Finnair to expand its network to more Indian cities

NEW DELHI: Terming India as a "priority destination", Nordic carrier Finnair on Thursday said that in addition to Delhi, it would soon link more cities directly with Finland.

Important cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad are under consideration for starting Finnair services, Kari Stolbow, Director, Indian Sub-continent, Finnair, told reporters here.

He said, meanwhile, Finnair Cargo will launch services between Mumbai and Helsinki in co-operation with Nordic Global Airlines from September 16 this year.

Terming Delhi-Helsinki route as profitable, he said the airline's commercial income increased by around 25 per cent in the first six months of this year compared to corresponding period last year.

Finnair had launched direct flight between Delhi and Helsinki on October 30, 2007.

It is running a flight on the route six days a week except for Tuesday, Stolbow said.

The flights between Mumbai and Helsinki were suspended in March 2009 due to fall in traffic, he said.

The major share of Finnair passengers from India are from business sector.

"Corporate passengers constitute 75 per cent while leisure travellers form 25 per cent of our traffic from India," he said.

Stolbow added the airline would work closely with leading corporate houses like Wipro, Tata Consultancy and Nokia which have establishments in Finland to increase number of corporate flyers.

He further said Finnair has forged tie-up with Kingfisher airlines to mobilise more passengers to Finland from different cities within India.

Bangalore Metro to chug from mid-September

BANGALORE: The long-delayed Metro rail service in this tech hub is set to roll out after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicates the first phase of the multi-crore project to the nation mid-September, a top official said here Tuesday.

"The first phase (Reach-1) of the 'Namma Metro' service will commence after the prime minister flags off the inaugural trip in the second week of next month. The tentative launch dates are Sep 15 or Sep 17 depending on his (PM) convenience," state-run Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) managing director N. Sivasailam told reporters here.

The Reach-1 of the Rs.11,609-crore (revised cost) mega project from M.G. Road in city centre to Baiyappanahalli in the eastern suburb covers 6.7 km on elevated tracks with four stations in between.

"The railway safety commissioner (D.K. Singh) of South Central Railway will inspect the Metro facility, stations, signalling system and commuter facilities, including security measures, Sep 4-6 to certify them for commencing operations. We have set Sep 10 as the last date for securing Railway Board clearance to pave way for its inaugural run," Sivasailam said.

In the run-up to the D-day, Karnataka Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda reviewed the project works and commuted in the three-coach Metro Rail from M.G. Road to Baiyappanahalli with state Transport Minister R. Ashoka, Law Minister Suresh Kumar, lawmakers and senior officials.

"The prime minister has agreed to inaugurate the service soon after the operator (BMRCL) receives the mandatory clearances. We hope to launch the service from Sept 15 or 17 and offer it to the eight-million citizens as a Dasara gift," Gowda told reporters after riding on the Metro for about 15 minutes each.

Though Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the project June 24, 2006, the corporation only began civil works in 2007 and executed Reach-1 in March 2011, 24 months behind the original schedule. This led to a cost escalation of Rs.3,451 crore from the estimated cost of Rs.8,158 crore.

"We have invested Rs.4,000 crore so far in the project, including Rs.360 crore on civil works. We will operate five trains of three coaches in both directions with 10 minutes frequency from morning till late night to ferry about 1,000 commuters on each trip," BMRCL spokesman B.L.Y. Chavan told IANS.

The first phase comprising two corridors will cover a total of 42.3 km across the city, with 18.1 km on east-west corridor and 24.2 km on north-south corridor, including 8.8 km underground in the city centre. There will be 41 stations.

Being built on public-private partnership model, with the state and central governments holding 15 per cent equity each (Rs.1,224 crore), the project has 25 per cent (Rs.2,040 crore) as subordinate debt and 45 per cent senior term debt from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Delhi Metro hikes parking fees from September 8

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is hiking its parking fees from Sep 8 onwards, according to a DMRC official.

The monthly parking fee for car goes up to Rs.625 from Rs.500; motorcycle, scooter and autorickshaw to Rs.300 from Rs.250; and cycle-rickshaw to Rs.30 from Rs.20.

"The fee at Metro stations is much less than those levied by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)," the DMRC official said.

The increase apart, the DMRC also introduced a monthly parking pass Thursday at select stations.

"These monthly passes will be issued to any regular commuter using smart card, provided they have used their smart card for at least 20 days in August," the DMRC official said.

To avail this facility, the commuter should give a request letter with the copies of driving licence, registration certificate and smart card at the 18 stations earmarked.

The 18 stations are: Dilshad Garden, Jhilmil, Shahdara, Seelampur, Tis Hazari, Pulbangash, Pratap Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Inder Lok, Kanhaiya Nagar, Rohini West, Rithala, GTB Nagar, Patel Chowk, RK Ashram, Moti Nagar, Janakpuri East and Uttam Nagar East.

