China Wireless to set up research centre in India

By IANS, Chennai : Hong Kong-based smart phone manufacturer China Wireless Technologies Ltd will be starting a research and development (R&D) centre in India by the end of this year and is also mulling setting up a handset plant, a company official said Tuesday. "In India, we are planning a 500-people research and development (R&D) centre involving an outlay of Rs.400 crore. We will start our work in that connection by the end of this year," Sami Al-Lawati, the managing director of Coolpad Communications Pvt Ltd, told reporters here.

Nepal bans poultry imports from India, fearing bird flu

By Xinhua Kathmandu : Nepal Monday banned imports of poultry products from India following the outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal just across the border. The daily import of poultry and eggs through Sunsari custom office, and Devanjang, Ghantabari, Laukahi, Kusaha, Magadhwa and other entry points have been banned, Rajesh Ghimire, border security director, was quoted as saying by Nepali website eKantipur.com. Nepal every day imports poultry products worth $8,064 (500,000 Nepali rupees) from eastern India's Bihar state.

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...

Tanla Solutions to build Buzz for Outcast TV

By IANS Mumbai : Tanla Mobile, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hyderabad-based wireless major Tanla Solutions Limited, has signed an agreement with Outcast TV, a content developer for the wireless audience, to build "Buzz", their media personalisation platform. Tanla Mobile specialises in wireless application development, mobile billing and messaging solutions.

India backs home-grown peace process in Nepal

By NNN-PTI, Kathmandu, Nepal : India today told Nepal that it had "no objection" to a peace process in the Himalayan country that was of "Nepalese origin and orientation". Favouring building of political consensus for drafting the country's first-ever Constitution, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, said all political parties should be involved in the framing of the document.

Trading slack in equities markets

By IANS, Mumbai : Trading in the Indian equities markets was rather slow Tuesday morning, with a key index hovering around its previous close while holding on to a marginal rise of 0.07 percent at around 11:18 a.m. The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was ruling at 9,839.66 points, a slight rise of 0.07 percent or 7.27 points over its close Monday at 9832.39.

Gurgaon firm plans India’s first 100MW solar thermal plant

By IANS, New Delhi : Gurgaon-based renewable energy company Acme Energy Solutions plans to set up India's first 100MW solar thermal power plant, the company said here Friday. “We have plans to set up a 100MW solar thermal project either in Rajasthan or Gujarat in about a year,” N. Venkataraman, executive vice president of the company's energy solutions division, told IANS on the sidelines of the 14th Technology Summit and Technology Platform.

Ambani battle over gas cries for consistent government policy

By Sushma Ramachandran, IANS, The feud between the two Ambani brothers - Mukesh and Anil - seems to be an unending saga on the lines of television soap operas, with the story becoming increasingly complex by the day and the number of characters involved in each episode rising rapidly.

Indian-born Canadian buying major stake in Bank of Ireland

By Gurmukh Singh, IANS, Toronto: Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, which has assets worth about $32 billion and is

Sensex recovers from late losses, closes 112 points up

By IANS, Mumbai : After correcting nearly 220 points in late trade, a benchmark index for Indian equities market recovered smartly Tuesday to close 112 points up.

Exporters look for alternatives as rupee appreciates: survey

By IANS

New Delhi : With the rupee appreciating day by day and putting consequent pressure on companies' bottomlines, Indian exporters are gradually shifting their focus in doing business with euro-denominated trade opportunities, says an export survey.

Bhilai steel plant posts record Q1 performance

By IANS

Raipur : The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), the flagship unit of the government-owned Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), has posted the best ever first quarter performance by producing 850,100 tonne of finished steel, 8.6 percent more than in the same quarter last year.

Mumbai firm acquires Grail Research from US group

By IANS, Bangalore : Indian knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) firm Integreon has acquired Grail Research from the US-based Monitor group for an undisclosed amount to expand its operations in new geographical areas, the company said Tuesday. "The strategic acquisition will strengthen our leadership in research and analytics and expand our global footprint into China and South Africa," the Mumbai-based Integreon said in a statement. The $80-million KPO firm also signed a five-year deal with Monitor group to provide research services.

India to grow 7.7 percent as global recovery picks pace: IMF

By Arun Kumar, IANS, Washington: With the global recovery off to a stronger start, Indian economy is projected to grow at 7.7 percent in 2010, 1.3 percentage points higher than forecast earlier, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Tuesday. India, that recorded a growth rate of 7.3 percent in 2008, dipping down to an estimated 5.9 percent in 2009, is projected to grow at a still marginally higher 7.8 percent in 2011, up 0.5 percentage points from last year's forecast, the IMF said in an update of World Economic Outlook (WEO).

Politicians urged to act now as Bali summit opens

By Joydeep Gupta, IANS Bali (Indonesia) : The world is watching participants at the UN summit on climate change closely and they have to show the political will to address this global menace, Rachmat Witoelar, environment minister of Indonesia and the new president of the conference of parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said here Monday.

Mamata meets governor over Nano

By IANS, Kolkata : Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee Friday evening met West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi to inform him about the situation over the land row involving Tata Motors' Nano car project. The Left Front government had rejected demands from a section of farmers led by Banerjee who want 400 acres of land taken for the project returned to them. Amid the confusion, the Tatas are looking at options to shift the project out of the state.

Uttar Pradesh withdraws letter to RBI on Sahara

By IANS, Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh government has withdrawn a letter to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), seeking to know how the central bank would protect the interests of depositors of the Lucknow-based Sahara India Financial Corporation (SIFC). The June 4 letter was in response to a ban the RBI had imposed on the non-banking financial company (NBFC) against accepting any public deposits.

‘Focus on pedestrians, interconnectivity to improve Delhi transport’

By IANS, New Delhi : Even as the national capital is changing its face for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, planners and experts here have expressed concern about flawed planning and delay in implementing an interconnected transport system. One of the main flaws in the capital's road plan, according to experts at a conference here on the "Challenges and Possibilities in Mega Cities", is that it ignored pedestrians.

Sensex closes 180 points higher

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index of Indian equities markets closed 180 points up Tuesday on the back of good buying in IT, realty and auto stocks.

