Online Business
A better reach in rural markets has helped both the soaps and hair colours businesses.
Seema Sindhu / October 31, 2009, 1:17 IST
India is all set to have a modern arbitration centre on the models of world-acclaimed reconciliation units at Singapore and London for quick justice delivery in corporate litigations.
The world"s largest chip maker Intel Corporation today withdrew its suit before the Delhi High Court against the government, trademark registry and the two small firms which have got registered its trademark till 2017.
The market turned weak on the cusp of settlement and made a partial recovery in the first session of the December settlement. The Nifty ended with a net week-on-week loss of 2.2 per cent, closing at 4,941.75 points while the Sensex was down 2.3 per cent at 16,632 points. The Defty lost 2.5 percent with the rupee losing ground.
IT firm HCL Infosystems today said it has divided its channel partners to serve its small and medium enterprise (SME) customers in a better way.
Image spam has made an unwelcome comeback by contributing 16 per cent to all the spam messages recorded at the end of April 2009.
The proceeds from disinvestment of NHPC and OIL will be allocated for capital expenditure in identified social sector schemes, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee informed the Lok Sabha today.
The country"s third-largest public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) today said it is open to overseas acquisition if a good opportunity comes across.
To add punch to IAF’s fleet of Sukhoi, Mig-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas.
Arvind Singhal / New Delhi December 17, 2009, 0:02 IST
Essar Oil’s recoverable coal-bed methane (CBM) reserve at Raniganj block in West Bangal has been pegged at 1 trillion cubic feet (tcf), 43 per cent higher than the earlier estimate of 700 billion cubic feet (bcf). The basin has 3.5 tcf reserves, a third of which are recoverable.
Owing to mounting losses, Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines has returned 19 leased aircraft to lessors in the past 10 months.
The win-win deal between United Breweries and Heineken opens up a window of growth opportunities for the duo.
The Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) is taking ing various measures to increase the number of subscribers under its New Pension Scheme (NPS). It is in discussions with the General Insurance Council, various industry bodies and companies to offer the plan to their employees. Under the recent deal between the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the pension regulator, all new recruits of banks will join the defined contribution system from April 1, 2010. Already 20 nationalised and 12 private sector banks have joined the new system.
New Year resolutions are common. Every year, during this time, a lot of people decide that they would do a number of things to improve their lifestyle, careers and finances. However, many times things do go awry and the best-laid plans fail to fructify.
Indian automobile industry recorded an impressive 68 per cent growth in sales in December last year, thereby continuing with the push it had received from two stimulus packages since 2008-end and successfully beating the year-end blues.
It surely took a long time coming, but now that it has, it’s got top clearance from us. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to our Bike Of The Year 2010 — the Kawasaki Ninja 250R! While there was an impressive list of opponents to the Ninja, none of them could handle going toe-to-toe with the Japanese warrior. And it wasn’t just its bright green colour either. But more on the Ninja later; let’s see who it was up against, shall we?
Chennai-based auto maker TVS Motor Company today said it will showcase a range of vehicles, including different hybrid models, at the 10th Auto Expo starting here from January 5, 2010.
Will launch the one-tonne LCV at Delhi auto show on Jan 5.
A decade earlier, when the Indian auto market was stagnant and there were not many new models to talk about, there were years when even Maruti Udyog, the market-leader, gave the Delhi Auto Expo a miss. Few manufacturers can afford to do so today.
KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd, a global IT consulting and product engineering company, has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Sparta Consulting, a California, USA-based firm and a leading provider of high end SAP solutions. The all cash agreement is for a milestone based consideration of $38 million which includes a bonus of $4 million.
The commerce ministry has prohibited import of mobile phone handsets (classified under ITC (HS) Code ‘8517’) without International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number or with all zeroes’ IMEI, with immediate effect from October 14, 2009. Import of ‘CDMA mobile phones’ (classified under ITC (HS) Code ‘8517’) without Electronic Serial Number (ESN)/Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) or with all zeroes as ESN/MEID is also prohibited with immediate effect from the same date.
