Economy

By IANS, Hyderabad : GMR Industries Ltd (GIL), the agri business arm of the infrastructure major GMR Group, plans to invest Rs.8 billion ($200 million) in new projects. The company, which is mainly into sugar production with allied products like co-generation and distillery, plans Rs.2.5 billion rights issue by end of June to part fund its projects. R. Ramakrishnan, the new managing director of the company, told IANS that the investments include Rs.4.5 billion for acquisition of a sugar plant in Raibagh and expansion of another in Ramdurg, both in Karnataka.

By Joydeep Gupta, IANS, New Delhi : With the problems of climate change gaining urgency, tackling it has become a bigger business than software and biotechnology combined, a research report says. Global annual revenues from climate change businesses - which include renewable energy, nuclear power and energy management - have now surpassed $300 billion, HSBC's global banking and markets research team has found.

By DPA Copenhagen/Washington : Jacqueline McGlade, the European Union's chief environment expert, believes Europe needs a Marshall plan of investment - up to several percentage points of the 27-member bloc's gross domestic product (GDP) per year - to reduce the vulnerability to climate change. Europe also must lead by example on global warming, especially in reducing the use of coal and encouraging action in the developing world, the head of the Copenhagen-based European Environment Agency (EEA) said.

By Aparajita Gupta, IANS, Kolkata : Tea production in India will be marginally lower this year than in the year before due to erratic weather, says Tea Board of India chairman Basudeb Banerjee. "This year our production has been slightly lower than last year. We will be marginally down by 10-15 million kilograms this year (by the end of the season -- first week of December)," Banerjee told IANS. The production last year was 981 million kg.

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equity markets registered gains for the week, piggybacking on the decline in inflation rate and strong global markets. Out of five trading sessions, three ended positive. Inflation based on the wholesale price index came down to 12.40 percent for the week ending Aug 16 2008, from the previous week's 12.63 percent. The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex rose 163.04 points or 1.13 percent to 14,564.53 in the week. The S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange gained 32.55 points or 0.75 percent to move to 4,360.

Mumbai, Dec 19 (IANS) Chanda Kochhar was formally named the next chief executive of ICICI Bank, India's largest in the private sector, here Friday. She will take over the reins May 1 from K.V. Kamath who replaces N. Vaghul as the bank's non-executive chairman. Kochhar, 46, a veteran with the bank and its joint managing director, has been serving on its board of directors since 2001. Having worked in virtually every department, her appointment came as no surprise given her administrative capabilities. But she wasn't always the only woman executive on the board.

By IANS, Mumbai : A couple of hours into trade Thursday, the benchmark index of Indian equities was 47 points lower than its previous close, having given up gains garnered just after the opening bell. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,264.1 points, was at 16,208.91 points, down 47.06 points or 0.29 percent from its previous close. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was at 4,845.8 points, against the previous close at 4,858.6 points, a loss of 0.26 percent or 12.8 points.

By IANS, New Delhi : Petrol prices have been cut by Rs.2 per litre effective midnight Friday, state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) announced.

Mumbai : India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined by $273.8 million to $312.38 billion for the week ended May 30, led by a sharp...

By IANS,

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index of Indian equities Friday soared in noon trade and was ruling 262 points higher. The buying spree spread to broader markets as well.

By IANS Hyderabad : The southern state of Andhra Pradesh is poised to achieve annual economic growth rate of 10.37 percent against the national growth rate of 8.7 percent for fiscal 2007-08. The state recorded a growth rate of 8.87 percent during 2006-07. According to advance estimates published by the Central Statistical Organisation, the state achieved an average annual growth rate of 8.73 percent for four years, including the current year. Governor N.D. Tiwari presented these statistics in the state legislature Monday during his address on the first day of the budget session.

By Shweta Thakur, IANS New Delhi : With lifestyle diseases like obesity and heart trouble becoming endemic in the country, Indians are increasingly taking to olive oil as the preferred cooking medium, prompting global manufacturers to eye this growing market. According to the International Olive Council (IOC), a non-profit organisation, Indians today consume some 2,000 tonnes of olive oil per annum, but the demand is expected to grow to about 10,000 tonnes over the next three years.

By IANS/RIA Novosti, Dushanbe: The World Bank will give Tajikistan $38 million in two grants to plug budget gaps and help improve the tax system.

By IANS Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh, which is consistently registering an IT growth rate above the national average, is poised to take IT development to "quite another level" and establish itself on the global business map. The southern state, India's chosen IT hub and the preferred destination for multinational companies, has huge development potential with Hyderabad as an important IT hub followed by Visakhapatnam and emerging cities like Vijayawada and Tirupati.

By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS, Chennai : Gold prices are likely to come down this week as the dollar is firming up and oil prices are going down, according to traders. "In the coming week we expect gold prices to go down by Rs.25 per gram as the US dollar is firming up vis-à-vis euro and the crude prices are coming down," Anantha Padmanaban, a partner at Chennai-based Nathella Anjaneyulu Chetty jewelers, told IANS. "Oil analysts are predicting crude to touch $80 per barrel, which means gold prices have to come down," he added.

By IANS New Delhi : For the first time ever, Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL) three quarter turnover exceeded Rs.1,000 billion, the company said in a statement Thursday. The company declared turnover of Rs.358 billion for the third quarter of the current financial year. The company had reported turnover of Rs.334 billion and Rs.297 billion in the first and the second quarters of this financial year. The company also reported a record 26 percent growth in quarterly growth on year-on-year basis.

By IANS, New Delhi : India will need a stimulus economic package in the next fiscal also as the country would continue to face the impact of global slowdown, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia here said Friday. "The global slowdown will continue even in the next year and the stimulus package should be extended to the next fiscal also," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

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.

By IANS, New Delhi : With the Vision 2020 document for Indian Railways her guiding force, Mamata Banerjee will present the rail budget for the next fiscal Wednesday, which is widely expected to keep passenger fares untouched but rationalise freight tariff in a bid to shore up drying revenues.

By IRNA, New Delhi : Food inflation in India surged to 12.81 per cent for the week ended July 3, while fuel inflation shot up to 14.27 per cent, reflecting the hike in oil prices. In the previous week food inflation was at 12.63 per cent and fuel inflation at 18.02 per cent. While vegetable prices fell by 5.70 per cent year-on year, costlier pulses and cereals kept food inflation higher. Potato became cheaper by nearly 43 per cent, while onion prices were down five per cent on an annual basis. Cereals turned dearer by 6.04 per cent and rice by 6.10 per cent.

By IANS

Mumbai : Indian shares Tuesday continued the upward surge buoyed by buying in select banking stocks and blue-chip shares with a key index rising 0.24 percent.