Online Business
Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) today said it is interested in buying the international household products business of US-based Sara Lee to expand globally.
Most fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have a two-pronged strategy to tap rural markets. It comprises launching nano packs and scaling up rural distribution. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) is going a step further by adding a regional advertising component.
A better reach in rural markets has helped both the soaps and hair colours businesses.
Haryana Cooperation Minister Paramvir Singh said that the central cooperative banks in the state would provide a loan of Rs 8,600 crore during the current financial year to the farmers. These banks had provided loans worth Rs 4,306.60 crore during the last financial year to the farmers under various schemes.
Emami may join the race to buy Simple, one of the largest skincare brands in the UK. Sources familiar with the development say the company is exploring all options and may approach the management of the UK-based company shortly.
Kalpana Pathak / New Delhi December 01, 2009, 1:30 IST
Even as day three of the computer-based Common Admission Test (CAT) continued to add to the anxiety of the student community, academicians have shifted the blame game from Prometric to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and NIIT, accusing them of adopting a highly casual attitude. Prometric bagged the contract from IIMs to conduct computer-based CAT this year in partnership with NIIT. “The IIMs could have done more than just outsourcing the exams to Prometric. By blaming Promertic, IIMs can’t acquit themselves. If one-sixth of the 304 test labs fail, it’s an absolute joke of an examination. A little control on part of the IIMs could have helped,” said a professor from a B-school which accepts CAT scores for admissions.
A V Rajwade / New Delhi January 11, 2010, 0:50 IST
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.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the government has not yet taken a decision on consolidation of public sector banks (PSBs).
Nd Batra / October 25, 2009, 0:33 IST
The World Trade Organization will remain in Geneva, Switzerland. That is what the voters of this city decided today in a special referendum.
Bank of Baroda (BoB), the country"s third-largest public sector lender, is planning to recruit 3,500 people including officers during the current fiscal.
Public sector lender, Bank of India (BoI), has slashed its deposit rates by 0.25-0.5 per cent across various tenures, effective from Monday.
DB Corp, the publisher of Dainik Bhaskar, which is planning to enter new markets, would tap the capital market next week to raise around Rs 450 crore through an initial public offer.
Industry experts still remain cautious on numbers.
In a move aimed at rationalising foreign direct investment (FDI) in various areas of the broadcasting sector, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has proposed to increase the FDI cap for direct-to-home (DTH) services, uplinking hubs, teleport services and FM radio.
Come January and all mobile phone users will have 11-digit mobile numbers instead of their 10-digit numbers currently.
Global inflation: Global inflation is set to present policymakers with a cruel dilemma. After falling early in 2009, prices in many countries have resumed rising. The 1.8 per cent November rise in the US producer price index (PPI) is only the latest example of this. The need to squash rising inflation could soon force central banks to risk sacrificing growth.
The increase in credit flow till December 4 was 10.5% compared to a year ago.
Realty major DLF today said its board has approved integration of DLF Assets with DLF Cyber City Developers, a move that will enhance its cash flow through rental income.
Oilmeal exports from India are falling due to higher prices and low quality compared to those from the US, Brazil and Argentina, which are offering better quality of soybean and rapeseed at lower prices. Exports are expected to come down by 15-20 lakh tonnes during 2009-10.
Two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto has set sight on securing the top spot in the world and a blueprint was being drawn, a top company official said today.
Jyoti Malhotra / New Delhi October 27, 2009, 0:54 IST
Rajesh Tandon / October 11, 2009, 0:26 IST
The Shipping Ministry has sought a three-fold increase in budgetary allocations at Rs 1,055 crore for ports in the country in the next fiscal.
Owing to mounting losses, Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines has returned 19 leased aircraft to lessors in the past 10 months.
The Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines led the chart of the loss-making carriers by reporting a massive Rs 1,602 crore in losses in 2008-09, followed by Jet Airways with a loss of Rs 1,032 crore.
