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After triggering a controversy by publicly questioning tightening of visa rules, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor today maintained a studied silence on the issue and evaded media persons who wanted him to comment on the uproar.
JP Morgan Asset Management today announced the promotion of Christopher Spelman as the chief executive officer (CEO) of its India business and the appointment of Nandkumar Surti as the chief investment officer (CIO).
Financial services company Morgan Stanley plans high-level management changes, which includes finance chief Colm Kelleher and veteran banker Paul Taubman taking charge of the company"s institutional securities unit, says a media report.
Ahead of the Reserve Bank’s quarterly monetary policy, global consultancy firm Ernst & Young today said the central bank is likely to signal an interest rate increase to suck out liquidity from the market and check prices from spiralling further.
The markets continue to trade weak. The Sensex is quoting at 16,435, weaker by 345 points, and the Nifty is at 4,893, down 114 points. Realty, metal, auto and banking sectors are weak; the FMCG space is the only silver lining.
Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who yesterday favoured trimming pay packets of India Inc CEOs, today earnestly advised them to lead a simple life, saying "display of affluence is unacceptable".
In a war of words, the Planning Commission today advised "sensible" use of funds by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry, a day after Minister Kamal Nath rebuffed the panel.
Describing the food inflation a "temporary phenomenon", the Planning Commission has said that the prices of various food items will decline towards the month-end and that the economic growth during the year would exceed 7 per cent.
Anuradha R V / New Delhi January 13, 2010, 0:57 IST
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India is open to discussions on a free trade pact with the US on the lines of the agreement New Delhi already has with the 10-nation South East Asian bloc.
India today said the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the US will be a "defining moment" for the two countries and help further integrate bilateral relations.
The jobless rate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) region -- a grouping of developed and developing nations -- rose marginally to 9.8 per cent in October, indicating that the labour market is yet to shrug off recession blues.
Reliance Big TV (RBTV), the direct-to-home (DTH) arm of Reliance Communications targets DTH value-added services (VAS) revenues of Rs 100-crore in the next 5 years period, a top company official said.
The government has turned down the suggestion of the India Infrastructure Finance Co (IIFCL) to use its refinance facility for other lending. The Rs 10,000-crore facility was announced last year to support private partnership projects in the infrastructure sector. After seeing a lukewarm response to the facility, IIFCL had proposed that the funds lying idle could be utilised elsewhere.
Mamata Banerjee is so impetuous that it is hard to fathom her. A lady member of the Planning Commission recently cleared some railway projects. After that, she had gone to the prime minister, when she ran into Banerjee. Banerjee walked up to her and gave her a big hug. “Thank you for clearing my projects,” she said to the member, who was completely bemused.
Seeking to put behind the recent verbal spat between India and China over Arunachal Pradesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Wen Jiabao today agreed to build trust and understanding and strengthen the bilateral strategic ties.
For the first time in six months, India"s crude oil production rose in December by 1.1 per cent as Reliance Industries and Cairn India helped offset decline in ONGC output.
Inflation jumped to 4.78 per cent in November, driven by rising prices of essential food items like pulses, fruits and vegetables.
The American surge against the Af-Pak badlands on the turbulent North West Frontier is an unwinnable campaign for four reasons. All four are interconnected, but take them separately to begin with.
UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chief R K Pachauri today said agreeing to "international consultation and analysis" in the Copenhagen Accord in no way challenges India"s sovereignty.
Dismissing the US claims that India"s domestic climate actions can be challenged, top environmentalist R K Pachauri today made it clear there was no power granted to America in the Copenhagen accord for such interference.
Hinduja Group Company Ashok Leyland would open three more outlets in Punjab including, one in Chandigarh in the current fiscal to expand its network.
Hinduja Group firm Ashok Leyland on Wednesday said that construction of its proposed facility to make light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in partnership with Japan"s Nissan had been deferred due to sluggish market conditions.
Three indians have been nominated at the grammys this year. Could this lead to an All-Indian event in the years to come?
India-specific hatchbacks took centrestage at the 10th AUTO EXPO, currently on in New Delhi. But BIJOY KUMAR Y took a detour and was seduced
Sanjaya Baru / New Delhi January 11, 2010, 0:36 IST
Rakes in Rs 240 crore in 10 days.
