BEL eyes radar exports

Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) is eyeing exports of an indigenous short-range battlefield surveillance radar and will soon demonstrate the product in Sudan and Indonesia. “There have been enquiries for the radar from Uzbekistan and Mauritius,” BEL director (marketing) S. C. Khanna said. Chairman and managing director Y. Gopala Rao said BEL had bagged the first commercial order for the radar from the Indian army valued at Rs 551 crore.

Asustek growth

Asustek Computer Inc, a Taiwanese IT hardware maker, is targeting $200 million revenue from the Indian market by 2006 and would consider plans to establish a manufacturing base in the country. “The company expects to clock in $40-45 million in sales by December 2004,” director Andrew Tsui said.

Thinksoft pact

Thinksoft Global Services, a software major, and NSE.IT, the software and services arm of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly offer technical testing services for the international securities segment.

PNB deal

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has enlisted the services of Intel to evaluate its current and future technological requirements. An agreement has been signed for the deployment of IT-related solutions between the bank and Intel.

Rallis India

Rallis India Ltd has entered into a co-marketing agreement with EI Dupont India Pvt Ltd for insecticide products. According to the agreement, Rallis would co-market Dupont’s insecticide ‘Indoxacarb’, while the latter would co-market ‘Acetamiprid’, Rallis said.

Zenith tie-up

Zenith Computers has selected Western Digital Corporation as its supplier, even as the software firm is to integrate the latter’s hard drives with its desktop PCs. The tie-up would enable Western Digital to further penetrate into the country’s PC market, especially in the home and small-office-home-office (SOHO) segments, Zenith said.

TVS scooty

TVS Motor Co, a two-wheeler maker, said sales of Scooty Pep, a four-stroke 75cc scooterette, crossed the one-million mark in 2003-04. The firm also announced the appointment of filmstar Preity Zinta as its brand ambassador for Scooty Pep.

GE Foundation

GE Foundation, a philanthropic organisation of the US-based General Electric Company, has given a grant of Rs 17 lakh to Vidya, an 18-year old NGO working to educate and empower underprivileged children. The foundation had given Rs 9.5 lakh to Vidya last year.

Fitch Ratings

Fitch Ratings has assigned an AAA(ind) rating to the Rs 1,200-crore long-term debt programme and Rs 2,760 crore of outstanding long-term debt of National Housing Bank with a stable outlook.