With the intention to pass on the benefit of the excise duty cut announced by the administration, Samsung India, one of the top consumer durables companies in the country, has slashed prices of its liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions and refrigerators.

According to a company statement, the cut in TV prices will be up to 2.5%.

The 22-inch LCD model, which now comes with a tag of Rs 18,500, gets cheaper by Rs 500.

On the other hand, the company has reduced prices by Rs 10,000 on a 52 inch LCD model, which is now priced at Rs 2.9 lakh.

State-run telecom giant, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) would be the first telecom company to launch 3G services in India. Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh is expected to launch the third generation technology during the Indian Telecom Summit in New Delhi on Thursday. MTNL would initially provide free of cost services to high spending customers and soon extend to the general mobile users.

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) acquired the remaining 50% stake in Godrej SCA Hygiene (GSH) from its joint venture partner, SCA Hygiene Products of Sweden. The transaction will make the joint venture company, which owns the 'Snuggy' brand of baby diapers, a 100 per cent subsidiary of GCPL.

CyberSource Ltd., the UK-based CyberSource arm, declared that its Decision Manager anti-fraud solution has been chosen by FutureBazaar India Ltd, the online shopping portal of Pantaloon Retail, one of India's major retailers.

By making use of Decision Manager, FutureBazaar can now access more than 150 worldwide validation tests to screen for fraud and determine in real time whether online transactions should be accepted, rejected, or marked for further review.

Auto manufactures have started to slash prices of various vehicles following the recent excise duty cut, announced by the union government. Two-wheeler companies such as Hero Honda, Bajaj and Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India has slashed motor cycle prices in the range of Rs 1,000-2,000. Hindustan Motors also slashed price of the Ambassador by Rs 10,000-14,000.

Union government has allowed OVL, foreign subsidiary of ONGC, to go for the acquisition of UK-listed Imperial Energy at the original prices of $2.5-billion. The deal was approved by the government in August when it allowed OVL to participate in the bidding process for the acquisition of Imperial Energy.