Finnair now looks at Bangalore, Chennai to expand reach
By Varada Bhat, IANS,
Mumbai : Buoyed by the success of flying to India, Nordic carrier Finnair proposes to start flights to Chennai and Bangalore to tap the market that has resulted from the growing bilateral business ties and expanding air travel to Europe.
"We look forward to the review of the bilateral civil aviation pact between Finland and India since we have been studying two destinations very, very closely - Bangalore and Chennai," said Finnair's new director for Indian subcontinent Kari Stolbow.
NALCO to import two lakh tonnes coal
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : The state-run National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO) Friday placed an order with a government agency to import two lakh tonnes of coal to meet shortfall, an official said.
Mayawati’s tax-free budget stresses infrastructure, education
By IANS
Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's government Tuesday presented a tax-free budget with nearly 22 percent of its total outlay earmarked for infrastructure development, showing her clear sense of priority for the country's most populous and one of its least developed states.
The budget marks an 11 percent hike over last year's annual budget of Rs.100,100 crore (Rs.1001 billion) budget, Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Laljee Verma told the state assembly here.
Indonesia invites Indian firms to invest in its power sector
By IANS,
New Delhi : Indonesia's power expansion programmes offer Indian companies a good investment opportunity, according to Purnomo Yusgiantoro, the South-east Asian country's energy and mineral resources minister.
Indonesia is set to launch 10,000 MW accelerated power expansion programme - its second - aimed at beefing up electricity generation from new and renewable energy sources, Yusgiantoro told a business meet here Monday.
Nokia to bid for Nortel assets
By IANS,
Toronto : Dying Canadian telecom giant Nortel has put up its optical networking and carrier ethernet business for auction.
Toronto-based Nortel has been selling its businesses bit by bit to pay off its creditors after it sought and got bankruptcy protection in the US and Canada in January after last year's huge losses. Nokia Siemens Networks, which failed to acquire Nortel's next-generation wireless business in July, has once again entered the bidding process - jointly with the equity firm Equity Partners.
Mahindra to make smaller aircraft for Indian market
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Bangalore : Mahindra Aerospace of the $6.3-billion utility vehicle maker Mahindra Group will become the first Indian private firm to manufacture smaller civil aircraft for the Indian general aviation market, which is set to boom this decade.
"We will manufacture the turboprop aircraft in 2-20 seat capacity at our recently acquired Gippsland Aeronautics (GA) in Victoria State of Australia and market them in India," Mahindra Board Member Hemant Luthra told IANS here.
Rate hike fears pull down Sensex 176 points
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities markets Wednesday closed 176 points lower a day before an imminent rate hike by the country's central bank.
Government rules out immediate hike in steel prices
By IANS,
New Delhi : The government Friday ruled out any upward revision in the prices of steel products in the near future, in line with the situation in the global markets.
"Since the global price of steel is softening, we do not see any immediate reason to go for any upward revision. Instead, the companies should think in terms of further reduction in the prices of steel," said Steel Secretary P.K. Rastogi.
Agreeing with him, state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL) Chairman and Managing Director S.K. Rungta said the company would maintain the current price.
Bush signs plan to boost US economy
By DPA
Washington : President George W. Bush signed a $152 billion plan to fortify the flagging US economy against a recession with tax incentives for businesses and average Americans.
Passed by Congress with unusual speed after Bush proposed an economic stimulus package last month, the temporary measures are mainly designed to put more spending money in US consumers' pockets.
"You know, I know a lot of Americans are concerned about our economic future," Bush said at a White House signing ceremony Wednesday. "The bill is large enough to have an impact."
Russian gas for Europe pumped into Ukrainian pipeline
By DPA,
Moscow : Russian gas was on its way to Europe Tuesday after the Russian monopoly Gazprom began pumping it into a Ukrainian transit pipeline for the first time since a nearly two-week supply blockade began.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said in Moscow that Gazprom began the deliveries at 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) and Gazprom said it would resume normal gas flows to Europe about six hours later.
Tata Power, Sterlite in Sensex, Ambuja Cement out
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index - Sensex - is all set to welcome several new members with the index committee reshuffling the firms that make up the indices. The new-look Sensex will come into effect July 28.
Tata Power and Sterlite Industries have been included in place of Ambuja Cements and pharma major Cipla.
The index committee of the BSE, at its meeting Saturday, decided to revise the composition of Sensex, BSE-100, BSE-200 and BSE-500 indices.
Bangalore Bio to showcase India’s biotech progress
By IANS
Bangalore : Complementing the rapid growth of the IT industry in India's silicon city, the emerging biotechnology (BT) sector will look for investments through partnerships and joint ventures at Bangalore Bio 2007, the three-day annual event beginning Thursday.
Malaysian firm close to securing contract in India
By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysian water concessionaire Ranhill Utilities Bhd is part of a consortium that is close to securing a water treatment contract at Haldia in West Bengal.
Chief executive officer Ahmad Zahdi Jamil said the contract entailed building a 15 million gallons-per-day water treatment plant on a lease-cum-build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis in Haldia, a booming industrial port town.
The other members of the consortium are Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Co Ltd (JUSCO) and Infrastructure Development Finance Corp (IDFC), with each party holding equal equity.
Rise in foreign tourist arrivals in India
By IANS
New Delhi : An estimated 2.02 million foreign tourists came to India in the first five months of this year, a 12 percent increase over the previous year, the tourism ministry said here Friday.
Equities open on positive note, post modest gains
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets opened a little better than their previous close Monday as a key index climbed 1.82 percent or 167 points.
Two hours into trading, the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) continued its rise following the announcement of the fiscal stimulus package last week.
The broader-based 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) did marginally better after the opening with a gain of 58 points or 2.11 percent.
Nokia Siemens bags $900 mn contract from Airtel
By IANS
New Delhi : India's leading mobile service operator Airtel Tuesday handed over a $900 million contract to global communications services enabler Nokia Siemens for its aggressive expansion plans.
US stocks rally on rising economic optimism
By DPA,
New York : Wall Street's major stock indices jumped Friday as raw-materials producers, banks and transportation companies all benefited from growing confidence that the world economy is regaining momentum.
Winning listings outnumbers losers by 3-to-1 during Friday trading.
We continue to see reports globally that things are getting better economically," James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, told the Bloomberg financial news agency. "Basic materials and raw-materials stocks continue to move higher, driven by a weaker US dollar."
