* AUTOMOBILES: Hyundai Motor India plans to sell around 650,000 units in 2013, up from around 641,000 sold in 2012.
* AVIATION: Emirates cuts ticket prices by 25-30%. Air India pilots union will decide by next week on a possible agitation plan after a letter from the management earlier this week indicated that flying allowances may be cut. Grounding of Air India 's Beoing-787 Dreamlines has already started adding to the airline's fuel cost by around 4 mln rupees a day.
* BANKING: A Reserve Bank of India panel has asked central cooperative banks to have at least 70% of their loans portfolio for agriculture.
* DISINVESTMENT: The government is in talks with key administrative ministries on divestments planned for the next fiscal.
* GOVERNMENT: The government's public debt were at 40.48 trln rupees at the end of December, up 3.6% from the end of the immediate previous quarter.
* INFRASTRUCTURE: A consortium of Tata Projects and Spain 's Aldesa has bagged a 33-bln-rupee civil works contract to build a rail track between Bhaupur and Khurja in Uttar Pradesh, a segment of the dedicated eastern freight corridor. Spain 's coach and component maker CAF plans to set up to rail car plant in Rajasthan.
* MARKETS: Life Insurance Corp of India gets licence from the Singapore government to start operations in the country.
* METALS & MINING: Supreme Court questions the government's power to allocate coal blocks to companies. ArcelorMittal is planning to close its coke plant and six production lines at its Belgium facility.
* RETAIL: Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma has assured Walmart International Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon that the government's policy on foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail had finality. The Cabinet panel has approved setting up of a one-man committee to probe into media reports concerning Bharti and Walmart deal. UK retailer Tesco seeks clarity on government's FDI policy for the sector.
* REAL ESTATE: The government may accord infrastructure status to the housing sector in the Budget.
* SUGAR: The Indian Sugar Mills Association has hiked the country's 2012-13 (Oct-Sep) sugar output estimate to 24.3 mln tn from 24.0 mln tn projected earlier.
* TELECOM: The meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers on spectrum ended inconclusively. The Bombay High Court has issued a stay order on the government's decision to collect a one-time fee for excess spectrum; tells Department of Telecommunications not to take any coercive action until Mar 1. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chairman Rahul Khullar has expressed concern on successive tariff hikes by operators; asks if there is any nexus among them on the same. Madras High Court stays TRAI order on cutting cable landing station charges. Companies in the sector seek tax breaks, infrastructure status as part of their Budget wish-list.
* TAXATION: The commerce ministry has sought lower minimum alternate tax on special economic zones in the upcoming Budget.
