Reliance Jio’s plea on Airtel ads on internet speeds dismissed
In a setback to Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, a metropolitan magistrate at the Esplanade court in Mumbai has dismissed Jio’s plea that Bharti Airtel Ltd’s advertisements, proclaiming the network to be India’s fastest, amounts to conspiracy, defamation and breach of trust. The court in its order said in the era of technology, service providers or any other business run by firms are in competition and they claim themselves to be the best by way of advertisement of any mode in order to expand their own business.
NTPC seeks licence to set up charging stations for electric vehicles
State-controlled NTPC Ltd is exploring the possibility of securing a national licence for setting up charging stations for electric vehicles across states. Currently under The Electricity Act, 2003, a distribution licence is required to distribute power from the respective state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs). India’s largest power generation utility is seeking a pan-India licence as it will help scale up its EV charging business rapidly in the face of emerging competition.
Global investors line up for stake in Bhushan Steel
Debt-laden Bhushan Steel Ltd, which has been referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for insolvency proceedings, has caught the eye of several financial investors. According to at least two people aware of the developments, these include a joint Piramal Enterprises Ltd-Bain Capital Credit platform to invest in distressed assets, AION Capital, Oaktree Capital and Lone Star Funds.
“Of the various cases that have been referred to NCLT under the insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings, special situations investors such as Piramal-Bain, Aion, Oaktree and Lone Star have shown the strongest interest in Bhushan Steel,” said one of the persons cited above, requesting anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to reporters.
DMICDC project: Big players express interest for land in Greater Noida
DMICDC is still in the process of getting applications from potential investors to lease out land there and will soon finalise the list of eligible companies. (Representative Image) LG Electronics and Micromax are among a host of companies to have expressed interest for land developed by Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) in Greater Noida to set up units, sources told FE. DMICDC is still in the process of getting applications from potential investors to lease out land there and will soon finalise the list of eligible companies. While Micromax has formally applied for five hectares of land, LG has evinced interest in acquiring 10 hectares, said the sources. The base prices of land in the Greater Noida project for setting up manufacturing units range from Rs 5,100-11,000 per sq metre (the bigger the size, the lower could be the per unit rates), while those for setting up IT services facilities have been fixed at Rs 20,000 per sq metre.
‘No gender, racial diversity’: Google engineer’s ‘manifesto’ angers employees
In July, Google emerged triumphant in its fight with the US Department of Labour over supplying pay gap data, but the ghost of discrimination came back to haunt the tech giant when an anti-diversity “manifesto” went viral inside the company, infuriating its employees. According to a report by online news website Motherboard, the anti-diversity manifesto suggested that Google should halt initiatives aimed at increasing gender and racial diversity within the company and instead focus on “ideological diversity”.
Article 35A: NC for J&K Opposition meet; slams Centre’s call for ‘larger debate’
Strongly objecting to the Centre’s position in Supreme Court last month, when it sought a “larger debate” on Article 35A, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said the state’s accession to the Indian Union and its special status are “two sides of the same coin” and “if there is debate on (the legality) of the Article, you will have to debate the accession itself”. Speaking to The Indian Express on Sunday, the former chief minister said that NC patron Farooq Abdullah will hold an informal meeting on Monday with Opposition leaders in J&K to evolve a joint response to prevent any move to tamper with the state’s special status.
Mumbai to Delhi in 13 hours, Railways to upgrade existing train
The Railways is finally moving to connect the country’s most high-profile route — Delhi-Mumbai — by upgrading an existing train to complete the journey in 13 hours, three hours less that the current running time for the Rajdhani, official sources told The Indian Express. The move is expected to make this link a “true overnighter”, sources said. The first trial of this service was conducted recently, using the Linke Hofman Busch (LHB) coaches of the Rajdhani. The Railway Ministry is now assessing the results and will conduct further trials, said sources. Members of the Railway Board will also discuss issues related to the new service in a meeting this month, said sources. Railway Board Member (Rolling Stock) Ravindra Gupta, who proposed this service, is spearheading the project.
Ravindra Jadeja’s Man-of-Match moment turns bitter: Why he will miss a Test
In what will come as a bit of a dampener on India’s series win over Sri Lanka, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was suspended for the third Test at Pallekele by the International Cricket Council for code of conduct breach. Jadeja, who was the star of India’s win in the second Test on Sunday with an unbeaten half-century and a five-wicket haul in the second innings, paid the price for throwing the ball back at Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne, who had not left his crease.