New Delhi, July 3
GSM telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular got some reprieve on Tuesday on continuing with their 3G roaming pacts as the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal gave a split verdict on their petition allowed them to approach a higher court, delaying a resolution to a six-month dispute.

The telcos had moved TDSAT against the government’s move to penalize GSM operators for entering into the pacts, which allowed seamless roaming for their subscribers. The department of telecom had said these pacts contravened the licence norms.

One of the two judges on the tribunal who voted in favour of the carriers said the government may send out fresh notices ordering a halt to the alliances, which mobile phone operators can appeal at a higher court, according to lawyers on the case.

The tribunal's decision was keenly watched by investors in Bharti Airtel, Vodafone's Indian unit and Idea Cellular — the country's top three carriers by revenue — which have effectively extended their 3G services to most parts of the country because of mutual roaming agreements.

The government will take a legal view before deciding on its next move, telecom secretary R. Chandrashekhar said.

Bharti, Vodafone's Indian unit and Idea did not immediately comment. The companies previously said their roaming pacts complied with telecom licensing rules.

The carriers are allowed to continue their services until the government dispatches a new order, a lawyer on the case said on Tuesday.

Shares in Bharti, India's top mobile phone operator, rose as much as 4%, while those in Idea gained up to 5.5%.

India raised more than $12 billion from a 3G auction in 2010. No company managed to win airwaves in all of the country's 22 service zones as the bid prices were much higher than expected.

Bharti paid $2.2 billion for 3G bandwidth in 13 service areas, while Vodafone India spent $2.1 billion for permits in nine and Idea gained access to 11 areas for about $1 billion. Many of their service areas overlap.

Last December, the telecom ministry told them that it was illegal to offer 3G services beyond their allotted zones through mutual pacts and wanted them to stop the services immediately.

In the same month, the carriers, including Tata Teleservices and Aircel, challenged the government order before TDSAT, which told the government not to take any "coercive" action until it issues a verdict.

NASCENT 3G MARKET: Indian mobile operators launched 3G services just last year and are still expanding their networks.

Of the country's more than 900 million mobile subscribers, only about 15 million are estimated to have subscribed for 3G data services, which facilitates faster Internet browsing on phones and services such as video calls. — Reuters

London, July 3
Barclays Plc chief executive Bob Diamond quit on Tuesday under a barrage of fire from politicians, the highest-profile casualty of an interest rate-rigging scandal that spans more than a dozen major banks across the world.

"The external pressure placed on Barclays has reached a level that risks damaging the franchise - I cannot let that happen," Diamond said in a statement six days after Britain's third-largest bank was fined nearly half a billion dollars for its part in manipulating a global benchmark interest rate.

Diamond's resignation was effective immediately. Outgoing chairman Marcus Agius will lead the search for a new CEO, despite having announced his own imminent departure a day earlier, declaring that "the buck stops with me".

Despite sending a long letter to staff on Monday that showed his resolve to continue, Diamond decided to quit later that day after Prime Minister David Cameron and finance minister George Osborne announced a parliamentary inquiry into the scandal, a person familiar with the matter said.

COO QUITS: Barclays on Tuesday said its chief operating officer Jerry del Missier had become the latest high-profile executive to resign over a rate rigging scandal at the UK banking giant. The move came hours after Diamond announced he was stepping down over an interbank loan rate scandal. — Reuters, AFP

New Delhi, July 3
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said Tuesday the government will take up the issue of nontariff barriers being mounted by the United States and the European Union against Indian pharmaceutical exports in bilateral forums.

Sharma was speaking at the first meeting of consultative group on pharmaceutical exports held here. The meeting was attended by CEOs of pharma majors including Ranbaxy, Wockhardt, Panacea Biotech, Vimta Labs, Suven Life Sciences, GVK and Bio Resources.

Sharma said while time and again there have been attempts by multinationals to malign Indian generics as substandard, counterfeit, the resilience of Indian industry has withstood all these challenges. The government is fully committed to support this vibrant sector, he said.

Sharma added substantial opportunities exist for Indian pharma industry in emerging economies like Russia, Africa and South America.

He said a committee of secretaries of the department concerned would be set up to consider the suggestions to take Indian pharma industry on a growth trajectory in a time bound manner. Progress will be reviewed after three months.

Pharma CEOs made a strong pitch for timely approvals and procedural simplification by the Drug Controller General of India for clinical trials, import of samples, etc. They also requested liberal funding through venture capital vehicle for giving an impetus to research & development and innovation. The government is understood to be considering the suggestion for setting up a venture capital fund.

The phama industry was of the view that given the right impetus and policy initiatives, and procedural simplification, Indian pharma industry is capable of doubling the exports rather achieving a target of $ 50 billion over the next five years.

New Delhi, July 3
Reliance Power risks losing a Rs 300 crore ((US $54.7 million) bank guarantee after a court said distribution companies could seek damages from Reliance over a delayed Rs 17,500 crore power project in Andhra Pradesh.

The Delhi High Court lifted a prohibition it had imposed on the distribution companies in March that barred them from taking "coercive steps" against the project.

Reliance on Tuesday said it has appealed the order and has filed for arbitration to resolve the dispute.

Controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, Reliance Power stopped construction on the plant after changes in export rules by Indonesia, its main source of coal for the proposed plant, raised prices and made the project nonviable.

Indonesia's rule changes have made about 9,000 megawatts of power projects in India nonviable, including a 4,000 MW plant being developed by Tata Power, because the projects cannot raise tariffs to reflect higher fuel costs.

Reliance originally bid to supply power at a fixed rate, but is now arguing that the project will not be feasible without a tariff hike and the Indonesian rule change constituted a force majeure event.

Reliance "has been unable to persuade this court...that the escalation in fuel price is a force majeure event providing it with the defence of non-performance of its obligation under the power purchase agreement," the court said.

11 state distribution companies, which have purchase contracts with the unit of Reliance Power developing the 4,000 MW project, have demanded Reliance pay Rs 400 crore or give up a bank guarantee for delaying the project.

The Delhi High Court dismissed Reliance Power's petition against four utilities, allowing them to encash bank guarantees of Rs 300 crore for delay in building the Krishnapatnam ultra mega power project. The company has filed an appeal against the verdict, while the utilities said they would go ahead and encash the bank guarantees. — Agencies

Chandigarh, July 3
Insecticides India Ltd plans to invest over Rs 90 crore this fiscal for expansion of its manufacturing facilities. Other than a greenfield project at Chopanki in Rajasthan, the agrochemicals maker will also set up an R&D centre besides expanding capacity at its Jammu plant.

Insecticides India has also tied up with Japanese agrochemicals manufacturer Nissan and has launched two new generation products, which are expected to contribute Rs 75 crore to the company’s topline.

Insecticides India MD Rajesh Aggarwal, said the firm had already invested Rs 125 crore on ramping up production during the past two years.

“This year we’re setting up a greenfield project at Chopank, with an investment of Rs 15 crore and also plan to set up a Rs 20 crore R&D centre there. We’re looking at foreign collaboration in setting up this R&D centre and, in case this happens, the investment could go up by manifold. We’re also expanding our new facility at Dahej, Gujarat, where we’ll be investing Rs 70 crore. Besides, we’re scaling up production at the Sambha (Jammu) unit by 30 per cent at a cost of Rs 4 crore,” Aggarwal stated.