NEW DELHI | Wed Feb 22, 2012 9:50pm IST NEW DELHI (Reuters) – United Arab Emirates telecom operator Etisalat on Wednesday said it would shut down the operations of its Indian joint venture, three weeks after the Supreme Court cancelled the affiliate’s licence amid a corruption probe. On February 9, Etisalat wrote off $827 million relating to India unit Etisalat DB (EDB), in which it owns a 45 percent stake,…

By Tim Cocks LAGOS | Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:12pm IST LAGOS (Reuters) – South Africa-based Econet Wireless is seeking at least $3.1 billion in damages from Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) in a dispute over ownership of the Indian group’s subsidiary Airtel Nigeria, according to a suit filed on Wednesday. The move follows a Nigerian court ruling on January 30 that Bharti Airtel‘s ownership of Airtel Nigeria is “null and void”…

NEW DELHI | Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:34pm IST NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The government has formally allowed local airlines to import jet fuel directly, it said in a statement on Wednesday, in a major policy move expected to bring down costs for debt-laden carriers. Jet fuel is more than 50 percent costlier in India, compared to the global average, mostly due to local taxes.(Reporting by Anurag Kotoky; Editing by…

By Frank Jack Daniel NEW DELHI | Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:46pm IST NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Aakash, the “$35″ computer launched last year in India as the world’s cheapest tablet, has run into problems and companies will be invited to bid again to make the device after complaints of poor performance and hiccups rolling out a pilot model. The government has hailed the Aakash tablet as an achievement of…

By Rajesh Kurup MUMBAI | Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:13pm IST MUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex closed down on Wednesday, reversing early gains, as investors turned cautious and booked profits after a recent rally that pushed up the index to its highest close in nearly seven months in the previous session. The 30-share BSE index closed down 1.54 percent, or 283.36 points, at 18,145.25, with 24 of its components…