Economy

By EuAsiaNews, Brussels: After having more than doubled in value between 2000 and 2008, EU trade in goods with India fell in 2009.

By IRNA Tehran : Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said Sunday talks are underway between Iran, India and pakistan to fix the price for the Peace Pipeline gas. Hosseini's remarks came during a televised interview with Channel One of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) when he was asked if Iran had offered any discounts to the other sides in the project.

By IANS, Mumbai : India's central bank will review its monetary policy for this fiscal Tuesday, against the backdrop of the country's annual rate of inflation jumping to a 13-year high and industry worried over the prospect of another interest rate hike. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Y.V. Reddy will conduct the first quarter review after hiking interest rates more than a dozen times since 2004 and asking banks to keep more money against deposits to curb liquidity and inflation which is now at 11.91 percent.

By Jivraj Burman, IANS Mumbai : Entrepreneur Parvez Damania shocked his friends when he went into the aviation business days after the government ended its monopoly in the sector in the mid-1990s. And once again he has surprised them by venturing into Bollywood as a producer. Watching sensible movies in his spare time had always been his way of relieving the cares of the world. But the idea of making films occurred to him rather late, but not so late as to abandon it as wishful thinking.

By Mohammed Shafeeq, IANS, Hyderabad : Hyderabad will join cities like Kolkata and Delhi to have a metro rail that give will further boost to connectivity in this fast-growing southern Indian hub. The Hyderabad Metro Rail, to be developed under public-private partnership at a cost of Rs.96.96 billion (approx $2.4 billion), it is one of the largest projects of its kind in the world and India's first two-track elevated transit system.

By IANS, New Delhi : The wait for third generation (3G) telecom services in the country has got longer as the first meeting of a key ministry panel, set up to take decision on the pricing of 3G auctions, has been postponed. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was scheduled to meet July 31. The government constituted the EGoM July 13 to look into matters relating to pricing of spectrum and the number of operators to be allowed in each telecom circle.

By IANS, Colombo : The government of Sri Lanka has offered a leading Chinese company the contract to build a fuel tank farm and bunkering facility at the new harbour at Hambantota in the southern part of the country, a media report said here Thursday. "The unsolicited project proposal sent by the China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Corporation for building the bunkering facility and tank farm at the Hambantota harbour has been approved by the project committee and the cabinet-appointed negotiations committee," the state-run Daily News reported.

By Oleg Mityayev, RIA Novosti, Moscow : The US economy appears to be in a recession, Janet L. Yellen, chief of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, has said. By admitting this, she stated the obvious: the US gross domestic product (GDP) was down 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 2008, with US economists forecasting a 0.8 percent fall in the fourth quarter.

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities crept up in afternoon trade Thursday to rule at 76 points higher, having been range-bound in the morning session. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,194.78 points, was at 18,255.97 points, 76.33 points or 0.42 percent up from its previous close at 18,179.64 points. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling 0.41 percent in the green at 5,485 points.

By IANS New Delhi : An independent regulator for the aviation sector would come into affect by October this year, a top aviation official said Thursday. K.N. Srivastava, joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry, told reporters that the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) Bill, 2007, which would provide a regulatory authority for the aviation sector, would come up for discussion and approval during the second half of the budget session of parliament, bbeginning April 15.

By Biswajit Choudhury, IANS,

By IANS, Chennai : Tamil Nadu's transporters, fishermen, cold storage operators and vegetable and food grain growers could lose at least Rs.250 million a day because of an acute diesel crisis triggered by an unending electricity shortage. While green and dry grocers said their cumulative losses would cross at least Rs.100 million, transporters pointed to bigger shortfalls in income. Transporters from various parts of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka told IANS they would wait for the shortage wave to ebb before sending goods to Chennai.

By IANS, New Delhi : The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice Friday following protests by sugarcane farmers over falling prices for their crop. The trouble began immediately after the house assembled when Samajwadi Party MPs raised slogans against the government. Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) MP S.S. Ahluwalia prevailed upon them to let nominated member H.K. Dua take his oath of office. The MPs resumed their protest thereafter, refusing to heed to Chairman Hamid Ansari's appeals for calm. Ansari was forced to adjourn the house for 15 minutes.

By Amit Agnihotri, IANS,

By IANS, Mumbai : A key index of the Indian equities markets shut shop in the red Wednesday, slipping 30 points from its last close. It had earlier breached the 15,000-mark. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 14,902.62 points, ended at 14,845.56 points (provisional) - 29.35 points or 0.2 percent below Tuesday's close. The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) followed the Sensex, ending trade at 4,520.9 points, a marginal loss of 0.1 percent.

