Daily News Roundup - Jan 14 2013

Gail India plans to spend a Rs90bn in capital expenditure in the next fiscal, most of which will be used to complete the many on-going projects, a top company official has said. (ET) The Tata Housing Company limited has signed an MoU with the Gujarat government for constructing affordable houses worth Rs35bn in Ahmedabad district. (ET) Infrastructure major IVRCL Ltd has stopped work in the about Rs3bn hydel power project in Nepal, which it had won in 2010, demanding increase in the budget, sources said. (BL) GAIL has said it is looking to enter the gas shipping segment, primarily to bring in gas from its Sabine Pass fields in the US as also for shipping in gas from Gazprom’s Shtokman project in the Arctic region. (BL) Reliance Industries plans to set up three-in-one telecom towers, starting with Mumbai, as it readies to launch fourth generation telecom services across the country. (BL) Following a series of pay increments in the Gurgaon-Manesar automobile belt, a labour problem seems to be brewing over wage settlement terms at the Gurgaon unit of Hero MotoCorp, promoted by the Munjals. The immediate trigger could have been increments at the Manesar factory of former partner Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI). (BS) Vijay Mallya’s Rs6.5bn investment plan to revive operations of the grounded Kingfisher Airlines has piqued its lenders, as it does not include repayment of the carrier’s existing bank debts. (BS) Reliance Broadcast Network is extending its regional presence, with a new Bhojpuri offering from its BIG MAGIC channel, in Bihar and Jharkhand. (BS) At its plant at Hansalpur near Mehsana in Gujarat, Maruti Suzuki India would primarily focus on exports, owing to the facility’s proximity to the Mundra port. The company would also bring vendors with whom it has joint ventures to the site. (BS) Tata Motors is living up to its reputation as one of Britain's biggest manufacturing employers and is set to add hundreds of new jobs at one of its UK plants. (ET) Tata Capital has expressed reservations about the Reserve Bank's proposed changes in the norms governing NBFCs, saying the move will negatively impact profits and raise lending rates. (ET) McCain Foods will invest Rs3.5bn to increase the existing production capacity at Mehsana in Gujarat. (ET) Economy Snippets Indicating that power tariffs could go up further, Power Ministry has said the price of electricity has to match the rising cost of inputs.(ET) The government has appointed a panel to look into issues related to compulsory licensing of drugs and whether cheaper versions of cancer medicines Trastuzumab, Ixabepilone and Dasatinib can be launched under the provision, a person with knowledge of the development said. (ET) Fiscal situation may worsen due to rising inflation, decline in economic growth and global slowdown, industry body Assocham said today. (BL) Asset financing non-banking finance companies (AFCs) have urged the RBI to permit them to raise external commercial borrowings. (BL) India has decided to formally suspend negotiations to finalise a trade liberalisation pact with Mauritius. (BS) The long pending negotiations for the India-European Union free trade agreement may finally move ahead with the EU’s chief negotiator scheduled to visit New Delhi this week, amid positive signals emanating from the 27-nation bloc.(BL)