Economy

By IANS, Chandigarh : The Haryana government has formulated a Rs 1.53-billion plan to replace nearly 5.2 million ration cards in the state with smart cards. Once implemented, Haryana will become the first state in the country to have smart cards for the public distribution system, state government officials here said. The state is awaiting the nod of the central government to implement the scheme. The cards would be made by the Haryana State Electronic Development Corporation (Hartron).

By IANS, Washington/New Delhi : A day after Indian equities crashed in line with the global meltdown and on worries over declining industrial growth, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao has said overseas exposures of domestic banks were small and that the country's financial system remained well-regulated. "What we are witnessing today in the Indian markets is an indirect, knock-on effect of the global financial situation," said Subbarao, ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington that starts later Saturday.

By IANS, Mumbai : S. Ramadorai Tuesday stepped down as the chief executive and managing director of software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Ramadorai will be succeeded by the company's chief operating officer and executive director N. Chandrasekaran. Ramadorai, who during his 13-year long career as the chief executive of TCS saw the company turn into a $6 billion firm, will continue as the company's non-executive vice-chairman.

By Amandeep Kaur, IANS,

By IANS, New Delhi : The gap in prices and stature of works between leading Indian contemporary artists and modern masters is narrowing. A preview of 20 exclusive art works, held here Wednesday by global auction house Christie's, showed that contemporary artist Subodh Gupta was at par with master modernist Tyeb Mehta in terms of prices, along with bulk of the contemporary artists on the sale list.

By IANS, Kolkata : ITC registered a profit of nearly 13 percent as its profit after tax (PAT) rose to Rs.7.35 billion for the quarter ended March 31, the company said Friday. Total income has increased from Rs.34.74 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 to Rs.40.98 billion for same period in 2008. The company has has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs.31.57 billion for the year 2008 compared to Rs.27.55 billion last year.

By IANS, New Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Thursday said high inflation levels were not acceptable and the government would make all efforts to bring them down.

By DPA Paris : French companies Total, Areva and Suez have formed a joint venture to build two third-generation nuclear reactors for the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the French business daily Les Echos reported Monday. The three companies signed an agreement at the weekend, following months of negotiations. The deal is said to be worth 6 billion euros ($8.8 billion). The deal is expected to be formalized when a contract is signed during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Abu Dhabi this week.

By Xinhua

Dhaka : China and Bangladesh have committed to promote bilateral economic relations, narrow the trade imbalance and to encourage investment between the two countries.

Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce Wang Chao and Bangladeshi Finance and Commerce Advisor Azizul Islam expressed their desire to encourage bilateral relations during a meeting here Sunday.

Islam said the two countries had achieved a breakthrough in trade relations with a rapid growth of mutual trade.

By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS, Dubai : With property prices and rents spiralling in the Gulf and the rupee depreciating, Indian real estate developers are actively promoting their products among expatriate Indians in the Gulf. "Because of spiralling rentals in Dubai and elsewhere in the region, Indians working here prefer to keep their families back home," Haseeb Ahamed, chairman of the Calicut chapter of the Kerala Builders' Forum (KBF), told IANS here Wednesday.

By IANS, New Delhi : There's both good and bad news for people looking for commercial space in Mumbai. Average office rental has fallen in the past six months, but it is still the sixth highest globally - reflecting an acute space shortage in India's financial capital. According to international realty consultancy CB Richard Ellis, which tracks office occupancy costs in more than 170 cities across the world, commercial rentals continued to witness a correction globally between October 2008 and March 2009.

By IANS, Kolkata : City-based fast moving consumer goods manufacturer Emami Ltd, which holds 27.5 percent stake in Zandu Pharmaceuticals Works Ltd, is in talks with the pharma company's promoters for a management sharing arrangement, a top official said here Monday. Zandu's promoters, the Parikh family, had earlier approached the Bombay High Court against Emami after the latter purchased 24 percent stake in the company from the Vaidya family, co-promoters of Zandu.

By IANS, Bangalore : Wipro Ltd posted net profit of Rs.45.93 billion (Rs.4,593 crore) for fiscal 2009-10, registering 18 percent growth year-on-year (YoY), according to the Indian accounting standard. In a regulatory filing Friday, the IT bellwether said total revenue for the fiscal under review (FY 2010) grew by six percent YoY to Rs.271.24 billion (Rs.27,124 crore), as per the Indian accounting standard. Under the International Financial Regulatory Standard (IFRS), net income for FY 2010 is $1.02 billion and total revenue $6.03 billion.