Using a disputed measure, TAM, the television research agency, has said Doordarshan not only commands the highest channel share compared to private networks but attracts a far greater number of viewers. It made a presentation to this effect before the information and broadcasting minister recently.
The government today said in the Lok Sabha that recommendations of the Committee on Content Code would be implemented after reaching a broad consensus after consultations with stakeholders.
With the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tourney behind them, general entertainment channels are back in business, with as many as seven leading broadcasters having invested around Rs 100 crore in launching over 25 new television shows on the small screen.
- Beat it, no more - The ultimate high - Goodbye Goody
The United Nations plans to reduce about 40 per cent of its staff in Pakistan by realigning their deployment due to growing security concerns in the wake of a wave of terrorist attacks across the country.
In a blunt warning, US has threatened to take "unilateral action" by sending its troops to Pakistan to shut down Taliban and other terrorist camps there, if Islamabad does not take decisive action against them. The Americans want the Pakistanis to target Haqqani network based in north Waziristan and Taliban supremo Mullah Omar and the members of the groups top Shura, believed to be hiding in Baluchistan.
The government"s high borrowings may not push up interest rates sharply towards the end of this year and are likely to hover around the current levels, Prime Minister"s Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan said.
Kingfisher Airlines Vice-Chairman G R Gopinath, who has been steadily reducing his stake in Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines has further sold shares worth Rs 6.31 crore of the private carrier.
Anil Ambani group company Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the government’s special leave petition (SLP) on the Ambani gas dispute, saying it had no legal standing to seek any orders and could, at best, only make submissions.
The country"s second-largest car maker Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) today reported a 28.46 per cent growth in its total sales in November at 55,265 units, its highest ever since starting operations in India 12 years ago.
To win without risk is to triumph without glory.
Mercedes-Benz India Limited, a leading player in the luxury car market in the country is aiming at a sales volume of 100 units across all its models in the eastern region in 2009 out of which 20-25 units are expected to be sold in Orissa.
The country"s second largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor India, today reported 11.03 per cent growth in sales in October compared to the same period a year earlier, at 51,736 units.
Luxury car maker Audi India today reported 8.41 per cent increase in its sales in October at 116 units over the same period last year.
Indian banks might meet the Reserve Bank of India’s projection of an 18 per cent growth in credit, K V Kamath, chairman of the country’s second largest lender ICICI Bank said in Mumbai today.
Banks may soon have to cap the charges on basic services such as issuing a draft, remittances or for stop-payment instructions.
In a bid to augment growth, the Rs 2,830-crore Dabur India has identified the foods segment in addition to skincare as areas it wishes to focus on in the coming quarters. Dabur India’s Vice-Chairman Amit Burman says these categories are critical for the company.
Base metal prices have gone up by 10-15 per cent in the past one month. Risk taking was low, after the Dubai World crisis and it is now again going up with liquidity flowing towards these metals.
The Centre has indicated that it would consider giving direct cash subsidy to state-owned oil marketing companies this year, instead of bonds, to compensate them for selling cooking fuel at lower than market price.
Drug maker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today reported 31 per cent drop in its consolidated net profit at Rs 80.88 crore for the second quarter ended September 2009.
German luxury car maker Audi today said it will start assembling its Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) Q5 in India by March next year and is expecting its sales to grow by about 70 per cent in 2009.
Pharma company Ranbaxy Laboratories today said it has received the final approval of the Canadian drug regulator Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD) to market and manufacture "Ran-Amlodipine tablets", used in treating hypertensions.
On the second day of placements at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), IIT Kharagpur saw IT biggies like Yahoo, Microsoft, and Adobe flock its campus, apart from companies like Amazon, JLLM, 3M and FICO.
Over 12,000 non-teaching staff of the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) went on a day-long dharna today to protest anomalies in pay and promotion structure. The employees — technical staff, laboratory staff and office assistants — however, did not boycott work.
Infotech Enterprises, a city-based IT services company, is set to acquire at least two US firms, company"s Chairman and Managing Director B V Mohan Reddy said here today.
Has gained 10.45 per cent on NCDEX since July 29.
Mumbai, Nov 28 (PTI) The bullion market bounced back today from its overnight sell-off regaining its lost ground on fresh buying by stockists and traders at current attractive levels.
Tata Consultancy Services, a leading IT services, business solutions and outsourcing firm, announced the opening of a new Global Delivery Centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina - the first company to officially inaugurate its facilities in the new Technology District of the city of Buenos Aires.
