New generation needs to take over from master weavers
By P.S. Anantharaman, IANS,
Ahmedabad : One of the major challenges the Indian handloom industry faces in the era of globalisation is the "reluctance" of the new generation to take the baton from ageing master weavers, according to an expert.
D. Narasimha Reddy, a coordinator in the Centre for Handloom Information and Policy Advocacy (CHIP), a Chirala (Andhra Pradesh)-based NGO, told IANS in an interview: "Most master weavers have today reached their age and are ready to hand over the reins to the next generation."
West Bengal suspends private Kolkata-Dhaka bus service
By Sreya Basu, IANS,
Kolkata : Authorities in West Bengal have ordered the suspension of the only private bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka because the operator's permit has run out. But the operator does not agree and is continuing the daily run between the two countries.
The West Bengal Surface Transport Corp Ltd (WBSTCL) ordered the suspension of the Souharda service April 10 pending the appointment of a new franchisee.
"The WBSTCL has decided to change its franchisee," Sumantra Chowdhury, the state transport department's additional chief secretary, told IANS.
Google posts surprise earnings despite weak US economy
By DPA,
New York : Google Inc reported a 30-percent jump in first-quarter earnings Thursday to $1.31 billion, allaying fears that the internet search engine leader was struggling with the effects of a US economic slowdown.
Revenue also climbed 42 percent to $5.19 billion, with more than half its sales coming from outside the US, the company said after market close.
Google's shares shot up more than 11 percent in after-hours trading as the earnings report beat analysts' estimates.
US stocks slip on Merrill Lynch, Pfizer results
By DPA,
New York : Stocks slipped across the board Thursday after Pfizer Inc's earnings trailed estimates and Merrill Lynch investment bank reported net losses of $1.96 billion.
The investment bank said it would cut another 4,000 jobs amidst the most severe US economic downturn in decades.
Stocks fell despite upbeat forecasts at International Business Machines Corp and the first rise in six months of a leading economic index by the private Conference Board in New York.
EU says China main source for dangerous goods
By EuAsiaNews,
Brussels : The number of dangerous products removed from the European Union market rose by 53% in 2007 compared to 2006, according to the European Commission's annual report on the Rapid Alert System (RAPEX) to spot risky goods .
This rise from 1.051 notifications in 2006 to 1.605 last year shows that EU member states' surveillance capacities are improving year on year, and that European consumers are better protected today than ever before, said the EU's executive body in a statement Thursday.
Rupert Murdoch brings MySpace to India
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Rupert Murdoch-run Global media conglomerate News Corporation Thursday brought its social networking website MySpace to India -- a market already bustling with the presence of international giants like Google's Orkut and Indian billionaire Anil Ambani group's Bigadda.Com.
Like other players already present in the market, News Corp is also looking to attract the younger generation in India, which is home to world's youngest population with over half of its residents aged below 25 years, industry experts said.
Funds approved to improve agro produce infrastructure
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Thursday approved two schemes with a total outlay of Rs.4.29 billion to build infrastructure to boost export of agricultural produce.
The CCEA sanctioned an outlay of Rs.2.29 billion for the implementation of the scheme for infrastructure development under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), a government spokesperson told reporters.
An outlay of Rs.2 billion has been earmarked for implementation for transport assistance for the body.
Hindustan Coca Cola’s investment plans approved
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Thursday gave its approval to Hindustan Coca Cola Holdings (HCCH) Private Ltd to invest Rs.2.05 billion ($52.4 million) in its subsidiary Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) Pvt Ltd.
The investment would be made to fund capital expenditure in the subsidiary.
A government spokesperson told reporters that the approval would be subject to compliance with the pricing guidelines of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
GSTP agreement gets government’s nod
By IANS,
New Delhi : The central government Thursday decided to go ahead with the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) agreement, which it would finalise during the GSTP ministers meeting, to be held in Accra, Ghana, next week.
A large Indian delegation led by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath will visit Accra later this month to discuss multi-lateral trade regime, among other issues.
The minister will also seek too engage with other leaders to ensure that the Doha Round of global trade talks under the aegis of World Trade Organisation is back on track.
‘Lending rate to remain unchanged till monetary policy’
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian bankers will wait for the monetary policy before announcing any change in the prime lending rate (PLR) in the wake of the hike in cash reserve ratio (CRR), announced by the apex bank Thursday.
M.V. Nair, chairman and managing director of Union bank of India, told IANS: "We will wait for the announcement of the monetary policy and take a decision on the revision of PLR rates."
CRR hiked by 50 basis points to check inflation
By IANS,
Mumbai : With India's inflation rate ruling at four-year high, the central bank Thursday increased the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to suck out excess liquidity out of the financial system.
The move comes just a day after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Y.V Reddy said in New York that he would take necessary steps to rein in inflation which is at 7.14 percent for the week ending April 5.
World trade growth to slow further in 2008: WTO
By DPA,
Geneva : World trade growth could slow to 4.5 percent in 2008 as a result of a sharp economic downturn in key developed countries, according to a report by the World Trade Organization (WTO) published Thursday.
Economists at the WTO said growth had slipped from 8.5 percent in 2006 to 5.5 percent in 2007, according to a preliminary assessment though the intense market fluctuations had rendered forecasts difficult.
Hindustan Zinc announces exploration success
By IANS,
Udaipur (Rajasthan) : Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) Thursday announced that its ongoing exploration activities had yielded significant success with an increase of 28.7 million tonnes to its reserves and resources, prior to a depletion of 5.8 million tonnes in 2007-08.
HZL is India's leading integrated producer of zinc and lead. Its metal production capacity is nearly 670,000 tonne per annum with its smelter operations located in Rajasthan's Chanderiya and Debari and in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam.
Railways not to ferry grains for private contractors
By IANS,
New Delhi : Goods trains will not ferry food grains for private contractors to foil any bid for hoarding them, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad told the Lok Sabha Thursday.
"Except the food grains meant for the Food Corporation of India (FCI) or the state food corporations, the railways will not ferry the grains of private contractors," Prasad said amid thumping of benches from the ruling members.
The food grains procured by the FCI are distributed through the public distribution outlets at highly subsidised rates. FCI is a central government agency.
Religare Finvest to finance commercial vehicles
By IANS,
Chennai : Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL), a non-banking finance company, has signed a strategic agreement with the Pune-based three-wheeler manufacturer Kumar Motors Private Ltd for financing commercial vehicles.
According to the agreement, RFL, a 100 percent subsidiary of Religare Enterprises Ltd, would finance the vehicles made by Kumar Motors.
"The first year target is around 10,000 three wheelers," Sachindra Nath, chief operating officer of Religare Enterprises, told reporters here Thursday.
"We may go for funding second hand truck purchases," he added.
Star Health aims to double premium base
By IANS,
Chennai : The country's first stand-alone health insurer, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd, is targeting to double its premium base to Rs.3.5 billion this fiscal year (FY), a top company official said.
Addressing the media here Thursday, V. Jagannathan, chairman and managing director, said: "Our target for FY 2009 is Rs.3.5 billion up from Rs.1.7 billion premium income in FY 2008."
He said the company would achieve the target by increasing its distribution reach to 131 branches from the current 114 and with differentiated product offering at competitive rates.
Indirect tax collection target missed, admits official
By IANS,
New Delhi : With a minor shortfall in excise duty collections, the government has earned a little over Rs.2,780 billion from the indirect taxes last fiscal, a top official said Thursday.
Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Chairman P.C. Jha admitted the target was missed, but said the shortfall in excise duty collections was only minor. He told reporters that it failed to meet the revised target of Rs.1,279.47 billion for 2007-08.
He was speaking on the sidelights of the 12th World Customs Organisation's Regional Heads' Conference here Thursday.
EU-GCC free trade pact likely this year
By IANS,
Dubai : A free trade agreement (FTA) between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising six Gulf nations, and the European Union (EU) is likely to come up within this year.
