A Supreme Court decision on Wednesday to alleviate the smog-choked capital has unsettled India's car industry, which says an uneven, haphazard policy makes it hard to plan investments and allows damaging regulatory arbitrage across states.
India's carmakers and dealers called for a clear, nationwide policy to combat air pollution, after a crackdown on diesel cars and trucks in New Delhi, which campaigners have vowed to extend to other cities. A Supreme Court decision on Wednesday to alleviate the smog-choked capital has unsettled India's car industry, which says an uneven, haphazard policy makes it hard to plan investments and allows damaging regulatory arbitrage across states. "To improve the air quality ... we must take a comprehensive view of various factors causing pollution," said Vikram Kirloskar, vice-chairman of Toyota Motor Corp's local unit. According to the World Health Organization, 13 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in India. To combat this, the government is debating policies including reducing cars in Delhi or offering cash to drivers who scrap old vehicles. But the government has yet to announce a holistic policy or target more difficult causes of pollution such as generators or even motorbikes, a family vehicle for millions of middle class Indians. Wednesday's decision, the Supreme Court said in its order, would not hit "the common man". New Delhi has one of the world's worst air pollution levels, but other cities such as Patna and Kolkata in India's east and Mumbai in the west also frequently register hazardous levels. On Thursday, according to measurements taken by the US Consulate, Delhi registered an air quality index of 393 - well over the 301 level that marks "hazardous" levels. But Kolkata was "very unhealthy" at 212 and Mumbai "unhealthy" at 172 - all higher than Beijing, which was at 151. "There needs to be a clearly laid out roadmap of what the government expects from the (auto) industry for the next 5-10 years, so companies get time to adapt and respond," said Mohit Arora, executive director at consultancy JD Power Asia Pacific.
PASSAGE TO INDIA
Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at India's Center for Science and Environment said the decision to ban large diesel vehicles in Delhi would trigger similar moves elsewhere, making a comprehensive solution essential. "We need a national solution to the diesel problem," she said, adding that the government should either equalize the price of petrol and diesel or tax diesel cars at a higher rate until India adopts unified, stricter emission norms. Analysts say that among those who have the most to lose from India's haphazard policies are dealers selling cars made by Toyota, Mahindra & Mahindra, Daimler AG's and Tata Motors ' luxury arm, Jaguar Land Rover, brands who make large diesel cars. Dealers in Delhi are already trying to send about 2,000 unsold - now banned - diesel vehicles to other dealerships in India or back to carmakers, said K.V.S. Rao, president of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA). "This is just a trigger, a starting point," said Rao. For Rao, a bigger worry is the call for a tax on all diesel vehicles - to be heard by the Supreme Court on January 5.
"A section of truck owners' association is demanding a rate of Rs 17.63 per km while the mining firms, already reeling under the impact of a meltdown in iron ore prices and plethora of taxes, have offered to pay Rs 8 per km," the firm said in a statement.
Mining conglomerate Vedanta said its arm Sesa Goa may suspend iron ore mining in Goa due to the ongoing dispute between the firm and truck operators. "A section of truck owners' association is demanding a rate of Rs 17.63 per km while the mining firms, already reeling under the impact of a meltdown in iron ore prices and plethora of taxes, have offered to pay Rs 8 per km," the firm said in a statement. If mining is suspended, this will be a huge set back to the mining operations in the state that had resumed only in August this year after Supreme Court lifted its 2012 ban, the statement added. "There is no point in mining the iron ore if it cannot be transported. So it is likely that mining operations in Goa will have to be suspended till a lasting solution is reached with transporters," Sesa Goa's A N Joshi said. At present, Vedanta is the only miner that has restarted operations in Goa. While 600 truck owners who have agreed to the rate of Rs 8 per km, they are facing trouble in transporting iron ore due to protests from other operators. The problem, which started in October, has aggravated and some of the truck operators carrying the iron ore have been reportedly attacked and their vehicles were damaged, Vedanta said. "When international iron ore prices were USD 110 a tonne, we were paying Rs 11 per km. When prices were USD 40 per tonne negotiations started at Rs 6.40/tonne/km. We agreed to Rs 8 when price had dropped to USD 32 a tonne ton. However, iron ore prices have now crashed to USD 20...," Joshi said. He added that the company is all trying to arrive at an amicable solution so that mining operations in Goa do not suffer. Given the continuous attacks on the trucks carrying the iron ore, the Goa High Court had ordered the state government to provide police security to the vehicles. Yet, attacks have continued, he said. "While miners have been grappling with truck owners on the transportation charges, their problems have been compounded by timing restrictions imposed by the high court. Thus, out of 24 hours, the iron ore trucks are permitted to operate for only 9 hours," Joshi rued. Mining activities in Goa were stopped in September 2012, following the Shah Commission report on illegal mining. In November 2013, Supreme Court allowed the state government to e-auction extracted iron ore lying at jetties and mining plots. Subsequently, in April 21, 2014, the apex court lifted the ban on iron ore activities in Goa with a cap of 20 million tonnes per year.
On the annual Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard for 2015, prepared by European Commission, Volkswagen is followed by Samsung, Microsoft, Intel and Novartis in the top-five.