The country"s largest iron ore producer National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is planning to file draft prospectus with the market regulator Sebi within a fortnight for its estimated Rs 14,000-crore disinvestment programme.
SESA GOA
The government has asked mobile operators to comply with national security norms by not carrying calls from fake mobile equipment identification numbers (IMEI) embedded handsets latest by November 30.
She has been compared to Jhumpa Lahiri, and now author SELINA SEN has charmed European audiences as well. Sen’s debut novel, A Mirror Greens in Spring, has just been translated into French, Italian and Spanish and gathered significant international acclaim — two years after its release in India. In Italy, the pod-cast version of the story, about an immigrant Bengali family living in Delhi, is a hit, while, in France, a pocket-book version has just been formalised. Her European success has much to do with the readers’ curiosity about the subcontinent, she tells NEHA BHATT
Automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra today reported a net profit of Rs 400.85 crore in the first quarter ended June 30 against Rs 159.30 crore in the same quarter last year.
Balrampur Chini has called off the deal it was looking to enter into with Bajaj Hindusthan after initial talks. In a communication to the stock exchanges, Balrampur Chini said “some discussions were held with Bajaj Hindusthan on future business strategies”. It said the promoters had not entered into any agreement with any party for sale of their stake.
Gold prices today tumbled by Rs 220 -- the biggest fall this year -- to Rs 16,880 per 10 gram in the bullion market here on fresh selling by stockists influenced by a weak global trend.
Kolkata-based Balrampur Chini Mills profit after tax for fourth quarter ending September 30, 2009 improved 193 per cent at Rs 42.7 crore from Rs 14.58 crore in the fourth-quarter last year. Net sales dropped to Rs 379.96 versus Rs 416.73 crore in the corresponding quarter in the preceding year. Earnings per share gained 192.7 per cent at Rs 1.67 as against 57 paise in the year ago quarter.
IL&FS Transportation Networks (ITNL) today said it would raise Rs 700 crore though an initial public offer (IPO) in Januray for repayment of loan and supporting its growth plans.
A mid-year review of the economy by the government today stressed the need for urgent action to contain the rising prices of food articles, hitting the common man hard.
Global commodities experienced a steep fall today, as investors and hedge funds across regions unwound their long positions after the news of Dubai’s debt crisis. Most commodities were down today between three and five per cent as the dollar strengthened. In late afternoon trade, however, prices recovered.
India was the UAE"s top trading partner last year with non-oil trade totalling $32.11 billion, the data by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has showed.
The country’s merchandise exports continued their southward march, falling 6.6 per cent to $13.19 billion (over Rs 61,500 crore) in October, against $14.1 billion (Rs 65,775 crore) in the same month last year, when it declined by more than 12 per cent over 2007-08.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), which is setting up a 15 million tonne per annum refinery at Paradeep, has so far invested Rs 2200 crore in the project.
The Orissa government today rejected the Opposition demand for an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the irregularities at high level in the alleged mining scam running into hundreds of crores.
Barring intra-day corrections, the market displayed a firm trend throughout the week. The Sensex rallied 4.27 per cent (691 points) to end at 16,849. IT, metals and select banking stocks were the major gainers during the week.
Dalal Street is likely to witness high volatility and remain range bound with an upward bias as investors will tread cautiously despite the right signals from the government in terms of financial reforms, analysts say.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), which is setting up a 15 million tonne per annum refinery at Paradeep, has so far invested Rs 2200 crore in the project.
Construction work on the onshore LNG terminal, coming up at Puthuvype, near here will be completed by December, next year.
Want more cash, forex, higher bond coupons and increase in market prices for petrol, diesel, LPG.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, an otherwise able administrator, may earn the distinction of presiding over the fall of individuals and institutions in oil sector in a year when he also faced accusations of taking sides in corporate battles.
Dish TV’s board of directors, at its meeting held today, approved the pricing of the Global Depository Receipt (GDR) issue. The issue price of $854.50 per GDR, representing 1,000 underlying company shares of Re 1 each.
