Small Business
Income Tax (I-T) authorities are carrying out search operations at various establishments of the ship- building and repairing firm, ABG Shipyard, for alleged tax evasion, an Income tax Department source said.
The extra freedom given to the 26 public sector banks from this year to choose their statutory auditors has auditing companies — both those chosen and those left out — restive.
The sales of luxury car maker Mercedes Benz have dwindled in Punjab and Chandigarh this year, primarily due to short supply.
Mercedes Benz’s latest offering in India, the new E-class sedan, could well reclaim the top spot within the Germany luxury car makers’ stable in eastern India. Since 2007, the automobile giant"s lower-priced C-class model has dominated the Kolkata market by selling substantially more, especially during 2008.
Gold futures prices fell by Rs 83 or 0.49 per cent at the Multi Commodity Exchange today as traders reduced their positions.
As part of a restructuring plan, the Chennai-based Pyramid Saimira group, which produces films, has decided to dilute 40 per cent stake in all its eight subsidiary companies. It hopes to raise up to Rs 300 crore by doing so.
On saturday, gold prices hit yet another high. Should you invest or book profits?
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.
Global hospitality company Hyatt Hotels today said it plans to raise up to $1.15 billion through an initial public offer and would use part of the proceeds to acquire and invest in new properties.
Sudhakar Ram, chairman, Mastek, is putting together a collaborative book.
State-owned UCO Bank expects to receive Rs 750 crore from the government this month to shore up capital, Chairman and Managing Director SK Goel, said on Tuesday.
The US has said it is in communication with both India and Pakistan on the case of LeT operatives David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who were arrested by FBI in October on charges of plotting terror attacks against Indian facilities.
Madhukar Sabnavis / New Delhi November 06, 2009, 0:40 IST
Ailing Jyoti Basu is responding to treatment and there is a positive change in his health condition, CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury said today.
The Sensex opened with a marginal positive gap of 23 points at 17,031. However, the index quickly slipped to a low of 16,907- down 102 points. The index has recovered somewhat and is now down 76 points at 16,932.
Reliance Industries" eastern offshore KG-D6 gas has helped fertilizer companies bring down cost of urea production by 18 per cent and has helped save about Rs 4,760 crore in fertilizer subsidy.
Commercial vehicles major Ashok Leyland, Hinduja group"s flagship company, today reported an increase of 164 per cent in its sales in December 2009.
The Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today called upon the large and medium industries in the state to promote the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust, a non-profit organisation, aims to support 5,000 entrepreneurial ventures in the next five years.
Terming the death of a swine-flu infected girl in Pune as "unfortunate", Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has said negligence on part of the private hospital which treated the 14-year-old was to blame for it.
The gas row between the Ambani brothers had its echo in the Lok Sabha on Thursday with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav making a strong plea for gas from Reliance at cheaper rates for state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), a plea also being used by the Anil Ambani group.
One third of the world"s child brides live in India, accounting for a large number of unregistered births, according to a UNICEF report.
The Asian markets ended on a weak note.
The Nifty faced strong resistance above 5,300 and closed in a Doji pattern, indicating indecisiveness among participants.
As many as nine transactions, including Pfizer"s takeover of Wyeth Corp and Merck & Co"s buying of Schering-Plough Corp, are under investigation by the US regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for possible insider-trading violations, says a media report.
State-run gas utility GAIL India Ltd today declared a 20 per cent (Rs 2 per share) interim dividend for the current fiscal.
Assocham: Aam aadmi Budget
Strong non-core income growth pushes revenues.
Tata Group firm Rallis India today reported 9.90 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 45.71 crore for the quarter ended September 30.
I A Modi-controlled Cadila Pharmaceuticals is planning to rope in US-based biotechnology firm Novavax to produce swine flu (H1N1) vaccine.
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.
The state health and family welfare department is looking to forge partnerships with the healthcare institutions in the private sector.
Delegates geared up for a tough round of negotiation on climate change as a crucial summit opens today with top UN officials saying that emission reductions announced by key countries, including India, had put the world within reach of a global warming control pact.