Tata Motors has entered the top-50 league of the world's biggest companies in terms of their research & development (R&D) investments, topped by German automaker Volkswagen. On the annual Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard for 2015, prepared by European Commission, Volkswagen is followed by Samsung, Microsoft, Intel and Novartis in the top-five. Tata Motors has moved up from 104th position last year to 49th now and has also shown the largest increase in R&D investments on the list. However, most of this R&D is at its UK subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover. In the expanded list of the world's 2,500 top R&D firms, there are a total of 26 Indian companies, as against 829 from the US, 360 from Japan, 301 from China, 114 from Taiwan, 80 from Switzerland and 27 each from Canada and Israel. There are 608 companies from the EU countries, including 136 from Germany, 135 from the UK, 86 from France, 42 from Sweden and 32 from Italy. India is overall placed at 15th position in terms of the number of companies on the list. Among other Indian companies, Dr Reddy's Laboratories is ranked 404th; M&M 451st; Reliance Industries ; 540th; Lupin 624th; Sun Pharma 669th; Cipla 831st, and Infosys 884th. Other Indian firms on the list include ONGC (Oil & Natural Gas Corporation), Tata Steel , Wockhardt , Cadila Healthcare , Bajaj Auto , Hindalco , BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd), Piramal Enterprises , Wipro , Helios and Matheson , HCC (Hindustan Construction Company), Ashok Leyland , Apollo Tyres , TCS (Tata Consultancy Services), Suzlon Energy , TVS Motor , Force India, HCL Tech and Glenmark . While the top five companies globally have retained their respective positions, Google has moved up to the sixth spot (from 9th), while Pfizer has moved to 10th (from 15th). Roche, Johnson and Johnson and Toyota are ranked 7th, 8th and 9th, respectively. Tata Motors stock price On December 21, 2015, Tata Motors closed at Rs 380.30, up Rs 2.10, or 0.56 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 612.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 279.15. The latest book value of the company is Rs 78.55 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 4.84.
The Committee of Directors' has authorised the bank to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore by way of "issue of Basel III compliant Tier-II bonds, at par, through private placement", SBI said in a filing to the BSE.
Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) today said it plans to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore by issuing tier-II bonds on private placement basis. The Committee of Directors' has authorised the bank to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore by way of "issue of Basel III compliant Tier-II bonds, at par, through private placement", SBI said in a filing to the BSE. SBI said the amount may be raised in a single or more tranches and the coupon rate on the bonds may be decided at the time to actual issuance. According to a Fitch Ratings report, Indian banks need USD 140 billion capital to ensure full compliance with the Basel III norms by 2018-19. The Basel III norms are aimed at bolstering banks' resilience. Basel III capital regulations are being implemented in India with effect from April 1, 2013 in a phased manner.
The warning letter follows inspection of the facility in September 2014 by US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspectors.
Drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries today said it has received a warning letter from the USFDA over violation of manufacturing norms in its facility at Halol in Gujarat. The warning letter follows inspection of the facility in September 2014 by US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspectors. "Post the September 2014 inspection, the USFDA has withheld future product approvals from the Halol facility. This situation may continue until all issues are resolved. Sun Pharma expects to request a re-inspection by USFDA upon completion of its remediation commitments," the company said in a statement. The firm and the Halol facility will continue to supply important drug products to meet its obligations towards the customers and the patients who use its drugs in the US and around the world, it added. "Sun Pharma will respond to this Warning Letter with a detailed plan within the stipulated time frame," it said. Commenting on the development, Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said," While our team is working hard to ensure that the commitments made to the USFDA in September 2014 are fully completed, we will continue to cooperate with the USFDA and undertake any additional steps necessary to ensure that the US agency is completely satisfied with our remediation of the Halol facility." He added, "We are pledged to being cGMP compliant and are committed to continuing to supply our customers and patients across the world with quality products that meet all specifications." Sun Pharma said it had responded to the USFDA inspection observations with a "robust remediation process that is still ongoing, with significant investments in automation and training to enhance its Quality Systems".
The acquisition is to strengthen HUL's leadership position in the personal care segment by providing an impetus to its presence in the evolving premium naturals segment, the company said in a statement.
FMCG major HUL will acquire premium natural haircare brands Indulekha and Vayodha from Mosons Group for Rs 330 crore in order to strengthen its personal care business. The acquisition is to strengthen HUL's leadership position in the personal care segment by providing an impetus to its presence in the evolving premium naturals segment, the company said in a statement. "The deal envisages the acquisition of the trademarks Indulekha and Vayodha, intellectual property, design and know-how, for a consideration of Rs 330 crore, payable upon closing of the transaction and a deferred consideration of 10 per cent on the domestic turnover of the brands each year, payable annually for a 5 year period commencing FY18," it added. Launched in 2009, Indulekha has a strong presence in the southern markets of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and recently forayed into Maharashtra. It had a turnover of Rs 100 crore for the year ending March 2015. Commenting on the development, HUL CEO and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta said: "The acquisition of Indulekha brings to HUL a premium brand with strong credentials around Ayurveda that will complement our existing portfolio and strengthen our presence in the Hair Care category". The transaction is "subject to fulfillment of certain conditions" and both parties will work together to complete it over the next few months. "Mosons will continue to manage the business until the completion of the transaction," the statement added.
Cipla MD and Global Chief Executive Officer Subhanu Saxena said, "The launch of Ledipasvir-Sofosbuvir is a further step to facilitate the optimal treatment for patients suffering from genotype 1 hepatitis C virus."
Drug major Cipla has launched generic tablets used for treating of hepatitis C under the brand name 'Hepcvir-L' costing Rs 25,000 for a bottle of 28 tablets in India. Cipla MD and Global Chief Executive Officer Subhanu Saxena said, "The launch of Ledipasvir-Sofosbuvir is a further step to facilitate the optimal treatment for patients suffering from genotype 1 hepatitis C virus." The company's product is a generic version of the S-based drug maker Gilead Sciences Inc's Harvoni tablets. "Globally, the burden of Hepatitis C is around 185 million. About 12-18 million Indians are infected with this disease," it added. Hepcvir-L is the first once-a-day, fixed dose oral combination therapy that has been approved for chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 patients, Cipla said. The company's current portfolio includes over 1,500 products across therapeutic categories. Cipla was trading at Rs 646.15, up 0.62 percent, on the BSE.