Direct-to-home service provider Dish TV today reported a net loss of Rs 56.13 crore for the second quarter ended September, narrowing down from its loss of Rs 154.11 crore of the year ago period.
Namrata Acharya & Ishita Ayan Dutt / New Delhi November 27, 2009, 1:05 IST
Suven Life Sciences Limited, a Hyderabad-based biopharmaceutical company specialising in central nervous system (CNS) diseases, has presented the clinical Phase-I data for its SUVN-502 drug at the 2009 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Vienna, Austria.
Airtel DTH has high hopes from a market that offers scope for exponential growth but is already packed tight like a can of sardines. Can the telecom major pull it off?
Hearing in the gas row between the Ambani brothers entered the final phase in the Supreme Court today with Mukesh Ambani Group Reliance Industries (RIL) asserting that government approval on gas pricing is mandatory, a contention opposed by the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL).
Canara Bank will soon become the sixth major Indian bank to open a branch in the East Midlands town of Leicester, which has a large population of Indian origin and has close business links with India.
Public sector lender UCO Bank today said it will convene a meeting of its shareholders to decide whether it should come out with a follow-on public offer (FPO) or placement of shares to qualified institutional buyers to raise funds.
Sumit Bose, former 13th Finance Commission Secretary, today took charge as Disinvestment Secretary, at a time when the government is expected to come out with a roadmap for its equity sale in PSUs next month.
With the aggressive disinvestment of PSUs being planned for the coming months, the government is likely to introduce a fixed time-frame during which the nomination of independent directors should be completed by state-run companies.
Tatas is planning to introduce its small car Nano in Latin America in partnership with Italian auto maker Fiat.
Trent is trying hard to make up for lost time. Consider this: In the last 10 years, the retail arm of the Tata Group set up only 68 stores with around one million sq ft of space.
Tatas is planning to introduce its small car Nano in Latin America in partnership with Italian auto maker Fiat.
A significant change is happening in the country’s Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). Two years after the government proposed upgrading 1,397 ITIs into Centres of Excellence in specific trades and skills under private-public partnership, Corporate India is warming to the idea.
Titan Industries, a Bangalore-based watch and jewellery arm of Tata Group, today reported 41 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 46.04 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 compared to the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
Tatas is planning to introduce its small car Nano in Latin America in partnership with Italian auto maker Fiat.
India Inc"s staff cost went up by 11.2 per cent during January-March last fiscal growing at a lesser pace than the previous three quarters of 2008-09, reflecting the economic slowdown, according to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) study.
Ranbir Kapoor is raking in Rs 5 cr for each film.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is hopeful that the defence ministry would release more spectrum for the 3G auction scheduled for next month.
A big controversy on procurement of Rs 35,000-crore worth of equipment by telecom behemoth BSNL is brewing, with the position taken by the two government nominees on the board threatening the expansion programme of the state-owned telecom major.
A big controversy on procurement of Rs 35,000-crore worth of equipment by telecom behemoth BSNL is brewing, with the position taken by the two government nominees on the board threatening the expansion programme of the state-owned telecom major.
A record addition of 15 million wireless telephone user in August has catapulted the total subscriber base in the country to 494.07 million, closer to the government"s 2012 target.
The auction of 3G spectrum is on track and the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) will take a decision on the number of slots to be sold, Telecom Minister A Raja said today.
Bharati Shipyard (BSL) today said it would abide by the guidelines issued by the market watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on the Great Offshore open offer.
Kishore Biyani-led Pantaloon Retail (India) today said it will transfer its value retail business to its group company, Future Value Retail.
After cutting steel prices in the past two months, state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) today said it was looking to raise the rates next month following a recovery in demand.
With a view to attract more investors, leading fund house, UTI Mutual Funds today said it plans to launch mobile transaction platform by January-end, a top official said.
The Centre has initiated measures to increase the productivity of milch animals to increase the per capita availability of milk in the country, K V Thomas, Union Minister of State for Agriculture, said.
Lender have agreed to fund Haldia Petrochemicals" expansion plan, which had suffered cost and time overrun, as a study has found the project viable.
