New Delhi, April 23
Registering the fastest rise in revenues for the government on a single day since the auction process started, the bid price for all-India 3G spectrum shot up by more than 100 per cent at Rs 7,599 crore on Day 12, ensuring the exchequer a minimum of Rs 30,756 crore.

On the 12th day of the auction, the reserve price increased by about Rs 2,528 crore, the fastest rise in a day since April 9, when the auction started.

Delhi, the most-coveted circle, saw the bid price touching Rs 1,030.72 crore, the highest among all the circles, followed by Mumbai at Rs 989.48 crore.

However, in Delhi circle, there is no excess demand as of now. The operators can always return and put their bid for the said circle as it happened earlier.

Maharashtra circle, for which the bid price stood at Rs 746.50 crore has a negative demand of two blocks against three blocks put on sale.

According to sources in the DoT, the activity level is still at 80 per cent, meaning that operators are concentrating now only on metros and A category service areas.

The government has budgeted for Rs 35,000 crore from the auctions of 3G and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum.

Going by the current bid rates, the government is set to achieve its target of Rs 35,000 crore from the sale of 3G spectrum alone.

Telecom Minister A Raja had recently exuded confidence that the revenue from the sale of 3G and BWA spectrum is likely to touch Rs 45,000 crore.

The government had set a base price of Rs 3,500 crore for pan-India 3G spectrum and Rs 1,750 crore for pan-India BWA spectrum.

Auction for broadband wireless access, or BWA, would start after two days of the close of 3G auction. As many as 70 rounds of auction were completed till the 12th day.

In 3G mobile telephony, three private operators are allowed and in some few states four. The spectrum would be distributed in September after the DoT gets the airwaves from the defence forces.

However, for BWA only two slots are available. With 11 operators in the fray to grab spectrum with only two slots on the block there may be aggressive bidding. — PTI 

New Delhi, April 23
The country's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India, today launched a new generation WagonR, priced between Rs 3.28 lakh and Rs 3.81 lakh, adding one more model to the highly price competitive compact car segment.

The new WagonR will take on the likes of newly launched models, including the Chevrolet Beat (priced Rs 3.41 lakh-Rs 4.43 lakh) and Ford Figo (Rs 3.49 lakh-Rs 3.99 lakh), and Hyundai i10 (Rs 3.47 lakh-Rs 3.83 lakh), among others.

"This new launch of WagonR is important to Maruti Suzuki for many reasons. It demonstrates the growing research and development capability of the company," Maruti Suzuki India MD and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi told reporters here.

The new WagonR is developed from the latest platform of the vehicle that is available in Japan. The car is powered by the BS-IV compliant 998cc K-series engine.

The new car will, however, be expensive than the old WagonR, which was priced between Rs 3.23 lakh and Rs 3.7 lakh, though the new version will be longer and taller than the old one. — PTI 

Chandigarh, April 23
Punjab’s mega project scheme, extended to rice mills in the state, has failed to find favour with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. With this scheme seemingly favouring big rice millers, the ministry has asked the Punjab government to look into monopolistic practices (if any) being thus encouraged.

Highly-placed sources informed TNS that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, has asked the Department of Food and Civil Supplies, Punjab, to look into the matter and furnish them with an action taken report. This decision follows an appeal made by the All India Rice Exporters Association, which had earlier pointed out how the incentives offered to big rice millers under the Mega Industrial Projects Policy, would ultimately make the economics of trade unviable for the small rice millers and exporters.

The appeal was made to the Prime Minister’s Office by the association in February this year. This was then forwarded to the Secretary, Agriculture and Cooperatives and Department of Food and Public Distribution for further action. In the appeal, Vijay Setia, president of the association, said the Punjab government was promoting the setting up of rice shellers under its mega industrial projects policy. With the mega units getting a plethora of concessions from the state government, the smaller units say they are facing the risk of being wiped out of business.

It may be noted that Punjab has about 3,500 rice shellers, with most of the units being in small and medium category. It was only last year that the state government approved two rice shellers as mega units - one in Sangrur and other in Fatehgarh Sahib. But a bumper basmati produce in the state in the last season attracted other rice shellers to come to Punjab and set up new units under the mega industrial projects policy. Subsequently, approvals were granted to six other companies for setting up rice shellers under the mega project policy.

The small units claimed that the profit margin in their business was just 3 to 4 per cent. However, the units that are now being approved under the mega unit policy (with an investment of Rs 100 crore or Rs 25 crore in case the unit is located in the border area) get a complete waiver of market fee (2 per cent), rural development fund (2 per cent) and Punjab Infrastructure Development Fund (3 per cent). “Since these mega units get a total waiver of 7 per cent as incentive, they can drive the market by lowering their prices. The smaller units will be driven out of business,” complained Setia.

New Delhi, April 23
In a move that would improve the lending capacity of the public sector banks (PSBs), the government today approved Rs 15,000- crore capital infusion in them in the current fiscal. This will increase the lending capacity of the banks by Rs 1.85 lakh crore.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

For the year 2010-11, a sum of Rs 15,000 crore is to be infused in Tier I Capital Instruments of the PSBs, said an official release after the Cabinet meeting.

The exact amount, mode of capitalisation and other terms would be decided in consultation with the banks at the time of the infusion, it said.

The release said in the wake of recent global financial crisis, the PSBs have done a commendable job in meeting the credit requirements of the economy. In order to ensure that the banking system does not suffer from capital adequacy constraints so as to support credit growth needed to sustain the economic momentum in 2010-11, the government has decided to infuse capital in the PSBs.

For the year 2011-12, it said, additional capital requirements, if any, would be worked out in consultation with the PSBs based on their third quarter results for the year 2010-11.

