Daily News Roundup - Apr 3 2012

Marico is eyeing a five % stake sale to fund its Rs.6bn acquisition of Paras Pharmaceuticals' personal care portfolio.(BS) Rejecting chairman Vijay Mallya’s assurances, Kingfisher Airlines’ staff have threatened to stop work from tomorrow night, if the airline does not disburse at least two months salaries.(BS) Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said its refineries have recorded the highest ever crude processing of 55.6 million tonnes (mt) during 2011-12, surpassing the previous best of 53.0 mt achieved in the previous year.(BS) BEML Limited is moving forward in the aerospace vertical as part of the expansion of its defence business and has begun work on an aerospace manufacturing division at SEZ near the Bangalore International Airport, Devanahalli.(BS) US-based chopper manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) have applied for a defence licence to manufacture components and assemble helicopters for use by the Indian Navy.(BS) HCL Infosystems will participate in the tender for manufacturing Aakash II, the enhanced version of the the world's cheapest tablet PC, only at a feasible price.(BS) SpiceJet has become the first airline to apply for direct jet fuel import. It has submitted its application to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).(BL) Reliance Power has commissioned the last 300-MW unit of its Rosa Thermal Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh. (BL) Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has declined to participate in the stake sale of the pipelines company owned by Mukesh Ambani and other promoters of Reliance Industries, but other state firms such as Oil India and Gail India are evaluating the prospect.(ET) Star India has won the much–awaited bid for the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) television, mobile and internet rights for all international and national matches to be played in India for the next six years.(ET) Ranbaxy Laboratories has started exporting cholesterol lowering drug atorvastatin calcium oral tablets — the low-cost version of the world’s best-selling drug — to the US from its Mohali SEZ facility in Punjab, the company’s first marketing approval from an Indian plant in nearly four years.(ET) Dhanlaxmi Bank is planning to shut 30 branches in key metros, including Mumbai and Delhi, and it may elevate a key official to the post of deputy chief executive officer.(ET) Union Bank of India will focus on lending to retail sector and aim at improving customer service in a bid to retain and lure clients, new chairman and managing director Debabrata Sarkar has said.(ET) DBS Group Holdings has infused Rs.5.09bn capital into its India operations, increasing its ability to grow in the country.(ET) Gujarat Milk Cooperative Federation Ltd (GCMMF), which owns Amul brand, is set to increase milk prices in the range of 5-7 % cent for different category of milk anytime this month.(BS) Cyrus Mistr has been inducted as a director on the board of Tata Consultancy Services.(ET) Economy Snippets Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday allowed the listing of shares of stock exchanges on other stock exchanges, subject to several conditions.(BS) State-owned oil firms have hiked auto LPG prices by Rs 6 per litre, the third increase this year.(BL) India’s trade deficit widened to a record US$166.8bn in the first 11 months of this financial year, as growth in exports slowed to a three-month low in February, owing to the fragile recovery in the global economy.(BS) The Indian economy is expected to expand by 7.6 % in the current financial year on robust services sector, research firm Dun & Bradstreet said on Monday.(BS) Independent directors are increasingly asking the boards of state oil companies why they have not raised petrol prices for months to cut losses even though the Cabinet has granted them the freedom to price the fuel.(ET) Real estate developers across the country are planning to go on a strike to draw the central government’s attention to the bureaucratic and administrative hurdles that the industry faces.(ET) The finance ministry will soon announce fresh rules for the levy of excise duty on unbranded jewellery to provide some relief to the country’s lakhs of agitating jewellers.(ET)