Author: CP

Jindal Steel & Power has told us that the company have been informed by Jindal Power, a subsidiary company, that first unit of 250 MW capacity has started generation of power for commercial purposes. Other three units of 250 MW each are in the final stage of implementation and the project (1000 MW) is likely to be operational by July, 2008.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)’s reserves and surplus have mounted to Rs 33,689 crore, almost 29 times its paid-up capital of Rs 1,168 crore. The biggest beneficiary of this move would be the Government of India, which holds over 80.35% in IOC. In past, IOC had issued bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1 in 1999 and 1:2 in 2003. The government has asked the company to consider a Bonus Issue.

Idea Cellular has informed us that Bharti Infratel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone India have agreed to form a independent tower company, Indus Towers, to provide passive infrastructure services in India to all operators on a non-discriminatory basis. This follows the infrastructure sharing MoU signed between Bharti and Vodafone in February 2007. Complete analysis on why the GSM Lobby formed this association is available on Convergence India.

The three companies will each merge their existing passive infrastructure assets in 16 telecom circles in India. Bharti and Vodafone Essar will own approximately 42% each and the Idea will own the remaining 16% stake in Indus Towers. New passive infrastructure rollouts in the 16 circles will be undertaken by Indus Towers.

This transaction highlights Bharti, Idea and Vodafone Essar’s commitment to enhancing the sharing of passive infrastructure and takes a firm step towards delivering on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendations on infrastructure sharing. The primary benefit will be the accelerated expansion of coverage, especially into rural areas, and enables wider access to affordable services for all, helping to meet the Government’s teledensity targets. Indus towers welcomes all operators to become customers. While these operators will continue to, run their active infrastructure completely independently, they will be able to enjoy opex savings, enhanced operational efficiency and quicker expansion of coverage.

Indus Towers will be an independently managed and operated Company, offering services to all telecom operators and other wireless services providers such as broadcasters and broadband services providers.