Small Business
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is in the process of examining whether registered portfolio managers invest in instruments other than listed securities, an official of the agency said.
The government"s revenue collection from central excise, service tax and customs is likely to fall short by Rs 15,000 crore from the target of Rs 2,68,000 crore set for the current fiscal due to continuation of the stimulus package, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said today.
Budget 2009 contained important proposals in regard to exempting packaged software from customs duty, on importation, and on excise duty, with regard to domestic supplies, to the extent that such software is purportedly chargeable to the service tax. The proposals attempted to redress the problem of potential double taxation that arises in regard to such software. Earlier articles in this column had highlighted the problem of double taxation in relation to several transactions including the service taxation of packaged software post the changes announced in the Budget 2009.
Japanese watch maker Citizen Watches is expecting its Eco-Drive collection of watches to boost sales in the Indian market. The Eco-Drive collection presently contributes 50 per cent to its sales which is expected to touch 80 per cent in the next three years.
The Madras High Court today directed Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila (Cadila Healthcare) not to sell its anti-depressant drug, Venz (venlafaxine), in the domestic market for the time being, based on a trademark complaint from Mumbai-based Sun Pharmaceutical industries.
The ongoing agitation for a separate Telangana and a unified Andhra has impacted the Rs 12,132 crore Hyderabad Metro Rail project with the government further extending the request for qualification (RFQ) date till January 16.
Indiabulls-MMTC promoted International Multi-Commodities Exchange is looking for another investor after the markets regulator FMC rejected the United Stock Exchange of India"s (USE"s) 10 per cent stake buy in the bourse, sources said.
In spite of foreign tourist inflow adversely hit in aftermath of 26/11 terror attack and economic slowdown, the foreign exchange earning from the sector has witnessed a three per cent increase this year, Union Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed has said.
T here’s a reason that many writers have odd personalities: writing is such a solitary exercise that you can see why they might eventually go quite postal, or at least start wearing funny hats and divorcing their spouses. I love to look at the Guardian’s online edition where they have a column called ‘Writers’ rooms’, which features a photograph of some one, well, writer’s room, and a short write-up outlining the space and how the person uses it, according to their particular routines, eccentricities and superstitions. It makes me feel very well adjusted because I don’t have, for instance, giant paper fish hanging from the ceiling, or a dessicated crocodile on the wall.
National broadcasters take backseat in general entertainment segment.
The political differences between India and China notwithstanding, the two countries are working in unison at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Industrialists say lack of policy guidelines affecting growth.
Lawyers defending seven suspects, including LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, in Mumbai attacks today filed an application in an anti-terror court in Pakistan seeking their acquittal on the ground that there is no probability of their being convicted.
The Punjab government has decided to establish a self-contained integrated information technology and knowledge industry park spread over an area of 1,276 acres at Rajpura. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal gave his in-principle approval for acquisition of common land in contiguity of six villages in one go for the setting up of the prestigious industrial park for IT/ITeS industry.
FBI Press Communique / November 8, 2009, 0:07 IST
Madhukar Sabnavis / New Delhi November 06, 2009, 0:40 IST
Chairing a meeting of the full-time members of the Planning Commission, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked the commission’s members and officials to keep track of state-level development.
World"s largest drug maker Pfizer today said it is in the process of bringing in synergies in operation with Wyeth, which it acquired in January this year, and will launch one more product by the end of this fiscal.
To make finance readily available for road projects, the government is mulling to vest the ownership of roads with highways regulator National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which can lease them out to private developers so that they can raise loan against such property.
The government will invite bids by this year-end for three mega projects worth around Rs 14,500 crore in the road sector, Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath said today.
IRB Infrastructure Developers today said it has emerged as the lowest bidder for a Rs 800-crore road project of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
IRB Infrastructure Developers today said it has emerged as the lowest bidder for the Rs 1,200- crore project of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
A visionary, energetic and result-oriented minister has breathed fresh life into the road sector
Writer Pamela Timms regales us with her expert baking, and stories of street food adventures
Asian stocks rebounded from earlier losses after Dubai secured $10 billion of funding to repay its debt. Japan shares dropped as a measure of business confidence showed companies are scaling back investment plans.
