Singapore wants to strengthen ties with Assam and North East via trade and commerce, said the country&rsquo;s foreign minister K Shanmugam.

Singapore eyes economic ties with North East

Business Standard

The Odisha government plans to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to streamline efforts for optimum utilisation of funds to help achieve inclusive growth in areas affected by mining activities.

Odisha moots SPV for mines area development

The tussle between state mining department and mine lessees deviating from mineral and environment laws seems to be continuing unabated. The department which has stepped up the ante against errant miners has sought a detailed report from the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) on all lessees that have violated &lsquo;consent to operate&rsquo; guidelines of the board.

Mines dept seeks report from SPCB on errant miners

The management and pilots of debt-trapped carrier Kingfisher Airlines are set for another showdown. Nearly 50 Kingfish-er pilots from Delhi reported sick on Thursday, leading to cancellations of 14 flights. The airline could face more trouble as pilots from other bases, including Mumbai and Bangalore, are threatening to join the agitation over salary delays.

Kingfisher in crisis as pilots go on strike 

SKS Microfinance no longer wants to be known as an Andhra-based company. It has decided to shift its headquarters to Mumbai.

SKS shifts base to shed Andhra tag

Ujjal Kumar Roy has joined the Paradip refinery of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) as executive director (core group). Roy, a graduate in chemical engineering from Jadhavpur university joined Gujarat refinery of the state run oil company in 1980. He has served IOCL in various capacities and different locations since 1980. Roy has rich and varied experience of more than 30 years in production, human resource, technical services and project disciplines.

IOCL`s Paradip refinery gets new executive director

Value &amp; Budget Housing Corporation (VBHC), promoted by former Citibankers Jerry (Jaithirth) Rao and P S Jayakumar, plans to launch six budget housing projects in the country by the end of this year.

IT entrepreneur Jerry Rao goes deeper into budget housing 

Aegis, the business process outsourcing and information technology company from the Essar Group, is aiming to be a $2-billion company in the next three years.

Aegis eyes $2 bn in revenue by 2015

Union Ministry of Steel has asked the state government to send quarterly monitoring report of sponge iron units flouting environment norms along with the reports of other measures taken to curb pollution.

Centre seeks report on polluting units

After deferring its initial public issue, Entertainment World Developers (EWDL), a partner of The Phoenix Mills, is looking to raise Rs 250 crore by selling stake in the company to private equity (PE) investors.

Phoenix Mills' partner firm plans to raise Rs 250 cr

Aditya Birla Retail Ltd, the retail arm of the over $28-billion Aditya Birla Group, is in the process of opening six hypermarket format stores &mdash; more. Megastores &mdash; across the country during the current financial year, according to CEO (hypermarkets division) Russell Berman.

Aditya Birla planning to open six more. megastores

Agriculture and construction-related products manufacturer Escorts on Thursday reported a 75 per cent fall in net profit at Rs 18.12 crore for the quarter ended March 31, against Rs 73.2 crore in the same quarter last year.

Escorts net falls 75% on weak tractor sales

State-run power producer NTPC Ltd on Thursday posted a 6.8 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 2,593.4 crore for the quarter ended March 31, impacted by high fuel costs. It had a net profit of Rs 2,781.8 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. The fuel costs grew by 17.7 per cent to Rs 41,635.5 crore, against Rs 35,373.8 crore in the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, a 25-year tax holiday granted to a joint venture of the company with a Sri Lanka government-owned power entity, Ceylon Electricity Board, has come in for intense debate in the Sri Lankan parliament.

High fuel cost hits NTPC profit 

Jyoti Agarwal, promoter of media firm DB Corp, on Thursday received good response to her offer for sale (OFS) of nine million shares at a minimum price of Rs 196 a share.

DB Corp's offer for sale receives full subscription

Cipla Ltd on Thursday reported a net profit of Rs 292 crore for the quarter ended March 31, compared to Rs 214 crore, a rise of 36 per cent. Gross revenue grew by 12 per cent to Rs 1,890 from Rs 1,687 crore. Domestic revenue grew by 15 per cent to Rs 855 crore from Rs 652 crore, on account of growth in anti-asthma, anti-biotics therapy segments.

Cipla Q4 up 36%

With the benchmark indices declining more than 10 per cent from the highs reached in February, a December-like pessimism seems to have returned to the markets.

Nervousness returns to the Street

Globally reputed business research and consulting firm Frost &amp; Sullivan (F&amp;S) on Thursday unveiled its investment roadmap for Odisha.

Frost & Sullivan unveils investment roadmap

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)&rsquo;s directive stating exporters would have to convert 50 per cent of their foreign exchange holding into rupees, would not have any significant impact on the export-driven Indian information technology (IT) services sector.

IT players to see limited impact 

Hit by a hike in excise duty, the sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&amp;HCVs) declined by 11.60 per cent last month -- to 19,914 units.

High excise duty dents medium, heavy commercial vehicle sales

Steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to augment dollar inflows would ease the pressure on the rupee&rsquo;s exchange rate, and the currency is unlikely to fall to fresh lows soon. However, developments in the euro zone, the strengthening dollar and global risk aversion may add to weak fundamentals like the widening current account deficit and a policy paralysis.

BS Reporter