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On the back of steady growth in the economy, railway ministry officials indicate that Budgetary estimates outlined last year are likely to be met despite a shortfall in the earnings from passenger traffic and parcel services in the first three quarters of the current financial year (2009-10).
The Nifty closed marginally above the support level of 4,940 on short-covering at lower levels. The trading pattern in the Nifty futures and options suggests the index may fall below the 4,900 mark soon. The 5,000 call option added 2.24 million shares in open interest (OI), mostly through change of hands and sell-side trades, indicating strong resistance above the 5,000 level.
The consumption trend in rural areas has shown a paradigm shift from price-driven to quality-driven products, points out a recent study on rural marketing by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).
GVK Power & Infrastructure today said its consolidated net profit surged over two fold to Rs 45.80 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009, over the same period previous fiscal.
Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan today firmly told the Dubai-based promoters of the proposed SmartCity IT project that his government would not hand over even “an inch of land” to them with the right to sell.
Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan will be removed from the CPI(M)’s Politburo on ground of “serious indiscipline.” The Politburo has found him guilty of publicly airing his differences with his bete noire, Kerala unit General Secretary Pinarai Vijayan. VS will be allowed to remain Kerala chief minister by the Central Committee, but a section of the party thinks his days as CM are numbered, as the state unit will try to dislodge him from the post.
The Orissa government will start a pilot project for computerisation of the details of land acquisition for different projects and rehabilitation and re-settlement (R&R) of affected persons. To be launched under the banner of ‘punarbas project’, the pilot scheme will initially cover three projects.
Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the Centre is in talks with the Jharkhand and Orissa governments to facilitate the multi-billion dollar India projects of global steel giants ArcelorMittal and Posco.
After triggering a row over the formation of a separate Telangana state, the Congress leadership has adopted a “go slow” approach to defuse the political tension that threatens to split the party in Andhra Pradesh. Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, have ruled out imposition of President’s Rule in the state and dismissing its own government.
The Centre’s decision to move a resolution for a separate Telangana state and the subsequent unexpected turn of events since then has had a minor impact on the services rendered by IT and ITeS industries located in Andhra Pradesh, with most companies working on their business continuity plans with support from the administration.
Jaguar Land Rover"s official entry to the fast-growing Indian car market was marked today by the opening of a flagship showroom facility at Ceejay House in Mumbai by Ratan N Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors.
Tata Group hospitality firm Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) today said it has acquired a controlling 85 per cent stake in Elel Hotels and Investments, which owns the Mumbai-based Sea Rock Hotel, for Rs 680 crore.
Don’t get carried away by just the interest rate on offer when investing in company fixed deposits
Fire tenders were rushed to the iconic Taj Hotel and guests evacuated from its tower wing after smoke billowed from the building following a short-circuit today.
*This fictional character is a $5-billion cash cow for its company. But its popularity seems to be waning and the company has plans to rebrand its personality by moving away from its clean image. The first project for this exercise has been code named Super Secret. Name the character.
The Punjab government would soon announce its new Agro Industrial Policy-2009 which would be implemented through its nodal agency – Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Ltd (PAIC) to achieve the goal of rapid industrialisation in the field of agriculture and agro-processing.
Gold prices fell by Rs 250 to Rs 17,110 per ten gram in the bullion market today as investors resorted to heavy selling amid a weakening global trend.
BJP President Nitin Gadkari doesn’t believe in standing on ceremony. So, while the normal protocol is that meetings are held in the office/residence of the senior-most official in the meeting, Gadkari surprised most by attending a meeting on Bihar at party MP Shahnawaz Hussain’s Delhi bungalow. Gadkari is also quite corporate in the way he carries his visting cards and hands them over to visitors with a “Hi, I am Nitin Gadkari. You can call me Nitin.”
The country"s vibrant cultural heritage, its impressive achievements and military might were on a majestic display today as the country celebrated the 60th Republic Day.
ADAG firm Reliance Communications (RCom) has partnered with 3rd Space Services for advertising-funded videos on its mobile services platform .
Prices of key inputs up 44% to 74%; analysts expect earnings squeeze after a quarter or two.
India Inc"s fund raising through private placement of debt surged 42 per cent to Rs 40,300 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal, with over half of the fund being mobilised by financial institutions.
