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l &T bags Rs 1,048cr order from Indian Railways

Mumbai, July 08: Engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro on Tuesday said it has bagged Rs 1,047.60 crore contract from Indian Railways for setting up a steel wheel manufacturing plant in Bihar.

The company would set up a cast steel manufacturing plant at Saran in Bihar, L&T said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, adding that the plant when commissioned will have the capacity to manufacture one lakh cast steel railroad wheels per annum.

The scope of the work for this turnkey project involves engineering, procurement and construction of the plant, including civil works, electrical installation and commissioning of machinery and plant.

The project is scheduled to be completed within two years.

The new plant will help Indian Railways meet the huge shortage of wheels for rolling stocks due to rapid growth in the passenger and freight traffic and would reduce dependence on imports, L&T added.

Going forward, the company plans to participate in various upcoming projects in rail sector such as rolling stock manufacturing, station redevelopment, urban mass transit systems among others.

Shares of the company were trading at Rs 2,285, down 3.37 per cent on the BSE in afternoon trade.

Left nukes UPA govt, withdraws support

New Delhi, July 08: The Left parties on Tuesday announced that they are withdrawing support to the UPA government on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal. Briefing the press in New Delhi after a meeting of the Left parties, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said that they have sought an appointment with President Pratibha Patil tomorrow to formally hand over the letter of withdrawal of support. The Left parties, which have a total of 59 MPs, have sent a letter to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, informing him of their decision, Karat added.

The Left decision came a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said his government will go to the IAEA soon to finalise the safeguards agreement required for the nuclear deal. Dr Singh is in Japan to attend the G8 meeting, and according to Pranab Mukherjee, the PM he will go ahead with his visit as scheduled. He is slated to return on Thursday.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh meanwhile said he and all his MPs would support the UPA government on the nuke deal issue. Earlier, there were reports of dissidence within the party on the issue of backing the nuke deal. Samajwadi Party has 39 members in the Lok Sabha.

Karat, while revealing the text of the letter sent to Mukherjee, said: “The government had told us on November 16, 2007 at the UPA-Left co-ordination committee meeting that the government would provide the Left with the text of the draft IAEA safeguards agreement before finalizing it. However, the text has not been provided so far.”

“Pranab Mukherjee’s proposal on July 7 to call a meeting of the UPA-Left co-ordination committee on July 10 has been rendered meaningless after Prime Minister’s statement in Japan that his government will go to the IAEA soon,” the letter goes on, adding “the Left had told the government that if the PM goes to the IAEA Board of Governors, we will withdraw support.”

“The PM has said he is going to IAEA, so the time has come for the Left to withdraw support,” the letter concludes, according to Karat.

In view of the Left withdrawing support, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called a high-level meeting of party leaders. Also, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs is slated to meet later in the evening, where a decision on when to convene a special session of the Parliament could be taken.

Earlier this morning, Karat said that the PM’s statement was a de facto assertion that the government has decided to go ahead with the nuke deal, which they are opposed to. He also said that the PM’s statement was humiliating for the Left.

Karat caustically remarked that the Prime Minister could have communicated his decision to go ahead with the deal to the Left parties rather than announce it outside the country.

Dr Singh said yesterday that India will "very soon" approach the IAEA for a safeguards agreement for the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal where the "process will move very fast".

On Singh's statement that he was ready to face Parliament for a trial of strength, CPI national secretary D Raja said, "If PM thinks he can manipulate the numbers, let him prove it on the floor of the House. What sort of ethics is he trying to project?"

Meanwhile, Deve Gowda-led JD(S) and the RLD have hinted that they would support the government if things come down to a trust vote.

Even BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal has said it will consider supporting the UPA on the nuke deal issue.

Bush says N-deal important for both India, US; lauds PM’s leadership

Toyako, July 09: Amid political turmoil back home on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday met US President George W Bush on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Japan. The two leaders held talks on the nuclear deal, with Bush saying the deal is important for both India and the US.

During the 50-minute meeting at Hotel Windsor on Mount Poromoi, both Dr Singh and Bush expressed mutual admiration for each other and stressed on the need for closer ties between the two countries. After the meeting, the two leaders spoke to press in a relaxed mood and displayed lot of personal warmth.

