State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) said that it has launched its much awaited third-generation (3G) services across 11 cities.

BSNL also said that the 3G services will permit users to experience enhanced communications such as rich voice, video and data services.

India's No. 4 mobile operator also said that it will expand 3G services to other regions in the country.

With a total investment of Rs 450 crores, ACT Television has launched its first interactive TV services (IPTV) in Bangalore, Karnataka.

ACT, which has now become the first company to introduce Interactive TV service in the city, also said that it will take its new service to other Indian cities such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh by the next 12 to 18 months.

The company said that Interactive TV is a system delivering content services to subscribers using Internet protocol through a broadband link in a closed network infrastructure.

Nitin Parikh of Nitin Parikh & Company said that there is every possibility that RIL, a profit making entity, is merging with RPL (which is a loss-making company) to get SEZ status for RIL’s ol

Refiner’s cash flows, tax sops will come in very handy in these tough times

Legend has it that during a routine lunch with his sons in the winter of 2001, the late Dhirubhai Ambani, who was 69 years old then, first sounded out the idea of a merger between Reliance Industries (RIL) and Reliance Petroleum Ltd.

RIL was then into petrochemicals business, while RPL was refining crude oil.

The motive was clear: a merger engendered sales tax benefits, depreciation benefits and a much stronger balance sheet.

A couple of months later, on April 8, 2002, the merger sailed through with 99.5% of shareholders giving their approval.

Slowdown has hit the realty sector rather hard. Infrastructure projects too have slowed down somewhat. But Ajit Gulabchand, chairman and managing director of Hindustan Construction Co Ltd (HCC), is not worried. The company is going full throttle on its ambitious Lavasa lake city project and has also bid for the Worli-Haji Ali sealink project. In a chat with DNA Money's Ashish K Tiwari and G Seetharaman, Gulabchand elaborates on the reasons behind these moves. Excerpts…

On Friday, the government said GDP grew 5.3% last quarter. How did you react to this news?

will first evaluate costs and client willingness to increase onsite work

MphasiS Ltd, the Bangalore-based IT services firm that is now a part of international technology giant Hewlett-Packard, may add more Americans to its workforce to avail the tax breaks announced by US President Barack Obama on February 25.

Speaking to DNA Money, Ganesh Ayyar, chief executive officer, MphasiS Ltd, said, "The option of increasing Americans in our workforce is open to us in view of the recent announcements by US authorities. However, we will have to factor in many other things before that, like onsite cost versus margins. We also have to evaluate client willingness."