Koshika skips first instalment
Koshika Telecom has not paid the first instalment of its licence fee dues, which it was supposed to pay by Tuesday. However, this does not amount to a default, since the company has to make the entire payment only by July 24.

Microsoft to respond to breakup plan
Microsoft is about to get its chance to rebut a government's proposal to rip the company in two. Microsoft will on Wednesday respond to the proposal made last month by the justice department and 17 state attorneys to split it into one company that sells the dominant Windows operating system and another selling virtually everything else.

India's population touches 1 billion
The birth of India's billionth baby on Thursday marks a moment of introspection for the country that needs to reflect on where its population control programme has headed in the last 50 years, senior officials in the ministry said.

Ashok Leyland in talks with GAIL
Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland is working closely with GAIL, Gujarat Gas, and Indraprastha Gas in a bid to put in place a network for distribution of compressed natural gas in Delhi, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. The states hold good potential for use of CNG as a fuel.

NYSE in alliance talks with bourses
The New York Stock Exchange is talking to markets in Europe, Canada, and Latin America about forming alliances, an exchange spokesman said on Wednesday. The contacts come as the New York Stock Exchange, the world's largest stock exchange, is under pressure to match moves by arch-rival Nasdaq as part of its global strategy.

BCG to oversee Grindlays merger
Standard Chartered Bank has appointed Boston Consulting Group as an integration consultant to oversee the merger of the Grindlays business of the Middle-East and South Asia with that of StanChart. The entire merger process is slated to be completed by July 31.

Laloo gets bail for three months
The Patna high court on Wednesday granted provisional bail for three months to RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav on the condition that he will not tamper with the evidences and said the trial may be completed within the next six months in the disproportionate assets case. Justice Shashank Kumar Singh asked the RJD president to furnish a bail bond of Rs 2 lakh with sureties of like amount to the satisfaction of the special CBI judge for bail.