Country’s largest IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has won the country’s largest State Wide Area Network (SWAN) project from the government of Andhra Pradesh on a five year Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) model.
Unlike many other B-school products, who start their own ventures, make it a success and then sell it off for a tidy profit, Vivek Pahwa, a graduate from Hyderabad’s Indian School of Business, harboured an entrepreneurial dream and lived it.
The Cotton Association of India (CAI) envisages a total supply of 343.75 lakh cotton bales as on May 31, 2009.
The 2009 KPMG-Ficci report on the Indian media and entertainment industry points out that the music industry has declined from Rs 830 crore in 2005 to Rs 730 crore in 2008. Revenue from the sale of compact discs (CDs) and cassettes that accounted for 87 per cent of the total turnover of the industry has dropped to 60 per cent. Piracy and the increasing trend of loading portable storage devices with unauthorised and unlicensed music have eroded the profitability of music companies. Against this backdrop, Bhushan Kumar, chairman and managing director of the Rs 350-crore Super Cassettes Industries, the country’s leading music company that owns the T-Series label, is gunning for platform-owners (television and radio channels, among others) who are making unauthorised use of his music. Kumar, 31, spoke to Shuchi Bansal on the challenges facing the industry and his company’s initiatives to keep its head above water. Excerpts:
Gold prices will continue to remain bullish and are expected to hover around Rs 16,000 this week as the US dollar is showing a weakening trend amid a better demand for the metal in the domestic market, analysts said.
Commercial banks would come out with a plan for financial inclusion by the end of the financial year, RBI Governor D Subbarao announced here during a bankers’ meet on financial inclusion and promotion of financial literacy.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said the domestic banks do not have much exposure to the debt-ridden Dubai World and hence their balance sheets will not be materially affected from the crisis.
BSM Team / Mumbai July 18, 2009, 0:24 IST
The country"s largest car-maker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), today said its exports are expected to achieve the one-lakh units mark in the current financial year (2009-10).
Amid fears by Maldives that one of its island resorts could be taken over by terrorists in the absence of military assets, India will sign a defence pact with that country during Defence Minister A K Antony"s three-day visit there.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) is considering a price increase in Corolla Altis and Innova due to rising input costs and fluctuation in exchange rates, the company said in a statement today.
Information technology major IBM has signed a 10-year strategic outsourcing agreement with cable and broadband distribution player Digicable, for an initial outlay of Rs 380 crore.
Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal said the strategic alliance forged almost a year ago between his company and Kingfisher Airlines has still not achieved tangible progress.
Ajai Shukla / New Delhi December 29, 2009, 0:19 IST
Force India will give Karun Chandhok an opportunity to prove his F1 mettle but team owner Vijay Mallya is bemused by the romanticism that the Chennai driver deserves a seat in the outfit just because he is an Indian.
Kingfisher Airlines chief Vijay Mallya has been elected President of the Aeronautical Society of India, replacing former Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Ashoke Baweja.
Under attack from BJP for the outcome of his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the starting point for "any meaningful dialogue" will depend on actions by Islamabad to end cross-border terror and hoped there would be "forward movement" in the coming months.
Buys US rights for Oscient Pharma"s Antara.
India and Pakistan"s decision to carry on with the dialogue process drew mixed response in Kashmir today with mainstream parties welcoming it and separatists insisting that the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting was "inconclusive" without the participation of Kashmiris.
After raising the hopes of both subscribers as well as telecom companies, the government is understood to be in no special hurry for auctioning spectrum for 3G mobile services this calendar year.
The state-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is planning to seek exemption from paying licence fees, stating a clause under the National Telecom Policy of 1999 (NTP ‘99). At present, the company pays around Rs 3,000 crore per annum as licence fee to the exchequer.
State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam"s (BSNL) net profit dipped to Rs 104 crore in 2008-09 as staff costs rose and revenues fell in the period, Rajya Sabha was informed today.
State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) failed to retire a government loan of Rs 7,500 crore despite having a cash-reserve of Rs 18,829 crore as on March 2005, leading to an excess expenditure of Rs 1,089 crore on interest payment during 2005-07.
The Sensex opened marginally in red this moning but rebounded almost immediately on positive global cues.
Steel magnet Lakshmi N Mittal has paid over $110 million to double his stake in Africa-focused Ophir Energy Plc to 21.2 per cent even as he exited the oil and gas business in the Central Asian nation Kazakhstan.