By RIA Novosti, Moscow : Indian oil and gas company ONGC intends to buy 100% of shares in Imperial Energy, a British oil company operating in West Siberia and Kazakhstan, a business daily reported on Tuesday. Imperial Energy, which reached a production rate of over 10,000 barrels of oil per day in December 2007 and aims to achieve 25,000 bpd by the end of 2008, said on Monday it had received a takeover offer but gave no further details.

By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS, Xiamen (China) : In a corner of the crowded Zhongshan Road, one of China's top 10 business streets located in the 12th century port city of Xiamen on the East China sea, 40-year-old Sen Tham Yen Sho plays his electronic piano on a makeshift stage against the backdrop of a Chinese eatery.

By RIA Novosti

Moscow : A leading spokesman for Russia's business community has warned that the diplomatic row with Britain could force many Russian companies to leave the London Stock Exchange and British companies in Russia could also face difficulties.

By IANS, Thiruvananthapuram : The already much delayed Rs.15 billion ($375 million) information technology park, the Smart City project, in the state's industrial hub Kochi, received a further jolt Wednesday when the Kerala government changed its stand once again on the project's Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status. The project, being implemented jointly by the Kerala state government and Dubai Internet City (DIC), was supposed to come up according to the rules and guidelines laid down in the agreement between DIC and the state government.

By IANS, New Delhi : Textiles exports may fall short of the target and even witness negative growth, the government said here Tuesday. “Recession in the US and European markets has slackened demand and exports, which grow at 11.5 percent in the first four months, may go negative,” Textiles Minister Shankar Sinh Vaghela told reporters.

New Delhi : Agricultural loans, employment and electricity for farming are the top priorities for 68 percent of the rural voters in Tamil Nadu,...

By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS, Dubai : The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Singapore, a conclave of the Indian diaspora in the Asia-Pacific region, will be strictly restricted to business, according to Singapore’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Balaji Sadasivan.

By IANS New Delhi : The Delhi government Monday said it was planning to put up its vegetable and fruit stalls to tackle rising prices in the city. The government will also stop the export of tomatoes whose wholesale price has gone up to Rs. 11.25 per kg. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit reviewed the situation in a meeting with Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (DAMB) chairman Brahm Yadav and other senior government officials. "If needed, the government will put up vegetable and fruit stalls. There is a slight increase in the wholesale price of bitter gourd," Yadav told IANS.

By DPA, Paris : The leaders of the 15 eurozone countries Sunday proposed a wide-ranging rescue plan, which includes a measure for governments to guarantee interbank loans, to restore confidence in Europe's banking system. The loan-guarantee measure, decided at the first-ever eurozone summit, is intended to convince banks to lend money to each other. The reluctance of banks to give loans is at the heart of the financial crisis and has pushed industrial nations to the brink of recession.

By IANS, New Delhi : Petroleum Minister Murli Deora will meet his counterpart in the civil aviation ministry Praful Patel Wednesday to discuss the issue of huge dues owed by Indian airlines to the oil companies. “We are trying to (find) some solution, in which both airlines and oil companies will not suffer,” Deora told reporters here Tuesday. India's flagship carrier Air India and leading private airlines Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines together owe nearly Rs.20 billion to oil companies on account of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) purchase.

By IANS, Bangalore : Finance minister P. Chidambaram Friday suggested that the public sector banks should offer loans of Rs.5,000 at four percent interest rate to people engaged in small businesses. "When you can write off Rs.120 billion ($3 billion) owed by the steel industry, can't you extend a small loan of Rs.5,000 at four percent interest to cobblers, barbers, gold smiths, fishermen, shepherds and potters?" he asked the banks while addressing a function organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry here.

By Arjun Sen, IANS, New Delhi : After launching carbon trading and currency futures, the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), a leading Indian bourse, has secured the nod from markets watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to start stock exchange operations in the country. "We've just got the licence to start a stock exchange. We have domain expertise in many areas and it was only logical for us to leverage that expertise," a top MCX official told IANS.

By IANS, New Delhi : A week after Honda entered the small car segment in the Indian market, Italian auto major Fiat Wednesday launched the globally available Grande Punto, its third small car offering in the country. "The launch of Grande Punto marks a new milestone for Fiat in India as we bring the quintessentially Italian designs to Indian shores," Fiat India chief executive Rajeev Kapoor said.

By IANS, Mumbai : After panic selling throughout Monday morning, Indian equity markets began to recover early afternoon with "bottom fishing" or buying at the bottom by institutional investors. At around 1.30 p.m., the 30-share benchmark sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, had recovered by more than 130 points to 13,387.43, though it was still down 613.38 points or 4.38 percent from its previous close. Earlier in the day it had fallen by over 750 points or about 5.4 percent.