Three contract workers died in a mishap at a unit of the Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) in East Midnapore district of West Bengal.
National air-carrier, Air India (AI), today said it targets to save around Rs 800-900-crore, following the implementation of its fuel efficiency programme, started in 2008.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 11, 2009, 0:03 IST
Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, whose supporters have been campaigning for making him the Chief Minister, today met Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who told him to leave the issue of leadership change in Andhra Pradesh to her.
Shilpy Sinha / Mumbai January 8, 2010, 0:47 IST
The state-owned insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and private sector insurer HDFC Standard Life missed out on rural sector obligations during 2008-09. While two non-life insurers, Bharti Axa General Insurance and Apollo DKV, did not meet both the rural as well as the social sector obligations during the last financial year.
Life insurers have begun to spend big money on brand promotion. The market, after all, is crowded. At last count, there were 22 companies in the fray for a market estimated at Rs 55,355 crore. SBI Life, the 74:26 venture of State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Assurance, has been not as aggressive as its rivals so far as brand promotion is concerned. Where others rolled out campaign after campaign, SBI Life stuck to its old campaigns. It is only now, after a two-year hiatus, that it has come out with a brand new advertising campaign.
Reliance Industries Executive Director R Ravimohan is no more. He died Monday night due to a severe cardiac arrest. He was 52. Ravimohan is survived by wife Madhuralakshmi, daughter Hridaya and son Jagad.
2009 saw a high-voltage legal battle between the Ambani brothers over the gas dispute reaching the Supreme Court with a judge withdrawing from the bench.
In the turf war between the CPI(M) and its arch rival Trinamool Congress, veteran Congressman and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has found new prominence.
Reiterating her opposition to the ongoing joint operation against the Naxalites (CPI Maoist) at Lalgarh, in Paschim Medinipur, Mamata Banerjee said today that her party would continue to oppose it. She has pointed out that the joint operation had not yielded the desired results, as killing of poor people in the junglemahal was continuing.
The government today ruled out appointing an ombudsman to redress the complaints of poor mobile telephony services, like call drops, saying state-run BSNL and MTNL were taking effective steps to upgrade technology.
Both Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) are set to miss the mobile number portability (MNP) deadline of December 31.
Asian markets ended mixed today. The Hang Seng added 122 points to 20,244. The Nikkei was up seven points at 10,205.
Subir Roy / New Delhi December 9, 2009, 0:20 IST
The stock gained 4.7 per cent to close at Rs 83.05 after the company’s German unit REpower got an order to deliver 70 wind turbines to US-based enXco.
J K Lakshmi Cement today clocked a 38 per cent increase in sales at 5.06 lakh tonnes for the month of January, 2010.
Japanese firms may be very competitive but they also understand the virtues of collaboration. At a recent press conference by Sony, the company’s managing director started his presentation by pointing out that both Sony and Nikon were supposed to have press conferences at the same time. “But we realised many of you cannot be at the same place at the same time … Since the MD of Nikon is a very good friend of mine, we sat down and found a way out. They have shifted the conference to an hour and a half after ours. So you can attend this presentation in peace, ask questions, and then head for the Nikon conference.” Nikon, for its part, arranged coaches to facilitate the transit.
Worldwide industry vertical market IT spending is projected to total $2.28 trillion in 2009, a 6.8 percent decline from 2008, according to Gartner, an information technology research and advisory company . Analysts predict the market will return to growth in 2010, when it will grow at 2.3 percent to reach $2.34 trillion.
The government today said it will raise Rs 97,000 crore in the last quarter of the fiscal through treasury bills, which are short-term bonds.
Even before 2009 started, all initial indicators suggested that India Inc’s year in the UK would be that of the Tatas. The close of the year simply confirmed this with plenty of interesting developments leading to that foregone conclusion.
The third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin on March 12 in Hyderabad with the final to be held at D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on April 25, the BCCI announced here today.
Max India ended at Rs 204, higher by Rs 13 or 6.9%, on the BSE.
