The announcement by Aurobindo Pharma to enter in to a strategic deal with US-based pharmaceutical major Pfizer helped its shares price on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The deal would allow selling of generic medicines, used for cardiovascular disease and central nervous system disorders, in the US and European market.

The global generic market is currently worth $270 billion and expected to grow over $500 billion in the next five years. Pfizer holds considerable shares in drug market, selling $10 billion non-exclusive drug annually.

In light of the highly uncertain global economic conditions, Hexaware Technologies Limited (HTL), an IT and BPO service provider, has announced that it will implement cost control measures to improve its current utilization.

In a disclosure to the Stock Exchange, the Mumbai based company said that it will put about 350 people who are currently non-billable on a virtual bench and retain them in the organization though there are no immediate billable opportunities for them.

The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has given tentative approval to Aurobindo Pharma, a Hyderabad-based manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), to market Escitalopram Oxalate tablets in variable strengths.

Aurbindo will market the pills in dosages of 5mg, 10mg and 20mg.

The Loot, a multi-brand discount chain promoted by Loot India Pvt Ltd, is planning to have 100 stores by 2009-end.

A week ago, the company opened three stores — one each in Manipur, Itanagar and Bhagalpur. At present, there are 94 The Loot stores across the country.

R P Chhabra, CEO, The Loot, said, "We are growing at 100% year-on-year and intend to maintain the same pace this year, too. Many tier II and tier III cities have a lot of potential and we will open many more stores in the coming years."

To strengthen its presence in the Indian market, Airtel along with Research In Motion (RIM) rolled out a new service plan for Airtel customers.

The new service plan, named BlackBerry® Personal Mail allows Airtel customers to enjoy unlimited email and instant messaging (IM) on BlackBerry® smartphone at a monthly charge of just Rs 499.

It is the first service plan, which is priced below Rs 500 to offer unlimited email and IM to Indian BlackBerry smartphone customers.

The three-way battle to control Orissa Sponge Iron and Steel Ltd has taken a new turn with Bhushan Energy Ltd's decision to offer 330 rupees per share for 20 percent stake in OSLS against Monnet Ispat's offer of Rs 310.

Other players including BNS Steel Trading Pvt. Ltd, BBN Transportation Pvt. Ltd, BNR Infotech Pvt. Ltd and BNR Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd are also in the race to acquire stake in the firm.

The Bhubaneshwar-based Orissa Sponge holds captive iron ore and coal mines. The company is witnessing battle between Bhushan Power, Monnet Ispat and Bhushan Steel in the past one week. The final winner would be declared on May 13 for the offer opening on April 24, according to information available from Bombay Stock Exchange.