It may be troubled times for the airlines business, but low-cost carrier SpiceJet sees an opportunity in this and is keeping its antenna up to see if some worthwhile carrier comes its way at "right price".
Merger and acquisition volume in the telecom space worldwide stood at $49.2 billion so far this year driven by the US-based Frontier Communications" $8.6 billion acquisition of Verizon Communications.
Rising sugar prices are pushing biscuit manufacturers to plan a rise in their prices. The industry says commodity prices have reached a level beyond which it would be impossible to sustain the pressure and there is no other choice but to pass some of it on to consumers.
The future for the IT industry appears bright and the sector is likely to post double digit growth next year, industry veteran S Ramadorai said here today.
A new “old” Royal Enfield is born. We ride the Enfield Classic.
In my mind
The Nano is a small car from a big idea. The people’s car attained immortality the moment it was unveiled at the Auto Expo in New Delhi, causing a seismic shift in the automotive world. The rest of the world’s automakers drew in their collective breaths when it was announced that Tata was going ahead with producing the car. Then they all scrambled to go into that unknown territory that Tata Motors has already bravely ventured into.
Auto ancillary company Steel Strips Wheels today said it has received an order from European car maker Renault for supplying steel wheel rims, that would fetch the Indian company about euro 28 million (about Rs 195 crore).
Auto component maker Rane Brake Lining today reported an over three-fold increase in its net profit at Rs 2.66 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009.
The slowdown in overseas markets persists, so it could be a while before the auto-parts maker is back on track.
The Comedy Store, a humour club in the UK, will launch its Mumbai edition later this year. Founder DON WARD talks to Neha Bhatt
India"s biggest sugar refiner, Shree Renuka Sugars has reported a standalone net profit of Rs 48.2 crore, an increase of 298 per cent during the quarter ended September 30, 2009 as against the net profit of Rs 12.1 crore posted in the same period a year ago.
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.
Raising the price at which sugar mills are mandated to purchase sugarcane from farmers, over that fixed by the Centre, could punch a hole in the pockets of states. The Union government has said that anything that the state mandates above the centre-assigned price will have to be paid by the state.
BS Reporter / Mumbai October 28, 2009, 0:17 IST
Bajaj Electricals today said it has raised Rs 160.79 crore by issuing shares to qualified institutional buyers.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), in which the UK government holds majority stake, has posted an operating loss of 1.53 billion pounds for the September quarter, as the battered entity continued to see higher impairment charges.
The government today said it is looking at steps to cut subsidy on fertiliser and oil sale with an aim to cutting non-Plan expenditure and contain fiscal deficit.
Amid the Maoist threat to take to the streets after resignation of Prime Minister Prachanda, the former rebels have attacked members of other political parties in some districts of Nepal. Prachanda resigned on May 4 after his Maoist government"s decision to sack the army chief Chief Rukmangad Katawal was scuttled by President Ram Baran Yadav, deepening the political crisis and raising the specter of renewed rebel unrest in the country.
India may be the world"s second fastest growing economy but when it comes to man-woman equality the country figures among the worst performers at 114th among 134 countries on the World Economic Forum rankings.
I have invested in an SIP of HDFC Top 200 since 2005. Do I need to stop and start afresh , so that it does not attract entry load. Kindly advise.
The country"s manufacturing sector is likely to witness a rise in hiring activity in the last three months of this year due to an expected increase in demand, says a report by Japanese securities firm Nomura.
Hiring activity particularly in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors is expected to pick up in the third quarter of this fiscal on the back of the country"s economy showing signs of recovery, a top official of online recruitment portal Naukri.Com said.
India"s fiscal deficit touched 40 per cent of the full-year estimate in the first four months of FY10, kindling fears that expenses will exceed income beyond what was projected earlier.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 22, 2009, 0:28 IST
Construction work on the onshore LNG terminal, coming up at Puthuvype, near here will be completed by December, next year.
Bangladesh may soon emerge as a major investment destination for Indian power sector players, as its government is planning nine power projects and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal worth $5 billion, with the help of expert private sector players around the world.
Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and actress Katrina Kaif are the most downloaded celebrities by Indian mobiles users, a new survey says.
In a bid to salvage the ambitious ethanol-blended petrol programme, state-run oil firms have agreed to pay 25 per cent higher price at Rs 27 a litre for ethanol they will buy from sugar mills for doping petrol.
The Sensex ended (provisional) at 17,533 - down seven points. The Nifty ended (provisional) up seven points at 5,252.
A new battlefront has opened between multiplexes and big banner production and distribution houses. Ignoring the revenue concerns of the multiplexes, Reliance Big Pictures, Percept Pictures, UTV Movies and Dharma Productions want to release their new films on direct-to-home (DTH) television shortly after their release on theatre screens.
Hinting that a nexus between private and state-owned vaccine companies could have led to gradual decline in production capacity of state-owned units, the government today said the matter required in depth probe.
The Supreme Court has issued notice to 11 parties, including Trai, Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices, Vodafone Essar, on a petition by state-run BSNL challenging removal of Access Deficit Charge (ADC), a levy paid by private telecom operators for funding the PSU"s operations in rural and remote areas.
Anil Ambani-led RNRL has accused Mukesh Ambani’s RIL of trying to inflate its profits by pushing for $4.20 as per-unit sale price of gas from the KG Basin.
The Railways has so far raised a platry $84.8 million through private equity investments against a target of $13 billion for the 11th Plan period as it is yet to roll out investment-friendly models, a study by an industry chamber said here today.
To also discuss Swarup panel’s suggestions on financial stability.
For probably the first time in 15 years of cable television, the business of paying carriage fees to cable companies by broadcasters for a prominent channel placement is expected to come down by 15-20 per cent (to under Rs 1,000 crore) this financial year, compared to last year.
Chip maker Intel today launched a new version of its "Atom" processors, which will consume 20 per cent lesser power than its predecessor.
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) chairman Sushil Roongta was in Beijing in October for induction in the hallowed committee of the World Steel Association now chaired by Lakshmi Mittal. Being an astute business diplomat, he made use of the visit to find out what China was going to do with its rapid steel capacity build up and production.
Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is close to clinching a deal to acquire 70 per cent stake in Warid Telecom, a local mobile company in Bangladesh owned by Abu Dhabi Group, with top officials from both companies meeting here to "brainstorm a consensus", a media report said today.
British banks fear their fragile recovery will grind to a halt over the next few months, according to a survey by employers" organisation the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
Director Vishal Bharadwaj’s repeated references to it have spawned a new interest in Dekalog.
Trainer Sarina Jain packs in Cardio Fitness in “masala bhangra“.
Communications Minister A Raja is pushing an innovative plan under which vendors which supply equipment for 3G mobile services to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will share the bill for advertising and marketing the services in the first six months of the launch.
The Cabinet is expected to clear tomorrow the proposal to grant the coveted "Maharatna status" to public sector blue-chips like ONGC, SAIL, BSNL, NTPC and CIL giving them increased autonomy.
YouTube movies: Google is taking YouTube to Hollywood. The film business might help address the internet video site’s biggest problem – it loses money. Sure, it generates huge amounts of traffic. But it costs serious money to set up and run the server-farms that allow anyone anywhere to watch that adorable cat play the piano. And advertising revenues have been in short supply.
As part of its expansion plan, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Company Ltd, the joint venture between the IDBI Bank, Federal Bank and Fortis Insurance International, intends to increase the number of its agency branches in the country to 100 by March 2010.
The country added a whopping 3.55 crore wireless telephone users during the quarter ended on June 30 this year, taking the wireless subscriber base to 42.72 crore.
Says allocation will be at market-determined prices.
Mobile phone users would have to wait anywhere from three to six months for the freedom to switch operators without losing their existing number, as companies are yet upgrade their networks.
