Business

New Delhi, July 06: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee began presenting India’s budget for this fiscal in the Lok Sabha Monday, promising all that his government can do to ensure inclusive growth and address the growing aspirations of the country’s young population.

Dressed in a spotless white bandgala suit, the 73-year-old politician said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government would push forward an agenda that will ensure 12 million new jobs each year and reduce poverty by half by 2014.

Mumbai, July 06: Anticipating an industry-friendly budget, a key index of the Indian equities markets started the week in the green five minutes into trading Monday, rising 116 points from its last closing figure.

The benchmark 30-scrip composite Sensex, which opened higher at 14,962.12 points, was ruling at 15,029.05 points, 116 points or 0.78 percent higher than Friday’s closing figure.

Similarly, the Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was ruling at 4,450.9 points, 0.6 percent higher than its previous close.

Tehran, July 06: Iran has showcased an SUV limousine luxury vehicle dubbed Emperatoor (Emperor), to become the second country to make VIP cars.

The luxury vehicle manufactured by the Khodrosazan-e Jonoub Company was introduced in a ceremony on Sunday, IRIB reported.

According to the managing director of the company Siavash Hojjat, 50 percent of the vehicle including the body, chassis and the luxuries are domestically built. However, the SUV runs on an eight-cylinder Toyota motor engine.

Mumbai, July 07: Their fight, despite a family settlement of June 2005, may have reached the Supreme Court but Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil are expected to come together once again — this time for a prayer meeting on their father Dhirubhai’s death anniversary.

The country’s richest siblings may join their mother Kokilaben at the family residence ‘Sea Wind’ on Dhirubhai’s seventh death anniversary tomorrow, family sources indicated.

Nairobi, July 06: Kenya is eagerly awaiting the imminent switch-on of its first fibre-optic cable, which many hope will spark an explosion in high-tech business and boost the East African nation’s struggling economy.
While many business are yet to work out how best to take advantage of the bandwidth surge, one company is primed to ride the digital wave and steal a slice of India’s call-centre market.

New Delhi, July 06:The government could look at inducting as many as five independent directors on the board of Air India as part of its plan to restructure the airline.

Civil aviation minister Praful Patel has already indicated the government’s resolve to “professionalise” the board and some eminent people from within and outside the aviation industry could be roped in on the AI board.

At present, the airline has 10 directors on its board but only one — N Vaghul, former chairman of ICICI — is an independent director. The rest are either government nominees or AI employee directors.

New Delhi, July 05: Indian companies with interest in the Gulf have witnessed their business in the region decline by 20 percent, an industry lobby said here Sunday.

According to Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), strict visa rules in many countries in the Middle East are obstructing easy flow of manpower for project execution.

Also, direct and indirect subsidies to domestic companies there have made it more difficult for Indian businesses to offset their losses, FICCI said in a statement.

Mumbai, July 05: Their fight, despite a family settlement of June 2005, may have reached the Supreme Court but Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil are expected to come together once again – this time for a prayer meeting on their father Dhirubhai’s death anniversary.

The country’s richest siblings may join their mother Kokilaben at the family residence ‘Sea Wind’ on Dhirubhai’s seventh death anniversary on Monday, family sources indicated.

Abuja, July 05: Tata Motors, India”s largest auto maker, will introduce its small car Nano considered the world”s cheapest in Nigeria within next 18 months, ahead of its planned launch in Europe. The car would be available for about NGN 360,000 for the base model, same as the price in the Indian markets.

The car carries a price tag of Rs 1.23 lakh to Rs 1.72 lakh (ex-showroom) in the Indian capital for three variants. “Tata Motors will make the Nano available in Nigeria in the next one year to one and a half years,” a senior official of Tata Africa Nigeria, Sudeep Ray, said.

Jeddah, July 05: After falling 0.17 percent last week, the Saudi stock market continued its downward movement on Saturday.

Petrochemical and banking stocks led the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) to a lower close after rising over the previous three sessions.

The index closed 2.35 percent down at 5,467.81 points on Saturday, its lowest close since April 27.

Chennai, July 04: The government today justified the recent fuel price hike stating that it was left with no choice but to resort to increase in the prices of fuel for maintaining the financial health of the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).

“The financial position of the OMCs continues to be a matter of concern for us. To maintain their financial health, the government was left with no other alternative but to increase the price of petrol and diesel by Rs four and Rs two respectively,” Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora told reporters here.

Chennai, July 04: Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora today said he will be “happy” if the Ambani brothers, locked in a legal battle over gas supply, come together.

Deora told reporters on the sidelines of a function here that the case over the supply of gas by Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries to RNRL was sub-judice and therefore he cannot comment on it.

“However, I will be happy if they come together,” Deora said without elaborating.

Earlier Deora declined comment on the Ambani brothers moving the Supreme Court.

“I must study and then reply,” Deora had said.