LIC Housing Finance sees good business despite inflation
By IANS,
Chennai : Even as interest rates are inching up and inflation soaring, the LIC Housing Finance Company is confident of growing ahead of the industry's average growth rate, a top company official here said.
Interacting with the media here after inaugurating a housing exhibition Friday, R.R. Nair, CEO LIC Housing, said: "This year, too, we are seeing better growth. Last year, we grew 38 percent when the whole industry logged just 9 percent growth."
For the current fiscal, LIC Housing is targeting disbursement of Rs.100 billion -- up by Rs.10 billion over the previous fiscal.
Extension of Arab gas pipeline to link to European gas pipeline
By NNN-SANA,
Cairo : Oil and Energy Ministers of Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon have agreed to start promotion and extension of the Arab gas pipeline to link it to the European gas pipeline after the completion of the four stages of the projects which extends from Egypt to Syria and Jordan.
Building the networks for carrying the gas from Syria to Turkey is underway as part of the first Arab regional gas grid that links up to the European network to help diversify the sources of energy in Europe.
Singur mourns as Nano rolls out from Mumbai
By IANS,
Singur (West Bengal) : The abandoned factory stands as a silent reminder of the frenzied activity and the air of expectancy one saw here less than a year ago. The prevailing feeling now is of loss and sadness as the Nano prepares to roll out far away in Mumbai Monday.
The cluster of buildings that was once designed to roll out the revolutionary little Nano is now enveloped in darkness - symbolic of the state of mind of those in this rural hamlet who bemoan the loss of the prized project to Sanand in Gujarat.
Markets up on strong global cues
By IANS,
Mumbai : Buoyed by the good show put up by its global peers, Indian equities markets were in the green Tuesday morning, with a key index ruling 2.39 percent above its previous close and above a psychologically important mark around noon.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index (Sensex), which opened higher at 8,956.3 points, was ruling above the psychologically important 9,000 mark, at 9,072.64 points, 2.36 percent or 208.82 points higher than its previous close.
World Bank $600 million loan to Power Grid
By IANS
New Delhi : The World Bank said Wednesday it will lend $600 million to the Power Grid Corp to fund a project aimed at strengthening India's electricity transmission network.
"The Bank approved a $600 million loan to Power Grid to strengthen the electricity transmission system in order to increase reliable power exchange between regions and states," it said in a statement.
"Repayment of the proposed loan will be guaranteed by the government of India," it added.
Indo-Asian News Service
Agro Tech showcases ultra modern farm equipment
By Alkesh Sharma, IANS,
Chandigarh : If the ongoing Agro Tech 2008 exhibition here is any indication, agri-machinery companies are still rolling out novel and ultra modern farm equipment in the Indian market although the average size of land holding of farmers has decreased considerably over the last few years.
All the leading companies operating in the Indian agri-machinery business have displayed their products at Agro Tech.
Dubai Aerospace buys control of Auckland Airport
By DPA
Wellington : Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) will acquire a controlling interest in Auckland International Airport, New Zealand's biggest aviation hub, under a proposed deal announced Monday.
The directors of Auckland International Airport Limited (AIAL) said they unanimously recommended acceptance of DAE's offer, worth 2.6 billion New Zealand dollars (about $2 billion), which would give it 51 to 60 percent of the company.
China unveils list of top 500 companies
By IANS,
Beijing : China's Sinopec Group with a revenue of 1.97 trillion yuan (about $307 billion) has been ranked first on the list of the country's top 500 companies this year.
India’s economic upturn to begin October: Chidambaram
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's economic downturn is "temporary" and the upturn will begin from October as the country's economy and business are resilient enough to adapt to the changing times of global meltdown, said Home Minister P.Chidamabaram Tuesday.
"India stood out as a shining example of resilient economy and we owe this to the resilience of the Indian businesses and Indian economy, which quickly adjusted to the changing times. This (meltdown) is a temporary phase," said Chidambaram while giving away the annual National Tourism Awards.
Deora’s statement in Lok Sabha on Reliance gas
By IANS,
New Delhi : Following is the text of a statement by Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Murli Deora on the controversy over gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin that was auctioned to Reliance Industries:
Sensex closes marginally up, market breadth negative
By IANS,
Mumbai : A key index of the Indian equities markets closed 42 points higher Monday marking an end to a see-saw day of trading. The market breadth, however, remained negative with 1,341 stocks declining, 1,158 advancing and 83 remaining unchanged.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 11,237.42 points, rose 42.8 points or 0.38 percent from the previous close to end trade at 11,371.85 points.
However, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) lost 0.31 percent to close at 3,470 points.
Interim budget fails to cheer realty sector
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian realty sector, which is reeling under a severe fund crunch, Monday expressed disappointment over the interim budget for 2009-10, saying the government has done nothing to provide relief to the crisis-hit industry.
"The budget has failed to meet the expectations at this time of global downturn," said Navin M. Raheja, managing director of the Delhi-based Raheja Developers.
"The government has taken no initiatives towards reviving the sector, which is under serious recession and employs larger of the workforce," he added.
Dhaka looks globally for yarn after Indian export ban
By IANS,
Dhaka : Bangladesh’s spinners are trying to import cotton yarn and raw cotton from Africa, Austria, the US and Brazil after India recently imposed a ban on its export.
India is a major supplier of cotton yarn to Bangladesh, with intake of more than 3.5 million bales a year.
Imports from India have risen from the normal 10 percent to about 30 percent, from about 350,000 bales to 700,000 bales following a bad harvest in Uzbekistan.
The Indian export ban followed an increase in cotton price despite its good harvest, New Age newspaper said Sunday.
India aims to connect 650 million subscribers by 2012
By P. Vijian, NNN-Bernama
New Delhi : India has an ambitious plan to connect at least half of its one billion population -- from the lively cities to those scattered in the far flung corners of the country -- by 2012.
Indian Communications and Information Minister A.Raja said the government aims to have 650 million telephone subscribers by 2012 and to achieve this mammoth goal telecom equipments worth US$84 billion would be needed.
Kerala to involve small investors in infrastructure development
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac Sunday said the state will adopt a new business model where savings of small investors as well as cash-rich non-resident Keralites (NRK) could be used to build infrastructure.
This would be different from the already tested build-operate-transfer (BRT) model, he told reporters here.