By IANS Chennai : Chennai-based Indian Bank registered a 61.44 percent rise in its net profit of Rs.3.07 billion for the third quarter that ended Dec 31, compared to Rs.1.90 billion for the corresponding period last year.

By NNN-PTI, New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's maiden three-day visit to energy-rich Gulf nations from on Saturday is expected to feature discussions on sourcing natural gas to address India's food and energy security needs. Singh's discussions with the heads of state in Oman and Qatar are likely to be on sourcing feedstock for the joint venture fertiliser company in Oman as also liquefied natural gas for use back home, officials said.

By Amit Kapoor, The Rajya Sabha passed the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 on March 14 after the Lok Sabha had earlier passed it on March 4. The enactment of this bill has the potential to be a historic game-changer for India's insurance industry.

By IANS, Mumbai : Hindustan Motors Ltd, part of the CK Birla group, has posted a net loss of $3.6 million for the second quarter this fiscal, compared to $62,000 in the year-ago period. "Rising input costs, foreign exchange rates and paucity of retail finance have impacted the quarter's performance," a company statement said Tuesday. The automobile industry in India experienced a slowdown in the past few months, and it grew 2.8 percent (year-on-year) in September after a two-month drop.

By IANS, New Delhi : The state-run banks have completed the process of waiving loans of about 40 million farmers, a senior finance ministry official said here Monday. "The banks have met the deadline of June 30. They have put out the list of eligible beneficiaries, and certificates of loan waiver are being issued," said the official who did not wish to be identified. He said the feedback from the public sector banks suggested that the process was smoothly completed, and beneficiaries were being simultaneously issued the certificates.

TwoCircles.net presents “Agenda for India”. Series editor is Charu Bahri. Professor M Saleemuddin, Professor and Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit and former Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University shares his thoughts:

By IANS, New Delhi : India's leading commodity futures exchange, the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), Wednesday launched trading in thermal coal futures contracts, it said in a statement. With this, the exchange will now offer 57 different commodities for trading. The commodities offered for trade are in agriculture, bullion, energy, metals (ferrous and non-ferrous), environment and plastics, the statement said. The thermal coal futures contract will be an addition to its energy products offered for trading, it said.

By IANS, Mumbai : The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital Friday reported a 55.6 percent fall in net profit to Rs.153.29 crore for the quarter ended June 30 as against Rs.345.3 crore in the like period last year. The company's total income for the first quarter stood at Rs.1,468.12 crore, down 3.05 percent from Rs.1,514.40 crore in the corresponding quarter the previous fiscal. Reliance Capital has interests in asset management, mutual funds, life and general insurance, private equity and proprietary investments among other financial services.

By IANS, New Delhi : Jet Airways, the country's leading private carrier, Monday agreed to pay 3 percent of airfare to travel agents as commission, and Kingfisher Airlines too is expected to sign a similar deal this week. "The commission scheme will come into effect immediately and will replace the transaction fee model recently introduced," the airline said in a statement. However, the company's low-cost carrier JetLite will continue with the transaction fee system.

By IANS New Delhi : India will have to remove its infrastructure impediments in sectors like roads, rail, air and sea transports to strengthen the foundation of sustained industrial growth, the Economic Survey 2007-08 said Thursday. Stating that it was the biggest challenge before the country, the Survey urged to maximize the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in these transport sectors.

By IANS, New Delhi : India's industrial production will register double-digit growth in the 2010-11 financial year, according to the government. "Inspite of a calibrated withdrawal in the shape of a partial rollback of incentives, with a view to rein in inflation through fiscal and monetary measures, the performance in the industrial sector is expected to remain steady in 2010-11," says an official note on industrial production.

By IANS, Bangalore : India's leading biotechnology group Biocon Ltd posted a net profit of Rs.4.64 billion ($116 million) for 2007-08, registering a whopping 132 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth over the previous fiscal (2006-07) figure of Rs.2 billion. Income from sales increased to Rs.10.5 billion in the fiscal from Rs 9.86 billion in 2006-07, registering a modest seven percent YoY growth, the company said in a statement here Tuesday.

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).

By IANS, Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) : Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is set to bag a 2,028-hectare block in the Rowghat iron ore mine deposits in Chhattisgarh to feed its flagship unit, the Bhilai Steel Plant, as it has obtained the final clearance from the environment and forest ministry. "Bhilai Steel has obtained the final clearance from the ministry early this month for the Rowghat project," an official told IANS Wednesday, adding that company had been seeking the deposit since 1983.

