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Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee has called a meeting with chambers of commerce on February 6 to discuss how to get more private participation in rail projects.
India Inc is likely to post 15-20 per cent growth in net profit in the third quarter, thanks to a low base year and a promising show from automobiles, capital goods, construction, metals, pharmaceuticals and sugar companies. The telecom sector, for the first time after several quarters of strong performance, is expected to show decline in net profit on the back of decline in revenue per phone.
The railway ministry is working on a proposal with the Ministry of Rural Development to jointly fund key railway projects by utilising the government’s flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
The markets struck positive notes at the beginning of the year with the benchmark indices touching their fresh 22-month highs. The Sensex scaled a high of 17,790, but eventually ended with a marginal gain of 75 points at 17,540 this week. Mid- and small-caps outperformed the benchmark with significant gains of 3.4 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.
Declaring his association with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL), Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani today said the Ambani brothers" agreement provided for government approval of gas price and that RIL had not breached its terms.
Financial regulators including Reserve Bank, and Sebi will meet next month to decide on giving a formal status to HLCC — a co-ordinating body for the sector — to make it more effective.
It was a classic case of the davids of the world outpacing the goliaths. While the Sensex touched a 22-month high of 17338 in the earlier part of the week, only to turn sideways, the broader indices were the outperformers of the week. The mid-cap sector appreciated by 3.4% and the BSE small-cap space gained 4%.
Normal life was thrown out of gear in the financial capital today by heavy rains that led to waterlogging in several areas and hit movement of air and rail traffic.
I am 59 years old and wish to retire in February 2010. I want to create a pension fund and also seek regular tax-free returns from mutual funds. I own a house and don"t have any liabilities.
Global Software Solutions company Zylog Systems is planning to invest Rs 210 crore on Wi-Fi infrastructure for providing wireless broadband and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services and aims to garner Rs 550-crore revenue from this over the next 5 years.
Assuring India Inc of full safety, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today invited corporate honchos to invest in the state as there can be no inclusive growth unless the state catches up with the rest of the nation.
KSK Energy Ventures today posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 4.91 crore for the third quarter ended December 31.
IT solutions provider Tulip Telecom today said its consolidated net profit rose by 38.19 per cent to Rs 68.60 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, over the same period corresponding fiscal.
Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) today reported a decline of 53 per cent in its net profit at Rs 87 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.
The Karnataka Minority Development Corporation Ltd (KMDCL) has come forward to provide financial assistance to the tune of Rs 4.29 crore to members of minority communities affected by the recent floods. The assistance will be for rehabilitation and construction of houses.
Most people in public life know that where you stand depends on where you sit. When Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran began arguing the government’s case in the fight between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Anil Ambani’s Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL), he happened to sit on the same side as RNRL’s lawyers. Ram Jethmalani, who is one of RNRL’s lawyers, objected and said, “You should move to the other side (near the RIL lawyers) since this makes it appear that you (the government) are in collusion with me (RNRL).”
Though Senior Counsel Harish Salve concluded his arguments in the Ambani brothers’ case on the eleventh day today in the Supreme Court, another counsel for the RIL started arguments challenging the Bombay High Court’s judgment on the sharing of gas from the K-G basin.
Minister faces farmers’ ire
The government today said record invesments in the equities market by foreign investors was not a matter of concern, but it would act if it finds any distortions.
Brokers have discovered a golden opportunity in the positive market sentiment to add investor accounts, even if it means offering these services for free.
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.
Group in alliance with global majors to gear up for the decade of innovation.
Strongly backing India"s bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, France today said this was absolutely necessary if the global body wanted to remain a "legitimate" place for handling peace and security crisis.
The stock gained 5 per cent to Rs 233, after the foreign institutional investors purchased 1.12 per cent stake in the company from open market for Rs 7.08 crore.
Auto index finally closed at 5,070, up 5%.
National carrier to induct seven independent directors and appoint a chief operating officer.
The National Aviation Company of India (NACIL), which runs flag carrier Air India, is expected to register a loss of about Rs 5,000 crore during 2008-09 fiscal, Rajya Sabha was informed today.
