New Delhi, December 14
The environment ministry is likely to decide the fate of Hindustan Construction Company’s first ‘designer’ hill station Lavasa near Pune next week, ministry sources said. Officials were checking ‘adequacies’ of documents submitted by promoters of the country’s first planned hill city and may pass a final order by December-end.

The Bombay High Court had directed the ministry to hear out Lavasa and issue an interim order on the matter by December 16. Officials explain they had to come up with some decision by December 16, otherwise the ministry would have invited contempt of court. Sources said the ministry decided against permitting construction work at the site till December-end, when it would take a final call on the issue. The ministry would pass final orders only after detailed hearing of the case and till then no work would be allowed at the site. It may eventually decide to grant relief to promoters, but with severe strictures.

Last month, the environment ministry slapped a show-cause notice on Lavasa Corporation because it had allegedly failed to secure necessary environmental clearances before starting work on its 5,000-plus hectare Lake City project coming up in Mulshi sub-district of Pune district.

Lavasa’s main complaint is that it was issued a show cause without being heard.

HCC chairman Ajit Gulabchand recently even met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is understood to have refused to intervene on the issue. The company filed a writ petition in the high court challenging the show-cause notice. It also questioned the ministry's authority to issue the notice and its timing.

The Prime Minister has said businesses, by their very definition, need to be profitable. However, the manner in which they use natural resources and the extent to which they are sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the common man is also critical to their own long-term survival and growth. He was speaking after inaugurating the India Corporate Week - 2010.

Singh also expressed concern over the way natural resources are being used by industry majors, saying that they need to be “sensitive to the needs and aspiration of common man ... For their long term survival”.

Cautioning that in absence of adequate resettlement and rehabilitation of project displaced people, faith in industrialisation may erode, he added: “Our growth process must not suffer because of loss of confidence in industrialisation and development. We need policies and interventions that would minimise livelihood disruptions.”

Invoking the Father of Nation, he said: “Mahatma Gandhi repeatedly used to emphasise the importance of not only good ends but also of the use of fair means to attain them. It is the large companies that have to set the pace in this regard. The rest of the corporate sector will quickly follow as this becomes a national norm”.

New Delhi, December 14
The government has approved eight foreign investment proposals worth Rs 883.16 crore, with L&T Finance accounting for the major inflow, but deferred decision on those of Hindalco, Intel Capital and Reliance Broadcast Network, along with 11 others.

The government also rejected 6 proposals, including that of by DLF Limitless.

"Based on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its meeting held on December 3, 2010, Government has approved 8 Proposals of Foreign Direct Investment amounting to Rs 883.166 crore approximately," an official statement said today. L&T Finance proposal entails FDI inflow of Rs 641.25 crore.

Besides, the proposal of Konecranes Finance Corporation, involving FDI of Rs 169 crore, has been cleared. It plans to invest in a company engaged in the financing, investment and consultancy activities in the field of manufacture of cranes. Similarly, Tata Advanced System's Rs 42.82 crore has also been cleared. It is a subsidiary of Tata Sons and the company focuses on providing solutions for defence, homeland security and disaster management.

However, the government has deferred 14 proposals including that of Intel Capital Corporation, ABG Shipyard, Hindalco Industries, Verizon Communications India, Reliance Broadcast Network and Essar Capital Holdings (India). Reliance Broadcast Network, the Anil Ambani Group company that is engaged in FM radio broadcasting.

The proposal is to get foreign investment through portfolio investments or private placement of equity was deferred.

Intel Capital plans to make investment by subscribing to warrants in an investing company, while Hindalco Industries' proposal is for issuance of partly paid up shares. The FDI proposals of six companies have been rejected. — PTI

New Delhi, December 14
Michael Schumacher, the German Formula-I car racing icon, has invested a huge amount in Indian real estate projects. Schumacher’s money into Ireo, a pan-India group, has been channeled though his private investment firm, MS Corporation Ltd. Ireo’s major residential and commercial footprints are mainly in Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and the National Capital Region of Delhi.

Information accessed by The Tribune from a central regulatory authority reveals that Schumacher’s investments have come through a global private equity fund of $2 billion dedicated to India’s real estate sector in different regions.

The Group has been set up with Rs 8,000-crore private equity funds and is domiciled in Mauritius. The money has been invested in India through 100 per cent - owned subsidiaries in Mauritius and Cyprus.

When contacted over telephone in New York, Ireo Group Chairman Anurag Bhargava confirmed Schumacher’s large investments in Indian real estate projects, but refused to disclose the amount.

Bhargava acknowledged that 523 foreign blue-chip investors and financial institutions have routed their money into the Indian market. The list includes besides Schumacher, many global sports personalities from Germany and the USA.

Investment ticket size amongst investors ranges from $50,000 for individual investors to over $100 million for institutional investors. There is no Indian investor. Bhargava denied speculations about BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal or any other politician with shareholding in the group.