A stuttering GDP growth and high-base effect are likely to push same store sales (SSS) growth and profitability of Indian retailers in the red zone for the January-March 2009 quarter, research firm, Macquarie, said.
The southern cement major India Cements is going to considerably increase its recently acquired holding in Indo Zinc in Rajasthan. Indo Zinc holds a limestone mining lease in Rajasthan — an indispensable input for manufacturing cement.
A local court here today extended the judicial remand of B Ramalinga Raju and other accused in the multi-crore rupee fraud in Satyam Computer by 14 days.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached an agreement with Sri Lanka to provide the island nation with about $2.5 billion, to help it in its reconstruction efforts.
Don"t let soaring gold prices dampen your passion for jewellery, switch to paper adornments.
Businesswoman and socialite Sheetal Mafatlal was today granted bail on certain conditions by a local court in a case of alleged evasion of duty on jewellery worth Rs 53 lakhs carried by her on return from London.
Business Standard / New Delhi January 1, 2010, 0:17 IST
The next date for arbitration hearings on the terms of sale of the government’s residual 49 per cent stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) to Sterlite Industries is January 31. A three-day hearing by a panel of three retired judges of the Supreme Court concluded today.
Business Standard / New Delhi August 20, 2009, 0:46 IST
In the wake of the recent controversies over Chinese incursions, India and China have reaffirmed the need to maintain peace and tranquility on border pending resolution of the “complex” issue.
Not since the dark decade of the 1990s, when the Indian Air Force crashed 177 aircraft — losing 54 young pilots and some Rs 1,000 crore worth of equipment — has the air force faced such a pilot training crisis. The long-delayed Hawk trainers, which began arriving in India in 2007, have improved advanced training for IAF flyers. But the crucial introduction to flying, conducted in antiquated HPT-32 Deepak and HJT-16 Kiran aircraft, is taking a growing toll on pilots’ lives.
Ramping up the frantic search for missing helicopter of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S R Reddy, the IAF today deployed a Sukhoi fighter jet with on-board radar for high resolution ground mapping to locate it.
The last one year’s efforts of the IT companies in India in terms of increasing utilisation rates, effective use of the onsite-offshore model and new engagement models, have resulted in better margins despite the drop in the revenues. However, going forward, IT companies have to depend on volumes picking up, to see growth as there is little room for improving the utilisation rate, Som Mittal, president of industry body Nasscom, said here on Tuesday.
However, the survey says the Eleventh Plan period will create 58 mn new jobs
Industry says consultations not conducted.
Chinese auto component manufacturers are quietly making inroads into India. Over 100-odd companies, ranging from the largest truck engine manufacturer FAW Group, to medium-sized players like gear-box maker Weichai Power, are at the 10th Auto Expo in Delhi showcasing their products to the local commercial vehicle manufacturers.
After the near-flat growth in the first two quarters quarters, the third-quarter earnings of the 30 Sensex companies are expected to increase by 20 per cent, indicate analysts from Angel Broking, IDFC-SSKI and Motilal Oswal.
Housing finance companies step in to provide loan to customers turned away by banks.
Fixed maturity plan (FMP) launches, which had slowed down since the end of 2008, have again gathered steam with mutual funds rushing to meet investors’ demand for such plans ahead of the financial year end for the tax incentive FMPs provide.
Business Standard / December 16, 2009, 0:44 IST
Chef Simon Tress takes the best of German and Indian cuisines.
Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla today said the Reserve Bank of India"s (RBI) review policy has taken a balanced view of the current situation and the CRR hike would not have any affect either on interest rates or the industrial recovery.
T N Ninan / New Delhi November 28, 2009, 1:33 IST
A plethora of issues ranging from cheating by builders to complexities involved in succession and inheritance of properties dominated the first day of the annual Pravasi Bhartiya Divas attended by nearly 1,500 delegates from over 40 countries.
The global economic slowdown forced corporate India to look largely within the country for merger and acquisitions in 2009, accounting for about 60 per cent of the $10-billion worth of deals.