The meeting came hours before the Left parties partners formally withdraw support to the UPA government by handing over their letters to President Pratibha Patil.

However, the Prime Minister – who has staked a great deal on the nuclear agreement – did not appear to have been affected by the turbulent political developments back home. Dr Singh said that he was satisfied about the state of bilateral relationship which has truly acquired the characteristics of a genuine strategic partnership.

"We talked about the nuclear deal, how important it is for our respective countries," Bush said while briefing the press.

Dr Singh, in his remarks, made no reference to the deal but did say that the two countries have made progress in all areas including nuclear, defence, space co-operation and education exchanges.

The two leaders also reviewed the state of Indo-American relations during their meeting.

"I'm very happy to convey to the President that our relationship has moved forward since our first meeting in July 2005 (when they okayed the nuclear deal). We have made progress in all areas. We have made progress in nuclear co-operation, defence co-operation and space co-operation and in educational exchanges,” the PM said.

He added that both India and the US are working together in multilateral institutions for the success of Doha round.

"I'm satisfied about our state of relationship which has truly acquired the characteristics of a genuine strategic partnership. I thank the President for his personal and magnificent role in the evolution of our relationship. All I can say is our relationship has never been in such good shape as it is today,” Dr Singh remarked.

"It is the intention of my government as I believe it is also the will of the Indian people, particularly the thinking sessions of the people that in this increasingly inter-dependent world that we live in whether it is the question of climate change and global economy, India and US must stand tall and work together shoulder to shoulder…That is what is going to be," he added.

Bush described the meeting with Dr Singh as a conversation among friends.

"We talked about opportunities and problems and demonstrated our mutual respect. I respect the Prime Minister a lot. I also respect India a lot," he said, adding he and Dr Singh discussed how important it was for the two countries to work together.”

"The US is keen to work as friends with India in solving problems. The two countries should continue to work as friends," Bush said.

The two leaders also talked about environment, free trade and the Doha round of negotiations.

"We discussed how important it is for the India and US to work together to find a common ground to make sure protectionist sentiments don't grow as a wall."

Bush reminded the Prime Minister that Indo-American population is proud of this relationship and his leadership.

"I'm proud of leadership of the Prime Minister. All in all, it was a good conversation between friends. I congratulate the Prime Minister," the US President said.

Hectic day for PM

For Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the meeting with US President George Bush was not the only one scheduled for the day. It was work all the way from early in the morning today as he held a series of meetings with the leaders of the world's most powerful industrialised countries.

After a hectic schedule yesterday, which included bilateral meetings and discussions with leaders of the outreach countries, Dr Singh left his hotel in Sopporo, 100 km from here, for more than a two-hour drive to Hotel Windsor on Mt Poromoi, 625 metres, for his parleys with Bush.

After the meeting, the PM attended a breakfast session with leaders of G8 and the five outreach countries (O5).

He later held bilateral discussions with various leaders including new Russian President Dimitri Medvedev and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Dr Singh also spoke to French President Nicholas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

UCO Bank to hike deposit, lending rates by 0.5%

New Delhi, July 08: State-run UCO Bank on Tuesday said it would increase both lending and short-term deposit rates by up to 50 basis points in the next few days.

"Short-term deposit rates for up to six months will go up by 50 basis points," UCO Bank Chairman and Managing Director S K Goel said.

The decision about the rate hike is likely to be taken next week. The minimum interest rate for such duration would go up to 4 per cent from the existing 3.5 per cent and the maximum fixed deposit rate in the category would be 7 per cent, he said.

Besides, there would be slight adjustment in the non-priority sector lending rates as well, he said.

These would include housing loan above Rs 30 lakh, corporate loans etc, he said, adding this is the segment where bank has discretion to tinker with the rates. These are not linked to the PLR.

There is no plan to change PLR at this point of time, he added.

Besides, the bank is planning to raise about Rs 825 crore from the market to fund its business growth.

"We are looking to raise Rs 325 crore through perpetual non-convertible preference shares during the second quarter and about Rs 500 crore from follow-on public offer in the third quarter of this fiscal," Goel said.

The capital raised would help the bank to record 25 per cent loan growth for the next two year, he said.

Asked about bottomline target for the current fiscal, Goel said, the bank expects to earn a profit of Rs 750 crore this fiscal as against Rs 412 crore in the previous year.

