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The Railways is not short of smart ideas. After using the inside walls/doors of trains like the Rajdhani Express to place ads, another smart idea is to make use of the long waiting period at its telephonic information services. Those calling 139, the information service, are asked to enter their choices (1 for Hindi, and so on) on various prompts — after a while, ads of Tata Indicom phones get played.
The 13th Finance Commission today submitted its report to President Pratibha Patil on devolution of central tax receipts between the Union and the state governments.
DuPont India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based E I du Pont de Nemours and Company, plans to invest about Rs 150 crore in DuPont Knowledge Centre at Hyderabad over the next three years.
Declaring his association with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL), Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani today said the Ambani brothers" agreement provided for government approval of gas price and that RIL had not breached its terms.
The problem of traffic snarls due to places of worship on public roads will not compound with the Supreme Court today ordering that there would be no fresh construction of sites of worship on any public road or lane.
Bank of Maharashtra (BoM), today said that it has reduced its benchmark prime lending rate (PLR) by 0.25 per cent to 12.25 per cent.
Bank of Maharashtra is planning to raise funds from the market, its Chairman and Managing Director Allen C A Pereira said today.
Two artists explore different mediums in an exhibition that explores their respective skills.
Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) today reported a decline of 53 per cent in its net profit at Rs 87 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.
Kerala chief minister to lay stone for the project on Nov 28
Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan will be removed from the CPI(M)’s Politburo on ground of “serious indiscipline.” The Politburo has found him guilty of publicly airing his differences with his bete noire, Kerala unit General Secretary Pinarai Vijayan. VS will be allowed to remain Kerala chief minister by the Central Committee, but a section of the party thinks his days as CM are numbered, as the state unit will try to dislodge him from the post.
Though Senior Counsel Harish Salve concluded his arguments in the Ambani brothers’ case on the eleventh day today in the Supreme Court, another counsel for the RIL started arguments challenging the Bombay High Court’s judgment on the sharing of gas from the K-G basin.
Brokers have discovered a golden opportunity in the positive market sentiment to add investor accounts, even if it means offering these services for free.
Issue of Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) is a pioneering initiative by the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India. The first CAS (CAS-1) was issued by the institute in the year 2002. The Preface to Cost Accounting Standards issued by the institute has set out the following objectives to be achieved through CAS: to provide better guidelines on standard cost accounting practices; to assist cost accountants in preparation of uniform cost statements; to provide guidelines to bring standard approach towards maintenance of cost accounting records under various statutes; to assist the management to follow the standard cost accounting practices in the matter of compliance with statutory obligations; and to help Indian industry and the government towards better cost management.
Keeping in view the robust demand for mobile downloads during the festive season, Mumbai-based Nazara Technologies Limited, one of India’s leading mobile entertainment companies, plans to roll out three games soon on the mobile platform.
The Centre today asked industries and research laboratories to develop alternate technologies using iron ore and non-coking coal so as to reduce production cost for the steel industry.
Tata Motors Ltd Chairman Ratan Tata had 500 engineers work for four years designing the world’s cheapest car, convinced cost-conscious Indian drivers could live without air-conditioning and cup holders. He was wrong.
Shobhana Subramanian / Mumbai May 22, 2009, 0:56 IST
BEML, the mining and construction, defence, rail and metro coach manufacturer under the ministry of defence, today reported a healthy 45.1 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 172 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009 compared to the corresponding quarter last year. The rise was mainly on account of a 75 per cent rise in orders for rail and metro coaches.
Tata Motors will distribute all Nano cars from Pantnagar through its new subsidiary, Tata Motors Distribution
The government is understood to have approached industrialist Ratan Tata to head an advisory board of the ailing Air India.
*This fictional character is a $5-billion cash cow for its company. But its popularity seems to be waning and the company has plans to rebrand its personality by moving away from its clean image. The first project for this exercise has been code named Super Secret. Name the character.
Cardamom prices almost doubled today to touch Rs 855 a kg compared with Rs 440 a kg quoted in the same month last year.