"We made great progress on a number of important issues in 2007, and barring a couple of remaining issues, an FTA between the two blocs is likely to happen in 2008," EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner told the Gulf Times newspaper.
Ferrero-Waldner, an Austrian, said the agreement got stalled in the 1990s because the GCC did not have a customs union.
Electrotherm to issue 1.3 mn shares to German firm
By IANS,
Ahmedabad : City-based Electrotherm (India) Ltd, an engineering company engaged in steel and two-wheeler businesses, announced Thursday that it would issue 1.3 million shares to German financial institution DEG on a preferential basis.
Electrotherm shareholders approved the proposal at an extra-ordinary general meeting, the company said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Rupert Murdoch brings to India
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Rupert Murdoch-run Global media conglomerate News Corporation Thursday brought its social networking website MySpace to India -- a market already bustling with the presence of international giants like Google's Orkut and Indian billionaire Anil Ambani group's Bigadda.Com.
Like other players already present in the market, News Corp is also looking to attract the younger generation in India, which is home to world's youngest population with over half of its residents aged below 25 years, industry experts said.
New greenfield airport policy before Lok Sabha polls: Patel
By IANS,
New Delhi : The government would soon announce its new policy on greenfield airports, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told the Lok Sabha Thursday.
A consolidated and updated policy would be in place for the greenfield airports well before the parliamentary elections, due to be held early next year, Patel assured the house.
G8 business groups urge innovation to fight global warming
By DPA,
Tokyo : Business groups from the Group of Eight (G8) countries Thursday called on their governments to push for innovation to fuel the fight against climate change.
It is essential that the governments of the seven leading industrialized countries and Russia cooperate with business to promote research, development and investment in technologies that produce lower emissions of carbon dioxide, said a joint declaration issued at the end of a meeting of the G8 business groups in Tokyo.
Markets end in green, boosted by low inflation numbers
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equity markets continued their gaining rally Thursday and ended with a decent gain which was boosted by the slight decline in inflation.
IT and banking stocks were in demand throughout the session. Realty and metal stocks picked up momentum in the last hour of trade.
Positive cues from the global markets also boosted the domestic bourses in the early trade.
OPEC crude price touches record $106
By Xinhua,
Vienna : The daily average oil prices of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) touched a new high at $106.65 a barrel, the cartel said Thursday.
Wednesday's peak price was $0.92 higher than the previous day's price of $105.73 a barrel.
The prices have been rising since the beginning of this week, setting three price records in as many trading days.
Judiciary demands budget hike, financial autonomy
By IANS,
New Delhi : Lamenting what it termed abysmally low expenditure on administration of justice in the country, the Indian judiciary Thursday raised a vehement demand for raising its budgetary allocation and granting financial autonomy to it.
The country's judiciary made the demand for enhanced budget and financial autonomy for itself at an ongoing two-day's annual judges' meet here, being held to deliberate upon various issues of legal reforms.
Markets end in green
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities market ended Thursday in green.
The 30-share benchmark of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensitive index (Sensex) opened at 16,456.04 points touched a high of 16,570.57 before closing at 16,481.20 points. It went up by 237.01 points at the day's close or 1.46 percent.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) S & P Nifty, which opened at 4890.60 points, closed at 4958.40 points. It went up by 71.01 points or 1.45 percentage point.
Tata denies reports on partnership with Embraer
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Tata Group Thursday denied media reports that it was in partnership talks with Embraer, a Brazilian aircraft manufacturing company.
"We would like to clarify that the information is completely untrue and baseless," said a spokesperson of the Tata Group here.
Earlier some reports from Brazil had said both the companies were in talks to clinch a partnership agreement.
Cuba to start oil exploration in Gulf of Mexico
By IANS,
Havana : Spurred by experts' reports that Cuba is sitting on oil, the government has decided to start drilling in the Gulf of Mexico next year, Spain's EFE news agency reported Thursday.
"We are currently studying the seismic activities in the Gulf of Mexico and next year we would start petroleum exploration there," the official daily Juventud Rebelde Wednesday quoted Industry Minister Yadira Garcia as saying.
Following initial seismic reports suggesting that the island may have huge oil reserves, international oil firms have shown special interests in the area.
Drought-hit Bundelkhand gets funds
By IANS,
Bhopal : Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region is facing severe drought for the fourth consecutive year - acres of land lie barren, starved of water.
The drought has forced villagers of the region to migrate to towns far away in search of food and employment.
The state government has allocated over Rs.10 million to the nine districts that fall in the region, an official statement said Thursday.
Each tehsil (sub-district block) would be provided Rs.40,000 to be used for emergency assistance.
Free SMS through portal
By IANS,
Hyderabad : The next time you want to send an SMS anywhere in India, you need not use your mobile phone to do so.
Way2SMS, a leading messaging solutions portal, is offering a unique service to people to send SMS free of cost to their near and dear ones across the nation.
Every message the portal sends is appended by an advertisement from its clients. The Hyderabad-based company has come out with this unique mobile advertising platform to bring together the users and the advertisers.
Thomson completes Reuters acquisition, shares begin trading
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London : The Thomson Corporation Thursday announced the completion of its acquisition of Reuters Group PLC, forming Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI; TSX: TRI; LSE: TRIL: NASDAQ: TRIN), the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare, and media markets.
Effective Thursday Thomson Reuters shares began trading on exchanges in Toronto, New York and London and are eligible for inclusion in S&P/TSX and FTSE 100 UK indices.
Parsvnath ties up with two Saffron Group funds for Mumbai project
By IANS,
New Delhi : Parsvnath Developers Limited has inked an agreement Thursday with two Saffron Group-managed funds, Yatra Capital Limited and Saffron India Real Estate Fund I, for the development of a BEST bus depot near the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai.
The land from BEST was awarded for planning, designing, constructing and re-modelling a fully equipped Bus Depot, Staff Housing as well as buildings for commercial utilisation.
Pepper settles at Rs.14,375 at commodity exchange
By IANS,
Ahmedabad : Pepper settled at Rs.14,375 and rubber at Rs.10,716 Wednesday in the April-2008 futures contract at the National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE).
Among the other commodities traded on the e-platform of NMCE that expired Tuesday, cumin seed settled at Rs.8,950, isabgol at Rs.4,609, dry coconut (copra) at Rs.4,186, coconut oil at Rs.6,250, guar gum at Rs.4,604 and castor seed at Rs.2,602. Prices of all these commodities are quoted in rupees per quintal.
Parsvnath launches Parsvnath Premium
By IANS,
Jammu : Parsvnath Developers Limited (PDL) has announced the launch of Parsvnath Premium, a group housing project in association with Mass House Building Cooperative Limited, at Sidhra, Jammu.
Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Agriculture, Co-operatives, Fisheries & Sericulture Abdul Aziz Zargar was present at the ground breaking ceremony at the project site located on NH-1 at Sidhra Bye-pass.
Indian equities market firm in afternoon trade
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities market was trading firm in the afternoon trade. Banking stocks rallied and IT stocks remained firm, while metal and power stocks went up. All the sector indices on BSE were positive.
Asian markets, which opened before the Indian market, were mostly in green.
At 1.30 p.m., the 30-share sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was up 252.75 points or 1.53 percent at 16,496.94. The Sensex gained 326.38 points at the day's high of 16,570.57, which it hit in early afternoon trade.
Computers aiding in creation of new products
By IANS,
London : From cars and mobile phones to computers and furniture, most products in the market are created virtually on a computer before actual production.
Under the Functional Digital Mock-Up (DMU) project, researchers from four Fraunhofer institutes are developing value additions to digital product development.
An electric car window slides smoothly upward at the press of a button. While power windows are certainly convenient, they can also pose a safety risk.
Prices up in India but inflation rate slightly down
By IANS,
New Delhi : Despite a general increase in prices, India's annual rate of inflation came down slightly to 7.14 percent for the week ended April 5 against 7.41 percent for the week before, official data released Thursday said.