The profit would increase by 82 per cent over the last fiscal.

RCom-MTN exclusivity deal may lapse
July 09, 2008 | 02:31 IST

The exclusivity agreement between South African telecom giant MTN and Anil Ambani group's Reliance Communications on talks for a possible merger has not been extended, according to Press Trust of India, which quoted sources familiar with the development, at the time of going to press.

The agency also pointed out there was no official confirmation on the extension of the 45-day exclusivity pact signed between the two, supposed to end on July 8 midnight (South African time). A board meeting of MTN is expected to be held on Thursday, where a final decision on RCom's offer will be taken.

RCom, which, sources say had offered to pick up a 51 per cent stake in MTN through a complicated share-swap deal through which shareholders of the African company would pick up stake in RCom, had asked for an extension of the exclusivity talks for another three to four weeks.

An RCom spokesperson declined to comment on the issue. And despite speculation that MTN Group would come out with a statement after the close of the Johannesburg stock exchange, no statement was issued.

Nozipho January-Bardill, official spokesperson of MTN, said: "Whatever the decision is, it will be communicated to the stock exchange." It is expected that MTN as well as RCom will make a statement on Wednesday.

Last month, Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd�had informed RCom as well as MTN that the sale of shares in the Anil Ambani-controlled company would activate a right of first refusal clause, which was part of an agreement in a group asset split between the brothers in 2006. RCom had, however, dismissed the allegations.

Sources close to the deal, however, said Anil Ambani had changed the initial structuring of the deal, which it was discussing with MTN in order to ensure that it did not get into legal problems. Earlier RCom was planning a share swap-cum-cash deal under which it would get just under35 per cent in MTN.

However under the new structuring which was proposed, RCom had offered to pick up 51 per cent in MTN through a cash and share swap. They would keep control of RCom by virtue of being majority holders in MTN.

But considering the fact that MTN had earlier rejected a proposal by Sunil Mittal, which had offered to make MTN a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel by picking up a majority stake, it is likely, sources say, the company rejected the offer.

Left formally withdraws support; wants PM to seek trust vote

New Delhi, July 09: The Left parties on Wednesday formally ended their over four-year-old relationship with the UPA government, when they handed over the letter of withdrawal of support to President Pratibha Patil just after noon. Leaders of the four Left parties, led by CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, went to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to hand over the letter.

"We have met the President and have given her a letter on behalf of the four Left parties withdrawing support to the UPA government," Karat told reporters.

He said the four Left parties have also given a separate letter asking the President to convene a session of the Lok Sabha and direct Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek a trust vote.

Later, addressing a press conference, Karat charged the UPA government of disregarding the Parliament on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal.

Clearly indicating that the two parties had parted ways completely, Karat said that the Left will publish in the form of a book all the exchanges between them and the government over the nuclear deal. He however added that they would not be able publish two more notes which this "secretive" government had taken back.

Detailing why they withdrew support, Karat said the UPA and the Congress have violated the agreement reached with the Left on the nuke deal issue.

The government had committed to the Left on November 16, 2007 that they would hold negotiations with the IAEA, and based on the discussions there, would come back to the UPA-Left co-ordination committee with a paper, which would then be examined and only then the next steps on the nuclear deal would be taken. However, the convenor of the committee, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, informed the Left that they could not do so as the IAEA safeguards agreement text was a classified document.

Karat demanded the government to clarify who had labeled the papers as classified and whether it was the UPA govt or the IAEA.

Declaring that the IAEA agreement will bind us in perpetuity over safeguards, Karat also attacked the Prime Minister and his love for the US.

“The Congress leadership and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh always look up to the USA, but there are some good things they should learn from the USA,” he said, referring to the latest US move to place before the Congress some additional protocols that US wants for its own nuclear deal with IAEA.

Informing that these documents were available on the Internet to be accessed by anyone, he wondered how the UPA was saying that the IAEA text was a classified document. "Are we to believe that the IAEA has one standard for the US and another for us," Karat asked, adding that "no text can be classified unless the government itself wants it to be termed so”.

He demanded that the text be made public as the country's nuclear scientists, experts and the people have a right to know what it contains.

He made it clear that the deal will only be acceptable to the Left parties only after all issues raised by them were clarified by the government.