US stocks edge higher amid mixed jobs report

By DPA, New York: US stocks closed higher Friday as investors digested a mixed unemployment report and watched ongoing protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Ajanta Pharma net profit up 49 percent

By IANS Mumbai : Ajanta Pharma has reported a 49 percent increase in net profit for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2007 compared to the same period last year. Net profit for the Oct-Dec quarter amounted to Rs.39.4 million ($1.01 million) compared to Rs.26.5 million ($67,948) during the corresponding period last year. For the nine-month period ending Dec 31, 2007, the gross sales were to tune of around Rs.2.03 billion ($52.05 million) and net profit was Rs.90.4 million ($2.31 million), up by 24 and 49 percent, respectively, over the corresponding period the previous year.

Bharti Airtel crosses 100 million subscriber mark

By IANS, New Delhi : Leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel Friday said its mobile phone subscriber base had crossed the 100-million mark, making the company the third largest single country service provider in the world. "Bharti Airtel has achieved 100-million subscriber mark," said a beaming Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of the Rs.375-billion company. "This milestone reiterates the emergence of India as the world's top telecom markets," he told a press conference here.

Japan’s current account surplus plunges 56.5 percent

By Xinhua, Tokyo : Japan's current account surplus shrank for an eighth consecutive month in October, plummeting by 56.5 percent year-on-year to 960.5 billion yen (410.36 billion), the finance ministry said Monday. The balance of trade in goods and services posted a deficit of 131.9 billion yen. While the surplus in merchandise trade dived 87.2 percent to 145.8 billion yen, trade in services was down 4.2 percent to a deficit of 277.7 billion yen, said the ministry in a preliminary report. Meanwhile, the income surplus contracted 16.3 percent year-on-year to 1,209.1 billion yen.

Actor sues Kingfisher Airlines for flight delay

By IANS New Delhi : Bhojpuri actor Kamal Khan has moved a consumer court demanding Rs.2 million in damages from Kingfisher Airlines after a delayed flight caused him to cancel his shooting last year. South district consumer court here has issued notice to the Kingfisher Airlines on a complaint filed by the actor. According to the complaint, Khan had booked two Kingfisher Airlines business class tickets on a flight to Mumbai from Delhi March 2 last year and paid the fare with his credit card.

Tata Consultancy signs pact with US auto major Chrysler

By IANS Mumbai : India's leading software company Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) has signed a multi-year contract with US-based automobile manufacturer Chrysler LLC to provide a comprehensive portfolio of IT services. According to the agreement, TCS will deliver IT application and maintenance support services to Chrysler by leveraging its Global Network Delivery Model from various locations around the world, including the recently announced TCS Seven Mills Park domestic delivery centre outside Cincinnati, Ohio, and through a locally recruited team in the Detroit, Michigan, region.

Food inflation drops marginally to 17.22 percent

By IANS, New Delhi : India's annual food inflation dropped marginally to 17.22 percent for the week ended April 3 from 17.7 percent a week before even as prices of milk, fruits and lentils rose during the period under review, data showed Thursday. Data on the wholesale price index released by the commerce and industry ministry showed the index for food articles rose 1.4 percent during the week under review. The index for non-food articles rose 0.1 percent.

Paswan asks steel industry to hold prices

By IANS, New Delhi : Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said Wednesday that the steel industry would not raise prices even after Aug 7, the agreed deadline for holding prices, keeping the national interest in mind. Steel manufacturers at a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh May 7 had agreed to reduce prices of flat steel products by Rs.4,000 a tonne and by Rs.2,000 per tonne in the case of structural steel, and not to revise prices for the next three months ending Aug 7.

Oil pricing reforms essential to stabilise economy

By Sushma Ramachandran, IANS, Politics and economics rarely mix well. This has been highlighted in the case of energy pricing where good economics says fuel prices must be raised, but political will is clearly lacking.

US stocks close lower to end roller-coaster week

By DPA, Washington : US stocks dropped on Friday, closing out a wild week that saw most major indices make strong gains amid uncertainty and recessionary fears among US investors. US stocks had been up as much as 4 percent earlier in the trading day but were struck with a late sell-off - a common trend during the ongoing financial crisis. The Commerce Department reported that construction of single homes fell to a 26-year low in September, signalling the housing downturn at the heart of the financial turmoil has yet to reach bottom.

Loan waiver not on government’s balance sheet: tax expert

By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS London : A top tax consultant from India told a meeting of British investors here that the Rs.600 billion farm loan waiver announced by the government in last week's budget has not been accounted for. "This farm loan waiver is not on the balance sheet of the government as far as 2008-2009 is concerned," Sudhir Kapadia, partner and head of tax, KPMG, told a meeting of investors, businessmen and bankers brought together to discuss the Indian budget Thursday.

Budget proposes 5-year tax holiday for new hospitals

By IANS New Delhi : India's national budget for 2008-09 sounded a positive note for healthcare infrastructure as Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has announced a five-year tax holiday to encourage building of hospitals in the country. The finance minister said all hospitals set up particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities will be exempt from direct taxes. However, he added that some large cities would not be included under this scheme. This tax holiday will be valid between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2013, during which the hospitals must commence operations.

‘Natural gas prices may be revised soon’

By IANS, New Delhi : Prices of natural gas from fields of state-run ONGC and Oil India may be revised soon, Petroleum Secretary S. Sundereshan said here Monday. "The minister (for petroleum and natural gas, Murli Deora) just now told me that it is in the final stages of decision making in the government. So the decision could be there very soon," he told reporters at the sixth Asia Gas Partnership Summit. The petroleum ministry had proposed the hiking of price of the gas under administered pricing mechanism from $1.79 per million British thermal unit to $2.32 per mmBtu.

Railways to use bio-diesel to cut fuel cost

New Delhi : Indian Railways will use alternative fuels like bio-diesel in a big way to power its vast fleet of over 4,000 diesel...

Sensex slips below 9,000 mark

By IANS, Mumbai : Weak global cues pulled down Indian equities around midday Wednesday, with a key index trading below the psychologically important 9,000-mark after early gains. The 30-scrip Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensitive index (Sensex), which opened at 8,939.38 points, was at 8,978.65 points, 56.35 points or 0.62 percent down from its previous close. At the same time, the S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was at 2,765.9 points, 0.17 percent lower than its previous close of 2,770.5.