Hotels and retail stores in Pune have seen their sales drop 50 per cent. “We have seen a 60 per cent drop in the number of visitors and around 50 per cent in our total sales. We have sales of around Rs 3 lakh per day. So, over a week’s time we expect a drop of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh in our collections,” said Srinivas Rao, regional sales manager, Provogue Studio.
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.
Power PSU NTPC today moved the Supreme Court challenging Bombay High Court"s decision that allowed Mukesh Ambani group firm RIL to amend its petition on the gas dispute citing government"s pricing policy.
M J Antony / New Delhi June 3, 2009, 0:51 IST
Hiring activity in Kolkata went up by 12 per cent in June this year compared to May, revealed a latest report by Naukri Jobspeak.
Reflecting the changed ground realties in the US in the wake of economic crisis, there has been a sharp drop in H-1B work visas being applied for and obtained by major IT companies from India.
After two bad years and a recession that saw demand fall by 40 to 50 per cent, the Rs 700-800 crore plywood industry in Uttarakhand is expecting a robust growth in the wake of signs of recovery in the real estate business.
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.
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.
The Orissa government today approved proposals for setting up two medium scale steel plants, including one by Tata Sponge Iron Limited, official sources said.
The annual plan ceiling of the water resources department (WRD) for 2010-11 has been fixed at Rs 2222.64 crore. It is the highest among all the departments.
Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) for the Posco steel project in Orissa will meet next month to finalise the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package for the project affected persons.
Protracted problems in land acquisition, availability of raw-material, supply of power and water are among others causing inordinate delay in implementation of various projects in the state.
Chairman of Godrej Industries Adi Godrej today said the company would dilute stake in case it finds a good acquisition opportunity.
The Orissa government is yet to form the Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committees (RPDAC) for 13 large projects in the state.
Industrial tool to optimise operations
There might be political uproar over the meager revision of MSP of wheat (Rs 20 per quintal hike), but the farmers in Punjab are firm on expanding the area under wheat cultivation. The state agriculture department is hopeful that this year also the total area under wheat would surpass the designated target of 35.20 lakh hectares.
The Centre may be eager to introduce the proposed Goods and Service Tax (GST) from April 1, 2010, but the Orissa government has cast doubts on the timely launch of the new tax regime.
Infrastructure company C&C Construction Ltd today said it is developing a four-star hotel near Mohali entailing a total investment of Rs 60 crore and is in talks with international and domestic hospitality groups for its management.
The Centre is planning to set model markets in every state across the country to preserve perishable commodities, said minister of state for agriculture K V Thomas.
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).
Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and global weapon system manufacturer BAE Systems have signed an agreement to create a joint venture defence company in India to focus on land-based systems.
L&T Infotech, the infomation technology arm of Larsen and Toubro, the engineering and construction major, is sharpening focus on its consulting business. The company set up a separate consulting business unit this March and already has close to 20 clients, representing 2 per cent of the overall revenue.
The process is expected to begin next summer.
Exporters of engineering goods, which contribute over 40 per cent to the country’s total exports, have urged the central government that incremental exports be exempt from tax for three years, with the base year being 2008-09.
The US has allowed the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) to launch Algerian satellites having American components using an Indian launch vehicle, following a Technical Safeguards Agreement (TSA) between the two countries.
The process of granting the coveted Maharatna status that will give greater autonomy to blue-chip PSUs will be completed in the next six months, Heavy Industries and Enterprises Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said here today.
The stock ended at Rs 845, down 1.5% from its previous close. The counter clocked volumes of 7.43 lakh shares on the BSE.
J Venkatesan, Fund Manager, Sundaram BNP Paribas MF spoke with Jitendra Gupta about PSU stocks as an investment theme.
Parle"s looking to bite into Britannia"s Bourbon biscuit market.
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.