Indian Oil Corp, the nation"s largest oil firm, today said it will take 26-49 per cent stake in the Rs 10,000-crore nuclear power plant it will set up in collaboration with the Nuclear Power Corp of India.
Monster Worldwide, the parent company of global online employment solution provider Monster.Com, today reported a net loss of $1.37 million in the quarter ended June 30 this year.
The Mumbai-based Avon Corporation has posted first ever quarterly net profit at Rs 3.38 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal on a turnover of Rs 25.79 crore.
American aviation giant Boeing today rolled out its first "P-8A Poseidon", claiming it to be the world"s most advanced multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, with the Company saying that India would be its first buyer country.
Patni net up 14 per cent
Indusind Bank has clocked a 131 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 77.82-crore in Q2 FY10 as against Rs 33.66-crore in year-ago period.
Wide sectoral variations; good time for cement, automobiles and media.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 516.10 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.
Prices of key inputs up 44% to 74%; analysts expect earnings squeeze after a quarter or two.
A host of Indian companies are planning to develop projects across sectors in the island nation of Sri Lanka.
ICICI Bank’s Global Head (Investment Banking) Kalpesh Kikani says the time for multi-billion dollar deals is over. “India Inc’s appetite for large deals has gone down. In any case, financing such deals would be tough,” he says.
India Inc today described 6.8 per cent rise in July industrial output as "evidence of recovery" and pitched for a cut in interest rate saying it was necessary to sustain the growth momentum.
Exporters of major farm items today said India is not completely immune to the financial concerns in Dubai and there could be marginal impact on trade.
Google, the world’s largest search engine and one of the biggest internet brands, is understood to be eyeing opportunities in the third generation of mobile telephony, or 3G, in India.
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.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today questioned Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to appoint prominent intellectuals, considered close to her, at ‘high salaries’ in Railway"s Heritage and Cultural Committee.
India and China are on the same page as far as negotiations are concerned but not on the emissions front, said Environment and Forests minister Jairam Ramesh. He was speaking on the sidelines of the CII Sutainability Summit held here today.
Partition in Bengal, despair in Delhi and power games in Tudor England: three new books to read.
As the sea became rough due to cyclonic storm "Phyan", the Home Ministry today put on alert five coastal states and three Union Territories and sent disaster relief response force for their assistance.
When US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on her visit to ITC’s Green Centre in Gurgaon that it was a “monument to the future”, she was emphasising what ITC had seen long before most of the world did.
Everyone with a reasonable memory remembers 26/11, but how many can instantly recall 31/10, 21/5 or 6/12? Those were equally shattering dates in the nation’s political calendar that led to convulsive bloodletting, grief and trauma. They are the dates when Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were assassinated and the Babri Masjid was demolished. Public memory is notoriously short, but unless personally affected by tragedy, catastrophic moments lie chiefly in the province of chroniclers of history. There are thousands of others who perished in other recent calamities, natural or man-made — terrorist strikes, Naxalite encounters, floods, earthquakes and rail accidents — but can anyone precisely recall when? Of course not.
The Enforcement Directorate today conducted searches on the premises of realtor Emaar MGF in connection with the multi-crore illegal Hawala and investment case involving former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda.
Launches GSM service in the two states
Singapore’s leading telecom firm SingTel today said contribution of Bharti Airtel, in which the company holds nearly 32 per cent stake, to its profit rose by 26 per cent to S$236 million (around $170 million) for the July-September quarter.
Japanese corporates and retail investors see India as a major investment destination and already up to$1 billion has reached Indian equity markets.
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
The government’s proposal to set up an independent regulator for the coal sector is in its final stages, with the coal ministry having completed the groundwork for the initiative.
Priyanka Joshi / New Delhi August 16, 2009, 0:46 IST
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Caught in the Ambani gas dispute and facing a CBI probe over allegations of favouring Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), oil regulator V K Sibal may not continue as Director General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) from next week.
