* In what will be India's largest corporate merger, Reliance Industries announced plans to merge Reliance Petroleum with itself. The deal will turn the company into a formidable energy giant. The swap ratio will be in the ratio of one Reliance share for every 11 Reliance Petroleum shares held.
* The US government has exempted steel exports from India, considered a developing nation, from additional tariffs that it announced early this month. However, once the quantum of exports from the country crosses the stipulated three per cent of total US steel imports, the exemption will lapse.
* The hopes of shareholders and promoters of receiving dividends without having to pay tax on them have been squashed. Market watchdog SEBI has directed stock exchanges to ensure that companies issuing interim dividends follow the guidelines of Clause 16 of the Listing Agreement with stock exchanges.
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The guidelines require a 30-day notice period for securities trading in the demat form and 42 days for those traded in the physical form for fixing the record date for dividend payouts.
* The Cabinet has approved the removal of sectoral caps for advertising and film industries, allowing 100 per cent FDI in advertising agencies and production houses through the automatic route. The Cabinet also cleared the policy document for the automobile sector.
* Ranbaxy and Wockhardt have joined hands to tap the multi-billion dollar US market for off-patent drugs. The alliance also includes Ranbaxy's New Jersey-based wholly-owned subsidiary Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc.
* The Aditya Birla group company, PSI Data Systems, has acquired 99.9 per cent stake in Birla Technologies, a subsidiary of Grasim Industries, the Group