Maruti Udyog Ltd has no plans to introduce new models in the near future and will bank on its marketing strength to fight the fierce competition in the small car segment, a top company official has said. "There is no need for the company to launch new vehicles just because new cars are coming. Our stable is full with contemporary vehicles that can take on the new launches," Maruti Udyog managing director RSSLN Bhaskarudu has said.

Bharti MP project may break even soon

Telecom service provider, Bharti is likely to break even in its basic telephony project in Madhya Pradesh by the third year of operations with a targeted 2.5 lakh connections. The company had launched its services in Bhopal on October 9 and has a booking of 2,000 lines so far. Of the total planned investment of Rs 4,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh, Rs 800 crore will be put in during the first three years, Mittal said, adding the company was targeting 2.5 lakh connections in the stateagainst its licence agreement projection of 1.5 lakh.

PSU board-level appointments

The government is actively considering a proposal to raise the age limit for board level appointments in public sector undertakings from 56 to 58 following revision in retirement age to 60. The industry ministry has submitted a note to the cabinet to effect a consequential rise in age limit for appointments at board level as directors in PSU's, official sources said. The appointments committee of cabinet is likely to announce its decision on this shortly, sources said.

Trifed plans 200 retail outlets

The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd (Trifed) has chalked out an ambitious plan to open 200 retail outlets in various parts of country to sell organic products grown and collected by tribals. Trifed also plans to collect art and craft objects made by tribals and handicapped and sell them through these retail outlets, a spokesperson of Trifed said.

Nivea gets second place inmarket

JL Morison's Nivea brand has somersaulted to the second position in the cold cream market, displacing Colgate-Palmolive's Charmis brand, whose market share has dwindled over the last year. According to industry sources, while Nivea has upped its market share in the roughly Rs 100 crore cold cream market in India, biting into the share of Charmis, Hindustan Lever's Pond's cold cream continues to reign supreme at the top slot with a market share of over 55 per cent.

Kribhco presents Rs 59 cr dividend cheque

Kribhco has presented a dividend cheque for Rs 59.04 crore to the centre. Chairman Srinivasa Gowda said Kribhco, which has a surplus of about Rs 1,200 crore, had not been sanctioned any project in the past 12 years. Company managing director PP Singh said the Hazira phase II and Gorakhpur fertiliser projects were awaiting approval of the Public Investment Board. The Gorakhpur project will meet the needs of farmers in eastern Uttar Pradesh, besides providing jobs to the localpeople.

Sinha to open Infranet '98

Finance minister Yashwant Sinha will inaugurate a three-day conference-cum- exposition on infrastructure development, Infranet '98, being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi on October 22. Infranet'98 is aimed at providing a forum for direct interaction among relevant agencies and developers, both government and private, for finalising a concrete action plan for India's infrastructure development.

Tisco announces 17.5% bonus:

Tisco has announced 17.5 per cent annual bonus amounting to Rs 72.45 crore to its employees, including those not covered under the act and about 50,000 others employed in its mines and collieries, company sources said. The sources said the annual production, productivity and profitability-linked bonus would range from Rs 7,247 to Rs 25,241.