Economy

By IANS, New Delhi : The Prime Minister's economy advisory panel Wednesday said there was no need to hike fuel prices if global prices remained between $70 and $75 (Rs.3,150-Rs.3,375) a barrel, equal to 159 litres. "I don't see the need to raise prices if international crude prices remained around $70 to $75 a barrel," said Govinda Rao, a member of the panel, on the sidelines of the release of the Economic Outlook for 2009-10. "We expect global crude oil prices around $70 to $75 per barrel. If prices go beyond it consistently, then the numbers will have to change," Rao said.

By IANS,

By Sanjay Sharma, IANS, Bhopal : A Madhya Pradesh minister believes there is no difference between genetically modified (GM) crops and the East India Co, the British firm that began trading with India in 1600 but subsequently came to rule the country till 1858. And many farmers and activists agree with him. "GM crops are the latest version of the way East India Co colonised India," said Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development Minister Ramakrishna Kusmariya. "Commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal (a GM crop) will not be allowed in Madhya Pradesh," Kusmariya told IANS.

By IANS, London : Former Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin has rejoined Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) as a senior adviser, according to the New York-based private equity company he quit six years ago. Indian-born Sarin, 54, left KKR in 2003 to join Vodafone and resigned from the mobile phone group last year. Sarin, whose five years in Vodafone saw the company reap record profits of $13.16 billion in the year to March 31, 2008, will provide advice to KKR's investment and operations specialists.

By IANS Chennai : Ericsson, one of the world's leading technology providers, Friday announced its first contract for delivery of consumer push e-mail service to Indian operator Aircel. Aircel, part of the Maxis Communications group, is India's fifth largest GSM mobile service provider with a subscriber base of more than 9.5 million. Aircel operates in nine telecom circles - Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, North East, Orissa and West Bengal - and holds licenses for the remaining 14 of the 23 telecom circles in India.

By IANS, Ahmedabad : The Rs.197.8 billion ($4.6 billion) acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories by Japanese pharmaceutical major Daiichi Sankyo could "catalyse" a process of consolidation among Indian drug companies, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) secretary-general D.G. Shah said here. "This will be a positive impact," Shah told IANS Friday. The generic market is strong and all indications point to a robust growth, he said, adding that companies such as Glenmark, Sun Pharma and Zydus Cadila, which have clear strategies and focused approach, would not be affected.

By IANS New Delhi : The province of British Columbia in Canada is keen to expand business and trade with India, said its premier on a visit here. "This visit is to develop trade and investment relationships and to discuss business opportunities, apart from sharing expertise in urban infrastructure projects," said Gordon Campbell, premier of the province of British Columbia. Campbell is leading a delegation of business and trade leaders and senior representatives from educational institutes and life science companies of British Columbia.

By IANS, London/New Delhi : Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom firm, Wednesday entered into final stages of merger talks with South Africa's largest telecom operator MTN in a deal that is estimated to be worth nearly $45 billion, according to highly placed sources. Airtel's chief Sunil Bharti Mittal, along with the firm's top brass, is said to be currently locked in talks with MTN chief Phuthuma Nhleko and its top management team in London to thrash out the final details of the deal.

By IANS, New Delhi : Cleaner -- but costlier -- Euro-IV standard petrol and diesel will be available from April 1 in 13 cities across the country, Petroleum Secretary S. Sundareshan said here Wednesday. At a function to mark the launch of the cleaner fuel, he said: "From April 1, Euro-IV standard fuel will be available in 13 cities in India". These cities will include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

By IANS, Hyderabad : A meeting here, beginning Monday, of global telecom experts will adopt the Hyderabad Action Plan that will set the agenda for development of telecommunication and information and communication technologies (ICT) over the next four years. Over 700 delegates from across the world will attend the fifth world telecommunication development conference being organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a leading United Nations agency for ICT issues.