The World Bank is expected to increase its lending to India by over three times to USD 7 billion in 2009-10 compared to the average $2.3 billion for the last four financial years.
JD-S today intensified its agitation against the Bangalore-Mysore express highway project promoted by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), with party chief and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda staging a dharna with farmers at a village coming under the scheme.
The Nifty faced strong resistance above 5,300 and closed in a Doji pattern, indicating indecisiveness among participants.
Pharma major Wockhardt today said it has received tentative approval from the US drug regulator to market "Memantine HCl" tablets, used for the treatment of Alzheimer"s disease and dementia.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today announced two significant agreements with US-based Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation.
Mahindra & Mahindra, a renowned name of auto-mobile sector, which entered into the business of sale-purchase of pre-owned cars in 2007, is eying the turnover of Rs 500 crore in the current fiscal.
India’s biggest drug maker, Ranbaxy Laboratories, has posted a net profit of Rs 116.6 crore for its third quarter ended September, against a net loss of Rs 394.5 crore in the same period last year, which had been largely attributed to mark-to-market exchange losses.
Strong non-core income growth pushes revenues.
Aims to enter China, Russia and African countries
Sohini Das & Maulik Pathak / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad December 05, 2009, 0:38 IST
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, created by the billionaire founder of Microsoft Corp, sold almost all its pharmaceutical holdings, including Wyeth, Merck & Co and Eli Lilly & Co, and bought shares of energy companies.
Drug Firm Cipla today said it will raise Rs 676 crore through the issue of equity shares on institutional placement basis.
Drug firm Venus Remedies today said it has signed an out-licensing deal with a Korean firm for selling Sulbactomax drug, used in the treatment of pre or post-surgical infection and also for respiratory infections, in South Korea.
The Indian pharmaceutical market will treble to $20 billion from $7.1 billion (2007 figure) by 2015, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3 per cent.
Cipla, the country’s second-largest drug company, will foray into the production of biotechnology medicines soon. The company is planning to set up a 50:50 joint venture partnership with a Chinese firm. The JV will be based in India and will manufacture and market bio-similar products (off patent biotechnology medicines) for domestic and overseas markets.
The recent resolution regarding bauxite mining in Gujarat, passed by the state"s Industries and Mining Department on November 19, has put two major alumina refinery projects worth about Rs 4400 crore, on a fast track.
IT outsourcing company, Satyam Computer Services Limited (rebranded Mahindra Satyam), has entered into a strategic alliance with Australasia’s information and communications technologies (ICT) provider Gen-I for migration services of Microsoft’s Windows 7, which was launched on October 22.
Having provided mobile internet solutions to 20 million customers worldwide, world’s third largest PC vendor, Acer, is targeting 6-7 per cent market share worldwide in the smartphone category.
Professionals are making the most of the short- and full-term courses to keep pace with changing trends at the workplace
Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB) has launched two new initiatives in an effort to encourage entrepreneurship among students. ISB’s Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED) has launched the Entrepreneurs Development Initiative (EDI) and Planning an Entrepreneurial Venture (PaEV) to incubate and promote entrepreneurial ventures by students.
Hiring activity in Kolkata went up by 12 per cent in June this year compared to May, revealed a latest report by Naukri Jobspeak.
Petronet LNG (PLL), India"s largest liquefied natural gas importer, will sign an agreement to buy 1.5 million tonnes of LNG from Australia in August.
Liquefied natural gas importer Petronet LNG today said its net profit declined by 2.20 per cent at Rs 103.31 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, over the same period last year.
India"s top two law officers have advised NTPC to move Supreme Court at once to secure gas at a contracted price from Reliance Industries (RIL), a position in variance with Oil Ministry"s plea on the Ambani borthers" gas dispute.
India and Russia have reached a broad agreement to break the logjam over the protracted price renegotiation over Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier and the two sides are expected to sign a landmark civil nuclear pact during summit talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Dmitry Medvedev tomorrow.
The Gujarat government has banned Jaswant Singh’s book. But it is one of the items being smuggled into the state from Rajasthan, along with liquor. Two days ago, there were a few hundred copies of the book in various bookshops across Udaipur. Two days later, there were none. Reason? Smugglers bought these for circulation in Gujarat.
