International Business
Entertainment and Sports Direct (ESD) today bagged the theatrical rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches for the next 10 years which cost them Rs 330 crore.
Dalal Street has opened on a firm note, mirroring the strong global cues. The Sensex is quoting at 16680, up 79 points and the Nifty is at 4978, up 26 points. Consumer durables, metals and realty stocks are seing a lot of action in morning trades.
With prices of essential commodities going through the roof, public distribution shops (PDS) in Kerala are back in action.
While the growth visibility is reasonably good, the offer leaves no meaningful gains for investors in the near-term.
Finance professionals in America consider that the country is still in recession, despite the economy showing signs of stability in recent months, a latest report has found.
The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX), promoted by public sector MMTC Ltd and Indiabulls Financial Services, has got recognition from the commodity market regulator, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC). FMC Chairman B C Khatua confirmed this.
Maytas Properties, the real estate firm promoted by Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju’s younger son B Rama Raju, is looking at offloading a stake in the Maytas Hill County residential project. The company needs about Rs 150-200 crore to complete the project.
Technology may just get you love, or so it seems according to a new report from internet security firm Symantec which reveals that more than a third of adults have used the web to flirt. The 45 million active internet users in India have been steadily using the web to socialise with people.
Global FMCG major Procter & Gamble will be bullish on winning consumers in emerging markets of India and China as it eyes increased sales in the two strong economies, its new chief said today.
Global rating agency Standard & Poor"s today warned that corporate defaults are likely to rise in the Asia-Pacific region over the next year due to contraction in economic output.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade body representing some 230 airlines worldwide today named Cathay Pacific Airways CEO Tony Tyler as the Chairman of its Board of Governors.
Section 80-IB (9) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘Act’) provides for a tax holiday to an undertaking engaged in commercial production of mineral oil or refining of mineral oil. Tax holiday is available for a period of 7 consecutive tax years, starting from the year in which the undertaking begins commercial production or refining of mineral oil.
Employees will have to pay tax on Esops, superannuation and ‘other amenities’.
Breaking a long dry spell, Uttarakhand and its nearby areas today received rainfall in the plains and snow in the higher reaches of the Himalayas. Experts said the rains, which came after a dry spell of two months, would auger well for the agriculture sector. Anand Sharma, director the metereological department, said light rains had occurred in areas like Tehri, Mukteshwar and Dehra Dun. “The trend may continue for one more day at least in the Kumaon region,” he said.
Swiss banking major UBS is looking to raise 3.8 billion Swiss francs (about $3.5 billion) through issue of fresh shares and has warned of second quarter losses.
Swiss banking secrecy is still the rule despite international pressure for greater transparency, Switzerland"s President and Finance Minister Hans-Rodolf Merz said today in an interview.
At the Bank of America Corp office in Washington, employees are fielding as many as 10 calls a day from Capitol Hill, up from about two a year ago.
The group also has plans to spend Rs 50,000 crore on power generation.
Voicing concern over the nuclear test carried out by North Korea, India today said the act amounts to violation of its international commitments and that the development could have "adverse effect" on peace and security in that region.
Unmindful of international pressure, a defiant North Korea today conducted a second "successful" and "more powerful" nuclear test, a move that could invite fresh sanctions and punitive action against it.
In today"s world, popular social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are without a doubt the best way to stay connected with friends and share what is happening right now.
A day after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao smoked the peace pipe, New Delhi today said it was in discussion with Beijing for a free trade agreement aimed at breaking the duty barriers for bilateral trade.
Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal, who did a vanishing act from Vijayawada Government Hospital on Sunday night, arrived at Nizam"s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) here on Monday, putting an end to a 15- hour suspense over his whereabouts.
Extending losses for the second day the Indian rupee today depreciated by another 15 paise to 46.63 against the US currency in early trade largely on the back of dollar"s gains versus major currencies and Asian units.
The district administration of Jagatsinghpur has advised the Essar Steel Orissa Limited to provide a uniform rate for land acquisition for its proposed steel project at Paradip.
The Orissa government has decided to introduce e-Registration of land transfer replacing the present system of manual registration.
Supporters of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy today sought to step up the campaign for making him the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh even as the interim incumbent K Rosaiah ruled out the possibility of any division in the party.
Some important tips for Ulip buyer.
The Clinton Tapes is a mesmerising account of a complex and fascinating man whose presidency was a rollercoaster of high-minded ideals and sordid scandal.