This additional availability of credit is likely to benefit employment-oriented sectors, especially agriculture, micro and small enterprises and entrepreneurs that in turn would contribute substantially to the growth of the economy, it said.

Hyderabad, April 23
The Andhra Pradesh High Court was today divided over allowing lie-detector test on the disgraced founder chairman of Satyam Computers B Ramalinga Raju in connection with the multi-crore accounting fraud in the software company.

A two-member Bench of the court gave a split verdict on a plea made by the CBI which is probing the biggest scandal in the country’s corporate history. The investigating agency had approached the court for permission to conduct polygraph test to get to the bottom of the case.

While Justice Gopal Reddy declined permission for polygraph test, another judge in the Bench Justice Govindarajulu said the CBI might be allowed to conduct the test if it was required.

In view of the divided opinion, the matter will now be referred to a third judge as per the established judicial procedure. With this, Raju, who is in judicial custody and undergoing treatment at a multi-specialty hospital here, got a temporary reprieve from lie-detector test.

In a related development, the CBI sought permission from a special court trying the Satyam case to conduct trial of Raju through video conferencing. This follows repeated plea by Raju’s counsels that his health condition was poor and he was not in a position to appear before the court in person.

The court asked the CBI to file a petition on video conferencing on April 30 when the hearing on the medical report of Raju will also be taken up.

Meanwhile, the special judge trying the Satyam scam BVLN Chakravarthi granted permission to the new management of Satyam Computers - Mahindra Satyam - to have access to the records and documents seized by the CBI as part of its investigations.

Admitting a petition filed by Mahindra Satyam seeking release of the record rooms at Satyam Technology Centre (STC) and 'My Home Hub' premises here which were sealed by CBI, the judge directed the CBI to ensure uninterrupted access to the petitioner. 

Chandigarh, April 23
KPMG, a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services, is now contemplating making Chandigarh a hub for all its back-end operations. The company, which is eyeing a big opportunity in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, today set up its office in the city.

Addressing mediapersons, Richard Rekhy, head of advisory, KPMG, said they were already working in close association with the governments of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. “We are not only eyeing a big market with these governments here, but also looking at corporates in the region availing our services. As we expand our operations here, we are thinking of making Chandigarh a hub for our back-end operations and propose to set up a BPO here,” he said.

Russell Parera, CEO, KPMG, said they were working with the Punjab government and would come out with a report on attracting more investment, including foreign direct investment. “KPMG is acting as a facilitator between the state government, industrialists and CII to prepare a road map for bringing more industries to Punjab. We are also preparing a report for PSIDC on marketing Punjab as an investment destination,” he said.

Talking about J&K, he said lot of economic development was needed in the state. "KPMG is working with tourism, handicrafts and carpet industry in J&K for skill enhancement, besides advising them on taxation regime in the state," he said.

Rekhy added that North India was among the top destinations for FDI inflows and was emerging as a leading investment destination, especially for automotive and engineering, ITeS, education, retail and real estate industry.

He also said they would soon bring out a research paper on Central Public Sector Undertakings to help them become "more valuable". 

Mumbai, April 23
IT major Wipro today reported 20.77 per cent growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,209 crore for the fourth quarter ended March, compared to the same period last year.

Net income from sales rose to Rs 6,982 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, from Rs 6,451.4 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal, Wipro said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

BRIEFLY

NTPC plans two power plants in Kazakhstan
New Delhi: State-run power producer NTPC is planning to set up two thermal power plants in Kazakhstan and is also eyeing coal assets in the country. "We are exploring the possibility of setting up two plants in Kazakhstan," CMD NTPC RS Sharma said here on Friday. Kazakhstan, which is a coal-rich country, is seeking India's support for harnessing its dry fuel reserves. "Kazakhstan has huge coal reserves, about 33 billion tonnes. We have got proposals from them for utilising that coal," Sharma said adding that they were working on a business model to bring the coal here and also use it for plants there. — PTI

Jaypee Infra price band
Mumbai: Jaypee Infratech on Friday said it has fixed the price band of its initial public offer (IPO) at Rs 102-117 per share. The company's Rs 2,262-2,352-crore IPO will open on April 29, the firm's chairman Manoj Gaur said. The issue will close on May 4 and is based on 100 per cent book-building process. — PTI

EIL bonus issue
Mumbai: State-run Engineers India Ltd (EIL) on Friday said its shareholders have approved the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 2:1, or two shares for every share held. The members of the company also approved the sub-division of shares of Rs 10 each into 2 shares of Rs 5 each, EIL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.— PTI

Gold declines
New Delhi: Gold prices declined by Rs 60 to Rs 16,865 per 10 grams in the bullion market here on Friday on reduced offtake at existing levels amid a weak global trend. Standard gold and ornaments declined by Rs 60 each to Rs 16,865 and Rs 16,715 per 10 grams, respectively. Both had gained Rs 180 in the last two sessions. — PTI

Microsoft profit up 35 pc
New York: Software giant Microsoft on Friday posted a 35 per cent jump in profit at $4.1 billion in the quarter ended March 31, primarily driven by strong demand for its Windows 7 operating system. The company recorded a revenue of $14.50 billion in third quarter, a 6 per cent rise from the same period of the prior year, Microsoft said. — PTI

Videocon raises Rs 1,156 cr
Mumbai: Diversified firm Videocon Industries has raised Rs 1,156.32 crore through the issue of shares on a rights basis. At a meeting on Thursday, a committee of the board of directors allotted 5,13,92,243 equities of Rs 10 a piece at a premium of Rs 215 per share on a rights basis, aggregating to Rs 1,156.32 crore, Videocon said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday.— PTI