Karnataka clears Rs.636 bn investment projects
By IANS
Bangalore : The Karnataka government late Tuesday approved infrastructure and industrial projects estimated at a whopping Rs.636 billion that will help create a million jobs.
German retail enterprise to invest Rs.9 bn in Punjab
By IANS
Chandigarh : German retail enterprise Metro Cash and Carry will invest Rs.9 billion to start its chain of distribution and retail centres in Punjab.
The German company will begin its operations within this year from the state's bigger cities like Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar, company officials said at a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and other top state functionaries here Tuesday.
‘Reliance in joint venture talks with Marks & Spencer’
By IANS
London : Spurred by reports of rivals John Lewis considering an Indian expansion, British retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S)are in talks with Reliance Industries Ltd about selling its food range in India, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
The Times in a report from Mumbai quoted a source close to Reliance Industries as saying the Indian group had discussed possible joint ventures with several western brands, including M&S.
India headed toward deflation: Goldman Sachs
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian economy is headed towards deflation, which could raise unemployment, even as its central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), was expected to cut the cash reserve ratio by some 150 basis points, says Goldman Sachs.
The global consultancy has made the prediction based on the weekly movement of the official wholesale price index, as per which the country's annual rate of inflation fell to a six-year low of 2.43 percent for the week ended Feb 28.
Maya’s shut order on Reliance irks farmers, industry
By Sharat Pradhan, IANS
Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's diktat to shut Reliance Fresh operations in the state has irked both farmers and industry in the state and some are holding protests to demand their reopening.
Contrary to her claim that she was constrained to shut Reliance retail stores because of opposition from a large chunk of the farming community, representatives of farmers as well as industry have expressed their chagrin over the move.
Oil companies cut aviation fuel prices by 4.3 percent
By IANS,
New Delhi : State-run oil companies Thursday cut aviation fuel prices by 4.3 percent following the government's decision Wednesday to reduce customs duty on fuel to five percent.
According to an official, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) will cost Rs.66,226.66 per kilolitre in Delhi from Thursday. Earlier in May, the ATF prices in Delhi had been hiked to Rs.69,227.08 per kilolitre.
Similarly in Mumbai, the effective price of ATF would come down to Rs.68,626.87 per kilolitre from Rs.71,759.06, said an aviation ministry official here.
Oh dear! Lower inflation doesn’t mean lower prices
By Sanjay Singh and James Jose, IANS,
New Delhi : Alpana Singh, a homemaker in north Delhi, should be rejoicing that India's annual rate of inflation has fallen to a six-year low. Instead, she is ruing that her household budget has hit the roof.
If the galloping prices of groceries were not enough, she is having to face a double whammy - the fee charged by her daughter's school has been hiked by Rs.8,000 a quarter.
‘Fresh monetary steps will soften interest rates’
By IANS,
Bangalore : Interest rates will soften in the coming weeks and liquidity will improve in the banking system following sudden cuts in key rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Saturday, a leading banking consultant said.
"In the current scenario, maintaining stability of the financial market should be the top priority. In this context, the latest monetary measures can be viewed as the RBI's big bang strategy to have a positive impact on the banking system and the financial markets," World Bank consultant and former Corporation Bank chairman B.R. Ramamurthy told IANS here.
Court lifts ban on sale of Reliance gas till final judgement
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Bombay High Court Friday lifted its interim ban on the sale of natural gas by Reliance Industries from the Krishna-Godavari basin till final orders March 15, and said the company can retail it at $4.20 per unit.
The Mukesh Ambani-led group can sell the gas from the fields off the Andhra Pradesh coast based on the criteria set by an empowered group of ministers, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and accepted by the government, the court ruled.
Blue Dart to invest Rs.10 billion in India
By IANS
Kolkata : Blue Dart Express Ltd is all set to invest about Rs.10 billion to increase its coverage to 17,500 cities across India in the next three to five years.
"We plan to increase our network to 17,500 cities across the country, of which 2,400 would be in the eastern region. About Rs.10 billion would be invested for the purpose over a period of next three to five years," Blue Dart vice-president (eastern region) Amod Dasgupta told IANS here Thursday.
Currently, the company covers 14,600 locations across India.
Meghalaya to put power projects on fast track
Shillong : The Meghalaya government will put all power projects on fast track to meet the power shortfall in the mountainous state, Chief Minister...
Muslim commerce is ages old
By Farish A. Noor
It has become ever so fashionable to talk about Islam and commerce of late. Yet a cursory look at the references to Islam and economics, business, banking, finance and made-for Muslims products and services on offer on the internet would point to the fact that Muslim commerce is booming, and what's more, has been doing so for the past two decades with scarcely anyone noticing.
Solanki’s newspaper group acquires British Asian tabloid
By IANS,
London : Eastern Eye, a tabloid catering to the Asian market, has been sold to Britain’s oldest Indian-owned newspaper group amid praise for the buyer’s business acumen, it was announced Thursday.
Asian Media and Marketing Group (AMG), which publishes Garavi Gujarat newspaper, GG2 Life Magazine, Asian Trader and several other titles, bought the tabloid for an undisclosed sum.
Bookings on bus to Lahore unaffected by travel advisory
By IANS,
New Delhi : The New Delhi-Lahore bus service has not been affected by the external affairs ministry's advisory asking Indians not to travel to the neighbouring country, an official said Saturday.
BlackBerry blackout hits North America
By IANS,
Toronto : A rare service breakdown left millions of BlackBerry users across North America without service for hours this week.
In a statement Wednesday, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) said the service blackout was caused by a bug in its newly installed instant messaging system.
India chosen for launch of first global IT qualification
By IANS
London : India has been chosen for the launch of the world's first qualification for financial services IT staff working in operations.
Equities end red, key index down 300 points
By IANS,
Mumbai : After a sea-saw battle between bulls and bears Wednesday, bears prevailed ultimately and Indian equities markets ended in the red with a key index shedding more than 300 points to remain well below the psychologically important 10,000 mark.
The 30-share benchmark sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended at 9,536.33, down 303.36 points or 3.08 percent from its previous close Tuesday at 9,839.69 points.
Markets end with a deep cut ahead of Independence Day
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equity markets closed in the red Thursday for the third day running, ahead of the release of the weekly inflation data and rise in crude oil prices, which rekindled fears of inflationary pressure.
The market started on a downslide and continued to fall, made some recovery by early afternoon but ended the day with a deep cut.
Capital goods, banking, realty shares dragged the market down.
India’s forex reserves up $3.88 bn
Mumbai: India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $3.88 billion to $338.07 billion for the week ended Feb 27, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data...
Apex IT body shocked by Satyam chief’s confession
By IANS,
Bangalore : Nasscom, the apex body of the IT-BPO industry in India, expressed its shock Wednesday at the confession made by Satyam Computers' erstwhile chief B. Ramalinga Raju, who admitted to a Rs.40 billion fraud before quitting his post.
"While the law will take its course, this incident is particularly unfortunate as the Indian IT-BPO industry had set very high standards of ethics and corporate governance," Nasscom said in a statement issued from its headquarters here.