"What we are trying to work out is a private-public partnership where investments from small investors could be used to build new bus stands, government buildings and other infrastructure," Isaac said.
Governments preventing industry from going green: Brundtland
By Joydeep Gupta, IANS
Bali : Gro Harlem Brundtland, the UN secretary general's special envoy on climate change, Wednesday said here that industrialists are ready to work towards reducing carbon emissions but government regulations are making it difficult for them to adopt cleaner technology.
"Businesses are experiencing barriers from governments around the world when they want to move to cleaner technology or renewable energy projects. Government regulations have not kept pace with the needs of today," Brundtland told IANS in an exclusive interview.
Satyam a ‘governmental scandal’: Advani
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Rs.70 billion (Rs.7,000 crore) accounting fraud at Satyam computer Services was not a corporate scam but a "governmental scandal", senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani said.
"That all is not well with our corporate sector has been brought home with dramatic effect by the Satyam-Maytas scandal. But this is not simply a coporate scandal. It is also a governmental scandal," Advani said while speaking at the 81st annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Markets surge with robust buying
By IANS
Mumbai : Indian stock markets opened on a firm note Tuesday with broad-based buying witnessed in early trades.
At 10.54 a.m., the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was up 210.94 points or 1.08 percent at 19,801.72, and the Nifty was up 72.25 points or 1.24 percent at 5919.55.
Markets open lower, rise marginally
By IANS,
Mumbai : A key index of the Indian stock exchange opened Tuesday lower than its previous close, but later rose marginally.
The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 9,794.48, a slight dip of 37.91 points over its close Monday at 9832.39. About half an hour after the opening, it was at 9,810.27.
The broader-based 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was hovering around the levels of its previous close at 2981.10.
Greasing money markets: government’s efforts to increase liquidity
By IANS,
New Delhi : In a bid to calm nervous markets amidst growing global turmoil and improve domestic liquidity conditions, policy makers have taken a number of measures since Sep 16.
A quick re-cap:
* Sep 16: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raises interest rate ceilings on NRI deposits and provides additional liquidity by (a) permitting banks to avail additional liquidity support under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) up to 1 percent of their net demand and time liabilities, and, (b) extending the secondary LAF to a daily basis.
Toyota’s president apologises for recall
By DPA,
Toyota : Toyota Motor Corp's president apologised for recalls of millions of his company's cars worldwide in his first public appearance since the problems began last month at the world's largest carmaker, which once had a stellar reputation for quality.
Akio Toyoda, grandson of Toyota's founder, said at a hastily convened news conference late Friday that the company would establish a quality-control committee as part of its efforts to win back its customers' trust.
Microsoft allowed to buy Yahoo!’s internet search business
By DPA,
Brussels : US computer software giant Microsoft may go ahead with buying competitor Yahoo!'s internet search and advertising business, the European Commission ruled Thursday.
The deal is part of Microsoft's strategy to challenge Google's commanding position amongst internet search engines. Google controls more than 90 percent of the market in the European Economic Area (EEA), compared to less than 10 percent for Microsoft and Yahoo! put together.
Empowering Wardha’s Dalits through e-commerce
Sanghamitra Store is an online e-commerce platform run by five Dalit youth that showcases affordable handicrafts and art made by the community.
Riya Talitha...
Sensex closes 154 points lower
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index of the Indian equities market pared some of its intra-day losses to close 154 points lower.
Microsoft issues takeover ultimatum to Yahoo
By DPA
New York : Microsoft plans to take its takeover offer directly to Yahoo Inc shareholders if the internet firm's management continues to refuse to negotiate, Microsoft Corp chief executive Steve Ballmer said Saturday.
In a letter to Yahoo's board and management, the chief of the software giant said that the $44.6-billion offer for Yahoo could be reduced, the Bloomberg financial news agency reported.
Ballmer set a three-week deadline for Yahoo to come to the table and negotiate Microsoft's purchase of the company.
Reliance to sign pact with Peru’s state oil firm
By IANS,
Lima : Peru's state-owned petroleum company Petroperu has announced a pact with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to explore oil and gas in the Andean nation, Spain's EFE news agency reported Tuesday.
"We'll formalise the agreements that were adopted over the past few weeks and in the coming days will provide details on this association, in order to explore blocks that potentially contain gas or petroleum," Petroperu President Cesar Gutierrez said Monday.
Sensex closes 362 points higher
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index of Indian equities Thursday rallied 362 points, snapping a two-day losing streak.
India to go to French textiles fair for first time
By IANS
Ahmedabad : The Apparels Export Promotion Council (AEPC) for the first time will take part in the Interselection Fair to be held May 5 to May 7. AEPC will have ten booths in the fair to be held at Nordvillepente in Paris.
Euro Vet, a firm specialising in organising fashion exhibition, is hosting the fair.
Interselection exhibition is a global platform where buyers could purchase fashion textiles of quality and variety. It is an international event that promotes the textile industry, garments, accessories, handbags, shoes and jewellery to the world.
Kuwaiti banks not affected by US mortgage crisis
By NNN-KUNA
Kuwait : Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz Al-Sabah, has said the US real estate mortgage crisis will not take toll on the Kuwaiti banks.
Sheikh Salem told "Al-Qabas" Arabic daily here that the Kuwaiti investments overseas would be affected for the drop in share prices in their portfolios and the jittery stock markets.
Etisalat’s subscriber base touches 74 mn before India foray
By IANS,
Dubai : The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) leading telecom services provider Etisalat, which is set to enter the booming Indian market, has said its subscriber base has crossed the 74-million mark.
The company, which has operations across 17 markets, said the 74-million figure includes fixed-line, internet, cable TV and mobile phone subscribers.
"Etisalat is in its strongest position ever and is on course to achieving its goal of being one of the top 10 operators in the world by 2010," Etisalat chairman Mohammad Hassan Omran said in a statement.
Use MGNREGA money for water harvesting: Modi
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said money allocated for MGNREGA should be used for "water harvesting" to battle drought.
Speaking at...
Indian IT firm opens outsourcing in Poland
By Surender Bhutani
IANSWarsaw : Taking advantage of a large pool of technically qualified young people here, Pune-based IT company Zensar has begun outsourcing services from Gdansk, the Baltic port city of Poland.
Kalpataru to expand output on Rs.150 mn outlay
By IANS,
Gandhinagar : The city-based Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd, which early this month won the Dun and Bradstreet export excellence award, is augmenting its power transmission line capacity on an investment of Rs.150 million.
