30 Indian firms in Forbes list Forbes list 30 Indian companies have found a place on Forbes' list of the top 2,000 corporate titans across the world. Old and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), 265th on the list, leads the Indian side. While oil and gas and the banking sectors dominate the list, there are others like manufacturing, software and elecommunications companies.

State Bank of India is 269th and Indian Oil 273rd in the list. Citigroup is No. 1, followed by General Electric and American Intl Group. Reliance, National Thermal Power Corporation, ICCI Bank, Steel Authority of India, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are some other Indian companies on the list.
ITC lines up Rs 14,000 cr ITC Limited recently announced a Rs 14,000 crore investment plan over the next five years for consolidation and expansion of various businesses including cigarettes, hotels, paper, packaging and agri-business. The company's board met in Kolkata headed by Chairman Y.C. Deveshwar to discuss its business plans till the financial year 2009-10. Deveshwar said, “Quite apart from the positive growth signals in the economy, the board's decision was driven by our aspiration to contribute significantly to the national effort of investment-led job creation.”
	Aptech No.1 in China again Aptech has been placed first in the IT training market for the third consecutive year in China, posting a revenue of $40 million in 2004. Company reports say that according to a report by the China Centre for Information Industry Development, Aptech maintained its top position there and doubled its market share to around 15 per cent in 2004.
Aptech, with a market share of 14.8 per cent, has moved ahead of players like Science Institute of Software (10.3 per cent) and NIIT (7.9 per cent market share). “Aptech's market share in China has grown by nearly 100 per cent, which is the highest growth rate achieved by any company in the IT education segment, largely due to our geographical spread combined with our well-researched courses suited to the Chinese market,” CEO and MD, Aptech, Pramod Khera said.
	C-DOT, Alcatel dial a deal Alcatel has joined hands with C-DOT (Centre for the Development of Telematics) for setting up a global R&D facility in India for wireless broadband technology. India's premier telecom R&D institute, in a JV with Alcatel, will employ 1,000 people initially and work on WiMax technology. The institute was a brainchild of Sam Pitroda and ushered in the telecom revolution in India.
C-DOT's rural exchanges were very successful but for last four years, it has not been able to develop any commercially viable technology. “Alcatel believes that broadband wireless and particularly WiMax is the appropriate technology for India keeping in mind the requirements of the rural sector,” said Ravi Sharma, president, Alcatel (South Asia).
	TVS revs up for Tehran India's largest auto-electrical components maker and a member of the $2.2 billion TVS Group, Lucas-TVS, has finalised plans to set up a manufacturing base in Iran. N. Ravichandran, president (operations), Lucas-TVS, said: “We will set up the new unit as a joint venture with a local Iranian partner.
Slowly it will become a full fledged manufacturing base which will produce the entire range of products that we make in India.” It is a smart move, considering that the Iranian market for four-wheelers is around one million units a year. In India, Lucas-TVS has manufacturing facilities at Padi, Pondicherry and Rewari with a total capacity of 1.5 million units per year, 25 per cent more than the market requirements.
More action in the sky India has signed a liberal open sky aviation agreement with the US for enhanced air connectivity between the two countries. Signed by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, the pact this will pave the runway for a further
cut in air fares and allow Indian carriers unrestricted access to key American destinations such as New York and Los Angeles. With the new agreement in place, American carriers like Delta and Continental are planning to launch a number of new services to India. The move is also likely to impact Indo-US trade and economic co-operation.