International Business
The Shiv Sena has raked up the Belgaum card to trump the proponents of a separate Vidarbha state out of Maharashtra. The saffron party, which is yet to recover from its successive defeats in the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, has already reiterated that it will launch an agitation for an undivided Maharashtra. At the same time, the party dared the Congress-led governments at the Centre and the state to take concrete measures for the inclusion of Belgaum (currently in Karnataka) in Maharashtra. The demand is currently pending in the Supreme Court.
Putting an end to speculation, BCCI President Shashank Manohar today announced that Lalit Modi will remain the Chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL) till 2012.
Centum Learning, the education and training arm of Bharti group, is expanding its footprint in India by setting up skill development centres and mini-campuses for offering professional degrees to students. The company will cater to the entire spectrum of students from - low end to high end.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 11, 2009, 0:03 IST
Shankar Acharya / New Delhi October 08, 2009, 0:59 IST
India"s handicraft exports increased by a whopping 177 per cent in September, raising hopes of a turnaround in the country"s overseas trade that has been battling global recession for the last 11 months.
Primary articles, especially food items, pushed the headline inflation rate, as measured by the wholesale price index (WPI), into positive territory at 0.12 per cent for the week ended September 5, after staying in the negative for 13 weeks.
Delhi-based businessman Sanjay Dalmia today approached the Bombay High Court seeking permission to go abroad but a Division Bench asked him to first appear before Economic Offences Wing (EOW) here in connection with a cheating case filed by Indiabulls Financial Service.
Hyderabad-based Maytas Infra today said that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has asked state-run Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) to allow the infrastructure firm continue work on two projects it had bagged earlier and also release the required funds.
The World Health Organisation(WHO) will conduct a survey in various relief camps in Sri Lanka"s North to check the health conditions of displaced Tamils, even as it described reports of the number of deaths due to diarrhea as "exaggerated".
The International Monetary Fund has said that Japan would likely wrestle with deflation through 2011 as it struggles to recover from severe recession.
The domestic stainless steel industry has demanded removal of value cap on exports of the alloy with an aim to increase shipments which were hit hard by the global economic crisis.
Essar Oil net zooms 450%
FIIs back in the game, buy shares worth Rs 769 crore.
Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal, who did a vanishing act from Vijayawada Government Hospital on Sunday night, arrived at Nizam"s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) here on Monday, putting an end to a 15- hour suspense over his whereabouts.
Taking charge as the defence minister for the second time, AK Antony on Monday laid out the roadmap for India’s armed forces — modernisation and transparency. Antony’s very first day in office was marked by India receiving the state-of-the-art AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) platform from Israel. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is slated to get two more AWACS platforms, which is miles ahead of ground-based radars in detecting incoming missiles, enemy aircraft and monitor troop movement.
Dancer Prathibha Prahlad bridges worlds, and makes us a lasagna.
PROFILE
In the event of Indo-Pak nuclear war, India will emerge as the ultimate winner after wiping off Pakistan, but lose up to 500 million of its own people, a book on former US President Bill Clinton"s presidential years has claimed.
The Andhra Pradesh government has ordered a CBI inquiry into the chopper crash in which former chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy and four others died last week. Interim Chief Minister K Rosaiah requested Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for a CBI probe into the tragedy, a statement issued by the government said.
The Andhra Pradesh government has ordered a CBI inquiry into the chopper crash in which former chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy and four others died last week. Interim Chief Minister K Rosaiah requested Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for a CBI probe into the tragedy, a statement issued by the government said.
Even though the field trials are on for Indian Air Force’s medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) project, Northrop Grumman, the US based defence and electronic equipment supplier is keen to nurture its partnership with Bangalore-based Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Dynamatic Technologies. Northrop Grumman manufactures the active electronically steered array (AESA) airborne radars which sit on the F-16 super viper aircraft of Lockheed Martin, which is competing for the Indian Air Force’s MMRCA programme.
With the Indo-US civil nuclear deal on track, representatives of top US atomic companies would tour India in December to meet all stake holders in the country"s emerging commercial nuclear sector, the second such visit in less than a year.
India is planning to organise horticulture fairs to showcase a variety of its produce in the Gulf region to boost exports, Union Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas said today.
Eighteen months after Tata Motors took over beleaguered luxury brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, a strategy of cost-cutting and pushing sales have helped the UK labels to post an operating profit of £41 million (Rs 314.55 crore) during the reporting quarter ending 30 September 2009.
Terming as "most immature and irresponsible" the UPA government"s handling of the Telangana problem, BJP today said the Centre "should apply its mind" to solve the problem.
Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair has decried the tendency to prefer imported foreign systems, though they underperform vis-a-vis indigenous technologies and said global companies are setting up R&D units to “exploit” the vast talent pool in the country.
The stock touched a high of Rs 1,374 and finally ended up 2% at Rs 1,342. The counter clocked a comparatively heavy trading volume of 1.18 million shares as against the two-week daily traded average of 8,79,982.
Chennai-based Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd (PSTL) said the company suffered a business loss of over Rs 100 crore last year which resulted in an erosion of working capital. Meanwhile, N Narayanan, one of the promoters of the company, took over as the new chairman from P S Saminathan, who will continue to remain managing director.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services, is keen to forge partnership with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on supersonic and hypersonic aeroplane technologies, a top company official said.
Nasscom today said that the India Innovation Fund (IIF) promoted by it and ICICI Knowledge park (IKP) has achieved its first closing corpus of Rs 40 crore.
ISRO earned over Rs 100 crore in the last three years by launching satellites of other countries, Minister of State in PMO Prithviraj Chavan told the Lok Sabha today.
Subir Roy / New Delhi June 10, 2009, 0:57 IST
Indian animation and gaming training institutes are gearing to scale up their businesses and open up new avenues for professionals who are passionate about animation and gaming technologies.
Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata today said that deadline for his retirement was still intact, but before hanging his boots he would like to find a successor.
German luxury car maker BMW today launched BMW Gran Turismo, BMW X6M and BMW 760Li and plans to ramp up capacity of its manufacturing plant at Chennai.
German luxury car maker Mercedes today said it has lost leadership position in the premium segment in India to rival BMW and reported a decline of 10.43 per cent in sales in the country for the last year.
Munjals-promoted Hero Electric today launched three electric scooters priced between Rs 17,900 and Rs 32,796.
Advance tax payments by several automobile, power, cement and banking majors in the third quarter have been stronger compared to the year-ago pay-outs.
Veteran Marxist leader and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu was put on ventilator this morning after his condition turned serious.
Infrastructure major Unity Infraprojects today said its joint venture with Axelia Utility Management Pvt Ltd has bagged two orders totalling Rs 620.76 crore.
T N Ninan / New Delhi July 25, 2009, 0:19 IST
Vandana / Mumbai December 2, 2009, 1:24 IST
As the government mulls hiving off Oil and Natural Gas Corp’s (ONGC’s) Assam oilfields, state-owned Oil India Ltd (OIL) has said it is willing to take over the assets and can run the fields more efficiently than the current owner.
Chef Daoud Mohammed Tarhini always packs in a little bit of Lebanon, on his travels.
The attention that we give to food during days of fasting never ceases to amaze me.
The market is in a short-term downtrend and should find support between 5,000 and 5,050.
A K Bhattacharya / New Delhi October 21, 2009, 0:18 IST
Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C) grads seem to be back in demand as the slot zero--or the most coveted slot offered to recruiters for summer placement--has seen a significant increase in the number of companies coming to the institute over last year.
After easing for three weeks in a row, food inflation inched up to 17.40 per cent for the week ended January 16, a development that may prompt the Reserve Bank to hike key policy rates to tame the rising prices.
With over one billion people going to bed hungry, the United Nations has warned that the hunger index is rising and appealed to governments and civil societies to "leverage every tool" to combat it.
A V Rajwade / New Delhi September 26, 2009, 0:41 IST
Jaswant Singh / New Delhi August 2, 2009, 0:38 IST
The first foreign visit by a delegation of the 15th Lok Sabha has become a victim of austerity measure.
In a strong message, India today asked the developed countries to modify their ‘unsustainable lifestyles’ to significantly cut down carbon emissions by 2020 and to ensure that developing nations had enough resources to cope with climate change while pursuing accelerated development.
With the government giving permission to 22 new channels to downlink in the country, India has now got 458 television channels officially allowed to be carried across cable, direct-to-home and IPTV platforms. Four new channels of National Geographic and three regional news channels of TV 18 group are among the 22 channels that have been given the neccessary permission to broadcast in the country by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).
The proposed helipad atop ‘Seawind’, Mukesh Ambani’s residence in south Mumbai, has got clearance from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), a senior official said today.
US President Barack Obama"s top aide on climate has said there is virtually no chance the Congress will pass an energy legislation for him to sign before Copenhagen summit in December.
French pharma major Sanofi-aventis today said its vaccine division Sanofi Pasteur has acquired majority stake in Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics, which has been valued at euro 550 million (over Rs 3,770 crore).