By IANS Mumbai : Over 150 Chinese companies will converge in the city Dec 13-15 at the fifth China Product Exhibition, which is expected to generate business worth Rs.1 billion. "With the slowdown in the US economy, China is aggressively pursuing its partnership and business plans with India, as the two countries are expected to dominate world trade in the years to come," said a statement of the joint organiser of the exhibition, popularly known as the China Mumbai Expo.

By IANS New Delhi : Indian firms engaged in carbon reduction projects under the Kyoto Protocol are facing hurdles of unclear government policy and lack of information, according to a survey. India has the highest number of registered projects under the Kyoto Protocol's clean development mechanism (CDM), which has led to a flourishing global carbon market. The biggest challenge facing this new business is how revenues should be treated, said the survey conducted by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

New Delhi : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Saturday proposed to cut the corporate tax rate by five percent to 25 percent over next four...

By IANS Shimla : A court in Himachal Pradesh has penalised the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) Rs.50,000 for not providing a working telephone to a subscriber in a villager. Leela Guleria of Doharu village in Bilaspur district, some 120 km from here, complained to the District Consumer Forum in Bilaspur that a BSNL landline phone given to her in the village remained mostly non-functional. After a year or so, a BSNL WLL (wireless local loop) instrument was given to Guleria but even this failed to work due to poor signals.

By IANS, Singapore : Members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are only "tiny blips" on investors' radar screens compared to China and India, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Wednesday. Opening the 29th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) session, Lee said the 10-member group has to struggle to get its share of investments, jobs and growth.

By IANS, Mumbai : Buoyed by the government's decision to offload at least 10 percent stake in all profit-making state-run firms, a key index of Indian equities markets Thursday climbed up in the last minutes of trading to shut shop above the 16,000-mark. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened higher at 15,926.13 points, closed at 16,063.90 points, 0.95 percent or 151.77 points above Wednesday's close at 15,912.13 points.

By IANS Bangalore : India's biotech major Biocon Ltd posted net profit of Rs 2.84 billion for the third quarter (October-December) of this fiscal (2007-08), registering a whopping 498 percent increase over the same period of last fiscal (2006-07) at Rs 475 million. According to the listed company's notification to the stock exchanges Thursday, the quantum jump (nearly six times) in the net income was on account of one-time exceptional pre-tax gain of Rs 3.3 billion from the sale of its enzymes unit during the quarter (Q3) under review.

By IANS, New Delhi : The finance ministry Wednesday announced the direct tax collection between April and July this year amounted to Rs.716.48 billion, and said it was an indication of "a buoyant economy". The assertion comes at a time when India's annual rate of inflation peaked at a 13-year high of 12.44 percent for the week ended Aug 2.

By IANS, Chennai : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone for the 19-km elevated expressway connecting Chennai Port and Maduravoyal here Thursday. "The corridor, being built at an outlay of Rs.1,655 crore (Rs.16.55 billion), will be completed in three years," Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister T.R.Baalu told reporters here Tuesday.

By IANS, Kolkata : Samsung Telecommunication India Pvt Ltd plans to double its market share for mobile handsets from the present seven percent in a year's time, its country head Sunil Dutt has said. Launching the company's flagship mobile Soul here Thursday, Dutt said: "We believe that Soul is the answer for today's style-conscious consumers, looking for a perfect blend of outstanding quality, design and performance." The model is imported from South Korea.

By IANS New Delhi : The policy regime to allocate radio frequencies or spectrum, which is the lifeline of any telecom operator, should be done in a fair, transparent and equitable manner, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Wednesday. "The policy regime for making spectrum available should be fair, transparent, equitable and forward looking. It should not create entry barriers to newcomers or barriers to the continued growth of the sector," Manmohan Singh said while inaugurating the Indian Telecom 2007 here.

By Xinhua New York : Crude-oil futures gained modestly Friday on supply concerns raised by Turkish incursions to Iraq, holder of the world's third-largest crude reserves. Crude for April delivery gained 58 cents, or 0.6 percent, to close at 98.81 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude was trading between the intraday range of 100.01 dollars and 97.16 dollars in the volatile session.

By Arun Kumar, IANS, Washington : The World Bank has approved an IDA credit of $100 million in additional financing for a poverty reduction programme in Andhra Pradesh that has raised incomes of some 10 million rural women since its inception in 2003. This is the second additional financing for this project and it will help scale up the impressive achievements to date, the Bank announced Tuesday. The credit is provided by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessionary lending arm, and has 35 years to maturity and a 10-year grace period.

