Daily News Roundup - Apr 27 2011

Oil regulator DGH has sent a team for fact-finding mission to RIL-operated KG-D6 fields to ascertain reasons for the decline in production. (ET)

Maruti Suzuki has put in place a new strategy to reduce its dependence on Japan for auto parts. It will source parts from new geographies such as Thailand and Germany. (BS)

Sesa Goa is also exploring options to build steel plants. (ET)

JSW Steel has acquired 3.77% stake in Ispat Industries in an open offer, taking its total holding to 49.3%. (FE)



Aditya Nath Jha, head of branding and corporate marketing at Infosys, has resigned.(BS)

NTPC will allocate 500 mw of green energy to various states to help them meet the Renewable Energy Purchase Obligation as mandated in the National Tariff Policy. (FE)

SBI intends to continue with the consolidation drive within the SBI Group and would initiate steps to gobble up an associate bank fully owned by it. (BL)

Tata Motors has reduced production of all passenger vehicles, except the Nano compact, by 15-20 per cent in April. (BL)

Thermax is setting up a greenfield plant at Kesurdi, near Shirwal, off the Pune-Ba ngalore highway for the manufacture of supercritical boilers in its 51:49 joint venture with Babcock and Wilcox. (ET)

Power Finance Corporation will launch its share sale on May 10, marking a deal that could raise up to US$1.2bn. (ET)

American drugmaker Purdue Pharma has sued Ranbaxy Laboratories to prevent company from selling a generic, or low-priced, version of pain-reliever Oxycontin, in the US. (ET)

Dhanlaxmi Bank would be exploring options such as QIBs, FIIs and foreign corporate bodies to mobilse Rs10bn by June. (FE)

Uco Bank plans to expand its branch network by 36% and multiply the ATM network four times in the next two years. (ET)

Bharat Electronics said it was discussing a JV with an international major for making radars for select military and civilian purposes. (BL)

Lupin and its subsidiaries have entered into a licence agreement with Abbott Laboratories and Laboratoires Fournier SA for eight patents on cholesterol-lowering drug Fenofibrate.(BL)

Sumeet Industries plans to invest Rs5.3bn in two phases to enhance its polyester partially oriented, pet chip and fully drawn yarn capacity.(BL)

Venus Remedies Limited has successfully completed Phase I and II clinical trial for VRP1620, a cancer detection molecule.(BS)

Elecon Engineering has procured an order worth Rs298.2mn from the Mundra Port and SEZ for design and engineering and supply of material handling equipment. (BL)
Economy Snippets


India's apparel export increased marginally by 0.1% at Rs509bn in FY11 from Rs508bn in FY10. (ET)

SBI, ICICI Bank, Citibank and Axis Bank are among 19 lenders penalized by the RBI for violating currency derivatives norms and selling products to companies which did not understand them. (ET)

The Income Tax Department will refund about Rs400bn by the end of April or early May, as part of the initiative by the CBDT to complete the entire refunding process in the very first month of a fiscal year. (ET)

Diesel prices may see an increase of around Rs 2 per litre next month, providing marginal relief to the oil marketing companies OMCs. (BS)

The UPA governments would go ahead with the controversial nuclear power plant in Jaitapur, but ensure an additional standalone safety system. (BS)