World Bank raises forecast for 2015 global crude prices
Washington : The World Bank is nudging up its 2015 forecast for crude oil prices from $53 in April to $57 per barrel...
India for years top sources for H-IB workers employed in US: Wipro Chief
By NNN-PTI
Silicon Valley : The growing shortage of IT professionals is fast becoming a serious issue in the United States and the business leadership in the country needs to "take the problem by the horns", Wipro CEO and chairman Azim Premji said.
"America does not have the talent. There's a huge shortage of IT professionals here," Premji told the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Nine companies apply for 3G
By IANS,
New Delhi : Nine telecom operators, including market leaders Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications, have applied for radio frequency spectrum to provide third generation (3G) telephony.
"Nine companies have applied for 3G," a department of telecommunications (DoT) official said here Friday, the last day for submitting applications.
For broadband services, the department has received applications from 11 companies, including Bharti Airtel, Qualcomm, Tata Communications, Tikona and Vodafone.
Teledensity in India touches 51.05 percent
By IANS,
New Delhi: India's telecom density has risen to 51.05 percent after 18.76 million new phone connections were added in February this year, the telecom regulator said here Monday.
In January, the teledensity was 49.50 percent.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in the statement that the number of telephone connections reached 600.69 million in February from 581.97 million a month before.
"With this, the overall tele-density in India reached 51.05 percent," TRAI said.
India’s industrial growth in February at 8.6 percent
By IANS
New Delhi : India's industrial production grew by 8.6 percent in February 2008, compared to 11 percent in the same month the previous year. But the fall in output of consumer durables was reversed.
The cumulative growth of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) amounted to 8.7 percent for the first 11 months of the previous fiscal against 11.2 percent for the like period of the previous year, official date showed Friday.
The statistics also showed that the overall growth of industrial production in February was the highest in four months,
Bank rates hiked to rein inflation, says RBI governor
By IANS,
Bangalore: The bank rates were raised March 19 by 25 basis points to contain the wholesale price index (WPI) inflation rate, which shot up to 9.9 percent in February, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D. Subba Rao said late Monday.
"Given the inflation pressures and given the growth is consolidating, some normalisation was required. Both the repo rate and reverse repo rates were increased by 25 basis points to contain the inflationary pressures," Rao told reporters here.
US economy shrinks 6.1 percent in first quarter
By DPA,
Washington : The US economy contracted at an annual rate of 6.1 percent in the first three months of 2009, the US Commerce Department said in its initial estimate Wednesday.
That follows a 6.3-percent contraction in the final quarter of 2008 as the US battles through its worst recession in decades.
Inflation remains major short-term challenge, says Pranab
By IANS,
Mumbai: Inflation remains a major short-term challenge despite a series of monetary and fiscal measures taken to curb it, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday.
BHEL Director Jain visits Bhopal unit
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: S. K. Jain, Director (HR), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, (BHEL), today visited different manufacturing blocks here and addressed the cross-sections of employees and Executives.
Sensex plunges 396 points
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities Tuesday fell 396 points from its previous close amid heavy selling on weak global cues.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,942.82 points, shut shop at 16,548.5 points (provisional), 396.13 points or 2.34 percent down from its previous close at 16,944.63 points.
Heavyweight Reliance Industries was the major drag with the scrip losing 3.31 percent at 1,010.50.
Market extends gain in afternoon trade
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Indian equities markets were trading with modest gain in after noon trade Thursday as the realty, metal and capital goods counter witnessed buying interest.
At 1.30 p.m., the Sensex was up 102.68 points at 16,800.90 and the Nifty was up 19.5 points at 5,041.55.
About 1,710 shares advanced, 1,146 shares declined, and 222 shares were unchanged.
All sectoral indices on BSE logged gains except BSE PSU index which slipped 0.08 percent to 7,837.41.
Oil crisis will be in control by midnight: Minister
By IANS,
New Delhi : The oil crisis will be brought under control by midnight Friday, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said here.
"The crisis created by the ongoing oil strike should be under control by Friday afternoon or midnight," he told reporters.
“The people should be made aware about the losses due to the strike and that they (striking oil sector officers) should withdraw this agitation immediately,” he added.
Mukesh Ambani ranked 5th best CEO in the world
By IANS,
Washington : Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has been ranked the fifth best performing CEO in the world by the prestigious Harvard Business Review (HBR) with Apple's Steve Jobs at the top.
Ahead of Ambani, the only Indian to feature among top 50 CEOs, are Job, Yun Jong-Yong of Samsung Electronics, Russian energy firm Gazprom's Alexey Miller and John Chambers of Cisco Systems.
ArcelorMittal to cut 1,000 jobs even in low-cost Poland
By Surender Bhutani, IANS,
Warsaw : In what seems to be a deviation from its stated policy to cut only non-production jobs and also an indication of demand contraction worldwide, the world's largest steel maker, the ArcelorMittal Group, has decided to cut 1,000 production employees from its plants in Poland, which have the lowest production costs among all group plants.
"The job cuts have become necessary as demand has fallen sharply," ArcelorMittal Poland president Gregor Muenstermanna said.
Karnataka to buy 1,000 MW power daily for three years
By IANS,
Bangalore : Karnataka will buy 1,000 MW of power daily for the next three years as the state is reeling under a severe energy crisis, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said Tuesday.
"The state hopes to be power sufficient in the next three years and till then we will buy 1,000 MW (daily), irrespective of good rains or not," the chief minister told reporters after a meeting to review the power situation.
The state buys power from private producers and states like Gujarat which have surplus power.
Rebuilding homes: the life around Delhi’s Bawana slums
A fire that erupted in a slum cluster in New Delhi's Bawana on March 30, 2021, destroyed approximately 60 Jhuggis (a slum dwelling typically...
Bharti Airtel raises more than Rs.2,400 crore from bond sale
New Delhi : Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel has raised 350 million Swiss francs (Rs.2,453.2 crore) through issue of bonds in the Swiss market,...
India Inc disappointed as central bank leaves key rates untouched
By IANS,
Mumbai : Asserting that India's financial system was stable despite challenges from overseas, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Friday left interest rates unchanged and projected a lower economic growth of 7.5-8 percent for the current fiscal in its mid-term review of the monetary policy.
The cash reserve ratio, or the minimum balance commercial banks have to retain against deposits, was also left untouched at 6.5 percent in the review by RBI Governor D. Subbarao before chief executives of commercial banks.