Surajeet Das Gupta & Mansi Taneja / New Delhi December 15, 2009, 0:25 IST
ING will sell its stake in the life insurance business by 2013 as part of its ongoing Back to Basics programme by moving towards complete separation of its banking and life insurance operations.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat today said he had not issued any "directive" to senior BJP leader L K Advani during their recent meeting to step down as Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today said the Obama Administration is not "cutting and running" from Afghanistan.
Retail investors’ response to initial public offers (IPOs) from the power sector have been tepid. The Adani Power IPO, subscribed 21.64 times in all, was subscribed 2.97 times by retail investors. Indiabulls Power was subscribed 21.84 times overall, but only 1.09 times by retail investors. JSW Energy saw retail investors place bids for 32.7 million shares of the 81 million reserved for them.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today conducted search operations at offices of real estate company Emaar-MGF, a joint venture between MGF India and the Dubai-based Emaar. These operations were of a routine nature and were not linked to the investigation into the dealings of the former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, the company said in a statement. Some news reports said the search operations were triggered by the directorate finding documents that showed Koda’s associates on the boards of some Emaar group companies.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had a hearing today on the controversial issue of the role of the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) in the IPO scam of 2005.
Media company Si Adhikari Brothers Television Network will issue 10.1 million warrants carrying an option to subscribe equivalent number of equity shares to promoters on a preferential basis to promoters and private bodies corporate to fund its expansion plans, the company said in a statement to the Bombay stock Exchange.
US telecom major AT&T and the world’s largest chip maker, Intel, were among the foreign players that showed interest today in the pre-bid conference for third generation (3G) spectrum, which kick-started the process for the 3G auction in the country.
India urgently needs coherent policy and regulation
Private equity fund Pi Capital is often described as “the investment club of the wealthy”. Its CEO David Giampaolo has his eye firmly trained on India, he tells Archana Jahagirdar
US defence major Boeing today said India was planning to buy 10 C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift aircraft and the US government has received a "Letter of Request" in this regard.
Priyanka Joshi / New Delhi September 13, 2009, 0:49 IST
- The Fennell effect - Automatic digging - Kalmadi seeks to dispel all doubts about C"wealth Games - "Facebook" floods search bars, tops list - Social networking sites fast catching up with job portals - PM on Facebook, Tharoor on Twitter
British financial services major HSBC Holdings Plc has reported a 57 per cent plunge in profit at $3.35 billion in the first half of 2009, hit by the ballooning loan impairment charges in many markets including India.
In a bid to attract subscribers of rival companies, state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) is gearing up to start mobile number portability (MNP) services as soon as telecom regulator Trai issues tariff structure.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 03, 2009, 1:34 IST
Mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson today said it will cut 2,000 jobs globally as it phases out activities at some of its locations.
The Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries (RIL) has reopened about two-thirds of its 1,432 petrol pumps in the country and is selling about 2,000 kilolitres of auto fuel per day, RIL President (Refinery Business) P Raghavendran said today.
Taking the disinvestment process in iron ore producer NMDC forward, the government today invited applications for appointment of lead managers to advise it on the timing of the public issue, among other aspects.
Apart from a new brand ambassador, the apparel maker has gone in for aggressive store expansionProvogue has done it again. It has switched its brand ambassador, this time from Saif Ali Khan to Hrithik Roshan, for its new campaign. The brand needed the buzz as much for its new line as for ensuring that its aggressive store expansion drive matches the growth of curious consumers.
Accessing the voluminous debates of the Rajya Sabha since its inception in 1952 will now be available with just a click of the mouse.
This will enable the firm to tap the defence offset market.
A proposal of Jet Airways to raise $400 million (about Rs 2,000 crore) from foreign investors may come up before the Union Cabinet when it meets here tomorrow, official sources said today.
Jet Airways restructuring exercised started last year resulted in a 33 per cent increase in its domestic passenger traffic last month as compared to November 2008. The airlines international passenger traffic also registered a 19 per cent growth on a seat factor of 81.9 per cent.
Bharti Airtel today said it is looking at acquisitions in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region, especially in Bangladesh.
Six out of the top 10 companies added over Rs 24,000 crore to their market capitalisation last week with telecom giant Bharti Airtel alone contributing one-third of the gain.
