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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).
Thirteenth Finance commission Chairman Vijay Kelkar today said the price of energy should be the same for everybody and subsidy should be directly given to the targeted beneficiary.
Bank of Maharashtra (BoM), today said that it has reduced its benchmark prime lending rate (PLR) by 0.25 per cent to 12.25 per cent.
Higher prices of staple vegetables such as onion and potato pushed food inflation higher to 13.68 per cent in the last week of October.
In an effort to promote Indian, art culture, music and fashion, the who"s who of the city came together today at the "Creative Conference" hosted at the House of Aman.
I always suspected that the city was a falsification. But it was only on a foggy afternoon in early spring, when the air smells of atarch, that I discovered the nature of the fraud. We are living inside a cupboard, in the lowest depths of oblivion, among broken poles and shut boxes...” <P align="right> — Zbigniew Herbert, The Collected Poems
Two artists explore different mediums in an exhibition that explores their respective skills.
The Sensex touched a fresh 22-month high of 17,790, However, it were the mid-cap and small-cap stocks which stole the limelight this week.
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.
A leadership position in its business, a good track-record and better growth opportunities in smaller towns augur well for DB Corp.
VS Achuthanandan would, however, continue as the CM.
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.
Essar group company Aegis BPO today said it has acquired 80 per cent stake in Sri Lankan outsourcing company Ismart Timex for an undisclosed amount.
Indian firm holds preliminary talks, Essar group also in the fray.
The year has started on a positive note for primary market investors. The shares of DB Corp on Wednesday listed at a huge premium to their initial public offer (IPO) price, the third listing in as many days to have given good returns on day one.
Leads prime-time band with GRP of 113
Zylog Systems India Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chenna-based Zylog Systems Limited, is planning to invest around Rs 200 crore in setting up infrastructure to support its wireless internet service – Wi5 – over the next two years.
BEML, the mining and construction, defence, rail and metro coach manufacturer under the ministry of defence, today reported a healthy 45.1 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 172 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009 compared to the corresponding quarter last year. The rise was mainly on account of a 75 per cent rise in orders for rail and metro coaches.
When East first met West, was it the start of the battle between brand vs local craftsmanship?
Tata Motors will distribute all Nano cars from Pantnagar through its new subsidiary, Tata Motors Distribution
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.
The sales of used gold, known as scrap gold in commodity parlance, shot up 25-30 per cent on Wednesday as retail investors rushed to cash in on high prices before a correction, which analysts forecast as imminent.
*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.
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.
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.
JSW Energy ended Day 1 at Rs 101, a premium of Rs 1 to the issue price.
Patni net up 14 per cent
Anil Ambani group company Reliance Communications today said its shareholders have approved raising funds from institutional investors through sale of shares worth up to Rs 15,000 crore at current market price.
Prices of key inputs up 44% to 74%; analysts expect earnings squeeze after a quarter or two.
In a major relief for jobseekers, India Inc"s hiring activities are picking up once again as economic conditions are looking up considerably, experts say.
A host of Indian companies are planning to develop projects across sectors in the island nation of Sri Lanka.
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.
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.
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.
Port and Dock workers’ unions call for a nationwide strike after December 15 to protest at lack of wage revision may be averted, as the port authorities have expressed willingness to hold talks before the end of this month.
ING Life Insurance is expecting a 60 per cent growth in renewal premiums during this fiscal.
Shobhana Subramanian / Mumbai July 31, 2009, 0:55 IST
More doctors and healthcare professionals are joining management schools, turned away by the limited number of seats for a post-graduate course in medicine and the prospects of a better pay package after graduating from a B-school.
Bharti Airtel Direct to Home (DTH) service, Airtel digital TV, added nearly 1.5 million customers across India in first seven months of the current financial year. Majority of the customers were added during October.
Mobile player Tata DOCOMO today launched per second billing for roaming across the country to take on rival Airtel, which announced a major cut in roaming charges last week.
Early last week, the Mumbai revenue department issued show cause notices to Vodafone, proposing to tax offshore transaction, as a result of which Vodafone acquired a controlling interest in GSM licences from Hutch.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel today cut mobile roaming rates by 60 per cent for its 115 million users, opening a new turf in the ongoing tariff war.