A K Bhattacharya / New Delhi January 27, 2010, 0:56 IST
A status quo on “title and possession” is to be maintained on four properties that were owned by the late patriarch of the Ranbaxy family, Bhai Mohan Singh, and his wife, according to an order of the High Court here. Further proceedings will be taken up in March 2010.
Natco Pharma net up 13%
A fresh tussle on sharing revenues from a movie is brewing. The fight is between Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the producer of 3Idiots, and multiplexes. The Aamir Khan-starrer is slated for release on December 25.
Amid its falling revenues and net profit, state-run MTNL today said it is keen to expand its areas of operations by forming strategic alliances and joint ventures both within India and overseas.
Sunil Jain / New Delhi July 27, 2009, 0:41 IST
ADAG firm Reliance Communications (RCom) has partnered with 3rd Space Services for advertising-funded videos on its mobile services platform .
Luxury carmaker Audi India today reported over two-fold increase in its sales in September at 205 units over the same period last year.
Prices of key inputs up 44% to 74%; analysts expect earnings squeeze after a quarter or two.
In a major relief for jobseekers, India Inc"s hiring activities are picking up once again as economic conditions are looking up considerably, experts say.
A host of Indian companies are planning to develop projects across sectors in the island nation of Sri Lanka.
ING Life today launched a unit-linked investment solution, ING Flexi Life Plus, which offers flexibility in premium payments as well as the convenience to change premium amount during the term.
The FBI has charged 14 people, out of which five have already pleaded guilty, in a case related to the $20 million hedge fund insider-trading scam, the largest ever such case in the US.
The Cast and crew reminisce about working on the sets of Vishal Bharadwaj"s latest film, Kaminey, which opened this week to positive reviews.
ING Life Insurance is expecting a 60 per cent growth in renewal premiums during this fiscal.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown today pledged to curb the entry of doctors and other professionals from outside Europion Union (EU) into the UK in a new crackdown on immigration, a move likely to adversely impact thousands of Indians.
Subir Roy / New Delhi November 13, 2009, 0:03 IST
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today conducted search operations at offices of real estate company Emaar-MGF, a joint venture between MGF India and the Dubai-based Emaar. These operations were of a routine nature and were not linked to the investigation into the dealings of the former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, the company said in a statement. Some news reports said the search operations were triggered by the directorate finding documents that showed Koda’s associates on the boards of some Emaar group companies.
The Enforcement Directorate today conducted searches on the premises of realtor Emaar MGF in connection with the multi-crore illegal Hawala and investment case involving former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda.
Network quality remains the top priority for consumers when choosing an operator, even as most telecom operators are busy lowering call rates to outdo rivals, according to research firm Nielsen.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has again deferred its recommendation on the revised Rs 2,500-crore proposal of Swiss telecom company ByCell to start telecom services in India.
Villages in Andhra Pradesh will be supplied bottled "mineral water" rather than piped water from the coming Independence Day.
Famed micro-blogging site Twitter has acquired location tracking firm Mixer Labs for an undisclosed amount.
SANDEEP DHAR, CEO, Tesco HSC, credits the Apple iPod Touch as the coolest music device and believes that the multi-touch user interface on iPods can revolutionise the gadgets of tomorrow. The corporate honcho also prefers LCD technology as it saves energy
Dr Kushagra Katariya’s passion for languages makes him appreciate sanskrit
- The Fennell effect - Automatic digging - Kalmadi seeks to dispel all doubts about C"wealth Games - "Facebook" floods search bars, tops list - Social networking sites fast catching up with job portals - PM on Facebook, Tharoor on Twitter
A research on top-10 searched terms by volume has rated ‘facebook’ as number one in the ‘net communities and chat’ category, indicating the brand recall that Facebook enjoys globally and how it has reached a massive audience since its general availability in December 2008.
Even as Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi hopes to see the state, alongwith Japan and Singapore dominate the Asian economy, a delegation of 95 real estate developers from Gujarat will be visiting Japan and Korea to study and imbibe technological know-how of infrastructure in these Asian economies.