In a development that would enable better and more affordable treatment for HIV/AIDS patients on second-line antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in the developing world, the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI), Mylan Inc and Hyderabad-based Matrix Laboratories have signed an agreement to offer a once-daily dose of the second-line regimen of four ARVs for under $500 (nearly Rs 24,000) per patient per year.
After the Prime Minister"s advice to catch the "big fish" to weed out corruption, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today urged Manmohan Singh to ensure early assent to a Bihar bill for dealing with corrupt public servants.
Two major ports in Tamil Nadu are planning to set up captive wind farms at a combined investment of around Rs 82 crore.
The difficulty in land acquisition is going to seriously affect the industrial sentiment in Orissa. Though the government boasts of attracting investments worth over Rs 6 lakh crore, many projects including those proposed by Posco, Arcelor-Mittal, Tata Steel are hanging in balance due to stiff resistance by the locals.
The stock finally ended at Rs 141, down 2.5%. Over 1.18 shares were traded on the BSE today.
In a path-breaking development for the tea industry of Assam and West Bengal, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has offered its remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS) facilities to tea gardens in the two states.
The Indian industry is expecting animation and gaming to gradually evolve into a full-fledged career option among youth, according to K Rajesh Rao, chief executive of Bangalore-based game development company Dhruva Interactive.
IT giant Wipro today settled the land issue with the West Bengal government for its second unit near Kolkata and would buy 50 acre at Rs 75 crore.
Pending revision of guidelines for setting up special economic zones, the government will continue to approve proposals for new SEZs which would be developed in an environmentally sustainable way.
Aurobindo begins operations; nine more units to come up.
State"s first medical device manufacturing cluster having a common research and development (R&D) facility in products and human resource development, will come up next to Tata Motors Nano"s plant in Sanand, official said.
German auto major Volkswagen today introduced its small car Polo and said it will launch sedan version on the same platform in the second half of this year.
IT bellwether Infosys Technologies today said its subsidiary Infosys BPO will acquire US-based McCamish Systems for an initial payment of $38 million (about Rs 176.6 crore).
Russian Space Troops have carried out over 200 lift-offs of launch vehicles over the eight years of active operation, which put into orbit 250 spacecraft of various designations.
Unity Infraprojects, the construction major, has bagged a contract for re-development of R N Cooper Hospital at Vile-Parle (West), Mumbai from Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.
Construction company Unity Infraprojects today said it has received a contract worth Rs 54.56 crore from Amanora Park Town for construction related works.
Nonagenarian Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu was admitted to a hospital today after he fell unconsious following acute breathing trouble.
Artist Anita Chauhan cooks as well as she paints.
Make-up artist Vidya Tikari fancies exotic seafood in the kitchen.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has bid for Venezuela"s Carabobo oil auction along with Spain"s Repsol YPF SA and Petroliam Nasional Bhd of Malaysia.
Some US lawmakers and think tanks believe that Africa can be a much cheaper alternative to call centers in India.
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of all broadcasters in the country, has urged the government to clear dues worth over Rs 55 crore for airing television commercials of various ministries and departments.
The market is in a short-term downtrend and should find support between 5,000 and 5,050.
Anand Sharma, Union minister for commerce and industry, must have got used to people addressing him in various ways. But Minister of State for Railways E Ahmed stunned him last week when he was about to enter Parliament. Ahmed was talking to someone outside gate number 4 when Sharma stepped out of the car. “Hello commerce, hello commerce,” Ahmed called Sharma. Sharma acknowledged the joke and responded with a warm smile.
Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C) grads seem to be back in demand as the slot zero--or the most coveted slot offered to recruiters for summer placement--has seen a significant increase in the number of companies coming to the institute over last year.
Maytas Properties, which is trying to raise finances for completing its Hill County project, is asking its customers to find investors for the project.
The government today lauded RIL chief Mukesh Ambani"s decision to take a pay cut and said the industrialist had shown a “remarkable sensibility” towards the prevailing scenario with this voluntary step.