By IANS, Mumbai : After a volatile session due to weak global cues, a key Indian stock market index closed a tad higher Wednesday, even though it had logged one of its biggest gains in recent years during the traditional, hour-long Diwali-day trading a day earlier. The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened higher at 9,297.76 points, which was also the day's intra-day peak.

By IANS, Mumbai: A benchmark index for Indian equities markets ended 0.77 percent down Thursday on negative global cues as crude oil prices climbed raising concerns over global economic growth.

By IANS Kochi : Seafood exporters in Kerala are happy with the sops announced by the central government to bail them out, especially the incentive for shrimp farmers. Shrimp farming was last week included in the Vishesh Krishi And Gram Udyog Yojana (VKGUY), which gives the exporters extra duty benefits. Anwar Hashim, president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), described the move as "yet another bonanza for the industry".

By NNN-KUNA, Kuwait : Kuwait's Central Bank Governor Sheikh Salem Abdul-aziz Al-Sabah has said that it initially agreed to grant a licence to Oman's Bank of Muscat to open a branch in Kuwait. Sheikh Salem said in a press release Sunday the approval is the fifth by the Central Bank within cooperation with central banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. The Governor also noted that there are already two branches of UAE and Qatar banks active in the country and listed in the Central Bank's record.

By IANS New York : In what is turning out to be a titanic battle of wits, Yahoo! responded Monday to Microsoft's ultimatum on takeover, again rejecting the buyout offer as too low, but saying the internet portal is open to the software giant's deal if it "is superior to our other alternatives". Yahoo! was responding to a letter Saturday from Microsoft's chief executive Steven Ballmer threatening to take the offer directly to Yahoo! shareholders and to lower the offer price if the two companies failed to reach a negotiated deal in the next three weeks.

By IANS, Lucknow : The Indian Industries Association (IIA) of Uttar Pradesh has announced that it has applied for empanelment in the Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana (RGUMY), under which the body would assist young entrepreneurs to set up industries in the state. RGUMY, which was launched earlier this year by the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises for promoting micro industries, had invited applications from industry bodies to train and monitor small enterprises under the scheme.

By IANS, Chennai : Daimler Hero Motor Corp, a joint venture floated by German auto major Daimler AG and Indian two-wheeler giant Hero group, Monday signed an agreement with the state government to manufacture commercial vehicles in Tamil Nadu. The joint venture will set up the manufacturing facility at the Sipcot industrial estate near Chennai to roll out 70,000 light, medium and heavy vehicles annually, a government statement said.

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equities closed in the red Tuesday on weak global cues, leading to a key index ending 2.91 percent below its previous close. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange closed at 9,035 points, down 2.91 percent or 270.45 points from its 9,305.4 points close Monday. It had slipped below the psychologically important mark of 9,000 late afternoon but managed to crawl above it by end of the day's trading. The BSE midcap index was down 2.31 percent while the BSE smallcap ended 2.35 percent lower.

By DPA, New York : Bank of America Corp. Monday became the latest US bank to report a stunning return to profitability in the first quarter of this year, easing some concerns about the financial industry despite expectations of further credit losses in future. Bank of America reported a $2.8-billion profit in the first three months of 2009. The bank even earned $4.2 billion before making a series of dividend payments to preferred shareholders. The company reported $1.2 billion in profits in the first quarter of 2008.

By IANS New Delhi : Unitech Ltd, one of India's real estate giants, announced the launch of Aqua and Terra - two of the tallest towers of its grand residential project - at a Derby event at the Delhi Race Club here Sunday. The two towers will be a part of the Unitech Grande, which will come up close to the Noida Expressway and would be spread over 347 acres. The company claims that the two towers would be highest residential buildings in the National Capital Region (NCR).

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities Friday afternoon was trading quiet, tracking negative other Asian markets. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,981.06 points, was trading at 17,942.41 points, 49.59 points or 0.28 percent down from its previous close at 17,992 points. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling a meagre 0.06 percent up at 5,401.05 points.