Increased supply however less than contracted 2.13 mmscmd
Coal & Oil Group is planning to invest around $300 million (around Rs 1,500 crore) to buy new ships and to acquire coal mines. The company is planning to invest the money to support its customer coal requirements in India and to meet its captive requirement for the upcoming project Rs 4,300 crore power at Tuticorin.
Ties up with food, banking cos to up mkt share.
State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, is expected to set aside more funds to meet the new norms that mandate 70 per cent provision coverage for non-performing assets (NPAs).
On Thursday morning the first prototype twin-seater, trainer version of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) taxied out to the runway in Bangalore.
Larsen & Toubro, country’s largest engineering company, along with its Malaysian partner SapuraCrest Petroleum has bagged orders worth $500 million to undertake installation of platforms and pipelines in offshore. The joint venture partners have invested $175 million to acquire a vessel to execute the orders.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today recorded its largest single-day fall in last six months, after the company reported 50% drop in net profit. The company posted Rs 758.82 crore net profit for Q3FY10 against Rs 1,520.44 crore in Q3FY09.
I have some money that I plan to use after a month. Should I invest it in liquid funds instead of a bank Fixed Deposit for better returns?
Andhra Pradesh government today said it had no objection to Congress MP L Rajagopal, who escaped from the Government Hospital here, being admitted to the Nizam"s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad as desired by him.
If a telephone company had a heart, Google Inc would be inspiring terror in it. As the newspaper, book and video industries can attest, Google has a knack for invading established markets and turning them upside down. Next up are the phone companies: Google Voice, still in testing, provides a free, powerful suite of Internet-based services that makes it a personal communications hub.
Laxmi Mittal pulling out his 12-million tonne steel plant from Orissa will be a big blow to the state. Ditto, if it happens, for the 12-million tonne plant from Korean giant Posco that was to cost Rs 54,000 crore. But it would be foolhardy to write off investment in Orissa.
India’s agriculture growth could be down by 5 per cent due to deficient monsoon, a top corporate leader said today.
Godrej Consumer Products is in discussions with Sara Lee Corp to acquire 100 per cent stake in Godrej Sara Lee, a joint venture (JV) between Godrej group and the US-based firm, a top company official has said.
The Union Government may reduce the price of wheat and rice it plans to sell in the open market to check food inflation, after an earlier sale received poor response possibly due to high rates quoted by it.
Sub-optimum availability of power to the industry is one of the main impediments in the path of industrial growth, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Satish Bagrodia said here.
Will supply LNG, sell stake in Wheatstone project to Jap utility.
India today termed the filing of chargesheet against David Headley as an important step in exposing the wider conspiracy behind Mumbai attacks and said the onus is on Pakistan to follow the leads and act with "unalloyed" determination against terrorism.
A government-appointed committee has suggested expanding the ambit of Clause 49 on listing of companies specified by market regulator SEBI to include cost audit report.
G Madhavan Nair, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, has been appointed President of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).
It wasn’t just ordinary passengers who suffered the brunt of the recent Air India strike. West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta came to Delhi to attend a meeting on Goods and Service Tax (GST) with finance ministry officials. After which, he met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. While Mukherjee’s office had kept an hour for the meeting, Dasgupta was in a hurry and spent just half the time since, with the Air India flight cancelled, he had no option but to leave on the earlier flight of a private airline.
SBI Card, the credit card service offering from the State Bank and GE Capital, today launched mShop to enable its customers shop from over 100 merchants across the country, using their mobile phones.
Engineering for space travel is solving health problems for us on earth.
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) posted an increase of 23.38 per cent in net profit at Rs 3,053.58 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, as compared to Rs 2,474.81 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The state-owned company reported the highest net profit growth in the last six quarters.
Private sector lender ICICI Bank today reported a 26.36 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,148.66 crore for the third quarter (Q3) ended December 31, 2009.
J Venkatesan, Fund Manager, Sundaram BNP Paribas MF spoke with Jitendra Gupta about PSU stocks as an investment theme.
With rapid growth witnessed in health and nutrition food products in India, Britannia Industries is looking to extend its presence in the segment. Along with improving the existing brands to make them more healthy, it is planning its future launches with the growing health conscious consumer in the mind.