Telecom sector revenues cross Rs.40,000 crore

By IANS, New Delhi : Continuing its robust growth, the Indian telecom industry saw its gross revenues growing 2.6 percent to more than Rs.40,000 crore in the quarter ending March 31, said the sectoral watchdog here Monday. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the gross revenue of the telecom sector for the period under review stood at Rs.40,444.66 crore, as against Rs.39,408 crore in the previous quarter.

Honda to recall nearly 500,000 vehicles

By IANS, Tokyo: Japanese automobile giant Honda Motor Co. will recall about 489,000 CR-Vs sold in the US and the Europe over problems in the vehicles' power window switch, Xinhua reported.

Diesel price to go up if inflation comes down: Rangarajan

By IANS, New Delhi : The government will hike diesel prices once there is a substantial easing in inflationary pressure, the prime minister's top economic adviser C. Rangarajan said Thursday.

Tata’s Telcon project going strong in West Bengal

By IANS, Kolkata : Though Tata Motors has decided to move its Nano small car plant out of West Bengal, another major investment project of the company, an earth moving equipment factory at Kharagpur in West Midnapore, is going strong, a top district official said Monday. Tata Motors, which announced the Kharagpur project in mid-2006 along with the Singur small car plant, set up a joint venture company with Japan's Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd to execute the project. "The project is moving smoothly," West Midnapore District Magistrate N.S. Nigam told IANS.

Deprived of rate cut, Indian stocks lose ground

By IANS Mumbai : Indian equity markets continued to witness acute volatility during the week ended Friday, with the mood swinging both ways, resulting in a key index losing over 120 points despite a major recovery in the final session. Data available with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) showed that its key 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) lost 127.24 points during the week at 18,233.42 points, compared with 18,361.66 a week ago. While the index for mid-cap stocks shed 3.28 percent, that for small-caps was down 3.31 percent.

Taj Group acquires Sea Rock Hotel for Rs.680 crore

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian Hotels Co, which owns the Taj Group of hotels, has acquired Sea Rock Hotel, one of suburban Mumbai's oldest five-star properties, for Rs.680 crore ($143 million). The Tata-owned Taj Group announced late Friday that it has acquired 85 percent stake in ELEL Hotels and Investments, which owns the property on which Sea Rock Hotel is built in southern Bandra.

India surges past 250 mn telephone users

By IANS New Delhi : Even while the country's telecom bosses battle over radio waves, telephone density in the country has risen to over 22 percent in October, adding up to a whopping 256.66 million subscribers, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Of these, 8.05 million new additions have been recorded in the wireless segment in October compared with 7.80 million new subscribers in September. However, in the landline segment, new subscribers declined to 39.41 million last month against September's 39.58 million, TRAI said.

Indian company buys London’s oldest stockbroker

By IANS London : The oldest stockbroker in the city of London has become the latest British institution to be acquired by an Indian company, snapped up in a 55 million pounds ($100 million) deal by a Delhi-based brokerage firm. Hichens Harrison, which has been trading for 205 years, was taken over Friday by Religare Enterprises, which is controlled by Malvinder and Shivinder Mohan Singh, owners of the drug company Ranbaxy.

NALCO to resume full-capacity bauxite production at Orissa mine

By IANS, Bhubaneswar : State-run National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) will resume bauxite production at full capacity at its Panchpatmali mine in Orissa Tuesday, more than a month after the mine was attacked by Maoists, a top official said. "The workers have agreed to join the late shift from today (Tuesday). Our bauxite output is going to be normal," P.K. Mohapatra, head of the Damanjodi refinery and mine, told IANS. Production was stopped for several days after Maoist rebels attacked the Panchpatmali mine in Koraput district, some 370 km from here, April 12.

Youngistan welcomes ‘aam aadmi’ focus of Indian budget

By IANS, New Delhi/Bangalore : Students and young professionals Monday hailed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's 'aam admi' focus of the union budget with many rejoicing over tax sops and interest subsidy in education loans. "Tax exemption is definitely the best news as far as I am concerned. It may not be phenomenal, but it at least takes some load off the shoulder of a salaried employee like me," Jha, who works in a bank in south Delhi, told IANS.

Maharashtra targets Rs.250,000-crore investments

By IANS, Mumbai : The newly-elected Democratic Front government is targeting investments of Rs.250,000 crore in Maharashtra and create half a million jobs over the next five years, state Governor S.C. Jamir said here Wednesday. Addressing a joint session of the Maharashtra legislature here Wednesday, Jamir said the government would promote the IT and IT-enabled services sector in cities like Aurangabad, Nashik and Nagpur, besides the backward regions.

RITES eyes opportunities in South Africa

By Fakir Hassen, IANS, Johannesburg : RITES Ltd, the consultancy arm of the Indian Railways, is in talks with South African railway authorities to develop tailor-made solutions for their requirements, a senior RITES official said. "We have been in exploratory talks with them in certain areas," Sumit Sinha, executive director of RITES' expotech division, told IANS Friday on the sidelines of the three-day annual Africa Rail conference here.

London auctions prove that art is now for the super-rich

By Anna Tomforde, DPA, London : If proof were needed that the international art market has become a playground for the super-rich, it was delivered by record-breaking auctions in London this week. Just over 40 million pounds ($80 million) for a Monet water lily painting, a record-smashing 15 million pounds for Italian futurist Gino Severini, four million for a Henry Moore sculpture and 5.5 million for a work by fashionable Russian modernist Natalia. Goncharova were among the highlights of the annual impressionist and modern art auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's.

Anil Ambani promises to make Bhopal academic hub

By IANS Indore : The chairman of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Anil Ambani, here Friday announced that his group would develop Bhopal as a major education centre. "The Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Communication would be set up as the first unit of this ambitious project", Ambani said, addressing the Global Investors Meet organised by the Madhya Pradesh government here.

Saudi Arabia to develop SR365 billion railway network

Dammam : The Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) is working on a SR365 billion strategic plan for developing the railway network in the Kingdom and...

Woman lawyer takes on government on money laundering tribunal

By Vishnu Makhijani, IANS New Delhi : A feisty woman lawyer who has obtained a Supreme Court stay on appointments to a tribunal on money laundering says the fight has only begun, with the issue headed to a constitutional bench for a final settlement. "It's going to be a long haul but I am determined to ensure that the judicial system gets its due," Pareena Swarup, who is serving her third term as the secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association, told IANS.