Markets crash at early trade
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities market lost the entire gains made the day before as weak global cues and the repo rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India weighed heavily on the market Thursday.
The benchmark indices slumped at early trade. Banking, realty and metal stocks were the worst hit. All the sectoral indices were in red.
The 30-share benchmark sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange opened with a loss of 227.79 points at 14,957.53 points. Ten minutes into trade, the Sensex was trading at 14,811.79 with a loss of 373.53 points or 2.46 percent.
Karnataka revising IT policy to retain competitive edge
By IANS,
Bangalore : The Karnataka government is revising its IT policy in a bid to retain its competitive edge and remain a favoured investment destination in the knowledge economy.
"We are taking inputs from the industry, particularly the vision group on IT headed by Infosys Technologies chairman and chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy, for revising the policy," state IT and BT Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu said Thursday at the BangaloreIT.Biz 2008 event.
Thales, Samtel to create JV for avionics equipment
By IANS
Paris : European aerospace major Thales and India's Samtel Display Systems announced here Tuesday they were ramping up their cooperation in the domain of avionics equipment for the Indian and export markets and that this could extend to a joint venture.
Mindteck acquires US firm, plans to buy three more
By IANS
Bangalore : Mindteck (India) Ltd, a global technology and IT services company, has acquired the US-based Infotech Consulting and plans to acquire three more companies in the US, Europe and Asia by end of March, a top company official said Wednesday.
The Pennsylvania-headquartered Infotech Consulting is a small company with around 200 staff and valued at $21 million by the leading consulting firm Ernst & Young.
The acquisition is through cash and share swap, Mindteck marketing manager Jaideep Sikdar told IANS.
Infotech Consulting has revenue earnings of $ 31 million.
Breakup of the $78.5 mn Chandrayaan bill
By IANS,
Chennai : Break-up of the Rs.3.86 billion ($78.5 million) bill for India's maiden moon mission:
Deep Space Network: Rs.1 billion ($20 million)
Rocket: Rs.1 billion ($20 million)
Payload development: Rs.530 million ($11 million)
Spacecraft bus: Rs.830 million ($17 million)
Scientific data centre, external network support and project management expenses: Rs.500 million ($10 million)
India to contribute wheat for SAARC food bank
By IANS,
New Delhi : Despite banning wheat exports, India will contribute 153,000 tonnes of the grain to set up a food bank for tackling food crisis in certain SAARC countries, the government announced here Wednesday.
"We have kept two million tonnes of wheat for some countries that have made a request for the grain our external affairs ministry through diplomatic channels," Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told reporters during a business summit.
Poor response to Emmar MGF IPO
By IANS
Mumbai : Emmar MGF's third largest IPO issue after Reliance Power and DLF that was to close Wednesday, has been extended by six days due to the poor response it has elicited.
The move has ostensibly been compelled by volatility in markets resulting in poor investor response, analysts said.
According to Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) statistics, the IPO has been subscribed only by a negligible 0.74 percent.
The UAE-based real estate conglomerate was also forced to lower its price band from Rs.540-630 to Rs.530-630.
News Corp strikes deal with Dow Jones
By DPA
New York : Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has reached a tentative deal to buy Dow Jones, the owner of the Wall Street Journal for $5 billion.
The deal was reached between Murdoch and Dow Jones CEO Richard Zannino but still must be approved by the Bancroft family, which controls 64 percent of Dow Jones voting stock, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Aramex announces Q2 revenues of $146.8 million
By IANS,
Dubai : Global logistics provider Aramex has announced that its revenues grew from 437.5 million dirhams ($119.1 million) to 539.3 million dirhams ($146.8 million) in the second quarter of 2008, which ended June 30, a rise of 23 percent compared to the same period last year.
Second quarter net profits climbed 15 percent to 38.4 million dirhams ($10.4
million), compared to 33.5 million dirhams ($9.1 million) for the same period in 2007.
China reduces credit interest rate
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China's central bank said Monday it will reduce the benchmark loan interest rate and the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks to ensure a steady and rapid economic growth.
The benchmark interest rate for one-year yuan-denominated loans will be adjusted down 0.27 percentage points from Tuesday, while the ratio of deposit that lenders are required to set aside will be down one percentage points from Sep 25, said the People's Bank of China.
However, the country's major lenders will be exempt from the reserve requirement ratio adjustment.
Airlines not worried by railway fare cut
By IANS
Mumbai : Leading budget airlines are not worried by selective fare cuts Railway Minister Lalu Prasad announced in the railway budget for 2008-09 Tuesday, and maintain that people would prefer air travel to save time.
"There is going to be a Rs.30-80 drop in prices on the Delhi-Mumbai sector but we can take passengers from Delhi to Mumbai in 1 hour 35 minutes while the fastest trains like the Rajdhani Express or the August Kranti Rajdhani Express take 17 hours," said SpiceJet executive chairman Siddhanta Sharma.
India will come down heavily on hoarders: Kamal Nath
By IANS
Singapore : India will come down heavily on traders hoarding essential commodities and earning profits in the backdrop of soaring inflation, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said here Friday.
"We will not hesitate to take the strongest possible measures, including using some of the legal provisions that we have against hoarding, against profiteering, whether it's in food, in cement, in steel," Nath told reporters here.
Tata Consultancy, government to sign passport project deal Monday
By IANS,
New Delhi : Software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will Monday sign a contract for starting the Passport Seva project, a public-private initiative to improve passport services in India.
The formal contract will be signed Oct 13 by Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and TCS chief executive officer and managing director, S. Ramadorai.
The contract will be signed almost three months after the ministry of external affairs had issued the letter of intent to TCS July 23, adjudging it the “best value bidder” for the project, estimated to be worth Rs.10-15 billion.
Reliance Communications now has 100 mn subscribers
By IANS,
New Delhi : Reliance Communications, a telecom major in the Anil Ambani group, Friday announced a major milestone with a subscriber base of 100 million for its wireless services with the target of doubling the number over the next three years.
With this, the company has become the fourth-largest operator in the world, serving 100 million customers in a single country, said a statement issued by the company.
Global gloom pulls down Indian shares further
By IANS
Mumbai : Indian equities were sucked down by a major whirlpool in the global stock markets during the week ended Friday resulting in a key market index taking a hit of almost five percent, and there is little prospect of them surfacing soon.
Amid high volatility and selling pressures, the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended Friday at 14,141.52 points, registering a loss of 726.73 points, or 4.89 percent, over last week's close at 14,868.25 points.
Bombay Stock Exchange buys stake in commodity exchange
By IANS
Mumbai : The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has picked up 26 percent stake in Ahmedabad-based National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (NMCE) for about Rs.1 billion ($25 million).
Kailash Gupta, managing director of NMCE, said BSE would pay about Rs.1 billion for the newly issued shares in the exchange.
The fresh equity would lower the stake owned by Neptune Overseas Ltd, who now manage the exchange, from 25 percent currently to 18 to 19 percent, Gupta said.