Public sector lender Oriental Bank of Commerce today reported a growth of 14.76 per cent in net profit at Rs 289.43 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, over the same period last year.
DLF, the country’s largest real estate developer, posted a 30 per cent dip in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, on account of losses arising from non-core businesses of the company as well as continuing stress in the business environment.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Orissa have expressed their resentment over the functioning of the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), which meets at regular intervals to monitor the flow of credit to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.
Professional forecasters have added to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvurri Subbarao’s dilemma on timing the exit from an accommodative monetary policy stance.
State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp plans to invest Rs 25,000 crore in setting up a 15 million tonnes a year refinery on the west coast.
Telecom service provider Aircel today entered into a partnership with software exporter Infosys Technologies to launch the first mobile application store in the country.
Trust Kishore Biyani, the founder of Future Group, to spot new revenue streams before anybody else. The latest from Biyani is Indian-style hotels and schools to train entrepreneurs and help understand consumer behaviour. Both initiatives are expected to go on stream in the next six to eight months.
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 stock pared its gains and slipped to a low of Rs 425. The scrip finally settled at Rs 431, down 2%. Around 6,522 shares have been traded on the BSE today as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 2,352 shares.
Extended trading hours starting today did nothing to boost the volumes on the bourses that opened nearly an hour earlier at 0900 hrs, as part of conscious efforts to align trade timing with the Asian markets.
Realty firm Parsvnath Developers today reported a robust jump of over fourfold in consolidated net profit at Rs 24.90 crore for third quarter ended December.
The year 2009 ended on a high note, with benchmark (BSE & NSE) indices registering best yearly gains in the last two decades and touching fresh 19-month peaks. The year, however, will be most remembered for the Sensex and the Nifty hitting the upper circuit for the first time.
With budgetary preparations on in full swing, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today advised the Finance Minister to at least partially rollback the stimulus that was provided to help the industry cope with the financial crisis.
The finals of the 2010 Football World Cup or Michael Schumacher’s amazing comeback, you can be on the ringside of all that sporting action and more. Ask Arun Raghu.
Disney Interactive Media Group (DIMG), a division of Walt Disney Company, is contemplating introducing localised console and PC games for the Indian market shortly.
VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a subsidiary company of Delhi-based Eicher Motors (EML) has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Vinn Group of Sweden to explore business opportunities in the field of engineering design services.
In the wake of attacks on Indians in Australia, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today said his party would not allow the Down Under team to play cricket in Maharashtra.
A concoction of politics and sport leaves a bitter aftertaste.
Hurt Pakistani cricketers have decided to "avoid" the Indian Premier League until Indo-Pak diplomatic ties don"t normalise, sources in the team revealed today.
Evading taxes for long by calling itself a charitable organisation, the the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may now have to shell out more than Rs 100 crore as the Income Tax department is set to penalise the Indian Cricket Board for hiding details of its commercial activities.
Birla Sun Life Insurance, which belongs to the Aditya Birla Group, has roped in four cricketers — Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma — to endorse its wealth and protection solution plans.
In a surprise development, telecom PSU MTNL"s Chairman and Managing Director R S P Sinha has resigned from the post.
Nokia, the world"s biggest mobile phone maker, said today it would cut around 220 jobs in Japan as part of its plans to streamline its vast research and development operations.
Global IT firm Apple is likely to make a major product announcement at San Fransico next month.
Hang Seng is quoting at 20,332, down 530 points or 2.5%, and the Nikkei is at 10,554, lower by 313 points or 2.8%.
The Hang Seng is trading at 21,394, lower by 283 points, while the Nikkei is at 10,776, higher by 11 points.
Indian bourses opened in the red as weak global cues and earning worries weighed on sentiment. US stocks tumbled on Friday, their worst three-day slide in 10 months, pulling Asian stocks lower. Selling in information technology and auto stocks pulled the markets deeper into the red.
Power Grid ended at Rs 113, lower by Rs 1 or 1.2%, on the BSE.
The US markets ended on a negative note on Friday.