TIME MAGAZINE’S recent Q&A with Magnus Carlsen highlighted the stereotypes surrounding chessplayers. They’re super-bright; they can calculate umpteen moves, and they have a tendency to go off the rocker.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today allowed promoters of listed companies to make offer for sale. The move assumes significance as such promoters can now sell their stake directly to the public.
India has urged the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) not to impose fine on Satyam, now Mahindra Satyam, in view of irregularities as the company was also listed there.
BPO services provider Caretel, a Dalmia group company, has bagged a two-year contract from state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) to manage the latter’s call centre. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Oil secretary says, ONGC’s production to halve by 2030
The Nifty is likely to move around 5,200 in a day or two on the back of long build-up in December futures and key stock futures. The December futures rose 100 points and closed at 5,132, the highest since October 16, but on thin volumes, indicating absence of bears.
Mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson today said it will cut 2,000 jobs globally as it phases out activities at some of its locations.
North Indians travelling south of the Vindhyas experience disconnect in terms of body-language versus verbalisation. “Yes” in those parts is emphasised with a side-to-side shake of the head. That gesture means “no” in most other places. Foreigners visiting India are often equally foxed by namaskars. Putting palms together is common to many forms of prayer and not employed much as a peer-to-peer greeting outside India.
The government today said that China has denied reports suggesting it was planning to divert the course of the Brahmaputra river.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today said the guidelines for mobile number portability (MNP) were likely to be ready by August-end and asked operators to keep their networks ready to roll out the services quickly.
While the key benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, have regained momentum and are trading at their yearly highs, the volumes have declined. Volumes in cash and derivatives segments declined 14 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively, on a month-on-month basis in August 2009, according to a study by domestic research house IDFC-SSKI.
Though I have been an avid consumer of all sorts of media, I never seriously looked at them from a child’s perspective. Now, with a five- month baby who is fascinated by any screen or newspaper, I have started wondering about his media choices as he grows up. Currently all he thinks of is eating the newspaper or the screen. But eventually these will form the fodder for his mind, as all media does. So what is the appropriate age for him to watch TV? What should he watch? When can he watch films, what kind of films, what books should one allow him to read?
The Supreme Court collegium has decided to drop its recommendation for elevating Karnataka Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, facing charges of land grabbing, to the apex court, bringing to end months of controversy over the move.
Another son is rising at India Inc. Anant Goenka, son of RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka, will take over as deputy managing director, a post created at tyre major Ceat. Anant will take over on January 4.
This will enable the firm to tap the defence offset market.
Domestic realty companies, which are planning to tap the primary market, may not see smooth sailing, as the Dubai debt crisis is likely to undermine investor confidence in the sector. As many as nine realty companies, including Emaar MGF, have filed their draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator, Sebi, aiming to raise about Rs 15,000 crore.
The number of deals came down to 80 in 2009, from 127 in 2008.
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.
Investors who bought shares in the primary market through qualified institutional placements (QIPs) have reason to celebrate as their money in 50 QIPs has grown 23 per cent in 2009. On the contrary, investments in initial public offers (IPOs) during the period have come down 3 per cent. It means that Rs 37,040 crore of investments in 50 QIPs have risen by Rs 8,545 crore, while IPOs saw a value erosion of Rs 268 crore.
Leading telecom company Bharti Airtel today announced the launch of its comic portal, where subscribers can access comic strips from mobile phones.
Information technology major and Tata group company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), today announced that the Reminbi currency trading platform for the Chinese inter-bank market, has successfully gone live nation-wide. This is an initiative of China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), a subsidiary of People’s Bank of China (PBoC).
The Indian markets have opened in the green on the back of positive global cues. The Sensex is quoting at 17,134, higher by 33 points and the Nifty is up 4 points at 5113.
Jindal Steel net gets a power boost
Latha Jishnu / New Delhi November 20, 2009, 0:40 IST
Mahesh Kulkarni / Bangalore November 17, 2009, 0:30 IST
Sayantani Kar / Mumbai December 8, 2009, 0:28 IST
Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) today said a section of its workers belonging to an unrecognised union at its Chennai plant have threatened to go on strike from December 5, which could hurt its production.