Freebies are no longer catching the fancy of prospective home buyers; instead they are seeking cash discount, as the real estate market shows signs of revival.
Seven days after it was launched, Isro’s answer to Google Earth gets nearly 23,000 downloads a day
To really understand the power of execution, you need to be in the East Stand of Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium, when India is playing an opponent like Australia in a one day international. Every time Sachin Tendulkar touches the ball, an electric current passes through 60,000 spectators who let out a humungous roar of excitement. It is a zing that almost physically tries to reach out and touch this diminutive teacher’s son. A man who realizes a million dreams as he sends the ball scorching across the ropes.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has topped the list of world"s 10 top earning cricketers compiled by Forbes, which also features four other players from the sub-continent, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.
Vinod Kambli"s claims that he got a raw deal in Indian cricket due to his caste and colour are questionable.
AGM approves Reliance Infratel IPO, filing soon.
Real estate developer Ansal Properties & Infrastructure today said that it will raise Rs 203 crore through issue of shares on prefertial basis and issue of warrants.
Business Standard / New Delhi November 26, 2009, 0:29 IST
HCL Security today said it has signed an agreement with technology firm Cisco for delivering IP-based safety and security solutions.
West Bengal"s flagship IT district started the week on a tumultuous note with political activists going on a rampage early on Monday in an effort to enforce the 12-hour shutdown called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Elsewhere, party activists obstructed trains and set buses on fire, to protest against rising food prices, thereby partially affecting life in the city.
North Indians travelling south of the Vindhyas experience disconnect in terms of body-language versus verbalisation. “Yes” in those parts is emphasised with a side-to-side shake of the head. That gesture means “no” in most other places. Foreigners visiting India are often equally foxed by namaskars. Putting palms together is common to many forms of prayer and not employed much as a peer-to-peer greeting outside India.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today allyed concerns about capital inflows building an asset bubble and said it is keeping a vigil on these.
The Trident Group company Abhishek Industries today said it is planning to enter into a joint venture with the Portugal-based Mundotextil Industrias to produce luxury linen and other home textile products.
What does TV broadcast major Star’s shift of operations from Hong Kong to India suggest? What does it mean now that the Star India CEO Uday Shankar will report directly to James Murdoch, the head of Europe and Asia for parent News Corporation, instead of reporting to the regional boss in Hong Kong? In the answers to these questions lie the story of the growth of Indian media.
Adani Power has fixed the price at Rs 100 per equity share for its initial public offering, which has garnered over Rs 3,000 crore.
Leading telecom company Bharti Airtel today announced the launch of its comic portal, where subscribers can access comic strips from mobile phones.
Having failed to get returns on its Rs 100-crore investment in Bharti Hexacom, state-run TCIL today started the process to sell its 30 per cent stake in the JV by inviting investment bankers to work out the valuation.
Telecom regulator TRAI today said it will float a consultation paper on merger and acquisitions in the sector by the next month, a move that could unleash the second wave of consolidation in the sector.
Foreign fund house Sloane Robinson LLP has raised its stake to 5.08 per cent in Indiabulls Financial Services through an open market transaction for an undisclosed amount.
Pharmaceutical firm Suven Life Sciences today said it will raise $50 million (nearly Rs 239.5 crore) through the issue of securities.
Ajit Rangnekar has been appointed the dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB) for a five-year term. The Executive Board unanimously named Rangnekar as the new dean in Mumbai on January 8.
One of the domestic financial houses plans to sell 450,000 equity shares of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), amounting to 1 per cent stake in the largest exchange in India. Sources said that one of the banks might be offloading a part of its stake. The process has already started with SBI Caps Securities, the investment banker for this transaction, asking for bids from institutions. Sources indicated that Rs 3,600-3,650 per share is being sought by the offloading entity.
Crisis-hit Maytas Infra today said the Company Law Board (CLB) had allowed the company to report its accounts for the quarter ended September by December 31.
To promote transport of goods along the coastline of the country and on national waterways, the Ministry of Shipping has written to the Ministry of Finance to exempt goods transported through such routes from service tax.