The Delhi Metro makes over 2,400 trips per day, traversing about 69,000 km and ferrying around 17 lakh passengers on working days.

2G scam: No Dayanidhi Maran role in Aircel deal, CBI tells Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday told the Supreme Court that there was no evidence to suggest that former communications minister Dayanidhi Maran used coercive methods to force C. Sivasankaran to sell his stakes in telecom company Aircel to Malaysia-based Maxis group.

Senior counsel K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the probe agency, told the apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice A.K. Ganguly that the CBI "may examine" the then finance minister Jaswant Singh over alleged wrongdoings in the communications ministry in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government.

He told the court that Jaswant Singh headed the empowered group of ministers (EGOM) when Arun Shourie was the communications minister between 2003-04. The CBI told the court that it would complete its investigation into suspicious transactions linked to the 2G allocation by Sep 31.

Talking about allegations against Maran, Venugopal said there was no evidence of coercion used by DMK leader Maran in the sale of Aircel by Sivasankaran to Maxis. Maxis was in touch with Maran before Sivasankaran off-loaded his stakes in the telecom company.

DMK spokesperson Elangovan told IANS in Chennai: "The whole 2G case is without any evidence. The cases against Raja and Kanimozhi will also fail."

The CBI told the apex court that there was deliberate and undue delay on the part of the DoT (department of telecommunication) and the (then) minister in the issuance of letter of intent to Aircel under its previous owner and "undue favour was shown" the moment the company was taken over by the Maxis group.

It was alleged that Maran created a situation that forced Sivasankaran to sell his stake in Aircel to Maxis group, believed to be close to the minister's family.

Venugopal also gave to court the CBI's status report on its investigations into the 2G scam in a sealed cover. One report each was submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax department.

The CBI said the investigation into the alleged wrongdoings in the communications ministry was broadly in four parts dealing with the tenures of communications ministers Pramod Mahajan (2002-03), Arun shourie (2003-04), Dayanidhi Maran (2004-07) and A. Raja (2007-10).

Venugopal said that the CBI found little evidence of lapses during Arun Shourie's tenure, but there were variations in the policy and its implementation in Pramod Mahajan's tenure and it was being further investigated.

4G, 3G to grow parallelly in India: Ericsson

NEW DELHI: Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson on Thursday said that the fourth generation (4G) services for wireless communication will not effect the existing 3G services and the two will grow parallelly in the country.

"4G will complement 3G with its data services. We are optimistic 4G will be a big market in India. In most cases, 3G and 4G would go parallelly," Mikael Back, vice president of product and portfolio management, business unit networks, Ericsson AB, told IANS.

Ericsson is working with many players in India on long term evolution (LTE) technology. The company has already conducted field trials of 4G LTE mobile technology with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Qualcomm and is in talks with other players as well.

LTE is the global standard for the fourth generation of mobile broadband and is being supported by all major players in India. LTE is expected to transform the mobile-broadband user experience by providing the ultra-high data speeds needed for services such as internet TV, mobile video-blogging, online video games and the mobile office environment.

RIL won pan-India broadband wireless access (BWA) licence in the BWA spectrum auction last year, while Qualcomm acquired BWA licenses in four circles including Mumbai and Delhi. Aircel, Bharti, Tikona and Augre also won BWA licenses in select circles.

"The market in India is very good and we will be extremely strong," said Back.

Talking about the pricing of LTE devices, Back said that unlike 3G devices, LTE devices will be expensive in the initial phase, but prices will slide once there is a growth in demand.

The roll out of 3G services in India begun last year in a phased manner. However, the service has so far garnered lukewarm response from the price sensitive Indian market.

Great Lakes Institute of Management to invest Rs 100 cr on new campus at Gurgaon

NEW DELHI: Great Lakes Institute of Management on Thursday said it will invest Rs 100 crore to set up a new campus at Gurgaon in the next two years.

The management institute, which on Thursday announced the launch of its working professional programme in the National Capital Region, currently runs one institute in Chennai.

"A new campus would be set up in Gurgaon with an investment of Rs 100 crore in the next two years," Great Lakes Institute of Management said in a statement.

The Gurgaon campus will offer programmes for working professionals as well as the full-time flagship one-year PGPM (Post Graduate Professional Programme in Management).

The Chennai campus, which has also been set up with an investment of around Rs 100 crore, has been offering programmes for working professionals including the 2-year PGWPM (Post Graduate Working Professional Program in Management) weekend programme and a new PGWPM (Energy).

"With this launch of our programmes in Delhi-NCR, we wish to bring the excellence in management education developed in Chennai over the past eight years closer to students and corporations in Delhi-NCR," Great Lakes Founder and Dean Bala V Balachandran said.