India today ruled out taxing capital inflows to the stock market on the lines of Brazil and said markets have been functioning normally.
Tata Capital, today announced the appointment of Akhil Awasthi as the managing partner of its Mid-Market Private Equity Fund.
Famed micro-blogging site Twitter has acquired location tracking firm Mixer Labs for an undisclosed amount.
Rajesh Janey, president (sales), India and SAARC, NetApp, proudly claims to have purchased no useless gadget to date. To make his point, he tells us about the Yashica FX3 camera which he bought after saving from his first year’s salary. Today, the executive has graduated to more sophisticated technologies including eco-friendly gadgets that leave no carbon imprint.
Dr Kushagra Katariya’s passion for languages makes him appreciate sanskrit
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.
Even as Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi hopes to see the state, alongwith Japan and Singapore dominate the Asian economy, a delegation of 95 real estate developers from Gujarat will be visiting Japan and Korea to study and imbibe technological know-how of infrastructure in these Asian economies.
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.
Freebies are no longer catching the fancy of prospective home buyers; instead they are seeking cash discount, as the real estate market shows signs of revival.
Andhra Pradesh today sought Rs 6,000 crore as an advance fund for the rehabilitation and restoration works in the state after heavy floods, which it wanted to be declared as a "national calamity with rare severity".
BS Reporter / New Delhi November 22, 2009, 0:37 IST
In a move that may lead to faster primary market issuances, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today said Asba (applications supported by blocked amount) facility would also be extended to non-retail, high net worth and corporate investors. The measure was introduced in Sebi’s scheme of ASBA-II. All investors, except qualified institutional buyers, would be able to apply through the facility, a Sebi circular said.
Catamaran Venture Fund, promoted by Infosys Technologies Chairman and Mentor Narayan Murthy will be active for investments from March 2010.
This year"s computerised Common Admission Test (CAT), which was marred by technical glitches, will not be scrapped, the exam committee announced today.
Come New Year, cars will be costlier with automakers like Toyota and General Motors today saying that they will hike prices by up to three per cent due to rising input costs, while the country"s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India is still evaluating the situation.
Madhukar Sabnavis / New Delhi December 04, 2009, 0:34 IST
West Bengal"s flagship IT district started the week on a tumultuous note with political activists going on a rampage early on Monday in an effort to enforce the 12-hour shutdown called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Elsewhere, party activists obstructed trains and set buses on fire, to protest against rising food prices, thereby partially affecting life in the city.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today allyed concerns about capital inflows building an asset bubble and said it is keeping a vigil on these.
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?
Bharti Airtel may pay lenders as much as 3.2 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate (Libor) as it seeks to borrow $5 billion to buy a stake in MTN Group, three people familiar with the matter said.
Rajya Sabha was today adjourned for the day without transacting any business after condoling the death of sitting BJP member Suryakantabhai Acharya.
Accessing the voluminous debates of the Rajya Sabha since its inception in 1952 will now be available with just a click of the mouse.
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government today managed to pass five Bills in a hurry and adjourn the Lok Sabha sine die. But the main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forced the government to keep the Rajya Sabha open for a debate on Copenhagen meeting on Monday.
The country"s largest private bank, ICICI Bank, today said it is focussing on the home-loan segment as the real estate segment is witnessing a comeback after the economic slowdown.
This will enable the firm to tap the defence offset market.
The private hospital sector is expected to touch $45 billion (around Rs 2,00,000 crore) in the next three years riding on growth in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, a study said.
With Copenhagen Accord setting a January 31 deadline for the nations to specify 2020 emission targets and other steps, India will hold discussion with other BASIC group members comprising China, South Africa and Brazil in New Delhi to discuss their climate strategy.
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.
Private airlines in the country owe Rs 274.19 crore to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) as of October-end, with Kingfisher being ahead of Jet Airways and SpiceJet leading the pack of low-cost carriers.
Life insurance industry logged a 21 per cent increase in premium collections during the first seven months of the current fiscal compared to the same period last year, indicating recovery in the sector.
Subscribers to mobile services using the GSM technology grew by 8.59 million in September, taking the total GSM numbers to 344.4 million, a growth of 2.6 per cent over August, says the latest data released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the apex body of GSM operators.