Business Standard / New Delhi December 02, 2009, 0:52 IST
The Centre today said state governments had been asked to prepare the local-level adaptation action plans on climate change, consistent with the objectives of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). Necessary assistance is also being provided to the state governments (to tackle climate change) subject to availability of funds, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha.He said a study on “the impact of climate change in India” had been launched under a joint Indo-UK Research Programme.
Buoyed by ramping up output from Barmer oilfield, Cairn India today reported a 23 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 291 crore in the third quarter.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation"s largest oil firm, will invest Rs 4,650 crore in laying crude oil and petroleum product pipelines over the next three years, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Parasada said today.
The board of India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) is meeting tomorrow to look at ways to create demand for the Rs 10,000 crore that it had raised earlier this year to refinance highways and port projects. The New Delhi-based financial institution has not received a single proposal for the fund.
Global banking major Barclays today reported a 10 per cent growth in net profit at 1.88 billion pounds in the first half of 2009, bolstered by strong performance of its investment banking arm.
Stock markets recovered sharply after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the cash reserve ratio (CRR) for banks by 75 basis points and kept key interest rates unchanged. Short-covering in banking and real estate stocks, along with a rise in European markets and US index futures, also boosted sentiment.
The Sensex ended at 16,357, up 50 points, and the Nifty ended at 4,891, up 24 points (provisional closing).
Many players have talent matching Sachin’s, but perish early.
Soon after the clock strikes midnight, the muddy roads on the Indo-Bangla border, at Sahebkhali in Sunderbans, become busy with trains of cattle being herded on a secret journey culminating in Bangladesh where they will be slaughtered for shipment as processed beef.
Wind power could help India abate up to 100 million tonnes of CO2 by 2050. By Santosh Kamath
The fall in steel prices in the wake of global economic meltdown has consigned many balance sheets of groups taking the metal in the red. The drop in demand in the final quarter of 2008 was so steep and steel product prices turned so uneconomic, particularly for high cost mills in western countries, that the industry in many regions was forced to switch off half the capacity.
Self-deprecating humour isn’t something one sees too much of in this country (where making fun of others is held a nobler pursuit than laughing at one’s own foibles), so I’m always pleased to read Saad Akhtar’s webcomic Fly, You Fools! (People are Mindless Cattle), a good-natured, witty take on some of the things we read about in the newspapers every day. It isn’t brilliantly written or drawn (in fact, it mostly uses photos and mixed media rather than fresh illustrations) but it’s goofy and perceptive, casting fresh light on (among other things) security checks at mall entrances (http://tinyurl.com/5s25pe), rich kids mowing down pavement-dwellers in their Mercs (http://tinyurl.com/mhpwep), and loud honking at traffic signals as a substitute for sexual inadequacy (http://tinyurl.com/kl7knc).
The Indian Space Research Organistaion (Isro) is looking at 25 per cent growth in revenues this fiscal over Rs 1,000 crore attained last year, betting big on satellite launches and carrying space crafts of other countries.
For several months, construction work for the Saket metro station has been going on just outside the block of flats we live in, and the sight of a giant crane hovering over the tops of neighbouring houses makes for a grand view, especially after dark. In every other respect our enclosed colony park is quiet as a village green, but here’s an enormous, brightly lit mechanical pulley moving back and forth in a portion of the sky. It makes us feel like characters in John Wyndham novels set in quiet British towns where nothing much was ever expected to happen.
A Sharma / New Delhi December 12, 2009, 0:05 IST
China is getting all worked up about the wrong thing when it comes to the US. Forget these nascent trade wars over tires, cars and chickens. China’s real problem is how quickly the dollars they hold in great quantity are getting all the respect of pesos these days. Sounds like hyperbole? Not when you consider what may be the hottest investment of 2010: the dollar-carry trade.
In yet another attack on an Indian in Australia, a 29-year-old man was set on fire by a group of four assailants here, drawing strong condemnation from a student body which called such assaults unacceptable and asked authorities not to “dodge” the issue.
Domestic brokerage firm Religare Enterprises today said it will not go ahead with the agreement to develop a health insurance joint venture firm in association with Switzerland-based reinsurer Swiss Re.
India has a huge infrastructure problem and the solution so far appears to be to throw more money at the problem, without much effort to fix the core issues. A McKinsey analysis suggests India could lose up to around 10 per cent of GDP in the year 2017-18 due to shortage of infrastructure. While this is not a startling result, what is worrying is that the quality of expenditure has gone down with more money being spent. So, in the power sector, actual expenditures have fallen from 75 per cent of those planned in the 9th Plan period to a mere 58 per cent in the 10th one — roughly speaking, the 9th Plan was the NDA period and the 10th Plan the UPA’s first term.
