- 3G airwave race gathers pace, bids in April Telecoms firms including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Etisalat will vie for third-generation (3G) Indian mobile spectrum in an April auction, as they clamour for capacity for new services.
- Govt may clear DA hike for employees tomorrow About 50 lakh central government employees may get 8 percentage points increase in their dearness allowance (DA), as a proposal in this regard is likely to get the Cabinet approval tomorrow.
- RBI norms on new banking licences likely in 3 months The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said it may come out with guidelines on new banking licences in about three months.
- UK announces new immigration rules Britain today announced new immigration rules for skilled and highly skilled migrants, including those from India, under which the criteria of earnings has been increased.
- EGoM clears draft Food Security Bill The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) today cleared the draft Food Security Bill that seeks to give legal right to the poor to get 25 kgs of foodgrain in a month at Rs 3 per kg.
- Wachovia reaches $160 mn settlement with US authorities Wachovia Bank NA will pay $160 million to the US authorities to settle allegations related to its anti-money laundering compliance programme.
- Punj Lloyd bags $40 mn UAE project Engineering major Punj Lloyd today said it has bagged a project worth $40 million (nearly Rs 181 crore) from Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (GASCO) for infrastructure related works.
- Yes Bank to recruit 1,000 by December Private sector lender Yes Bank today said it plans to recruit over 1,000 personnel, including 500 specialists, by year-end to drive expansion in key areas.
- India unlikely to pressure China on yuan: adviser India is unlikely to join others in putting pressure on China over its yuan currency, Kaushik Basu, chief economic adviser to the finance ministry, told Reuters today.
- Govt may clear ONGC's investment in Venezuela The government may tomorrow give nod to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and partners to invest about $2.2 billion in developing a giant oil field in Venezuela.
- Maytas Properties may go to strategic investor: Khurshid Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said the government is looking at the possibilities of inducting a strategic buyer for Maytas Properties, the company promoted by the kins of disgraced Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju.
- Osama hiding in Pakistan: CIA chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, the world's most wanted terrorists, are hiding "inside Pakistan", CIA chief Leon Panetta has said and claimed that aggressive US operations against al-Qaeda have disrupted its ability to plan sophisticated attacks.
- RBI may drain liquidity before rate action: Rangarajan The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to drain liquidity before any possible rate action, a top policy adviser said today.
- Dalmia Cement to merge cement, power biz with unit Dalmia Cement (Bharat) today said that it will spin off its cement, power and refractory businesses into its unit Dalmia Bharat Enterprises, and list it on the stock exchanges by year end.
- LG aims 50% growth from refrigerator sales Korean consumer durable company LG today said it is eying 50 per cent growth in refrigerator sales at Rs 3,000 crore in 2010, driven by the introduction of a new range in the segment.
- Welspun Gujarat unit to buy MSK Projects Steel pipemaker Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren today said that its unit will acquire a 75 per cent stake in MSK Projects, marking its foray into infrastructure.
- FIIs net buyers of Rs 485 cr in cash mkt today Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 484.67 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.
- IATA asks govt not to impose service tax on air travel Global airlines' body IATA has asked the government to roll back a proposal to impose service tax on domestic and international air tickets on all classes, saying it would not only be counter-productive but also go against India's overseas obligations.
- Abhishek Ind eyes Rs 100 cr revenue growth from paper biz Abhishek Industries, an arm firm of Punjab-based Trident group, today said it is aiming at Rs 100 crore increase in its sales revenue through paper business in the current fiscal.
- ArcelorMittal to shift Rs 50,000 cr project to Bokaro Disappointed over delays in the launch of its Rs 50,000-crore steel project in Jharkhand, global steel giant ArcelorMittal is set to relocate its plant proposed in Khunti-Gumla to Bokaro district in the state mainly on account of land acquisition problems.
- 'Soaring costs are killing Vedanta Alumina' Mukesh Kumar, chief operating officer of Vedanta Alumina (VAL), is a worried man. The companys 1-million tonne refinery in Lanjigarh, which began operations in September 2007, is losing $90 on every tonne of alumina it produces, owing to high input costs.
- Quippo buys TTML's towers, now largest independent firm Quippo Telecom Infrastructure and Wireless TT Info Services (Quippo-WTTIL) has acquired the tower business of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd, a Tata Group company, in a deal valued at Rs 1,318 crore.
