Daily News Roundup - March 19 2012

NTPC is implementing three hydel projects with a total capacity of 942 MW in Uttarakhand. (BL)

Essar Steel is set to commission a pellet unit in a week in Odisha to pave the way for setting up of its proposed 6 mtpa integrated steel plant. (ET)

Reliance Communications controlled FLAG Telecom has filed a prospectus in the Singapore Stock Exchange to list and divest 75% stake in the submarine cables business for US$1.25-1.5bn. (BS)

ONGC has advanced the development of its C-Series gas fields in the West Coast, which will help it raise gas output. The advancement will help realise production from the fields starting pre-monsoon 2014 instead of 2018 planned earlier. (BL)



ONGC plans to invest over Rs330bn next fiscal in exploration and production of oil and gas, a 5% increase over capital expenditure in 2011-12. (BS)

Coal India Ltd’s board is likely to meet this week to approve the draft of revised standard fuel supply agreement. (BS)

Godrej Properties Ltd's securities issuance committee of the board has decided to issue up to 7.4mn equity shares of, with a right to allot an additional up to 0.74 equity shares in case of oversubscription, to eligible QIB by way of an institutional placement programme. (BL)

NMDC plans to invest Rs35.13bn on its upcoming 3mtpa capacity steel plant at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh. (BS)

MOIL plans to enter power generation business and has invited expression of interest from private sector players for a tie-up for development of coal blocks. (BS)

The Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla will invest Rs4bn over the next two years mainly to set up hypermarkets. (ET)

Apollo Hospitals is planning to raise US$60mn from the International Finance Corporation. (BS)

After the income tax department, the service tax department is also planning to take Kingfisher Airlines to court over non-payment of dues. (BS)

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has moved a Delhi court seeking prosecution of Loop Mobiles (India) Ltd for rejecting its subscribers’ requests to switch over to another service provider in violation of TRAI regulations. (BL)

Economy Snippets
The number of broadband connections in India stood at 13.35mn by the end of December 2011. (ET)

TRAI has proposed three models to redistribute the 900-MHz spectrum. (ET)

The Finance Ministry has ruled out a rethink on the proposed controversial tax amendments that seek to bring all Vodafone-Hutchison type offshore transactions into the tax net. (BL)