Obama invites India to major economies forum on climate change
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : US President Barack Obama has invited the leaders of 16 major economies including India to Washington for a forum on energy and climate next month to prepare ground for a new global climate change regime.
The forum, scheduled for April 27-28, seeks to "generate the political leadership necessary" for a successful outcome at the UN climate change negotiation to be held in Copenhagen in December, the White House said in a statement Saturday.
Neglect of agriculture led to food crisis: UN
By IANS,
New York : A lack of investment in agriculture over a long period and the use of precious natural resources for biofuel production have contributed to the current global food crisis, according to United Nations development experts.
Kathleen Abdalla of the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) said at a news conference here Tuesday that while populations have grown and diets have changed, investment in agriculture as well as aid for it have been lagging for a long time.
Central Bank not to cut Interest rates
By IANS
Mumbai : The Central Bank of India is in no hurry to cut interest rates, according to chairman and managing director H.A. Daruwalla.
"At present we are offering the lowest interest rates in the home loans sector. We will wait and watch the situation," Daruwalla told IANS.
"This is the last quarter of the year where rates normally tend to increase. It would be unwise to say how rates will move during the next six weeks. We must also consider the demand-supply gap," she added.
Panic grips Asian rice trade after India’s move
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.
Ranbaxy was, is and will remain Indian: Malvinder Singh
By IANS,
London : Ranbaxy CEO Malvinder Mohan Singh says the company’s merger with the Japanese Daiichi Sankyo has not diluted its Indian identity.
“Ranbaxy was Indian, is Indian and will remain Indian. Our headquarters are there, most of our people are there and our facilities are in India. We remain listed in India. None of that changes,” he said in an interview published in The Sunday Telegraph.
Bajaj Allianz first life insurer to get ISO 27001 mark
By IANS
Mumbai : Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company has become the first in its category to be awarded the ISO 27001 security certification for complying with the new standards for data and information security set by the certifier.
"We are proud to be the first insurance company in India to get ISO 27001. This demonstrates our stringent security measures that secure the data and information of our customers," Bajaj Allianz's Ishita Mukherjee said.
The certification has been awarded to its IT systems and infrastructure set up at its Pune head office.
‘Land acquisition disputes, downturn cripple West Bengal’s economy’
By Aparajita Gupta,IANS,
Kolkata : The Tata Nano is gone; tyre maker Dunlop has suspended production in its Sahaganj unit and projects ranging from a ship repairing yard to power station are locked in land disputes. All these developments point towards one major question - Is West Bengal's industrial future bleak?
The state's industrial scenario, which looked upbeat even earlier this year, now suddenly seems bleak. On top of that, the global economic downturn has only made things tougher for the state's industrialists.
Wall Street slumps as US cuts 100,000 jobs in a week
By IANS,
New York : The Wall Street slumped to its worst January ever as investors eyed abysmal reports on economic growth and several companies across various industries announced more than 100,000 job cuts in a brutal week.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended Friday down 148 points, or 1.8 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 19 points, or 2.3 percent. The Nasdaq composite lost 31 points, or 2 percent.
Afghan opium production soars to record level
By NNN-IRIN
Kabul : Opium production in Afghanistan increased by 17 percent in 2007, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on 27 August.
"No other country in the world has ever produced narcotics on such a deadly scale," said the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2007, an annual assessment prepared by UNODC and the government of Afghanistan.
Afghan farmers have cultivated poppies on 193,000 hectares which will produce 8,200 metric tonnes of opium in 2007, the survey indicated. Afghanistan alone accounts for 93 percent of the heroin processed in the world.
Skoda sales up 22.6 percent in August in India
By IANS,
New Delhi : Skoda India, the fully-owned subsidiary of Skoda Auto of the Czek Republic, Monday reported a 22.6 percent growth in car sales August.
The company said in a statement that it sold 1,103 units last month, as compared to 900 units in the same period last year, recording a 22.6 percent growth.
The Skoda Fabia model recorded sales of 564 units.
Skoda India has been operating in the country since November 2001 as a subsidiary of Europe-based Volkswagen Group.
Hyundai sales up 42.8 percent in February
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's second largest car maker Hyundai Motor reported a 42.8 percent increase in total sales last month to 54,617 units as against 38,235 units sold in February 2009.
During February, domestic sales grew 46.1 percent to 31,001 units while exports rose 38.8 percent to 23,616 vehicles.
"The sales continue on a strong pitch as we have seen a lot of pre-ponement of buying because of the anticipated rise in excise duty in the union budget during the last two months," said Arvind Saxena, director - Marketing and Sales.
India signs $850 mn-worth loan agreements with ADB
By IANS,
New Delhi : In a bid to boost infrastructure development and give an impetus to rural employment, India Tuesday signed agreements for $850 million-worth loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The first loan of $700 million is the second in a series of infrastructure loans by the ADB to India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL), said a statement from the finance ministry.
Markets open on strong note
Mumbai(IANS) : Indian markets opened on a strong note Wednesday on the back of strong cues from the global markets. Broad based buying was witnessed in early trade led by metal, capital good and power stocks.
At 9:56 a.m., the benchmark sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was up 243 points at 19,640 and the broader S&P CNX Nifty was up 69 points at 5,855.
Rajasthan farmers launch agitation for more water
By IANS
Jaipur : Farmers of Rajasthan's Sriganganagar district Monday renewed their agitation for release of more water from the Indira Gandhi Canal for irrigating their fields.
Over 1,000 farmers trooped in from various parts of Sriganganagar, over 550 km from here, and gathered at a common meeting place in Gharsana.
The farmers earlier warned that they would hold massive protests if the state government failed to accept their demands by Nov 4.
Motorola backs Wimax over 3G as India’s next broadband tech
By Himank Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : Telecommunications giant Motorola Inc., a Fortune 100 company, says that the newer Wimax technology scores over 3G in data transmission capabilities and that it's the broadband route India needed to take.
Wimax or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is a non-cellular telecommunications technology, which like 3G has the capability to transfer data wirelessly over long distances.
Disney India aims to boost domestic animation market
By IANS,
New Delhi : Undeterred by the failure of their first outing "Roadside Romeo", the Indian arm of leading animation studio Disney is set to continue making films here to tap the over Rs.17 billion (approx $360 million) Indian animation industry.
While their next offering is Darsheel Safary-starrer "Zokkomon", they also plan to venture into regional content.
Islamic system of banking should be encouraged in India: Former SEBI Chairman
By Md.Ali, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Ethical investment should be promoted in the country. This view was expressed by D.R. Mehta, former Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and deputy Chairman of Reserve Bank of India(RBI) .
“Ethical investment goes on to develop the society. It can help in promoting the interests of the underprivileged people in the community”
He was speaking in a seminar titled ‘Emergence of Ethical Investment: Issues and Practices’. which was held at India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi on 14th of June.
European economic confidence hits historic low
By DPA,
Berlin : European economic sentiment slumped to an historic low in November, a key indicator released Thursday showed, amid signs that the slowdown in the global economy is gaining momentum.
The European Commission's closely watched economic sentiment indicator for the 15-member eurozone fell more-than-forecast by 5.1 points to 74.9 in November from 80.4 in October.