The additional fabricating capacity is being created at the existing fabrication plant at Gandhinagar, company general manager Bajrang Maheshwari told IANS.
Sensex dives in late trade, closes 37 points down
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities slipped during the last session of trade Thursday to end 37 points lower than its previous close.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,234.85 points, closed at 18,180.31 points (provisional), 37.13 points or 0.2 percent lower than its previous close at 18,217.44 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended 0.36 percent down at 5,448.3 points.
India’s car sales up 33 percent in February
By IANS,
New Delhi : More cars were sold in India in February this year in anticipation of a price hike after the budget. A total of 153,845 vehicles were sold as car sales went by by 33 percent in February.
As per data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) Monday, car manufacturers sold 115,505 units in the year-ago period.
Sale of commercial vehicles, a key indicator of economic activity, rose a whopping 87 percent during the month at 58,024 units.
Positive response from Swiss banks: Jaitley
Panaji : There has been a "positive response" to some requests made by the Indian government to Swiss banks as far as black money...
Markets give up gains, close lower
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets gave up their day's gains to end Tuesday marginally in the red, with a key index ending trade 0.23 percent lower than its previous close.
The 30-scrip Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensitive index (Sensex), which opened at 9,549.52 points, closed at 9,402.64 points (provisional), slipping a marginal 0.23 percent or 21.38 points from its previous close.
The Sensex touched an intra-day high of 9,699 points, a rise of almost 3 percent from its last closing figure.
Chidamabaram justifies lending rate hike
By IANS,
New Delhi : Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday justified the decision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase the lending rate or repo rate from 7.75 percent to 8 percent.
“Since inflation is high, the RBI must take measures to tighten the money supply. The increase in the repo rate was just one such measure,” Chidambaram told reporters here after attending a meeting of senior officials of the state-run Central Bank of India.
On June 11, the RBI, India's central bank, raised the repo rate, that is the rate at which the apex bank lends money to the banks.
Bihar clears investment proposals worth Rs.910 bn in three years
By IANS,
Patna : In a clear sign of the "changing economic environment" in the state, the Bihar government has cleared 156 investment proposals worth Rs.910 billion in the last three years, Industries Minister Dinesh Chandra said Wednesday.
"It's a positive news for the state that all these proposals were approved by the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB)," Chandra told IANS.
According to him, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's efforts to make Bihar an investment-friendly state has proved to be a success with more investors now approaching the state for setting up their units.
Equities end green on lending rate cut hint
By IANS,
Mumbai : Despite opening weak on profit booking, Indian equities markets surged late afternoon after Finance Minister P. Chidambaram hinted that banks would reduce lending rates and finished Tuesday in the green.
The 30-share benchmark sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed at 10,631.12, up 293.44 points or 2.84 percent from its previous close Monday at 10,337.68 points.
Pune airport to remain closed for fortnight
By IANS
Pune : Pune airport will remain closed for a fortnight from Tuesday for repairs to the runway.
The Lohegoan airport, also an Indian Air Force base, requires major repairs in its 1.2-km runway. The repair work has been on since September, leaving the airport functional only from 10.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Now the airport will remain fully closed till Feb 26, as repair works for the middle part of the runway will be taken up, officials said.
The airport terminal manager said the increase in the number of flights had ruined the runway completely.
India becoming hotspot for global trade fairs
By Nayanima Basu, IANS
New Delhi : India is fast becoming a global hotspot for trade fairs as promoters see in the country a major potential to hold such events after it established itself as a preferred destination for outsourcing and manufacturing.
Global players such as France's Promosalons, Germany-based Messe Düsseldorf and the US' Las Vegas Convention And Visitors Authority (LVCVA) are among a host of promoters who see India as a fast-emerging destination for global-scale fairs.
Rs.1-tn fund for infrastructure sector advocated
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has urged the government to set up a Rs.1-trillion 'revolving fund' to assist infrastructure firms to weather the global meltdown.
"Several expansion plans in steel, auto, fertiliser, refineries and oil and gas exploration sectors currently face severe capital shortages," said the industry body, adding that the proposed fund could help developers complete these projects with their internal accruals.
Sri Lanka could hit air pockets after taking over airlines
By P.K. Balachandran, IANS
Colombo : The Sri Lankan government has announced that it would take over Sri Lankan Airlines from the Dubai-based Emirates Airlines in April. But experts say running the airline efficiently and profitably would be difficult, given the administration's dismal record in managing economic enterprises.
Risks of money laundering seminar to be held in Sana’a
By NNN-SABA,
Sana'a : The Studies and Economic Media Center (SEMC) is organising a seminar in Sana'a on "risks of money laundering on national economy" next Tuesday in cooperation with cooperative and agricultural credit Bank (CAC Bank.
In a statement to Saba, head of the center Mustafa Nasr said that the seminar would focus on efforts exerted to combat money laundering inside and outside of the country.
Participants from the Central Bank of Yemen and National Committee of Combating Money Laundering, Banking Studies Institute and Sana'a University and CAC
India opens air space for ASEAN countries
By IANS,
New Delhi : India has opened its air space for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member-states under an open-sky regime, the government said Friday.
With this, designated airlines from ASEAN members can now to fly into any Indian city, while Indian carriers too can fly to these countries after modalities are worked out. As of now, airlines from these countries can operate only on approved routes within India.
Punj Lloyd, US firm sign accord on n-energy
By IANS,
New Delhi : Engineering and construction major Punj Lloyd Thursday signed an agreement with the US-based nuclear energy company Thorium Power to jointly explore the possibilities of nuclear fuel generation in India.
“The agreement, signed between the two companies today (Thursday), will help Thorium Power and Punj Lloyd to set up joint venture projects in the area of nuclear fuel in India and neighbouring regions,” Thorium president and chief executive Seth Gare said.
Torrent Cables to amalgamate with Torrent Gujarat Biotech
By IANS
Ahmedabad : Torrent Cables Ltd, part of the Ahmedabad-based Rs.29 billion Torrent group, will be amalgamated with Torrent Gujarat Biotech Ltd.
The amalgamation will be effective from July 1, 2006.
The shareholders of the two companies at meetings April 5 approved the proposal for amalgamation.
The scheme will now be presented to the Gujarat High Court after reorganization and consolidation of the capital structure of Gujarat Biotech Ltd.