BS Reporter / December 8, 2009, 0:19 IST
The Petroleum Ministry has sought oil bonds worth Rs 11,853 crore for state-run fuel retailers to make up for the losses they incurred on selling domestic LPG and kerosene below cost during the first half of the current fiscal.
The government may issue Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) Rs 10,300 crore worth of oil bonds this week to compensate these companies for the losses they have incurred on fuel sales in last fiscal.
Betting big on the growing India-related M&A deals, private-sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank today entered into a pact with Russian investment bank, Renaissance capital, to advise cross-border transactions.
State-run ONGC today said it will borrow about Rs 27,000 crore over next three to four years to fund its projects, its chairman R S Sharma said.
Heavy buying by foreign and domestic institutional investors saw the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex rise 2.25 per cent, or 339 points, to close at a 10-month closing high at 15,466. The rally was led by index heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC) as global crude oil price touched $71 a barrel after settling above $70 for the first time in over seven months. Firm global markets too helped the rally.
With markets moving up on the disinvestment buzz, Smart Portfolios too registered steady gains last week. It was after a while that all fund managers participated in the markets. While Phani Sekhar and Praveen Panjwani were seen re-building their portfolios, Amar Ambani and Ajay Parmar continued with their churning process.
Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said India will forward its domestic goals on climate change as its action plan under the Copenhagen Accord to the Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Under the Accord, nations have to submit their action plans by January 31.
For the first time in Smart Portfolios 2009, fund managers outperformed the benchmark in terms of returns. While the S&P CNX 500 index scaled nearly 4 per cent last week, Ajay Parmar, Amar Ambani and Praveen Panjwani were able to post gains in excess of 4 per cent each.
The Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn today said exiting from the accommodative monetary policy has to be a gradual process and cannot be done at a single stroke.
Under attack from the government, the agitating private airlines who are demanding a bailout package, have kept bookings open for customers who want to fly on Aug 18, the day they have threatened to go on strike.
Seven months into the trial of the 26/11 terror attacks, the prosecution today winded up its case before a special court which fixed December 18 to record the statement of lone surviving Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab.
Business Standard / New Delhi July 1, 2009, 0:30 IST
CPI-M today expressed serious concern over Indian investigating agencies not being allowed to interrogate LeT operative David Coleman Headley and sought to know what steps the government is taking into the matter.
The agitation for separate Telangana state, launched by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), took a violent turn on Sunday with the arrest of regional party president Chandrasekhar Rao, hours before he was to launch fast-unto-death.
When it comes to on-line booking of air-tickets, travellers from Mumbai take the lead with as many as 77 per cent opting for these facilities compared to travellers at six other leading international airports globally.
Home Minister P Chidambaram today said he has invited TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao here to discuss the next step for formation of a separate Telangana state.
The damage caused by the devastating floods in the Krishna river basin of Andhra Pradesh has been preliminarily estimated at Rs 12,225 crore, chief minister, K Rosaiah, said urging the Centre to release Rs 6,000 crore immediately for undertaking, relief, rehabilitation and restoration works.
GAIL
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has pointed out serious lapses in the way banks sold derivative products in 2007 and 2008. This is part of RBI’s reply to a questionnaire sent by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Orissa High Court had last year asked the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to submit a report on the derivative losses incurred by the industry last year.
Meanwhile, a second chargesheet in the multi-crore Satyam scam will be filed soon, as the CBI team probing the case has returned from Mauritius with some bank details from the island nation.
Was tipped as a probable to occupy the top seat in Infosys after Kris.
While pay-per-second tariff plans seem attractive, there’s a lot you need to know before switching over.
Claiming that the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) was in its expansion mode and would open at least 200 new branches every year in the next three fiscals, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Bank T Y Prabhu said the bank had sought capital support of Rs 1,000 crore from the government to implement its expansion plan.
The Indian rupee today inched higher by 8 paise to 46.22 against the US dollar in early trade on expectations of fresh capital inflows by foreign funds into Indian bourses.