The indicator now stands at its lowest level since August 1993.
Sensex extends gains, ruling 1.38 percent up
By IANS,
Mumbai : A key index of Indian equities markets extended its gains Wednesday and was ruling 1.38 percent higher than its previous close in the afternoon.
Around 2.05 p.m., the 30-scrip benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex, which had crossed the 17,000-mark earlier, was ruling at 17,085.48 points, up 232.57 points or 1.38 percent.
The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too was in the positive terrain at 5,067.85 points, up 1.22 percent.
Infosys declares 440 percent final dividend
By IANS,
Bangalore : IT giant Infosys Ltd Friday declared a final dividend of Rs.22 per share for fiscal 2011-12, which is 440 percent over its par value of Rs.5 per share.
Now book online taxi service from Howrah
Kolkata : The taxi service from the bustling Howrah station in West Bengal has been made easy by installing radio-frequency identification devices and allowing...
LIC starts selling policies to non-Indians in Bahrain
Dubai, Oct 27 (IANS) Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC) International has for the first time started selling policies to non-Indians in Bahrain, where it posted a growth of 46 percent in the first nine months of this year, as compared to the corresponding period last year.
"While so far almost all of our 72,000 customers have been Indians, we being an Indian company, but now we have started to sell our schemes to others," LIC chairman T.S. Vijayan said during the course of the company's 61st board meeting in that Gulf nation.
Bahrain is home to around 290,000 expatriate Indians.
Sensex 220 points down; banking, auto stocks lose
By IANS,
Mumbai: A benchmark index of the Indian equities markets Tuesday shut shop near its intra-day low, ending 220 points lower than Monday's close, mirroring the negative sentiments at other Asian markets.
Banking, auto and energy stocks lost the most.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) -- which opened at 17,150.59 points -- ended at 16,877.16 points, down 220.39 points or 1.29 percent from its previous close at 17,097.55 points.
It had risen more than 102 points during early trade.
India’s exports decline third straight month
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's merchandise exports registered a decline for the third straight month in dollar terms and were valued at $12.690 billion, down 1.1 percent over $12.825 billion logged during the like month of last fiscal.
Cumulatively, however, the exports grew 17.1 percent during the first nine months of the fiscal to $131.990 billion, against $112.737 billion during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, official data showed Monday.
India’s June inflation rises to 10.55 percent
By IANS,
New Delhi : The recent fuel price hike drove India's annual food inflation further up to 10.55 percent, from 10.16 percent in May, edging the Reserve bank of India closer to another hike in interest rates.
During June, prices of fuel rose 14.32 percent, reflecting the government's decision to increase prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene and cooking gas in the last week of the month.
Prices of kerosene went up nine percent, lubricants six percent, liquefied petroleum gas three percent, petrol two percent and high speed diesel oil one percent.
India’s annual inflation rate eases to 11.89 percent
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's annual rate of inflation eased marginally to 11.89 percent for the week ended July 12 amid a promise by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that bringing down prices will be his government's top priority.
The data on wholesale prices released by the commerce ministry Friday showed that the inflation rate slid to this level from 11.91 percent for the week ended July 5.
Equity markets stay in the green early afternoon
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equity markets continued to stay in the green early Monday afternoon, but stayed volatile too. There was buying interest in banking, capital goods and select technology stocks.
At 1:30 p.m., the 30-share benchmark in dex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, was at 13,696.74, up 61.34 points or 0.45 percent from its closing figure Friday. It had earlier touched a high of 13,850.78.
At the same time the broader based S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was up 8.60 points or 0.21 percent at 4,100.85.
Japan commits Rs.7,802.17 crore assistance to India
By IANS,
New Delhi : Japan Friday committed 132.645 billion Yen (Rs.7,802.17 crore) as part of the official development assistance (ODA) loan package to fund four development projects in India.
Mayawati asks private sector to provide quotas
By IANS
Shimla : The private sector should provide job quotas for weaker sections of society, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said at an election rally here Saturday.
"Her party, the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), is in favour of privatisation, but the private sector must have the responsibility of reserving jobs on caste and economic criteria and include needy people from the higher castes," said Mayawati.
Interim budget fails to cheer markets
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities closed in the red Monday as the interim budget presented by the government failed to offer any sops to investors. A key index ended 3.42 percent lower than its previous close.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange closed at 9,305.45 points, down 3.42 percent or 329.29 points.
The BSE midcap index was down 2.93 percent, while the BSE smallcap ended 2.1 percent lower.
The broader-based S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was at 2,848.5 points, 3.39 percent lower than its last close.
India’s inflation at seven-year high of 8.75 percent
By IANS,
New Delhi : In what is more bad news for the hard-hit ordinary citizen, industry and policy makers alike, India's annual inflation rate shot up to a seven-year high of 8.75 percent for the week ended May 31, against 8.24 percent for the week before.
The rate - which has been inching closer towards the double digit level - had last touched a higher figure of 8.77 percent for the week ended Feb 10, 2001.
Sensex choppy, Asian cues mixed
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities Friday was choppy in noon trade with other Asian markets trading on mixed cues.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,165.49 points, was at 18,226.52 points, 52.15 points or 0.29 percent up from its previous close at 18,172.83 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling 0.35 percent up at 5,466.25 points.
Manufacturing sector growth to pick up in April-June: FICCI
By IANS,
New Delhi : Growth in the manufacturing sector is expected to pick up in the first quarter of 2009-10 on the back of increasing demand in some segments, said an industry lobby survey.
The manufacturing survey by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said six out of the 12 sectors it covered will report higher growth rate in the April-June quarter over the year-ago period, pushing the entire manufacturing sector to positive growth.
Markets remain flat, thanks to mixed global cues
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets, which opened weak Friday due to inconsistent global cues, stayed flat till just before noon, with a key index trading 0.41 percent below its previous close.
The sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (Sensex) started at 8,804.15 points, lower than its 8,813.84-point close Thursday. By the time the morning trade was almost over, it was at 8,777.42 points, 0.41 percent or 36.42 points below the last close.
Mahindra signs wage agreement with Nashik plant workers
By IANS,
Mumbai : Auto major Mahindra and Mahindra Friday said it has signed a wage agreement with workers at its plant near Maharashtra's Nashik town after they went on a strike demanding pay revision and reinstatement of a sacked labour leader.
The pact, which is valid for three and a half years, was signed by the Bhartiya Kamgar Sena Union that represents Mahindra's workers at its Igatpuri plant near Nashik, the company said in a regulatory statement.
Air India cuts fares on all domestic routes
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's flagship carrier, state-owned Air India slashed fares across the board Monday by reducing its fuel surcharge by Rs.400 for all routes. The cut will come into effect from midnight, an airline official said.
According to an official here, domestic carriers presently charge fuel surcharge of Rs.2,350 per passenger flying up to 750 kms and Rs.3,100 for those flying beyond 750 kms in India. The airline had in June increased the surcharge by Rs.300 for sectors less than 750 kilometres and Rs.550 for longer flights.