Himachal Pradesh starts voluntary tax to combat climate change
By IANS,
Shimla : Himachal Pradesh will impose a voluntary 'green tax' on vehicle users in an initiative that its chief minister says is India's first to generate a fund for combating climatic changes.
The tax became a reality with cabinet ministers recently deciding to contribute Rs.100 per month towards creating the corpus.
"The environment fund will be utilised for protecting nature from certain death and making the state a carbon-neutral state," Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal told IANS.
China, Bangladesh to improve bilateral economic relations
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.
Cement companies reluctant to set up plants in Chhattisgarh
By IANS
Raipur : Only two companies out of the eight cement manufacturers that had signed deals with the Chhattisgarh government to set up units have come forward to make the promised investments, a minister said here Monday.
Speaking in the legislative assembly, minister of state for industry Rajesh Munat said: "Only two companies have applied for land to set up plants in the state while there is no headway in the proposals of six other companies that have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the government between a period of January 2004-December 2007."
India Inc loses $1.25 bn due to Gujjar stir
By Anuradha Shukla, IANS,
New Delhi : India's corporate sector has lost some $1.25 billion since May 23 due to the ongoing Gujjar stir, apart from cancellations of at least 75 trains by the railways, as per estimates by official agencies and industry chambers.
The losses are in addition to the physical damage to train tracks because of the stir called by the Gujjars to demand Scheduled Tribe status in Rajasthan with support from people of their community in adjoining states.
Renault, NISSAN sign MoU with Tamil Nadu for Chennai plant
By NNN-PTI
New Delhi : French carmaker Renault and Japan's Nissan have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government for setting up their proposed greenfield automobile manufacturing unit in Oragadam, near Chennai, at an investment of Rs 4,500 crore.
Both Renault and Nissan would have 50 per cent stake in the plant which would have a capacity to roll out four lakh units per annum over the next seven years, Renault-Nissan said in a statement.
Renault holds 44.4 per cent stake in Nissan.
UAE telecom operator offers discounted rates for Diwali
By IANS,
Dubai : The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) leading telecom services provider Du has announced off-day peak rates and discounted short messaging service (SMS) rates on account of Diwali.
Du's mobile phone customers can make local SMS for 0.15 dirham (Rs.2.05) instead of 0.18 dirham (Rs.2.46) and international SMS for 0.45 dirham (Rs.6.15) instead of 0.6 dirham (Rs.8.19).
The offer will be valid Oct 28 when the festival will be celebrated.
Rate cuts to happen soon, predicts ICICI Bank chief
By IANS,
New Delhi : ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank, believes interest rates would come down further.
"The interest rate is a subject of demand and supply, it will take a little time but a rate cut is there in the offing," ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive officer K.V. Kamath told reporters Tuesday at the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit here.
Strike-hit NLC seeks ways to keep power plant running
By IANS
Chennai : Even as it is engaged in reconciliation talks with the striking contract workers, the management of the Rs.27.43 billion revenue Neyveli Lignite Corp Ltd (NLC) is taking alternative steps to keep its power plant running, said a top official.
An official of the company, who declined to be identified, said: "We have requested the permanent staff to chip in so that parts of Tamil Nadu would not plunge into darkness."
Conciliation talks are on with the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), he added.
India unhappy with WTO draft on agriculture, industry
By IANS
New Delhi : India is unhappy with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) drafts on agriculture and industrial tariffs, and the next WTO ministerial meeting scheduled in October may take place only if its members reach a consensus on these issues, an official said here Thursday.
Last month, WTO mediators circulated the draft texts on liberalising trade in agriculture and industrial goods, including the possible ranges of tariff and subsidy cuts, to help member countries reach a consensus in the negotiations.
China interested in setting up economic investment zone in Bengal: Mamata
Kolkata: China on Thursday evinced interest to set up an economic investment zone, an auto hub apart from collaborating in many key areas of...
Chidambaram counters IMF forecast, says celebrate Indian growth
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS
London : Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram has countered International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts about India's growth rate, saying the country is likely to register over eight percent growth for 2008-09. India was continuing on a trajectory that was a cause to "celebrate", he said.
Foreign funds turn net sellers for first time in 25 weeks
By IANS,
Mumbai: Foreign funds sold stocks worth $88 million this week, a first in about 25 weeks, sending strong signals of consolidation at Indian equities markets for the coming sessions.
EU, US seek WTO settlement over Chinese export restrictions
By DPA,
Brussels/Washington : The European Union (EU) and the US Wednesday called on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to rule against export restrictions applied by China on raw materials used by the steel, aluminium and chemicals industries.
The decision to turn to the WTO's dispute settlement process follows unsuccessful attempts to resolve the issue through talks in Geneva, officials in Brussels said.
Mexico supported the EU and US move.
Spectre of protectionism haunts emerging markets: IMF
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : With demand for exports falling, investment slumping, and cross-border lending drying up in a spreading economic crisis, emerging market countries are increasingly concerned about protectionism, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The "spectre of trade and financial protectionism was a rising concern," it said in an analysis prepared for the Group of Twenty (G-20) industrialised and emerging market countries including India ahead of their April 2 summit in London.
OPEC crude price touches record $106
By Xinhua,
Vienna : The daily average oil prices of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) touched a new high at $106.65 a barrel, the cartel said Thursday.
Wednesday's peak price was $0.92 higher than the previous day's price of $105.73 a barrel.
The prices have been rising since the beginning of this week, setting three price records in as many trading days.
Reliance Power drops on market debut
By IANS
Mumbai : Reliance Power Ltd (RPL), which last month made the largest ever initial public offer (IPO) in India, slid sharply by over 9 percent Monday afternoon despite listing at Rs.548 at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), a premium of more than 20 percent over its offer price of Rs.450.
RPL, a subsidiary of Reliance Energy Ltd and part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG), listed at Rs.530 at the National Stock Exchange, a premium of about 18 percent. It, however, lost ground rapidly and has lost over 10 percent at the NSE in afternoon trade.
FDI inflow up 13 percent in December
By IANS,
New Delhi : Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow for December was up 13 percent at $1.54 billion during December 2009 against $1.36 billion in the corresponding period a year ago, the government said Thursday.
The FDI equity inflow during April-December 2009 was $20.92 billion, while it was at $21.15 billion in the corresponding period in 2008.