Sensex closes in green; FMCG, healthcare stocks rally
By IANS,
Mumbai: A benchmark index for Indian equities markets Tuesday closed trade 50 points higher after fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), healthcare and realty stocks rallied.
UCO Bank to slash lending rates next week
By IANS,
Kolkata : The city-based UCO Bank will cut its deposit and lending rates by 50 basis points soon, a top bank official said here Friday.
"We would cut both the deposit and lending rates by 50 basis points from June 27," UCO chairman and managing director S.K. Goel told IANS.
At present, the bank's benchmark prime lending rate is 12.5 percent while the deposit rates vary according to the maturity period.
Salaries of British company bosses ‘defy gravity’
By Dipankar De Sakar, IANS,
London : Even as greedy unsupervised bankers and stockbrokers are blamed for the global financial crisis, a new report shows directors of the biggest British companies are pocketing record-breaking multi-million pound salaries.
The average pay for leading executives in FTSE 100 companies reached a record high of 3.5 million pounds (Rs.298 million) in the past financial year, an increase of 11.5 percent over the previous year, according to a survey by the Incomes Data Services (IDS), an independent research group.
BSNL, MTNL merger decision in 4-5 months
New Delhi: The decision on merging state-run BSNL and MTNL will be taken in the next four-five months, Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg said on...
Make quick ‘possible’ proposals for renegotiation: EU
Brussels : The European Union urged the Greek government to make "meaningful" and "possible" proposals in coming hours for renegotiation, following early results which...
Equities dip into red on profit booking
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets opened strong Monday and despite staying in the green throughout the morning dipped into the red mid-afternoon following profit booking at the higher levels.
Mid-afternoon the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was ruling at 9,082.34, down 10.38 points or 0.11 percent from its close Friday last week at 9,092.72 points.
Bangalore now to emerge as India’s nano-technology hub
By IANS
Bangalore : Having triggered the growth of IT and biotechnology, this silicon city of India is set to spearhead development of nano-science and nano-technology in the country.
Inaugurating "Bangalore Nano 2007" here Thursday, Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur said the state government was collaborating with Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) to foster nano-science and nano-technology, leveraging the rich talent pool and science and technology (S&T) resources in the state.
Japan’s industrial production sinks by 9.4 percent
By DPA,
Tokyo : Japan's industrial production sank 9.4 percent in February compared to the previous month, the government said Monday, citing seasonally-adjusted data.
The drop in the previous month was 10 percent.
Because of the recession in the US and Europe and China's lagging economy, the demand for Japanese cars, electronics and other export goods has dropped drastically.
Large firms like Toyota and Sony have screwed back production and eliminated thousands of jobs.
Consumer forum rejects compensation plea of Satyam investors
By IANS,
New Delhi : A consumer redressal forum Monday to hear an investor body's petition seeking a compensation of nearly Rs.5,000 crore (50 billion) for 300,000 retail shareholders of fraud-hit Satyam, saying it is not equipped to deal with such cases.
"We do not have the infrastructure to deal with such kind of petition...Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Company Law Board (CLB) are already seized with the matter," observed a bench of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) while rejecting the Midas Touch Investors Association's (MTIA's) petition.
CPI leader calls for IMF, World Bank reforms
By IANS,
New York : Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja has called for reform and democratisation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to ensure full participation of developing nations and achieve "genuine" coordination to effectively meet current global financial crisis.
Chhattisgarh seeks ban on iron ore exports
By IANS,
Raipur : Chhattisgarh, which has roughly 20 percent of India's iron ore reserves, Tuesday sought a ban on export of iron ore.
"For the past six years, I am reiterating that a ban must be placed on export of iron ore urgently. It is not a wise decision at all to hand over the country's limited natural resources," Chief Minister Raman Singh told IANS.
Singh's call for a ban came ahead of a meeting of a 10-member ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Thursday to consider a new mines and mineral development and regulation bill.
Markets end with gain at week’s last trading session
By IANS,
Mumbai : Despite rise in inflation, the Indian equities market ended the week on a positive note and closed with a gain. The improved GDP figures for the quarter boosted the market sentiment.
Inflation numbers have increased further; for week ended May 17,the figure stood at 8.1 percent as against 7.82 percent in the previous week.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the quarter ended March 2008 stood at 8.8 percent as against 9.7 percent in the same period of last financial year.
An Indian now owns East India Company: Creating a new brand for India
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London: With just around a month to go for the re-launch of the East India Company - the world's first multinational whose forces once ruled much of the globe - its new Indian owner says he is overwhelmed by "a huge feeling of redemption". It's been a long, emotional and personal journey for Sanjiv Mehta, a Mumbai-born entrepreneur who completed the process of buying the East India Company (EIC) in 2005 from the "30 or 40" people who owned it.
India to meet tax collection target: Government
New Delhi : The central government on Wednesday said that it will be able to achieve its direct and indirect tax collection targets for...
Fire-hit Bhilai Steel Plant still to resume production
By IANS,
Raipur : Bhilai Steel Plant, a key unit of the public sector Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), is expected to resume production by late Tuesday, a company statement said.
Fire broke out early Monday at the plant in Chhattisgarh, severely hitting hot metal production.
"The production process is expected to gradually resume by end of the day," the statement said.
The unit that had seen a record production in fiscal year 2008-09 with 5.4 million tonnes of hot metal, is based in Chhattisgarh's Durg district, some 30 km west of state capital Raipur.
Markets steady as buying momentum continues
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets were holding on to their gains Thursday afternoon, with a key index ruling about 139 points higher than its previous close about an hour before the closing bell.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 12,064.51 points, was ruling 138.59 points or 1.16 percent higher at 12,091.34 points.
Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) gained 1.3 percent from the previous close to trade at 3,672.15 points.
ADB warns of difficult 2009 for Asia
By DPA,
Manila : Developing Asia's economic growth will slow down to 5.8 percent in 2009 as the impact of the global financial crisis spreads to emerging markets, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned Thursday.
According to the Asia Economic Monitor of the Manila-based ADB, Asia's economic resilience will be tested by weakening exports and a sharp slowdown of private capital flows due to the global slump.
BEML opens sourcing office in China
By IANS
New Delhi : Aiming to raise its business volume, India's state-run heavy earthmoving equipment manufacturer - the Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) - has opened its overseas office in Shanghai, China, the company said Thursday.
“The company has opened its overseas office in China yesterday (Tuesday), for sourcing and marketing purposes, in the presence of Consul General of India in China,” it said in a statement.
The office was inaugurated by BEML chairman and managing director V.R.S. Natarajan.