By IANS, Shimla : The 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri power plant in Himachal Pradesh that also supplies power to Punjab has been closed after the level of silt rose suddenly in the Sutlej river following heavy rains. The silt content in the river increased more than 5,500 ppm (part per million) forcing the authorities to suspend power generation in the plant in Kinnaur district, said Vijay Verma of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam. "We have no option but to close down the project as heavy silt content causes extensive damage to the turbines," Verma told IANS.

By IANS, Dubai : The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed the decision of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)'s Disciplinary Committee banning Marlon Samuels for two years on charges of match fixing. Samuels was found guilty of offence C4 (IX) of the ICC Code of Conduct, namely that he "received any money, benefit or other reward (whether financial or otherwise) which could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute".

By IANS, New Delhi : The government Thursday constituted a six-member search-cum-selection committee for the appointment of chairman-cum-managing directors of the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). The committee will be headed by the cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar.

New Delhi : No gas from Reliance Industries (RIL) consortium's KG-D6 block in the eastern offshore is being supplied to Bangladesh, the government said...

By IANS,

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equity markets were in the negative zone early Thursday, with selling pressure on realty, capital goods and banking stocks. The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, opened with a loss of 171.84 points at 15,250.47 points. Ten minutes into trading, it was at 15,243.15 with a loss of 179.16 points or 1.16 percent from its closing figure Wednesday. At the same time the S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was trading at 4,538.65 points with a loss of 43.65 points or 0.95 percent compared to its previous close.

By IANS, Chennai : The Western Hospital Corp - a 51:49 joint venture between Apollo Hospitals Enterprises and Eleanor Holdings of Mauritius - will build three hospitals in Mumbai by 2012, said a top Apollo official here Friday.

By IANS, London : Ranbaxy CEO Malvinder Mohan Singh said Thursday his company, together with the merged Daiichi Sankyo of Japan, will dominate the Japanese generics medicine market in the “next few years”. “This combination provides Ranbaxy with a very substantial edge and advantage as the Japanese generic market opens up, which is the second largest pharmaceutical market in the world," Singh told a meeting organised in London by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

By IANS, Ahmedabad : Gujarat's tourism department has sought Sri Lanka's help in developing resorts along its coastline given the island nation's vast experience in running several resorts and spas along its beaches, an official said Friday. A tourism department official here said the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has been invited to develop resorts comprising world class facilities along Gujarat's 1,600-km coastline that is dotted with beaches, whose tourism potential remains untapped.

By IANS,

By Prashant Mukherjee New Delhi(IANS) : Skyrocketing gold prices at more than Rs.10,000 per 10 gm hasn't stopped festival shoppers from buying it like never before, be it jewellery, coins or watches. "Whoever wants to buy gold will buy anyhow. I would buy the same amount even if the prices were low," said Ashish Kumar, a Noida-based businessman. "Of course, I only wear a gold ring. All the rest goes to my wife," he added. Gold prices are at a 28-year-high above Rs.10,000 per 10 gm, but merchants are still doing brisk business in the current festival season.

By DPA Paris : Newly elected International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Dominique Strauss-Kahn has said that reform of the organisation should include reducing its costs and integrating developing nations more profoundly in its workings. At a press conference in Paris, the former French finance minister said Monday that reducing IMF staff was one of the options to make it more cost-efficient. "There is no reason that this institution cannot be more efficient, more relevant and less costly," he said.

By IANS, New Delhi : Faced with skyrocketing inflation that touched 12.63 percent for the week ended Aug 9, the government Friday ruled out any upward revision in the prices of steel products, and called for a reduction following softening of global prices. "Since global price of steel is softening, we do not see any immediate reason to go for any upward revision. Instead, the companies should think in terms of further reduction in the prices of steel," said Steel Secretary P.K. Rastogi here.

By IANS, Noida : A market in Noida's prime Sector 18 area was Wednesday demolished to pave the way for extending the Delhi Metro rail project to this satellite township, officials said. Authorities here razed the Rs.2 billion Kali Charan Market, which is said to be illegal. Earlier attempts to demolish the structure, which housed over 500 shops, proved futile as the developer had obtained a stay order from the Allahabad High Court.

By IANS, Agra : Markets in Agra wore a deserted look Thursday as shopkeepers joined the nationwide shutdown to protest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the retail sector.

By IANS, New Delhi : The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Wednesday asked the government not to hand over pension fund management to financial companies for speculative business in the capital market, saying that it was an "anti-worker" decision. Opposing the decision of the trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation to allow the asset management companies of HSBC, ICICI Prudential and Reliance Capital to manage pension funds from September, the CPI-M politburo said this marked the beginning of a process of privatisation of workers' and employees' savings.

By IANS New Delhi : India Tuesday unveiled new guidelines for telecom operators to share transmission systems and cables in a move to reduce call tariffs and increase rural connectivity, which have been welcomed by the leading operators. This would enable the operators to reduce the cost of rolling out telecom networks, especially in remote areas of the country.