The wholesale price index for all commodities for the week ended April 5 showed a rise of 0.3 percent at 226.6 from 226.0 for the previous week. But the rate of inflation came down due to a higher rise in the index during the comparable week of last year.
G8 business leaders meet in Tokyo on climate change
By Xinhua,
Tokyo : Business leaders from the Group of Eight countries held a one-day conference here Thursday to discuss industry's role in fighting global warming.
The meeting was convened to prepare proposals for the G-8 summit scheduled for July 7-9 in the Lake Toya resort of Hokkaido.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda urged the G-8 business leaders at the start of the meeting to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
Crude oil settles at 114.93 dollars
By APP,
New York : Crude oil for May delivery on Wednesday closed at nearly 115 dollars a barrel, the third straight day of records on the New York Mercantile Exchange, reacting to supply concerns.
Crude oil for May delivery rose to an intraday high of 115.07 dollars a barrel in late afternoon trading, before closing up 1.14 dollars, or 1 percent, at 114.93 dollars on the New York Mercantile Exchange, also a new closing record.
Price hike issue rocked Indian Parliament
By APP,
New Delhi : Price hike issue rocked the Indian Parliament on Wednesday as the opposition parties including BJP and also the pro-government Left Parties criticised the government for its failure to arrest price spiral, particularly in food items which has hit the commonman in India.
In response to the criticism in Lok Sabha, the Indian Finance Minister P Chidamabaram warned of tough measures to arrest price hike. He criticised cement and steel industry of entering into cartels to exploit consumers.
Oil Knocks at 114 Dollars a Barrel
By Prensa Latina,
Washington : One barrel of oil measured by the standard of Texas Intermediate (WTI), a United States reference, hit a new high of 113.70 dollars in New York, coming one cent away from 114 dollars at that session.
According to operators the high prices of crude influenced interest of investors in raw materials due to the weakening of the dollar.
On the other hand, in London the Brent barrel of the Northern Sea, a reference for Europe, also went up and surpassed the 112 dollar mark reaching 112.08 dollars.
Chinese company inks MoU on educational cooperation with TCI
By IRNA,
Tehran : A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on educational cooperation was signed here Wednesday by managing director of Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) and regional director of Chinese " Hua-wy Company".
In the ceremony, Saber Feyzi said the aim of the MoU is to transfer know-how and holding educational training courses in cooperation with the Chinese telecommunication company.
Feyzi said, "Telecommunication college in Isfahan is an international center and Hua-wy company is also a well-known company in the field of telecommunication, too."
Slight reduction in inflation rate
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's annual rate of inflation came down slightly to 7.14 percent for the week ended April 5 against 7.41 percent for the week before, official data released Thursday said.
Markets trading higher in line with its Asian peers
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities market was trading higher in initial trade, tracking strong cues from Asian markets. The gaining rally in the early trade was led by metal, realty and IT stocks.
The 30-share benchmark sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange opened with a gain of 90.35 points at 16,288.76. Ten minutes into trade, the Sensex was trading at 16,486.98 with a gain of 242.79 points or 1.49 percent.
At the same time, the S&P Nifty of the National Stock Exchange was trading at 4,948.90 with a gain of nearly 62 points or 1.26 percent compared to its previous close.
Indian equities market opens in green
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities market Thursday opened with a positive gap tracking strong Asian cues.
The 30-share benchmark sensitive index of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened with a gain of 90.35 points at 16,288.76.
At the same time, the S&P Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 4,890.60 with a marginal gain of three points compared to its previous close.
Indian companies keen to help South Africa resolve power crisis
By Fakir Hassen, IANS,
Johannesburg : India is keen to assist South Africa in resolving its current power crisis, says Sanjay Kirloskar, leader of a 10 company delegation that is participating in the 10th annual Africa Power and Electrical Congress and Exhibition here.
India is a partner country at the event, where delegates from across the globe are attending a variety of workshops and visiting exhibits by related companies from many countries.
India’s smart tycoons are the `knockout punch’ against China
By Gurmukh Singh, IANS,
Toronto : Heaping praise on India's billionaire business leaders, a major Canadian newspaper said Wednesday that they could take India ahead of China in the battle for economic supremacy in the 21st century.
In the Globe and Mail, which is the most respected Canadian newspaper, columnist Marcus Gee said the genius of its business leaders will be India's "knockout punch in the title bout of 21st century business".
US stocks surge ahead on earnings from Intel, JP Morgan
By DPA,
New York : US stock indices surged to their highest one-day gain in two weeks Wednesday after technology and financial companies both posted earnings that were stronger than expected.
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, reported a 12-percent drop in first-quarter profits but a nine-percent rise in revenue to $9.7 billion, suggesting the US economic downturn did not significantly hurt sales.
UK petrol prices expected to soar to Pnds 1.50 per liter
By IRNA,
London : Petrol prices in the UK is expected to continue to hit new records and reach Pnds 1.50 (Dlrs 3) a liter by the late summer, according to a motoring campaign group.
Petrolprices.com said after crude prices had hit almost $114 a barrel for US light crude, it had revised its prediction and that petrol would hit Pnds 1.50 in September and not by the end of the year.
"If these conditions continue and the government doesn't work harder to stem the rising prices, then we're likely to hit Pnds 1.50 a liter by September," said head of the website, Brendan McLoughlin.
SEBI allows MFs to sell government securities
By IANS,
Mumbai : In an effort to further develop the debt market, market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to allow mutual funds (MFs) to sell government securities contracted for purchase in delivery versus payment (DVP III) mode.
Under the DVP III mode of settlement, MFs can sell government securities, already contracted for purchase without taking delivery, provided the approved central counter party, Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL), guarantees the transaction.
Price rise in India minimum in world: minister
By IANS,
New Delhi : Prices of essential commodities were lower in India compared to other countries, Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Pawar told parliament Wednesday.
"In countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Pakistan, there is an increase of over 100 percent in the prices of rice and wheat, while in India the prices of rice and wheat have increased by 17.2 percent and 7.2 percent respectively. It is the minimum in the world," he said.
Pawar was responding to a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the rising inflation and efforts being made to check the trend.
Chidambaram blames states for price rise
By IANS,
New Delhi : As prices of food grains and other essential commodities continued to soar, the government Wednesday blamed the states for the crisis and asked them to rein in hoarders and black marketeers.
Intervening in a discussion on the price rise in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the states must reinforce the stock limit norms to deal with the situation and initiate action against the hoarders.
Tech Mahindra opens Chennai software development centre
By IANS,
Chennai : Tech Mahindra, a software company of the Mahindra & Mahindra group, has set up a new Rs.300 million development centre at Mahindra World City in Paranur, near Chennai.
The company, with revenue of $648 million, will initially house about 400 software engineers at the centre. Tech Mahindra plans to expand it, both in size and investments, over the next 3-4 years.
India’s external trade reflects globalisation: RBI chief
By IANS,
New York : India's external trade in goods and services as a percentage of GDP is 48 percent, more than that of the US at 29 percent, indicative of India's trade integration with the global economy, governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Y.V. Reddy said here.
Reddy was speaking on "India: The Global Partner" at Columbia University's World Leaders Forum Tuesday at a session moderated by Jagdish Bhagwati, distinguished economics professor at the university.
RPL to complete refinery project ahead of schedule
By IANS,
Mumbai : Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) promoted by Mukesh Ambani expects to complete the work of its complex refinery in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Jamnagar in Gujarat ahead of the December 2008 deadline.
"We have achieved 90 percent overall progress in implementation of the complex refinery coming up in an SEZ at Jamnagar," the company said in a statement Wednesday.
Based on the progress made till date in the engineering, procurement and construction activities, RPL expects to complete the project ahead of the schedule.
Tata Teleservices obtains GSM spectrum in Tamil Nadu
By IANS,
New Delhi : Tata Teleservices, a mobile service provider under the CDMA technology, Wednesday obtained frequencies to roll out operations under rival GSM segment in Tamil Nadu circle.
The Mumbai-based operator received start-up spectrum of 4.4 mega hertz (MHz), official sources said.