The government today constituted a Group of Ministers to look into pricing and auctioning of spectrum for 3G telephony that will revolutionise the way data is received and transferred on mobile phones.
Jewellery makers and gold retailers are pulling out all the stops to bring back customers. The sharp rise in gold prices has meant dwindling sales and so discount offers have gone through the roof.
Sensex ends up 35pts
The Steel Ministry has sought absolute powers from the government on grant of mining rights for iron ore and other minerals to steel firms, a request that would, if granted, expedite projects, including that of Posco and ArcelorMittal, which are stuck for want of secure raw material supply.
Russian IT security software firm Kaspersky is eyeing a revenue of $12-16 million over the next two years from its Indian operations, with the launch of new products and upgrades for its existing product-line.
Gold prices surged by Rs 100 to Rs 17,100 per ten gram in the bullion market here today on sustained buying by stockists and jewellers to meet the marriage season demand and as investors increasingly are moving funds from the dollar into higher-yielding assets.
The government today said it will allow sugar mills more time to comply with export obligations as the priority now was to meet domestic demand.
With the economy regaining its momentum slowly, India will add up to 40 million sq ft of office space this year, which will be higher than many other advanced countries, but lesser than China.
India’s government might miss a target to add capacity at its 12 major ports, as the economy grew less than anticipated and global trade slumped amid a recession, the shipping secretary said.
The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, or PMEAC, has favoured a single slab each for goods and services or one common rate for both under the proposed goods and services tax (GST), unlike the proposal mooted by the states.
Offers 2,000 acres in Pune’s Saswad taluk.
The Sensex opened at 17,204 owing to negative global cues. The disappointing economic numbers from Japan had a negative impact on the Indian bourses. The index tried to recover but could only manage to rebound in green for a brief while. The benchmark index then slipped to a low of 17,057 following profit booking in the banking and metal stocks.
The US markets had an unspectacular day of trade. Dow Jones closed at 10,426.30, lower by 11.11 points or 0.11%, Nasdaq ended at 2193.14, weaker by 10.64 points or 0.48%, and S&P shut at 1109.8, down 0.52 points or 0.05%.
US markets advanced on Monday, sending indexes to fresh 13-month closing highs, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reinforced expectations that interest rates would stay low to help growth.
The BJP leadership fears the Congress party is likely to try and topple the Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka. With former chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy knocking at the Congress door, the Karnataka Congress is waiting for the signal from the party high command to begin Operation Topple after the Budget session is over. Part of the plan, it appears, is to put pressure on business houses close to the Yeddyurappa government to distance themselves from the government.
The Sensex is now at 14,948, down 463 points. The NSE Nifty is now at 4,446, down 133 points.
After being edged out by sectors like marketing and consulting during the summer placements at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) in 2008, finance companies overcame the slowdown blues to once again emerge as the hot favourite among the 2009-11 batch of post graduate programme (PGP) this year.
Four companies including IFCI Venture, Capital 18 have submitted their proposals to become the strategic investor of state-owned Punjab Infotech Venture Fund (PIVF).
At the upper price band of Rs 212, it will be the most valued listed media company in India.
Chandan Kishore Kant & Sidhartha / Mumbai December 11, 2009, 0:47 IST
Jharkhand signed 71 MoUs with an investment of Rs 2,95,857.75 crore with the private players to set up industrial projects in the state. The State’s Industries Department in September 2006, compiled a list indicating requirement of 98,547 acres for the 55 MoUs signed between 2004-06.
Attacks dissidents of trying to destabilise his govt.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is taking a final view on the report of a task force which suggested easy access to bank finance and preference in public sector procurement to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Plan aimed at minimising any direct redundancies.
Intel Corp agreed to pay Advanced Micro Devices Inc $1.25 billion as part of a legal settlement that ends a four-year dispute between the world’s two largest computer-processor makers. AMD stock rose as much as 27 per cent.
Nasdaq-listed information technology firm Cognizant is set to acquire UBS India Service Centre (UBS ISC), a captive (offshoring centre) of the world’s leading financial firm, UBS, for $75 million (around Rs 350 crore).
Normal life was paralysed across the Kashmir Valley today due to a strike called by a local outfit to protest the CBI report in the Shopian case even as authorities placed top Hurriyat leaders under house arrest as a precautionary measure.