By Raqib Hameed Naik, Twocircles.net, ...

By IANS, New Delhi : Further signs of recovery in Indian industry emerged Monday with the latest official data indicating a 10.4 percent growth in August over the same month last year. Manufacturing production rose 10.2 percent in the month, as per the data on the index of industrial production released by the Central Statistical Organisation here. The annual industrial growth rate for July was revised to 7.2 percent from 6.8 percent reported earlier.

By IANS,

By IANS, Kolkata : A new superfast train service was launched Friday between Kolkata and New Delhi that will cut short the travelling time by 90 minutes and offer added amenities to passengers. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off the first Duronto Express - Duronto means speedy in Bengali - at the Sealdah railway station here, fulfilling the promise she made in this year's railway budget.

By IANS, Hyderabad : P.K. Madhav, chief executive of Maytas Infra, promoted by disgraced founder and former chairman of Satyam Computer Services B. Ramalinga Raju, resigned as whole-time director of the board, the company said Monday. In a notification to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the listed firm said Madhav had resigned from directorship and as CEO of the company Jan 14 "owing to personal reasons". The Hyderabad-based infrastructure company is one of the two realty firms that are run by the two sons of Raju, who is the chief promoter with 36 percent equity holding.

By NNN-FNA, Tehran : Iran Khodro, the Middle-East's No. 1 car manufacturer, has unveiled a car specifically designed for women, with electronic parking sensors and a special jack making it easier to change a flat tire. The car's internal design will be especially geared towards women and its exterior will be painted in softer, "feminine" colors, Iran Khodro announced. An alarm system will warn drivers of flat tires and automatic transmission, navigation and entertainment systems will be installed in order to make the driving experience all the more pleasant.

By IANS, New Delhi: Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd announced Monday that it completed the assessment of design capacity of gas production facilities at D6 block in Krishna Godavari basin last week. "Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announces that it has successfully carried out an assessment of the design capacity of the KG D6 deepwater gas production facilities," according to a company press release released Monday.

By IANS New York : Microsoft Corp. has threatened Yahoo! Inc with a hostile takeover of the company if they do not agree to the offered deal within three weeks. Microsoft chief executive Steven A. Ballmer, in a letter Saturday to Yahoo! board, said that "by choosing not to enter into substantive negotiations with us, you have failed to give due consideration to a transaction that has tremendous benefits for Yahoo!'s shareholders and employees."

By IANS/WAM, Abu Dhabi : A UAE delegation will participate in a Russian travel show next week in a bid to attract more tourists to the country.

By IANS New Delhi : In a first of its kind in the automobile industry, General Motors (GM) India Friday announced the launch of 'Chevrolet Promise' scheme under which the company would sell maintenance cost packages for its Chevrolet cars for a period of three years. "This is like a confidence building measure for the company. Buyers can pay the price of maintenance cost at the time of purchase or even in monthly instalments," said Rajeev Chaba, president and managing director GM.

By IANS, New Delhi : Former Nasscom president Kiran Karnik has joined venture capital funds-backed Attero Recycling, an electronic waste management firm, as its first independent director.

By IANS, Mumbai : Following are the highlights of the annual policy statement for fiscal 2010-11 presented by Reserve Bank of India Governor D. Subbarao before chief executives of commercial banks here Tuesday: - Cash reserve ratio hiked by 25 basis points to 6.0 percent and to take effect from April 24 - Move to suck out excess liquidity worth Rs.12,500 crore from system - Bank rate retained at 6.0 percent - Repo rate hiked by 25 basis points to 5.25 percent - Reverse repo rate increased by 25 basis points to 3.75 percent

By IANS, Mumbai : Tata Communications, a leading telecom and Internet services provider, Tuesday launched advanced ethernet services to help its customers experience high-speed, secure and cost-effective bandwidth. Ethernet is a widely installed local area network (LAN) technology. "Tata Communications' 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GigE) service is a cost-effective alternative for customers who need large bandwidths on a truly global scale. Our availability in 25 cities worldwide is unmatched in the industry," said John Hoffman, head of ethernet services for Tata Communications.

By Kul Bhushan, IANS, India's budget yet again demonstrates to NRIs that investing in their homeland is probably the best option right now. The West is still struggling to climb out of one of its deepest recessions and provides low returns, while India's growth story promises healthy returns. Surely, it's time to wake up and smell the Indian coffee.