India’s food inflation ups further to 19 percent

By IANS, New Delhi : There was no respite from galloping grocery bills as the country's annual food inflation, based on wholesale prices, upped further to 19.05 percent for the week ended Nov 28 from 17.47 percent the week before, as per official data released Thursday. Inflation of primary articles rose 13.9 percent during the week against 12.53 percent in the previous week, while that for fuel rose a marginal 0.06 percent. This was because petrol became cheaper by 11.86 percent, diesel by 5.88 percent and cooking gas by 7.42 percent.

Five-party meet to discuss global oil price spiral

By Xinhua, Aomori (Japan) : Top officials from China, India, the US, Japan and South Korea gathered Saturday in this northeastern Japanese city to discuss setting up oil reserves as a way to offset the global hike in fuel prices. India and China, whose energy demands increased with rapid economic developments, are exploring ways and means to cooperate with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to help in building oil reserves as protection against rising prices, sources told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Government approves 10 foreign investment proposals

By IANS, New Delhi : The government Tuesday cleared 10 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs.1,123 crore ($230.5 billion), including one by DishTV to raise Rs.750 crore through convertible bonds. Vijay Mallya-promoted United Breweries' proposal to issue convertible warrants worth Rs.219 crore also got the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's (FIPB) approval. However, nine proposals have been deferred, including those of two telecom companies - Unitech Wireles and ByCell Telecommunication -- on security concerns.

Modi prescribes formula to beat economic meltdown

By IANS, Ahmedabad : Inaugurating the fourth Vibrant Gujarat investors' summit, Chief Minister Narendra Modi Monday suggested to the business community his formula of "lower risk, alertness, low cost and high efficiency" to turn the global economic crisis into an opportunity. "Lower risk, alertness, low cost and high efficiency can really work wonders. I believe that the RACE formula can convert the global economic crisis into an opportunity," Modi said in his speech at the inauguration of the two-day event here.

World Bank directs $6.6 bn to South Asia; $400 mn to India

By IANS, Washington : The World Bank Group committed US$6.6 billion in fiscal year ended June 30 to South Asia, where India is the largest borrower, much of it focused on helping the countries there cope with the impact of the global economic crisis. Key to the Bank's strategy in South Asia is scaling up existing programmes that are delivering results, the group said Thursday.

70-seater plane to fly to Kangra in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla, March 25 (IANS) For the first time, a 70-seater plane will land in Himachal Pradesh's scenic Kangra valley early next month, say officials. The Kangra airport is located some 40 km from the popular resort town of Dharamsala, which attracts tourists, particularly foreigners, to the Tibetan settlement and the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile. The first flight of the MDLR airlines group is scheduled to take place April 7, company sources said. The number of flights between New Delhi and Kangra is not known so far.

Ahead of UP polls, report on socio-political condition of Muslim community paints a picture...

The report by the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP) ‘Development of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh—released on January 9, paints a picture...

Malaysia Airlines raises India flights to 32 a week

By IANS New Delhi : Malaysia Airlines will operate two additional flights a week between Delhi and Kuala Lumpur from next month to take to 32 the number of flights it operates from India. The new flights are effective Jan 7 and will raise to nine the number of flights the airline operates from the Indian capital. The new flights will be operational every Monday and Saturday at 12.15 pm, a Malaysia Airline release said.

UAE, China open trade talks

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.

Mobile marketing set to explode in India

By Arjun Sen, IANS, New Delhi : With a 300-million mobile subscriber base and 100 million additions a year, India is set to see a mobile marketing explosion, experts say. "The mobile phone will revolutionise business in India," M.V. Kamath, managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Bank, India's largest private lender, told IANS. ICICI Bank has already begun to drive growth in a big way through the mobile route. Kamath, however, was referring not only to the direct reach that cell phones provide but also to how they can help businesses cut costs and hike efficiency.

US mortgage rates fall to lowest level in decades

By DPA, Washington : Mortgage rates for 30-year-fixed home loans in the US fell for the ninth straight week and to their lowest level in 37 years, according to a report released Wednesday by financier Freddie Mac. The rate dropped in the final week of December to 5.10, down from the 5.14 rate the previous week, Freddie Mac said. For the same period in 2007, the rate was at 6.07 percent. The mortgage rate has not been this low since Freddie Mac began the survey in 1971.

City Union Bank to raise Rs.250 crore through rights issue

By IANS, Chennai : City Union Bank will raise Rs.250 crore through a rights issue this year to meet its growing business needs and capital adequacy ratio (CAR), said a top bank official.

Mahabaleshwar – the sweet home of Indian strawberries

By V. Vijayalakshmi, IANS Mahabaleshwar (Maharashtra) : A huge curiosity less than 90 years ago, a good looking red fruit has taken Mahabaleshwar by storm. With more local farmers taking to growing strawberries every year, this western hill station now contributes almost 85 percent of India's total production. Mahabaleshwar was the perfect summer getaway for the Bombay province during the British Raj. Located 120 km from Pune and 250 km from Mumbai, this resort town, situated on a plateau, is not just picture perfect, it is also a welcome change from the sticky Mumbai summer.

Saturday on, Finnair expands India services

By IANS, New Delhi : With flights to India driving its growth, Nordic carrier Finnair is adding one more flight to India Saturday as it awaits permission from the government to add more destinations, in addition to Mumbai and Delhi. "We currently operate seven flights a week to Delhi from Helsinki and five more to Mumbai. From this week, we are adding one more flight to Mumbai," said Taina Tornstrom, the director for Indian subcontinent for the airline.

Home crisis, weak dollar fuel US recession and recovery

By Chris Cermak, DPA Washington : It was the dotcom bubble that sparked the last recession in the United States in 2001. This time, it is the housing market fuelling an economic crisis that some believe could be the most severe since World War II. The picture is daunting: Declining home prices have forced consumers to tighten their belts, rising foreclosures have put investors at risk, creating a ripple effect throughout the economy. Ironically, the main hope for rescue is in the falling US currency, which has spurred export and tourism.

ICICI Prudential hires ex-servicemen to sell policies

By IANS Chennai : Mumbai-based private life insurer ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co Ltd has started hiring former Servicemen as unit managers in rural areas, said a top company official here. Finding it difficult to get the required manpower, the company decided to tap the retired non-commissioned officers' segment, N.S. Kannan, executive director of the company, told the media here Thursday.

