Briefly business

State-owned BSNL today invited bids for acquiring 5.5 million lines to expand GSM operations from three foreign vendors,barring Chinese,who had participated in the earlier 93 million line tender which was cancelled....

BSNL invites bids for GSM lines

New Delhi: State-owned BSNL today invited bids for acquiring 5.5 million lines to expand GSM operations from three foreign vendors,barring Chinese,who had participated in the earlier 93 million line tender which was cancelled. The decision to this effect was taken at a special board meeting of the PSU today,senior officials told PTI. The three vendors are Ericsson,Nokia-Siemens Network and Alcatel-Lucent,they added.

Govt allows cotton exports under license

MUMBAI: India on Friday allowed export of cotton under license just as new plantings begin and a month after it halted shipment registration to rein in domestic prices,an official with the textile ministry told Reuters. Now the export of cotton is allowed under license. This is with immediate effect, said BA Patel,joint textile commissioner.

Greece has minimal impact on exporters

Bangalore: FICCI President Rajan Bharti Mittal said today there was no major concern among Indian exporters over the eurozone crisis triggered by Greeces debt emergency.Today,it8217;s marginal,perceptible impact, Mittal told reporters,adding that it was very minimal. He said Indian exporters were adopting a wait-and-watch approach in this context.

GSM telcos add 11mn subscribers

New Delhi: The all-India GSM cellular subscriber base has touched 433 million with the addition of 11.18 million new users in April,according to cellular operators8217; association COAI. Bharti Airtel,the number one GSM operator,added three million new users,which took its total subscriber base to 130.6 million,data from the Cellular Operators Association of India COAI showed.

Fund new MSMEs,RBI tells govt

Kochi: The Reserve Bank today asked the government to consider a fund to assist new entrepreneurs setting up medium and small-scale businesses with start-up finance. The Centre,may consider setting up a National Equity Fund to help greenfield projects and new-generation entrepreneurs to tide over difficulties faced in start-up finance, RBI deputy governor KC Chakrabarty said.

Sebi settles case against HSBC arm

MUMBAI: SEBI has disposed of a case against HSBC InvestDirect Securities for various violations,after the company paid Rs 40 lakh as settlement charges. SEBI had proceeded against the company for allegedly failing to deliver securities and making payments to investors,misusing client funds and securities,among other things. The company remitted a sum of Rs 40 lakh,after which Sebi in a consent order decided not to initiate action against the firm. Consent order means two parties mutually agree to settle a case without acceptance or denial of guilt.