By EuAsiaNews Brussels : The Secretary General of the Brussels-based Europe-India Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Sunil Prasad, has welcomed the report published Monday by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)on the potential of trade between the 27-member European Union and India. The FICCI forecasts that India's trade with the EU has the potential to reach a whopping $572 billion by 2015 once the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been signed between the two sides. Currently Brussels and New Delhi are negotiating the FTA.

By IANS, Ahmedabad : Farmers at Sanand village in Gujarat burst crackers and distributed sweets Tuesday evening, welcoming the Tata Motors' decision to relocate the Rs.15-billion Nano car project to the state. Alongside, corporate Gujarat also rejoiced. "It is a matter of great pleasure that Mr Ratan Tata's prestigious Nano car will roll out from Gujarat," said Parimal Nathwani, Reliance Industries Ltd president for corporate affairs and Rajya Sabha member.

By IANS, Hyderabad : The near Rs.7,000-crore (Rs.70 billion or $1.4 billion) financial fraud involving Satyam Computer has jeopardised infrastructure projects the firm's promoters had contracted in Andhra Pradesh, which includes the prestigious Hyderabad Metro rail project. Maytas Infra, the company promoted by Satyam chairman Ramalinga Raju's son B. Teja Raju, was awarded the Rs.122-billion (Rs.12,200 crore or $2.5 billion) Hyderabad Metro Rail and the Rs.16-billion (Rs.1,600-crore or $330 million) Machilipatnam Deep Water Port projects by the state government.

By IANS, New Delhi : Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, unperturbed by India's 16-year high inflation of 12.63 percent for the week ended Aug 9, Monday said inflation will moderate in three to four months. “It is not important whether inflation touches the 13-percent mark but the fact that it will start moderating within three to four months,” Ahluwalia told IANS on the sidelines of a business meet.

New Delhi : The CPI-M Tuesday asked the government to slash the prices of diesel and petrol. "There has been a sharp fall in the...

By IANS, Ahmedabad : Eight courts have come up in Gujarat to exclusively deal with bounced cheques, said a judicial official, adding "unless we have a system of quick disposal of cases relating to dishonoured cheques, investment growth will not take place". "We have inaugurated eight courts exclusively to deal with 138 matters (Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act deals with dishonoured cheques)," said Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan.

By IANS, Surat : Two diamond industry associations in Gujarat Tuesday came forward with Rs.10-million (Rs.1 crore) education assistance for the children of jobless diamond workers in the state. The Surat Diamond Association (SDA) said it would spend Rs.7.5 million for nearly 16,500 students in 140 schools in Surat. "The relief amount would benefit a total of 16,494 children in Surat schools. We have already informed the principals of various schools here that the amount would be directly deposited in schools tomorrow (Wednesday)," SDA secretary Prabhudas Patel told IANS.

By IANS New Delhi : Disappointed over the Reserve Bank Of India's (RBI) decision to keep key rates unchanged, Indian industry Tuesday said it has been deprived of the much-awaited policy thrust to revive demand and moderate the cost of credit. "It seems that inflation has become the sole concern of the central bank," said V.N. Dhoot, president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), reacting to the central bank's monetary policy review.

By IANS, New Delhi : Top officials of the 153 members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will meet in Geneva later this month after a "breakthrough" was reached to resume the Doha Round of trade talks, India's Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said Friday. "We have reached an agreement to intensify negotiations. There has been a breakthrough, If I can use this expression. The impasse has been broken," said Sharma after a two-day meet here among the representatives of some 40 key WTO members.

By IANS, Ahmedabad : After the chaos of the much hyped Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor in Delhi, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) officials here are worried as a similar system is being implemented here. This was evident Tuesday when Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner I.P. Gautam told mediapersons that AMC has decided to learn a lesson from Delhi's fiasco before going ahead.

By IANS

New Delhi : World's largest computer maker, Dell Inc. Monday kicked-off its first manufacturing unit in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, with an initial investment of about $30 million spread over five years.

The new facility would have an initial capacity of producing 40,000 desktop computers a year that constitute almost 75 percent of the company's India business and then go on to make other products.

By IANS, Chennai: Government owned non-life insurer United India Insurance Company is likely to close last fiscal with a premium income of Rs.5,100 crore up from Rs.4,277 crore earned in 2008-09. "We have crossed the Rs.5,000 crore premium mark last fiscal. For the first time in our history we have crossed this magic figure," a United India official told IANS Thursday on the condition of anonymity. The city-based United India is the second non-life insurer in the country to cross this mark after New India Assurance Company Ltd.

