The merger between State Bank of Saurashtra and State bank of India has been approved by India, which will help the smaller banks face challenges better.

After a cabinet meeting, Priyaranjan Dasmunshi reported that the merger would help State Bank of Saurashtra to face the competition arising from globalization of the economy. Further it will also augment efficiency and enable better management of risk.

The order would be issued by the government under which it will sanction the merger and move the bill in parliament to repeal State Bank of Saurashtra Act and amend State Bank of India (subsidiary banks) Act for the merger to take effect.

Thursday saw the nation’s largest private firm “Reliance Industries” reporting a 13% jump in net profit on the back of good refining margins in the first quarter of current fiscal.

In April-June, the company had posted a net profit of Rs 4,110 crore, against Rs 3,630 crore a year ago.

The company earned USD 15.7 on every barrel of oil it processed from it’s refinery at Jamnagar, where it operates a 660,000 barrels per day. The USD figure earned is much higher than the Asian average of USD 8-9 barrel.

Three Indian Companies, which include Yatra.com; an online travel portal, BuzzInTown.com which is an event-oriented social network, and advertising company Emnet Samsara Media, have been identified by the Intel Capital to invest its $17 million in them. The announcement was made on Thursday by Intel Capital, which is actually the venture capital unit of Nasdaq-listed Intel Corporation. The company further reported that it is bullish on country’s investment prospects.

The Intel Capital, President, Mr Arvind Sodhani, said that they are rapidly investing in opportunities that they find suitable and are excited about the investment prospects in the country. The $250 million Intel Capital India Technology Fund would provide the funding for the said investment.

The leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel has been maintaining a strong momentum in the field by posting a growth of 34% on Thursday in its net profit at Rs 2,025 crore for the first quarter of 2008-09. The company’s consolidated total revenues saw a growth of 44% for the first quarter and stood at Rs. 8,483.

As of June 30, 2008, Bharti had total subscribers of 7.17 crore. Over the corresponding period of last year, the company saw an increase in total subscriber base by 61%.

The Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) stated yesterday that the allegations made by CDMA service providers that the GSM operators were provided 2G spectrum against norms were false and baseless.

In a letter issued to the media, COAI said that the entire campaign formed by the CDMA operator’s body which is Association of United Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) was dishonest and misleading.

COAI further claimed that AUSPI had done all that as a desperate attempt to pull down a performing industry. AUSPI had also been accused for forming a “serious misinformation campaign.”

The financial bids which were opened on Wednesday saw Maytas Infra Ltd and Navabharat Ventures Ltd, Ital Thai of Thailand and IL&FS Ltd, which had formed a consortium getting the 12,200 crore Hyderabad Metro Rail project. This consortium will now develop the 71km metro network on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. It will have the concession period of 30 years.