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A year after introducing its popular 'MINI' range of cars in India [ Images ], luxury car maker BMW [ Images ] has begun the local production of 'MINI Countryman' at the facility in Chennai. "A new chapter is set to be written in MINI's global success story as cars from the British premium brand roll off an assembly line outside Europe for the first time. The Group on Wednesday announced the commencement of local production of MINI Countryman at BMW Plant near Chennai," BMW India said in a statement. BMW Chennai plant, spread on a 40-acre land at MahindraWorldCity in Singaperumalkoil, currently produces BMW 3 series, BMW 5 series, BMW X1, BMW X3. Besides MINI Cooper, the company in 2013 will also produce BMW 7 series and the BMW 1 series, the statement said. "With the production of MINI Countryman at the BMW Plant Chennai, MINI is the first premium small car to be locally manufactured in India and expects significant growth over the medium and l...

Malaysian budget carrier, AirAsia’s joint venture with the Tatas and Telstra group for a domestic airline moved another step closer to take-off following approval from the government on Tuesday. AirAsia’s proposal, cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on March 6, was given a formal go-ahead on Tuesday, according to an official statement issued by the Finance Ministry which put the investment at Rs.80.89 crore. The venture will now need operational clearances such as the Air Operator’s Permit from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Talking to journalists here, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said the AirAsia JV had not yet submitted any application to the Aviation Ministry. “There were some concerns and procedural issues with regard to the proposed airline. We will look into it quickly. But all that will depend on how fast they provide us the information regarding safety, aircraft, pilots and airworthiness of aircraft. Any clearance will depend on ho...

On April 1 onwards you need not shell out any extra money to use ATM of any bank , thanks to a directive by the Reserve Bank.Providing the much-needed relief to the common man, banks have been asked by the regulator not to charge any fee for cash withdrawals using ATM and debit cards issued by other banks from April 1 onwards.However, banks can still charge extra for services such as cash withdrawal with the use of credit cards and at ATMs located outside India.Under these circumstances also, some banks plan to expand their ATM network.Oriental Bank of Commerce is planning to increase its ATM base and will open 60 new ATMs across the country to facilitate smooth cash withdrawal. "We are planning to open 60 more ATMs to facilitate cash withdrawal," OBC Executive Director S C Sinha said.When asked about the strategy the largest private sector lender ICICI will adopt to comply with the regulation, a bank's spokesperson said, "We will abide by the RBI directions"....