Ahead of the Reserve Bank of India"s (RBI) credit policy review later this week, economists today said the central bank may suck out excess liquidity from the system by asking banks to keep more cash with it to tame the surging inflation.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said monetary measures are not required to contain food inflation, amid speculations that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may squeeze money supply to rein in surging food prices.
Ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s credit policy review amid surging inflation, leading private bank ICICI Bank today foresaw no immediate increase in interest rates.
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.
After losing customer accounts to public sector banks at the height of the downturn, private sector banks seem to be on their way back.
Indian IT major HCL Technologies today said the cost-cutting phase necessitated by the global economic downturn is over and it will work with its global customers to help redesign their business.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 31, 2009, 0:44 IST
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.
Apollo Hospitals today reported a 48.6 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 43.91 crore for the quarter ended on December 31, 2009, as compared to the similar period last fiscal.
Global Outlook, a white label hosted Microsoft Exchange and collaboration services provider with its data centres in Hyderabad and Dallas in the US, is targeting to achieve Rs 25 crore revenues from the Indian market by the end of this calendar year, according to its executive chairman Dayakar Puskoor.
Textile firm, Raymond, will open about 300 stores by end-March 2011, taking its total store-count to 800.
The revival in capital flows, which started in financial year 2009-10 and gathered momentum in the second quarter, has remained buoyant even in the third quarter, according to the second-quarter macroeconomic and monetary development report released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today.
Bangalore-based public sector lender, Canara Bank, is aiming to double its home loan portfolio to around Rs 17,500 crore by December 2010. The bank’s home loan portfolio stands at Rs 8,464 crore, little over 5 per cent of the total advances, as of December 2009, the bank’s executive director K L Jagadish Pai said.
Disney Interactive Media Group (DIMG), a division of Walt Disney Company, is contemplating introducing localised console and PC games for the Indian market shortly.
President Barack Obama is proposing a tax package aimed at appealing to middle-income Americans, including an increased tax credit for child care and an expansion of tax credits to match retirement savings.
RJD supremo Lalu Prasad has called up prime minister Manmohan Singh seeking his immediate intervention to get Maharashtra government"s decision on giving licence to those who are domicile of that state for the last 15 years rescinded.
You hear the pop of blooming buds and the ruffle of unfurling petals, and spy insects feeding on nectar in this idyllic garden, bathed in the early morning sun. Just as you get drawn in by visuals that could rival footage on any nature channel, you notice the flowers are nestling fruit juice cartons — as if they too have blossomed in the heart of nature. This is the ad for Parle Agro’s 100 per cent fruit juice, Saint, being aired on English lifestyle and news channels. “Juice the way God meant it to be,” says the punch line.
Sayantani Kar / New Delhi November 17, 2009, 0:18 IST
Aabhas Sharma / New Delhi December 5, 2009, 0:47 IST
Bikram Dasgupta, chairman and CEO, Globsyn Technologies, traces his love for gadgets back to 1995, when he bought a Nokia 1011, loaded with games and polyphonic ringtones. Little did Dasgupta know that within 14 years, his so-called premium model phone would pale against his Mercedes E Class and custom-fitted laptops.
Hospital chain Apollo Group would be investing up to Rs 1,800 crore over the next two years as part of its plan to add 2,000 beds to its inventory, besides expanding its existing facilities.
Insiders, who have been chosen as CEOs of companies like Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries and Steve Jobs of Apple, have faired better than those who have been brought in from outside, says a survey.
Looking at fortifying its position in touch-screen phones category, Nokia launched two new touch interface devices, Nokia5230 and Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Regional General Manager (North India ), Nokia India, Chandan Dang maintained the two new touch screen handsets of Nokia would help strengthen the market for Nokia in the ‘touch-screen phone’ category .
Mobile phone major Nokia today indicated that multi-sim mobile handsets were on the anvil for the Indian consumers with expansion in demand.
US markets edged up on Monday. The Dow added 30 points to 10,501. The Nasdaq gained 22 points (1%) at 2,212.