Iraq’s Majnoon oil refinery near completion, production expected to increase
By NNN-KUNA
Baghdad : Iraq will increase crude oil production from the giant Majnoon oil field in the south of the country to 100,000 barrels a day, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said in a statement.
An Iraqi source from the oil ministry said a company working for the ministry is near the end of developing the second stage of the southern oil refinery project.
The statement Thursday said the first stage of the project was completed in 2003 when output production levels reached around 50,000-60,000 barrels.
SEZ exports grew 50 percent in 2008-09
By IANS,
New Delhi : Despite India's overall exports growth dipping considerably, exports from its special economic zones (SEZs) grew 50 percent during 2008-09, the government said Monday.
"The value of exports made from SEZs during 2008-09 was Rs.99,689 crore against Rs.66,638 crore in the previous year, an increase over 50 percent," said Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya M. Scindia in the Lok Sabha Monday.
During 2008-09, India's total exports registered a growth of 3.5 percent as compared to 29.1 percent during the previous year.
Oil prices in Asia up for 2nd day after hints of production cut
By KUNA,
KUALA LUMPUR : Oil transactions in Asian markets were up for the second day in a row on Wednesday after OPEC hinted at the possibility of a further production cut with the aim of creating a demand-supply balance.
OPEC President, Angola's Oil Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, had said that the organizations would be adopting "a new measure" during its meeting in Vienna in mid-March, should the current production slash fail to raise oil prices.
A ‘restaurant’ for the destitute on Kolkata’s rail tracks
By Sreya Basu, IANS,
Kolkata : One chapatti for 50 paisa, a plate of rice for Re.1, a bowlful of curry for Re.1...So reads the menu card of a "restaurant" on railway tracks that has been running here for the last 51 years. In times of high inflation, it is a godsend for the poor.
Growth to be considered before monetary policy changes: Apex bank
By IANS,
Bangalore : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is closely monitoring the spiralling inflation but would keep in mind the need to encourage growth before making changes to monetary policy, a senior functionary of the central bank has said.
"RBI has already started the first phase of exit in its October policy, though primarily in terms of signalling the stance rather than affecting the liquidity conditions or the interest rate," said deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath in Bangalore.
300 million impoverished Indians to get medical insurance
By Kavita Bajeli-Datt, IANS
New Delhi : The Indian government plans to provide medical insurance to the country's 300 million poor people, most of whom work in the unorganised sector and are thus deprived of quality healthcare.
Recommending early implementation of the insurance scheme for the poor, the Planning Commission in its report said this segment of the population "remains deprived of the benefits of health insurance in the country".
Airtel joins global top 10 in telecom
By IANS
New Delhi : Bharti Airtel Monday said its customer base has crossed the 50-million mark to make it the 10th largest player in the global telecom industry.
It also announced its foray into direct-to-home (DTH) business by yearend.
"Our next target is to reach the 100-million mark by 2010," the company's chief executive Manoj Kohli said at a press conference here, adding that the wireless segment contributed 96 percent of the total base with 47.99 million customers.
Egypt to bye wheat from Iran – Egyptian Minister
By NNN-IRNA
Cairo : Egyptian Minister of Commerce Rashid Muhammad Rashid has announced here that his country intends to buy wheat from Iran.
At the signing of a letter of understanding Sunday along with visiting Iranian Minister of Industry Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, Rashid said his country is a major importer of wheat and has invited Iran's deputy minister of commerce to discuss the purchase of Iran's wheat.
South-East Asia’s wealth management sector booming
By DPA,
Singapore : South-East Asia is seen as second only to China in growth potential for the wealth management field, a published survey said Tuesday.
Some 60 percent of the wealth managers from India, Taiwan and Hong Kong expected annual revenue growth of more than 15 percent.
Market volatility in the United States and Europe has made little dent in the industry's confidence, said the survey of wealth managers by Barclays Capital.
Asia's wealth management growth is not expected to slow over the next two years, according to the findings in The Straits Times.
Inflation falls, government hopes for further moderation
By IANS,
New Delhi : With inflation moderating to 12.34 percent for the week ended Aug 23 from 12.4 percent the week before, India Thursday hoped for further softening of inflationary trends.
Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said the government would look for measures to improve the supply side, and expected inflation to moderate further in weeks or months.
Balmer Lawrie announces healthy profit growth
By IANS
Kolkata : Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd, a "mini-ratna" public sector enterprise, has posted a net profit of Rs.687.9 million for the half-year ended Sep 30, 2007, as compared to Rs.553.6 million for the same period last year.
Profit before tax has shown a sharp increase of 35 percent at Rs.382.9 million as against Rs.284.6 million in the same period last year, a company release here said.
Similarly, net profit for the second quarter has increased to Rs.259.9 million as compared to Rs.189.5 million.
Indian economy grew 5 percent in 2012-13
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian economy grew by a sluggish 5 percent in the financial year ended March 31, 2013, official data showed Friday.
UAE moves up 22 places in latest ‘Doing Business’ ranking
By IANS,
Dubai : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has leaped up by 22 positions in terms of ease of doing business in the country in the latest edition of the World Bank's Doing Business Report.
The UAE's overall ranking for ease of doing business improved from 68th in 2008 to 46th in the 2009 edition of the report, according to a statement by Dubai Trade, which helped the World Bank with data for compiling the report.
In terms of trading across borders, the country's ranking improved from 24th in 2008 to 14th in 2009.
India Inc climbs on Fortune Global 500 list
By IANS
Mumbai : Five Indian companies, including Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Reliance Industries, have improved their rankings in the Fortune Global 500 list this year, giving India Inc much to cheer about.
Powergrid’s net profit rises 13.9 percent
By IANS
New Delhi : Central transmission utility Power Grid Corp of India Ltd (PGCIL) has posted after-tax profit of Rs.3.8 billion ($97 million) in the Oct-Dec quarter of fiscal 2007-08, showing 13.9 percent growth over the corresponding period last year, the company said Wednesday.
PGCIL's total income rose by 18.7 percent to Rs.11.9 billion.
"The company has posted a profit after tax of Rs.3.8 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 as compared to Rs.3.4 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2006," the company said.
Export growth at 6.3 percent: Chidambaram
By IANS,
New Delhi : Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Monday said merchandise exports during the current year will grow at 6.3 percent at $326 billion.
According...
Mumbai’s dabbawallas hike rates
By IANS,
Mumbai : Inflation is pinching Mumbai's world-famous dabbawallas, who ferry lunch boxes all over the city with mind-boggling efficiency. As a result, the service charge has been hiked by Rs.50 per customer from July.