Tata Teleservices has applied for GSM spectrum for rolling out its network in the entire country.
‘Indian BPO growth next in second-rung cities’
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's booming business process outsourcing (BPO) would see its next phase of growth in the second-rung cities, said the Everest Group, a global IT consultancy firm.
With the ambitious target of achieving $50 billion in revenues in the next five years, the industry would require a huge talent pool that can only be met by the tier-II and tier-III cities, Everest said in a study.
Realty firms must open institutes: minister
By IANS,
New Delhi : Keeping in view the lack of skilled manpower in the realty sector, private developers must open their own institutes to train people for the industry requirement, Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy said Wednesday.
"Indian real estate sector has seen a massive growth in the past few years. However, the industry suffers from lack of skilled manpower," said Reddy.
Google loses search ad dollars to Yahoo, says study
By IANS,
New York : Internet search engine Google lost revenue from search ads to its rival Yahoo! in the first quarter of 2008 fiscal, according to a study by SearchIgnite, a search advertising technology firm.
The report shows that spending by search advertisers on Yahoo! grew a robust 57 percent while spending on Google grew only at about half that rate. That meant Google's total share of search ad dollars declined slightly to 70.4 percent, while Yahoo!'s rose to 24.2 percent. Microsoft's declined slightly to 5.4 percent, says a report in the New York Times Tuesday.
Standard Chartered to invest $250 mn in India operation
By IANS,
Kolkata : Global financial major Standard Chartered Plc will invest $250 million to expand its operation in India, taking the bank's total capital base to $1.9 billion, its group chief executive said Wednesday.
"This total investment of $250 million will strengthen the bank's capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and support the wholesale and consumer banking services," Peter Sands told a press conference here Wednesday.
He said Standard Chartered Bank has a CAR of over 10 percent.
Google loses search ad dollars to Yahoo, says study
By IANS,
New York : Internet search engine Google lost revenue from search ads to its rival Yahoo! in the first quarter of 2008 fiscal, according to a study by SearchIgnite, a search advertising technology firm.
The report shows that spending by search advertisers on Yahoo! grew a robust 57 percent while spending on Google grew only at about half that rate. That meant Google's total share of search ad dollars declined slightly to 70.4 percent, while Yahoo!'s rose to 24.2 percent. Microsoft's declined slightly to 5.4 percent, says a report in the New York Times Tuesday.
`Liberalisation not a panacea to all economic ills’
By IANS,
Mumbai : "Liberalisation is not a whole story. Neither does it solve every economic problem nor is a panacea to all economic ills in any society," said Mayor of London David Lewis.
Addressing a gathering of banking executives in a symposium "Financial Inclusion - Sharing Indian and Britain Experience", Lewis Wednesday said: "Any economic growth, if it does not include every strata of society in its processes then it cannot be construed as a proper growth. And in this process, banking plays an important role."
Boeing to certify Indian supercomputer
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Boeing Company said Wednesday it is partnering with Computational Research Laboratory (CRL), a subsidiary of the Tata Group, to test and validate one of the world's fastest supercomputers, the Indian-made Eka system.
"The Eka system is the fourth fastest supercomputer in the world and the fastest in Asia as rated by the International Conference for High Performance Computing Networking Storage and Analysis and will be used by CRL to run a programme that will model high lift aerodynamic simulations in three dimensions for Boeing," the company statement said.
Gujarat Chemicals, Dow to set up organics plant in India
By IANS,
Gandhinagar : The state-owned Gujarat Alkalis and Chemicals Ltd (GACL) and Dow Europe, a unit of Germany based Dow Chemical Co, announced Wednesday the forming of a joint venture for an organics plant in the state.
The Rs.6 billion chlorinated organics products (chloromethane) plant to be located at Dahej in south Gujarat is being tipped as a special chemical hub by the Gujarat government.
The agreement for the construction, operation and ownership of the manufacturing facility for the project was inked in the state capital.
De Beers to acquire stake in Russian diamond deposit
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Diamond multinational De Beers will acquire a large stake from Russian oil giant LUKoil in one of Europe's biggest diamond mines, LUKoil's press office said.
LUKoil and De Beers here Tuesday signed an agreement on the ownership and development of the Verkhotina diamond project located in the Arkhangelsk region in Russia's northwest.
Monitor prices regularly to check inflation: minister
By Rajeev Ranjan Roy, IANS,
New Delhi : Regular high-level monitoring of the price situation is necessary to deal with the current bout of inflation, says Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.
"The cabinet should meet frequently to discuss the price situation and the emerging scenario. Regular monitoring is the effective way to deal with such situations, and helps you prepare accordingly," Singh told IANS in an interview.
"The Cabinet Committee on Prices (CCP) should have weekly meetings."
Russia’s Severstal to buy ArcelorMittal’s US steel mill
By RIA Novosti,
Washington : The US Department of Justice has approved a $810 million deal allowing Russia's largest steel producer Severstal to purchase a US steel mill from ArcelorMittal, media reports said Wednesday.
The US in February 2007 demanded ArcelorMittal sell the Sparrows Point steel mill in a bid to prevent monopolisation of the market after the merger of Mittal Steel and Luxemburg-based Arcelor.
Government asks operators to restrict ‘certain’ BlackBerry services
By IANS,
New Delhi : The home ministry has asked telecom operators not to offer "certain" BlackBerry services until a proper monitoring system is put in place, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal.
"The government has issued instructions to all mobile service providers, inter alia asking them not to connect or provide/run certain BlackBerry services unless the required monitoring systems are in place," Jaiswal said, even as he highlighted that it has not imposed restrictions on the use of BlackBerry.
The minister was answering a query in the Lok Sabha.
High court directs government to re-negotiate Bangalore airport deal
By IANS,
Bangalore : The Karnataka High Court Wednesday directed the central government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to renegotiate the concession agreement (CA) with Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) consortium over the closure of the present airport in the city once a new international airport becomes functional.
Beat back inflation, Chidambaram says
By IANS,
New Delhi : Asking people not to panic and "beat back inflation", Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday assured parliament that the government will take more steps to rein in prices, which is rising at the fastest rate in 41 months.
"This inflation is largely triggered by international prices... We cannot panic at this time. This inflation is reflected in all the international markets from China to Venezuela," the finance minister told the Lok Sabha Wednesday.
Markets end with a decent gain mid-week
By IANS,
Mumbai : For the second consecutive day, the Indian equities market notched a decent gains Wednesday with IT stocks leading the gaining rally.
Positive cues from the global markets boosted the domestic bourses in the early trade. The market, after trading in a narrow range through the day, eased from early highs and ended with gains during mid-week.
Indian equities end in green
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equity market ended Wednesday in green with leading indices registering marginal gains.
The 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 16,288.76 points and touched a high of 16,413.80 before closing at 16,244.19 points. It went up by 90.53 points at the day's close or 0.56 percent.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) S&P Nifty, which opened at 4,881.65 points, closed at 4,887.30 points, gaining 7.65 points or 0.16 percent.
UAE to participate in Palestine investment conference
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said it will participate in the Palestine Investment Conference which seeks to highlight investment opportunities in Palestinian economy, WAM news agency reported Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan Tuesday told a consultative committee meeting that a number of public and private sectors in the UAE would participate in the conference, slated for May 21-23 in Bethlehem.
UN warns of looming food crisis in North Korea
By DPA,
Bangkok : The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) warned Wednesday of a looming food crisis in North Korea because of a poor harvest and escalating food prices.
"The food security situation in the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) is clearly bad and getting worse," said Tony Banbury, the agency's regional director for Asia.
The UN's Food and Agricultural Organization has forecast North Korea would suffer a food shortfall of 1.66 million metric tons this year because of last year's heavy floods, which destroyed much of the country's rice and corn harvests.
Cuba to restructure food marketing
By IANS,
Havana : Cuba is moving to restructure the system for marketing food products to revitalize the farm sector, Spain's EFE news agency reported Wednesday.