Air passengers denied entry in Indonesia found no respite from the Delhi Consumer Commission, which exonerated Malaysian Airlines of any deficiency in service, citing absence of any reason for disallowing their entry by the immigration authorities of that country.
Infotrek Syscom, an electronics recycling company, is planning to enhance the current recycling capacity and to set up nationwide collection mechanism, warehousing and setting up the precious metal recovery facility at an investment of Rs 100 crore.
Drug firm Zydus Cadila today said it has acquired the remaining 30 per cent stake in its South Africa-based subsidiary Simayla for an undisclosed amount.
Drug maker Dr Reddy"s Laboratories today said it has launched a skin-care product, Strea Professional, in the country.
Satyam Computer Services founder B Ramalinga Raju had made trips to the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, to Visakhapatnam and even the US, to convince the independent directors on the his board for acquisition of Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties, the two companies promoted by his family members.
Education and placement company Edserv Softsystems today said it has bagged an order worth Rs 100 crore from the government for providing training to unemployed and under-employed youth across India.
The Sensex has finally ended (provisional) at 17,464, down 176 points.
Jaiprakash Power Ventures, part of the Jaypee group and L&T-MHI ((a JV between L&T and Mitsubishi heavy industries) have signed an agreement for the supply and erection of the boiler and steam turbine and generator for the Jaypee Nigrie super thermal power project. The contract is valued at Rs 4,000 crore.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ attempts to take over Israeli drug major Taro Pharmaceutical is gaining more support from independent advisory firms. RiskMetrics Group’s ISS Governance Services (RMG), an independent proxy advisory firm, has recommended that shareholders of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries vote against all the proposals made by Taro’s board of directors, including all of its nominees for election and re-election as directors in the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for December 31, Sun Pharma said in a press release.
The British government plans to freeze the salaries of top bureaucrats and offer only minimal increases to other senior workers in an effort to control the country"s spiralling deficit, a treasury official has said.
The economic crisis may have wiped off $300 billion from the wealth of America"s richie-rich club, but the net worth of many members, such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, is still sufficient to buy "almost anything" that includes many a countries of the world.
Rating agency Fitch in a report today said that Indian banks would remain resilient to face stressful conditions in the current and next financial years.
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of Sanofi-Aventis Group on Monday said it has received order from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to supply antigen for 27.3 million doses of Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine for swine flu.
Concerns about Dubai’s potentially crippling default on enormous debts to global creditors have rattled investor confidence across the oil-exporting Gulf region but Abu Dhabi will come to the rescue, says a leading economist in the region.
Assam, which produces three types of indigenous wild silks – Muga, Pat and Eri, today got a composite silk unit at Chaygaon Industrial Growth Centre, near Guwahati. The composite unit, or Eri Spun Silk Mill, came up with an investment of Rs. 5.5 crore, which includes infrastructure for spun silk mill, machineries, looms etc. The unit is expected to go a long way in adding value to the silk industry of Assam. The unit was inaugurated by union minister of textiles, Dayanidhi Maran. For the establishment of the unit, along with additional facilities like weaving processing and dyeing etc., the Central Silk Board (CSB), under the ministry of textiles, and the state government of Assam had provided a subsidy of Rs. 155.30 lakh and Rs. 48.10 lakh respectively to the promoter of the unit, Fabric Plus Pvt. Ltd., for installation of machineries, equipments etc. The promoter also contributed an amount of Rs. 22.60 lakh.
Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest mobile services provider, will acquire a 70 per cent stake in Warid Telecom, the fourth-largest mobile company in Bangladesh (out of six operators).
Three variants to have introductory price of Rs 2.58-2.89 lakh.
World"s largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal has asked the Orissa government to treat its proposed Rs 50,000-crore project on the issue of mining lease at par with other big ticket investments.
I’m considering buying a hatchback for local commutes for my children. My requirement is for a car that is easy to drive, fuel efficient, low on maintenance and has a refined engine. I am considering the Maruti Suzuki Alto, the Hyundai i10, Hyundai Santro, Maruti Suzuki A-star and Chevrolet Spark. The Alto has good manoeuvrability but seems to be outdated. My budget is Rs 3-3.50 lakh. Which car would you suggest?