This is the second "unavoidable hike" in two years - in 2008, the service charge was hiked by Rs.30, Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers' Charitable Trust (NMTBSCT) president Raghunath Medge told IANS.
"We shall request all the customers to bear with our predicament forcing us to hike our charges," Medge said, almost sounding apologetic.
US bans firm charged with selling sensitive items to India
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : The US has extended by another six months an export ban on a company accused of shipping dual-use sensitive items to India for possible use in missiles, missile launch vehicles and other defence projects.
The company, Cirrus Electronics and its other wings in Singapore and Bangalore, were first barred June 1 from exports for 180 days by the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce.
US stocks rally on energy, technology shares
By DPA,
New York : US stocks rallied at day's end Tuesday as energy and technology shares led the way and investors snapped up bargain basement prices.
The three major indices closed up despite a drop in confidence among homebuilders that was the lowest since record-keeping began in 1985, Bloomberg financial news service reported.
Hewlett-Packard Co jumped 14 percent as earnings topped analysts' estimates, while Exxon Mobil Corp climbed more than 4 percent.
Canada’s economy grows slightly
By IANS,
Vancouver: Canada's real gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent in April, after edging up 0.1 percent in March, according to official statistics.
Raje meets Kamal Nath on marble imports
By IANS
Jaipur : The union government has assured Rajasthan that it would review its decision on raising the quota of marble block imports, officials said Tuesday.
Commerce Minister Kamal Nath made the assurance during a meeting with Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in New Delhi Monday. Raje had told him that the decision to increase marble imports would severely affect the state's marble industry.
Sensex ends above 17,000
By IANS,
Mumbai : A key index of Indian equities markets Wednesday ended 256 points up after crossing the 17,000-mark for the first time in 16 months.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,868.46 points, ended at 17,109.48 points (provisional).
The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too closed in the positive terrain at 5,079.25 points, up 1.45 percent.
India is third fastest growing investor in the US: Study
By IANS,
Washington : With an investment of over $7 billion in 2009, India is emerging as the third-fastest-growing foreign investor in the recession-hit US economy, according to a senior US official.
Citing a soon-to-be-published report by India-US World Affairs Institute and the University of Maryland, Holly Vineyard, deputy assistant secretary of commerce for Africa, the Middle East and South Asia acknowledged the positive Indian contribution.
Azim Premji is India’s Bill Gates: Forbes
By IANS,
Washington: India's software tycoon Azim Premji plans to set up a world-class university to train teachers who will fan out to the teacher training institutes in India's 600 districts.
"It will be a world-class university with a large endowment," 64-year-old Premji told Forbes magazine noting, "Most of these institutes are a complete mess with the teachers leading the classes worse than the teachers that come to get trained."
Nitin Seth is Ashok Leyland’s executive director
By IANS,
Chennai : Nitin Seth has been appointed as the executive director of Ashok Leyland's light commercial vehicles (LCVs) division, the company announced here Tuesday.
Reliance Industries admits gas policy was not notified
By IANS,
New Delhi:The Supreme Court Thursday asked Reliance Industries if the gas utilisation policy had indeed been notified by the government and if the same was in the nature of an industrial policy. And the answer was 'no'.
Counsel for Reliance Industries Harish Salve also said that the family pact between the two Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, was "not worth the piece of paper it was written upon" as far as his corporate client was concerned.
Indian markets open on a positive note
By IANS
Mumbai : The Indian equities market opened on a positive note Tuesday on cues from strong global markets, pulling the much-discussed Reliance Power stock up with it.
The 30-share benchmark sensitive index opened with a gain of 181.73 points at 16,812.63. With 30 minutes into the trade, the Sensex was at 16,729.91 with a gain of nearly 100 points.
The S&P Nifty opened at 4,877.85, up by 1.90 points.
Aadhaar card not mandatory for social welfare schemes: SC
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the Aadhaar card was not mandatory for availing benefits under the government's social welfare schemes...
India’s industrial output falls 1.2 percent in February
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's industrial output fell 1.2 percent in February against a growth of 9.5 percent in the like month of last fiscal, while the provisional drop reported for January has been revised now to a marginal growth of 0.39 percent.
As per data on index for industrial production (IIP) released Thursday, manufacturing output, which accounts for the bulk of the weight in the overall index, declined 1.4 percent in February, against 9.6 percent growth in the like month of last year.
US firm to invest $2 bn in India’s renewable power sector
By IANS,
New Delhi : Renewable energy player Astonfield will invest around $2 billion in India over the next five years to generate about 1,000 MW of power, most of it from solar sources, a top official said Friday.
"We are going to make an announcement in the next 30-60 days. It will be a billion dollar initial investment on photo-valtics," said Ameet Shah, co-chairman of Astonfield Renewable Resources.
Photo-valtics technology is being used to generate solar energy.
Astonfield Renewable is the Indian unit of the US-based infrastructure major Astonfield Management.
Tata Indicomm launches Samsung handset with mobile Internet
By IANS
Kolkata : Tata Indicomm launched its mobile web browser handset in association with Samsung Telecommunications India here Thursday.
"This innovation is an important step in extending the power of the Internet to mobile devices. The internet access speed in Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) handsets - Samsung Explore - would be three to four times more than General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)," Tata Teleservices president (value added services) Pankaj Sethi said.
Kuwait: New Civil Aviation measures regarding liquids, aerosols from January
By NNN-KUNA
Kuwait : The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is applying new International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) security measures as of Jan 1, 2008, concerning allowable quantity of liquids, aerosols, and gels to be carried onboard aircraft through Kuwait International Airport.
L&T profit jumps 215 percent
By IANS,
New Delhi : Construction and engineering giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T) posted a 215.5 percent jump in its quarterly profit, primarily riding on the income from the sale of its ready-mix concrete (RMC) business.
The company filed a net profit of Rs.15.2 billion (Rs.1,520.44 crore/$338.75 million) for the third quarter of 2008-09, as against Rs.4.81 billion during the same period last fiscal.
The company had sold the RMC business to French major Lafarge for Rs.14.8 billion ($328.9 million) last May.
Petroleum price hike a death blow, says Pakistani daily
By IANS,
Islamabad : The steep hike in prices of petroleum products will be "a death blow to most middle-income people", a Pakistani daily said in an editorial.
Virgin Mobile slashes long distance rates to 50 paise
By IANS,
New Delhi : Telecom operator Virgin Mobile Tuesday slashed long distance call rates to 50 paise per minute.