Hyderabad-based drug maker Natco Pharma Limited will be releasing into the market over 1 million doses (10 million tablets) of Natflu, its medicine for treatment of swine flu, by the end of next month.
The decade that’s just passed saw a lot that we took for granted pass into the realm of obsolescence
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.
Markets have dropped again. The Sensex is now down 213 points at 16,567. The Nifty is down 75 points at 4,933.
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.
In a major boost to India"s Sun Pharma, which is locked in a takeover battle with Taro, shareholders of the Israeli drug firm today rejected a proposal to re-elect directors.
Private lender Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has increased its stake in Maytas Infra to 37.01 per cent by acquiring shares given as surety for a loan by the family of disgraced Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju, promoters of the company.
Things went from bad to worse since December 2008 for people who purchased bungalows, villas and apartments at Maytas Hill County, promoted by Maytas Properties Limited (MPL) -- the company run by B Rama Raju (Jr), the younger son of Satyam Computer Services founder and former chairman B Ramalinga Raju.
India’s largest IT services provider, Tata Consultancy Services, beat market expectations to post a 33.9 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 1,824 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 as compared to the same period a year ago. Its revenue, too, jumped 5.1 per cent on strong volumes of 6.6 per cent to touch Rs 7,649 crore year-on-year.
A study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has said that it is time for the premier B-school to study from the Indian diamond industry, lessons "of its rise, recession and recovery".
Japan"s unemployment rate fell to 5.5 per cent in August, from a record 5.7 per cent in July, the first improvement in seven months, the government said today.
Following the increase in the long term loans of Videocon Industries (VIL), Fitch Ratings has today affirmed Videocon Industries Limited"s (VIL) National Long-term rating at "A-(ind)" with Negative Outlook.
Raghavendra Kamath / Mumbai September 29, 2009, 0:19 IST
Enthused by the robust demand for its affordable housing projects, realty major Unitech today said it would invest Rs 600 crore to develop 5,000 such units in seven cities across India.
Differences over number of private players to be allowed to offer 3G mobile services continue within the government as an empowered ministers" panel today failed to reach at any consensus.
South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai Motor today said the development cost for its proposed small car for the Indian market was around Rs 800 crore.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh gave evidence of his considerable talent while addressing a press conference on biodiversity. In response to a question on how his ministry was planning to take up the issue of patents of biological materials, he replied, “Aapko kabhi jaundice hua hai? Jab mujhe hua tha tab mujhe kisi ne mooli khane ko kaha tha jisse mera jaundice 4-5 hafton mein chala gaya. Aise hi jab mujhe chicken pox hua, meri mother-in-law ne karipatte ke leaves mere face par ek mahine lagayi thein” (have you ever had jaundice? When I did, I was asked to have radish and this cured me in 4-5 weeks; when I had chicken pox, my mother-in-law rubbed curry leaves on my face for a month). He added conspiratorially, “I won’t give more examples otherwise these things will be commercialised. There is immense oral knowledge in our country. We only need to transform it into written knowledge.”
The state of Haryana, that claims to be numero uno on various economic parameters like per capita income, per capita investment and export of basmati rice among other things, is conspicuously lagging in expanding banking facilities in some pockets.
US President Barack Obama"s ambitious health care reform now appears to have been put on hold for the time being after the shocking Democratic party defeat in the Massachusetts Senate polls this week, which has denied the ruling party of a filibuster majority in the Senate.
Public sector lender Union Bank of India (UBI) today said its net profit declined by 20.48 per cent to Rs 534.13 crore for the third quarter ended December over the same period in the previous fiscal.
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.
India Cements, a South-based cement maker, has posted a decline of 43.79 per cent in its net profit for the quarter ended December, 2009 at Rs 34.8 crore compared with Rs 61.91 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. The company’s net sales during the quarter stood at Rs 864.12 crore against Rs 754.82 crore last year, up 14.48 per cent.
Sequel to denial of special audit findings commissioned by DoT.