The government said today the role and responsibilities of independent directors on the boards of companies would be fixed as also the number of firms they could represent once the Companies Bill, 2009, became a law.
The new Companies Bill, 2008, which lapsed after the 14th Lok Sabha was dissolved, is likely to be re-introduced in Parliament this week, official sources said.
Acquisition of Rs 5,440-cr German major will make Ahmedabad firm a global textile-chemical giant
The European Union is holding its collective breath going into Thursday, when a conclave of the heads of its 27 member-states is expected to decide once and for all on the first ever European president.
Mortgage major Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) aimed to grow loan approvals as well as disbursements by at least 20 per cent in the current financial year, Joint Managing Director Renu Sud Karnad said today. HDFC has already seen a rise in new home loan applications, she said.
The 26/11 court has issued summons to Shashi Bhushan, Joint Secretary (Judicial) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, to appear as witness to throw light on sanction given to prosecute Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab and two others on charges of "waging war against the nation".
Amid fears of a debt crisis in Dubai, ICICI Bank today said it does not have any significant exposure to Dubai corporates.
India signed the multi-million dollar deal of decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov merely on “visual examination in as-is condition” and Navy “thought” the ship could be repaired.
Windows 7, Adobe, Symantec software stuck at customs over excise duty
Country’s largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel today said it was disappointed by 3G spectrum auction being postponed until next financial year, but would participate when it takes place.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and its troubled US subsidiary, Caraco Pharmaceuticals, plan to together file 30 Abbreviated New Drug Applications with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market generic drugs, despite regulatory issues for the US company.
It is towards Ireland that all eyes in Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union, are currently trained. On October 2 the Irish will hold a referendum for the second time to decide whether or not to approve the Lisbon Treaty. The island-nation will thus decide the fate of a much beleaguered set of proposed changes to the 27-member EU’s rule book that has its opponents frothing at the mouth even as its supporters tout its transformational potential.
A large number of academicians, including principals and vice-chancellors of various colleges and universities, met here today to discuss the Yash Pal Committee report on higher education, according to Pankaj Chandra, director of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B).
Encouraged by the improving business sentiment, India’s premier management schools are hopeful of a higher budget and sponsorship amount for their annual festivals which are held between October and March.
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.
The ‘unscientific’ coal mining in Jantia Hills of Meghalaya is severely affecting power generation at North Eastern Electric Power Corporation’s (Neepco) Kopoli hydro project in Assam due to rise in acid content of water in the reservoir. The high acidic nature of reservoir water has led to unprecedented rise in wear-and-tear and breakdown of machines and parts of the power plant.
Likely to drill three additional exploration wells in the block before the end of 2010.
The oldest brand in the non-salt biscuits segment is fighting back to regain market share
Faced with a heavy tax burden, the small-scale wall clock makers of Morbi (Gujarat) are diversifying into ceramics, stationery items and retail. Besides, the industry is also losing ground to the metros and cities like Bangalore, where clock manufacturing has started picking up and taxation levels are lower, Morbi players claim.
Sees itself as spearhead for G-77, to press for twin-track talks in run-up to Mexico.
Millions of people from Sydney to Sweden are set to switch off their lights on March 27, as part of the global "Earth Hour" campaign to highlight climate change, organisers said today.
Telecom solutions and services provider Aricent today said its has earned an all-time high ever revenue of $460 million in FY09 and is looking at listing on Indian bourses in the next three years.
Last week, I had suggested that Commerce Minister Anand Sharma should announce an ad hoc Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for the remaining eight months of the current year (2009-10). It now appears that he will opt for a long-term policy, with some measures that have sunset clauses. The basic framework of the 2004-09 policy may be preserved and most of the export promotion schemes retained. Whether some rationalisation of the schemes, ad hoc measures to help distressed sectors and moves to reduce transaction costs within the existing framework will sufficiently help exporters hit by slack demand abroad is a matter of doubt.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister R P Nishank today said he was in favour of proper utilisation of 94 acres of vacant land leased out to auto giant Hero Honda for its Haridwar plant even as the government gave more time to the company to deposit the land premium.