With this offer, Virgin mobile pre-paid customers can make long distance as well as local calls at 50 paise per minute without any extra charges.
The offer was launched with campaign that featured a photograph of a male's lower torso clad in a pair of jeans, and carrying cheeky punchline: “We are dropping ours".
“Our strategy has been to offer value and flexibility that meets the unique needs of urban youth,” Virgin Mobile India CEO M.A. Madhusudan said.
World faces three challenges of food, fuels and fertilisers — India
By KUNA,
New Delhi : India Tuesday identified three challenges facing the world today -- food, fuels and fertilisers.
Fed extends credit to Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs
By DPA,
Washington : The US Federal Reserve Board has agreed to applications by investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to become bank holding companies.
The rate-setting central bank said in a statement that the approval was granted, pending a five-day antitrust waiting period.
Emirates Shipping Line joins North China India Express
By IANS
Dubai : Emirates Shipping Line, a United Arab Emirates based shipping firm, has announced its participation in the North China India Express (NIX) service, WAM news agency reported Friday.
Vikas Khan, chairman and CEO of Emirates Shipping Line, said: "The decision aligns with our overall strategy of meeting market needs. Emirates Shipping Line will continue to step up efforts in achieving more breakthroughs in service excellence."
Haryana sets new record in wheat procurement
By IANS,
Chandigarh : A day after Punjab announced it was headed for a record procurement and bumper wheat crop, the Haryana government Tuesday said a new record for wheat procurement had been set in the state as well.
The government agencies in Haryana procured nearly 4.27 million tonnes of wheat till Monday evening.
The figure achieved this season is much more than the total procurement last year of 3.35 million tonnes of wheat
The centre had fixed a procurement target of 4 million tonnes for Haryana this year and the state has already crossed that figure.
India’s exports up 35 percent in May at $16.1 bn
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's merchandise exports in May rose by 35 percent to $16.1 billion, the government said here Friday.
Data released by the commerce ministry showed imports for the month grew by 30.8 percent to $27.4 billion year-on-year, widening the country's trade deficit to $11.3 billion.
During April-May 2010, exports stood at $33 billion, a 35.7 percent rise over the year-ago period.
Officials attributed the export growth to low base effect.
India is targeting around 15 percent export growth in this financial year.
Tata Steel net profit up 155 percent
By IANS,
Mumbai: India's largest private steel manufacturer Tata Steel Thursday reported a 155.6 percent rise in net profit at Rs.1,191.75 crore (Rs.11.92 billion/$258 million) for the quarter ended Dec 31, compared to Rs.466.24 crore in the same period of last fiscal.
Total income of the company increased to Rs.6,638 crore compared Rs.4,822 crore, it said in a regulatory filing.
The company's results, which were better than what most analysts expected, grew by 25 percent to Rs.4,480 crore as against Rs.3,586 crore in the year-ago period.
Cuba-Venezuela trade to reach $7 bn
By Prensa Latina
Santiago de Cuba (Cuba) : Bilateral trade between Cuba and Venezuela is expected to touch the $7-billion mark this year, Cuban Vice-president Carlos Lage said in this capital city of eastern Cuban province of the same name.
Lage noted that trade between the two countries rose from $388 million in 1998 when bilateral trade started to worth more than $1.5 billion in 2007 and added that a larger field of cooperation was opening up.
Bolivia wants natural resources to be shared by all
By NNN0-PRENSA LATINA
La Paz : Defending the country's natural resources, a patrimony belonging to all Bolivians, is one of the key pragmatic axis of the Evo Morales government.
Morales, who spoke on Saturday at an event to commemorate 144th annivesary of Ancoraimes municipality, said the Constituent Assembly, established on August 6 last year in Sucre, must endorse the principle in the draft Constitution and must be submitted in two months.
He insisted that energy and mineral resources do not belong to a particular region of the counry.
Behind the realty glass and chrome: Sweat and squalor
By Anuradha Shukla, IANS,
Noida : Raman Mahto, a 33-year old bricklayer, constructs 'dream homes' in Noida, the sprawling satellite township of Delhi whose landscape reflects India's booming real estate industry.
Just behind the site of what is touted as a world-class residential project lies his home, a tent made of pieces of old tarpaulin weighed down with bricks, which has been home to his family for the past six months.
‘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.
Himachal revises hydel project allotment policy
By IANS
Shimla : The Himachal Pradesh cabinet at its first meeting Wednesday revised the policy on allotment of hydel projects to attract more investments.
"Now hydel projects from 5 MW to 100 MW will be allotted to those parties which offer more upfront money. This upfront money will add to the resources of the state," said Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.
"The earlier policy left room for manipulation as these projects were allotted through the MOU (memorandum of understanding) procedure," he said.
Industry lobby retracts report on 25 percent job cuts
By IANS,
New Delhi : After invoking considerable concern and anxiety among millions of working Indians, a leading industry lobby Friday retracted its earlier analysis that the country's corporate sector in seven major industries was proposing 25 percent job cuts over the next 10 days.
"Assocham withdraws its report of 25 percent job cuts, clarifying that it was not representative of the industrial segment in its totality," the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.
Russia fully cuts gas to Ukraine, ups supplies to Europe
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom said Thursday that it has fully cut gas supplies to Ukraine but increased deliveries to Europe after last-ditch talks failed late Wednesday.
"Deliveries to Ukraine were cut in full at 10:00 a.m. Jan 1 (Thursday). The volume of the reduction is 90 million cubic metres. Gas transits to Europe are continuing at a volume of 300 million cubic metres per day," Gazprom said.
A source at Ukraine's state company Naftogaz also confirmed that gas supplies had been cut. "We have noticed a reduction in pressure," the source said.
Inflation spirals to 16-year high, touches 12.63 percent
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's annual rate of inflation zoomed to a 16-year high of 12.63 percent for the week ended Aug 9, as compared to 12.44 percent the week before, but an unfazed finance ministry said prices had stabilised.
"Prices of essential commodities, which include food grain, pulses, edible oil, vegetable, dairy products and some other products including kerosene, soap and safety matches have more or less stabilised," the finance ministry said in a statement.
Bharti group to create manpower for retail sector
By IANS
New Delhi : Telecom-to-retail group Bharti Enterprises' wholly owned subsidiary Bharti Resources Monday announced a strategic partnership with Global Retail School (GRS) to create manpower for the retail trade industry.