State-run Bharat Heavy Electrical (BHEL) today said it has set up a new transformer manufacturing facility at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
- Sunil Sethi: Remembering Oct 31, 1984">Sunil Sethi: Remembering Oct 31, 1984 - Sunil Sethi: The price of a filmmaker's estate">Sunil Sethi: The price of a filmmaker's estate - Sunil Sethi: Marketing the gifts of gods">Sunil Sethi: Marketing the gifts of gods - Sunil Sethi: The difficulty of being Khan">Sunil Sethi: The difficulty of being Khan - Sunil Sethi: Delhi's double displacement">Sunil Sethi: Delhi's double displacement - Sunil Sethi: Virtue, vice and VIPs">Sunil Sethi: Virtue, vice and VIPs
Business Standard / New Delhi January 28, 2010, 0:16 IST
Murli Deora / August 9, 2009, 0:21 IST
In a strong message, India today asked the developed countries to modify their ‘unsustainable lifestyles’ to significantly cut down carbon emissions by 2020 and to ensure that developing nations had enough resources to cope with climate change while pursuing accelerated development.
Sticking to the austerity drive launched by his ministry, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today travelled to Chennai by economy class, airport sources here said.
Bollywood may not get any significant mileage from the deal between Reliance ADA Group and Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios as the share of revenue from Hollywood films that run in India is small, say industry experts. According to industry estimates, the Hollywood films generate only around 3 per cent of the Rs 12,000 crore Indian film industry’s annual revenues.
US space agency NASA has signed an agreement with ISRO to use data from Indian satellite Oceansat-2, for various American agencies for research activities, including weather forecasting.
Hyderabad-based vaccines and biotherapeutics manufacturer Bharat Biotech International said on Wednesday that its anti-staphylococcal molecule Lysostaphin had secured patent rights in US, Europe, China, Australia and other nations.
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company, the joint venture between Apollo Hospitals Group and Munich Health of Germany, has come out with a new mass media campaign.
Trades between FIIs generated a volume of Rs 27 crore on the BSE Wednesday-an decrease of 51.95% from Rs 57 crore clocked on Tuesday. As many as four stocks witnessed trades of 4.65 lakh shares on Wednesday.
The process of issuing catch certificates for export of marine products to European Union (EU) is now facing another hurdle. The issue of such certificates has become a complex exercise as the local fishing practices are not in tandem with the requirements of the European Commission (EC).
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Amid reports about Mumbai Police Crime Branch Chief Rakesh Maria"s offer to resign if Home Ministry does not clarify allegations levelled against him by Vinita Kamte, the slain IPS officer Ashok Kamte"s widow today said she stands by each and every word in the book written by her.
Barely a week before the first anniversary of Mumbai terror attack, Union Home Ministry has expressed hope of completing the investigation into the incident within next six weeks.
The D Swarup committee on investor awareness and protection has reached a tentative conclusion on moving to a no-commission regime for financial products. The committee will submit its report in two-three weeks.
India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) need to ensure protection of Indian working-class people in the Gulf country who face problems when their visas are not renewed, a top Central Government Minister said.
The Siemens Group is planning to amalgamate its listed company, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Ltd (SHDL), with its flagship Indian business, Siemens Ltd.
Construction company Gammon India today reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 20.87 crore for the third quarter ended December 2009, whereas the same was at Rs 510 crore a year earlier.
As governments and NGOs fight on contamination levels, Bhopal gas tragedy victims continue to die a slow death
The board of India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) is meeting tomorrow to look at ways to create demand for the Rs 10,000 crore that it had raised earlier this year to refinance highways and port projects. The New Delhi-based financial institution has not received a single proposal for the fund.
Dubai-based Emirates Airlines has become the world"s largest airline operator of Boeing 777 aircraft with the arrival of its 78th Boeing 777.
BCCI almost doubles base price; stiffer cut-off for bidders.
The Sensex ended at 16,357, up 50 points, and the Nifty ended at 4,891, up 24 points (provisional closing).
Social networking site Facebook has received a $200 million investment from Digital Sky Technologies, an internet investment group, in exchange for a 1.96 per cent stake in the company.
India and Russian Federation has reached a new administrative arrangement on shipping and export of fish and seafood products from India, according to Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).
US nuclear companies will start cooperating with India under the bilateral Indo-US atomic deal once the issues relating to liability insurance as raised by some American companies are sorted out by the two sides.
On account of exhausting mobile phone numbers starting with the digit 9, the Department of Telecommunications has allotted Reliance Communications a new series beginning with the digit 8(055) for its Maharashtra and Goa circle (M&G).
Aiming to provide weather forecasts and details on climate change through oceanography studies, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) today successfully launched its Oceansat-2 satellite into orbit from its spaceport here.