India in talks with US firms for nuclear reactors
By IANS,
New Delhi : The state-owned Nuclear Power Corp (NPCL) is in talks with US nuclear energy companies like GE Energy and Westinghouse Electric for supply of nuclear reactors, the government said Thursday.
Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office, Prithviraj Chavan, told Parliament that NPCL had begun preliminary discussions with GE and Westinghouse for the supply of 1,000 MW nuclear reactors.
“The cost and other commercial details have not been finalised yet and discussions with vendors from other countries is also on,” he added.
Anil Ambani group gets land for Madhya Pradesh cement unit
By IANS
Bhopal : The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group is setting up a cement unit in Madhya Pradesh for which 1,306 acres of land has been allotted by the state government in Satna, some 375 km from here.
Madhya Pradesh Industry Minister Jayant Malaiya informed the state assembly Tuesday that apart from providing land at Raghuraj Nagar in Satna district, the group has also been given the prospecting license for the unit.
Tata Motors borrows $3 bn to buy Jaguar, Land Rover
By IANS
London : Tata Motors has secured a $3 billion loan from Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase to finance its intended purchase of the British marques Jaguar and Land Rover from their American owner Ford Motors, according to media reports Tuesday.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quoted a person familiar with the deal as saying Tata had secured a one-year bridging loan from the two banks.
Tata Motors are thought to have made an offer of around $2 billion to purchase the two luxury brands, and the deal is now expected to go through sometime next week, the paper said.
Google to launch service to view British streets online
By IANS,
London : Google has cleared the hurdle of an anti-privacy case to go ahead with the launch this year of its Street View service which will offer ground level pictures of every British street online.
Street View faced opposition from lawyers who said it infringes civil liberties. Some said it would help burglars select their targets in advance.
Cholamandalam eyes Japanese and South Korean companies
By IANS
Chennai : Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co is targeting Japanese and South Korean companies located in India for business.
The Chennai-based insurance company is a 74:26 joint venture between India's Murugappa group and Japan's Mitsui Sumitomo insurance group.
Cholamandalam MS General has a separate strategic business unit under the independent charge of Yu Kitai, director.
There are more than 400 Japanese and Korean companies operating in India, Kitai told the media here Thursday.
Delhi receives $2.5 bn to get set for Commonwealth Games
By IANS
New Delhi : With 2010 Commonwealth Games in the national capital in mind and to fund a proposed scientific institution, the Planning Commission Wednesday gave its nod for an outlay of Rs.100 billion ($2.5 billion) for this city-state during the ensuing fiscal.
"There is a need to focus on the cleaning of Yamuna river and overall upgrade of infrastructure facilities in the city in view of the Commonwealth Games 2010," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
Sensex ends flat, broader markets gain
By IANS,
Mumbai : A key index for Indian equities Wednesday closed flat in choppy and lacklustre trade ahead of the derivatives expiry Thursday and on negative global cues, although buying was seen in broader markets led by realty stocks.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,694.87 points, shut shop at 17,755.94 points, 6.25 points or 0.04 percent up from its previous close at 17,749.69 points.
Printer sales up one percent last fiscal
By IANS,
New Delhi : Despite the economic slowdown, printer sales in India grew one percent to 1.61 million units last fiscal as compared to the year before, an IT hardware manufacturers' lobby said Thursday.
"The total printer sales between April 2008 and March 2009, with dot-matrix, ink-jet and laser-jet printers taken together, were 1.61 million, registering a growth of one percent over the previous year," the Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) said in a statement.
Ranbaxy, Orchid join hands
By IANS,
Mumbai : Two Indian pharma majors have entered into an agreement "to leverage the inherent strengths of each other", it was announced Tuesday.
The Gurgaon-based Ranbaxy Laboratories and Chennai's Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals are to establish a framework for enhanced cooperation, according to information filed with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
McDonald’s to invest Rs.3 bn in India operations
New Delhi, (IANS) US fast-food giant McDonald's said Monday it will spend Rs.3 billion ($75 million) in India over the next three years towards expansion even as it opened its first express restaurant at the domestic airport here.
"We plan to triple the number of outlets in India by the end of 2010 from 122 at present," Vikram Bakshi, joint venture partner and managing director, McDonald's India, told a press conference here.
Coastal Energen to import equipment for Tuticorin power plant
By IANS,
Chennai : Coastal Energen Pvt Ltd, an arm of Dubai's Coal and Oil group, is in discussions with power equipment makers in China, South Korea and the US for importing boilers and turbine generators for its 1080 MW thermal power project in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, a company official said.
"We are in discussions with different equipment suppliers for sourcing the boilers and turbine generators for the project that is expected to go on stream in 2011," S.M. Zafrulla, managing director of Coastal Energen, told IANS.
Markets go flat while staying in positive zone
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities markets which opened in the green Thursday managed to be in the positive zone but was trading flat in the afternoon. Capital goods, banking, realty, power and oil and gas scrips remained in demand.
At 1.30 p.m., the 30-share sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, was up 228.96.29 points or 1.35 percent to 17,207.31, which was below the day's high of 17,277.12.
At the day's low, the Sensex had touched 17,079.94.
Rilways seek corporates’ hand in landscaping at stations
By IANS,
New Delhi : Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge Wednesday said that the railways intends to invite private companies in setting up of landscaped 'green...
Steel industry conclave to discuss expansion
By IANS
Kolkata : A three-day international conference and exhibition on steel scheduled Feb 27-29 at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand will discuss targeted development and employment generation in the industry.
The conference, Steelrise 2008, is being organised against the backdrop of the target Indian policymakers and industry have set themselves to expand annual steel production to 180 million tonnes by 2020.
Reliance Hazira unit wins award for combating climate change
By IANS,
Mumbai : Reliance Industries Limited's (RIL) Hazira manufacturing division has bagged the Golden Peacock Award for Combating Climate Change-2008 (GPACCC).
According to a RIL spokesperson, the award was presented by Sweden's former prime minister Ola Ulsten and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal at a convention on climate change held in Palampur (Himachal Pradesh) May 30.
National Aluminium profits take a hit
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : State-owned National Aluminium Co (NALCO) Wednesday said its third quarter net profit was down 33.38 percent to Rs.2.19 billion (Rs.219 crore), and attributed it to the falling prices of its products in the international market.
In the same period last fiscal, NALCO had posted profits of Rs.3.29 billion (Rs.329 crore).
"The fall in the product price in the international market has eroded our profit," NALCO chairman C.R. Pradhan told IANS.
Wockhardt acquires French company for $265 mn
By IANS
Mumbai : Indian pharma and biotech major Wockhardt Ltd Thursday announced the acquisition of French pharmaceutical group Negma Laboratories in an all-cash deal worth $265 million.
With this acquisition, Wockhardt becomes the largest Indian pharmaceutical company in Europe with more than 1,500 employees based in the continent.
Negma is the fourth largest independent and integrated pharmaceutical group in France with sales of $150 million.
Art market looking up – India Art Summit proves it
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : After a year that saw a price drop of at least 30 percent across all segments of modern and contemporary art and a purge of inferior products, the Indian art market is looking up again, say organisers of the India Art Summit 2009 in a post-fair review.
