Continuing its opposition to AirAsia India, domestic airline lobby Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stall the entry of the low-cost airline in India.In a letter, the FIA has sought the Prime Minister’s intervention to prevent the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) from issuing the Air Operators’ Permit (AOP) to AirAsia India ‘in a hurry’, as the grant of ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) to the new venture was not in conformity with the policy.Reiterating its stance, the FIA said the policy permitting foreign airlines to invest in airlines applied to operating airlines and not new entrants with new international partners. The Prime Minister has been requested to clarify the correct interpretation of the policy by which AirAsia India was allowed.The FIA has drawn the attention of the Prime Minister to the issue of interpretation of the meaning of substantial ownership and effective control, prior to grant of AOP.According to the FIA, AirAsia, with 49 per cent stake in the airline, would assume effective control, which was against national security.“Effective control has not been considered by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) while approving NOC….and until there is clear determination of substantial ownership and effective control, we submit that the NOC has not been appropriately approved and needs to be considered afresh,” FIA Associate Director Ujjwal Dey said.The FIA has drawn the attention of the Civil Aviation Ministry and the DGCA to this letter, and asked them not to grant AOP to AirAsia India until there was clarity on the issues raised.“We submit that the grant of AOP to AirAsia without these issues being determined and that too in such a great hurry, would be against the public interest and public policy.”It has also written to the Election Commission as any interpretation of the policy now by ministries would violate the model code of conduct.This letter comes soon after the DGCA rebuffed the FIA and IndiGo, which raised objections. AirAsia India is now awaiting AOP, the final approval to start operation in the summer.Over 250 people have been hired and the airline is ready to start offering low fares.



4)U.S. pharma companies benefit from large Indian generic market

Innovator firms have explored strategies to increase revenues

The tirade by the U.S. against India with regard to its ‘unfriendly’ business environment, particularly the Indian pharmaceutical sector, is largely misplaced according to the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA).The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) last month started public hearings in Washington DC as part of its investigation ‘Trade, investment and industrial policies in India: effects on the U.S. economy.’ Representatives from software and pharmaceutical industry associations among others from India appeared before it.Speaking to this correspondent, Dilip Shah, Secretary-General, IPA, who earlier appeared before the USITC hearings, said, “the USITC report is expected by November but the U.S. Trade Representative (TR) decision is expected by April 30 and a downgrade to ‘Foreign Country Watch List’ is possible. This could mean that the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) duty benefit to India could be withdrawn. It will have a 4-5 per cent impact on India’s total exports of $50 billion to the U.S.”The sanctions, if they do come, could spark off a trade war with retaliatory sanctions from India also hurting large U.S. companies, Mr. Shah said, adding that India had been TRIPS (Trade related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) compliant since 2005.He said that although the market for new patented drugs at U.S. prices was clearly negligible, innovator pharmaceutical companies had explored promising strategies to increase revenues with differential pricing.“U.S. innovator companies are also profiting from the large generic market in India and increasing their sales and imports of finished goods,” he said.“The World Trade Organization (WTO) has not determined that India’s patent laws are violative of the TRIPS agreement. No member country of the WTO, including the U.S. has even disputed it before the WTO. It must therefore be presumed that India’s patent law is TRIPS-compliant,” Mr. Shah said adding, “The main institution for the global governance of health is the World Health Organization, which has strongly endorsed India’s patent law and its compliance with the TRIPS agreement.”



5)Ranbaxy recalls two lots of generic Lipitor in U.S.

Ranbaxy Laboratories, which is reeling under regulatory action from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), has recalled more than 64,000 bottles of Atorvastatin calcium tablets, a generic version of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, as some bottles could possibly contain a higher dose.Voluntary recall“Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals is conducting a voluntary recall in the U.S. limited to two lots of Atorvastatin calcium tablets, 10 mg manufactured in India, which expire in May, 2014,” the drug maker said in a statement.ComplaintThe action was taken after a complaint by a pharmacist, who discovered a 20 mg tablet inside a sealed bottle of Atorvastatin 10 mg tablets.A Ranbaxy spokesperson stated the actual recall had happened in January.Ranbaxy, majority of which is owned by Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, said it recalled the tablets “because of a remote possibility of the presence of a 20 mg Atorvastatin calcium tablet in a 10 mg bottle. This is the basis of the voluntary recall.”It also added that to date, the company has not received any product complaints related to these batches.Additionally, other lot numbers, package sizes and strengths are not affected by this recall, which is being conducted at the retail level.“Ranbaxy is proactively recalling the lots out of an abundance of caution, keeping the safety of its patients in mind and with the full knowledge of the USFDA,” it added.In January, the USFDA had prohibited Ranbaxy from producing and distributing drugs for the American market from its Toansa facility in Punjab. This was the company’s fourth plant to face regulatory action from the U.S. food regulator, after Mohali, Paonta Sahib and Dewas plants.



6)Microsoft leaks Windows 8.1 Update

Microsoft reportedly leaked its yet-to-be-unveiled Windows 8.1 Update 1 OS, much before its scheduled launch. The software maker’s Windows Update service apparently released links to the update, which enabled the new desktop-features after installation.According to The Verge , although Microsoft has removed access to the downloads from its servers, those who managed to get hands on the update, were able to find that most of the changes have been designed to appease traditional desktop users.The report said that the Windows 8.1 Update 1 is expected to be launched officially on April 8, following the company’s Build developer conference in early April.



7)ICICI Bank to more than double loans to women SHGs

ICICI Bank, on Saturday, said it was targeting to more than double its cumulative disbursements to Rs.2,500 crore to women self help groups (SHGs) by the end of the next fiscal.“We started lending to SHGs 30 months ago, and have disbursed around Rs.1,000 crore till now. We are targeting to take the cumulative disbursements under the programme to Rs.2,500 crore by March, 2015,” bank’s Managing Director and Chief Exective Chanda Kochhar said here.Over 70,000 SHGs across 164 districts in seven States had borrowed from the bank till now, which had directly helped one million women, she said, adding that the number of beneficiaries would rise to 2 million by the end of 2014-15.The bank lends at 14 per cent per annum to SHGs for one to three years, and the average ticket size of such loans is Rs.1.60 lakh.It disbursed Rs.330 crore in 2012-13, which was expected to rise further to Rs.850 crore by the end of this fiscal, Mr. Kochhar said, announcing that the initiative would be rolled out in three new States in the next year.