Rivals that were stars, such as GMR, GVK and Lanco, are in financial trouble.

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Lanco expects to ramp up annual production to 15 million tons after the present infrastructure is upgraded.

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Lanco, which currently produces over 2, 000 megawatts of power, is targeting production of 7, 000 megawatts by 2014.

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Of the 10 who dropped out altogether (one other, Gracias Saldanha, died in July), 4 have their fortunes tied to the power industry, which is plagued by fuel shortages, including power producer L. Madhusudan Rao of Lanco Infratech and power-equipment maker B.

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