After a promising start during the first week of the year, five of the country"s top 10 companies saw an erosion of nearly Rs 25,000 crore from their market capitalisation (m-cap), while PSU oil firm ONGC added over Rs 8,000 crore to its kitty.
Mumbai-based Gammon Infrastructure wishes to buy stakes in international airport projects. The company is already in talks with companies that have won such projects in developing economies. “We expect the first such deal to close in six months,” said Managing Director Parvez Umrigar.
With government’s flagship Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme showing encouraging results in expansion of elementary education, the World Bank has come forward with an offer to provide additional funding of $ 500 million (Rs 2,325 cr approx) for the programme.
Cummins ended at Rs 444, higher by Rs 11 or 2.6%, on the BSE.
After putting a cap on charges on unit- linked insurance plans (ULIPs) products, the insurance-sector regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is mulling a similar move for traditional insurance products, a top official said.
After swelling to a nine-month high in the previous fortnight, the outstanding credit of Indian banks decreased by Rs 11,898 crore in the 15 days up to January 15 — its first fall in two and half months.
Home appliance maker Whirlpool today reported over two-fold increase in its profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 16.16 crore for the quarter ended on December.
Oil refining and marketing major Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) today reported a net profit of Rs 31 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.
With more IPO listings on horizon, NYSE Euronext for the fifth consecutive year led the US IPO market, with over $19 billion in proceeds compared with $8 billion on Nasdaq.
Anil Ambani’s Reliance Power today started power generation at its Rs 6,000-crore Rosa Power Project in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
Tata Coffee has posted a rise of 13.5 per cent in its profit after tax (PAT) for the December quarter at Rs 13.87 crore compared with Rs 12.22 crore in the previous corresponding quarter. Its income from operations during the period grew to Rs 76.46 crore from Rs 65.10 crore last year, up 17.45 per cent.
LIC Housing Finance has posted a rise of 14.32 per cent in its net profit after tax at Rs 153.57 crore for the quarter ended December, 2009 compared with Rs 134.33 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. Its net sales during the period stood at Rs 833.61 crore against Rs 734.33 crore last year, up 13.52 per cent.
Country"s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) today said it is not looking at acquisition of any other bank outside SBI-fold, even as speculations are rife that consolidation in the banking sector may gather pace.
The stock extended gains to touch a high of Rs 55 - up 10% from the day"s low of Rs 50. It finally ended up 3.2% at Rs 52.
Regional Indian cuisine, done well has many takers.
Market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today confirmed its earlier order barring proprietors and directors of 75 companies from trading in stock markets for allegedly helping Pyramid Saimira Theatre Promoter Nirmal Kotecha carry out suspicious banking transactions.
Six Indian drug makers have been pulled up for quality lapses by Sri Lanka’s ministry of health.
Industry says consultations not conducted.
The country"s oldest fund house, UTI Asset Management Company (AMC), today said it will divest 26 per cent stake to a strategic partner by August this year.
As the main indices fell today, the share prices of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies rose.
Farmers who want land back wish to return the compensation only in instalments.
The country"s largest two-wheeler maker Hero Honda today reported a huge 78.34 per cent jump in its third quarter net profit at Rs 535.77 crore on the back of a quarterly sales volume of over a million units, and said it may go in for a new facility soon.
Reliance Power ended with a loss of 3.3% at Rs 145 on the BSE.
Leading auto parts maker Bharat Forge today said its board has approved raising $150 million through equity-cum-debt issue for expansion into non-automotive areas like power and oil and gas.
United Auto Workers (UAW) President Ron Gettelfinger plans to anoint Bob King, head of negotiations with Ford Motor Co, to be the shrinking union’s next president, on December 16, said two people familiar with the matter.
Bajaj Auto sold 2,20,429 two-wheelers in December 2009, registering an 85 per cent growth in sales over the same month last year, when it sold 1,19,215 units, a company release said.
A day after senior Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh announced his resignation from key posts, party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today said Amar Singh continued to be in the party fold and his quitting key posts was “nothing big”.
Tata Motor’s future profitability hinges on its ability to scale up JLR volumes and execute a slew of cost-reduction measures.