Wall Street is jeering Yahoo! Inc Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carol Bartz, for the deal she cut with Microsoft Corp last week. The blame is misplaced.
Anand Sankar / New Delhi September 8, 2009, 0:08 IST
Media firm New Delhi Television (NDTV) today said it will buy back NBC Universal"s entire 26 per cent stake in its subsidiary NDTV Networks Plc.
After being subscribed by more than 23 times, the state-run National Hydroelectric Power Corporation’s (NHPC) initial public offer (IPO) has been hit by uncertainty in the stock market.
India’s foreign minister today advised its students to be “more discreet” in choosing educational institutes and courses of study in Australia, whose high commissioner admitted there was a drop in applications of Indian students following media coverage of attacks on them.
India may have been hailed for long as the world"s top outsourcing destination, but a new study has named as many as eight cities in the country among the world"s 25 riskiest places for offshoring, mainly on concerns like terrorism, pollution and geopolitical issues.
Gold is likely to touch Rs 18,000 per 10 grams during the forthcoming festival season as the demand for the yellow metal peaks around Diwali time, according to a projection by industry body Assocham.
Business Standard / New Delhi September 18, 2009, 0:34 IST
India’s third-largest IT services company Wipro Technologies is eyeing acquisitions in the business process outsourcing (BPO) space as it expects the sector to drive the growth for the IT industry.
Kirtika Suneja / New Delhi November 11, 2009, 0:35 IST
Using tax rebates to induce investment will favour sub-optimal projects that are not related to either local or global demand - it"ll take India back to the "80s.
Castigated by CAG for stepping away from protocol in releasing over Rs 50,000 crore meant for welfare schemes, the government is proposing electronic surveillance of flow of funds earmarked for flagship schemes.
The Asian markets had a weak closing, across the board.
Intermediate correction may continue.
Charging the multinational companies with making several drugs beyond the reach of the poor, visiting Commerce Minister Anand Sharma today asserted it is the Indian generics which have challenged such a "suffocating stranglehold" and made the medicines affordable.
Stock market indices slipped On Thursday as investors rushed to book profit in select sectors such as auto and metals.
The strong 700-member Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) brokers forum yet again expressed its reservation against the extension of trade timing by both BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) from January 4. Last week, both the bourses had to postpone their decision to open markets by 9 am after a sharp outcry against the decision from market participants.
Resolving the issue of fuel supply guarantee to upcoming gas-based power projects, Oil Ministry has asked state-run GAIL India to extend "comfort letters" assuring gas supplies so that the developers can raise finances.
Bharati Shipyard will face working capital constraints for six months to a year, say analysts, as the competitive open offer bids made by the company and its rival for control of Great Offshore are getting over on Tuesday. A six-month battle, which saw Bharati gradually increasing the open offer price to Rs 590 a share from the initial offer of Rs 344 a share made in June, has increased the acquisition cost burden for the 20 per cent stake by an additional Rs 200 crore.
Bharati Shipyard finally settled at Rs 178, up 10.5% from the previous close. The counter winessed trades of 1.23 million shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 95,067 shares on the BSE.
Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Limited and the only provider of services oriented storage solutions, today announced platinum partnership with Wipro Infotech.
The Karnataka government today sought the guidance of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for auditing accounts of local bodies in the state.
The rift in the ruling BJP in Karnataka widened further today with the two Reddy brothers, who are ministers in the state cabinet, intensifying their efforts to make chief minister B S Yeddyurappa yield to their pressures.
IBM today said it has entered into a 10-year strategic outsourcing deal of over Rs 80 crore with the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul).
BJP MLAs from North Karnataka, particularly those loyal to Assembly speaker Jagadeesh Shettar, are in a dilemma. They do not know whether to support the candidature of Shettar as an alternative leader or to continue supporting CM Yeddyurappa.
Mysore became the first city in the country to have a bus stand modernised under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Reconstruction Mission (JNNURM) today.
Indian fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) players are once again on the prowl to acquire companies, as the economy picks up.
FMCG major Nestle today said its board of directors, in a meeting scheduled to be held on December 9, would consider the acquisition of nutrition business of Speciality Foods India.
Confectionery brand Parle Products Private Limited will consider bringing more products in small packs at a price point of Rs 5 and below.