Credit rating firms now target small enterprises
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : As the economic downturn bites and banks become more reluctant to lend to firms that do not have credit ratings, credit rating agencies are aggressively expanding to provide ratings for at least some of India's 12.8 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
It is estimated that only about two percent of SMEs in India get financing from banks.
It’s all about politicians on Dalal Street
By IANS,
Mumbai : Dalal Street in downtown Mumbai, home to India's main stock exchange, was as captivated by the drama unfolding in parliament over the trust motion debate as the rest of the nation Tuesday.
As the big television screen outside the 28-storyed Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) flashed the permutations and combinations of the trust vote to determine the fate of the coalition government, traders - who are otherwise busy discussing the fundamentals of stocks - were busy discussing the conduct of parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha.
Oil producer Tatneft’s reserves to rise by 254 mln bbls in 2007
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Tatneft, Russia's sixth largest oil company, said on Tuesday its oil reserves would grow by 34 million metric tons (254.32 million barrels) in 2007.
With proven oil and condensate reserves of 3.6 billion barrels, the company's reserves will increase 7% in 2007, Tatneft said in a statement.
Tatneft and its subsidiaries handle upstream and downstream operations and account for over 80% of oil output in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan.
ArcelorMittal offers jobs to all French workers facing sack
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS
London : All workers being made redundant at an ArcelorMittal steel plant in northeast France will be offered jobs at nearby steel plants owned by the company, ArcelorMittal said. The assurance comes ahead of a planned meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and ArcelorMittal CEO Lakshmi N. Mittal to discuss the future of the London-based Indian's steel plant in Gandrange.
UBI profit dips 65.7 percent in Q4
By IANS,
Kolkata: City-based United Bank of India (UBI) suffered 65.7 percent drop in net profit for January-March quarter of 2009-10 to Rs.46.39 crore from Rs.135 crore year ago.
"This drop happened due to rise in non-performing assets and fall in income from treasury operations," Bhaskar Sen, chairman and managing director, said here Monday.
The bank's income from treasury operations has gone down to Rs.37 crore during the quarter from Rs.137 crore year ago.
There has been significant rise in the bank's net non-performing assets of around Rs.144 crore during the period.
Instruct NPCIL to restart Kudankulam soon, Jayalalithaa asks centre
Chennai : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa on Saturday urged the central government to instruct Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to restart...
Disappointed with India’s decision to cut oil imports: Iranian minister
New Delhi : Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has acknowledged that Tehran was "obviously disappointed" with India's decision to cut oil imports following US...
Mahindra to expand in Australia, floats joint venture
By IANS,
Mumbai : Car and farm equipment manufacturer, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), has entered into a joint venture agreement with Australia's TMI Pacific for marketing, promotion and retail of Mahindra's vehicles down under.
M&M will hold 80 percent stake in the new company, which will be called Mahindra Automotive Australia.
TMI earlier had partnered with the Indian automaker to import and distribute M&M's vehicles in Australia.
Sensex bounces back in early afternoon trade
By IANS,
Mumbai : The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, bounced back in early afternoon trade Monday and moved to positive zone on the back of sustained buying in realty and capital goods stocks. The market had opened in the green and but slipped into the red in early trade.
At 1.00 p.m., the Sensex was up 66.86 points or 0.38 percent to 17,667.00. It had hit a high of 17,735.70 in early trade. At the day's low it touched 17,553.72.
‘Economy will grow at eight percent this fiscal’
By IANS,
Chennai : The Indian economy is expected to grow at eight percent this fiscal, and inflation would moderate in a year's time, said a top government official here Thursday.
"The inflation rate in a year's time will be in the range of five-six percent and the interest rates will be at seven-eight percent levels," said Arvind Virmani, chief economic advisor to the finance ministry.
Inflation drops further to 6.84 percent
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's annual rate of inflation dropped further to 6.84 percent for the week ended Dec 6 from 8 percent the week before, government data showed Thursday.
The sharp drop was triggered largely by the Dec 5 reduction in petrol and diesel prices, analysts said.
The inflation rate was 3.84 percent during the corresponding week last year.
The official wholesale price index (WPI) for all commodities during the week declined 1.1 percent to 231.1 points from 233.6 points the week before.
High global oil prices bring unexpected bonanza for exchequer
By IANS,
New Delhi : High global oil prices, that saw a barrel of crude sell for nearly $150 per barrel at one point last year, has secured unexpected bonanza to the government in the form of royalty and profit petroleum, budget papers showed Monday.
Against the budgeted receipts of Rs.6,777.04 crore (Rs.67.77 billion/$1.35 billion) for this fiscal from petroleum, revised receipts from royalty, profit petroleum and oil exploration licensing fee have been pegged at Rs.9,423.23 crore (Rs.94.23 billion/$1.88 billion).
BHEL Bhopal unit holds Vendor Workshop on Quality Improvement
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: In Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, (BHEL), Bhopal unit, the Transportation Group organized a Vendor Workshop on Quality Improvement through process improvement – Heat Treatment Process the other day here at Narmada Bhawan. S. K. Sharma GM (TSD & Quality) inaugurated the workshop while S. Lomash GM (TPTN & CET) presided over the function.
US executive mission to sell green technologies to India
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Executives from leading US clean energy and environmental companies will visit India next month to identify commercial opportunities for clean and green US technologies in India.
The role of the upcoming mission and how the private sector can help India develop and deploy low-carbon technologies to combat climate change was discussed at a meeting with Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh.
Boeing rolls out Dreamliner with record 677 orders
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Seattle : The 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's first all-new plane in 12 years, has already won a record 677 orders, including 27 from Air India and 10 from Jet Airways, worth more than $100 billion dollars, making it the most successful launch in the company's history.
US stocks jump as oil price falls
By DPA,
New York : US stock indices recorded their biggest jump in a month as oil prices fell sharply Tuesday and the Federal Reserve opened the door to extending emergency lending into 2009.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank's unprecedented lending to investment banks, set up in March at the height of the credit crisis for a six-month period, could be extended into 2009 if the financial sector's "unusual and exigent circumstances continue to prevail."
Iranian President blame “self-serving parties” for high oil prices
By NNN-Bernama,
Kuala Lumpur : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has put the blame on “self-serving parties” for the steep rise in crude oil prices, saying the prices are politically motivated and do not reflect true market conditions.
He told a media conference here Tuesday after the conclusion of the 6th summit of the Group of Eight Islamic Developing Countries (D-8) that high crude oil prices, which had hit record levels of 146 USD per barrel, were "artificial" as production far exceeded demand.
"It’s a political issue that needs a political solution," he said.
