LIC chairman G Krishnamurthy has said that the institution's decision to sell ITC shares will be a business deal. ``We might think of selling to whoever gives us the best price,'' he said. LIC holds around 10 per cent stake in the tobacco comapany, and recently, there have been reports that BAT Industries is talking to various financial institutions to increase its stake in ITC.

Neyvelli CMD suspended from service

The public-sector Neyveli Lignite Corporation's chairman-cum-managing director PV Bhupathy, allegedly involved in a disproportionate wealth case, was suspended from service on Tuesday following a Presidential order, people familiar with the matter said. They added that the additional secretary in the Union coal ministry had assumed additional charge as the corporation's CMD.

Corporate Monitor

ONGC seeks marketing rights in IOC

ONGC has indicated that it will consider an investment in any new refinery of the Indian OilCorporation only if it is accompanied by marketing rights. A decision on this issue is expected to be taken jointly by the two navratnas by the end of this month.

M&M shelves plant plan

Tractor major Mahindra & Mahindra has decided to shelve its plan to invest Rs 500 crore in a heavyweight tractor-manufacturing plant to be set up in Andhra pradesh. Industry observers speculate that the reason could be the company's move to pick up a 51 per cent stake in the HMT tractor division.

RPG plans tyre-batteries chain foray

The RPG group, as part of its thrust in retail operations, plans a foray into the tyre-batteries-and-accessories chain in the country. The outlets will be multi-brand one-stop destinations providing the full range of automobile tyres, batteries and related acessories to even car-servicing.

Proposal to test-run Mandya under consideration

The Centre is considering a proposal of the Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers to test-run the ailing Mandya National Paper Mills, awholly owned subsidiary of Hindustan Paper Corp. Tamil Nadu Newsprint was approached by Hindustan Paper after Indian Granite Pvt Ltd, which expressed interest in buying Mandya, failed to put in the token credibility amount of Rs 2 crore.

Banking & Finance

Discreationary refinance for dealers

The Reserve Bank may do away with the discretionary refinance available to primary dealers in the new agreement that will signed between it and the dealers for the next financial year. People familiar with the matter say that the central bank might replace with a refinance facility, which can be availed of at times of extreme difficulty.

Economy & Infrastructure

Ordinance to hike rent

With the Bombay Rent Control Act, 1947, set to expire by March 31, the state government plans to introduce an ordinance by that date to raise the standard rents enjoyed by multinationals having a paid-up share capital of more than Rs 1 crore. The ordinance is to be implemented with immediateeffect.

CR opposes power-tariff hike

The Central Railway has protested against the steep hike in power tarriff by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board. According to a spokesperson, the Central Railway has also demanded representation on the Electricity Regulatory Authority, as it is the largest consumer of electricity in the state.

Politics & Policy

Uniform sales tax levy on drugs

The Rajya Sabha committee on petitions is looking into a demand seeking levy of uniform sales tax on medicines across the country besides including drugs in the declared goods list. At present, the complex nature of varying taxes leads to a medicine being available at varying prices in different states.

Centre to announce new textile policy soon

The Centre will soon announce the new textile policy which was expected to come into force in the next financial year, minister of textiles Kashiram Rana said in Calcutta on Wednesday. According to Rana, the current policy, framed in 1985, wasirrelevant to industry's present requirements.

Court allows ED to examine Karsan executives

A special court on Wednesday allowed the Enforcement Directorate to examine two Karsan executives, key accused in the Rs 133-crore Urea scam, in connection with related Fera violation cases. Special judge VB Gupta also rejected bail applications of the two executives Tunkay Alankus and Cihan Karanci, lodged in Tihar jail.