State-run Oil India (OIL) has rejected the resignation offered by V K Sibal after he was reverted to the company following denial of extension as oil regulator amid reports of alleged favours to corporate houses.
Public-sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) today said it will buy a majority stake in Kazakhstan-based Dana Bank this fiscal for a consideration of around Rs 93 crore.
Persistent Systems, providing software product development services, set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) around the Android open mobile platform.
The environmentalists and marine experts have raised serious concerns over export of sand from Orissa.
The state-run Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), which finances rural power projects in the country, is keen to pick up 26 per cent stake in coal mines and merchant power plants.
India"s foreign exchange reserves rose by $0.962 million to $286.376 billion for the week ended November 13 from $285.414 billion in the previous week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said today.
The Coal Ministry is working on a proposal to disinvest 5-10 per cent stake in navratna PSU Coal India Ltd, a move which may pave way for early listing of the country"s largest producer of the dry fuel.
The government became richer by over Rs 3.5 lakh crore in 2007-08 as the value of its shares in state-owned listed companies soared by 65 per cent during the year.
To reduce costs, global oil major Shell will soon transfer additional office jobs from Houston and elsewhere to India and the Philippines. Royal Dutch Shell has also announced that it would slash 5,000 jobs by the year-end, including ‘hundreds’ in Houston, as part of a sweeping reorganisation new CEO Peter Voser said was needed to make the company more competitive.
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.
With markets moving up on the disinvestment buzz, Smart Portfolios too registered steady gains last week. It was after a while that all fund managers participated in the markets. While Phani Sekhar and Praveen Panjwani were seen re-building their portfolios, Amar Ambani and Ajay Parmar continued with their churning process.
After a sharp correction at the start of the week which saw Smart Portfolios slip into the red, the markets bounced back sharply and recouped losses.
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.
Ajai Shukla / New Delhi December 29, 2009, 0:19 IST
Sixty-two opposition members were suspended from the state Assembly on Thursday following a furore over the alleged illegal iron ore mining by Obulapuram Mining Corporation (OMC) owned by Karnataka tourism minister G Janardhan Reddy.
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.
Two senior Congress MLAs and former ministers J C Diwakar Reddy and D L Ravindra Reddy today resigned from their post in protest against the party’s decision to carve out a separate state of Telangana.
Pakistani-origin US national David Coleman Headley, a LeT operative charged with criminal conspiracy in the 26/11 terror attacks, now appears to have turned into informant to FBI to avoid death penalty.
Aditi Phadnis / New Delhi August 22, 2009, 0:00 IST
Even as its US business has been impacted by the recession, Tata Consultancy Services, India’s largest information technology services provider, expects its India revenues to double to $1 billion in the next three-four years, majorly coming from the government sector. India currently contributes 10 per cent to TCS’ total revenues.
The six largest lenders to the debt-ridden Dubai World have started discussions with the government-owned conglomerate prior to the firm"s creditors" meeting scheduled for December 21, says a media report.
The markets chose to ignore the strong index of industrial production (IIP) numbers to shed nearly one per cent in a volatile session of trade. The Sensex closed at 15696.03, lower by 153.57 points, and the Nifty faced resistance around the 5,000 mark to end at 4,952.65, down 51.30 points. Realty, metal and banking sectors were the major draggers.
Even if they are a small part of your portfolio, these funds can help reap rich returns.
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).
Was tipped as a probable to occupy the top seat in Infosys after Kris.
Government seeks Rs 4000 crore from Centre
All the ministers of the erstwhile Cabinet of late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy were sworn in on Sunday once again as required under the Constitution. They were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor ND Tiwari at a brief ceremony at Raj Bhavan here.
The department of disaster management, Andhra Pradesh, would include more mandals, which have not been covered under the drought notification. “We are taking further action to consider the requests based on the eligibility norms,” said state revenue, relief and rehabilitation minister Dharmana Prasada Rao.