By IANS, Agartala : After a six-year uncertainty, the Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has finally agreed to provide natural gas for the 104 MW capacity Monarchak thermal power plant in Tripura, officials said Friday. ONGC signed an agreement with The state-owned North Eastern Electric Power Corp (NEEPCO) in New Delhi Thursday, for supplying 0.5 million cubic metres gas per day for 15 years.

By IANS, New Delhi: German automobile major Volkswagen Tuesday said it will cut prices of the high-end variants of its Polo and Vento sedans and add a host of new features to boost sales.

By IANS, Mumbai : Low-cost carrier SpiceJet Thursday hiked its fuel surcharge by Rs.400 following a recent hike in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) rates. "We have increased fuel surcharge by Rs.400 on our flights with immediate effect," Samyukta Shreedharan, SpiceJet chief operating officer, told reporters here. SpiceJet's decision comes two days after leading private carriers Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines announced hike in their fuel surcharge. Both airlines raised fares by Rs.400 from Tuesday on all domestic sectors.

By Xinhua, Havana : Russia has provided a $150-million loan to Cuba and signed pacts with the Caribbean nation for oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, a media report said. The money will be provided in instalments over two years, the Itar-Tass news agency reported. The agreements signed between Cuba's state-owned firm Cubapetroleo and Russia's Zarubezhneft company will allow the firms to jointly explore crude oil off the coast of Cuba. Russian Vice President Igor Sechin and Cuban Vice President Ricardo Cabrisas participated in the signing ceremony.

By KUNA, Washington : US officials and the worlds top oil executives, including from Kuwait, met on Wednesday in Houston to discuss rising energy price and opportunities to explore new ways of energy sources. Over 2,000 oil companies along with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy for Oil and Gas James Slutz, US Congressman and Chairman of Energy Committee Nick Lampson, OPEC representatives, and energy experts are meeting at Reliant Park in Houston, Texas for the 2008 Offshore Technology Conference.

By IANS, Washington: The US will explore ways to reduce barriers to its exports and increase access to the Indian market, said US President Barack Obama in a signed article published Saturday.

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities markets Wednesday closed 112 points lower as selling intensified in the last hour of trade.

By Arun Kumar Washington, Sep 27 (IANS) Led by India, South Asia picked up the pace of regulatory reform over the last year to become the second-fastest reforming region in the world, according to the World Bank's "Doing Business 2008" report.

New Delhi(IANS) : Legislative hurdles were cleared Friday for the Rs.4.3-billion Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology at Rae Bareli, the constituency of Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, with the upper house of Indian parliament passing the relevant bill. The Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, had already cleared the bill for the proposed institute, which will serve as a nursery for world-class human resources in the field of petroleum technology.

By IANS, Lucknow : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Arun Jaitely Thursday described Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's explanation on the fuel price hike as a "condolence speech." Jaitley was referring to the prime minister's address to the nation Wednesday evening where he said that the hike was inevitable but had been kept marginal. Jaitely, who is also in charge of the party's Uttar Pradesh unit, told reporters that Manmohan Singh was now an economist without any ideas. This was reflected in the soaring prices of essential commodities.

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equities markets fell sharply post-noon Friday, with a key index ruling 290 points lower than its previous close about 90 minutes before the closing bell. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 12,092.97 points, was ruling 290.06 points or 2.39 percent lower at 11,834.2 points. Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) gained 1.3 percent from the previous close to trade at 3,603.5 points.

By IANS, Mumbai : Two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto Tuesday reported a 189.2 percent increase in net profit to Rs.475.14 crore for the quarter ended Dec 31 against Rs.164.27 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. The company's total income increased to Rs.3,330.68 crore during the quarter under review, compared to Rs.2,140.98 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a regulatory statement. The total vehicle sales during October-December stood at 493,748 units, a rise of 64 percent compared to the previous period.

By IANS, New Delhi : Crrency futures trading will help bring Indian forex markets more in line with global trends, says a note prepared by MF Global, a US-based broker for exchange-traded futures and options. The note made available to IANS said currency futures trading will help to expand the market share of forex derivatives and the volume of forex markets as a whole. At present, the average daily turnover of the global forex market is estimated at around $3 trillion.

By IANS Mumbai : Engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) has won a Rs.12.5 billion ($315 million) turnkey project from state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) for construction and installation of offshore platforms at Mumbai High. According to an L&T statement, the project will be completed by the end of April 2009. The firm says it will build three well platforms, sub-sea interconnecting pipelines, sub-sea cables and topside modifications for the Mumbai High South oilfield.

By IANS,

By IANS, New Delhi : The government Tuesday said it would connect 5,000 blocks through wireless broadband soon after the allocation of the third generation spectrum. In a statement, the Department of Telecom (DoT) said this will be done with support from DoT's Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) after allocation of spectrum through an auction later this year. Private players contribute five percent of their earnings to the USOF, which is aimed at promoting rural telephony.