"We are working hard on the idea of restructuring the marketing of agricultural products," said Orlando Lugo, chief of National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) Tuesday.
The current system "has many problems, has many catches, we lose a lot of resources that are produced by the producers", Lugo said in a television programme.
Air India to start daily Muscat-Kochi services
By IANS,
Dubai : India's national carrier Air India is planning to increase its services between Oman's capital Muscat and Kochi in Kerala from the current thrice-a-week to daily within two months.
The airline is also planning to introduce services between Muscat and Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram soon, Abhay Pathak, regional manager for Middle East and Africa of the National Aviation Company of India (NACIL) told the Oman Tribune.
A large number of the 500,000-strong expatriate Indian community in Oman hails from Kerala.
Bharti Retail opens its first store – Easy Day
By IANS,
Ludhiana : Bharti Retail Ltd Wednesday opened here its first retail store called Easy Day.
The store would sell products of daily usage, ranging from personal care products, stationery, household articles, hosiery items, daily-need groceries including staples, processed foods, bakery, dairy products, meat, poultry and fresh produce.
The company has plans to open three more such stores by the middle of the year and employ local manpower that would be trained by Bharti Academy of Retail.
Directions09 to discuss IT industry themes
By IANS,
New Delhi : Leaders of the communications and IT industry are set to brainstorm on ways to take India to the next level of technological development at Directions09, a business conclave, to be held in Delhi and Bangalore.
The event, organised by IDC, is held annually to identify and address issues pertaining to the industry in the backdrop of larger economical issues.
US-based Timken starts new plant near Chennai
By IANS,
Chennai : US-based Timken Company's wholly owned subsidiary Timken India Manufacturing Private Limited plant was inaugurated Wednesday in Mahindra World City Special Economic Zone (SEZ) near Chennai.
The $25 million plant's initial capacity will be 310,000 units and will be increased to 420,000 units per year by April 2009, said Sanjay Sinha, general manager.
Reliance, Tatas for Udaipur, Amritsar airport upgrade
By IANS,
New Delhi : Reliance Energy, and the Tatas and Larsen & Toubro are among the bidders short-listed Wednesday for upgrading the Amritsar and Udaipur airports.
The bidders short-listed for the Amritsar airport are Reliance Energy, Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services, Tata-Changi consortium, Lanco Infratech-Genting (Singapore) consortium, and L&T IDPL-Unique consortium, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement.
OPEC crude price cracks $105
By DPA,
Vienna : The price for crudes produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) continued its record-breaking rise, OPEC said Wednesday.
One barrel (159 litres) of crude produced by the cartel's 13 member states stood at $105.73 Tuesday, up $1.71 from the previous day, reaching a new all-time high.
In its monthly forecast released Tuesday OPEC left its prediction for 2008 crude demand growth stable. OPEC predicted a global increase by 1.2 million barrel per day to 87 million barrels.
Merrill Lynch losses may touch $8 billion
By DPA,
New York : US investment bank Merrill Lynch is expected to report further losses of between $6 billion and $8 billion as a result of the international financial market crisis, the Wall Street Journal's online edition reported Wednesday.
This will mean the third quarterly loss in a row, the report said, citing a "person familiar with the matter," bringing its total since October to over $30 billion.
Merrill Lynch is now planning a cost-cutting programme which includes job cuts of 10 to 15 per cent in some areas, according to the report.
China’s growth slows down to 10.6 percent
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China's growth rate slowed down marginally to 10.6 percent in the first quarter, compared to 11.7 percent in the same period last year, the government said Wednesday.
China maintained steady and fast growth since the beginning of the year, despite an unprecedented freak winter and the widespread subprime mortgage crisis, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) spokesman Li Xiaochao said.
The world's fourth largest economy expanded at a rate of 11.9 percent for all of 2007, the fifth consecutive year its annual economic growth exceeded 10 percent.
Mufti repeats demand for Pakistani currency in Kashmir
By IANS,
Jammu : Strongly defending his proposal to have dual currency of India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron and former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Wednesday said it was high time to do so.
"I said there should be use of Indian and Pakistani currency in Kashmir for it would help trading between two parts of the state and also in making it a role model for the Saarc (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) vision of 2002," Mufti told a crowded press conference here.
Markets holding firm on IT stocks rally at afternoon trade
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities market extended its gains in afternoon trade on the back of rally in IT stocks. Metal and realty stocks also led the gaining rally.
Positive cues from global markets boosted domestic bourses Wednesday. Other Asian markets that opened before the Indian markets, were trading higher.
At 1:20 p.m., the 30-share sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was up by 149.68 points or 0.93 to 16,303.34. It had gained 260.14 points when it hit the day's high of 16,413.80 in early trade.
Pacific Healthcare ropes in Birla Group for India venture
By DPA,
Singapore : Pacific Healthcare Holdings has roped in Yash Birla Group to expand its presence in India in a joint venture.
The venture will involve an investment of 10 million Singapore dollars ($7.2 million) in the healthcare sector over the next three years, executives said Wednesday.
The proposed Birla-Pacific MedSpa will be 50 percent owned by the Yash Birla's group, 42.5 percent held by Pacific Healthcare and 7.5 percent by a dermatologist based in India.
Abu Dhabi Among ‘New Economic Power Centres’
By Bernama,
Abu Dhabi : Abu Dhabi, riding a wave of unprecedented growth and expansion in line with the government's vision of making tourism a key contributor to the emirate's burgeoning and rapidly- diversifying economy, Emirates news agency (WAM) reported Wednesday quoting the Harvard Business Review, as saying.
Investor sentiment dives in Asia-Pacific
By DPA,
Singapore : Investor sentiment took a dive in the Asia-Pacific region during the first quarter of the year, with Japanese the least optimistic followed by investors in Taiwan and Singapore, a survey said Wednesday.
Banking group ING Asia-Pacific said that the findings reinforce the reality that the region is not insulated from global market uncertainties.
The sub-prime crisis and credit crunch remain key areas of concern in this part of the world, said the survey of investor beliefs and outlook in 13 markets.
Indian equities move higher in initial trade
By IANS,
Mumbai : Capital goods, oil and gas and metal stocks were trading higher Wednesday in early trade at the Indian equities market, which opened with a positive gap tracking strong cues from other Asian markets.
The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, opened with a gain of 169.03 points at 16,288.76. Fifteen minutes into trading, it reached 16,364.33 with a gain of 210.67 points or 1.30 percent from Tuesday's close.
Hyderabad to become a metro city
By Mohammed Shafeeq, IANS,
Hyderabad : Hyderabad will join cities like Kolkata and Delhi to have a metro rail that give will further boost to connectivity in this fast-growing southern Indian hub.
The Hyderabad Metro Rail, to be developed under public-private partnership at a cost of Rs.96.96 billion (approx $2.4 billion), it is one of the largest projects of its kind in the world and India's first two-track elevated transit system.
Indian equities market opens with an upswing
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities market opened Wednesday with a positive gap mirroring strong cues from other Asian markets.
The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, opened with a gain of 169.03 points at 16,288.76.
The S&P Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange opened at 4,881.65 with a marginal gain of two points compared to its previous close.
Abu Dhabi named among new centres of economic power
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) capital Abu Dhabi has been named among the world's new centres of economic power by the prestigious US journal Harvard Business Review (HBR).
"With new centres of economic power emerging, companies should also establish themselves in rising metropolises such as Beijing, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow and Abu Dhabi, where prices on the prime real estate will surely climb as demand outpaces availability," a research article in the April 2008 edition of the magazine states.
France threatens Doha talks amid food crisis
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London/Luxembourg : With only months to go before it takes over the European Union presidency, France has set itself on a potentially confrontational strategy to seek more - rather than less - agricultural subsidies for European countries.
Chinese car firms diversify in battle for ‘green’ market
By Bill Smith, DPA,
Beijing : Chinese car firms are diversifying into hybrids, electric, hydrogen and gas powered vehicles, as well as improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions, as they battle for shares of the emerging market for "greener" models.
