Life Insurance Corporation of India: The insurance behemoth disclosed on March 15 that it has secured the government’s approval for a wage revision for its employees, to be implemented from August 1, 2022. According to a press release from LIC, the government has sanctioned a 17% hike in the wage bill. This development is set to benefit over 110,000 employees throughout the organization, as per LIC. The contribution to the National Pension System (NPS) has been increased from 10% to 14% for approximately 24,000 employees who joined LIC post-April 1, 2010. Furthermore, a one-time ex-gratia payment has been distributed to over 30,000 LIC pensioners and family pensioners.
Dr. Lal PathLabs: The diagnostics company has announced the appointment of Shankha Banerjee as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Key Managerial Personnel. This change will take effect from May 21, 2024, according to a stock exchange filing on March 17. Banerjee, a graduate of Delhi College of Engineering and SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai, brings over two decades of corporate experience to the role. Before joining Dr. Lal PathLabs in 2014, he held key positions at Castrol India Limited, BP Lubricants, and Pidilite Industries Limited, where he served as the President of Sales & Marketing for the Middle East and Africa regions.
Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals: The company has been awarded a patent for their innovative linear node tubular lighting system. The patent, which is valid for 20 years, officially came into effect on August 14, 2020. In other news, Sachin Phartiyal has stepped down from his position as the head of the home electricals unit due to personal and professional circumstances, effective from April 9. His responsibilities will be assumed by Rajat Chopra, who is presently leading the pumps division, starting from April 10.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises: The company, in the process of restructuring its operations following a failed merger with Sony, has implemented changes in its technology and data sector. Nitin Mittal, who held the position of President, Technology and Data at Zee, has resigned, a decision that has been accepted by the company’s MD and CEO, Punit Goenka. In the interim, Amrit Thomas (Data Science), Kishore Krishnamurthy (Engineering), Bhushan Kolleri (Product), and Vishal Somani (Enterprise and Content Technology) will report to Amit Goenka, President – Digital Businesses & Platforms, as stated in a company press release on March 15.
Zomato: The online food delivery platform has been served a GST penalty notice from the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax in Gujarat for the financial year 2018-19. As per a regulatory filing with the stock exchanges, the demand order relates to an over-claim of input tax credit and underpayment of GST. Zomato disclosed in its exchange filing that it has received a GST demand of ₹4.12 crores for FY 2018-19, along with applicable interest and penalty, amounting to a total of ₹8.58 crores. In response to the show cause notice, Zomato clarified all the issues and provided relevant documents and circulars. However, the company believes that these clarifications were not fully taken into account by the authorities when the order was passed.
PTC India Financial Service: On March 15, PTC India Financial Service (PFS) informed the stock exchange that their CFO, Mahendra Lodha, has retracted his resignation. PFS has been under regulatory examination due to issues related to corporate governance and mismanagement. Lodha, who assumed the role of Director (Finance) in June 2020, was additionally assigned the responsibilities of MD and CEO after the departure of the former CEO, Pawan Singh, following a directive from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). PFS is in the process of seeking a new MD and CEO due to heightened regulatory scrutiny following an unsuccessful appointment attempt in 2023. The company has also been trying to retain Lodha beyond his planned exit date of March 15, the company had said in an exchange filing recently.
RailTel Corporation of India: The company has secured a work order from the State Project Director (SPD) of the Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC). The order, which includes a supply contract worth ₹130 crore (inclusive of taxes), was announced to the stock exchanges by the PSU. This follows the company’s recent acquisition of a contract valued at over ₹113.46 crore from the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC).
NHPC: The company announced on Friday that it has been awarded the contract to construct a 200 MW solar power project in the 1,125 MW RE Park of the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd (GSECL) in Khavda, Kachchh district, Gujarat. The project is expected to produce approximately 473 million units of electricity in its first year of operation. Over a span of 25 years, the total energy output from the project is projected to be around 10,850 million units. The company will undertake the project development on a build-own-and-operate basis, with an estimated development cost of ₹847 crore.
DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations Ltd.: The company specializing in drone technology solutions has announced that it has won a contract to supply IT hardware for the Indian Army’s Drone Lab in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The contract includes the supply of key IT equipment, including CPUs, monitors, keyboards, and mice, which are essential for setting up and running the Drone Lab, as per the company’s regulatory filing. The company further stated that this advanced facility will enable crucial training and research activities for defense personnel, thereby enhancing their skills in unmanned aerial systems.