Pakistan expected to acquire share in American companies

By SPA Islamabad : Pakistan is expected to acquire a significant share of American companies outsourcing agreements in information technology as a number of firms have shown interest in tapping the rich potential of Pakistan s IT industry services. During a recent series of meetings with a visiting Pakistani delegation, several renowned companies in USA expressed their willingness to outsource various projects to Pakistani companies, a spokesman for Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) said.

Another first by Nano: online booking

By Himank Sharma, IANS, New Delhi : Motors is offering what insiders say is another first in the Indian automobile industry - online booking. Along with retailing co-branded Nano merchandise such as watches, T-shirts and phones on the Internet, the dedicated website for the "people's car" set up by the $62.5-billion group has a detailed section for applying for the vehicle online with a secure payments gateway. Applications will be accepted April 9-25.

Vodafone M-Pesa joins hands with Walmart India

New Delhi: Vodafone India has entered into a strategic tie-up with Walmart India that will enable its business members of six Best Price Modern...

Australia refuses to budge on uranium exports to India

By RIA Novosti, New Delhi : Australia will not lift its ban on uranium exports to India until New Delhi signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Indian media reported Monday. "We've had as a party (Labor) a long standing policy position of only exporting uranium to countries who are party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. India for its own reasons is not a party to that," Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said after meeting his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in Canberra.

India, Russia can check global financial crisis: Assocham

By IANS New Delhi : Leaders of Indian industry have suggested that India and Russia, along with Brazil and China, can jointly address the slowdown of the global economy. Ahead of a three-day visit to India by Russian Prime Minister Victor A. Zubkov starting Monday, the Associated Chambers of Indian Industry of India (Assocham) said both Russia and India should put significant stress on greater trade among developing countries.

Ericsson unveils new telecom tower for Indian market

By IANS, Hyderabad : Ericsson, a leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators, Thursday unveiled its new energy-efficient and less expensive radio base station site concept, Ericsson tower tube, for the Indian telecom market. The tower tube is designed to reduce the total cost of ownership for customers and provide a sustainable, energy-efficient and cost-effective means of communications.

Sensex slips from early highs

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index of Indian equities slipped from its morning highs to rule 107 points higher than its previous close in afternoon trade Thursday. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,323.63 points, was ruling at 17,303.15 points, 107.34 points or 0.62 percent up from its previous close at 17,195.81 points. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was trading 5,207.05 points with a gain of 0.98 percent from its previous close at 5,156.65 points.

Marriott to triple its India properties by 2010

By IANS

New Delhi : Global hotel chain Marriott International Monday said it will piggyback on India's fast-growing hospitality industry and triple its hotels projects to 21 properties by 2010.

G8 ministers continue talks on oil, commodity prices

By DPA, Osaka (Japan) : Finance ministers of the world's seven richest states and Russia Saturday continued their meeting in Japan, as inflation woes threatened to sideline climate change, development topics. The members of the Group of Eight (G8) said they would focus their talks on means to tackle rising energy and commodity prices, with increasing transparency in the oil market as one promising approach. Differing priorities of the individual G8 members as well as developing countries however diminish the likelihood of strong concerted action on oil and commodity prices.

India, Germany to sign pact to push economic ties

By IANS, New Delhi : India and Germany will sign a pact Thursday to enhance technical and financial cooperation, essentially in infrastructure, even as they discuss new projects to be funded by Berlin this year. The talks to push economic ties will be held under the aegis of the annual Indo-Germany Consultation Meeting here where the two sides are proposed to tie up the committed German assistance to India worth $325 million, officials said.

Admit India to make APEC inclusive: Malaysian expert

By IANS Kuala Lumpur : India should be among the nations admitted to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to make the regional grouping "truly inclusive", says former Malaysian diplomat Deva Mohammed Ridzam. Next week's APEC Leaders' Summit in Sydney should also admit Cambodia, Laos and others through a selective process to synergise cooperation among the nations of the Asian region, Ridzam, who has been Malaysia envoy to the EU, wrote Friday in The New Straits Times. Seven out of 11 members of the regional grouping have recommended India's inclusion.

UTI woos overseas Indians with new gold, equity-based fund

By IANS, Dubai : Even as the world grapples with a financial crisis, India's UTI Mutual Fund has launched a new product that will offer overseas Indians a chance to invest in equities and gold. The UTI Wealth Builder Fund Series II, launched here, offers overseas Indian investors an opportunity to gain from combined strengths of equities and gold to build a long-term diversified portfolio, according to a UTI statement. There are around 4.8 million expatriate Indians in the Gulf and 1.5 million of them are in the United Arab Emirates.

Arcelor Mittal to earmark $200-300 mn for rehabilitation

By K.G. Sreenivas, IANS Vitoria/Belo Horizonte (Brazil) : Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel maker, has set its eyes on Orissa and Jharkhand as the focus areas for investments worth $20 billion in India and will use units in Brazil as the template for these mega projects, officials here said. The company, led by London-based Indian industrialist L.N. Mittal, will also set aside a cash chest of $200-$300 million for rehabilitating people who would be displaced after acquiring land for the steel projects.

Higher interest rates won’t check inflation

By Xinhua Beijing : Interest rate hikes are not the way to address China's spiralling inflation because higher rates could have a negative impact on the stock market, a top economic think tank of the country has said. The negative impact of the severe winter would continue to push up consumer prices in the first quarter, but the impact would pass, said the report by the State Information Centre (SIC) published Thursday in the China Securities Journal.

HDFC Bank goes green, sends debit card PIN by SMS

New Delhi : In a novel green initiative, HDFC Bank has launched a system of sending the personal identification number (PIN) for debit card...

ArcelorMittal bid goes before Canadian regulators

By Gurmukh Singh, IANS, Toronto : Canadian regulators will hear Wednesday a challenge to ArcelorMittal's bid for Canadian mining company Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. for $492 million.

Wall Street starts new year with a bang

By Arun Kumar, IANS, Washington : After an abysmal 2008, Wall Street started the new year with a bang as stocks rallied and the Dow Jones closed above 9,000 for the first time since November. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 258 points, or 2.9 percent, to register the second-best start of the year on a point basis, according to Dow Jones. On a percentage basis, it was the sixth best start of the year. The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index gained 3.2 percent and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) rose 3.5 percent.