Business Standard / New Delhi January 13, 2010, 0:44 IST
Leading car maker, Ford India today said it sold 29,499 vehicles in 2009, clocking a 3 per cent year-on-year jump in its annual sales as compared to previous year.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered an investigation of Toyota Motor Corp, saying the world’s largest carmaker “can leave” should it fail to meet production quotas and technology-transfer laws.
The chief executives of Italian auto maker Fiat and oil major Royal Dutch Shell will not be seeking re-election to the board of Swiss banking entity UBS.
Five companies including Hero Honda have evinced interest in investing in Karnataka. In the run up to the forthcoming lobal investors’ meet in June this year, the state industries department has been inviting companies from industry segments to the state.
Domestic auto major Mahindra & Mahindra today reported a net profit of Rs 413.7 crore for the third quarter ended December 2009, on the back of strong sales in both automotive and farm equipment sectors.
The stock gained 2.4 per cent to Rs 1,178.15, a lifetime high, after the company announced more than 100 per cent growth in its domestic auto sales for the month of December 2009. The domestic auto sales stood at 22,754 units, as against 10,253 units in December 2008, up 2.22 times.
As with earlier recommendations for basic change, the IFS hasn’t moved on the latest one.
The Nifty tested the 4,900 levels as indicated in our F&O outlook on Tuesday and closed below support level on profit booking in interest rate sensitive sectors like auto, banking and realty.
High-profile Samajwadi Party spokesperson Amar Singh today resigned as its General Secretary and other posts following deepening differences with party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying his priority now was his health, wife and children.
Overseas borrowings by India Inc fell by nearly half to $1.08 billion in August against $2 billion during the previous month.
The Board of Directors of Jet Airways has given its in-principle approval to acquire 26 per cent stake in MAS GMR Aerospace Engineering Company for an unspecified amount.
CMC, Finolex Industries and Jindal Saw will be annuncing their Q3 numbers today.
Loans taken for acquiring Novelis caused a dip in the net profit of the Aditya Birla Group’s Hindalco Industries. The profit dipped 21.65 per cent to Rs 427 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, from Rs 545 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Hardware and systems integrator company HCL Infosystems posted a 1.5 per cent increase in net profit for the second quarter ended December 31, 2009. Net profit stood at Rs 56.09 crore compared with Rs 55.25 crore in the year-ago period.
Aditi Phadnis / New Delhi December 27, 2009, 0:23 IST
The super-premium beer is banking on UB for its India debut, but the late entry may make the going tough.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath today pitched for infrastructure bonds in different currencies, specially suited to NRIs, for raising resources for building roads in India.
Google today postponed the launch of its mobile phone in China, adding to the potential commercial fallout of its dispute with Beijing over Internet censorship and e-mail hacking.
A mistake by a US Navy intelligence official has given the world an unexpected peek into the secret world of China’s navy. The US Office for Naval Intelligence (ONI) committed the blunder of posting, on an open website, the agency’s assessment of the state of the Chinese navy. Before the ONI could rectify this indiscretion by pulling off the report, it had been downloaded and posted on a publicly accessible website.
The stock ended flat at Rs 712. Around 86,350 shares were traded on the BSE today as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 98,591 shares.
PTC Financial Services, a subsidiary of Power Trading Corporation, is mulling to raise Rs 1,500 crore by divesting 26 per cent of the promoters’ stake.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates today said there has been a remarkable advancement of defence relationship between India and the United States in the last few years.
The spat between Google and China is unlikely to have any impact on Islamabad"s ties with Beijing, the Obama Administration has said.
K Subrahmanyam / January 21, 2010, 0:30 IST
Google India today said it has entered into an agreement with Indian Premier League (IPL) and its licensing partner Global Cricket Ventures to stream Twenty20 cricket matches live on its video sharing website Youtube.
There is unanimity in thinking among the intelligentsia that if India is to become an economic power, growth has to be inclusive and touch the lives of millions of people living in rural India. It is heartening to note that the Government is conscious of the fact and has taken unique steps to which will go a long way in alleviating the sufferings of poor people.