National Internet Exchange starts operations in Ahmedabad
By IANS,
Ahmedabad : The National Internet Exchange of India (Nixi) has set up its new hub in Ahmedabad, a move that would help internet service providers in Gujarat reduce bandwidth expenses.
Earlier the communication and IT ministry gave approval to the Nixi to set up its hub here, the seventh Indian city to have such an exchange hub.
The central government has already approved such hubs for Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
The Nixi hub would restrict the wastage of bandwidth in local traffic and thereby save precious foreign exchange.
Sensex closes 0.83 percent down
By IANS,
Mumbai : Heavy selling in realty, metal and capital goods stocks resulted in a key index of the Indian equities markets Tuesday shutting shop 0.83 percent lower than its previous close, after gaining more than 1.6 percent earlier.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 15,691.27 points, ended at 15,536.71 points (provisional), down 129.93 points or 0.83 percent.
The benchmark index started slipping in afternoon trade after gaining as much as 1.6 percent.
India, Germany sign social security agreement
By IANS,
New Delhi : India and Germany Wednesday signed an agreement here that would exempt their nationals working in either country from social security contributions.
The exemption will be given to people on short-term contracts for a period of four years, extendable to another one year, said an official statement.
The agreement was signed by K. Mohandas, secretary at the ministry of overseas Indian affairs and Franz-Josef Lersch-Mense, state secretary of the German ministry of labour and social affairs.
Ministerial panel on Reliance gas meets Thursday
By IANS
New Delhi : A high-powered ministerial panel under External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee meets here Thursday to discuss the pricing of natural gas by Reliance Industries for discoveries made in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory council headed by C. Rangarajan and a panel of bureaucrats under Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar has already given its recommendations on the matter to the Mukherjee committee.
Trade tops agenda as Kamal Nath meets top US officials
By IANS,
Washington : Amid US allegations that India was derailing the Doha round of global trade talks, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath met with top officials of the George W. Bush administration here on how to take the deadlocked negotiations forward.
The Indian minister, who arrived Wednesday, met US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson for talks on issues related with the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Tough times for forging industry as auto sector suffers
By IANS,
Chennai : With the domestic and global auto industry on a downslide and units running at 15-50 percent of their capacity, many forging units are facing the threat of closure, according to a top industry official.
"Already, around 15 forging units in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra have downed their shutters. The industry turnover will be 20 percent than the $1.5 billion turnover estimates for this fiscal," Association of Indian Forging Industry (AIFI) president Vidyashankar Krishnan told IANS.
Lankan IOC slashes diesel price after takeover warning
By P. Karunakharan, IANS,
Colombo : The Lanka Indian Oil Corporation Tuesday decided to bring down the price of diesel by 10 Sri Lankan rupees. Petroleum Minister A.H.M. Fowzie last week warned of takeover of all 153 LIOC outlets if the company did not bring down its diesel price on par with the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).
"In view of the advice from the petroleum minister, the Lanka IOC drops the selling price of diesel by Rs.10 per litre to Rs.120 per litre with effect from 00:00 hours of Wednesday," Lanka IOC managing director K. Ramakrishnan said Tuesday.
Russian firm buys stake in Indian cell operator
Moscow, Sep 27 (RIA Novosti) A Russian firm has bought a 10 percent stake in an Indian cell phone service provider and is mulling to increase its share to 51 percent in the Indian company.
AFK Sistema, one of Russia's largest diversified corporations, has paid $11.4 million for the 10 percent stake in India's Shyam Telelink, a basic telecom services licensee for the state of Rajasthan with a population of 62 million.
AFK Sistema now intends to increase its stake to 51 percent, in a deal that could be worth a total of over $58 million, according to the company.
World Bank reluctant to involve India in helping Africa
By IANS
New Delhi : The World Bank appears reluctant to involve India in the International Development Association (IDA) in helping out countries like Libera in Africa.
"On the one hand I welcome the participation of developing countries like India. But then there are nearly the same number of poor people in Africa as in India," World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday.
He had been asked about India's role in helping out poorer nations of Africa.
Bangladesh will increase trade, business with northeast India
By IANS,
Agartala : Bangladesh is keen to boost trade and commerce with northeastern India to narrow down its trade deficit with the country, an official said here Wednesday.
"Traders, industrialists and investors are really keen to boost trade and business activities with the northeast," said Abdul Matlub Ahmad, president of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI).
A 21-member Bangladeshi delegation headed by Ahmad is currently on a three-day visit to Tripura to finalise the setting up of joint venture projects and import coal and other minerals to Bangladesh.
Sybase, Manthan join hands for IT services to retailers
By IANS
Bangalore : Sybase Inc., the US-based global enterprise software firm, has entered into a partnership with Manthan Systems, a Bangalore-based solution provider of business intelligence (BI) and analytics solutions, to deploy its IQ database platform for data warehousing needs of the retail sector.
The partnership will enable Manthan to use the Sybase data warehousing product to deploy its flagship retail-specific BI solution "ARC" cost-effectively for retailers in food and grocery, fashion and lifestyle, merchandise formats and speciality segments.
Markets fall after early gains
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets slackened in afternoon trade Thursday, with a key index trading 0.47 percent lower than its previous close about an hour before the closing bell.
The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was at 9,214.12 points, 0.47 percent or 43.35 points lower than its last close. It had opened at 9,334.47 points, higher than its Wednesday close of 9,257.47 points.
At the same time, the S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was at 2,812.9 points, 1.28 percent lower than its previous close of 2,849.5 points.
23 SEZ proposals cleared
By IANS,
New Delhi : The government Wednesday approved proposals for 23 special economic zones (SEZs) that would come up in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The board of approvals (BoA), which met here, cleared the 27 proposals including four proposals for conversion of in-principle approval to formal approval , an official statement said.
The newly notified SEZs will provide employment to 97,993 people.
Nalco reduces explosive storage amid Maoist violence
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : State-owned National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has reduced the storage of explosives at its bauxite mine in Orissa due to rising Maoist activities in the region, the company said Friday.
The company has reduced the storage of explosives at its bauxite mine at Panchpatmali in Koraput district, some 370 km from here, it said. Explosives are used in mining operations.
Maoist rebels had attacked the Panchpatmali mine April 12 and killed 10 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnels guarding it.
No cap on number of telecom operators in one area: TRAI
By IANS
New Delhi : There should not be any limit on the number of telephony operators providing services in a particular area, as it would be driven by demand, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended Wednesday.
