New Delhi, June 17
Taking Vodafone's disclosure that India was among the 29 nations seeking access to its network to intercept calls, text messages and e-mails seriously, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to look into the matter.

Addressing the media today, Prasad said, "I have asked my department to examine the whole issue in consultation with them (Vodafone) and thereafter whatever appropriate follow up has to be taken".

Vodafone in its Law Enforcement Disclosure report has said India was among the 29 nations that sought access to its network to intercept calls, text messages and e-mails last year.

Asked about the issue of retrospective taxation and tax cases relating to companies such as Vodafone and Nokia, Prasad said he would not specifically talk about any particular company but said retrospective taxation should be avoided.

He, however, said the Finance Ministry has prioritised resolution of tax disputes involving Vodafone.

Vodafone Group PLC became India's largest overseas corporate investor when it acquired Hutchison Whampoa's Indian mobile assets in 2007 as part of its strategy of chasing growth in emerging markets.

The authorities argued that the transaction was liable to be taxed in India. Vodafone rejected the claim, saying that even if tax was due, it should be paid for by the seller rather than the buyer. The $2.2 billion standoff has played out in courts across the country ever since.

He said around 2,50,000 village panchayats in the country would be provided broadband connectivity within three years.

He said that improvement of performance of BSNL and MTNL was a key area of concern for his ministry and his objective was to improve the services of these organisations for better consumer satisfaction.

The government was committed to improving the telecom network in the north-eastern region and around 8,000 mobile towers would be set up at an approximate cost of Rs 5,000 crore, he said.

New Delhi, June 17
Banks have so far disbursed over Rs 4,000 crore interest-free loans of the total Rs 6,600 crore approved by the government to cash-starved sugar mills for clearing dues to cane farmers.

In December, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved Rs 6,600 crore interest-free loans to the sugar industry exclusively for clearing sugarcane arrears. It decided to give loans via banks equivalent to the excise duty paid by the mills in the past three years.

"As on June 3, banks have disbursed Rs 4,072 crore interest-free loans to sugar mills," a senior Food Ministry official said.

Of which, Rs 1,412 crore and Rs 1,461 crore have been disbursed to mills located in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, the country's top-two sugar-producing states, he said.

The total interest burden, estimated at Rs 2,750 crore over the next five years, is being borne by the government. The Rs 80,000-crore sugar industry has been facing a cash crunch due to higher cost of production and lower selling prices in the wake of surplus output over the past few years. — PTI

Mumbai, June 17
Budget carrier SpiceJet today extended its special monsoon fare offer with a starting ticket price of Rs 1,999 (all inclusive) pan-India, a day after the newly launched AirAsia India announced Kochi as its third destination in the network at an all inclusive fare of Rs 500.

The offer is applicable to airline's all domestic destinations, including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai, a company official said.

The bookings under the extended offer can be made from June 17 to June 19 with a travel period validity starting from July 19 and lasting up to September 30, 2014, the company said.

AirAsia India, which entered the budget segment space with its first flight to Goa from Bangalore on June 12 is now all set to launch its flight services on the second route, Bangalore-Chennai-Bangalore from coming Thursday. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Expert panel for slashing duty on branded fuel
New Delhi: With sale of branded or premium petrol and diesel falling to almost nil due to high duties, a government-appointed expert panel has recommended slashing excise duty to make them at par with regular fuel. At present, the FinMin levies Rs 15.50/litre excise duty on premium petrol as compared to Rs 9.20/litre on regular fuel. — PTI

Cipla buys 60% stake in Sri Lankan company
New Delhi: Pharmaceutical firm Cipla Ltd on Tuesday said it has acquired 60% stake in a new company in Sri Lanka for nearly Rs 85 crore to market its product in the country. The new company will market the Cipla's products in Sri Lanka, it said. — PTI

ICICI launches ‘iMobile’ app for Windows phones
Mumbai: ICICI Bank on Tuesday launched mobile banking application ‘iMobile’ for Windows phones. It is available for download on the Windows Phone Store for mobile phones on the Windows 8 operating system. "With this app, our mobile banking application is now available on all major platforms, including iOS, Android and Blackberry," ICICI Bank director Rajiv Sabharwal said. — PTI

Idea shares spurt on more FII room to up stake
Mumbai: Shares of Idea Cellular on Tuesday rose nearly 4% following a move that allows FIIs to purchase up to 49% stake from 24% earlier in the telecom operator. Idea's stock ended at Rs 141.05, up 3.68% on the BSE. During the day, it surged 4.85% to Rs 142.65. — PTI

DLF becomes Ist developer to get ISO certification
New Delhi: DLF on Monday said it has become the country's first realty developer to get ISO 9001:2008 certification for development of housing and commercial projects. "DLF Home Developers is the first realty firm in the country to achieve this Quality Management System (QMS) accreditation," it said. — PTI