Lucknow Biotech park to train women farmers
By IANS,
Lucknow : Free training programmes will be provided to women farmers by the Biotech Park here to enable them to apply new technologies to increase agricultural yield, an official said Monday.
"We will be launching training programmes to hone the skills of women farmers from Sep 7," said P.K. Seth, CEO of the Biotech Park.
"Though the programmes will be open to women farmers from across the state, initially we will enrol farmers from Lucknow and its adjoining districts," an official at the Biotech Park said.
Tamil Nadu coaxing ‘industrial whales’ to come ashore
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : Officials of the Tamil Nadu industries department, located on the Coromandel Coast, are known as "investment whalers" - they coax industrial houses to set up units in the state.
Whaling is different from fishing. Whalers need to be extra cautious while spotting, pursuing or finally hunting down a mammal. And that's why the simile applies to the officials.
PricewaterhouseCoopers to launch India-Africa desk
By Fakir Hassen, IANS,
Johannesburg : Multinational assurance, tax and advisory services company PricewaterhouseCoopers will launch an India-Africa desk here Thursday in an effort to stimulate two-way foreign investments and joint ventures.
Project leader Troopti Naik said the international desk was being launched to facilitate business linkages and joint ventures between entities in India, South Africa and the rest of Africa, and vice-versa.
India woos Arab capital for infrastructure
By IANS,
New Delhi : Arab investment to India is "long overdue" and would be warmly welcomed by government and business alike in this country, India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Friday.
"An expansion of investment footprint of Arab countries in India is long overdue and would be most warmly welcomed by government and business alike," Mukherjee, who begins an official visit to Saudi Arabia Saturday, told the India-Arab Investment Projects Conclave here.
Islamic Social Finance Report 2015 released
By Mohammed Obaidullah
The 2015 issue of the Islamic Social Finance Report has just been launched at an International Workshop on Zakat Management organized by...
100-member FICCI delegation to go to Pakistan Friday
By IANS,
Chandigarh : A 100-member delegation of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will leave for Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah...
Aviation fuel price goes up again, but no fare hike now
By IANS,
New Delhi : State-run oil companies Thursday hiked aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices by 2.8 percent, but airline operators said they will wait and watch the market situation before taking a decision on raising airfares.
Aviation fuel in New Delhi will now be costlier by Rs.1,931.07 per kilolitre from midnight, a senior Indian Oil official said.
This is the second state increase in ATF prices, which are revised once a month based on monthly average of global oil prices, said the official.
JSW Steel to start Salboni project by fiscal-end
By IANS,
Kolkata : JSW Steel would start construction of its 10-million-tonne Salboni plant in West Bengal before the end of the current fiscal (2010-11), a top company official said Tuesday.
The company would be pumping in Rs.35,000-crore for the project in West Midnapur district.
"The work of boundary wall has already started. We are doing the designing of the steel plant now. Construction of the plant would start before end of this fiscal," Sajjan Jindal, managing director, told reporters here through a video-conference from Mumbai.
LPG sector attracts Rs.11 billion investment
By APP
Islamabad : The Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) sector has so far attracted an investment of Rs.11 billion as result of government’s prudent policies and efficient regulation. According to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the investment is expected to increase substantially in future, with introduction of LPG in the automotive sector.
At the end of last financial year, there were 10 LPG producing companies and 60 LPG marketing companies operating in the country while 61 licenses for the construction of storage and filling facilities have been issued.
Hindustan Motors to launch upgraded Winner truck in Delhi
By IANS,
Kolkata : Automobile manufacturer Hindustan Motors will launch the Bharat Stage Four (BS IV) version of its mini-truck Winner in the national capital shortly, a top company official said here Friday.
"Our immediate priority is to launch the BS IV version of Winner in Delhi in seven to 10 days. After this, it will be launched in Mumbai," company managing director Ravi Santhanam told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar.
BS IV refers to the latest emission norms set by the Indian government to reduce the harmful effect of automobile fumes.
Pakistan and India almost finalise list of goods to be traded across LOC
By NNN-APP
New Delhi : Pakistan and India have almost finalised the list of goods to be traded across the Line of Control.
The Indian Express reported on Friday India had proposed 14 items for export, out of which Pakistan had cancelled five — leather and leather products, juices and jams, copper and silver, tinned food and fabricated items like gold ornaments.
The items Pakistan has allowed to be imported include carpets, furniture, silk, Kashmiri fruits and spices, aromatic plants, dhania, moongi, Basmati rice and Kashmiri saffron.
European inflation falls as oil slides: analysts
By DPA,
Berlin : European inflation edged down in October, adding to the likelihood of the European Central Bank (ECB) delivering another hefty cut in interest rates next week.
Analysts expect the European Union's (EU) statistics office to say Friday in its preliminary estimate for October that inflation in the 15-member eurozone edged down to 3.2 percent or even 3.1 percent from 3.6 percent in September.
Over 20 foreign banks open branches in China
By Xinhua
Shanghai (China) : More than 20 foreign banks opened branches to operate on the Chinese mainland with corporate status in 2007, according to data released here during a summit on foreign banks.
The banks, including Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Mizuho Corporate Bank, may conduct businesses in foreign currencies, including Renminbi, the Chinese currency.
Indian stocks recover slightly after sharp fall
By SPA
New Delhi : Indian stock indexes, the Sensex and the Nifty, which nose-dived in early trading due to concerns about a possible recession in the US, recovered slightly but still ended trading on Monday in the red, reported dpa.
The benchmark Sensex on the Bombay Stock Exchange closed at 15,933 down 42 points or 0.26 per cent.
While the broader 50-stock S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange in Delhi ended trading at 4,799, down 28 points or 0.59 per cent.
‘Tata deal nearly sealed on Jaguar, Land Rover’
By IANS
London : Tata Motors is set to be named by the US Ford Group as the preferred buyer for its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover cars, a newspaper reported Sunday quoting sources close to the negotiations.
A Ford spokesman, speaking to IANS, said an announcement was expected in the New Year.
"There is tremendous speculation going on at the moment, and I don't expect much to happen during Christmas," he said.
Himachal hydel project generates record power
By IANS
Shimla : The Nathpa Jhakri hydel project in Himachal Pradesh has generated record power this year, company officials said Friday.