Charging the Congress leadership and Manmohan Singh government with always looking up to the United States, Karat said that the Left cannot become party to the government which fulfills its commitment to US President George Bush and not to the people of India.

Clearing the air on whether Somnath Chatterjee will continue as Lok Sabha Speaker, the CPI(M) general secretary said the comrade will decide for himself whether to demit the office.

Giving no breathing space to the UPA government, Karat announced the Left will continue its fight against the "notorious" nuclear deal.

The Numbers’ Game

Following the withdrawal of support by Left parties, which have 59 members in the Lok Sabha, the strength of the ruling coalition has been reduced to 230.

Samajwadi Party, which has 39 MPs in the Lok Sabha, has announced support to the government which still leaves the ruling UPA three members short of majority.

UPA managers are claiming that as of now the government could count on the support of at least 273 members in the Lok Sabha which currently has 543 members. There are two vacancies.

A confident Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose announcement that India will very soon approach the IAEA for the safeguards agreement triggered Left's break up, had said the Left decision will "not affect the stability of the government".

The talk of unease among some MPs in Samajwadi Party in joining hands with the Congress has triggered speculation that the party may not have the backing of all the 39 MPs. But SP leader Amar Singh claimed all the members will vote for the government.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar and RJD supremo Lalu Yadav claimed that the UPA has numbers on its side to win a confidence vote.

The ruling side is banking on three independents -- Thupstan Chhewang from Jammu and Kashmir, Harish Nagpal from Uttar Pradesh and Charenamei Mani from Manipur.

The three-member RLD is also being seen as a supporter of the ruling side with Ajit Singh having a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi sometime back. Congress is also hopeful that former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's JDS, which has three MPs, may vote for the government.

Good evening. Does anyone have recent news from Glenmark R&D? A friend of mine working for them told me that Eli Lilly is about to terminate its license agreement on the 6211 molecule. During a meeting in June, Lilly have pointed out issues on cardiovacular safety and CYP inhibition (CYP is an enzyme which takes part in the metabolisation of drugs). As a failure on these two criteria can lead to the termination of the agreement, Glenmark expects Lilly to raise the issue in the coming days.
I don't see anything about it on the internet, are they hiding this information? After the failure with Merck on Melogliptin (GRC-8200), this would be a disaster.
As 6211 and 8200 can be valued at 150 Rs together, I think a 450-500 Rs price would be more accurate than the current 700-800 targets, which seems to me very expensive.
As my friend is very reliable, I sold my stocks. What are you thoughts?

Posted: Wed, Oct 31 2007. 12:49 AM IST

Eli Lilly pays $360 mn to develop Glenmark molecule
Glenmark, which has licensed three discovery products to multinational drug giants since 2004, received an upfront payment of $45 million

Mumbai: Drug maker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Tuesday said it has signed a $360 million (Rs1,416 crore) licensing pact with US pharma and biotech giant Eli Lilly & Co. for its pain management drug candidate GRC 6211.
Glenmark, which has licensed three discovery products to multinational drug giants since 2004, received an upfront payment of $45 million from Lilly by licensing out the development rights of its latest discovery product. Under the terms of the agreement, the multinational company will develop the molecule to the final stage by retaining the marketing right of the drug for the US, Europe and Japan.
“We have licensed a group of research leads for pain management along with the molecule GRC 6211, which is currently in early human trials,” Glenmark managing director and CEO Glenn Saldanha said. “Although the main indication of this molecule is the management of osteoarthritis pain, there are other indications also worked out in the research programme, which is also included in the Lilly pact. Once these indications are successfully developed, we will be entitled to get an additional $90 million milestone payment from Lilly.”
Although the research pipeline of two US drug giants—Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc.—have similar line of pain management drug leads in the development, Lilly is expected to expedite the global trials for Glenmark molecule.
“The current global market for all these indications or targeted diseases with the newly licensed research programme, is estimated to be about $40 billion,” Saldanha said. “For the pain management drug, we will have marketing rights for rest of the world and also a co-marketing option for the US.”
Glenmark has 11 drug leads at various stages of development for treatment of diseases such as inflammation, heart ailments, metabolic disorders, and cancer. Saldanha said the company has so far received $105 million as upfront payment in the molecule licensing out deals.