The Indian telecom watchdog submitted a set of recommendations to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in its aggressive efforts to reform the telecom licensing policy and liberalise the merger and acquisition norms in the sector.
US, Europe, Japan, pursuing new anti-piracy deal
By DPA
Washington : The US, European Union and Japan are pursuing a 34-country agreement targeting worldwide piracy of copyrighted goods and counterfeiting.
The agreement, which has been pursued for more than a year outside the World Trade Organisation framework, represents a major step in the fight against theft of intellectual property rights, said US Trade Representative Susan Schwab at a press conference in Capitol Hill Tuesday.
Ambani compared to Gandhi for ‘bold ideas’ to transform India
By Parveen Chopra, IANS,
New York : Even as Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani is caught in a renewed feud with Anil Ambani over hs younger brother's company Reliance Communications' merger deal with MTN, the New York Times has compared Mukesh to Mahatma Gandhi for being "a revolutionary thinker with bold ideas for what India ought to become".
The richest person in India who many of his countrymen expect will be the richest person on earth before long, told the Times in a rare interview that his goals are for India's benefit as much as they are for his sprawling company.
MIT model can bring down costs of cutting carbon emissions
By IANS,
Washington : An MIT model can help the US fend off growing power shortages by bringing down costs of reducing down carbon dioxide emissions.
The steep cost involved in capturing such emissions has slowed down construction of new coal-fired power plants in the country.
The 'partial capture' technique of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) could capture not all but a significant fraction of those emissions with low cost changes in plant design and operation.
Sensex dull in morning trade
By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index of Indian equities Friday opened on a sombre note after a sell-off in the previous session.
Nano project incurs Rs.3 bn cost overrun
By IANS,
Kolkata : Tata Motors' small car project in Singur in West Bengal has incurred a cost overrun of Rs.3 billion ($71.4 million), the company's managing director Ravi Kant said Saturday.
"The entire project had been reworked and we are investing Rs.20 billion in Singur now, which was earlier estimated at Rs.17 billion," Kant said after meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the state secretariat at Writers Building here.
Salary top reason why employees in Asia quit
By DPA,
Singapore : The top reason why employees in Asia quit is unhappiness with their pay, a study by a human resources firm said Saturday.
It found 70 percent of the best employers see a large connection between improved performance and higher salaries.
While Asian employers have "increased investment" in compensation, they are not yet getting the "strategic and financial results", The Business Times quoted Hewitt Associates principal Nishchae Suri as saying.
Mid-small sized scrips are flavour of the day
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets Friday benefited from a buying momentum, with representative indices for mid-to-small sized scrips performing better than a key benchmark index.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened higher at 16,137.42 points, closed at 16,158.28 points, 0.59 percent or 94.38 points above Thursday's close at 16,063.9 points.
Around the same time, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, closed in the positive terrain at 4,796.15 points, up 0.64 percent or 30.6 points over its last close.
Norwegian fund excludes Vedanta on ethical grounds
By IANS
New Delhi : Citing ethical reasons, Norway has directed its government pension fund to sell shares of metals and minerals major Vedanta Resources Plc, owned by an Indian-born, and not to invest in it further.
The ministry has also decided to exclude Vedanta's two listed subsidiaries, Sterlite Industries Ltd and Madras Aluminium Co, from the investment universe.
Himachal approves proposals worth Rs.10,879 crore
Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government has approved 75 new industrial proposals and cleared 122 expansion projects in two-and-half years, an official said on Sunday.
These...
Preliminary talks held to resolve Singur impasse
By IANS,
Kolkata : Preliminary talks were held Thursday between West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and the representatives of the state's ruling Left Front government ahead of Friday's formal discussions on the Tata Motors' Nano project at the Raj Bhavan here.
Later in the day, Gandhi is slated to chair another meeting with the opposition Trinamool Congress-led Krishijami Jiban Jibika Raksha Committee (KJJRC) to prepare a blueprint for the final talks.
Diesel under-recovery falls to Rs.7.16 a litre
New Delhi : The under-recovery, or revenue loss, on diesel for the second fortnight effective March 16 has come down to Rs.7.16 per litre...
Sensex slips in afternoon trade
By IANS,
Mumbai: A key index for Indian equities Thursday slipped into the red in afternoon trade, tracking negative European and mixed Asian markets after US Federal Reserve painted a mixed economic outlook.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,750.51 points, was ruling at 17,678.66 points, 77.28 points or 0.44 percent down from its previous close at 17,755.94 points.
Emirates adds 18 flights between Dubai, India
By IANS,
Mumbai : Emirates Airlines is augmenting its services to India with 18 new weekly flights, starting July 1.
With this, Emirates' will have 132 flights per week between India and Dubai, the highest for any international carrier operating out of this country.
Close on the heels of its recent commitment to introduce a second daily operation to New Delhi, Emirates will introduce four additional weekly flights - on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays - from July 2.
Bulls add 339 points to Sensex
By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets continued their rally for the second consecutive day Wednesday as the bulls pushed up a key index more than 339 points above its previous close.
The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, closed at 15,466.81 points, 339.81 points or 2.25 percent higher than Tuesday's close. The Sensex closed its day's high after rising 453 points over its previous close.
Like the Sensex, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too closed in the green, gaining 2.29 percent to close at 4,655.25 points.
India paying price for global oil speculation
By Sushma Ramachandran, IANS,
The government has bit the bullet and the cost of living has just shot up for people all over India. But there were few options before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. With world oil prices having reached astronomical levels, the state-run oil companies could not have continued subsidizing supplies of petroleum products to the nation.
If left unchecked, the present situation would have led to oil companies going deep into the red - and that would have been an even worse disaster for the country.
Budget may fail to meet economic challenges: Yashwant Sinha
By Faraz Ahmad, IANS
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opposition party, seems convinced that the upcoming national budget won't meet the challenges faced by the Indian economy, saying survival has become the motto of the present government and soft attitude its policy.
"I do not have any expectations," said Yashwant Sinha, BJP vice president and finance minister in the last National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, when asked to comment on his outlook for the upcoming national budget Feb 29.
Japan logs first annual trade deficit in 28 years
By DPA,
Tokyo : Japan's trade balance for fiscal 2008 marked the first deficit in 28 years due to rise in commodity prices and slower exports to the US and other major economies, the finance ministry said Wednesday.
The nation's trade deficit logged 725.32 billion yen ($7.38 billion) in fiscal 2008 that ended in March, the ministry said.
Japan last registered a trade deficit in 1980, when the balance was skewed by soaring crude oil prices.