By IANS,

By IANS, New Delhi : Government functioning will likely slow down Wednesday with employees of all state-owned banks as well as Left-backed trade unions calling nationwide strikes over separate issues. Airport workers also announced Tuesday they would join Wednesday's strike, called by the trade unions to protest against the "anti-worker and "anti-people" policies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

By IANS, Mumbai : The Indian equities market was trading with loss in opening trade Tuesday. Selling pressures were witnessed by realty, banking and metal stocks. The 30-share benchmark sensitive index of Bombay Stock Exchange opened with a loss of 233.19 points at 13,292.80 points. Ten minutes into the trade, the sensex was trading at 13,154.28 with a loss of 371.17 points or 2.75 percent. At the same time, S&P Nifty of National Stock Exchange was trading at 3,915.55 points with a loss of 114.45 points or 2.84 percent compared to its last close.

By A. Mirsab, TwoCircles.net, Mumbai: Maharashtra farmers are continuing to commit suicide due to drought, unseasonal rains and hailstorm damaged crops in thousands of...

By IANS Hyderabad : The budget session of Andhra Pradesh legislature will begin Monday. It will commence with Governor N.D. Tiwari addressing the joint session of the assembly and the council. On the second day, the assembly will pay tributes to its sitting member and senior Congress leader P. Janardhan Reddy, who died Dec 28. The debate on motion of thanks to the governor's address will be taken up from Feb 13.

By IANS, Mumbai : A key Indian equities index ended a lacklustre day of trading Wednesday 57 points lower than its previous close, with ITC, Hero Honda and Sun Pharma being among the top losers. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 17,402.24 points and shut shop at 17,343.82 points, down 57.74 points or 0.33 percent from its previous close at 17,401.56 points. It had fallen to 17,322.8 points around noon.

By IANS, Hyderabad : The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) may again interrogate disgraced founder of Satyam Computer Services B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother B. Rama Raju as the Andhra Pradesh High Court Monday admitted its petition.

By IANS Mumbai : Indian shares Thursday traded cautiously after breaching the 16,000 mark Wednesday, with a key index rising marginally up 0.15 percent. The Indian rupee appreciated sharply by 30 paise on heavy capital inflow triggered by the interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. The rupee breached the 40-level mark Thursday to more than a nine-year high of 39.09/91 against the dollar. In active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, the rupee opened sharp, higher at 40.03/05 per dollar from Wednesday's close of 40.20/21.

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities Monday closed almost a percent lower, ending four consecutive sessions of gains. The markets had begun the day with a negative bias after the Reserve Bank of India Friday hiked key policy rates by 25 basis points. Interest-sensitive sectors such as realty and auto suffered the most. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,481.96 points, shut shop at 17,410.57 points, 167.66 points or 0.95 percent lower than its previous close at 17,578.23 points.

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities fell 146 points Wednesday, closing in the red for the second straight day, due to selling pressure in realty, metal and banking stocks.

By IANS New Delhi : India IT services major Birlasoft (India) Ltd Thursday said it would be increasing its headcount to 6,000 globally by next year from the current 4,400. The company has plans to ramp up its operations and increase its staff strength across all its offices in India and the US, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Australia and Singapore.

By IANS, New Delhi : The Election Commission Thursday gave the government the go ahead to raise the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders from six a year to nine, official sources said here.

By IANS,

By DPA, Stockholm : The new Volvo S60 concept unveiled ahead of the Detroit Auto Show later this month features a revolutionary new driver safety system which brakes the car automatically to avoid a collision with a pedestrian. The technology, know as Collision Warning with Full Brake, monitors the road ahead using both radar sensors and a camera. It recognises not only other vehicles, but pedestrians who step into the path of the car. The system will be available in the production version of the S60 four-door coupe which is due to enter the showrooms in late 2009.

By IANS, Mumbai : Inefficiencies in the banking system were not allowing customers to fully enjoy benefits of rate cuts, said the chief of India's central bank here Wednesday. "Although overall efficiency and productivity have improved, resources are not being utilised in the most efficient manner. There is a degree of stickiness and non-transparency in bank lending rates," said Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao at a conference organised by the Indian Merchants Chamber.

By IANS, Kolkata/New Delhi : Over 800,000 employees of 50,000 bank branches across India went on a two-day strike beginning Wednesday to press for their six-point charter of demands, including stopping of privatisation and merger and acquisition of public sector banks. "Banking operations have come to a standstill. Once the strike is over, we will sit together and chalk out our future course of action," said Rajen Nagar, national president of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), which is participating in the strike called by the umbrella body United Form of Bank Unions (UFBU).

