Iron ore prices are likely to harden in the domestic market in the next few months owing to shortage of the commodity in Karnataka. The supply from Karnataka, about 25 per cent of the national output, is likely to decline if the Supreme Court accepts the recommendations of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), for putting a cap on production at 30 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

Iron ore prices likely to increase on supply shortage

Business Standard

The panel appointed a year earlier by the Supreme Court to probe illegal mining in Karnataka has made several recommendations in its final report, with far-reaching implications. The final report was given to the SC on Friday.

SC panel recommends cap on Karnataka ore mining

The final report of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on illegal mining has many points that would cheer up environmentalists and non-government organisations. The CEC, in its report submitted to the Supreme Court last weekend, has recommended deletion of reference to the Western Ghats in the earlier report submitted by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).

CEC opposes iron ore mining in Western Ghats

Hubli-based transport major VRL Logistics Ltd (VRL) has firmed up plans to sell its wind power and cement business units and concentrate on its core business. The company, which operates India&rsquo;s largest fleet of trucks, is re-entering the media business with a new Kannada newspaper in the pipeline.

VRL Logistics set to exit wind power, cement businesses

Volvo Buses India Private Ltd (VBIPL), a subsidiary of Swedish bus maker Volvo Bus Corporation, is set to launch Volvo 8400 low-floor CNG city bus in India during July-August this year. The trials of CNG bus are presently going on in Delhi and Mumbai.

Volvo to launch CNG bus soon

Even as the mining industry and chambers of commerce have opposed the Union commerce ministry&rsquo;s proposal to partially canalise iron ore exports, the move is likely to come before the Cabinet for discussion next month.

Call on iron ore canalisation after polls

The Karnataka government has urged the Supreme Court to allow 117 mining companies to resume iron mining in the state. The Central Empowered Committee (CEC), appointed by the apex court to probe illegal mining in the state, had recently recommended for permitting these mines to restart mining.

Karnataka govt urges SC to allow 117 mining firms to restart ops

Duron Energy Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of US-based Distributed World Power, a maker of affordable off-grid solar energy solutions, is looking to raise up to $10 million (about Rs 50 crore) venture capital to fund its expansion in India.

Duron Energy plans expansion in India

Despite a halt on iron ore mining in Karnataka since July last year, the state government has earned a royalty revenue of Rs270 crore, about 62 per cent of the total royalty earnings in the last financial year. With two more months in the current financial year, royalty revenues are likely to go up further.

Karnataka rakes in Rs 270 cr royalty from iron ore e-auctions

The three major producers of sandalwood &mdash; Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu &mdash; have received lukewarm response from user industries and temple trusts for the auction of the precious wood. Of 150 tonnes put on auction last month by the three states together, hardly 12 tonnes have been sold.

Sandalwood finds few takers at auctions

India&rsquo;s iron ore exports are likely to hit a new low during the 2012-13 financial year and settle at about 40 million tonnes (mt), a drop of close to 35 per cent over the current year&rsquo;s estimates. Exports are estimated to decline to about 60 mt in 2011-12 from 100 mt in 2010-11, a fall of 40 per cent.

Iron ore exports to hit a new low in FY13

The long standing demand of the machine tool industry for setting up machine tool parks at select locations in the country may come to fruition, five years after its conception.

Machine tools sector to get a boost

The Schuler Group of Germany, a 170-year old Euro 1 billion manufacturer of metal-forming machine tools, is looking at India as a sourcing hub for forging components for its global manufacturing plants. The group has already started sourcing forging components through its Indian subsidiary Schuler India Pvt Ltd, and last year it sourced Rs 1 crore worth of components to begin with.

Schuler to source forging components from India

AMADA, the $2 billion Japanese machine tools major, is mulling over the plan to set up a manufacturing facility in India to produce sheet metal processing and laser cutting machines among others in the next five years.

AMADA plans expansion

Titan Industries Limited, the watch and jewellery major is looking at a capital expenditure of over Rs 200 crore in the fiscal 2012-13 to expand its retail network. For the current year, the company has spent around Rs 150 crore, about 35 per cent less than the budget earmarked for the year.

Titan plans Rs 200 cr expansion

The Hyderabad-based Global Hospitals Group is planning to invest over Rs 500 crore during 2012 to expand its hospital network as well upgrade existing hospitals with super-speciality cancer care centers. The group is in the process of equipping its hospitals with the latest advanced radiation therapy machine, TrueBeam STx imported from Germany, a senior executive of the company said.

Global Hospitals plans over Rs 500 cr expansion

The state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) is likely to start work on the first stage of 4,000 Mw ultra mega power project at Kudgi in Bijapur district shortly. Following the transfer of 1,923 acres land by the state government, the board of NTPC recently approved a proposal to take up the work for the first stage of 3x800 Mw project at an estimated investment of Rs 15,166 crore.

NTPC awaits MoEF nod for Kudgi power project

Small and marginal farmers with up to five acres holding in Karnataka may get their entire crops covered under crop insurance during the crop season of 2012-13 (kharif, rabi and summer). If everything goes well, nearly 5.5 million farmers in the state would get the benefit of crop insurance without having to pay a single rupee as premium.

Small, marginal farmers may get special cover

The Rs 1,000-crore per year premium soap market is set to get more competition from state-owned Karnataka Soaps &amp; Detergents Ltd (KS&amp;DL), which launched Mysore Sandal Millennium, priced at Rs 720 per 150g piece.

New tag for ultra luxury: A bar of soap at Rs 720

Sonata, the mass-market watch brand contributing to roughly half of Titan watch division&rsquo;s turnover, has launched a watch priced at Rs 225. Targeted at the &lsquo;bottom of the pyramid&rsquo;, it is touted as the cheapest branded watch in the country. Designed with cost-effective polyurethane material, the watch has a youthful appeal and comes loaded with features like a stop watch, light, alarm, day-date among others.

Sonata takes on small boys

The state-owned power producer, Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) is set to issue a request for proposal (RFP) to pre-qualified bidders for the EPC works for the proposed Bidadi Combined Cycle Power Project (BCCPP). The KPCL is developing the state&rsquo;s first LNG-based 700 Mw power project at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore at Bidadi, about 35 kms from Bangalore.

Mahesh Kulkarni