Posted: Wed, Oct 31 2007. 12:49 AM IST

Eli Lilly pays $360 mn to develop Glenmark molecule
Glenmark, which has licensed three discovery products to multinational drug giants since 2004, received an upfront payment of $45 million

Mumbai: Drug maker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Tuesday said it has signed a $360 million (Rs1,416 crore) licensing pact with US pharma and biotech giant Eli Lilly & Co. for its pain management drug candidate GRC 6211.
Glenmark, which has licensed three discovery products to multinational drug giants since 2004, received an upfront payment of $45 million from Lilly by licensing out the development rights of its latest discovery product. Under the terms of the agreement, the multinational company will develop the molecule to the final stage by retaining the marketing right of the drug for the US, Europe and Japan.
“We have licensed a group of research leads for pain management along with the molecule GRC 6211, which is currently in early human trials,” Glenmark managing director and CEO Glenn Saldanha said. “Although the main indication of this molecule is the management of osteoarthritis pain, there are other indications also worked out in the research programme, which is also included in the Lilly pact. Once these indications are successfully developed, we will be entitled to get an additional $90 million milestone payment from Lilly.”
Although the research pipeline of two US drug giants—Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc.—have similar line of pain management drug leads in the development, Lilly is expected to expedite the global trials for Glenmark molecule.
“The current global market for all these indications or targeted diseases with the newly licensed research programme, is estimated to be about $40 billion,” Saldanha said. “For the pain management drug, we will have marketing rights for rest of the world and also a co-marketing option for the US.”
Glenmark has 11 drug leads at various stages of development for treatment of diseases such as inflammation, heart ailments, metabolic disorders, and cancer. Saldanha said the company has so far received $105 million as upfront payment in the molecule licensing out deals.

India goes to IAEA, submits draft safeguards agreement

London, July 09: At the request of the Government of India, the IAEA Secretariat today circulated to Members of the IAEA Board of Governors for their consideration the draft India-specific nuclear safeguards accord. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had on Tuesday said India won’t go to the IAEA until the government proved its majority in Parliament.

However, Congress sources told a channel the step was not in contradiction to what Mukherjee had said as it did not amount to asking for immediate approval of the draft.

However AICC media department chairperson M Veerappa Moily refused to comment on the matter.

The safeguards pact, which is the next step in the operationalisation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, was sent to the 35-nation board on a day when the Left parties formally withdrew support from the UPA government following a bitter feud over the deal which has remained stalled for several months.

"At the request of the Government of India, the IAEA secretariat today circulated to members of the IAEA Board of Governors for their consideration the draft of an 'Agreement with the government of India for the application of safeguards to civilian nuclear facilities'," IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said in a press statement issued at the agency headquarters in Vienna. She said the step was a turning point for India.

Fleming said the board chairman will consult members to fix a date to discuss the draft amid reports that a special governors meeting will be convened in Vienna on July 28 to discuss the safeguards text.

"The chairman of the board is consulting with board members to agree on a date for a board meeting when the agreement would be considered," she said.

On being asked if a meeting of IAEA was set to consider the issue on July 28, Fleming said there are a few countries which have sought time to consider the 30 page document, which could "delay" the meeting.

The IAEA chairman will speak with each of the member before deciding a date for considering the draft. She said the agreement’s approval was the most crucial step if India is to seal a nuclear deal with the US.

The draft text was finalised between a technical committee of the IAEA and a team of Indian experts including Atomic Energy Commission chief Dr Anil Kakodkar after several rounds of parleys.

Facing stiff timelines, India needs the approval of IAEA Governors, then the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, where there are some reservations because India is outside the non-proliferation treaty, and finally ratification by the US Congress.

It was expected: Left

Reacting to India approaching the IAEA before the Govt seeks a trust vote in Parliament, senior CPI leader D Raja told a TV channel it was nothing unexpected.

“It was expected. PM had made this clear and Left pulled support fron the govt as a response. But the Govt should be truthful to the people of India,” he said.

Its midnight deceit: BJP

The Left was also joined by the BJP in expressing surprise how the draft was circulated when Pranab Mukherjee had said that the govt will approach the IAEA in the next step to operationalise the deal only after winning a trust vote.

Spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said it was midnight deceit by the govt which had cheated the people by taking such a step. He said the govt had no sanctity and morality.