Quick view : Lanco Infra carves out two subsidiaries

Lanco Infra carves out two subsidiaries

Lanco Infratech on Wednesday said it has carved out two subsidiaries for its thermal and hydro power generation businesses. Lanco Infratech has put in place Vamshi Industrial Power as a holding company for thermal special vehicles or projects and Vamshi Hydro Energies for hydro electric SPVs or hydro power plants, the company said in a filing to the BSE. This arrangement is with effect from March 31. These two holding companies are wholly-owned subsidiaries of power holding company Lanco Power, which itself is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lanco Infratech.

Kingfisher asked to pay R60 cr in service tax

Tax authorities have asked debt-laden Kingfisher Airlines to clear service tax dues of R60 crore ($11.84 million) at the earliest, a top finance ministry official said on Wednesday. There is no question of leeway to Kingfisher on payment of service tax, SK Goel, chairman of India?s Central Board of Excise and Customs, told reporters. Goel also said the airline?s bank accounts have been defrozen. Kingfisher?s billionaire chairman Vijay Mallya told its employees earlier this week that the company had paid R20 crore of service tax.

Educomp bags R209-cr order from Assam govt

Education solutions provider Educomp on Wednesday said its ICT division, Edureach, has bagged an order worth R209 crore from the Assam government under the ICT@Schools project. Educomp signed the agreement with Assam Electronics Development Corporation, government of Assam, on March 23 for the implementation of Rajiv Gandhi Computer Education Programme, Educomp said.

Toyota begins shipment of Etios to South Africa

Japanese auto major Toyota on Wednesday commenced the shipment of sedan ?Etios? and hatchback ?Etios Liva? to South Africa. At a function at the Ennore Port, the first batch of cars was exported to South Africa in the presence of top officials and India partner Kirloskar. ?We are happy to begin exports to South Africa. We have slightly modified the petrol cars for the exports. It is one of the big markets to us)? Toyota Kirloskar Motor deputy managing director (marketing) Sandeep Singh said.

Cisco invests in social venture fund Aavishkaar

Cisco has invested in social venture fund, Aavishkaar, which was started to promote development in rural and semi-urban India. Cisco will invest in Aavishkaar India II (Aavishkaar II) and collaborate with other investors to drive sustainable business models. Cisco aims to take advantage of Aavishkaar?s expertise and promote technology-enabled inclusive growth in the area of social entrepreneurship. Cisco is committed to India and sees investing in the country as an important way to help spread the benefits of technology to a wider group of people. Over the past few years Cisco has committed up to $200 million of venture capital investments to India.

Siam against import of cars from EU at lower duty

Automobile industry body Siam on Wednesday hit out at the government for discouraging manufacturing of big cars in India by increasing excise duty, while preparing to allow import of the same from Europe at a much lower duty. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) said while the government has increased excise duty on big cars to up to 27% in the Budget, it is considering cutting import duty on such cars from Europe to as low as 10% under the India-EU Free Trade Agreement. ?We are faced with a higher excise duty on cars other than small cars because they are for the rich. This has resulted in India not developing strength in bigger cars,? Siam senior director Sugato Sen said.

NTPC invites bids for 5 mt imported coal

Country?s largest power producer NTPC on Wednesday invited bids for supply of five million tonnes (mt) of imported coal to be utilised for 13 power plants. The fuel will be procured through international competitive bidding. The bidding documents for all the packages will be on sale from April 4 till April 25, according to the company. NTPC imported about 16 mt of coal in the financial year ended March, 2012.

Pharma cos need to educate patients: E&Y

With chronic diseases accounting for three-quarters of all healthcare spending in developed nations, life sciences companies will have to help patients adopt healthier behaviour and manage their diseases better, a report by Ernst & Young has said. Pharma and healthcare companies will be required to fundamentally reinvent their business models to make them more patient-centric and better able to drive behavioural changes in consumers, according to the Ernst & Young?s report.