Japan to provide up to $60 billion in crisis fund

By DPA, Bali Island (Indonesia): Japan will establish an emergency fund of up to 60 billion dollars in the event of an Asian financial crisis, Japanese Finance Minister Kauru Yosano said Sunday. The fund is separate from the amount Japan committed to the Chiang Mai Initiative, a $120 billion regional foreign-exchange reserve pool, Yosano told a seminar of the Asian Development Bank's board of governors on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Asia-Pacific to see $110 billion surge in tourism: PATA

By DPA

Bangkok : Eighteen Asia Pacific destinations are expected to witness a $110 billion increase in tourism revenue over the next three years, according to a report released by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Thursday.

Microsoft begins Hotmail upgrade

By DPA

San Francisco : Microsoft began a massive upgrade of its Hotmail email system, hoping to match advances by competitors like Google and Yahoo.

Indian markets ape dull Asian bourses

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index of Indian equities Tuesday, after an hour since opening bell, continued to languish in dull trade, joining other gloomy Asian stock indices.

No retrenchment in Air India, says aviation minister

By IANS, Hyderabad/New Delhi : There will be no retrenchment of employees by state-owned carrier Air India, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said in Hyderabad Thursday. The statement came minutes after his ministry spokesman said in New Delhi that the airline would offer three to four years' leave without pay to about 15,000 employees instead. "There will be no retrenchment in Air India," Patel told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organised as part of India's first civil aviation show India Aviation 2008.

Infosys’ ‘other income’ zooms nearly five times

By IANS, Mysore : IT bellwether Infosys Technologies Tuesday reported a record jump of 478 percent in "other income" to Rs.231 crore (Rs.2.31 billion/$51 million) in third quarter this fiscal from Rs.40 crore in the same period a year ago. As a result, the global software major's cash reserves, including investments in liquid mutual funds, has increased to Rs.14,449 crore in the quarter under review (Q3) from Rs.9,488 crore in the same quarter a year ago (FY 2008-09).

DLF promoters to sell 10 percent stake in company

By IANS, Mumbai : Realty major DLF announced Wednesday its promoters would sell close to 168 million shares or about 10 percent of their stake in the company to infuse capital in its subsidiary DLF Assets Ltd (DAL). The company which would hope to raise about Rs.39.7 billion as per the scrip's Tuesday's closing price of Rs.236.25 at the Bombay Stock Exchange also said that the money would be used to buy out D.E Shaw's stake in DAL. This was disclosed to the stock exchanges in a regulatory filing. The deal is supposed to be completed in bulk transactions Wednesday.

Resounding start to 11th plan: Chidambaram

By IANS, New Delhi : Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday said that the 2007-08 growth rate of the country was pegged at over 9.1 percent giving a “resounding start to the 11th five-year plan”. Joining the debate on the vote of confidence for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Chidambaram said that the government had, in the last four years, sustained a growth rate of 8-9 percent. “Show me any other four-year period in which so much has been achieved,” Chidambaram challenged the opposition.

Successful companies will weather global meltdown: Premji

By IANS, Bangalore : Strong, successful companies would weather the current global meltdown and emerge stronger, while inept or weak firms would be wailing and asking for bailouts, Wipro chairman Azim Premji said here Tuesday. "The global economy is set for restructuring in the wake of financial meltdown and recession. The crisis is set to intensify in coming months. Successful companies will come out much stronger in two years, but inept ones will be crying, blaming others and asking government for aid," Premji told about 1,000 delegates at a technology conference here.

India’s realty sector to get $30 bn foreign investment

New Delhi(IANS) : India's realty industry will grow at a fast clip of 30 percent over the next 10 years, offer 20-25 percent returns and secure foreign investment worth $30 billion, says a study by a leading industry lobby. "The total size of investments in the domestic real estate sector is likely to be $102 billion," says the study released Sunday by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

Goodwill cargo of fruits, vegetables kicks off Poonch-Rawlakote trade

By Binoo Joshi, IANS, Rangar (Jammu and Kashmir) : For the first time in six decades, Indian vehicles rolled across the Line of Control (LoC) to bridge the divide between the two Kashmirs as trade began Tuesday and India and Pakistan came a little closer. While Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra was in Salamabad Uri in north Kashmir to flag off the first convoy to Muzaffarabad, his adviser H.H. Tyabji did the honours here, about 250 km from the state's winter capital Jammu, to kick off trade between Poonch and Rawlakote.

IMF cautions India against curbs on capital inflows

By IANS Washington : The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautioned India that curbing capital inflows too much could undermine confidence in the country's "very brilliant economy" with consequences beyond India itself. The warning came Friday from the new IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn a day after the former French finance minister took over as the financial institution's managing director.

India’s social sector spending lowest among BRIC nations

By IANS, New Delhi : Despite strong growth, India lags far behind other BRIC countries in social sector achievements, spending lowest on education and health, according to a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). Brazil, Russia, India and China are collectively known as the BRIC economies. The Assocham Eco Pulse (AEP) study showed that India's public expenditure on health and education stood at five percent and 9.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) respectively in 2005-06 fiscal.

US India thinktank scholar Dr Abulsaleh Sharif’s book on Constitutional Rights released, Roundtable discussions...

By TCN News North America is home to more than 29% thinktanks in the world and a bulk of them is located in Washington, DC. While these think tanks are focused on a wide variety of issues, they play a vital role in shaping policy at the national and international level.

Sensex opens in the green

By IANS, Mumbai : A key index of the Indian equities markets opened higher Thursday, ruling 75 points above its last closing figure, about five minutes into trading. The 30-scrip index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, which opened higher at 13,796.19 points, was at 13,844.96 -- 75.81 points or 0.55 percent higher than Wednesday's closing figure. Around the same time, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, was ruling in the green at 4,107.95 points, up 0.71 percent.

Interim budget neglected northeast India: Tripura government

By IANS, Agartala : Terming the interim budget of the central government a "poll lollipop", the Left Front government in Tripura Tuesday said it largely neglected the northeastern region. The budget is "a political agenda ahead of the general elections and no programme to deal with the crucial economic issues of the northeastern region in view of the slowdown", Tripura Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury told reporters. "For the first time in many years, no additional allocation was made in the interim budget for the backward northeastern region," he said.