"All the research that foreign companies are doing on 'eco' cars, we are also doing," Du Fangci, deputy head of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told DPA.
Chip giant Intel earnings meet expectations
By DPA,
San Francisco : Intel reported income and earnings in line with Wall Street expectations Tuesday, calming investor jitters about how the global slowdown would affect the world's biggest semiconductor maker.
The company reported first-quarter net income of $1.4 billion, down 12 percent from the year-ago quarter. Revenue was up nine percent to $9.7 billion.
Operating income, before the costs of restructuring and asset impairment charges, was $2.1 billion, or 23 percent above the same quarter last year.
Finance, oil stocks lead Wall Street higher
By DPA,
New York : Two regional banking firms reported profits Tuesday that beat expectations, shoring up confidence in the financial services industry, and higher oil prices spurred buying in petroleum stocks.
"Now is a good time to begin going into financials," Daniel Bandi, chief investment officer at Integrity Asset Management LLC, told Bloomberg Television. "You want to be there when the market senses that the end is coming, because that's going to be a pretty sharp rebound."
Brown meets bank chiefs to discuss credit crunch
By IRNA,
London : Prime Minister Gordon Brown held breakfast talks Tuesday with the heads of Britain's top banks on credit crunch and the world's economic crisis.
After the meeting, Brown said that 'a range of measures' to get confidence back in the housing market were discussed in a 90-minute summit.
He said that he recognized people's concerns in trying to get a mortgage but insisted that he would not be diverted from taking 'unpopular' decisions to ensure Britain gets through the global credit crunch.
India’s air passenger traffic up by 10 percent
By IANS,
New Delhi : Domestic air passenger traffic in India registered a 10 percent increase over the last year's first quarter with 11.90 million passengers travelling in various airlines during January-March period this year, according to official figures.
Over the same quarter in 2007, around 10.7 domestic passengers were carried by the scheduled airlines of India, said an official communiqué of the ministry of civil aviation.
‘Bamboo industry has failed to pick up despite aid’
By IANS,
New Delhi : The bamboo industry in India is still struggling to cope with the challenges despite the massive financial assistance by the central government and the creation of the National Bamboo Mission (NBM) with an outlay of Rs.5.68 billion ($142 million) for promoting bamboo production, a report said here Tuesday.
India, which possesses 30 percent of the world's bamboo resources, contributes only four percent share of the global bamboo market, said a report prepared by the Food and Agribusiness Strategic Advisory and Research (FASAR).
Tata Motors allowed say in Singur land acquisition case
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Tuesday allowed Tata Motors to have its say during the hearing of a lawsuit challenging the acquisition of land at Singur in West Bengal, where it is setting up a factory to roll out Nano, the world's cheapest small car.
Permitting Tata Motors to become a party to the adjudication of the lawsuit, a bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice R.V Raveendran admitted what is known as an 'impleadment' application by the business house.
After admitting the application, the bench adjourned the hearing to May 13.
Kerala’s Gramin Bank reports record profit
By IANS,
Kozhikode : The South Malabar Gramin Bank (SMGB), which operates 225 branches in eight districts of Kerala, reported a record profit of Rs.289.1 million for the last financial year (2007-2008). This is 92 percent more than the previous year's Rs.150.5 million profit.
Addressing a press conference here, bank chairman N.S. Bose said total business registered more than 25 percent growth in the last fiscal.
It touched Rs.39.33 billion compared to Rs.31.44 billion in 2006-2007, he said. The bank has around 2.5 million customers.
Uttar Pradesh announces steep hike in power tariff
By IANS,
Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday announced a substantial hike in the power tariff in the state.
An increase of eight percent has been made in the tariff for domestic power consumption, 14 percent in commercial establishments, and a whopping 22 percent for small industries. Rural areas have been exempted from the power rates hike.
Increase in the tariff at this scale has been ordered after a gap of about three and a half years. The last substantial power tariff hike was announced Nov 19, 2004.
`India witnessing high growth in tourism’
By IANS,
New Delhi : India is attracting more foreign travellers and is witnessing a consistently high growth in the tourism sector for the past three years, the Rajya Sabha was informed Tuesday.
Minister of Tourism Ambika Soni, however, said Singapore received more tourists than India last year.
Quoting the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), she said there were about 7.59 million international tourist arrivals in Singapore in 2006 as compared to 4.45 million foreign tourist arrivals in India.
New agricultural practices to safeguard resources urged
By DPA,
Paris : As rising prices for staple foods have sparked rioting in several countries around the world, a report released Tuesday by a UN body called for changing the way agriculture is practiced globally.
"Business as usual is no longer an option," the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) said in the report, which was issued in Paris and several other cities around the world.
Rising rupee hits Infosys profit in last fiscal
By IANS,
Bangalore : Infosys Technologies Ltd suffered a loss of Rs.10 billion ($250 million) in net profit and Rs.20 billion in gross revenue for the last fiscal (2007-08) due to steep appreciation in rupee against US dollar, a top company official said here Tuesday.
ITC to invest Rs.3 billion in food processing unit
By IANS,
Kolkata : India's leading tobacco company, ITC Ltd, will invest Rs.3 billion ($75 million) to set up an integrated food processing unit in West Bengal, a company spokesperson said here Tuesday.
"The company has asked for around 40 acres of land from the West Bengal government to build the unit here," vice-president of corporate communisation Nazeeb Arif told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
He said the upcoming food-processing unit would help to strengthen ITC's snack foods business in eastern India.
Infosys workforce to cross 100,000 mark this year
By IANS,
Bangalore : Headcount of Infosys Technologies Ltd is set to cross 100,000 this fiscal (2008-09), with a gross addition of over 20,000-25,000 people to its present strength of 91,187, a top company official said here Tuesday.
"We have already made campus offerings of 18,000 for this fiscal (FY 2009)," T.V. Mohandas Pai, Infosys head for HRD and education and research, told IANS.
New equity fund to tap opportunities in Chinese economy
By IANS,
Dubai : Dubai International Capital (DIC), the international investment arm of the Dubai government, and leading Chinese equity firm First Eastern Investment Group launched a new fund to target opportunities in China's growing economy.
Called China Dubai Capital, it will invest in a wide range of sectors, including infrastructure, resources, healthcare and services.
"Through this fund, we will invest in feasible and profitable business opportunities in commercially-attractive sectors," DIC executive chairman and chief executive Sameer Al Ansari said in a statement.
WIPRO starts its operations in Poland
By EuAsiaNews
Warsaw : Indian giant in information technology, WIPRO, has started its operations in Poland from the city of Wroclaw, which is closer to the German border than to Polish capital Warsaw.
It has employed more than 200 technicians to expand its business not only in Poland but the whole of Europe. The operations will be done both in English and German languages.
The Bangalore-based WIPRO which had a turnover of $5 billion in 2007 is expanding rapidly.
Two planes can get closer from June
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Directorate General of Civil Aviation will be implementing performance based navigation system by June, reducing the horizontal distance between two approaching aircrafts from the current range of over 5-7 nautical miles (8-11 km) to three nautical miles (5 km).
Directorate General of Civil Aviation chief Kanu Gohain said: "This procedure is followed by all congested airports like JFK in New York and Heathrow in London. Once this system is in place, India will become one of the front running countries in aviation."
Sify Technologies to raise $57 million
By IANS,
Chennai : Internet services firm Sify Technologies Ltd will raise around $57 million (over Rs.2 billion) with a premium equity issue to Infinity Satcom Universal Pvt Ltd, the company said here Tuesday.
"The company will issue 12,817,000 Indian Equity Shares having a par value of Rs.10 to Infinity Satcom at Rs.175 per share. The funds will be used for expanding our business," M.P. Vijayakumar, Sify's chief financial officer, told IANS.
With this fresh infusion, Sify Technologies' equity base will go up to around Rs.556 million from the current level of Rs.428 million.
