The 1,000 megawatt power plant - to be commissioned by 2008-09 - has been proposed by the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), which has also signed an agreement for picking up gas from Gail, a press release said.
 
Gail proposes to extend its Dadri-Panipat gas pipeline to Ludhiana to meet the requirements of the power project, as also the demand from industrial, transport, agriculture and domestic sectors along the line.

This will be the second power project in which Gail will acquire equity. It has a 12 percent stake in the 156-megawatt power plant at Hazira in Gujarat, the press release added.

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Hindustan Zinc completes Rajasthan expansion

Hindustan Zinc has completed the expansion project at its Chanderia smelter unit and the Rampura Agucha Mines in Rajasthan at a cost that is 15 percent lower than the original budget of $425 million.

The company has also commenced trial production, a company statement said Tuesday.

The expansion increases the company's refined zinc capacity by 170,000 tonnes per annum to around 400,000 tonnes. The project includes a 154-megawatt captive power plant and the expansion of mine output, the statement added.

Separately, the reserves at Rampura Agucha mine, which feeds the smelter, have been increased by 25 percent compared with the reserves as on March 31 last year to 50.1 million tonnes. The reserves contain 12.8 percent zinc and 1.9 percent lead.

Besides, the life of Rampura Agucha has also been extended by another three years, at the increased level of output, with potential to expand the reserves through further exploration, the statement said.

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Ranbaxy receives US approval for drug

Ranbaxy Laboratories Tuesday said it has received a tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market 150-milligram Lamivudine tablets in the United States.

In combination with other anti-retroviral agents, Lamivudine tablets are indicated for the treatment of HIV infection, a press release said.

"This is a major step in making our life-saving ARV medicines available to more and more HIV/AIDS patients in the developing world," said Brian W. Tempest, chief executive and managing director of Ranbaxy.

"In tandem, we are also pursuing World Health Organisation pre-qualification for the same products," he added.

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Siemens to set up transformer unit

German engineering giant Siemens AG Tuesday said it would invest $34.5 million in a new electricity transformer factory at Kalwa in Maharashtra to cater to both the domestic and export markets. The unit is expected to start production by the end of 2006.

"The establishment of the transformer factory will enable us to provide an entire range of products in the power transformer and distribution businesses," Jurgen Schubert, managing director of the German company's Indian arm, told reporters in Mumbai.

"Looking at certain market trends, there would be a demand of opportunities for transformer capacity in India. This demand has got a big push from power reforms that the government is planning," Schubert said.

The company was considering China as an alternative for locating the new unit, but decided in India's favour because of quick approvals from the Maharashtra government, he said.