The railway ministry is contemplating new policies for land acquisition, including job offers, for the displaced landowners, Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said in the Lok Sabha.
Contrary to expectations of the Trinamool Congress, the Central team today avoided going to violence-hit areas in West Bengal as it had demanded, but submitted a "suggestion" to the government. The "suggestion" handed over to the government by the team despatched by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram at the insistence of the Trinamool Congress, a major ally of the UPA, "might be related to better maintenance of law and order in affected areas", officials said.
Futures prices fell 5-12% in December; trend may continue next year.
ICICI Prudential AMC is eyeing Rs 250 crore business from its Child Care Plan Scheme in the current fiscal.
India today announced it has designed a new version of Advanced Heavy Water atomic reactor which will use lesser low enriched uranium along with thorium as fuel and having next generation safety requirements.
Abheek Barua / New Delhi July 22, 2009, 0:45 IST
Casual dining chain Pizza Hut is planning to extend its ‘Enhanced Dine-in’ brand transformation concept to almost a third of its 147 stores across India by next month.
After becoming operational, the Indo-US civil nuclear deal is moving "satisfactorily" with the government now negotiating with nuclear vendors, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar said today.
India Inc"s hiring activity is on a recovery path but the month of October, being full of festive holidays, witnessed nearly 4 per cent decline from the previous month, a report by job portal Naukri.com says.
The government should bring petrol and diesel under a uniform VAT structure of 8 per cent as the variation in state tax was putting additional burden of taxation, industry body Assocham today said.
The advance tax collection from India Inc rose 20 per cent during the first nine months of the current fiscal compared to the same period last year, with automobiles, consumer goods and metals leading the pack.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 579.09 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.
The country"s top mutual fund houses, including UTI Mutual Fund, are keen to join National Stock Exchange"s new mutual fund service system (MFSS), which will be launched tomorrow.
UK motor insurers, including Aviva Plc, Admiral Group Plc and Fortis Insurance Ltd, thought they had found a way to squeeze out extra revenue when their customers get into car crashes.
Will use funds to finance operations of group firms; to have a total war chest of Rs 10,500 crore.
The government at all levels needs to create an enabling environment to tap hydropower’s unrealised potential.
SREI Sahaj e-Village Limited, a subsidiary of the Kolkata-based Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited, targets to place 50,000 youth trained through the company"s various skill development programmes, by March 31, 2010.
With the economic slowdown hitting the exchequer hard, the Centre today proposed that the states accept half of the compensation on account of their losses due to cut in the Central Sales Tax (CST) for the current fiscal.
The fall in assets under management (AUM) in financial year 2008-09 has hit the net profit of the mutual fund industry. The industry’s average net profit has declined 29.84 per cent in financial year 2008-09, acccording to an ICRA report released today.
Authorities investigating a disproportionate assets case against former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda will start questioning top officials of the Union Bank of India tomorrow regarding funds deposited in the bank’s Zaveri Bazaar branch here.
A local court posted the petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) asking it to start the hearing in the Satyam case to December 23. The CBI said it was ready to handover the documents to the accused so that the court could begin the hearing of framing of charges.
Japanese auto giant Honda today said it is likely to start car assembly at its second manufacturing facility in India from 2012.
Shibu Soren, heading a five-party coalition, was today sworn in as Jharkhand chief minister for the third time by Governor K Sankarnarayanan.
The country"s second largest public sector lender, Punjab National Bank, today said it can raise up to Rs 7,000 crore from bonds to fund growth plans.
Bernanke: Ben Bernanke could be in danger of becoming “person of the year” again in 2010 or 2011 – for less positive reasons than this time around. The Federal Reserve boss made the front of Time for his influence and for his possible role in heading off a depression. But he and the rest of the Federal Open Market Committee are in no hurry to lift interest rates despite the recovering US economy and signs of inflation. The risks in this approach are intensifying.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 03, 2009, 1:34 IST
Private sector mutual fund house Religare AMC, a relatively new but fast-growing player, today said that abolition of entry load charged to investors will benefit the company and the industry as a whole.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc will receive 31.3 billion pounds ($51 billion) in a second bailout from the UK taxpayer as the two banks agreed to cap bonuses.
Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren has assured Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) managing director V K Srivastava that SAIL’s needs would be met by Chiria mines.
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