Coal block grant

New Delhi, Dec. 30: The coal ministry is in the process of allocating 23 blocks for captive use by public and private sector companies, according to the directions of the Energy Coordination Committee. The committee had recommended allocating 81 blocks, with a total coal reserve of about 21 billion tonnes, of which the government has already allotted 51 blocks during 2007. To implement the decision of the committee, 44 blocks of CIL that are not scheduled for production during the Eleventh Plan have been de-allocated to others.

JSW Bengal

Calcutta, Dec. 30: JSW Bengal Steel, a company promoted by Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel, hopes to get an environment clearance soon to start construction of its Rs 35,000-crore integrated steel plant in the state. “The final meeting with the ministry of environment and forests was concluded on December 27 and we have received positive feedback from the ministry,” managing director Biswadip Gupta said.

Starbucks

New Delhi, Dec. 30: Starbucks has entered India through a distribution tieup with multiplex operator PVR Ltd. PVR has started retailing Starbucks products at its select multiplexes in Mumbai and Delhi and plans to extend the arrangement to 25 cinemas across major metros.

GAIL plan

Shirdi, Dec. 30: GAIL India plans to lay a pipeline from Dabhol to Bangalore at an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore and covering a distance of about 780 kilometres, a top company official said.

NMDC move

New Delhi, Dec. 30: NMDC has raised long-term contract prices of iron ore fines by 47.5 per cent, bringing the price to Rs 1,783 per tonne — a move that is likely to affect the bottomlines of steel producers.

Ficci demand

New Delhi, Dec. 30: The government should allow the import of packaging machinery at zero duty besides abolishing excise duty to help the $18.8-billion domestic packaging industry achieve a faster growth, industry body Ficci has said.

Airtel SMS

Mumbai, Dec. 30: Bharti Airtel has tied up with mobile media company Affle to offer an uprgraded version of SMS service that would enable users to send personalised messages.