By IANS, New Delhi : Real estate major Unitech Ltd, faced with cash crunch, has for $175 million sold 50 percent stake in the initial phase of its Santa Cruz project in Mumbai to Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners, it said in a regulatory statement Thursday. The company June 16 announced it would sell 50 percent stake in the project to the real estate arm of Lehman Brothers for $175 million (Rs.7 billion).

By IANS, New Delhi : India Monday called for greater trade co-operation with African diamond producing nations - Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Congo - to name a few. “India is fully committed to working with African producers of rough diamonds to assist them to move up the value chain,” said India's Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh at the four-day plenary of Kimberley Certification Process Scheme (KPCS) which began here Monday.

By IANS, New Delhi : Large educational institutions across the country, enjoying massive tax concessions, are now under the scanner of income tax sleuths after some of them were found to have duped the exchequer by over Rs.34 billion last fiscal, an official said Tuesday. Human resource development ministry officials said the government has laid down new tax guidelines for educational institutions and has asked for a closer scrutiny of tax returns submitted by large schools and other educational institutes.

By IANS Chennai : The Rs.600 billion loan waiver given to farmers in the union budget was a way for India to repay its debt to them, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said here. "The way to look at the proposal is that India is repaying its debt to its farmers," Chidambaram said Sunday at a public meeting organised by the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) to explain the features of the budget. He said he would inform parliament as to how the banking sector would be compensated to the extent of farm loan waiver.

By IANS, New Delhi : Telecom network solutions company Huawei Technologies Thursday launched four new handsets, including two android devices, U8300 and U8500, in the Indian market. Priced between Rs.7,000 and Rs.10,000, the phones will be available to consumers from August 1, 2010. The new set of handsets -- Android and Hangout -- use advanced chipset solutions from Qualcomm, the innovator of 3G technology. Aimed at the youth market, U8300 is a QWERTY Android phone, equipped with social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter along with a 3.2 mega pixel camera.

By IANS, Abu Dhabi : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China started their economic partnership talks here in the backdrop of the global financial crisis and recession, WAM reported Friday. The meeting, attended by government officials industry leaders investors from both the countries, took stock of the global situation and ways to minimise its impact on their bilateral trade. The two sides agreed that the present situation offers valuable opportunity for both the country to expand and strengthen their partnership.

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equities posted modest gains Tuesday, with a key index gaining 0.66 percent over its previous close. The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 9,589.95 points, gained 63.58 points or 0.66 percent to close at 9,647.47 points. At shutters, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) moved up 0.5 percent to close at 2,934.5 points.

By IANS, New Delhi : A power distribution company belonging to the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group met a high level delegation from Afghanistan Friday to rebuild electricity distribution in that war-ravaged country. The Afghan delegation led by Deputy Minister for Energy, Ahmed Wali Shairzay, met officials of power distribution firm BSES to study issues like distribution and commercial losses, the role of information technology (IT) in power distribution, and capital investments.

By IANS, Kolkata: The worst is over for the Indian economy and credit has again started flowing into key sectors, O.P. Bhatt, chairman of the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI), said here Saturday. "The worst is over for the economy. Auto and housing loans have started picking up already," Bhatt told reporters after releasing the bank's financial results. SBI, which accounts for about 25 percent of all loans and deposits in the country, has posted a net profit of Rs.9,121 crore for 2008-09 as against Rs.6,729 crore the year before, a rise of 35.5 percent.

By IANS, New Delhi : Eyeing business opportunities and increased tourism, the Spanish capital of Madrid is seeking to deepen its engagement with Indian metros, particularly New Delhi, by showcasing its expertise in the area of efficient and sustainable development of cities.

By RIA Novosti, Moscow : Oil production in Russia will grow by up to 20 percent, and natural gas by 42 percent by 2030 in line with Russia's draft energy strategy, business daily Vedomosti reported Tuesday. The draft, prepared by several research institutes and the energy ministry, will be submitted to the government in January after discussions and approvals. In August the economics ministry set a task of ending the economy's dependence on raw material exports by 2020.

