The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	SC slaps contempt notice on two Sahara firms The two entities have failed to refund Rs 17,400 cr Legal Correspondent New Delhi, July 24 The Supreme Court today issued notice to Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation (SHIC) on a contempt petition filed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for their failure to refund around Rs 17,400 crore to investors through SEBI as directed by the apex court. A Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar directed the two companies to file their response by July 30 and made it clear that no adjournment of hearing would be granted. On the last date of hearing on July 17, the apex court had said Sahara chief Subrata Roy and directors of its two companies will have to appear before it if its order is not complied with. SEBI said it received Rs 5,120 crore from the two companies on December 5, 2012, upon which the Supreme Court had directed them to deposit the balance Rs 17,400 crore along with 15 per cent interest in two instalments —Rs 10,000 crore by the first week of January 2013 and the balance in another month. The Saharas “have wilfully and deliberately failed” to deposit even the first instalment so far, SEBI said in its petition. Also, the two companies had submitted only 75 per cent of the documents pertaining to the investments made by small investors in the fully convertible debenture scheme and that too after “deliberately” removing the redemption vouchers from the corresponding application forms, thereby rendering the “verification process extremely complicated which is pivotal to undertake the refund exercise.”
	5-kg LPG cylinders to be sold at petrol pumps in metros Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 24 The government has approved the scheme for selling 5-kg LPG cylinders through select petrol pumps. Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily approved a proposal to launch the scheme on pilot basis in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore for selling 5-kg LPG cylinders at outlets owned by oil companies. The oil marketing companies (OMCs) have retail outlets which are accessible to all and are open for longer hours. This decision has been taken in view of the fact that over the years, a new category of consumers have emerged, especially in big cities, who are mobile and thus do not want a permanent LPG connection but still require LPG for their needs. Such customers need flexibility for getting the LPG cylinders as per their convenience and their needs can also be fulfilled by smaller quantities of LPG. The LPG sold under the scheme will be called Free Trade LPG (FTL). At the time of first sale, cost of equipment, cost of product at prevailing non-domestic 5 kg cylinder’s price and administrative charges will be payable. At the time of subsequent refill, only the cost of product will be payable. The prospective customer at the time of first sale would only be required to give a copy of any document that can act as a proof of identity. The company would not be liable for any losses or damages arising in case of accident during transit or usage. The OMCs will offer, on request, an insurance policy which will provide cover for loss of life and property in the event of an LPG accident occurring at the customer’s premises. In transit insurance cover will not be available.
	General Motors recalls 1.14 lakh units of Tavera New Delhi, July 24 In one of the largest vehicle recalls in India, General Motors India today said it is recalling 1.14 lakh units of its multi-purpose vehicle Chevrolet Tavera, manufactured between 2005 and 2013, to address emissions and specification issues. The company said it has informed the Indian government authorities of an emissions issue involving the Tavera BSIII and an issue with the Tavera BSIV meeting certain specifications, the company said. "General Motors India (GMI)... is voluntarily recalling the Chevrolet Tavera BS3 (2.5L variant) and BS4 (2.0L variant) from model years 2005-2013 to address emissions and specification issues," the company added. The 1,14,000 affected vehicles will be repaired free of charge at GMI's 280 dealers, it said. GMI stopped production and sale of the Tavera BSIII on June 4 and the Tavera BSIV on July 2. The issues are not safety-related, the company added. The car maker said it has since identified a solution to the issues and performed the required engineering validation, and is awaiting regulatory approvals. "After the proposed solution receives approval from authorities, General Motors will resume Tavera production and sale, and move forward with its recall and customer notification plan for both the BSIII and BSIV models," the company said. The company said it will notify customers how and when to bring in their vehicles for service. Commenting on the recall, GMI President and Managing Director Lowell Paddock said: "Our customers are at the centre of everything we do. Exceeding their expectations begins with designing, building and selling the world’s best vehicles that endure over time." — PTI