India, Egypt hope to double trade by 2011
By IANS,
New Delhi : India and Egypt are confident of doubling trade to about $5.6 billion from the current $2.8 billion as both countries have agreed to aggressively work towards signing a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
"With the current rate of growth that we are having at this moment... we have currently $2.8 billion in trade and we can double that in two years," said Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid, who is on a two-day visit to India.
Morgan Stanley increases stake in Reliance Energy
By IANS,
Mumbai : Global financial services firm Morgan Stanley has increased its stake in the Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) to over five percent for about Rs.530 million ($13.25 million).
Morgan Stanley has acquired 461,563 shares amounting to 0.2 percent stake in REL April 8 through market purchase route, REL said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Calculated on the basis of the closing share price of REL April 8, (Rs.1,150.45 per share), the deal value amounted to Rs.530 million.
‘Goa’s infrastructure needs upgradation’
By IANS,
Mumbai : Lord Mayor of London David Lewis said Tuesday here that India's tourist hotspot Goa was facing a conflict between its developmental aspirations and ecological preservation.
"Goa is undergoing a tumultuous period. The conflict is between the developmental aspirations on one hand and ecological preservation on the other side," said Lewis.
India, Egypt finalise free trade, economic accord
By IANS,
New Delhi : India and Egypt are planning to finalise an economic cooperation agreement which will include free trade in goods and services - a key step expected to give a quantum jump to their burgeoning business ties.
"India and Egypt have set up a joint study group to finalise an economic cooperation agreement that will include free trade in goods and services," Egyptian Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rashid Mohamed Rashid told reporters here Tuesday.
Markets swing back following Infosys results
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equity markets ended Tuesday in green after a lacklustre start. IT major Infosys' positive results triggered a broad-based rally in IT stocks. The gaining rally was led by healthcare, oil, gas and IT stocks.
With mixed cues from emerging markets, Indian equity started the day with a sharp cut but by afternoon moved into the positive zone and surged in late trade.
Kamal Nath urges states to help control inflation
By IANS,
New Delhi : Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath Tuesday asked state governments to become more "proactive" in controlling inflation by taking action against hoarding to tame rising prices of food items and commodities.
"We would like to see the state governments ensure that there is no hoarding, there's no profiteering. The state governments have the mechanism and they must ensure that the supply lines are not dropped," Kamal Nath said on the sidelines of a meeting here.
Equity Markets end in green
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equity markets ended Tuesday in green.
The 30-share benchmark of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensitive index (Sensex) opened at 15,694.41 points, touched a high of 16,249.46 before closing at 16,153.66 points. It went up by 346.02 points at the day's close or 2.19 percent.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) S&P Nifty, which opened at 4779.95 points, closed at 4879.65 points. It went up by 101.85 points or 2.13 percent.
Larsen & Toubro bags Rs.20 bn Bombay Dyeing contract
By IANS,
Mumbai : Engineering major Larsen & Toubro Tuesday said it has secured a Rs.20 billion order from the Wadia Group flagship firm Bombay Dyeing for construction work at its complexes here.
The turnkey project involves construction of mixed-use developments of around four million square feet at Bombay Deying's textile mills in Worli and five million square feet at its spring mills in Wadala, Larsen & Tubro said in a statement.
The project is to be completed by the end of December 2011.
‘India needs public finance initiative strategy’
By IANS,
Mumbai : India needs to adopt the strategy of public finance initiative (PFI) for its infrastructure development, the way London city did it in the '80s, to re-emerge as the "first port of call for developmental expertise", said Lord Mayor of London David Lewis.
US releases $200 mn to hold food price spiral
By Xinhua,
Washington : US President George W. Bush has announced a $200 million emergency aid as part of efforts to contain spiralling global prices of food items.
The announcement Monday of the aid package came after World Bank chief Robert Zoellick a day earlier appealed to governments to take steps to avoid an explosive situation arising out of worldwide price hikes.
Presidential spokesperson Dana Perino earlier told reporters that the US was "looking at ways to meet some of the ongoing food needs of certain countries, beyond what has already been provided."
New record high for OPEC crudes
By DPA,
Vienna : The price of crudes produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have peaked above $104 for the first time, the cartel said Tuesday.
On Monday, one barrel (159 litres) of crude produced by OPEC members stood at $104.02, up 35 cents from the previous day.
OPEC followed international bullish trends Monday. In New York, Nymex index ended Monday's trading at $111.76 per barrel, the highest settlement on record, while Brent crude also posted a new high.
New regulations for medical equipment industry on the anvil
By IANS,
New Delhi : The $2.17-billion Indian medical equipment industry will now work in a more structured way than it does at present, thanks to a new mechanism, a top health ministry official said Tuesday.
"Within a couple of months, the government will put some regulations for the medical devices industry that is growing in a haphazard manner," said Debasis Panda, joint secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Jharkhand to give 80 percent VAT relief to new industries
By IANS,
Ranchi : The Jharkhand government, which is preparing the draft of a new industrial policy, will give 80 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) relief to those setting up industries in the state while businesses promoting handloom, sericulture and khadi will be given full exemption, an
official said.
The previous industrial policy, which was formulated in 2002, lapsed in 2005.
Parliament adjourned for the day over price rise issue
By IANS,
New Delhi : Both houses of parliament were adjourned for the day Tuesday as agitated opposition members disrupted the proceedings by protesting against the rising prices of essential commodities.
While the Lok Sabha was adjourned without conducting any business, the newly elected and re-elected Rajya Sabha members took oath before the opposition disrupted the proceedings.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Mohammad Hamid Ansari also announced that former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Jai Narain Prasad Nishad had been disqualified from the house under the anti-defection law.
Indian equities move into positive zone in afternoon trade
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities, which had been in the negative zone Tuesday morning, moved into positive territory by the early afternoon.
IT stocks gained after Infosys reported good results from the last quarter of fiscal 2007-08. But banking stocks continued to struggle. Other Asian markets that had opened before the Indian markets, were mixed.
Infosys projects flat growth rate this fiscal year
By IANS,
Bangalore : Infosys Technologies Tuesday projected a flat growth rate of 19-21 percent for this fiscal, the same as the 20 percent year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth achieved in 2007-08.
"There could be short-term challenges due to global economic uncertainties. In the medium and long-term, however, we see significant growth opportunities," Infosys CEO and managing director S. Gopalakrishnan said in a statement here.
Infosys revenue guidance $5 billion for 2008-09
By IANS,
Bangalore : Infosys Technologies Ltd has estimated consolidated revenue guidance of $5.05 billion for the new fiscal (2008-09), projecting year-on-year (YoY) growth of 21 percent over FY 2008 under the American accounting practice.
In a notification to the stock exchanges Tuesday, the IT bellwether said its consolidated revenue for this fiscal (FY 2009) under the Indian accounting practice was expected to be Rs.202 billion, projecting 21 percent YoY growth over the last fiscal (FY 2008).
Wipro starts operations in Poland
By Surender Bhutani, IANS,
Warsaw : Indian IT giant Wipro has started its operations in Poland from the city of Wroclaw, close to the German border, officials said.
The Bangalore-based IT company, which had a turnover of $5 billion in 2007, has employed more than 200 technicians to expand its business not only in Poland but all of Europe. The operations will be carried out in both English and German.
Poland is one of the favourite destinations of Indian IT companies. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Zanser have already made inroads into the European country.
World’s third largest oil field discovered off Brazil
By DPA,
Rio de Janeiro : An oil field discovered off Brazil's Atlantic coast could prove to be the world's third largest, National Oil Agency (NOA) said.
The Carioca field in the Santos Basin off the coast of Sao Paulo state has estimated reserves of 33 billion barrels, NOA director Haroldo Lima said Monday.
"It could be the world's biggest discovery in the past 30 years," he said.
Brazil's state oil company, Petrobras, which controls 45 percent of the field, said in a statement that the exact size of the find would be announced in the coming days after further studies done.