By IANS, Mumbai : Trading at the Indian equities markets remained dull and operated in a tight range Monday, with a key index closing only 0.06 percent up over its previous close. The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened Monday at 9,381.78 points, against the previous close at 9,323.59, shut shop at 9,329.57 points, 0.06 percent or 5.98 points above its previous close. The broader S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange also ended trade higher at 2,837.6, points, a rise of 0.32 percent over its previous close at 2,828.45.

By IANS Chennai : The Tamil Nadu government, which has drawn flak from industries and households for power cuts, has decided to enhance its power generation capacity. Outlining the state government's plans on this front in his budget speech here Thursday, Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan said: "Work for setting up a new 600 MW unit in the North Chennai Thermal Power Plant at a cost of Rs.24.75 billion ($612.2 million) is under progress. Tenders have been invited for setting up a 600 MW power plant at Mettur Thermal Power Station."

By IANS, Hyderabad : Fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Saturday decided to invite a strategic investor to keep India's fourth largest software outsourcer running, and will soon announce the details of the process it has adopted for the purpose. The decision was taken at a meeting here of the central government-appointed board of directors.

By IANS,

By Paras Ramoutar, IANS Port-of-Spain : Bank of Baroda, the fifth largest bank in India, is all set to open shop in four countries, including Trinidad and Tobago. Kishore Kharat, managing director of Bank of Baroda, said in a press conference here that his bank received its provisional licence from the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago last February, and is expecting its final licence by the end of this month. The other countries where it will open branches are Australia, Bahrain and Ghana.

By IANS, Mumbai : India's central bank has asked banks to inform customers about fund transfers through email or short messaging service (SMS) and revert uncredited funds within 90 minutes. "We understand that quite a good number of banks send SMSs to the account holders as and when the account is debited/credited," Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a notification Tuesday. "However, in order to make RTGS more customer friendly, all RTGS participants may explore the possibility of sending SMS/email information to customers when an RTGS debit/credit takes place," it added.

By Gurmukh Singh, IANS, Toronto : North America's third largest stock exchange here - the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) - reached a milestone Tuesday when it crossed the 15,000-mark for the first time its more 150 years old history. Fuelled by global oil prices which reached $130 a barrel, the TSX index stood at 15,047.34 at the end of the historic day. The Toronto Stock Exchange has the world's largest number of more than 400 oil and gas companies listed on it.

By IANS, Thrissur (Kerala) : Kerala-based private lender South Indian Bank (SIB) will honour five "globally acclaimed" Keralites for their life-time contributions to various fields, it was announced Monday. K.M. Cherian (heart surgeon), Adoor Gopalakrishnan (film maker), Verghese Kurien (architect of India's white revolution), K.J. Yesudas (singer) and Yusuff Ali (businessman) will receive 'SIB Excellence Awards' from actor Mammootty, who is the brand ambassador of the bank.

By IANS,

By IANS, Kolkata : Hundreds of Nano supporters Friday began an indefinite 'satyagraha' (sit-in) in front of the Nano small car plant in Singur, recently abandoned by automobile major Tata Motors following protests by the opposition. The new agitationists are demanding that the factory once again start operations in West Bengal.

By James Jose, IANS, New Delhi : Britain-based Intelligent Energy, a pioneer in the hydrogen fuel cell technology, is pursuing Indian auto firms to produce vehicles that run on this clean fuel, a senior company official said here Tuesday. "We are in talks with some car makers and two-wheeler manufacturers here. But the talks are in nascent stages," Murali Arikara, the company's executive vice president for emerging markets, told IANS at the ongoing Auto Expo here.

By Arun Kumar, IANS, Washington : Warning that the world is entering an era of slower growth, the World Bank Monday said that without India and China, the developing countries' output would shrink 1.6 percent. But with the two Asian engines of growth included, developing countries are expected to grow by only 1.2 percent this year, after 8.1 percent growth in 2007 and 5.9 percent growth in 2008.