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Ajit Rangnekar has been appointed the dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB) for a five-year term. The Executive Board unanimously named Rangnekar as the new dean in Mumbai on January 8.
Bhupesh Bhandari / New Delhi November 17, 2009, 0:13 IST
Tardy and lengthy documentation process, costly power and under-developed infrastructure plague the state’s industrial scenario, but the Madhya Pradesh government will perform its ritual of attracting investment this year too, although the focus has now been shifted from core sectors to only agri-processing sector.
Income Tax authorities are carrying out search operations at various establishments of the shipbuilding and repairing firm, ABG Shipyard, for alleged tax evasion, an Income Tax Department source has said.
The mumbai-based Blue FRog is more than just a club with live music acts. it’s in fact an experience, a record label and to its fans, a way of life.
The government may issue Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) Rs 10,300 crore worth of oil bonds this week to compensate these companies for the losses they have incurred on fuel sales in last fiscal.
UTI Mutual Fund would revise the exit load for 18 schemes from Monday, the fund house said on Friday, amending the scheme’s offer document.
A high-level expert team from the Union shipping ministry would visit Paradeep Port on Saturday to ascertain the cause of sinking of MV Black Rose.
Gold futures rose 0.31 per cent at the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCEX) today as traders engaged in enlarging their positions in tandem with a firming global trend on dollar weakness.
The government today approved the conversion of its Rs 128 crore loan to state-run Hindustan Prefab (HPL) into equity to help the company becoming a viable enterprise.
India"s foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.023 billion to $285.414 billion for the week ended November 6.
Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), plans to raise $250 million to fund its expansion plans, a top company official said.
The ONGC scrip rose 7 per cent to close at Rs 1,126.45 on fuel price hike. The government raised the price of petrol by Rs 4 a litre and diesel by Rs 2 after market hours on July 1. Following the hike, experts believe that the ONGC"s subsidy burden for the current year would reduce if the crude prices stay at around $70 a barrel. The stock opened at Rs 1,081.1 and made a high of Rs 1,155.7 and a low of Rs 1,076.1. The total traded volumes stood at 1.9 million shares (around 4 times its two-week average).
Reliance Industries (RIL) has increased LPG supplies to Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum from its twin refineries at Jamnagar, forcing the state-run firms to sell cooking fuel cargoes that they had contracted from overseas suppliers.
Diversified business conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL) today said it has allotted 21,173 equity shares to its employees under the Employees Stock Option Scheme (ESOS).
The pre-Diwali rally fizzled out last week as markets players opted to book gains. However, in Smart Portfolios only Amar Ambani got into profit-taking mode. Ajay Parmar was the only other active fund manager with one trade on each side (buy & sell). On the other hand, Amar Ambani executed 12 trades, out of which 10 were on the sell side. He was a net seller of stocks worth Rs 3.65 lakh. Phani Sekhar and Praveen Panjwani continued to remain on the sidelines.
For the first time in Smart Portfolios 2009, fund managers outperformed the benchmark in terms of returns. While the S&P CNX 500 index scaled nearly 4 per cent last week, Ajay Parmar, Amar Ambani and Praveen Panjwani were able to post gains in excess of 4 per cent each.
New technology allows access to webpages without internet.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah on Sunday said that the ruling Congress government would abide by the apex court’s verdict on the alleged irregularities by mining firm Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) in the Bellary reserve forest of Anantapur district.
CPI-M today expressed serious concern over Indian investigating agencies not being allowed to interrogate LeT operative David Coleman Headley and sought to know what steps the government is taking into the matter.
Normal life was paralysed for the second consecutive day in Telangana as violent demonstrations rocked the region in support of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president, K Chandrasekhar Rao, whose fast-unto-death entered ninth day on Monday.
Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke is travelling to Europe to consult with leaders in Germany, France and Russia, before traveling to Kabul to attend the inauguration of Hamid Karzai for his second term as the Afghan President.
Ch Prashanth Reddy / September 27, 2009, 0:07 IST
The Congress has retained the Tekkali constituency seat in Srikakulum after its candidate Korla Bharathi won the byelections. The byelections were needed following the death of MLA Revathipathi even before the swearing in.
