. (ET)

Apollo Group of Hospitals is confident of completing the roadmap for its association with Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional in a few weeks. The roadmap would comprise roles that each entity would play as they prepare global expansion plans. (BL)

JSW Steel has shut down its 0.5mn-tonnes-per-year capacity in the United Kingdom, and shifted the entire machinery to its Vijayanagar steel plant in southern India. (BS)
Economy Snippets

The general insurance industry is likely to take Rs100bn hit in profits in the current fiscal. This follows a decision by IRDA to increase the buffer that companies need to provide for the commercial third party motor portfolio. (BL)

With the stock market lacklustre, the Government's tax collections from the securities market have plunged. Government data shows that STT collections have fallen by over 26% during April-December 2011. (BL)

The Cabinet deferred a decision on a proposal to meet this year’s divestment target through buyback and other modes. (ET)

India’s services sector grew at its fastest pace in five months in December due to a surge in new business. The HSBC Market Business Activity Index, which is based on a survey of some 350 service-sector firms, rose to 54.2 in December from 53.2 in the previous month. (ET)

Interest rates on small saving schemes, except the public provident fund, will remain fixed until the maturity of the instrument and be protected from market fluctuations, finance ministry said. (ET)