Public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) today said it will raise Rs 700 crore by issues of bonds.
Pharmaceutical firm Suven Life Sciences today said it will raise $50 million (nearly Rs 239.5 crore) through the issue of securities.
India"s largest retailer, Pantaloon Retail (India), today said it will raise Rs 500 crore by way of private placement of shares with qualified institutional buyers.
Ranbaxy Laboratories today said it would market products from Daiichi Sankyo"s portfolio in Mexico through its Latin America-based subsidiary, Ranbaxy Mexico S A De C V.
India’s foreign exchange reserves rose $22 million to $283.52 million during the week ended January 1, mainly due to the revaluation of gold.
Mahesh Kulkarni / Bangalore November 17, 2009, 0:30 IST
The government today said in the Lok Sabha that a special audit has observed that Reliance Communication and its other subsidiaries under reported revenues during 2006-07 and 2007-08.
The Railway Board is likely to utilise the undisputed 600 acres for setting-up a coach factory at Singur, the erstwhile site for the Nano project.
IN MY MIND
Persistent Systems, providing software product development services, set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) around the Android open mobile platform.
This erstwhile plain vanilla product has been made attractive by banks through bundled deals and flexible options
The Union ministry of environment and forests has directed the Orissa government to take legal action against the Paradeep Port Trust (PPT) authorities for violating the Wild Life Protection Act, Environment (Protection) Act and Water Pollution Act.
The Supreme Court today set aside the Orissa High Court’s interim order that restrained the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) from reinviting financial bids from the short-listed bidders for developing a coal berth.
India"s forex reserves declined by $144 million to $283.499 billion in the week ended December 25 as compared to $283.643 billion in the previous week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its weekly report.
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.
The efforts of Coal India Limited (CIL), the world"s single largest coal producer to explore coal blocks in Mozambique seem to have gathered steam.
India"s foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.023 billion to $285.414 billion for the week ended November 6.
Three contract workers died in a mishap at a unit of the Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) in East Midnapore district of West Bengal.
The country"s top 10 firms added Rs 32,000 crore to their market capitalisation last week, with public sector oil firm Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) contributing the major chunk.
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.
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.
Investment decisions based only on current events can lead to Serious losses. A disciplined approach is better
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.
The decision to carve out a separate state of Telangana, which will take the total number of states in the Union to 29, comes at the end of a 40-year-old struggle for a distinct identity.
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.
Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, son of late Y S Rajashekhara Reddy, today met Congress President Sonia Gandhi at her residence here, amid demands by his supporters to make him chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Aditi Phadnis / New Delhi August 22, 2009, 0:00 IST
Aditi Phadnis / New Delhi August 8, 2009, 0:48 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 government today admitted that there is a delay in issuing passports in a few passport offices and assured that remedial measures are being taken to avoid the delays.
The hearing on the issue of land acquisition for the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) company’s 8,000 Mw Dadri power project in Uttar Pradesh could not commence in the Supreme Court today as one of the judge recused himself from the Bench.
While ticket distribution for Jharkhand elections was on, hundreds of aspirants thronged the Congress headquarters. The Congress managers, desperate to avoid this crowd, met at various undisclosed locations. But this could not save all the leaders. One day, K Kesava Rao, the general secretary in charge of Jharkhand, came to his office at 24, Akbar Road, to take some documents when an irate crowd gheraoed him. Rao was almost physically assaulted amid a heated exchange of words as the aspirants accused him of taking bribes. Congress workers in the office had to rush in to rescue Rao.
Meanwhile, a second chargesheet in the multi-crore Satyam scam will be filed soon, as the CBI team probing the case has returned from Mauritius with some bank details from the island nation.
A second chargesheet in the multi-crore Satyam scam will be filed soon as the CBI team probing the case has returned from Mauritius with some bank details from the island nation.
Was tipped as a probable to occupy the top seat in Infosys after Kris.
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 agreed to hand over the land already allotted for a new shipping technology unit at Visakhapatnam as and when required. He gave this assurance to shipping secretary, APVN Sharma, who called on him on Saturday.
Rajesh Bhayani / Mumbai December 24, 2009, 0:12 IST
State-run Union Bank of India today announced the appointment of Subhash Chander Kalia as its Executive Director.