The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to seek Rs 10,000 crore from the Centre to undertake drought relief measures in the state. A memorandum will be submitted to the Union government shortly. A decision to this effect was taken at a review meeting held by chief minister, K Rosaiah, on Sunday.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah has directed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to take up road repair works at a cost of Rs 30 crore in the state capital.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has put India on the "Wall of Shame" for hiking airport user charges by over 200 per cent, but hopes that the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) would play a role to rationalise these charges paid by airlines and passengers.
Foreign direct investment in the country surged by 60 per cent to $1.74 billion (around Rs 8,000 crore) in November, an official said today.
IRB Infrastructure Developers will raise funds by further issue of securities.
Public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) today received final approval for its general insurance venture from the sectoral regulator IRDA.
Think of what can go wrong — insurance companies have a list and the answer.
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
Punjab National Bank plans to acquire a majority stake in a Kazakhstan-based bank to expand its presence in Central Asia, its Chairman and Managing Director K R Kamath said here today.
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The world’s largest chipmaker Intel expects corporate spending on personal computers (PCs) to rise in 2010. “Corporate spending on PCs will improve significantly in 2010 and emerging markets will grow faster than mature markets,” Intel Chief Executive and President Paul Otellini told reporters here today. He, however, did not specify any numbers.
Multiplexes may push for an embargo of up to two weeks on Bollywood producers releasing their films on Direct-to-Home (DTH) television platforms, after the films hit the theatres.
Chennai-based mobile retail chain, UniverCell, will be opening 700 stores across the country in the next two years. Each outlet will entail an investment of Rs 28 lakh.
Anil Ambani Group company Reliance Power (R-Power) today said it plans to become over 3,300-Mw company by the end of the Eleventh Five-year Plan (2007-2012).
Ajai Shukla / New Delhi November 3, 2009, 0:58 IST
Frustrated with an almost seven-month delay in the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommendation that the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should be permitted to use telephone lines to make internet telephony calls, the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) has moved the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
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.
It was not a smooth ride in 2009 for the Railways which was hit by accidents, derailments and hijacking of the prestigious Rajdhani train.
The prevailing situation in West Bengal does not warrant invoking of Article 355 as demanded by the opposition, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told the assembly today which witnessed noisy scenes over law and order situation in the state.
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The will enable smaller units in the region to overcome problems posed by inadequate power supply.
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.
The government today said it will allow private and public telecom players to set up towers in the border areas to improve mobile connectivity.
At a time when cities are looking at improving transport and residential properties for urban development, the Asian Planning Schools" Association (APSA) concluded on the first day of its 10th International Congress held at Centre for Environment Planning and Technology (CEPT) University that the key lies in reducing number of slums as well.
Italian car-maker Fiat today said it plans to bring its super premium hatchback "By Diesel 500", a co-branded model with European clothing firm Diesel, to India as it looks to add more style quotient to its portfolio.
West Bengal government shelves IT township project at Rajarhat in the wake of Vedic Village land scam.
Business Standard / New Delhi January 06, 2010, 0:03 IST
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.
As delegates at the Copenhagen summit discuss a new climate treaty, green activists here are hoping that it would focus on emission cuts and safeguarding of biodiversity.
Wind energy major Suzlon Energy has officially opened Infigen Energy’s Capital wind farm, the largest wind farm in Australia at Bungendore in New South Wales.
Coolpad Communications, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-listed China Wireless Technologies that manufactures dual handsets, is planning an R&D unit in India by 2011. The company will decide on the exact location in India where the proposed R&D centre will be located towards the end of 2010, Coolpad’s managing director Sami Al-Lawati said here on Tuesday.
The global PC market is on the recovery path led by emerging markets, including India and China, a top official of PC maker Lenevo said.
The Sensex is now at 17,645, down 55 points. The NSE Nifty is at 5,271, down 12 points.
The information technology industry is ending its worst year ever with the worldwide IT spending expected to decline 5.2 per cent in 2009, IT research and advisory firm Gartner said.
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.