Jet Airways today received clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to raise $400 million (Rs 1,850 crore) from foreign investors through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP). The proposal was made to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which referred it to the Cabinet as the QIP was for over Rs 600 crore. The airline has raised Rs 1,000 crore by selling its land in Mumbai.
After being unsuccessful with South African telecom MTN, Bharti Airtel is eyeing Bangladesh to expand its footprint.
Suven Life Sciences Limited, a Hyderabad-based biopharmaceutical company specialising in central nervous system (CNS) diseases, has received patents corresponding to three new chemical entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with neuro-degenerative diseases.
Bharati Shipyard said its open offer to acquire 20 per cent stake in Great Offshore was being revised, and it was now under Section 10 of the Takeover Code as advised by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
The upswing in Baltic Dry Index numbers recently to a 14 month high closing at 4661 on 19 November 09, raised hopes that a revival for the shipping sector is afoot sending shipping stocks zooming. Freight and tanker rates dropped sharply in July - September 09 quarter, but gained strength in October 09 which has sustained through November 09 as well. They hit 10 year lows in the December 08.
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.
India is not facing any shortage in onion supplies and prices of the key vegetable have now started easing, Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma said in the Lok Sabha today, replying to a member"s query.
Sea Trans Marine Private Ltd, a Kolkata-based shipping agency has filed a case in an international court in London against the owner and management company of the vessel Black Rose, which capsized near Paradeep port a month back.
Nalco closed at Rs 392, higher by Rs 16 or 4.5%, on the BSE.
Five major coal unions today opposed the government"s move to sell its stake in Coal India (CIL) saying the firm is competent enough to meet its financing needs and demanded infrastructure status for the sector.
The market could test 5,300 going into the December settlement
The Rs 380-crore tender is part of the Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme of the central govt.
A three-member team of United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), America"s federal agency to regulate the securities industry in that country, exchanged information with the CBI probing into the multi-crore accounting scam at Satyam Computer here.
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.
A peep into a new book about underrated Maharashtrian cuisine.
To overcome the difficulties and challenges faced in smooth and timely movement of mails and parcels across North-East due the region’s hilly and thickly forested routes, the department of post (DoP) has decided to install Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to track the movements of its mail motor vehicles in the region.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she had already altered the land acquisition template of the Indian Railways in a bid to ensure no land was forcefully acquired for projects undertaken by her ministry.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will spend Rs 26,000 crore on capital expenditure in the next financial year, its Chairman and Managing Director R S Sharma said today.
State-run telecom majors BSNL and MTNL are not seriously considering to be a part of the consortium led by Delhi-based Vavasi Group to pick up a 46 per cent stake in Kuwait’s Zain Telecom.
Asian markets ended mixed today. The Hang Seng added 122 points to 20,244. The Nikkei was up seven points at 10,205.
Business Standard / New Delhi January 06, 2010, 0:03 IST
Centre today said that it would allocate funds to the institutes such as IITs to carry out research projects in the sphere of renewable energy in a bid to boost country"s research and development capability for harnessing renewable energy potential.
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.
The order win by Suzlon’s subsidiary, REpower, to deliver 954 Mw of wind-power equipment is its largest ever onshore deal.
The Sensex is now at 15,375, up 144 points. The NSE Nifty is at 4,566, up 43 points.
There are 600 employees of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in Mumbai who draw their pay with no work to do.
If you thought a job is something people are dying to hold on to when the going in the market is tough, you couldn"t be more wrong as a survey has found that more than half are ready to quit work, switch professions or take a break.
The Indian mutual fund industry had negligible exposure in the Dubai financial market to cause any ripples back home, LIC Mutual Fund Chief Executive Officer Sushobhan Sarkar said.
Body blow for real estate developers as state switches off tap to high-rise projects
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.