The Sensex finally ended (provisional) with a gain of 48 points at 17,147. The Nifty was up 17 points at 5,129.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has set aside charges of insider trading against Dilip Pendse, former managing director of Tata Finance, and his wife Anuradha Pendse and Nalini Properties.
The devolvement of rights issues of Tata Motors and Hindalco in 2008 seems to be a distant memory. A large number of promoters are now taking the cost-efficient rights issue route to shore up stakes in their companies and raise cash.
Media and entertainment firm UTV Software today said its board has approved to raise Rs 100 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures to Life Insurance Corporation of India.
The Delhi High Court today dismissed an application by ITC Ltd for grant of an injunction against the use of a device mark by Philip Morris in relation to its Marlboro brand of cigarettes in India.
A few of the proposals are awaiting clearance for over six months now.
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.
We all have a variety of multimedia content on our computers. From the photos you have clicked on your digital camera to your ever-expanding collection of MP3 songs to movies and television shows, wouldn’t it be nice if there was an easy way to send all this to your TV for easy viewing in your living rooms?
A timely corporate initiative has mumbaiites lining up for lessons in western music.
Reliance Power ended with a loss of 3.3% at Rs 145 on the BSE.
Private sector lender Yes Bank today said that its net profit rose by 19 per cent to Rs 125.9 crore during the quarter-ended December as against Rs 105.8 crore a year ago.
India’s largest wireless service provider, Bharti Airtel is expanding its international operations by buying a majority stake in Bangladesh’s fourth largest wireless telephony service provider, Warid Telecom. This is the second major geography Bharti Airtel has ventured into after Sri Lanka where it launched its 2G and 3G service a year ago. Seychelles, Jersey and Guernsey (Channel Islands) are the other geographies where Bharti has a presence. To increase its international focus, the company recently announced that its current CEO Manoj Kohli will take charge as the head of the international business division.
Ford India will hike the prices of all its models across the board from January 1, 2010. The upward price revision is due to a steady rise in input costs and exchange rate fluctuations. Ford India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company.
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”.
The economy would get back to 9 per cent growth rate by 2011, says an article by the global rating agency Standard & Poor"s (S&P), an estimate higher than other agencies.
The joint venture of auto giants — Renault and Nissan, which had set up a manufacturing facility at suburban Oragadam, would commence commercial production by May 2010, a top company official said here today.
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.
For companies which are setting up new units in Uttarakhand, it is virtually a mad scramble to start production.
Ford Motor Co narrowed talks on the sale of its Volvo Car unit to one bidder, a consortium led by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.
Facing complaints from container operators, Indian Railways has decided to come up with a time table, the first of its kind, for freight trains, giving an assured transit time.
The combined turnover of 23 commodity exchanges in the country surged by 47.47 per cent to Rs 5,174,274 crore till December 15 this fiscal, commodity market regulator FMC said today.
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.
In the first three-and-a-half weeks of trading in the new year, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or the Sensex, has been range bound – a phase that many market experts would call a consolidation phase. And there are expectations that after the Union Budget, the market could enter a correction phase as well.
Trades between FIIs generated a volume of Rs 167 crore on the BSE Wednesday-an increase of 133.97% from Rs 72 crore clocked on Tuesday. As many as five stocks witnessed trades of 26 lakh shares on Wednesday.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 3,041.56 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.
The current year will witness new additions in processing capacities, quality evaluation facilities and enhancements in value addition for the Spices Board, its chairman V J Kurien said today.
Indian food delicacies with flavour and taste of spices are becoming a big hit in China, Spices Board sources said here.
Three members of Goa"s leading football club Churchill Brothers were today granted bail after they were arrested here for allegedly misbehaving with an airhostess and other cabin crew members on board a SpiceJet plane.
Professor Amartya Sen tells us that his high school teacher’s advice, on whether he could get away with saying that Lord Krishna’s argument in the Gita was incomplete and unconvincing, was that “Maybe you could say that, but you must say it with adequate respect”. Following this advice, I write the review with the deepest respect for Professor Sen.