According to Neha Kirpal, associate director of the India Art Summit, galleries raked in nearly Rs.26 crore ($5.2 million) from sales --about 50 percent of the Rs.50 crore worth of art on offer. The footfalls, said Kirpal, stood at 5,000 on day one and touched 40,000 by the last day.
Italy’s GDP to drop in 2012
By IANS,
Rome : An Italian national statistics agency has forecast that Italy's GDP would fall by 1.5 percent this year but would slightly rise by 0.5 percent in 2013.
US mining equipment giant to set up shop in Bengal
By Sujoy Dhar, IANS
Kolkata : Bucyrus International, Inc., a world leader in the design and manufacture of mining equipment, is setting up its India operations headquarters here as the firm scouts for an abandoned facility in West Bengal to set up a $5 million manufacturing unit.
India’s economic growth dips to 7.9 percent
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's economic growth slipped to 7.9 percent during the first quarter of this fiscal from 9.2 percent for the corresponding period of the previous year amid concerns over the impact of central bank's tight monetary policy.
The growth during the first quarter was the lowest in three-and-a-half years and much below the 8.8 percent expansion registered in the previous quarter, showed the data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) Friday.
SpiceJet among top 10 budget carriers in Asia: Poll
By IANS,
New Delhi : An online travel magazine tracking Asia's hotels, spas and airlines has ranked India's low-cost carrier SpiceJet among the top 10 budget airlines in the continent.
The magazine, Smart Travel Asia, based its finding on a survey between May and July on low-cost carriers (LCC), SpiceJet said in a press statement Monday.
The survey also said the airline has made its mark by maintaining schedules, competent service and extensive route network and access.
Reliance Industries net profit drops 6.4 percent
By IANS,
Mumbai : The net profit of oil-to-petrochemicals major Reliance Industries (RIL) dropped 6.41 percent to Rs.3,852 crore (approximately $815 million) for the quarter ended Sep 30, compared to the Rs.4,116 crore it netted in the corresponding period last fiscal.
The fall in profit, which was in line with analysts' prediction, was due to lower refining margins and were partially offset by the gas production from the D6 block in the Krishna-GOdavari basin.
China, India, Mexico most favoured by Spanish investors
By Xinhua
Madrid : China, India and Mexico are the most favoured among the developing economies by Spanish investors, the ABC Spanish daily reported Tuesday.
Some 81 percent of Spanish companies plan to invest in India and Mexico, while 86 percent prefer China as their investment destination, the daily quoted an Ernst & Young survey as saying.
The survey was based on interviews with more than 900 senior executives of Spanish multinational companies.
Firefox launches women specific bicycles in India
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian market for women's bicycles is "embarrassingly" small, but that has not deterred Firefox from launching its women specific bikes here with the aim to encourage more ladies to take up cycling as a sporting activity.
According to Shiv Inder Singh, managing director of Firefox Bikes (India), there has been an increasing demand for bicycles especially made for Indian women although it's a small market.
Sensex crawls into green, telecom stocks shine
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index of the Indian equities markets moved into the green around Thursday noon after opening in the negative.
At 12:20 p.m., the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that opened at 17,107 points was ruling at 17,155.85 points, up 30.63 points or 0.18 percent from Wednesday's close at 17,125.22 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was at 5,125.05 points, against the previous close at 5,112 points, a gain of 13.05 points or 0.26 percent.
Essar to explore oil and gas in Vietnam
By IANS
New Delhi : Private petroleum company Essar Oil Ltd said Tuesday that its Mauritius-based subsidiary Essar Exploration and Production (EEPL) has bagged a licence to explore oil and gas off Vietnam's coast.
"EEPL has been awarded an offshore block in Vietnam's prolific Song Hong basin," Essar Oil told the Bombay Stock Exchange.
"The exploration phase is estimated to last five years and the investment for this programme will be approximately $60 million," Essar said.
India moves on insurance reform despite opposition
By IANS,
New Delhi : After months of delays and deliberations, India's cabinet has finally approved the tabling of a bill that seeks to raise foreign investment limit in the country's growing insurance business to 49 percent.
The bill, however, may take a while to translate into legislation, as there will be little time in the ensuing parliament session to discuss the matter, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said.
India currently caps foreign equity limit in insurance at 26 percent.
Regulator asks airlines to explain fare hikes
By IANS,
New Delhi : After Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Wednesday morning warned airline operators against "cartelisation", the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), asked them to explain their fare hikes.
The move came a day after Indian carriers, including budget airlines, withdrew promotional fares and hiked the base tariff. Among them was the state-owned Air India, which only months earlier announced lowest Rs.99 base promotional fare on its domestic routes.
Transdot all set to ‘clean up’ Kerala
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Into a decade of starting its sewage treatment division, city-based Transdot is all set to 'clean up' Kerala using its latest membrane bio-reactor (MBR) process, considered to be the most advanced waste water treatment technology.
Speaking to reporters here Tuesday, after revealing its treatment plant using MBR process mounted on a four wheeler, chief of Transdot M.R. Narayanan said the company has booked a string of orders from within the country and abroad.
Himachal power utility takes $400-million World Bank loan
By IANS
Shimla : State-owned Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL) Tuesday signed an agreement with the World Bank for a $400-million loan to build the 412 MW Rampur hydropower project in Himachal Pradesh.
SJVNL chief H.K.Sharma and Isabella Guerrio, country director, World Bank, signed the agreement in New Delhi, a SJVNL spokesman said.
The 412 MW Rampur project is being built on the Sutlej River in Shimla district, some 130 km from here.
The project is adjacent to the country's largest hydropower project - the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri project - also built and run by SJVNL.
350 global delegates for Assam tea party
By Syed Zarir Hussain
Guwahati(IANS) : From tasters to overseas buyers and foreign government representatives, an estimated 350 delegates are to attend a global tea party in Assam aimed at promoting the Indian beverage.
The three-day India International Tea Convention, scheduled to open Nov 22 in Assam's main city of Guwahati, is being dubbed as a major trade extravaganza to draw foreign buyers.
Range-bound Indian equities trade in negative territory
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities opened on a weak note Friday and were ruling in the negative territory, amid range-bound trading, on weak cues from the US and mixed signals from other Asian peers.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 8,951.34 points, as against the previous close at 9,001.75 points, and hit a low of 8,894.06 points as trading progressed.
An hour-and-a-half into trading, the key index was ruling at 8,942.37 points, with a loss of 59.38 points, or 0.66 percent, over the previous day's close, data with the bourse showed.
OPEC oil price inches down to $70.85
By DPA,
Vienna : The oil price of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) slid to $70.85 at the end of last week, the group reported Monday.
The average price for OPEC-produced oil shed 58 cents Friday.
The recent downward movement in international oil markets was due to a number of economic factors, including negative demand figures for gas oil and petrol, analysts at J.B.C. Energy wrote in Vienna.
The analysts cited "bearish economic headlines, renewed turbulence in financial markets and a strengthening dollar" as additional factors.