Chennai, July 04: Cash-strapped public carrier Air India would not sack employees but financial and organisational restructuring was on the cards, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, said today. “There is no question of sacking;employees will be protected,” Patel said.

Patel, however, said it was time for for everyone — management and staff — to introspect. “It is a tough time and we have to cooperate.

we will have to go through financial and organisational restructuring to bring back the airlines on a healthy track,” Patel said.

New Delhi, July 04: State Bank of India has offered a loan of up to $1 billion to Bharti Airtel to partly fund the Indian telecom firm’s planned stake buy in South Africa’s MTN, two sources said.

The government-run bank, which along with its associates controls a quarter of Indian bank loans and deposits, will join a clutch of foreign lenders interested in funding the deal that aims to create the world’s third-biggest wireless group with more than 200 million subscribers and combined revenue of $20 billion. “Bharti is our customer.

Mumbai, July 04: State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), the largest associate bank of State Bank of India today slashed its benchmark lending rate by 0.5 per cent to 12.25 per cent. The Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) of the bank has been revised from 12.75 per cent to 12.25 per cent with effect from July 6, SBBJ informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Mumbai, July 04: Indian equities markets went up and down in volatile trading last week, but ended close to where they were a week ago, as investors waited anxiously for the budget to be unveiled Monday. A key index moved up from its previous weekly close, but only 1.01 percent.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rose 148.41 points (1.01 percent) over previous Friday’s close and ended trade at 14,913.05 points.

New Delhi, July 04: Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Virmani today said India does not have a “god-given right” to get back to high growth automatically without addressing the problems thrown up by the economic slowdown on the fiscal, financial, energy and investment front.

Hyderabad: With little resistance coming for the laying off process, particularly from the government, Mahindra Satyam is now gearing up for yet another round of lay-offs. This time, the axe is likely to fall on senior employees at the mid-management level.

According to sources, the company has already informed the employees about its plan to shave off a ‘significant number’ of jobs.

New Delhi, July 03: Keeping in view the slowdown in the cinema industry, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will review the policy of increasing tax on city theatres.

Mayor Kanwar Sain today said a proposal sent to the Delhi government about five years back envisaged increasing the maximum leviable tax by MCD on cinema theatres from Rs 7 to Rs 10 per show to Rs 1000 per show.

However, the upper limit had been envisaged for any future increase, not necessarily implying that it would be increased to Rs 1000 per show, he noted.

Mumbai, July 03: A key index of the Indian equities markets ended trade today 254 points above its last closing figure, as banking and capital goods stocks picked up.

The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, which opened at 14,552.72 points, closed at 14,913.05 points – 254.56 points or 1.74 percent higher than Thursday’s close.

Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended the day 1.7 percent up at 4,422.75 points.

New Delhi, July 03: Employees of national carrier Air India went on a two-hour strike at airports across the country today to protest the delay in salary payments, but it failed to move the airline management. “No flights were affected while our employees were on strike,” said Air india executive director for corporate communications Jitender Bhargava.

Maintaining that there was no need for any discussion with employees on the issue, Bhargava told media: “We will look into their demand.”

Mumbai, July 03: Trading sentiment turned bullish on the Bombay Stock Exchange today as the benchmark Sensex surged over 254 points following a soft Rail Budget amid brokers covering short positions late in the day.

The Sensex, which remained range-bound in early trade, shot up by 254.56, or 1.74 per cent, to 14,913.05 as stocks of companies catering for the railways extended gains after the Railway Budget kept freight rates unchanged. The key index touched a high of 14,945.85 points.

Mumbai, July 03: Indian industry is recovering from the economic slowdown, but the sector has to maintain its cost advantage in the emerging new global industrial order, a government report said.

India’s industrial output grew 2.4 percent in the year to March, compared with 8.5 percent in the previous year, hit by the global slowdown and a decline in domestic demand.

It rose an annual 1.4 percent in April after contracting three times in four months, government data showed.

New Delhi, July 03: Air India on Friday said it has taken adequate steps to ensure smooth operations across airports in view of the proposed two-hour agitation by a section of its employees to protest delay in payment of salaries.

“Air India is taking requisite steps at airports to ensure that passengers do not face any inconvenience if and when the section of employees walk out between 1300 hours and 1500 hours today,” Air India spokesperson told a news agency.

Efforts to ensure normalcy at the airport have also been taken, he said.

Bangalore, July 03: India Inc has cut down spending on computer servers drastically. The cut is so steep that investments in the first quarter of 2009 have come down to Q2, 2006 levels, sounding off alarm bells for overall IT spends. And analysts warn the trend could continue.

India’s overall server market in Q1 declined 29.6% year-on-year to $154 million, the same figure as in Q2 of 2006. This is the second consecutive quarter of revenue declines, latest available data from industry tracker IDC India Ltd show.