- BSNL may open up lines for pvt firms Move could increase Indias broadband penetration over three times.
- Nissan scouts for yet another Indian partner Japanese auto major Nissan Motor today said it was open to tying up with yet another partner in India to develop a car positioned between the fourth-generation Micra, the compact car that will go on sale in May in India, and its proposed ultra low cost (ULC) car being jointly developed with Bajaj Auto.
- Tribe readies for battle against Vedanta's mine The Dongria Kondh tribe who live in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa do not normally go to the top of the bauxite-rich slopes. The hilltop is considered sacred, the place where their presiding deity Niyam Raja (literally, the King of Law), or the Universal Lawgiver, is said to reside, and they leave it undisturbed.
- RIL loses bid for Canadian firm In a second setback to its global acquisition plans in less than a month, Reliance Industries (RIL), Indias largest company by market capitalisation, has lost out on its $2-billion takeover bid for Calgary-based Value Creation.
- Tribe readies for battle against Vedanta's mine The Dongria Kondh tribe who live in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa do not normally go to the top of the bauxite-rich slopes. The hilltop is considered sacred, the place where their presiding deity Niyam Raja (literally, the King of Law), or the Universal Lawgiver, is said to reside, and they leave it undisturbed.
- Poor distribution, not hoarding, pushed up food prices Much has been said about how activities like hoarding have caused rapidly rising food prices, but analysts studies of retail and wholesale inflationary trends suggest that its the governments distribution system rather than speculation by wholesalers that is pushing up food prices.
- Poor distribution, not hoarding, pushed up food prices Much has been said about how activities like hoarding have caused rapidly rising food prices, but analysts studies of retail and wholesale inflationary trends suggest that its the governments distribution system rather than speculation by wholesalers that is pushing up food prices.
- Multinationals have to redo the delisting math Multinational companies (MNCs) wishing to delist are finding the going tough, due to a sharp rise in the share prices of their Indian subsidiaries.
- Foreign Education Bill finally gets Cabinet nod After several years of debate, the Union Cabinet today unanimously approved a Bill that would allow foreign education providers to set up campuses in India and offer degrees.
- Foreign Education Bill finally gets Cabinet nod After several years of debate, the Union Cabinet today unanimously approved a Bill that would allow foreign education providers to set up campuses in India and offer degrees.
- Advance tax grows 3.63% in Q4, falls below expectation Advance tax collections from the top 100 companies in the Mumbai region for the crucial and last quarter of 2009-10 have grown just 3.63 per cent compared to 24 per cent in the corresponding period last year.
- Advance tax grows 3.63% in Q4, falls below expectation Advance tax collections from the top 100 companies in the Mumbai region for the crucial and last quarter of 2009-10 have grown just 3.63 per cent compared to 24 per cent in the corresponding period last year.
- Posco plans Rs 4,000-crore investment in Maharashtra Korean steel major Pohang Iron and Steel Company (Posco), the worlds fourth largest steel maker, will lay the foundation stone on Monday, March 15 for a Rs 4,000-crore steel processing plant in Maharashtra, underlining long-drawn delays over a greenfield steel manufacturing plant in Orissa.
- JLR to source 30% of parts from low-cost countries Tata Motors has put in place anaggressive cost reduction strategyfor its luxury brands Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which it acquired from Ford in 2008, involving a substantial increase in sourcing vehicle parts from low-cost countries.
- Stalement in RBI, competition panel talks over bank M&As Banking regulator Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) attempts to keep anti-competitive practices watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) out of the merger and acquisition (M&A) business of banks seems to have hit a roadblock. The ministry of corporate affairs said it is not agreeable exempting the banking industry from the M&A norms that are expected to be put in place by CCI soon.
- M target firms may be asked to guide Shareholders Sebi panel may raise open offer trigger to 25%.
- 2 Russia projects remain in limbo Russian Prime Minister Vladimar Putins latest visit to India will give birth to a slew of Indo-Russian business ventures. But two major joint ventures planned by Russian companies in Indias rich mineral sector remain just on paper, years after the signing of the cooperation agreements.
- 2 Russia projects remain in limbo Russian Prime Minister Vladimar Putins latest visit to India will give birth to a slew of Indo-Russian business ventures. But two major joint ventures planned by Russian companies in Indias rich mineral sector remain just on paper, years after the signing of the cooperation agreements.