India today voiced confidence that its agreement with Russia on a 10-year military and technical cooperation from 2011 would help enhance the operational capability of its defence forces in the next decade.
It’s been a fortnight since Windows 7 was officially launched worldwide. It now makes up more than 3.6 per cent of all PCs tracked by research firm Net Applications.
Microsoft Windows 7, Adobe, Symantec software stuck at Customs over excise duty
They said the day a black man became president of the United States, pigs would fly. Well, lo and behold, Obama was sworn in and one hundred days later... swine flu!”
Wireless telecom solutions company Clay Telecom today said it has begun offering international roaming service for Blackberry users.
Business Standard / New Delhi October 19, 2009, 0:49 IST
The Nasscom-McKinsey Perspective 2020 report notes that healthcare will emerge as a very big opportunity for outsourcing services. ANANDA MUKERJI, managing director and chief executive officer of Firstsource, feels his company is in the right place to make its mark in the global BPO business. The outsourced healthcare space represents an approximately $17-billion opportunity in the US alone. The industry is expected to grow at over 50 per cent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) over the next five years. With healthcare contributing close to 40 per cent of its revenue, the sixth-largest BPO player’s early bet on the segment seems to be paying off. Mukerji spoke with SHIVANI SHINDE on how its healthcare acquisitions have panned out and the way forward. Excerpts:
Manit Rastogi, managing director, Morphogenesis wants nullahs in Delhi to become scenic walkways.
Rakesh Mohan, who was appointed Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India in September 2002, moved to North Block two years later as secretary, department of economic affairs, during P Chidambaram’s tenure as Finance Minister, only to return to RBI after eight months. Mohan, who is taking retirement from the central bank seven months before his tenure is due to end, will take up a professorial appointment at Stanford University from June 15. In this interview, he spoke on a range of issues about the challenges he faced during his stint at the central bank and the journey from handling the real economy sectors to monetary economics. Edited excerpts:
News Corporation is planning a sweeping shake up of its Star Asian television operations, including a sharp cut in jobs in Hong Kong and the rest of the region, the Financial Times said today.
During a recent visit to Taipei, an advertising professional, on seeing Times of India’s ‘A day in the life of India’ commercial, posed a curious question to me, “how can a commercial be borne out of such a serious issue that affects your society?” In response I explained how the parody on redtapism, far from trivialising the issue of corruption or brushing it under the carpet, resonated strongly with the voice of India. This voice accepted India with all its shortcomings and subsequently dealt with them in an open, transparent manner.
The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), has chalked out strategies to grow aggressively in overseas markets, especially Singapore, in this fiscal, a top SBI official said. This would help the Indian banking behemoth to move a step closer to consolidate its position in the global financial services industry.
Deficient rains in the agrarian interiors and lack of finance availability from lending institutions, despite a mammoth relief package announced by the Centre last year, is slated to hit tractor sales, the industry says.
Reliance Industries (RIL) has accused NTPC Chairman and Managing Director R S Sharma of going back on the terms of a draft gas sales and purchase agreement that provided for government approving its bid price of $2.34 per mmBtu.
The Sri Lankan government wants to rope in Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for exploration of oil in the island nation.
Parliamentarians will soon head monitoring committees to check progress of various rural development works in their constituencies, the government told the Lok Sabha today.
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) today said the government can save over Rs 5,000 crore in fertilizer subsidy if natural gas from Reliance Industries (RIL) operated fields are priced at $2.34 per mmBtu.
India’s foreign minister today advised its students to be “more discreet” in choosing educational institutes and courses of study in Australia, whose high commissioner admitted there was a drop in applications of Indian students following media coverage of attacks on them.
A spectacular rally on the back of strong global cues has helped our fund managers rake in the profits last week. However, the Smart Portfolios benchmark BSE 200 declined 5 per cent to 1,684 as against 1,773 the preceding week. The value of benchmark"s portfolio appreciated sharply from Rs 9.45 lakh to Rs 9.95 for the week ended May 29, 2009. However, the net worth is still down marginally (0.52 per cent) since the inception of Smart Portfolios on September 1, 2008.
Meeting of the Board of Approval in the Commerce Ministry, which was to consider several proposals seeking withdrawal of clearances of SEZ projects, has been postponed.
Jewellery fabrication business worldwide is likely to fall in 2009 on high gold prices with offtake forecast to slip by 15 per cent compared to the year-ago period, a latest report says.