Reliance Industries (RIL), the country’s largest private sector company, has announced its third successive gas discovery in the exploration block KG-DWN-2003/1 (KG-V-D3), of NELP-V. The deepwater block KG-DWN-2003/1 is located in the Krishna basin, about 45 kilometers off the coast in the Bay of Bengal. The block covers an area of 3288 square kilometres. RIL holds a 90 per cent participating interest (PI) and Hardy Exploration and Production India Inc holds the rest.
Indian Commodity Exchange Ltd (ICEX), which will go live soon, has enlisted 250 members. The majority of the members have been approved by the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) and the unique codes have been allotted.
For the first time, the Indian Air Force (IAF) today landed an AN-32 transport aircraft at the Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in eastern Ladakh, just 23 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
Suzlon Energy, India’s largest and one of the top five wind energy turbine makers in the world, is on a comeback trail after turbine blade cracking issues, foreign exchange and net losses.
Bajaj Auto has seen motorcycle production more than double since the lows of December 2008 on the back of surging sales. That’s the good news.
Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies) has identified 50 cities for the IT and ITES sector, by classifying them as leaders, challengers, followers and aspirants.
Companies plan to benefit from the high inflow of foreign funds.
The government is likely to continue with its existing policies to ensure economic stability in the forthcoming Union Budget, a top banker said.
The cash reserve ratio (CRR) hike and a higher inflation forecast by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will not have much impact on the stock market as both have already been factored in by market participants, experts said.
Keisuke Uno proves that language is no barrier when it comes to cooking.
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.
Panacea Biotec settled up 5% at its upper circuit limit of Rs 183. The counter clocked a volume of 11,424 shares as against its two-week average trades of 19,885 shares.
Mobile operators are clashing yet again over the fee paid for spectrum (air-waves) with Vodafone claiming that Tata Teleservices and RCom were paying far less to the government - a charge denied by the two companies.
ONGC and ONGC Videsh (OVL), the overseas investment arm of ONGC, in association with the Hinduja Group and Petronet LNG, have entered into two broad enabling agreements with Iranian authorities for participation in development of gas fields and liquefaction facilities in Iran, in return for assured minimum six million tonnes a year of LNG on long-term basis. ONGC made an announcement on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) may ask two leading private operators, Bharti Airtel and Tata Communications, to terminate their contracts with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), which was allegedly offering international long distance (ILD) services here without a licence.
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.
Government-owned India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) expects to disburse close to Rs 11,500 crore this financial year.
Two electronic media personnel had their accreditations snatched away by the Mumbai Cricket Association authorities for violating coverage norms prior to the third day"s pre-lunch session in the India-Sri Lanka third cricket Test at the Brabourne Stadium here today.
With no takers for the sponsorship of the Indian cricket team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is now looking at alternatives — either to go for re-tendering with a lower base price or renegotiate a contract with the Sahara group, which currently holds sponsorship till December.
Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Capital today reported 52% decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 63 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.
India may import rice if domestic supplies are inadequate to meet the government’s requirements for the so-called central pool, a minister said.
WORDS AT WORK
Self-deprecating humour isn’t something one sees too much of in this country (where making fun of others is held a nobler pursuit than laughing at one’s own foibles), so I’m always pleased to read Saad Akhtar’s webcomic Fly, You Fools! (People are Mindless Cattle), a good-natured, witty take on some of the things we read about in the newspapers every day. It isn’t brilliantly written or drawn (in fact, it mostly uses photos and mixed media rather than fresh illustrations) but it’s goofy and perceptive, casting fresh light on (among other things) security checks at mall entrances (http://tinyurl.com/5s25pe), rich kids mowing down pavement-dwellers in their Mercs (http://tinyurl.com/mhpwep), and loud honking at traffic signals as a substitute for sexual inadequacy (http://tinyurl.com/kl7knc).
Religare Enterprise is expanding is investment banking division. The financial services company has started an investment banking division to tap opportunities in emerging markets. This new division will be part of Religare Capital Markets Limited (RCML).
Asserting that the steel maker has substantial investment plans in India, Tata Steel has said, however, there are not many acquisition opportunities here.