Petrol, diesel, cooking gas dearer in India

By IANS, New Delhi : Despite political opposition and the average citizen's anger, India Wednesday allowed a 9.5-11 percent increase in prices of cooking and transport fuels but cut customs and excise duties on crude and petroleum products to ease the financial burden on state-run oil firms, reeling under high global oil prices.

Eurozone governments propose massive bank rescue

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

Indian economy to grow at 8.5 percent: Chidambaram

By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS Davos (Switzerland) : The Indian economy is set to grow at a rate of 8.5 percent during 2008-09 after factoring in the volatility of the current global financial turbulence, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said at the World Economic Forum Thursday. Chidambaram, who is leading the Indian delegation to the annual event, told reporters that India expected the turbulence to continue for "a few months" but added that the country was not in favour of imposing capital controls to dampen capital inflows.

‘Hong Kong is world’s freest economy’

By DPA, Hong Kong : Hong Kong Tuesday was ranked the world's freest economy for the 15th consecutive year in a survey by the US think-tank the Heritage Foundation. Singapore was again ranked second in the annual study, followed by Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. The US was ranked sixth, one place lower than last year. At the opposite end of the survey, North Korea was ranked the world's most restricted economy, followed by Zimbabwe, Cuba, Myanmar and Eritrea.

Bengal petroleum dealers to stop fuel purchase from May 21

Kolkata : Complaining of malpractices and a deteriorating business environment, a forum of petroleum dealers of West Bengal on Tuesday announced they would refrain...

Markets open in the green

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equities opened in the green Friday with a key index rising more than 82 points about five minutes into trade. The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, which opened at 15,446.82 points was ruling at 15,494.05 points, 82.58 points or 0.54 percent higher than Thursday's close. The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too moved up, rising 0.49 percent to rule at 4,660.5 points around the same time.

Failed US home loans bank IndyMac sold for $14 bn

By Arun Kumar, IANS, Washington : A group of private investors has agreed to buy for nearly $14 billion the collapsed home loans specialist IndyMac Bank, the third-largest bank to fail since the US government began insuring deposits in 1934. The group is headed by Steven Mnuchin, chairman of Dune Capital Management, who will serve as chairman and chief executive of a holding company for IndyMac, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday.

Jindal to export 1 mn tonnes of Bolivian iron ore in 2011

By IANS/EFE, La Paz : India's Jindal Steel & Power plans this year to export 1 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate from Bolivia's El Mutun mine, the firm said.

China opens nuclear power sector to foreign investors

By Xinhua

Beijing : China has opened up its nuclear power generating sector to domestic and foreign investors.

US reveals six-month-old probe into price manipulation

By DPA, Washington : With US petrol prices at all time highs, US regulators Thursday revealed a six-month-old investigation into possible price manipulation by oil companies that have incurred record profits over the past year. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission in a brief statement said it was disclosing its investigation due to "today's unprecedented market conditions." The CTFC said it was examining the purchase, transportation, storage and trading of crude oil, which has reached record highs of more than $130 per barrel in the past week.

India to run bullet trains, says Lalu

By IANS, New Delhi : Fresh from a ride on a Japanese bullet train, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Monday announced that India would soon have similar high-speed trains on select routes. "The day is not far off when the bullet train will run in the country," Lalu Prasad told reporters here. "The railways ministry will appoint global consultants for introducing the high-speed trains in India," he said. The possible routes would include Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Delhi-Chandigarh and Delhi-Patna.

Asian stocks ride see-saw over Wall Street dive, rate cuts

By DPA, Tokyo : Asia-Pacific stocks ended the week mixed as Wall Street's overnight plunge prompted investors to sell but interest-rate cuts in some markets led to afternoon recoveries. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 3.55 percent on Toyota Motor Corp's sharp cut in its earnings forecast for this fiscal year, but South Korean and Hong stocks took big jumps on the rate cuts. The Nikkei was the region's big loser as it shed 316.14 points to close at 8,583 but still managed to end the week up 0.07 percent.

Australian mining firm looking for Indian partners

By IANS, Kolkata : Lincoln Minerals is looking for Indian partners for four mining projects in Australia, a top company official said Friday. "We are in talks with four to five companies in Mumbai and Kolkata for partnering for mining projects in Australia," company managing director John Parker told reporters here. He declined to name any of these companies. The projects include iron ore, manganese and uranium mining.

Now, ATMs on moving trains

By IANS Chennai : Railway passengers will soon be able to operate ATMs on trains, according to Minister of State for Railways R. Velu. Nearly 1,400 railway stations across India will also have automated teller machines (ATMs) where debit cards can be used to book tickets and also withdraw and deposit money, he said. In the first phase, 34 stations in south India will have ATMs, the minister said at the inauguration of an ATM facility in Egmore railway station here Sunday.

Tripura to produce high quality rubber wood products

By Sujit Chakraborty, IANS, Agartala : India's second biggest rubber wood factory set up in Tripura with technological support from China, Germany and Taiwan, would help in boosting rubber wood based products, officials said. The factory, set up in west Tripura's Anandanagar area, 15 km east of here, would help in producing solid wood boards from treated rubber wood using advanced international technology, said Jitendra Chowdhury, Tripura forest and industry minister. The country's biggest rubber wood factory is in Kerala, India's largest natural rubber producing and cultivating state.

Shape your personal narrative: BlackBerry boss’s mantra

By IANS, Toronto : Even as he faces a record $100-million penalty from market regulators, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) co-CEO Jim Balsillie has been honoured with Canada's Outstanding Business Leader Award. Accepting the award from his hometown Wilfrid Laurier University at Waterloo near here, Balsillie Thursday gave a lesson in personal and career wisdom to aspiring leaders.

Bank of Japan’s liquidity splurge will counter US Fed taper

By Vatsal Srivastava, One might think that the Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP) era is coming to an end. The US Federal Reserve will be concluding its Quantitative Easing (QE) program by year-end and we can expect the first interest rate hike in mid-2015. The Bank of England (BoE) is sounding hawkish as is seen by the run-up in the pound over the past few months. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has already started hiking interest rates and is widely expected to raise the benchmark rate further by 25 basis points later this week. The European Central Bank (ECB) has said that it would unleash a European version of QE if deflationary threats are not overcome but there remain too many legal and political challenges for Mario Draghi to implement the QE. One has to look far east to the Bank of Japan to answer the following question: Where will the liquidity come from post the ZIRP era?

