Daily News Roundup - July 15 2011

ONGC is preparing for a total recast in its top management over the next few years, as almost all its directors and executive directors will retire by 2013. (ET)

Bharti Airtel, has offered to list its subsidiary, which offers mobile services in six northeastern states (excluding Assam) and Rajasthan, to provide an exit option for its minority JV partner, Telecom Consultants of India Ltd (TCIL). (ET)

NTPC is understood to have dropped or frozen its plan to set up a 1,320 Mw power plant at Santaldih, West Bengal. The project might have seen an investment of at least Rs80bn in the state, had it happened. (BS)



Britannia Industries has received approval from the Karnataka government on Thursday to set up a greenfield biscuits and bakery manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Bangalore. The company will invest around Rs 1bn to set up this unit according to the Karnataka government. (BS)

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation selected four new fund managers SBI, ICICI Securities, Reliance Capital and HSBC Asset Management Company for managing its corpus of Rs3500bn. (BS)

HCL Technologies announced the opening of a co-innovation lab in Singapore with American pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly to develop new technologies and solutions specifically for the drug maker. (BS)

GTL Limited is likely to head for corporate debt restructuring (CDR) forum to rework its debt payment obligations. The proposed restructuring is likely to see an equity infusion of Rs20bn. (BS)

Apollo Hospitals will raise up to Rs3.3bn via qualified institutional placement for its expansion plans. (BL)

Coal India is expecting to set the stage for wage negotiations within a month. The negotiation will define the company's wage bill on nearly four lakh workers for next five years. (BL)

Power Grid Corporation of India plans to set up a stop gap evacuation facility for the first 800 MW unit of Tata Power's Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Mundra. (BL)

Repro India said it has acquired the printing operations of Macmillan Publishers India Ltd (MPIL) for an undisclosed amount. (FE)

Ford India on Thursday placed a new kid in the sedan block in the form Fiesta.The car will be available in both diesel and petrol options at a price range of Rs0.83mn to Rs1.05mn (ex -showroom Mumbai). (ET)
Economy Snippets

Inflation in India is probably running at double digits, smashing hopes of a pause in interest rate increases by the Reserve Bank of India even as dodgy industrial output numbers signal a slowing economy. Inflation as measured by the wholesale price index rose 9.44% in June, up from 9.06% in May. (ET)

Snapping a two-week declining trend, food inflation rose to 8.31% for the week ended July 2 on the back of soaring prices of protein-based items, cereals and vegetables. (FE)

India's monsoon slipped into the red this week with the country receiving 3% deficient rains since its onset in June. (ET)

A panel headed by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has advocated the use of unique identification numbers to plug loopholes in the public distribution system (PDS). (BS)