Bharathi Cement Corporation (BCC) commenced its commercial operations from its Nallalingayapalli manufacturing plant, located in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, on Tuesday.
IT, consulting and business process outsourcing services company, Cognizant Technology Solutions, on Wednesday signed an initial five-year, multi-million contract with UK-based railway control and communications systems provider Invensys Rail to serve the global product research and development (R&D) needs of its group companies located in the UK, Australia, Spain and the US.
The government today asked investigating agency Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to initiate prosecution proceedings against persons involved in Satyam accounting fraud and partners of Price Waterhouse, the auditors of the IT company.
Dubai World will sell some of its assets to part finance its $26 billion debt, a senior city-state official said amid a sharp fall in the main stock exchanges in the United Arab Emirates today.
CBI has filed a fresh status report before the Supreme Court into alleged irregularities in defence deals, which caused a loss of around Rs 2,000 crore to the state exchequer, entered into in the wake of the 1999 Kargil conflict.
Meanwhile, park spare cash in short-term debt.
The Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in Orissa, in association with the nationalized banks sponsoring them, have prepared the road map for implementation of 100 per cent Core Banking Solutions (CBS) before the stipulated time period fixed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
“What does the consumer want? What does the market want?”
Was tipped as a probable to occupy the top seat in Infosys after Kris.
Mumbai-based HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company today said the various cost saving measures adopted by the company would lead to less need for capital infusion during the current financial year. The company’s original plan was to invest about Rs 350 crore in the current financial year, which now may come down to Rs 250 crore.
Government seeks Rs 4000 crore from Centre
There is finally some good news for health insurance buyers. Insurers are now beginning to cover outpatient department (OPD) expenses.
Encouraged by the success of a pilot to implement the smart card-based electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system on “one district, many banks” model in three districts of the state, Karnataka has shown interest in implementing the scheme in another three districts on a “one district, one bank” model.
Claiming that the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) was in its expansion mode and would open at least 200 new branches every year in the next three fiscals, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Bank T Y Prabhu said the bank had sought capital support of Rs 1,000 crore from the government to implement its expansion plan.
American professionals have high degree of confidence in the companies they are employed with as a majority of them have an optimistic outlook for their firms, a recent survey says.
A Mercer survey reveals wide disparity across sectors when it comes to superannuation benefits to employees
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Devangshu Datta / New Delhi September 26, 2009, 0:55 IST
Devangshu Datta / New Delhi August 1, 2009, 0:50 IST
While an under-penetrated market and robust business plans should help DEN Networks grow faster, competitive pressures are likely to intensify.
Shyam Ponappa / New Delhi November 5, 2009, 0:50 IST
After initial resistance, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has relented and would now seek telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India"s (Trai) recommendations on a proposal to bring in a uniform licence fee.
Ajai Shukla / New Delhi November 3, 2009, 0:58 IST
Can deliver revenue by February if auction goes smoothly, he tells FM in letter.
Tata Motors commenced trial production of the first batch of the Nano at the new mother plant at the Sanand facility last week. The company will start commercial production of the ‘People’s Car’ from March onwards.
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Government today ruled out setting up an ombudsman to redress complaints of poor mobile telephony services like call drops saying state-run BSNL/MTNL were taking effective steps to upgrade technology.
Coal-based generators plan upgrades, clean tech over 5 years.
Sterlite Technologies, a leading global provider of transmission solutions for the telecom and power industries, has received over Rs 600 crore in new contracts in November for its telecom and power products, from prominent incumbents in India and Africa based on the delivery schedules required by its clients, over 30 per cent of the cumulative contract value would be executed within financial year 2010 and the balance within the first quarter of the next financial year.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) will approach Cabinet shortly seeking allocation of Rs 10,000 crore to prepare an optical fibre cable (OFC) network for defence forces in the next three years in lieu of release of spectrum for mobile services.
ADANI POWER
Indian employees maintained high level of confidence in the future of their companies in the third quarter of this year compared to their global peers, a study says.
In an effort to enlist support for various cost cutting measures, including cut in productivity-linked incentives (PLI) of employees, Air India Chairman-cum-Managing Director Arvind Jadhav today held a series of meeting with various employees unions here.
The government has announced a five percentage point increase in dearness allowance effective from July for employees of the public sector enterprises that follow the Central Dearness Allowance pattern.