In line with the initiatives taken by some other state governments, the Orissa government is mulling to bring in a separate legislation governing the control, utilisation and management of ground water in the state.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), which is setting up a 15 million tonne per annum refinery at Paradeep, has so far invested Rs 2200 crore in the project.
Orissa government today said it would seek people"s support for the implementation of mega projects, including Rs 51,000 crore proposed steel plant to be set up by South Korean firm Posco.
Indian handicraft exporters are gearing up to explore new markets in South Africa and Latin American countries as demand from major importers like the US and the European Union (EU) continue to suffer from the global economic downturn.
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.
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.
Bihar today sought Rs 23,000 crore as immediate assistance from the Centre to tackle the drought situation in the state.
Oil India, the nation’s second biggest state-run explorer, is planning to invest around Rs 2,335 crore during the fiscal. Of this, the company will invest around Rs 1,430 crore in exploration and production and Rs 495 crore towards revamping its ageing fields.
WTO chief has confirmed his participation.
WTO chief has confirmed his participation.
The solution to the protracted gas supply dispute between the two Ambani brothers that has reached the Supreme Court may come through a compromise, some analysts said, fearing that the row could well impact the stock prices of group companies of both.
In a bid to reduce costs and increased offshoring focus, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest information technology company, has recalled close to 1,200 employees from the US and has decided not to hand out any salary increment this year.
The Union government has withdrawn four of the six directors appointed by it on the board of Satyam Computer Services Limited. The government has taken this decision following the permission granted by the Company Law Board (CLB) to this effect.
Healthy demand outlook and partial improvement in prices have perked up sentiment towards cement stocks.
Jamal Mecklai / New Delhi July 24, 2009, 0:34 IST
The huge government borrowing is likely to put pressure on interest rates in the remaining part of this fiscal, Member of Parliament and former Reserve Bank Governor C Rangarajan said today.
E-commerce players fear 30% drop in business
Insurance regulator IRDA today tightened the anti-money laundering guidelines by asking the insurance companies to ensure that no policies are issued to persons with fictitious names.
Some insurers may cut agent workforce due to new norms on unit-linked plans.
The country"s largest two-wheeler maker Hero Honda today said it will upgrade all its existing models to meet Bharat Stage-III emission compliant norms by the end of this financial year.
The Indian auto industry is likely to see a growth of 10-12 per cent in sales in 2010, but companies will come under margin pressures as competition hots up in the market, according to global rating firm Fitch.
With a piece of land at the Haridwar industrial plant of Hero Honda becoming a bone of contention with the State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Ltd (Sidcul), the company has begun talks with the state government over the issue.
India and Canada are in the process of finalising a bilateral trade and investment related agreement that would further boost their growing trade ties.
Will Dish TV’s tie-ups with shaadi.com, yatra.com and monster.com give it an edge over rivals?
The stock market staged a remarkable comeback, thanks mainly to the improvement in global markets coupled with better-than-expected Q1 numbers so far. So ferocious was the pullback that major indices, the Sensex and the Nifty, recovered nearly all its losses suffered during the Budget week.
This is a story at two levels, as all good stories are — at a personal and an anecdotal on one hand and an official and ‘history in the making’ on the other.
Back in prehistory, that is, about three decades ago, when Kolkata thoroughly drowned in the monsoon deluge, we looked forward to sarat or autumn. The rains would be gone, the heat would be a bit less though the oppressive humidity would still be around, but that’s not what mattered. The special part was the sky at dusk. The grey of the monsoon clouds, still lingering, would be tinted pink and purple by the setting sun and create a riot of colours. And through this sky would pass large flocks of birds in a V formation.
One of the nicest things that has happened to Kolkata in recent times is the creation of two new parks around the eastern and southern periphery of Victoria Memorial. Earlier, for most of the year the place used to collect rubble, coming alive once a year for the book fair, only to relapse into being an eyesore.
India is losing food items worth a whopping Rs 50,000 crore every year due to poor post-harvest handling of farm produce, a development that analysts say may jeopardise the Centre"s plan to formulate a food security law, especially in view of a "below-normal" monsoon.
The government today said in the Rajya Sabha that there were difficulties in meeting targets of thermal power generation because of shortage of equipment and manpower and pointed out that the country faces a shortage of 15,000 Mw.
It’s not quite time for DTH to retire, as a leading IPTV firm would have us believe, since there are 13 mn DTH subscribers compared to IPTV"s 30,000.
The teaser home loan rate, the interest rate which is set artificially low for the initial period, could give a ‘payment shock’ to borrowers as the equated monthly installment (EMI) shot up on lenders charging regular interest rates, according to Fitch officials.