New Delhi, February 10
There is fresh trouble brewing for Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL). After being named in the FIRs filed by the CBI with regard to allocation of some coal mines to it, the JSPL is now the focus of an Inter- Ministerial Committee (IMC) inquiry.

As per information put up in Parliament, the government has set up an IMC to inquire into the complaints received about the theft and sale of coal in open market involving JSPL’s coal mines in Chhattisgarh.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today, Minister of State for Coal Pratik Prakashbapu Patil said, "Complaints/representations from the Members of Parliament have been received during the year 2013-2014 regarding theft/sale of coal in open market... As regards Gare Palma IV/1 and IV/2 coal blocks (allocated to JSPL)...The government has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee on December 24, 2013 to inquire into the matter".

Question raised by members Kusum Rai and Prabhat Jha sought to know the details of complaints/representations received from MPs for illegal sale of coal in the open market at higher rates from captive coal blocks by private companies during 2013-14, state-wise along with the action taken thereon representation-wise; whether JSPL has illegally diverted coal worth rupees thousands of crore in open market at higher rates from its captive coal block in Chhattisgarh; if so, the details thereof since allocation, year-wise; and the details of action taken against the guilty companies, including JSPL in this regard, so far?

The minister further said that to improve monitoring of production and utilisation of coal from the captive blocks which have come under production, the state governments have been requested to include such monitoring as a regular agenda item in the meeting of the state- level Monitoring Committee constituted under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary of the state. 

Ashok Leyland, one of the biggest truck providers to the Indian Army, is ramping up its portfolio as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is increasingly looking at Indian suppliers since stalling the purchase of Czech-made multi-axle heavy duty trucks. V Sumantran, vice-chairman, Ashok Leyland, talks about his group’s two-pronged strategy during the just-concluded Defexpo in Delhi.

Q. Ashok Leyland has taken a big step into the defence sector. Your company has been a supplier of trucks to the Indian Army since long. There is a 155mm artillery gun mounted on your truck. Who is your foreign partner?

A. At this Defexpo, we are showcasing a two-pronged strategy going forward. On the one hand, we were producing ‘Stallion’ trucks. We now have ‘super-stallion’ trucks in 6x6, 8x8 and 10x10 format (figures denote the numbers of wheels on the either side). We also have a 4x4 variant. We have tripled our product portfolio in two years. The second prong of the strategy is to work with global weapon systems contractor to provide an integrated system. The gun on our platform is the French Nexter Ceaser 155 mm. It is integrated with ‘super stallion’ and it has been tested in France. This is a part of the mounted gun system tender of the Army.

Q. You have displayed a truck in 10x10 segment. Which is your foreign partner?

A. It has been indigenously designed and manufactured by Ashok Leyland.

Q. Was Ashok Leyland part of the truck trials carried out after Tatra purchase was stopped?

A. There have been a number of trials for various classes. It was for heavy vehicles in the 6x6 and 8x8 format and field artillery tractors in 6x6 format. We along with L&T have won the bid to supply multi-barrel rocket launchers.

Q. After the Tatra deal was cancelled, your company and your rivals (Tata and L&T) are being given added responsibility by the MoD. Do you think your company can meet the responsibility and the ruggedness of the Tatra truck?

A. Nobody can compete with us in terms of rugged products for military logistics. We have 70,000 ‘Stallions’ in the Army. During the Kargil conflict, there was rapid mobilisation and we had posted our service engineers in the frontline and achieved 95% uptime in Kargil. We have far more experience than Tatra in providing logistics support to the Army.

Q. How many of your vehicles can be mated with heavy equipment like 155mm artillery guns?

A. Everything like the 155mm or lighter one can be compatible. We have a lot of other applications that are mated like the Short Range Surface to Air Missiles (SRSAM).

Q. Will you have a separate defence vertical?

A. We have created Ashok Leyland Defence Systems. The focus was to bring in a core group of people to be more specifically focused.

Q. What are your company’s future plans?

A. We are a consortium partner with L&T for the future infantry combat vehicle and we are sure that we can make 12x12 trucks.

Mumbai, February 10
Tata Motors today reported an almost three-fold increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,804.80 crore in third quarter, driven by its British arm Jaguar Land Rover.

The company had posted a consolidated profit of Rs 1,627.5 crore in the same period of the previous financial year, the company said.

Net sales climbed 38.6% to Rs 63,536.06 crore from Rs 45,821.31 crore.

JLR's profit after tax during the period surged to £619 million from £296 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue advanced 40% to £5,328 million from £3804 million. — PTI

New Delhi, February 10
India has raised serious concerns over the the US drug regulator, USFDA's, audit inspections of Indian pharma companies which are vitiating the atmosphere.

India also pointed to the disproportionate penalties in some cases and said it would submit a discussion document on the issues to the US. The matter was raised by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma in his meeting with US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. Sharma said India would give a paper on some of the concerns on pharma companies.

India drew the Commissioner's attention to the fact that most of the time, audit inspections were not followed by discussions with companies. In some cases, clarifications were sought but even before a response was given by the companies, punitive decisions were taken by the FDA and also shared with regulators in other countries.This, in turn, was hurting the reputation and goodwill of Indian pharma companies, sources said. "Attention was also drawn to disproportionate penalties imposed by the USFDA on some companies," the off cial added. 

Karnal, February 10
Scientists fear change in the climate is likely to affect milk production in the coming year.

“The impacts of climate change are global, but countries like India are more vulnerable in view of the high population depending on agriculture. Around 1.5 million tonne of milk will reduce every year if the climate changes continue,” said Dr AK Srivastava, Director, National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), and president, National Academy of Dairy Science of India (NADSI).

“Although we are on top in the world with 132.8 million tonne milk production, the changing climate is a big challenge for animal production,” he added.

New Delhi, February 10
The government has extended the window for 10% stake sale in Engineers India Ltd (EIL) by two days to February 12, in the wake of strike by public sector bank employees. Initially, the issue was to close today.

Demanding higher wages, employees of PSU banks have gone on a two-day strike beginning today.

The government is selling over 3.36 crore shares in EIL through a FPO and the price band is Rs 145-150 apiece.— PTI