The 1500-MW hydel project, the largest in the country, is built on the Sutlej river, some 150 km from here. The project went into operation four years ago and is run by the Satlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL), a joint venture of the government of India and the government of Himachal Pradesh.
Foundations of 11 industrial units costing Rs. 2250 cr. to be laid in next...
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: Foundation laying and "Bhoomi Pujan" for 11 industrial units involving capital investment of Rs. 2250 crore would be performed during next six days from October 24 to 29 in Madhya Pradesh. The Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan would be chief guest on these occasions.
Supreme Court begins hearing dispute over Reliance gas
By IANS,
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday commenced hearing the dispute over the supply and pricing of natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin that was awarded to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries.
The hearing by a three-member becnh comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice P. Sathasivam, will resume Wednesday.
The high profile legal battle is between Reliance Industries and Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources.
Dunlop’s Ruia seeks Rs.1 bn loan
By IANS,
Kolkata : Dunlop India Ltd chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia Monday said he has asked the government to grant Dunlop a loan of Rs.1 billion.
"We have asked for a loan of Rs.100 crore (Rs.1 billion) from West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC)," he told reporters at the state's secretariat Writers' Buildings after a meeting with West Bengal Labour and Power Minister Mrinal Banerjee.
He reassured that there would be no job cut in the company and reiterated that it would commence production again.
Global rally prompts Indian bulls, Sensex up 5.17 percent
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets raced to keep up with a global rally after a two-day break as bulls overshadowed the sceptics, pushing a key index up 5.17 percent from its close the previous week.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended trade Friday at 8,756.61 points, a gain of 430.79 points or 5.17 percent from its previous weekly close.
The broader S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) shut shop at 2,719 points, about 3.8 percent higher than last week's close.
K.K. Birla: a titan of Indian industry
By Arvind Padmanabhan, IANS,
New Delhi : Legendary industrialist Krishna Kumar Birla was a man of many facets, with an equal passion for not just expanding his well-known, and much respected, business empire founded by his father, but also towards philanthropy and education.
Birla was for long considered the force behind the Indian sugar industry, which he joined as a 22-year-old. Besides media and sugar, his empire spans some 40 firms in fertilizers, chemicals, heavy engineering, textiles and shipping.
Make food a constitutional right: experts
By IANS,
Islamabad : The right to food should be enshrined in the constitution to protect millions of vulnerable Pakistanis from soaring food prices, a group of experts has urged.
At the conclusion of a week-long forum Monday on the food crisis, organised by ActionAid Pakistan's Sustainable Agriculture Action Group, the experts and representatives of civil society organisations also finalised policy proposals for the government, including substantial support for 72.1 million Pakistanis or 44.4 percent of the population.
Ajay Mehra to lead Essel’s Fun Cinemas
By IANS
Mumbai : E-City Ventures, the corporate brand representing interests in cinema exhibition and retail estate business of the Essel Group, Tuesday announced the appointment of Ajay Mehra as chief executive officer of Fun Cinemas.
In addition to heading Fun Cinemas, which currently operates 53 cinema screens in 13 cities and 16 locations, Mehra will also oversee the operations of strategic business units of E-City Digital and E-City Media.
Indian tourists in London spend more than Japanese
By IANS
London : For the first time last year, Indian tourists in London spent more than Japanese tourists. Underlining the increasing spending power of India's middleclass, the city also saw the number of Indian tourists go up from 130,000 in 2003 to 212,000 in 2006.
For the West, Gulf the saviour in this time of crisis
By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS,
Dubai : As the world grapples with a financial crisis and the word liquidity has entered the common man's vocabulary, Western powers are increasingly looking to the Gulf to shore up their economies.
Gulf countries are emerging as important contributors to the global financial system even as top American and European economic policymakers have started visiting this region in the wake of the crisis.
ICICI Bank urges government to unveil borrowing plans
By IANS,
Kolkata : India's largest private lender ICICI Bank Saturday urged the government to spell out "how it plans to manage its borrowings".
"There are concerns on the impact the government borrowings will have on liquidity, pushing up interest rates," K.V. Kamath, managing director and chief executive of ICICI Bank, said at the convocation of the Indian Institute of Management here.
Hindustan Motors looks at components business for revival
By Arjun Sen and Himank Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : Hindustan Motors, maker of the Ambassador, for long the iconic Indian car, is moving ahead to become more of an automobile component manufacturer than developer of new models, according to a top company official.
"The key to our revival will be our components business comprising forgings, castings and stampings produced at our Uttarpara factory near Kolkata," company Chairman C.K. Birla told IANS.
World could lose 20 mn jobs from financial crisis: ILO
By DPA,
Geneva : The global financial crisis could cost some 20 million jobs worldwide, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) warned Monday.
ILO Director-General Juan Somavia issued the warning in Geneva, coupled with the advice that "we need prompt and coordinated government actions to avert a social crisis that could be severe, long-lasting and global".
By current calculations, worldwide unemployment could rise from 190 million last year to a level of 210 million by the end of 2009.
15-18 hour power outages in small Pakistani towns
By IANS,
Islamabad : Small Pakistani towns are undergoing outages of 15-18 hours to enable electricity supplies to larger cities, with the power utility saying the de-silting of canals has resulted in hydel production dropping by a whopping 6,100 MW against the installed capacity of 6,500 MW.
"In order to supply electricity to major cities of the country, the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) is conducting 15 to 18-hour power outages in cities with a lesser population," Daily Times reported Monday.
Asia-Pacific countries to discuss economic crisis
By IANS,
Bangkok : More than 11 countries, including India, are expected to participate at a meeting in Manila in Philippines to discuss the responses to the current economic crisis.
Ministers of labour and finance, senior UN and government officials, workers and employers' representatives from Asia and the Pacific will meet in Manila from Feb 18-20 for the forum titled "Responding to the Economic Crisis - Coherent Policies for Growth, Employment and Decent Work in Asia and the Pacific", a press statement issued by the International Labour Organisation said Monday.
Nepal’s casino battle escalates as pioneer hits back
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : The long drawn-out and bitter battle for the control of Nepal's casino industry, worth millions of rupees, escalated further with the American partner going to court to stop a decision that favours his former protégé, an Indian investor.
US markets rebound after record plunge
By DPA,
Washington : US markets rallied Tuesday, recovering from the deepest plunge in a month Monday that had erased about half of last week's rally amid fears of a widening economic slowdown.