Dollar weakness and higher inflation fears are pushing the yellow metal higher
A year after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, credit-default swaps (CDS) have lost their stigma for disaster and are contributing to the growing confidence in the credit markets.
Four public sector giants — ONGC, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) — were likely to get in next ten days the Maharatna status, which would empower these Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) with greater autonomy, a top government official said today.
Shahana Joshi / New Delhi November 11, 2009, 0:34 IST
News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who began building his media group with the Adelaide News in 1953, said he’d like one of his children to succeed him, amid regular discussions about who will take over at the US company.
A K Bhattacharya / New Delhi June 17, 2009, 0:28 IST
The Asian markets had a weak closing, across the board.
The Tamil Nadu government has sought an additional Rs 461 crore from the railway ministry for speedy completion of projects in the state.
The PMO-appointed task force on MSME sector is likely to suggest re-orientation of procurement policy of the government to give boost to small and medium enterprises, hit hard by the global financial meltdown.
The issue today received bids for 5.94 billion shares which is 3.5 times the issue size of 1.68 billion shares.
The strong 700-member Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) brokers forum yet again expressed its reservation against the extension of trade timing by both the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) from January 4. Last week, both the bourses had to postpone their decision to open markets by 9 am after a sharp outcry against the decision from market participants.
The two main indices—the Nifty and the Sensex—staged strong intraday rebound on Friday in choppy trades and extended gains for the second straight day. The Nifty bounced back from an intraday low of 4,766 to close at 4,882 on short-covering in interest rate-sensitive sectors such as auto, banks and realty.
Energy major Reliance Industries today said that Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) like the one it had signed for KG-D6 fields with the government should not be tampered with by anyone to maintain their credibility.
Bharati Shipyard finally settled at Rs 178, up 10.5% from the previous close. The counter winessed trades of 1.23 million shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 95,067 shares on the BSE.
Software giant Microsoft is sharpening its focus on the security software market with a free anti-virus solution, which can be downloaded from the internet. Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), however, will be available only for the genuine Windows users. It can be installed on PCs running original Windows XP, Vista and Win 7 operating systems.
Markets extend losses in noon trades
The government today imposed stock limit on bulk sugar consumers, allowing them to keep quantities sufficient for only 15 days of their consumption at any point of time. The stock limit would be in force for six months and would be applicable to consumers whose monthly sugar consumption is at least one tonne, the government said in a statement. The move will affect confectioneries, large biscuit and beverage producing units.
WTO chief has confirmed his participation.
PepsiCo wants to replicate Kurkure’s success with Aliva
Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal today said he is ready with Rs 8,000 crore for buying the government’s residual equity in Balco and Hindustan Zinc, for which he will meet the finance minister this month.
In a bid to reduce costs and increased offshoring focus, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest information technology company, has recalled close to 1,200 employees from the US and has decided not to hand out any salary increment this year.
The BPO industry in India has undoubtedly been a very popular field of employment in recent years but one of the biggest challenges it is facing is a phenomenal rise in attrition rate, says a new book.
Realisation improves as national cement prices rise by Rs 90 since 2005-06.
Irda also takes mortality, morbidity charges out of overall 3% cap
The government will hold the much-awaited 3G spectrum auction for GSM operators on December 7 and invite bids from October 26 to November 13.
Public sector lender IDBI Bank expects government"s decision on the sale of its Pune-based home loan subsidiary -- IDBI Home Finance (IHFL) -- in the next three months, a top official said.
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Enterprise communications services provider Tulip Telecom today said its consolidated net profit has increased by 63.25 per cent to Rs 75.04 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009.
The government today said in the Rajya Sabha that there were difficulties in meeting targets of thermal power generation because of shortage of equipment and manpower and pointed out that the country faces a shortage of 15,000 Mw.
Business Standard / New Delhi September 06, 2009, 0:55 IST
IPO off the radar following union protest, state-owned company eyes overseas partner for cash, technology.
State-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is looking at Africa in order to expand its global foot print. After African telecom major MTN enticed Indian telecom operators like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications, BSNL is also looking at the continent to acquire new licences and partners.
The stock was locked ta the same upper circuit with buy orders of 22,895 shares pending. Around 4,319 shares were traded on the BSE today.
The teaser home loan rate, the interest rate which is set artificially low for the initial period, could give a ‘payment shock’ to borrowers as the equated monthly installment (EMI) shot up on lenders charging regular interest rates, according to Fitch officials.