By IANS, Chennai : Integrated lignite mining and power company Neyveli Lignite Corp will outsource mining activities at Bithnok and Hudla in Rajasthan. The Rs.3,354-crore company has decided to mine lignite at Bithnok (2.25 million tonnes a year) and Hudla (two million tonnes) to fire its proposed power plants at Barsingsar, also in Rajasthan. The company already has a 2.1-million-tonne lignite mine at Barsingsar and has set up a 2x125 MW power project there.

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.

New Delhi : Dismissing the Railway Budget - 2016-17 presented in the Lok Sabha on Thursday by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu as a "big...

By IANS, Thiruvananthapuram : The first reactions from Kerala to the interim budget presented in Parliament Monday by Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee have been those of disappointment. Mukherjee, presenting the interim budget on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is recovering from heart bypass surgery, said additional steps would have to be considered in the regular budget to be presented by the next government, after the ensuing general elections in a month or two.

By DPA, London : British business class airline Silverjet said Friday it was suspending operations with immediate effect due to a cash crisis. Silverjet, which was founded in January, 2007, flies from London to New York and Dubai. It said last week that money agreed under a deal worth 12.7 million pounds ($25.4 million) signed with a Middle Eastern investor had not come through. Silverjet sells business class tickets only with about 100 seats per aircraft. It has a fleet of 3 aircraft.

By IANS, New Delhi : The government is open to a fresh economic package if it was required to cope with the global financial crisis, acting finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said Thursday, but cautioned against pressing the panic button as the full impact of the meltdown on India was yet to be gauged. "After consulting the RBI (Reserve Bank of India), I am not making any commitment, if the situation requires, we may be in a position to do more," Mukherjee said during question hour in the Rajya Sabha.

By IANS Mumbai : After placing the ever-famous pug cosily inside a new red doghouse in its latest advertisement blitz for a new branding in India, Britain-based global telecom giant Vodafone is all geared to "paint the town red". "We are delighted with the way the entire brand launch has been happening and we are going to paint the town red," the group's Indian-born chief executive Arun Sarin told reporters here after its Indian joint venture's board meeting.

By IANS, Mumbai : A key index of the Indian equities markets was ruling in the red Wednesday, as investors chose to book profits in metal, realty, infrastructure and banking stocks. It was ruling 359 points below the last closing figure, a little before noon. Around 11.30 a.m., the 30-scrip index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, which opened lower at 14,039.58 points, was at 13,810.58 points - 359.87 points or 2.54 percent lower than Tuesday's closing figure.

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index of Indian equities Wednesday ended 141 points lower Wednesday with profit booking kicking in during what was a very choppy day of trade. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,042.18 points, closed at 15,900.82 points (provisional), down 141.36 points or 0.88 percent from its previous close. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty shut shop at 4,754.7 points against the previous close at 4,792.65 points, a loss of 0.79 percent or 37.95 points.

By IANS, Mumbai : The Indian equities markets, which opened in the red Tuesday, were flat in early trade. Capital goods, banking, power and gas sectors were under selling pressure while metal stocks were in demand. The 30-share benchmark sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, opened with a loss of 132.15 points at 17,366.05. Ten minutes into trading, it was at 17,312.32 with a loss of 122.62 points. At the same time the S&P Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was trading at 5,140.55 with a loss of 17.25 points or 0.33 percent.

By IANS, Mumbai : Anil Ambani's Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) counsel Ram Jethmalani Tuesday offered to submit the contents of the agreement between the Ambani brothers relating to the supply of natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin during the hearing of the case in the Bombay High Court. However, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) - led by Mukesh Ambani, elder of the Ambani siblings - said if a copy of the agreement is submitted before the court, contents of the documents should not be made public.

By IANS

Mumbai : Despite a strong rally Thursday that saw a key market index gain close to 1.5 percent, Indian equities ended with only marginal gains during the week ended Friday with trading marked by high volatility.