There was good news from General Electric Co, which rose 14 per cent after the company announced that it would maintain its dividend of $1.24 per share in 2009. GE said fourth-quarter profits would be at the lower end of its forecast, but the dividend would be protected by several changes in its finance arm.
Upbeat on India, IMF forecasts 8 percent growth
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington: In an upbeat assessment of India's growth outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts India's economic growth to accelerate to 8.0 percent in 2010-11 from 6.75 percent in 2009-10.
However IMF in its latest Article IV consultation paper issued Wednesday also cautioned India on the need to rein in high inflation and rising fiscal deficit.
"With India's long-term prospects remaining strong and private sector balance sheets sound, we expect growth to be back at potential in 2010-11 even if advance economies grow below trend," it said.
Modi invites Kazakhstan to ‘Make in India’
Astana : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged Kazakhstan to participate in India's "Make in India" initiative, Smart Cities and urban infrastructure programme...
Equity markets continue gaining rally
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equity markets continued its gaining rally and ended Monday with a decent gain piggybacking on the strong show by Asian markets.
Positive cues from the global markets boosted the domestic bourses in the early trade.
The 30-share benchmark of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensitive index (Sensex) opened at 16,611.41 points and touched a high of 16,778.59 before closing at 16,739.33 points. It went up by 258.13 points at the day's close or 1.57 percent.
India’s crop production estimated at 230 mn tonnes
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's food grain production as per the fourth Advance Estimates of Crop Production for 2007-08 is estimated at 230.67 million tonnes.
The total food grain production includes rice production at 96.43 million tonnes, wheat at 78.40 million tonnes, coarse cereals at 40.73 million tonnes, pulses at 15.11 million tonnes and oilseeds at 28.82 million tonnes, according to a report released Wednesday by Agriculture Secretary P.K. Singh.
Tamil Nadu trawler fishermen seek other work
By IANS
Chennai : A UN-supported workshop on fishing in Tamil Nadu's over-exploited 1,000-km coastline found that nearly a quarter of the trawler fishermen of the Palk Bay are ready to take up alternative work.
Participants, including government officials, international experts, NGOs and fishing community leaders, voiced concern that "inefficient and destructive fishing is on the rise" and said there was urgent need for regulations.
Double-digit inflation influenced by global factors: PM
By IANS,
New Delhi : Global factors are behind India's current bout of inflation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday, a week before his government seeks a vote of trust in parliament.
In an interaction with a group of editors at his 7 Race Course Road residence, Singh admitted curbing inflation and maintaining growth momentum were major challenges for his government.
"It's not a typical inflation, it's influenced by global factors," Singh was reported by television channels as having said during his interaction, which was largely focussed on the India-US nuclear deal.
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.
India, Germany to discuss role of emerging economies
By IANS,
New Delhi : Less than a week after the G20 summit on international financial crisis concluded, foreign ministers of India and Germany Thursday will discuss the role of emerging economies in bringing stability to the volatile global financial markets.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will discuss a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier during the delegation-level talks between the two sides.
BJP’s big contributor UP gets little in rail budget
Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh, which contributed 71 Lok Sabha members to the BJP's kitty, Tuesday did not get any preferential treatment in the rail...
GSPC discovers gas; proud day for Gujarat, says Modi
By IANS,
Gandhinagar : Announcing the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation's discovery of more than 20 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas in the Krishna-Godavari Basin (Deendayal Block), Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said it was a proud day for the state.
"I wanted to go personally and congratulate the GSPC's team for their big breakthrough and I therefore came here with my cabinet ministers," Modi said.
He was speaking through video conferencing from Andhra Pradesh's KG-22 basin to the media at the GSPC Bhavan here.
Chidambaram leads pep talk to soothe nervous sentiments (Round-up)
By IANS,
New Delhi : Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Monday once again asked investors not to panic, saying India will weather the impact of the global financial storm, even as an expert panel debated the steps needed to address the liquidity problem in the country.
India is maintaining a high vigil to tackle repercussions of the global meltdown, Chidambaram said, adding there was "no reason at all to give room to panic".
This Muslim-run NGO run in Hyderabad helps women build sustainable livelihoods
SAFA is an NGO that has changed the lives of thousands of women from poor economic groups in Hyderabad and given them hope...
Fertiliser industry urges government to release subsidy soon
By IANS,
Chandigarh : The Indian fertiliser industry has urged the government to immediately release some funds under the subsidy account to ensure its survival, a top industry official has said.
"For the year 2008-09, the fertiliser industry is facing a huge deficit of Rs.890 billion as the government has allocated only Rs.310 billion as fertiliser subsidy to the industry against a total subsidy requirement of Rs.1.2 trillion," Satish Chander, director general of the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) told the media here Tuesday.
Network 18’s creative cell enters client service market
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Cell, a creative division of Network 18 that makes all the promotionals and campaigns in the television networks IBN and CNBC, has expanded its operations.
It has entered the direct client-servicing sector as a large player, spreading its wings to tap the market potential.
The Cell has been re-named Cell 18. The one-stop advertising unit, which offers integrated (multiple point) media solutions, was so long working on in-house projects.
Stabilise markets, Sensex boom is senseless: CPI
By IANS
New Delhi : The Communist Party of India (CPI) Thursday asked the government to take urgent corrective measures to stabilise stock market operations and prevent "accumulation of huge wealth" by few at the cost of the common people.
Nagaland is rich in gold, says geologist
By K.S.Jayaraman,
Bangalore : "There's gold in them thar hills" was a promotional campaign that ran in Georgia in the US for almost a century...
GAP brings skinny flare jeans back in fashion
By IANS,
London : International brand GAP's spring-summer season collection brings back the skinny flared jeans, which were popular in the seventies, back in vogue.
Skinny flared jeans looks more like a bell-bottom, reports vogue.co.uk.
"The skinny flare is one of the most flattering jeans shapes and it is a refreshing option to a skinny leg, giving a very elegant look that works best with heels and a top that finishes at the waist,” said Anita Borzyszkowska, GAP's public relation vice president.
India Inc. wasn’t expecting much from interim budget
By IANS,
New Delhi : The following are the reactions from some prominent industrialists and economists to the interim budget presented by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee here Monday:
Nandan Nilekani, co-chairman, Infosys: (It was) more of a report card on the government in the last five years than any specific new proposal. Anything which has a new dimension will probably come in only after the new government comes in.