INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - JULY - AUGUST - 2007

The Month that was ...

News & important developments from the most prospective of the New World markets.... India. Our effort is to provide you with the latest and relevant developments that take place in the Indian business, economic and legal environment.

ECONOMIC & LEGAL NEWS

SUPREME COURT BENCH ASKS DELHI UNIVERSITY AND SYMBIOSIS TO FREEZE OBC SEAT RESERVATION: THE Supreme Court has restrained the Delhi University and the Pune-based Symbiosis International University from providing 27% seat reservation for OBCs. More....

MRTPC ORDERS PROBE INTO BUSINESS PRACTICES OF 14 CEMENT MANUFACTURERS: ALLEGATIONS of cartelisation continue to dog the cement industry. The country's trade practices regulator, MRTPC ordered an investigation into the business practices of 14 leading cement manufacturers. More....

YAKUB MEMON GETS DEATH FOR '93 BLASTS: A SPECIAL anti-terror court sentenced Yakub Memon, brother of prime accused Tiger Memon, to death for his role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts that killed 257 people. More....

TADA COURT PRONOUNCES 6 YEARS RI FOR SANJAY DUTT: DON'T be sentimental. These were the words from Justice PD Kode for Sanjay Dutt as he sentenced the weeping Bollywood star to six years of rigorous imprisonment, ending a prolonged and agonising wait for the actor. More....

SC DISMISSES ORISSA'S PLEA TO INCREASE JOB QUOTA: THE Supreme Court has dismissed the petition filed by the Orissa government seeking to set aside the judgement of the Orissa High Court restraining it from enhancing the reservation ceiling from 50% to 66.75% in government posts. More....

DYING DECLARATION CAN BE SOLE BASIS FOR CONVICTION, RULES SUPREME COURT: THE Supreme Court has ruled that a dying declaration can be the sole basis for a conviction, without any need for corroboration, if the court is satisfied that the declaration was true and voluntary. More....

CHEQUE BOUNCE: LIABLE ONLY IF INVOLVED DIRECTLY: The Supreme Court has ruled that in a cheque bounce case, the liability of a company's director can be inferred only if it can be proved that the accused was in charge for the conduct of the company at the time of the alleged offence. More....

HC SETS ASIDE NOVARTIS' PATENTS APPEAL: THERE is good news for cancer patients in the country. The Madras High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Swiss pharma major Novartis AG challenging the provisions of the Indian Patents Act. More....

Others..

BUSINESS NEWS

PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS INVEST $3.2 B IN Q1: PRIVATE Equity firms invested about $3.2 billion in 76 Indian companies during the quarter ended June, against 67 deals totalling $1.9 billion during the same period last year. More....

DLF MAKES RS 579-CR PROFIT: COUNTRY'S largest real estate company, DLF Ltd has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,515.48 crore for quarter ending June, with consolidated revenues of Rs 3,120.98 crore for FY 2007-08. More....

MCKINSEY FILES WIND-UP PLEAS AGAINST RIL AND RCOM: GLOBAL consultancy firm McKinsey & Company has filed two separate petitions against Reliance Industries (RIL) and Reliance Communications (RCOM) for non-payment of dues worth Rs 27 crore. More....

INDIA, PAKISTAN TO SEEK GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS ON BASMATI JOINTLY: INDIA and Pakistan have agreed to jointly file application for geographical indications (GIs) on basmati, ending their dispute over the premium long-grain aromatic rice. More....

SUPREME COURT SETS GUIDELINES FOR ENCASHMENT OF BANK GUARANTEES: IN a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has laid down the guidelines pertaining to the encashment of a bank guarantee or letter of credit. More....

NEW RESTRICTIONS ON RAISING FUNDS VIA ECB: THE government has put fresh restrictions on raising of foreign funds through external commercial borrowing (ECB). Companies would now be able to raise only upto $20 million for rupee expenditure that too with prior RBI approval. More....

BHARTI WAL-MART IN JOINT VENTURE: Bharti Enterprises finally signed two separate agreements with Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer. More....

Others..

NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND JOINT VENTURES

GOOGLE BUYS 30% STAKE IN APIDC VENTURE FUND: AS PART of its strategy to invest in technology startups in India, Google is acquiring close to 30 % stake in a venture capital fund floated by Ventureast and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (APIDC) . More....

BHARTI, ERICSSON SIGN $2B NETWORKING DEAL: BHARTI Airtel, India's largest mobile operator has awarded a record $2-billion network outsourcing, maintenance and management contract to Swedish telecom infrastructure major Ericsson. More....

WIPRO BUYS OUT US IT SERVICES CO FOR $600M, MARKING THE LARGEST ACQUISITION IN INDIAN IT SPACE: THERE'S no stopping Wipro's acquisition juggernaut. The software behemoth unveiled its biggest buyout till date, and the largest for the Indian IT industry. Wipro Technologies has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Nasdaq-listed Infocrossing for $18.70 per share. More....

YASH BIRLA GROUP BUYS OUT US BASED KENNAMETAL IN JV FOR RS 100 CR: THE Yash Birla group has bought the 44.5% stake held by US-based Kennametal in JV firm Birla Kennametal for approximately Rs 100 crore. More....

Others..