The Hindu : Business : Tatas plan Rs. 5,000 cr. investment in telecom

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 10, 2005

Business

Business

Tatas plan Rs. 5,000 cr. investment in telecom

Special Correspondent

Commercial production of small car will begin in 2007-08

J. J. Irani

KOLKATA: The Tata Group is planning to pump in Rs. 5,000 crore by 2008 in telecom business which has been identified along with biotechnology as a thrust area, Tata Sons Director, J. J. Irani, said.

Addressing reporters here on Thursday, he said at a time when 12 major companies in the group (including VSNL) were doing well, the telecom business overall was lagging.

He said the Tatas had already invested Rs. 5,000 crore in its telecom business, including the VSNL acquisition cost.

While VSNL, an Internet service provider, was doing well, two other companies, Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd. (TTML), were not doing too well.

Dr. Irani said that alongside biotechnology, the Tatas had also begun work on drug discovery with Adventis. Employing 140 people Adventis is working with molecules, he said briefly.

Dr. Irani said commercial production of the small car would begin in 2007-08, but he indicated that the Rs. 1 lakh price tag would come under pressure in view of rising input costs.

On the persistent iron ore issue, he said that the CII has recommended to the committee set up by the Centre to examine this issue, that ore deposits should not be the leverage for setting up steel projects in a particular state, as entrepreneurs should be free to set their projects in a location of their choice.

"The ore-bearing states could perhaps be compensated through a levy," the committee has said.

Independent directors

Dr. Irani who headed the government's committee on corporate governance said that the Tata companies were well prepared to meet the December 31, 2005 deadline for induction of independent directors.

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