Abhilasha Ojha goes shopping for bed linen and finds that the branded market is flooded with incredible options, including limited edition collections, zany motifs and quality that redefines comfort.
Students of the joint action committee (JAC) at Osmania University, the nerve centre of pro-Telangana protests, on Sunday said they would block all the entry points to Hyderabad, including national highways, in a bid to prevent leaders of Seemandhra (Rayalseema and Andhra) from entering the state capital on January 5.
Oil prices touched $80 a barrel today in Asia on optimism a gradual US economic recovery in 2010 will boost demand for crude.
Seeking a "strong political agreement" at the Copenhagen climate change summit, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said the world leaders "must seal the deal" to tackle the pressing issue of global warming.
West Bengal’s assembly elections may be due only in early 2011, but that’s not stopping Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee from preparing to become the state’s next chief minister. She has assigned two economists the task of preparing a blueprint for the economic revival of the state. Both economists are frequent contributors to various newspapers and are known to be votaries of free enterprise.
Subir Roy / New Delhi July 22, 2009, 0:51 IST
The markets have recover after slipping into negative terrain for the second time since morning trades. The NSE Nifty is now at 4,535, up eight points.
Seeks 40% lower funding from Asian Development Bank.
Buy shares worth Rs 30,456 crore in June quarter, mostly from open market.
The Pension Fund and Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) today unveiled a savings account scheme under the New Pension Scheme (NPS) which would allow investors to enter and exit at will.
The BSE metal index tops the sectoral gainers list with an appreciation of 233 per cent.
LIC Housing Finance today sold 18.3 per cent of stake in LIC Mutual Fund to Japanese Financial services company, Nomura, expecting to garner Rs 138-crore.
Sanjay Sinha is the chief executive officer of DBS Cholamandalam Asset Management, a joint venture between the Murugappa Group and DBS of Singapore. Prior to taking over as CEO a year ago, Sinha was the CIO of SBI Mutual Fund. In an interview with Ram Prasad Sahu, he talks about the global recovery, the need for support from the regulators, macroeconomic environment and investment themes that would play out over the medium term
Quant funds should be used only for portfolio diversification, and are suited for high net worth investors.
Hit by the economic slowdown and low spending by the government on the information technology sector prior to the assembly elections, the personal computer (PC) shipments in the country fell by 19 per cent during the January-March quarter this year.
State-owned Hindustan Shipyard (HSL) plans to build a large shipyard to accommodate very large crude carrier ships (VLCC) at an estimated project cost of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore, a top official said. The proposed shipyard, which will be built on a public-private-partnership model, is expected to receive cabinet approval by the end of this fiscal, HSL"s Chairman and Managing Director, Naresh Kumar said on the sidelines of SMM India"s shipping trade fair.
Despite recent floods in northern districts and subsequent damage to the standing crops, Karnataka, the sixth largest producer of cotton in the country, is likely to increase its cotton output this year by around 15 per cent to a little over one million bales (1 bale = 170 kgs). The state, which produced 900,000 bales of cotton from 390,000 hectares in 2008-09, had earlier set a target of 25 per cent growth in cotton output and 21 per cent increase in area under cultivation at 490,000 hectares.
The Indian pesticides industry is eagerly looking forward to August 15. Not for the usual celebration of the Independence Day, but for a different reason. It expects the monsoon to recover by this time. If not, its bottom line this year would be hit.
The markets staged a recovery after a steep correction during the first half of last week. The trading was characterised by bouts of sharp intra-day volatility, especially in the last three trading sessions. The BSE Sensex managed to cross the 16,000 level during the last sessions of the week. During the week, the Sensex rose 262 points or 1.65 per cent to 16,158, while Nifty rose 84 points or 1.79 per cent to 4,796. However, mid-caps outperformed the broader indices during the week, whereas small-caps underperformed. FIIs were net sellers initially, but started buying during the second half of the week.
Jeera future prices are likely to firm up in January as there is a possibility for renewed export demand in the market. The demand from overseas market is expected from first week of January 2010 and this may support the price to strengthen.
The Tatas" acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) had woken up Britain to growing Indian strength, UK Secretary of State for Business and Innovation Peter Mandelson today said.