“We plan to bring top global investors to show them ground zero where their money is growing,” said Bhargava. Asked whether they would include Schumacher, he said, “Maybe, as India’s first Formula One track is getting ready in Greater Noida for scheduled race on October 30, 2011.”

The Ireo Group targets over five million NRIs and has former tennis star and actor Vijay Amritraj as its global brand ambassador.

“We own over 900 acres across four projects in the Punjab region and Panchkula, Haryana. The integrated township projects in Ludhiana and Mohali projects have already been launched, while others in Panchkula and Jalandhar are in the pipeline,” said Ireo president Madhukar Tulsi. The company also has three group housing developments in Gurgaon; projects in Tamil Nadu and a commercial SEZ project and two residential projects in Pune.

“At a time, when Indian Inc’s big boys are talking about going abroad to invest , including housing loans, the news of global icons like Schumacher investing in real estate projects is quite encouraging,” said Devinder Gupta, who heads the Indian franchise of America’s top real estate brokering brand, Century 21.

Prominent global financial institutions investing through Ireo include JP Morgan Chase, TPG Axon, Citadel Investment Group, Tiger Partners; endowment funds of reputed universities like Stanford, Minnesota, Rochester and Notre Dame; Sovereign wealth funds like Temasek; and leading global real estate developers like the Reichmann Family (Canary Wharf, London) and Stephen Ross of Related Group (Time Warner Building, New York); and Christopher Hohn - Chris Cooper - Hohn is a co-founder of Children’s Investment Fund Foundation.

New Delhi, December 14
Easing food prices pulled down the inflation to 11-month low of 7.48 per cent in November, raising hopes that the Reserve Bank will not go for a hike in key rates in its monetary policy review on Thursday. The fall in inflation prompted Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to express hope that it will come down to around 6 per cent by this fiscal-end. The Reserve Bank has pegged it at 5.5 per cent by March.

"I am hoping it (inflation) to be around 6 per cent by March," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters here.

He said after quite some time food inflation has become "very moderate" The last time inflation was below 8 per cent was in December 2009 when it stood at 7.31 per cent.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said "inflation is comfortable. I think it does vindicate the government's proposition that we are not facing an accelerating inflation or inflation that is out control". — PTI

New Delhi, December 14
A government search panel is understood to have recommended UTI Mutual Fund Chairman U K Sinha as the next Sebi chairman, the post which will fall vacant on February 17, when incumbent C B Bhave's term ends. However, no official confirmation could be obtained.

Sinha, who is also mutual fund industry body AMFI's Chairman, was considered to be a front-runner for the post right from the start.

Prior to joining UTI Mutual Fund, Sinha served as joint secretary, capital markets division, in the Finance Ministry. He is an IAS, belonging to the Bihar Cardre.

Besides Sinha, others in the race included Corporate Affairs Secretary R Bandyopadyay, Department of Disinvestment Additional Secretary S Pradhan, Madhya Pradesh Principal Secretary G P Singhal and two Managing Directors at SBI, S K Bhattacharya and R Sridharan.

Yesterday, the search panel interviewed some of those in the race to head market regulator Sebi.

The search panel had expressed the hope that new chairman would be appointed before the post falls vacant.

"The Sebi chairman post would be vacant on February 17, 2011. Before that we would have the successor," Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, who is part of the panel, had said.

Out of those selected for the final interview, at least two, public sector lender SBI Chairman O P Bhatt and Reserve Bank Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty, expressed their unwillingness for the position, sources said. — PTI

BRIEFLY

DoT sends notices to Uninor, Loop
New Delhi: The telecom ministry today issued show-cause notices to some of the new operators, which are alleged to have suppressed information to get licences and have also failed to roll out services as mandated. — PTI

Weather-based crop insurance in HP
Chandigarh: Weather-based crop insurance scheme is being launched in Himachal Pradesh for apple, mango, potato and tomato in selected areas of the state during the Rabi marketing season. The scheme, to be implemented by Agriculture Insurance Company of India will be compulsory for cultivators who have sanctioned credit limit from any bank, PACS for notified crops in notified areas, and will be optional for non-loanee farmers. — TNS

INOX expansion
Chandigarh: INOX Air Products on Tuesday announced plans for a massive expansion in its capacities by adding four air separation units (ASU) and liquefiers for the merchant market across India with an investment of over Rs 600 crore. All the four new plants are scheduled to come on stream during 2012 and will enhance INOX Air Products merchant capacity by about 60 per cent. — TNS

ING’s new product
Chandigarh: ING Life India on Tuesday launched a new unique Unit Linked Insurance Product, which provides the customer the opportunity to participate in equity market while protecting investments from its downside. The new ULIP, ING Market Shield, is designed such that customers can benefit from market’s upswings due to high equity participation, but secures their investment from losses, when the markets are volatile. — TNS