China/Africa: Chinese growing investment in sub-Saharan Africa is both a huge global development and a short-term bubble. Both sides will benefit, but there may need to be some pain first. In 2008, China’s $106.8 billion bilateral trade with sub-Saharan Africa made it the region’s largest trading partner, surpassing the US’s $104.6 billion. The Africa-China trade is close to balanced, while Africa’s exports to the US, mostly raw materials, are worth five times as much as its imports.
Leslie D"Monte / New Delhi October 20, 2009, 0:49 IST
Deutsche Postbank Home Finance, a 100 per cent MNC housing finance company, has posted 28.77 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 30.16 crore during the first half year ended September 30, 2009 as compared to Rs 23.42 crore in the corresponding period last year.
The crisis-hit Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka went into a huddle today to dicuss whether reversal of some of the administrative decisions taken by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s confidante, Shobha Karandlaje, would help win back the controversial Reddy brothers, mine owners and MLAs from Bellary in north Karnataka, who had been spearheading a campaign against the chief minister.
The prevailing situation in West Bengal does not warrant invoking of Article 355 as demanded by the opposition, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told the assembly today which witnessed noisy scenes over law and order situation in the state.
The state-run telecom companies-- BSNL and MTNL-- have not formed any consortium so far with any other company to bid for Kuwaiti telecom major Zain Telecom, minister of state for IT and telecom Gurudas Kamat told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today.
In an attempt to improve telecom services in rural areas, state-owned BSNL would set up about 10,000 towers across the country, many of which would be installed in villages bordering Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The old problem of talent exodus may come to haunt companies once again when the economy recovers, if they do not take steps to attract top talent and retain employees now, a study says.
After opening weak, the Asian markets have rebounded into the green. The Hang Seng is now up 19 points at 21,9212. The Nikkei is trading flat at 10,105.
As negotiators from 193 nations were busy negotiating a historic deal on cutting carbon emissions, the UN"s top weather agency today said that the world, including parts of India were experiencing the hottest decade on record.
Seeking a "strong political agreement" at the Copenhagen climate change summit, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said the world leaders "must seal the deal" to tackle the pressing issue of global warming.
West Bengal’s assembly elections may be due only in early 2011, but that’s not stopping Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee from preparing to become the state’s next chief minister. She has assigned two economists the task of preparing a blueprint for the economic revival of the state. Both economists are frequent contributors to various newspapers and are known to be votaries of free enterprise.
Carrying out fresh attacks, Maoists set ablaze a rail office at Banshipur station in Lakhisarai district after taking eight officials hostages and blew up a block office in neighbouring Munger on the second and final day of their two-day shutdown in Bihar.
Business Standard / New Delhi July 14, 2009, 0:01 IST
Software bellwether, Infosys Technolgies today said it was focussing on "powerful" emerging markets such as Mexico, Brazil, China and India.
The Nifty has opened at 4,570, up 46 points. The Sensex meanwhile is up 96 points at 15,327, in opening trades.
The markets are likely to open on a positive note owing to strong cues from the global markets. Reliance is likely to be in focus today ahead of its Q1 numbers.
I had invested in ELSS (equity linked savings scheme) funds one year before, but I have not claimed this investment while filing for return. Can I withdraw from the ELSS, though the three-year lock-in is not complete?
The year 2009 is likely to be remembered as a year of several milestones in the e-book space, according to Gartner, Inc, an information technology research and advisory company. However, Gartner said that while the number of electronic readers sold is likely to increase in 2009, it expects 2010 to be the year when e-book readers become popular consumer electronic devices.
Naval Chief Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma today said that responsibilities of the Indian Navy has increased post 26/11 terror attacks and suggested to bring all coastal vigilance agencies "under a single security magnet".
The Indian Navy would undergo infrastructural development in the next few years, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Chief of the Naval Staff, said today.
The government has formulated a draft national consumer policy with an aim to ensure that goods, services and technology are available to the consumers at reasonable prices and good quality.
Business Standard / New Delhi January 1, 2010, 0:28 IST