Hinduja Group global president G P Hinduja today saluted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his team for sailing India through the global economic crisis with ease.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s core team for the Budget will witness a crucial change on February 1. With the government announcing the appointment of Sunil Mitra as revenue secretary, the West Bengal cadre official will now move to North Block from the Department of Disinvestment, where he spearheaded the recent divestment drive of public sector companies.
The government today cleared 14 foreing direct investment (FDI) proposals, including a Rs 273-crore application from Asset Reconstruction Company, which could together bring in foreign investment worth Rs 732.5 crore.
State-run Coal India (CIL) today said the government may divest only 10 per cent stake in the PSU in the next fiscal, against the desired 15 per cent, as regulatory provisions bars it from reserving some shares for employees.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) seems to be in a state of confusion on deciding the number of slots of 3G spectrum to be auctioned. It is now in favour of auctioning only two blocks and immediately assigning the spectrum to the successful winners.
Kiran and Shiv Nadar will throw open their collection of art this evening at the HCL Technologies campus in Noida. Kishore Singh gets a preview before the formal opening of this private art museum, the first of its kind
The Delhi High Court has said it is not mandatory for the government to award contract to the lowest or highest bidder in a tendering process and had the option of giving the work to some other party instead.
The government today said the current high inflation, which crossed 7 per cent in December driven by costlier food prices, is a matter of concern and it is closely monitoring the situation.
In the backdrop of the US remarks that India would have limited patience if a Mumbai-type attack recurs, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today said the government will have to be prepared to meet any eventuality.
Amid India"s concerns over use of Nepalese soil by ISI and other anti-India elements, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has said such apprehensions are being taken seriously but made it clear that an extradition treaty would have to wait for political stability here.
The country"s largest power producer National Thermal Power Corporation"s (NTPC)
The telecom industry added a massive 44.21 million new subscribers in the quarter ended September 2009, while the gross revenue of the operators has slipped marginally by 0.65 per cent during the same period, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said here today.
Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal today said the company had not initiated any tariff war with the launch of per-second billing and was merely responding to the market needs.
- GST rates within 15 days: Dasgupta - FMCG firms to be hit if hill state tax benefits withdrawn - GST to reduce tax burden on industrial sector - GST to subsume more taxes than envisaged, says Asim - "GST will be a major breakthrough in the history of tax reforms" - GST may provide for rate changes outside Budget
Last week, the Supreme Court pronounced a landmark ruling in the case of Oracle India holding that the process of duplication of software from master copy tantamount to ‘manufacture’. The Apex court allowed Oracle much awaited relief with respect to a tax holiday claim available for new undertakings engaged in manufacture and processing of articles and things.
Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel today reported a low net profit growth of 2.3 per cent at Rs 2,209.80 crore for the quarter ending December 31, 2009, weighed down heavily by low tariff and severe competition.
India’s largest private telecom company, Bharti Airtel, wants to help international players deliver multimedia content to Indian players, while simultaneously helping local companies to deliver content to foreign ones. It has tied up with Limelight Networks to launch content delivery network (CDN) services in the country. Limelight is the second-largest CDN player globally in terms of revenues.
Mumbai-based Aptech, a retail and corporate training solutions major, has signed a joint venture with New Life Group Inc a Philippines-based company, to expand its retail presence in the country.
The murder of a 21-year-old Indian national, Nitin Garg, in Melbourne has further tarnished Australia’s reputation for hosting Indian students. For the academic year 2010, overseas education consultants are predicting a 20-50 per cent fall in the number of students applying to Australian universities.
Telecom regulator TRAI, which is doubling as broadcasting regulator too, has informed the Supreme Court that it would complete fixing tariffs for cable and TV operators in areas not having conditional access system by May 30, an official said.
The Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL), the special purpose vehicle set up to implement the metro rail project in the city, had postponed the sale of Request for Qualification (RFQ) applications for global bids to July 24.
IT services provider, L&T Infotech, today announced a strategic partnership with Savvion to provide Business Process Management (BPM) solutions. These will be in the areas of business process modeling, implementation and integration solutions and services to its clientele, a press release issued here stated.
Australian police today stepped up efforts to nab the killer of a 21-year-old Indian and launched a "search and seize" operation to curb street crimes amid a spate of assaults on the community which has led to a whopping 46 per cent slump in student visa applicants from India.