Jamal Mecklai / New Delhi January 22, 2010, 0:05 IST
CMC, Finolex Industries and Jindal Saw will be annuncing their Q3 numbers today.
Government-owned Union Bank of India has initiated preliminary discussions with three-four small-sized Indonesian banks for a possible acquisition, a top bank official said.
With the economy coming back on the growth path, investment proposals by India Inc saw an increase of about 16 per cent to Rs 15.94 lakh crore in 2009, an Assocham study has said.
The volume of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals by India Inc slumped by 41 per cent to $3.3 billion in the June quarter over the previous three-month period due to the impact of the global economic slowdown, a report by consultancy firm Ernst & Young has said.
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.
India"s conduct after the Mumbai-terrorist attack by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has been statesmanlike, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today, praising the restrain shown by the Indian leadership after 26/11.
The spat between Google and China is unlikely to have any impact on Islamabad"s ties with Beijing, the Obama Administration has said.
Under fire for rising prices, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked state governments to tackle shortages of essential supplies while promising all possible assistance from the Centre.
With virtually no rain in Himachal Pradesh for the past four months, farmers are deeply worried over the drought-like conditions in the hill state.
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.
After implementing the UPA government"s disinvestment plans for the past six months, Sunil Mitra today took over as the Revenue Secretary, less than a month before the Budget presentation in Parliament.
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 Centre will hold a meeting with Chief Ministers on January 27 on the issue of surging prices of essential commodities, which continued to be costly, despite the food inflation easing a bit.
The hot gossip that’s warming up New Delhi’s cocktail circuit in a cold winter is about changing power equations on Raisina Hill with the exit of National Security Advisor MK Narayanan. Not only is Home Minister P Chidambaram seen as a “rising star”, there’s talk of a new “power trio” — Sonia Gandhi’s political advisor Ahmed Patel, Pranab Mukherjee’s assistant Omita Paul and prime minister’s principal secretary TKA Nair — in that order of importance!
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.
India has agreed to provide an additional 30 MW of electricity to Nepal, which is facing an acute power shortage.
GTL Infrastructure, which today agreed to buy the tower business of Aircel, plans to have a footprint of 50,000 towers over the next three years, company"s Chairman Manoj Tirodkar said here today.
Tata Communications has signed an agreement with the Qatar-based Qtel for a new undersea cable network that will connect a number of regional operators in the Gulf region with 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.
BSNL rolls out video phone commercially
Growing competition and declining revenues in India have prompted state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) to revive plans to enter overseas markets.
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 farmers of Dadri in Ghaziabad district, where Anil Ambani-controlled Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) has proposed a gas- based power plant, today urged the Uttar Pradesh government to grant more time for returning the land acquisition compensation paid by the company.
The Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group is all set to get into Hollywood’s big bucks league. DreamWorks Studios, a joint venture between Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider, along with the ADA Group, will make ‘Martin Luther King, Jr’. The screenplay will be written by acclaimed screenwriter and Academy award winner, Ronald Harwood.
Malaysia-based Scomi International is scouting for partners to tap the monorail market in India, which is estimated to be around $15 billion (Rs 72,000 crore) in the next five years.
The market opened weak and sustained selling pressure saw the benchmark indices, the Nifty and Sensex, lose their crucial support levels of 5,150 and 17,300, respectively. The spot Nifty closed at 5,094 while January futures closed at almost 10 points discount on profit-taking and short build-up.
Geometric’s net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009, grew almost nine times to touch Rs 16.2 crore from Rs 1.76 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Public sector lender, Allahabad Bank today posted 6.52 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 345.37 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 as compared to Rs 369.46 crore for the corresponding period last year mainly due to higher provisioning and lower other income.
Construction major Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) reported a 36 per cent drop in net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2001 at Rs 14.75 crore as against Rs 23.20 crore in the previous corresponding quarter.
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.
An Indian youth was today stabbed in Australia, in the first case of casualty in a series of vicious attacks on the community members, prompting a strong reaction from India which said such incidents could have a "bearing" on bilateral ties.