IMF sees ‘break in the clouds’, but no voice for emerging economies
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Amid signs of a "break in the clouds" of the economic storm, world finance leaders have pledged to keep working collaboratively to restore international financial stability and revive growth.
But they appear to have made a slow move on the issue of giving emerging market countries a stronger voice in the International Monetary Fund, a demand reiterated by India at Saturday's meeting of the Fund's 24-member decision-making panel.
Chavez buys a million laptops from Portugal
By IANS,
Lisbon : Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has signed an agreement to buy one million laptop computers from Portugal during a visit to the Iberian nation, the EFE news agency reported Sunday.
The agreement was signed at a function Saturday following a meeting between Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates and Chavez, who praised his country's bilateral relations with Portugal.
Agenda for India: Industry
TwoCircles.net presents “Agenda for India”. Series editor is Charu Bahri.
Challenges & Solutions
Soeb Fatehi, Principal Consultant, Encode; Director, Control Panel and Switchgear Manufacturers’ Association and sitting member, Western Suburb Center Committee, Bombay Management Association & Electronics and Telecom Committee, Indian Merchants Chamber shares his outlook on the foremost challenges facing Indian industry.
Brandhouse announces joint venture with Italy’s Oviesse
By IANS,
New Delhi : Textile major Brandhouse Retails has signed a joint venture agreement with Italy's leading apparel brand Oviesse to open 190 stores in India at an investment of Rs.1.61 billion (Rs.161 crore) over a period of five years, it was announced Tuesday.
Brandhouse will hold 62.5 percent stake in the joint venture, while Oviesse will own the balance 37.5 percent. Oviesse is part of Gruppo Coin, which manages high fashion department stores in Italy under the brand name COIN.
The store rollout is expected to commence later this year.
Tata Motors to continue suspension of work at Singur
By IANS,
Kolkata : Tata Motors Monday said it would continue suspension of work in the Singur Nano plant.
In a statement, the automobile major expressed distress over the "limited clarity" on the outcome of the discussions between the West Bengal government and the opposition Trinamool Congress over the resolution of the land row reached between them late Sunday night.
Narmada project to be completed by 2010
By IANS,
Ahmedabad : The much-delayed multi-billion-rupee Narmada dam project, often termed Gujarat's lifeline, is now expected to be completed by 2009-2010, its executing agency said Wednesday.
In a quarterly status of the project filed on the Bombay Stock Exchange in terms of the listing agreement, the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited, a Gujarat government undertaking, said the height of the dam had reached 121.92 metres following clearance from the Narmada Canal Authority.
Chhattisgarh’s industrial sector to grow over 9 percent
By IANS,
Raipur : Chhattisgarh's industrial sector is expected to grow 9.41 percent this fiscal, Chief Minister Raman Singh said here Wednesday.
Speaking in the state assembly, he said the agriculture and service sectors were estimated to grow 1.10 and 9.46 percent respectively.
"The gross state domestic product (GSDP) at constant prices is expected to grow 7.69 percent in 2008-09, while the net per capita at current prices is expected to be Rs.29,621," the chief minister said.
Bihar best for investment in agri industries: Mittal
By IANS
Patna : Bihar is the best place to invest in agriculture and horticulture -based industries, said Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president and Bharti group chairman and managing director Sunil Bharti Mittal here Wednesday.
"I can say that Bihar is the best place for agriculture and horticulture based industries, there is plenty of potential for investment in this sector," Mittal said.
Political pressure behind futures ban: Chidambaram
By IANS,
New Delhi : The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was forced to ban futures trading on some items because of political pressures even though there was no rationale for doing so, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has said.
"I agree there is no conclusive evidence that banning futures trade has any impact on prices," the finance minister said in an interview.
Late selling pushes Sensex 150 points down
By IANS,
Mumbai : Late selling pressured a benchmark index for Indian equities Friday to close 150 points lower.
Trade was lacklustre in earlier sessions.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,981.06 points, closed at 17,841.74 points (provisional), 150.26 points or 0.83 percent down from its previous close at 17,992 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended at 5,356.4 points, down 0.97 percent from its previous close at 5,408.9 points.
Punjab has huge potential for entrepreneurs: Experts
By IANS,
Chandigarh : Despite the recession in the US and the global financial crisis, Indian markets are comparatively safe and still present extensive opportunities for entrepreneurs, experts say.
A global organisation working for promoting entrepreneurship throughout the world feels that there is no dearth of scope for entrepreneurs in India, especially in Punjab which still possesses a huge potential for them.
PM calls for strengthening multilateral financial institutions
By Manish Chand, IANS,
On Board Air India One : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday called for strengthening "surveillance" of multilateral institutions to avert the crisis triggered by the global financial meltdown and stressed that it will not have any significant impact on India's economic health.
"We need to strengthen multilateral surveillance for free market economies to function properly. For that multilateral institutions need to be strengthened," the prime minister told reporters on board his special aircraft on way to New York.
Arab Banks Union, GCC Chambers of Commerce sign MoU
By NNN-KUNA,
Riyadh : The union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the Arab Banks Union (ABU) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at serving the Arab economy.
Secretary-general of the union of Chambers Abdulraheem Al-Naqi said in a statement Sunday both parties agreed to carry out economic and banking research and studies, as well as exchanging expertise, organising conferences in Arab and European capitals.
Hong Kong’s JB Group to invest 380 million dollars in India
By SPA
New Delhi : Hong Kong-based JB Group, will invest 15 billion rupees (380 million dollars) in mining activities and the hospitality sector in India over the next fiscal year, DPA quoted a news agency as reporting Sunday.
The globally diversified JB group plans investments from the Indian financial year which begins April 2008, the IANS reported quoting company officials.
Chennai firm bags Rs.49 bn order for Rajasthan power plant
By IANS,
Chennai : The Chennai-based engineering company BGR Energy Systems Limited has bagged a Rs.49 billion engineering procurement construction (EPC) contract for a thermal power project in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd has chosen BGR Energy for its 2x600 MW Kalisindh Thermal Power Project at Jhalawar in Rajasthan.
Moser Baer to set up solar power plant in Rajasthan
By IANS
New Delhi : Moser Baer Photo Voltaic (MBPV) Friday signed a pact with the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corp to set up a 15-MW solar power plant in the state.
The company expects to complete the project at an estimated cost of $25 million, according to an official statement.
The pact was signed at the Resurgent Rajasthan Partnership Summit 2007, currently underway in Jaipur.
India’s key market index tops 17,000-point mark
By IANS
Mumbai : Taking barely a week to jump 1,000 points, a key Indian share market index crossed the 17,000-point level for the first time Wednesday, taking cues from global developments and buying interest among foreign funds.
Amid buying interest in energy, banking and tech stocks, the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) shot up to 17,073.987 points during intra-day trading - the highest ever level for the index.
Dhaka rejects World bank’s grim forecast on economy
By IANS,
Dhaka : Bangladesh's finance minister has rejected World Bank's forecast of its economy in the wake of global downturn and economists here insist that the economy was poised for a higher growth at 5.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
"I do not accept it," said Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith when asked to comment on the World Bank's projection of 4.5 percent growth rate.
Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank, too rejected the WB projections.
India faces skilled manpower shortage for making new drugs
By NNN-PTI
Banglore : India is facing a severe shortage of people with specialised skills for developing new drug and may try to rope in consultants of local origin overseas to help domestic firms to tide over the problem, Biocon Chairman and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar .
"The biggest challenge we have is how do we get specialised skills and expertise," Shaw told PTI here.
"For doing generics, it's fine (we don't have manpower shortage), but for making new products, it's very difficult to get personnel. We don't have enough of them," she added.
Indian equities end in green after volatile day
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets opened strong Monday, went sharply upwards and despite a late afternoon slide still closed in the green on a rate cut by India's central bank, the Reserve bank of India.
The positive finish Monday came after three successive days of losses last week that had seen a key index dip to the four-digit level for the first time in over two years.
At the close of trading the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange finished at 10,223.09, up 247.74 points or 2.48 percent from its previous close Friday at 9,975.35 points.
PM talks inclusive growth while banks shut door on minorities
By TCN News,
New Delhi: Within days of disclosure by the National Commission for Minorities about discrimination by government banks against minorities – whether to open new account or taking loan – Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today reiterated his dream inclusive growth.
Addressing 55th National Development Council meeting in New Delhi today the PM said the objective of Five-Year plan must be inclusive growth, not just growth.
Photo by PIB
Photo by PIBSensex holding firm in afternoon trade
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities Monday extended its morning gains and in afternoon trade was ruling 2.59 percent higher than its previous close.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,799.49 points, was ruling at 17,203.79 points, 434.68 points or 2.59 percent higher than its previous close at 16,769.11 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,156.9 points, a gain of 2.77 percent from its previous close at 5,018.05 points.
VAT likely to be implemented in UAE in early 2009
By IANS,
Dubai : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is likely to introduce a value added tax (VAT) system by early 2009, according to a senior official of Dubai Customs.
"Having spent two years studying VAT around the world to ensure that what is proposed for the UAE and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) is best practice, we are now in phase two, which is looking at how to successfully implement VAT," reports quoted Dubai Customs executive director Abdul Rahman Al Saleh as saying in a seminar during the Arabian Travel Market tourism event here.
Sensex stays down after weak start
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index of the Indian stock markets was in the red shortly after noon Monday, down moe than 80 points from its previous close.
The 30-scrip Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which opened Monday at 16,185.26 points, was at 16,183.62 at 12.03 p.m., 80.68 points or 0.5 percent below its Friday's close at 16.264.30.
The broader Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was at 4,801.55 points at the same time, 0.58 percent below its previous close at 4,829.55.
Bosch to suspend production to avoid inventory build-up
By IANS,
Bangalore : Leading automotive and industrial major Bosch Ltd will suspend production from Saturday to avoid building inventory, the company said Friday.
In a notification to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the listed German subsidiary said it would suspend manufacturing of starters and generators at its Naganathapura plant on the outskirts of Bangalore for 21 days from Jan 10.
"Operations at our main plant in the city will also be suspended for two days from January 15-17 and adopt a five-day week from January 19 to February 28," the company said in the statement.
Myanmar tops natural gas production in Asia
By Xinhua
Yangon : Myanmar is the biggest producer of natural gas in Asia and has the potential to ascend higher globally because many gas projects remain to be implemented, Yangon Times reported Wednesday.
Currently, the country ranks 10th at the world level with its gas sale, up from 11th previously, while it represents the first in Asia, Yangon Times quoted the World Energy magazine as saying.
Top Piramal executive may have been kidnapped
By IANS
Bhopal : Ashwani Bhat, a senior executive of the pharmaceutical major Nicholas Piramal India Ltd who went missing two days ago, is suspected to have been kidnapped, the police said Sunday.
Bhat had gone to Gwalior to attend the Madhya Pradesh Exportech meet 2008. He gave a presentation at the meet close to noon Friday and has not been seen after that.
Before leaving Gwalior by road for Indore in his Toyota Corolla, he reportedly told his family that he would reach home at night.
Tata Power to help develop hydel project in Bhutan
By IANS,
New Delhi : Tata Power, India's largest private power utility, announced Monday it will develop a hydro-power project in Bhutan in partnership with the Bhutanese government, and purchase the entire power generated.
In a regulatory statement, Tata Power said it has acquired 26 percent in a 114 megawatt hydro-electric power plant over river Dagacchu, through the Bhutan government-owned Druk Green Power Corp Ltd (DGPC).
New chair for institution that controls medicine prices
New Delhi : Injeti Srinivas, an Orissa cadre officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), has been named chair of the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing...
Tata vehicles in South Africa face quality question mark
By IANS
Johannesburg : The distributor for Tata vehicles in South Africa said Wednesday it would wait for a full report before commenting on the claims that Tata vehicles have the highest after-sales complaints among all global brands sold here.
The Initial Quality Study 2007, undertaken by international research company J.D. Power and Associates, released early in December, claimed that Tata vehicles had 567 after-sales problems per 100 vehicles, which was more than double the average of 245 for 23 vehicles of other global brands.
India will keep growth high and inflation low: Chidambaram
Davos, Jan 25 (IANS) India's Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told business leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) here Friday that India would guard against the "double whammy" of high prices and economic slowdown as a possible fallout of the current US financial crisis.
But if the choice were between maintaining high growth and keeping prices down, he would choose the latter in the interests of India's poor, Chidambaram told a forum that has been keenly watching India's response to the US economic slowdown amid speculation of a recession.
Sensex closes 41 points up
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index of the Indian equities market Monday gave up some of its intra-day gains on late selling pressure to close 41 points up.
Kalayani, Teel Atlas in map provider joint venture
By IANS,
Mumbai : Tele Atlas, a global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location, will acquire a substantial equity position in a subsidiary of the Kalyani Group.
According to a spokesperson of the Pune-based Kalyani Group, the subsidiary Kalyani Net Ventures is one of the leading map-providers in India, and the joint venture feels it will strengthen Tele Atlas operations in India.
PM begins review of agriculture sector with Andhra visit
By IANS
Hyderabad : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday began state reviews of the agriculture sector, that plays a crucial role in the national economy, with a visit to Andhra Pradesh where the largest number of farmers' suicides have taken place in recent years.
He will visit a few other states in the coming days.
Hyderabad : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday began state reviews of the agriculture sector, that plays a crucial role in the national economy, with a visit to Andhra Pradesh where the largest number of farmers' suicides have taken place in recent years.
He will visit a few other states in the coming days.
First foreign bank opens in Iran
By IANS,
Tehran : The first of the six foreign banks allowed to open offices in Iran started operation Thursday, IRNA reported.
The Iran-Europe Commercial Bank (ICB) would provide on the spot euro-based foreign exchange service, its director general Siavosh Naqshineh said.
The Iranian Bank of Industry and Mine (San'at va Ma'dan) is a major shareholder of the new bank.
The ICB has been operating on Kish Island, Iran's free trade zone since 2005.