	TCS acquires Alti SA of France for over Rs 530 cr New Delhi, July 24 IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today said it has completed the acquisition of French enterprise solutions provider Alti SA, a move that will help the Tata Group company to expand its reach in Europe. In April this year, the Mumbai-based company had announced it will acquire Alti SA for 75 million euros (about Rs 533 crore) in an all-cash deal to help transform TCS into a major player in France - the third-largest IT services market in Europe. The acquisition gives the firm access to blue-chip French and European clients in banking, luxury, manufacturing and utilities sectors. "TCS CEO and Managing Director N Chandrasekaran and ALTI's founders signed the final agreement to commence the integration of ALTI into TCS' operations in France. The acquisition had been initially announced in April 2013," TCS said in a statement. Alti SA is regarded as one of the top five system integrators of SAP solutions in France. It includes several top French corporations in the banking, financial services, luxury, manufacturing and utilities sectors as its key customers, it added. "Today is a historic day for our company in France, which will see us emerge as a much stronger player in the local market and which sets the platform for our future growth in the region," Chandrasekaran said. The company has 1,200 employees based in France, Belgium and Switzerland. — PTI
	Cairn India to invest $3 bn in 3 years Mumbai, July 24 Cairn India will invest $3 billion (over Rs 16,000 crore) over the next three years in finding more oil and gas in its showpiece Rajasthan oilfields and other blocks in India, its chairman Navin Agarwal said today. Of this, the company will invest more than Rs 13,000 crore in the prolific Rajasthan block alone, Agarwal told the company's annual shareholders meeting. The investment will be fully funded from the firm's cash resources and will target adding 530 million barrels of oil to its reserves. "Over the next three years, through the end of FY2016, your company will invest more than Rs 16,000 crore ($3 billion) in pursuit of finding and producing more oil," he said. — PTI
	Bank stocks under pressure; tank up to 9% on RBI steps Mumbai, July 24 Bank stocks today took severe beating in the stock market, falling as much as 9 per cent in the morning trade, after the RBI announced additional liquidity tightening measures to check rupee slide. Yes Bank tanked 8.6 per cent, while Bank of India slipped 7.61 per cent, Canara Bank (6.39 per cent), Axis Bank (6.13 per cent) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (5.56 per cent). Among blue-chips, PNB tumbled 5.58 per cent, while ICICI Bank was down 4.63 per cent, SBI (3.81 per cent) and HDFC Bank (3.26 per cent). Following the weakness in these stocks, the BSE banking index plunged 4.44 per cent to 12,260.52 and was the top loser among the 13 sectoral indices. With the rupee still continuing to be weak, the Reserve Bank yesterday announced additional liquidity tightening measures to contain excessive speculation and volatility in the foreign exchange market. RBI has reduced the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) for each bank from 1 per cent of the total deposits to 0.5 per cent, thus limiting the access to borrowed funds from the central bank. The limit will come into force with immediate effect and continue till further notice, the RBI has said. In another measure to suck out liquidity from the system, RBI has asked banks to maintain higher average CRR (cash reserve ratio) of 99 per cent of the requirement on daily basis as against earlier 70 per cent. CRR is portion of deposits that banks are required to keep with RBI. — PTI
	TRAI begins consultation for 3rd round of spectrum auction Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 24 Having faced a tepid response from the telecom operators in the previous two rounds of spectrum auctions held this year, the telecom regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), has started a consultation process for valuation and reserve price of spectrum for third round of auction. Facing the operators’ backlash as regards the high base price kept by the government in the previous two rounds, TRAI hopes to set a base price that would not only evoke some reaction from the operators but also bring some revenue to the coffers of the government. "On July 10, 2013, the DoT sought TRAI's recommendations on the applicable reserve price for the auction of spectrum in 800 Mhz (CDMA), 900 Mhz and 1,800 Mhz (GSM) bands. In this context, TRAI has issued a consultation paper," TRAI said. The regulator is seeking comments from the stakeholders on the quantity of spectrum that should be kept for auction and the time that winner of airwaves should be given to roll out network. It has also sought the views on the method to be used for valuation and estimation of reserve price. Allows mass MNP for corporates Moving a step forward, the TRAI has amended the mobile number portability (MNP) regulations to allow mass portability for corporate account numbers. After due consultation process, the TRAI has issued the Telecommunications MNP (5th Amendment) Regulations, whereby up to 50 corporate mobile numbers of a service provider can be ported to another service provider through letter of authorisation from the authorised signatory of the corporate mobile numbers, in a single porting request.
	C-DAC develops wireless traffic controller Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 24 Controlling traffic in medium and large cities through cheaper and indigenously developed wireless road traffic controller technology would become a reality soon with the government today handing over the technology to a consortium of eight Indian companies for commercial production. The technology developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) would not only come at around one-third price of the international product, but would help in controlling traffic from any remote location. Telecom and Law Minister Kapil Sibal handed over the technology to the CDAC-led consortium of eight Indian companies for commercial production. The government will charge a royalty of Rs 15,000 for every Wireless Traffic Control System (WiTraC) that will be installed. It can be mounted on poles without any effort to dig roads etc for laying wires. The system can be controlled from any remote location without the need of traffic police to visit the spot. It has a 72-hour power back-up.