Global media giant News Corporation has reported a 11 per cent growth in first quarter net income at $571 million, helped by gains in cable network programming businesses and filmed entertainment segment.
Ahead of the Budget, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said the country should further liberalise its financial sector to play a bigger role on the global landscape.
The world"s largest software firm Microsoft today said it is sharpening its focus on the fast growing smartphones market and other wireless devices in India.
Other high-profile meetings on agenda, too.
From setting the rates, to the constitutional changes required and the training needed, it is unlikely we will be able to implement it by April 2010, says S Madhavan.
Sixty-three per cent of Indian IT organisations have deployed green server rooms to increase energy efficiency or have a pilot project underway, according to a joint study by IBM and the InfoTech Research Group.
Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), marketing its products under the brand Amul, will hike milk prices for the second time this year by Rs 1 per litre in the city from tomorrow, a senior federation official said today.
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.
India’s largest manufacturer of biscuits and confectionery, Parle Products is eyeing 15 per cent growth in turnover from Uttar Pradesh in the current fiscal.
The government has rejected the telecom industry"s plea for a single tax regime, giving a big blow to the private GSM operators long-pending demand.
Eases regulatory hurdles for Bharti-MTN deal.
The Sensex continues to display firm trend in the last one hour. The Index is now at 17,648, up 105 points. The NSE Nifty is at 5,274, up 30 points.
The second largest DTH player is way behind the market leader in subscriptions. But it is pushing value-added services to maintain its leadership in average revenue per user
Equity derivatives volumes on NSE fall, but traders say it’s too early to see a trend.
Nilanjana S Roy / New Delhi December 1, 2009, 0:39 IST
Business Standard / New Delhi November 10, 2009, 0:39 IST
To widen the probe against former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and his associates for alleged illegal investments worth Rs 2,000 crore, the Income Tax (I-T) department and Enforcement Directorate (ED) will share information with various central economic intelligence agencies.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, against whom the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department are investigating money laundering charges, will not be discharged from hospital today as he had a stomach upset.
- FIIs infuse Rs 24,800 cr in Dec quarter - FIIs net buy Rs 516cr, DIIs net sell Rs 472cr - FIIs net sellers Rs 278cr in F&O on Wednesday - FIIs net buyers Rs 695cr in F&O on Tuesday - FIIs net sellers Rs 900cr in F&O on Thursday - Positive returns on the cards, but no sharp surge
Commercial vehicle maker Eicher Motors reported 4.12 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 15.83 crore for the third quarter ended March 31, 2009, compared with Rs 16.51 crore in the year-ago period.
The Hinduja Group will invest up to Rs 350 crore in increasing capacity of its hospital in Mumbai by 350 beds in the next four years through expansion of existing facility and setting up of a new unit.
Keeping in mind the panic created by swine flu and its adverse impact on academic activities across the country, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), is preparing recommendations to be issued to various schools and colleges in the country. Once ready, the management institute, which has witnessed four cases of swine flu on its campus, will submit the recommendations to the state and central governments for further dissemination to academic institutes.
Tamiflu, the only drug for swine flu, will be made available in 480 chemist outlets across the country, the Centre today said.
Swiss drugmaker Novartis has begun injecting its swine flu vaccine into people in the company"s first human tests, a spokesman said today.
Novartis’s famed cancer drug, Glivec, will not get patent protection in India. The apex body on patent and trademark disputes, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), has ruled that the drug “lacks innovation” and the high price tag of Rs 1,20,000 per month per patient would be too high for the common man. “Any patent granted to support such a high monopoly price would be against ‘public order’,” the ruling said.
UK-based news magazine, The Economist, today named Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata as the winner of the eighth edition of its annual ‘Business Process Innovation Award’ for the successful development and launch of the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano. In a statement, the magazine said Tata was selected for “...forging a company that is shaping businesses across the globe and changing the way Indian companies conduct business. The company is also responsible for inventing the Tata Nano, the world’s lowest-cost car. Innovative methods through which the car is designed and manufactured enable Tata Motors to offer a more affordable, safe and efficient form of mobility to families in emerging markets.”