- Entertainment channels guard their wicket with a dozen new shows General entertainment channels (GECs) are beefing up their content line-up and investing in ground activities to retain eyeballs, many of which may move away now that the Indian Premium League (IPL) has started. During the two previous seasons of the tournament, GEC viewership dropped 10 to 30 per cent in the period between eight and 11 in the evening, when many matches were played (see chart).
- SET Max triumphs in Riders-Chargers duel As last years bottom team Kolkata Knight Riders defeated defending champion Deccan Chargers in the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday, broadcaster SET Max emerged triumphant with a higher television viewer rating (TVR) than what the opening matches of the two previous editions of this tournament had managed.
- Godrej lavishes Rs 500 cr on Nigerian beauty brand Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) today said it had entered into an agreement to acquire Nigerian beauty brand Tura. The deal size was not disclosed but industry sources said it could be worth Rs 400-500 crore.
- Govt may shift subsidy burden to ONGC, OIL, GAIL Upstream oil and gas companies in the public sector are likely to take an additional hit of Rs 16,000 crore in the current financial year as the government has made no fresh Budgetary provision for meeting the oil subsidy burden and the state-controlled oil marketing companies have no financial cushion to absorb the impact of their under-recoveries.
- NMDC FPO sails through; FIIs, retail stay away Domestic financial institutions helped mining firm NMDCs follow-on public offer (FPO) sail through on the final day with a marginal over-subscription despite poor response from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), retail and high net worth individuals.
- Manufacturing leads industrial output growth to 16.7% Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data showed a marginal deceleration from the previous month but continued to post a robust growth rate of 16.7 per cent in January. The growth was primarily led by the manufacturing sector, especially for capital goods and consumer durables.
- Backdated revisions in direct taxes come to haunt India Inc Even as the stock markets cheered Budget 2010, it has left a sour taste with companies on some proposed amendments in the Finance Bill, many with retrospective effect.
- Govt rejects relaxing foreign donation rules Contributions by Indian firms with over 50% foreign holding to be treated as foreign sources.
- States in one-upmanship on crop loan rates In their efforts to show that their hearts bleed the most for farmers, several state governments are turning competitive in providing crop loans at concessional or even zero rates of interest.
- Now, nuclear liabilities bill under a cloud BJP says no quid pro quo as SP, RJD withdraw support over womens Bill.
- Government tense on Budget after Women's bill fracas PM to meet SP, RJD and JD(U) as Congress managers fear for passage of Finance Bill.
- Dept of pharma wants review of FDI rules The department of pharmaceuticals (DoP) under the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers has proposed that the government set up an expert group to assess the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) in this sector. The move follows complaints from Indian companies that they were being forced to sell out to foreign companies for lack of long-term funding for R&D and market development.
- Government lab faults Mahyco's study of pest resistance to Bt cotton The Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), the cotton research institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, has contested Monsantos claim that the pink bollworm, a pest that feeds on cotton, has developed resistance to its Bollgard cotton. Instead, CICR has pointed to the emergence of new sucking pests which could have caused economic losses to cotton farmers.
- 'Borrowings not to hurt private sector' Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today tried to comfort the markets and said that the Centres gross borrowing programme of Rs 4,57,000 crore will be handled in a manner that it will not impact the credit requirements of the private sector.
- NSC, DIPP clash over FDI rule change Differences have arisen between the National Security Council (NSC) secretariat and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), under the commerce ministry, over significant changes in foreign direct investment (FDI) rules and an expanded approval mechanism for sensitive sectors.
- Maharashtra opts for a facelift Concerned by the steady slide in its status as an investment destination, Maharashtra has taken its first tentative steps towards a major makeover exercise.
- Govt widens scope of anti-abuse provisions in I-T act This article has been modified. Please see the clarification at the end.
- No restraint on revenue deficit yet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may have earned plaudits for projecting a decline in the fiscal deficit to 5.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2010-11, but his targets for revenue deficit reduction are relatively modest and represent a departure from the 13th Finance Commission's recommendations.
- Government turns builder to give Delhi a new look In the next couple of years, Indias capital will sport a new look with the government taking its role as builder seriously.
- Pranab may fall short of 3G auction revenue Telecom operators and analysts predict that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will fall short of the Rs 35,000 crore target from the auction of third generation (3G) and broadband wireless access (BWA) licences by Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore on account of waning investor appetite and heightened risk perceptions.
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