PVR issues profit warning, all screens remain shut

PVR, India’s No.1 film exhibitor, said it has put on hold all construction and other capital expenditure related to new projects and screens, and issued a profit warning for the current quarter on account of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “The Company opened 13 new screens in FY’21 which were already under fit-out prior to lockdown. […]

Airtel sells Tanzania towers for Rs 1,280 cr

Bharti Airtel said its Africa unit, Airtel Africa, has sold around 1,400 telecom towers in Tanzania to a joint venture company of SBA Communications Corp and Paradigm Infrastructure Ltd for $175 mn, or around Rs 1,280 cr. SBA Communications Corp is a leading global independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure, while Paradigm is […]

AstraZeneca annuls diabetes drug deal with Abbott Healthcare

AstraZeneca India, which entered into a licensing deal with Sun Pharma for a key diabetes drug, said that it had terminated a distribution agreement for the same drug with Abbott Healthcare. The drug, dapagliflozin, was being supplied to Abbott Healthcare by the Indian unit of the British-Swedish company under a distribution agreement, which has now […]

AstraZeneca rejigs diabetes drug deal with Sun Pharma

AstraZeneca Pharma India, the local unit of the global pharmaceuticals giant, said it has decided to end its marketing agreement with Indian pharmaceutical giant Sun Pharma for two diabetes medications after the Indian company acquired a license to manufacture the same locally. In a separate statement, Sun Pharma said it has acquired the patent license […]

Delhi Police says we only want info from Twitter

Delhi Police today said it only wanted to ask Twitter for any information the company had about the so-called manipulation of a ‘toolkit’ that was allegedly prepared by the main opposition party, Indian National Congress. It also accused Twitter of refusing to hand over “material evidence” about manipulation of the photographs contained in some BJP […]

ICICI Bank’s Pockets becomes first wallet admitted to UPI network

ICICI Bank’s Pockets wallet has become the first financial institution in India to be permitted to offer UPI IDs in its own name and make transactions directly without routing it via a bank account. So far, UPI IDs were reserved only for those who have an account with any recognized Indian bank, including co-operative banks. […]

Zydus Cadila launches affordable breast cancer drug in India

Zydus Cadila, the pharmaceutical arm of the Zydus group, said it has launched a next-generation breast cancer drug in India at a fraction of its existing cost. The drug, Trastuzumab Emtansine, is considered the first targeted chemotherapy drug for breast cancer as it directs the cytotoxic activity at cancer cells by using a known biomarker. […]

Natco Pharma starts Ph III trial of new COVID drug molnupiravir

Less than a month after it approved for clinical trial approval, Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma said it has begun dosing patients in its phase III clinical trial for molnupiravir, a promising candidate for treating COVID-19 that is being studied across the world. Phase III trial data can be submitted to regulatory agencies for seeking approval of […]

Zee Entertainment reports mixed Q4 results

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, the country’s largest home-grown television and broadcasting company, reported a modest year-on-year improvement in its advertising and subscription revenue, but also saw the usual sequential decline when compared to the preceding, holiday quarter. The company’s results have become more difficult to compare due to the fact that the seasonally strong third […]

Aarti Drugs caps strong year with Q4 growth

Aarti Drugs, one of the biggest manufacturers of ingredients for the pharmaceuticals industry in India, reported a strong performance for the fourth quarter and full year 2020-21. All three of the Mumbai-based company’s business divisions — APIs or pharmaceutical ingredients, formulations or medicines, and specialty chemicals — contributed to a strong peformance, resulting in an […]

Jindal Stainless Q4 vol up 15%; sees strong demand

Jindal Stainless, India’s largest producer of stainless steel and part of the OP Jindal group, reported a strong recovery in its operating and financial performance during the fourth and final quarter of the financial year. For the three months ended March, the company’s sales volumes jumped 15% compared to the same period of last year […]

Blue Star says second wave a challenge, moderates project execution

Blue Star, one of India’s largest refrigeration and air conditioning companies, said it is moderating the pace of execution of large contracts to keep it in sync with clients’ ability to pay, and also said the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has posed a challenge to the growth trend seen in recent months. Chief […]

M&M SUVs to get European flavor via new UK design center

Mahindra Group said it has set up a automotive design center in the UK to help it come out with “sophisticated, authentic SUVs with an unmissable presence”. The group, home to India’s second-biggest home-growth automaker, said Mahindra Advanced Design Europe will further sharpen its “distinctive product designs and differentiated technology offerings” to further its connected […]

BJP blames state govt for SC verdict on Maratha Reservation

The Maharashtra state unit of BJP has put the blame for the adverse judgment by the Supreme Court in the Maratha Reservation case squarely at the feet of the state government. Earlier today, a Supreme Court bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, S Abdul Nazeer, Hemant Gupta and S Ravindra Bhat today stuck […]

JSW Steel in tie-up with Allegheny Technologies

JSW Steel USA Ohio Inc, a US subsidiary of JSW Steel, has signed a long-term agreement with local steel producer Allegheny Technologies Inc. to convert JSW’s locally produced carbon steel slabs into hot rolled coils. The agreement will help diversify JSW’s steel offerings in the US, while also generating revenue for Allegheny Technologies and improving […]

Natco Pharma seeks compulsory license for COVID-19 drug

Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma said it has decided to seek a compulsory license from the government of India to manufacture Baricitinib tablets to treat COVID-19 patients. Compulsory licensing is an internationally recognized patent provision under which the government of a country can give permission to a company to manufacture a patent-protected product for emergency use if […]

Kerala bypasses Cowin portal to prioritize second vaccine dose

Faced with a supply squeeze for COVID-19 vaccines, the Kerala government has virtually stopped taking new registration COVID-19 vaccinations on the Cowin website, and is reserving most of the stocks for providing the second dose to those who have already taken the first. The state has been forced to more or less abandon the central-government’s […]