Kolkata-based Emami Ltd, which acquired Zandu Pharmaceuticals in October 2008 for Rs 750 crore, has decided to merge the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) business of Zandu Pharmaceuticals with its counterpart in Emami.
FMCG major Marico today said its consolidated net profit for the year ended March 31, 2009 stood at Rs 188.71 crore, while it had a net profit of Rs 169.07 crore in the same period ended March 2008.
The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Centre, pharma major Cipla, Ranbaxy Lab, Hetero Drugs, Natco Pharma and others on a pettion filed by Swiss firm Novartis AG challenging the denial of patent for its blood cancer drug Glivec in beta crystal form.
The country"s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India, today said it has roped in Bollywood actor R Madhavan as the brand face for its popular hatchback WagonR as it aims to increase sale of the car in South India.
The mad rush to set up special economic zones that house export-oriented manufacturing units three years ago turned cold in 2009, as demand for commercial space waned due to the global meltdown.
Businessstandard / New Delhi December 27, 2009, 0:14 IST
The stock price of Uttam Galva Steels today hit the upper circuit on the stock exchange after ArcelorMittal, the largest steel maker in the world, said it would make an open offer to buy an additional 29.4 per cent stake in the company from the public at Rs 120 a share.
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.
Former BJP Chief Rajnath Singh today cautioned the UPA government against implementing Ranganath Mishra Commission recommendations on minority reservation, claiming that it will promote religious conversion and affect the unity and integrity of the country.
The World Bank has approved the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) for implementation in Orissa. This follows the submission of the report on the project by the appraisal mission of the Bank which visited the state from 3 December to 5 December 2009.
- TMC firm in opposing joint operations - Protesters hold blockades, transport hit - All-party meet on Telangana begins - Students to block national highway on January 5 - Centre strategises for today"s meet - No flip-flop on Telangana, says Chidambaram
Declines to 9.35% in April-September from 17.23% in the same period of last year.
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group"s gaming and entertainment arm, Zapak, expects to break-even this fiscal and plans to scale-up its gaming centres to 300 by June next, a top company official said.
Anil Ambani Group"s life insurance venture Reliance Life expects to tap the capital market with its initial public offer in the first quarter of next fiscal, a top company official said here.
"Power" seems to be the buzzword when it comes to big-ticket IPOs.
30 companies in queue for Cabinet nod in Jan
In a move that could finally open up the power market in India, the power ministry has floated a Cabinet note to resolve a contentious issue in implementing open access that allows large users — typically consuming 1 Mw and above — to choose their electricity supplier.
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.
NIIT technologies has announced partnership with Hitachi Information Systems to offer cloud computing services. Cloud computing is an emerging mega trrend which is standardized IT capability delivered via the internet in a pay per use and self service manner. With cloud computing gaining impetus, both companies will be able to offer the complete portfolio of services around the cloud infrastructure to cater to the changing IT landscape.
Industrial projects in West Bengal are unlikely to be affected by the Allahabad High Court judgment that questioned the legitimacy of invoking the Land Acquisition Act for private companies’ projects by the ‘public purpose’ tag.
The Allahabad High Court today quashed UP government"s notification for use of emergency powers to buy land for Anil Ambani group firm"s Dadri power project, side-stepping a provision for inviting objections from land owners.
While power utilities and traders have generally welcomed the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s draft regulations on renewable energy certificates (RECs), they have warned that the short supply of renewable energy (RE) may encourage speculative activity and volatility in the already tight market.
Key benchmark indices surged as India’s economy expanded at higher than the expected rate of 7.9 per cent for October. Global markets gained after Dubai financial crisis fears receded. Indian markets opened strong at the start of the week, however, the week’s close saw some profit booking as worries mounted of a weaker-than-expected jobs report from the US.
India Inc lines up Rs 1,50,000 crore equity sales