More than 70 private firms have asked the government for armed CISF personnel to protect their campuses and buildings. CISF has already deployed one hundred men to guard the Infosys campus in Bangalore. Other IT companies in the city, like Wipro are likely to be next in line. CISF is a paramilitary force that guards more than 300 government and other installations across India.
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At least one struggling retailer may be looking for a way out of its troubles. Vishal Retail says it’s ready to offer its suppliers shares rather than cash, but says it hasn’t approached anyone yet. The company is also restructuring its debts of over Rs700 crore. Vishal Retail has posted total losses of nearly Rs200 crore in the last two quarters.
Bhel could help an Indian firm secure diamond mines in the heart of Africa. State-run mineral-trading firm MMTC wants access to diamond, cobalt, and iron-ore mines, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Congo government meanwhile, wants Bhel to work on a local hydroelectric project. But Bhel in turn wants the Congo government to sweeten the deal by awarding the mines to MMTC.
India’s commodity futures market will have a new entrant. The Indian Commodity Exchange has got clearances from regulators and will open in September. Last year, the commodity futures market saw trading worth Rs5,200 crore.
Penguin India plans to get into the audio books market. The publisher will launch about 500 titles already being sold in other countries. It’s part of Penguin India’s strategy to go digital by selling audio books, e-books, and content for cell phone operators.
The Anil Ambani Group said there is a conflict of interest between Reliance Industries and the firm appointed to verify its gas field expenditure. Anil Ambani’s company RNRL said Mustang Engineering appointed by the oil field regulator DGH is a consultant to Reliance Industries. Yesterday DGH in a statement justified the capital expenditure of Reliance Industries’ operations in the KG D-6 field, saying an independent consultant had validated it.