By IANS, Srinagar, June 21 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir will have two exclusive silk production centres within the next 18 months, Union Minister for Textiles Shankarsinh Vaghela said here Saturday. The silk clusters will come up in Nowshera in Jammu region and in Srinagar. "The cluster scheme will provide all farm and rearing implement support to the farmers besides technical help in creating self-help groups especially of unemployed youth," the minister said.

By IANS, New Delhi : A total of Rs.231.5 crore was collected as service tax from passengers travelling on airlines, including travel agents, in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

By IANS, Kolkata : Some political parties in West Bengal want an amicable solution to the land impasse at Singur, 40 km from here, where Tata Motors is building a plant to produce Nano, which the company says will be the cheapest car in the world. "All the political parties (both ruling and opposition) should meet as early as possible to find a solution to this Singur land problem through continuous dialogue," All India Forward Bloc state secretary Ashok Ghosh told IANS Saturday.

By IANS, New Delhi : Engineering and construction giant Larson and Toubro (L&T) Tuesday said its newly formed building and factories operating division has bagged orders worth Rs.14.5 billion for building offices. The firm won the orders from major companies in the country like Tata Consultancy Services and Godrej Developers, an official statement said.

By IANS, Patna : Millions of people in Bihar will have to pay Rs.2 more for a kg of milk from Friday, officials Thursday said.

By IANS, Hyderabad: TVS Motor Company Tuesday launched TVS Jive, India's first auto-clutch motorcycle, in Andhra Pradesh and announced plans to introduce the same in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh soon. J.S. Srinivasan, general manager, sales, TVS Motor Company, told reporters that the motorcycle launched in Tamil Nadu earlier this month received tremendous response. The motorcycle with auto clutch, hands free gear shift and self start features has been designed for the riders' convenience and comfort on congested city roads, he said.

By DPA Bangkok : When it comes to rice - the staple food in Asia - governments don't like to risk failing to fill their people's stomachs. Faced with rising rice prices in the international market and unprecedented price volatility, Asia's rice exporters, with the sole exception of Thailand, have responded by imposing export bans while importers are seeking ways to increase stocks and reduce consumption. The panic arguably started this January in India, where the government stopped issuing export licenses for all rice grades barring Basmati, India's premium rice.

By IANS

New Delhi : The trade unions Monday accepted under protest 8.5 percent interest rate on Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for 2006-07, which will involve an outgo of Rs.78.22 billion and put a burden of Rs.4.5 billion on the fund.

"Amid protest by some trade union representatives, it has been decided to pay 8.5 percent interest rate on provident fund," Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes told reporters after a meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of EPF.

By IANS, Lucknow : Reliance Life Insurance Co Ltd (RLIC), part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), Thursday said its premium income has grown by 152 percent during April-July this fiscal, in sharp contrast to the overall life insurance industry growth of 1.6 percent during the same period. "We have registered a premium income of Rs.1,112 crore (Rs.11.12 billion)," RLIC chief executive P. Nandagopal told reporters here. The company also plans to infuse fresh capital of over Rs.10 billion in the next six months, which will take its capital base to Rs.30 billion, he added.

By IANS, Chandigarh: Implementing a carrot and stick policy against electricity consumers in the state has paid off for the power department in Haryana. The department has been able to recover over Rs.1,000 crore from power sector defaulters in just two months (December-January). Haryana's Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary (power), Madhusudan Prasad Wednesday told a meeting of senior officials here that the recovery was made possible after nearly 8,000 complaints were registered against consumers, including first information reports (FIRs) against 133 persons.

By IANS, Mumbai : Taking cues from global markets which were little enthused by the inaugural speech of US President Barack Obama, Indian equities also fell Wednesday, pulling a key index down by 3.53 percent. The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) shut shop at 8,779.17 points, down 3.53 percent or 321.38 points from its close Tuesday. The broader S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange also ended in a slump, dropping 3.23 percent from its last close to 2,706.15 points.

By IANS,

By IANS, New Delhi : India's annual bilateral trade with Germany will reach the target of 20 billion euros ($27 billion) by 2012, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said here Monday. "The State of Lower Saxony (Germany) could be an important trading partner of India in sectors like agriculture, mining, crude oil, manufacturing, aviation, shipbuilding, biotechnology, steel, tourism and telecommunication," Kamal Nath said during an interaction with Lower Saxony Minister-President Christian Wulff.

By DPA

Singapore : Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has urged Singapore to become the "nerve centre for innovation" in Asia.