Devangshu Datta / New Delhi August 1, 2009, 0:50 IST
In talks with leading telcos for minority stake.
China/Africa: Chinese growing investment in sub-Saharan Africa is both a huge global development and a short-term bubble. Both sides will benefit, but there may need to be some pain first. In 2008, China’s $106.8 billion bilateral trade with sub-Saharan Africa made it the region’s largest trading partner, surpassing the US’s $104.6 billion. The Africa-China trade is close to balanced, while Africa’s exports to the US, mostly raw materials, are worth five times as much as its imports.
Tolerance is bred deep among Indians: we are told of this ancient verity by both “secularists” and “communalists”. After all (the story goes), most Indians daily rub shoulders with a variety of other Indians from apparently different social and cultural backgrounds. For the most part, we muddle along well enough together — well enough to share a country and a civilisational outlook.
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.
Borrowing the pace of Day Zero, the second day (Day 0.5) of the summer placement process at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) saw companies from the fields of marketing, general management, consulting and finance offer internships to students.
Shyam Ponappa / New Delhi November 5, 2009, 0:50 IST
Ajai Shukla / New Delhi November 3, 2009, 0:58 IST
Business Standard / New Delhi November 03, 2009, 0:48 IST
Disapproving the grant of parole to Jessica Lall murder convict Manu Sharma, Congress leader Sachin Pilot has said that he might not have recommended parole to the lifer had he been the chief minister of Delhi.
Coal-based generators plan upgrades, clean tech over 5 years.
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.
Narayana Murthy, Rajeev Chandrasekhar role questioned in airport project
You’ve heard of honorary doctorates, but honorary black belts? Bollywood czar Shahrukh Khan who has been appointed the Honorary Ambassador of Korea (Culture & Tourism) has been conferred the title ‘Honorary Black Belt (5 Dan) of Taekwondo’. The ceremony, a press release from the Korean National Tourism Organisation says, was held at the Taj Lands End Hotel in Mumbai. And in case you think SRK has just got the black belt for nothing, Korea’s honorary ambassador said, according to the press release, that he had ‘developed a keener interest in sports such as Taekwondo now because of his children — son Aryan, who has won 10 gold medals in sports and daughter Suhana who’s won 3 gold medals in sports activities at the school level’. SRK also said that given the rising interest in sports in India, this was the right time to associate with Korea which is known for its strong base in sports. Bollywood’s macho man Akshay Kumar is probably trembling in the face of SRK’s new black belt.
The old problem of talent exodus may come to haunt companies once again when the economy recovers, if they do not take steps to attract top talent and retain employees now, a study says.
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.
For most companies, hiring women employees at an entry level has never been a problem. However very few of them make it to the higher levels. This has been a concern for recruiters.
Shyamal Majumdar / Mumbai July 23, 2009, 0:09 IST
Subir Roy / New Delhi July 8, 2009, 0:02 IST
Asian markets have posted smart gains today.
Software bellwether, Infosys Technolgies today said it was focussing on "powerful" emerging markets such as Mexico, Brazil, China and India.
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.
Markets have recovered after a brief drop into the red.
SBI Mutual Fund will launch SBI Debt Fund Series 13 Months Fund-10 on Friday. Subscriptions to this plan will remain open until March 23, the fund house said in a notice On Thursday.
The Sensex has ended at 17,589, down 111 points and the Nifty has closed at 5,257, down 24 points.
Worldwide semiconductor revenue is on track to total $212 billion in 2009, a 17.1 per cent decline from 2008 revenue of $255 billion, according to the latest outlook by Gartner Inc, a global research and advisory body.
It was the biggest line-up of farmers’ organisations and they came to Delhi from all parts of the country with one clear message: they did not want to grow the genetically modified (GM) version of one of the country’s most popular vegetable, the brinjal. The leaders looked mild enough but they said they would resort to “direct action ” if their voice was not heard and they said they represented 200 million farmers in the major brinjal-growing states.
First unbundled state power utility to tap market.
The government has formulated a draft national consumer policy with an aim to ensure that goods, services and technology are available to the consumers at reasonable prices and good quality.
Business Standard / New Delhi January 1, 2010, 0:28 IST