Recent Activities Around

By:

Jagmohan Parmar

Intel to Acquire McAfee

• Intel on August 19, 2010 announced plans to acquire McAfee for US$7.68 billion.

• Intel dominates the PC and server microprocessor market, and wants to put its chips in devices ranging from smart phones to TVs and set-top boxes.

• As Intel wants to get into other markets like the digital home, handsets etc. it plan to provide its customers a better service package by using this intellectual property investment in coming future.

M&M plans to bring Ssangyong

vehicles to India after deal

• Utility vehicles maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) plans to bring Ssangyong vehicles to India after completing acquisition of the South Korean automaker.

• M&M will retain Ssangyong as a separate unit but is looking at the new compact SUV, Korandoplatform that will be launched in the market later this year.

• Analysts pegged that the takeover cost could be around $500 million.

Toyota to start trial production of

Etios in Sept.

• The world's largest car-maker Toyota said it will start trial production of its much anticipated small car 'Etios' for the Indian market from next month.

• “Before starting the commercial production in December, we will have two rounds of trial productions. While one will start in September, the next one will be in October," Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Deputy Managing Director (Commercial) Shekar Viswanathan.

Cabinet nod to DTC bill

• The first DTC draft had proposed to tax all savings schemes including provident funds at the time of withdrawal bringing them under the EET (Exempt-Exempt-Tax) mode.

• The first draft had suggested 10 per cent tax on income from Rs 1.60-10 lakhs and 20 per cent on income between Rs 10-25 lakhs and 30 per cent beyond that.

Vedanta seeks alternative bauxite

mines from Orissa govt.

• Vedanta Group has proposed to the state government to allocate it an alternative source of bauxite for running its 1 mtpa alumina refinery plant.

• The company has no problem to extract the raw material from mines located 30 to 40 km from the plant site.

• The state government in its MoU with Vedanta in 2004 had committed to provide 150 million tonne of bauxite.

Vodafone tells subscribers about

possible BlackBerry disruption

• Vodafone cautioned its subscribers of a disruption of email and messenger services after August 31 in the face of a government deadline to ban BlackBerry's encrypted services if security agencies are not given access.

• The caution came within hours of the government saying that a solution to monitoring of BlackBerry services to address its security concerns remained elusive.

IBM and HMEL tie up

• Global IT major IBM ties up with HMEL (joint venture between HPCL and Mittal Energy Limited) for IT works of oil refinery being set up.

• Under the agreement, IBM will integrate all of HMEL’s operations ranging from manufacturing to marketing and distribution.

• Refinery would be able to process about 1,80,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Economy to clock up to 9.4% growth

in June quarter: Experts

• The Indian economy is likely to clock a growth rate in the range of 8.9 per cent to 9.4 per cent in the first quarter of this fiscal.

• The economy, which had expanded 8.6 per cent in the previous quarter, was the second fastest growing large economy after China, which had registered a growth of 11.9 per cent in the March quarter.

• In the corresponding period last fiscal the Indian economy grew at a slower pace of 6 per cent.