China, India hottest markets for M&A
By DPA,
Singapore : China, India and South-East Asia are seen as the hottest and riskiest markets for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the near future, a survey found Tuesday.
The survey, commissioned by Marsh, Mercer and Kroll, comes despite questionable business practices, problems with local intellectual property regimes and insufficient financial recourse against sellers, said the report.
Surat farmers venture into flower farming
By P.S. Anantharaman, IANS,
Surat : Surat, known for its beautiful textiles and dazzling diamonds, is now venturing into a new business - flower farming. Farmers from the region say the new generation among them is very enthusiastic about growing and marketing flowers.
"There are now 60 green houses in the district" and more are keen to make a foray into the sector, said Kaushik Patel, a farmer in Bajipur village, who is also a graduate in marketing management.
India for Food not Fuel
By Prensa Latina,
New Delhi : India Prime Minister Manmohan Sigh is clear that his country will never use edible grains and plants to produce bio-fuel, noted one of his Cabinet ministers.
India and Brazil are studying forms of sustainable development of fuel but will never copy that Latin American countries in producing ethanol from foods, affirmed Vilasrao Muttenwar.
Indo-Asian news service (IANS) has echoed Muttenwar's statement, who came along with President Pratibha Patil on her tour through Brazil, Mexico and Chile, her first visit to Latin America.
‘SEZs will drive India’s infrastructure’
By Anuradha Shukla, IANS,
New Delhi : The merits or otherwise of special economic zones (SEZs) are under a raging debate in India but the realty industry is upbeat about the prospect of such zones and says it will drive infrastructure development in the country.
"Establishing world-class industrial infrastructure is an expensive proposition. Encouraging special economic zones is the best solution to create these pockets of growth," says Rohtash Goel, chairperson of realty major Omaxe.
Infosys declares 400 percent special dividend
By IANS,
Bangalore : Infosys Technologies Ltd has declared a whopping special dividend of Rs.20 per share (400 percent on par value of Rs.5 per share) for fiscal 2007-08.
In a notification to the stock exchanges here Tuesday, the IT bellwether said the special dividend was being offered to celebrate achieving $1.12 billion (Rs.46.2 billion) net profit for the fiscal (FY 2008) under review.
Indian equities market starts on downward curve
By IANS,
Mumbai : Banking and metal stocks came under selling pressure in the Indian equities market Tuesday after it opened with a sharp cut tracking weak cues from other Asian markets.
The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, opened with a loss of 113.23 points at 15,694.41. Ten minutes into trading, the Sensex had slid to 15,663.82, a loss of 143.82 points from last Friday's close.
The stock markets had been closed Monday due to Ram Navami.
Indian equity market opens in the red
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities market opened Tuesday with a sharp cut, tracking weak markets in other Asian countries.
The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, opened with a loss of 113.23 points at 15,694.41.
The S&P Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange opened at 4,717.85 points with a loss of 59.95 points from its previous close.
Infosys posts 21 percent net profit for last fiscal year
By IANS,
Bangalore : Infosys Technologies Ltd posted a net profit of Rs.46.6 billion for the fiscal year 2007-08, registering year-on-year (YoY) growth of 21 percent over the previous fiscal (2006-07) under the Indian accounting system.
In a notification to the stock exchanges Tuesday, the Indian IT bellwether said its consolidated revenue for the entire fiscal grew by 20 percent YoY to Rs.167 billion from Rs.139 billion from the previous fiscal under the Indian accounting practice.
Infosys net up 9.2 percent in fourth quarter
By IANS,
Bangalore : Infosys Technologies Ltd. posted a net profit of Rs.12.5 billion for the fourth quarter (January-March) of fiscal 2007-08, registering a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 9.2 percent over the previous fiscal under the Indian accounting practice.
In a notification to the stock exchanges Tuesday, the IT bellwether said its consolidated revenue for the quarter under review (Q4) grew by 20 percent YoY to Rs.45.42 billion over the previous fiscal (2006-07) under the Indian accounting practice.
Delta, Northwest airlines announce merger
By DPA,
New York : Delta and Northwest airlines announced a merger late Monday after months of talks, agreeing to a stock swap that would create the world's largest passenger carrier.
"Delta and Northwest are a perfect fit," Delta chief executive Richard Anderson said in a statement announcing the merger, which comes amid soaring fuel costs that are battering the airline industry.
Northwest Airlines stockholders will receive 1.25 Delta Air Lines shares for each Northwest share, a premium of nearly 17 percent based on share prices at the close of trading Monday.
Financial stocks lead US markets lower
By DPA,
New York : Stocks were pushed down by financial shares on Wall Street Monday after Wachovia Corp reported unexpected losses and said it was seeking a $7-billion cash infusion from stock sales.
"The news out of Wachovia would suggest the environment has probably deteriorated faster in recent weeks, to a greater extent than people may have anticipated," Jonathan Armitage, of Schroders Plc in New York told Bloomberg financial news.
UN calls for concerted efforts to control rising food crisis
By DPA,
New York : The UN called Monday for a long-term policy on food grain production in order to avert famine amidst steeply-rising prices that threaten to undermine anti-poverty programmes.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told a gathering of Breton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization and UN trade agency that the rapidly escalating crisis in food availability around the world has reached "emergency proportions".
Fourth largest US bank posts losses, seeks $7-bn infusion
By DPA,
New York : Wachovia Corp, the fourth largest US bank, Monday reported unexpected losses due to bad California home loans and said it was seeking a $7-billion infusion from stock sales.
Shares will be sold at $24 each, 14 percent less than last week's closing price.
First quarter losses were $393 million compared with earnings of $2.3 billion in the same period last year, the North Carolina-based company said in a statement.
Delta Air, Northwest airlines on verge of merger
By DPA,
New York : Expectations grew that Delta and Northwest airlines could announce a merger as early as Tuesday after months of talks, a deal that would produce the world's largest airline.
The merged airline would combine Delta's trans-Atlantic routes to Europe and to and within Latin America with Northwest's Pacific routes to Asia. American Airlines would fall to second place as the world's carrier if the deal goes through.
Government going all out to check price rise: Pawar
By IANS,
Nagpur : The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government will do all it can to contain the food grains price rise, including buying stocks from the domestic and international market and providing it to the poor at affordable rates, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said Monday.
"The government is seized of the grave matter and constantly examining ways and means to provide relief to the poorer sections and middle class of the society," Pawar said at a meet-the-press programme organized by the Nagpur Union of Working Journalists (NUWJ).
‘Strengthen public distribution system to check inflation’
By IANS,
New Delhi : Economic experts Monday suggested the public distribution system (PDS) be strengthened as an effective measure to rein in increasing inflation, which has hit a 41-month high of 7.41 percent for the week ended March 29.
They also agreed that the Reserve Bank of India might soon tighten money supply by increasing the interest rates.
Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen said improving delivery through the PDS was the most effective way to check inflation.
Deora to meet Chidambaram over oil company losses
By IANS,
New Delhi : Petroleum Minister Murli Deora will meet Finance Minister P. Chidambaram later this week, seeking compensation for oil companies for revenue losses due to the high prices of fuel in the international market and also reinstatement of seven-year tax holiday for the hydrocarbon exploration and production segment.
"The minister (Deora) will meet finance minister by the end of this week, probably Friday or Saturday," said a senior petroleum ministry official.
US firm ESI to impart management skills in India
By IANS,
Bangalore : Leading US management training firm ESI International has set up India operations in this tech hub to impart skills in project management, contract management and business analysis to Indian corporates, the company said here Monday.
Sayeed wants both Indian, Pakistani currency in Kashmir
By IANS,
Jammu/Srinagar : Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and patron of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) Mufti Muhammed Sayeed has raked up a controversy by proposing that both Indian and Pakistani currencies should be allowed to run in the state.
"Jammu and Kashmir should become a model among the Saarc (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) countries by allowing both Indian and Pakistani currencies to run simultaneously here," Sayeed said at a public rally of his party in Mahur area of Ramban district in the Jammu region Sunday.