A few days back, if you were at Mumbai’s Dadar Railway Station or at Delhi’s Rajiv Gandhi Chowk Metro Station, you could not have missed a man sprawled on a sofa with a cushion that read: “Reserved for Abhishek Bachchan classes”. Is Bachchan Jr preparing for an alternate career? Not really. This is on-ground activation aimed to create a buzz for the newest reality show on Colors, National Bingo Night. It will of course be anchored by Bachchan Jr.
On this day, one hundred and fifty years ago, the publishing house of John Murray brought out a condensed and abridged treatise on The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, in a first printing of 1,250 copies.
Kolkata Metro still in red, but DMRC is making operating profits
Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland today reported a jump of 56.99 per cent in its commercial vehicle sales at 5,333 units in October as compared to the same month in 2008.
Prices of sugar in Uttarakhand have reached an all-time high of Rs 42-44 per kg in the retail market, thanks largely to sugarcane shortfall.
Output in 2009-10 to be 15-16 mt against projection of 30 mt.
Foreign fund house Deutsche Securities Mauritius has hiked its stake in commercial-vehicle maker Eicher Motors to 5.17%, after purchasing fresh shares through an open-market transaction.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and US space agency Nasa should deploy surface robotic penetrator in "Chandrayaan-II" mission to study more about the presence of water molecules on moon, former President APJ Abdul Kalam has suggested.
US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stood up for pigs and hog farmers, saying their name has been dragged through the mud by people who insist on calling the A(H1N1) influenza pandemic "swine flu."
About 40 per cent of people who have died of swine flu or fallen seriously ill were young and otherwise healthy, an expert from the World Health Organisation told a conference in Vienna today.
The government is reminding the Chief Justices of High Courts to initiate the process of filling up the vacancies of judges, Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said, pointing out that there are seven vacancies in the Supreme Court and 240 in High Courts.
Novartis India surged over 4% to Rs 447. The scrip touched a high of Rs 450 and a low of Rs 434 during the day. The counter witnessed a volume 13,914 shares, which is more than two-fold increase in its two-week average traded quantity of 5,919 shares.
Record gold prices took the shine off gems and jewellery exports, which fell 8 per cent to $2.11 billion (Rs 9,878 crore) in October compared to the same period last year.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries today said it has got the approval for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for the generic version of Quinapril Hydrochloride tablets used in the treatment of hypertension and congested heart failure.
Drug maker Dr Reddy"s Laboratories today said it has launched a skin-care product, Strea Professional, in the country.
Government is mulling on raising its equity in the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) in an attempt to revive the premier film making institution, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said today.
Business Standard / December 27, 2009, 0:21 IST
The government has granted one year extension to Satyam Computer Services for completion of three special economic zones (SEZ) in Andhra Pradesh, giving elbow room to the new management of the IT firm.
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said today that the swine flu virus had apparently not yet mutated into a more serious disease and that the development of vaccines was proceeding on track.
Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical major, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, forayed into the transdermal patch segment with the launch of Finrid – a medicated adhesive patch used in the management of severe to moderate pain – in the Indian market.
Swaraj Baggonkar / Mumbai January 5, 2010, 0:31 IST
The German auto component major Bosch today said it developed a special diesel engine in partnership with Tata Motors, the makers of the Rs 1-lakh car Nano.
For filmstar Bipasha Basu, the New Year festivities will be a hugely rewarding experience. As she spreads cheer among fellow Mumbaikars, Basu will get a whopping Rs 2.47 crore for a 15-minute song-and-dance appearance at Mumbai’s Sahara Star, a suburban hotel next to the airport.
The latest GST move is why the tax holiday notifications are being sought to be ended by March 2010.
The union government may soon decide on keeping half of the electricity it is entitled to from public sector power generating units for sale to states.
The governments of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have started talks with the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) for a possible relocation of the 8,000-Mw Dadri gas-based power plant from Uttar Pradesh.
Encouraged by the outcome of earlier initiatives, the Centre is preparing a roadmap to take the disinvestment process forward over the next two years.