Great Lakes is led by Padma Shri awardee Bala V Balachandran, who is the J L Kellogg Distinguished Professor Emeritus at US-based Kellogg Business School, USA.

SCI to take up intra-industry complaints on fast track

NEW DELHI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) on Monday said it will introduce a fast track redressal procedure, effective from September 1, 2011, for speedy resolution of intra-industry complaints.

For the purpose, the advertising industry watchdog has set up the Fast Track Complaints Council (FTCC), which is aimed at providing decisions regarding a complaint within seven days of registration.

"With the introduction of the fast track procedure, ASCI aims to provide a platform for member advertisers to quickly resolve intra-industry complaints against advertisement through industry self-regulation process instead of seeking expensive court litigation," ASCI Secretary General Alan Collaco said in a statement.

The FTCC is a 14-member panel, nominated from the existing 21 Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) members.

"The whole process from receiving the complaint to the decision of the FTCC is expected to take no more than seven working days...If the complaint is upheld then the advertiser will have to communicate the decision to withdraw the ad to the media concerned within two working days from notification of the FTCC's decision," the statement said.

The fast track procedure will be reviewed by the ASCI board for a period of 4 to 6 months of its commencement.

"Based on the results and experience, the Secretary General and the FTCC will make recommendations to the ASCI Board for making appropriate amendments, if any, to the Fast Track Procedure," the statement added.

L&T construction bags Rs 797 crore order

NEW DELHI: L&T Construction on Thursday said it has bagged Rs 797 crore orders in building and factories segment.

"A major order Rs 797 crore has been secured from a leading developer for mixed use construction comprising predominantly of residential, including retail and commercial developments at Mumbai," the company said in a statement.

The above order enhances orderbook of the company that has secured design and build contracts for airports, IT parks, commercial and residential space, it said.

Larsen & Toubro had last month bagged Rs 1,210 crore order from Qatar General Electricity & Water Corp for supply and construction of sub-stations. The order was for supply and construction of thirteen extra high voltage substations in Qatar.

Cabinet approves 5 pc govt stake sale in BHEL

NEW DELHI: The union cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to sell 5 per cent of the government's stake in power gear maker Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), the government said in a statement.

The government will sell 5 per cent of its 67.7 per cent holding in BHEL through a follow-on public share offering. At current prices, the stake is valued at about $940 million.

The stake sale is part of the government's plan to raise 400 billion rupees ($8.7 billion) through stake sales in state-run firms in the current fiscal year to March 2012.

BHEL has shortlisted Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and two Indian banks to manage the share sale, sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters last month.

ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) to invest $ 1.5 bn in an Iraq oil block

NEW DELHI: ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), may invest over $ 1.5 billion in exploring for oil in a block that was awarded to it by the erstwhile Saddam Hussein regime.

"We are nearing finality on the contract for Block-8. It is likely to be signed in next six months," an official said.

Block-8, located in the western desert in southern Iraq bordering Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, was awarded to OVL in November 2000 by the then Saddam Hussein government. However, the government formed after the US invasion of the oil-rich country, sought re-negotiation of the contract which has now been concluded.

The post-Saddam Hussain regime had initially agreed to signing of a Production Sharing Contract (PSC), where OVL would have got ownership of the oil it produced from Block-8. But the success of post-war licensing rounds, where global majors committed to develop oilfields for a small fee, has seen Baghdad change track and offer a service contract to OVL.

The block already has a discovery and is estimated to hold 645 million barrels of in-place reserves, of which 54 million are recoverable, he said, adding OVL has committed investing $ 86 million in two phases of exploration and $ 1.45 billion in development of the reserves thereafter.

The contract would be a service contract wherein OVL will be paid about 18 per cent rate of return on its investment. The company holds 100 per cent interest in the block.

"We are currently agreeing on finer details of the contract," he said.

Exploration and development contract for Block-8, Western Desert, was signed by OVL with the Oil Exploration Company of Iraq, on November 28, 2000, at New Delhi.

As per the 2000 contract, OVL was to reprocess and interpret existing 2-D seismic data. It was also to acquire, process and interpret 1,000 km of 2D and carry out 300 sq km of 3D seismic survey besides drilling two wells.

The service contract now being drawn would be similar to the one China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) had signed recently for developing Al-Ahdad oilfield in central Iraq. "It will be a service contract wherein OVL will be paid about 18 per cent rate of return on the investment it makes in finding and producing oil from Block 8," the official said.

It would act as the operator of the field until it recoups all its costs and set up a joint operating company with the local operator to take over once development costs have been repaid.

Baghdad has, however, refused the Tuba oilfield, for which OVL, in consortia with Reliance Industries and Algeria's Sonatrach, were in negotiations before the US attack on Iraq.