Indian Markets slide despite US Congress nod to bailout plan

By IANS, Mumbai : Despite the US Congress passing legislation for the unprecedented $700 billion bailout for troubled assets, Indian equities markets opened weak and slid into the red on short selling and large institutional sales, analysts said. One hour into trading, the 30-share benchmark sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) breached the 13,000 mark and was at 12,895.57, down 206.61 points or 1.58 percent from its previous close Friday at 13,102.18.

Japan to give $2 bn for fund to help developing nations

By DPA, Tokyo : Japan has agreed to provide $2 billion to launch a fund with the World Bank to help recapitalise struggling financial institutions, especially in developing nations. The World Bank was expected to contribute $1 billion to the fund, according to a statement released Friday at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Washington. The leaders of 20 developed and emerging economies gathered in Washington for a two-day summit to discuss ways to address the global financial crisis.

Hard landing feared for China’s economy after Olympics

By Till Faehnders, DPA, Beijing : The year of the Beijing Olympics could decide whether China's economic boom is bound to last. "Clouds are now forming over China's economy," warned Stephen Green, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai. Inflation is on the rise, and rapid growth is threatening to overheat the economy.

Dubai tourism projects to reach $ 122 billion Dirhams by 2018

By IANS Dubai : Tourism-related projects in Dubai would touch 450 billion dirhams ($122 billion) by 2018, or more than 50 percent of the 858 billion dirhams ($231 billion) being projected for the whole of United Arab Emirate (UAE), WAM news agency reported Friday. In a press statement Thursday, the Tourism Development Projects and Investment Market (TDIM), quoting a survey, said the total value of projects for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region would be 1.2 trillion dirhams by 2018.

Promote ‘Made in India’ brand, Maran tells textile sector

By IANS, Mumbai : Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran wants the sector to develop the "Made in India" brand and diversify into markets beyond the US and the European Union. "The US and EU markets are brand-driven, and through branding we will be able to create a niche market for Indian textiles products and ensure higher value realisation per unit," Maran told reporters here Friday.

Thousands get jobs back as factories get power again

By IANS, Raipur : Power supply to Chhattisgarh's O.P Jindal Industrial Park was restored Monday after a gap of 12 days, bringing relief to about 5,000 workers who had been thrown out of work all of a sudden. The workers - employed with 32 rolling mills and ferro alloy units at the industrial park in Punjipathra village in Raigarh district - lost their jobs overnight May 7 when the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity revoked the power distribution licence of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL).

Nano’s ancillary units stand to lose Rs.5 bn

By IANS, Kolkata : Ancillary industries scheduled to come up adjacent to the Tata Motors' Nano plant in Singur stand to lose around Rs.5 billion (Rs.500 crore) that they have invested for the project, a source close to the development said. "There are 56 ancillary units. The approximate investment in all those units will be around Rs.5 billion," the source said. These units stand to lose this investment if the auto major went along with its threat to move out of the state, following protests at the plant over land acquired for the project.

Now, visually challenged part of Bangalore’s software boom

By IANS, Bangalore : Meet Murali C (28), a mechanical engineer and system operation lead specialist at IBM, and K. Joshi (27), a masters degree holder in philosophy now employed by software major Infosys. They are just two of the thousands of entrants in the city's booming information technology (IT) industry. However, what sets Murali and Joshi apart from the rest is that both are visually challenged.

Leading Malsysian, Indian firms sign MoU for J-V edible oil business in India

By NNN-Bernama, Kuala Lumpur : Two leading companies from Malaysia and India have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up joint venture in the edible oil business in India. They are Sime Darby Plantations Sendirian Berhad, one of the largest oil palm plantation companies in the world, and India's premier international trading house, The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd (STC).

Diesel prices partially deregulated

By IANS, New Delhi : The government Thursday allowed state-run oil marketing companies to revise diesel prices from time-to-time in line with global crude oil prices.

Sensex ends near day’s lows as selling takes toll

By IANS, Mumbai : Continued selling of stocks across the board and particularly from consumer durables, auto and realty sectors pushed a key index of the Indian equities markets down over 2 percent Friday. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 15,440.95 points, ended trade at 15,160.24 points, down 353.79 points or 2.28 percent from its last closing figure. Similarly, the Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) shut shop in the red at 4,481.4 points, down 2.27 percent.

Oriental Insurance expects Rs.150-crore fall in income

By IANS, Chennai : State-run non-life insurer Oriental Insurance may report a fall of around Rs.150 crore in its investment income this fiscal due to the downslide in the financial markets, a top official said here Sunday. "For the current fiscal, the tax before profit will be around Rs.220 crore against Rs.450 crore the previous year," Oriental Insurance chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) M. Ramadoss told reporters. He was here to address a seminar on opportunities for chartered accountants in the insurance industry.

China to sign new economic agreement with Nepal

By IANS, Kathmandu : Close on the heels of Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Nepal, China is sending its Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to Kathmandu Tuesday to bolster ties by signing a new agreement. During his three-day visit, the Chinese minister will pay a courtesy call on Nepal republic's first President Ram Baran Yadav and hold formal talks with the nation's first Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as well as Nepali foreign minister Upendra Yadav.

L&T bags four orders worth over $420 mn

By IANS Mumbai : Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) has bagged four orders worth $421.6 million (Rs.16.87 billion) from the Rajasthan government, Bhushan Steel-Orissa, SAIL Bokaro Steel Plant and the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), the firm said Tuesday.

Milan to host Expo 2015

By IANS Paris : The city of Milan has been selected as the host of the Expo 2015 world exhibition, WAM news agency reported Wednesday. The theme of the exhibition will be "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life". At a ballot held in Paris March 31 by the General Assembly of the 151-member Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), Milan received 86 votes and defeated its sole competitor, the Turkish city of Izmir, which received 65 votes.

SBI hikes home loan interest rates by 50 bpts

By IANS, Mumbai : The State Bank of India has raised its interest rate on home loans by 50 basis points across the board, effective from June 27. Home loans up to three million rupees for 5 years will be at a 10.50 percent interest rate as against the existing ten percent. The interest rate for longer periods as 10 and 15 years will be 10.75 percent compared to 10.25 percent where as for 20 and 25 years the rate will be 11 percent. As a result, the EMI across the board has shot up by Rs.25 to Rs.35 for loans up to three million rupees.
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