Business News

Mohali industries shifting out due to power shortage

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:37:15 GMT

Mohali (Punjab): Hit by a compulsory 48-hour power cut per week, many units in the Mohali industrial area of Punjab have shifted out their bases to other states, and some others are likely to follow suit. "The authorities have made it compulsory for us to give a holiday every week and many times we are forced to announce mandatory two days off. It is not possible for us to survive for long by keeping our units closed for eight days a month," Mohali Industries Association president B S Anand told.

Tourism unaffected by fears of economic slowdown

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:47:46 GMT

New Delhi: Fears of an economic slowdown have had no impact on the tourism sector in India which remains a high spending destination for foreign travellers. The foreign tourist arrivals have touched 3.87 millions by September 2008, which is an increase of 10.

RBI cuts CRR by additional 1 pc, FM for more liquidity

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:05:20 GMT

Mumbai: Taking swift action to inject about Rs 60,000 crore into the cash-strapped system, the Reserve Bank today announced additional one per cent cut in mandatory requirements for banks to keep cash with the central bank over and above 0.50 per cent reduction announced earlier. With this, a total 1.

India Inc appeals for Rs 1,000 bn liquidity

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:40:27 GMT

New Delhi: A day after the Indian government admitted that the global financial meltdown had caused liquidity problems in India, leading industry lobbies appealed to policymakers to inject Rs 1,000 billion ($22 billion) into the system to help tide over the cash crunch. In separate statements on Thursday, two apex industry lobbies, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) called upon the government to take bold measures to keep India insulated from the meltdown.

"CII agreed with the finance minister in terms of the outlook toward the Indian economy, and believes that the economy had strong fundamentals.

Airtel to enter direct-to-home television market

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:04:41 GMT

New Delhi: Telecom operator Airtel on Tuesday announced it would launch a direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television service from October 9. The service will be available in 62 cities from Thursday, but will eventually spread to 252 countries. "This is a right time for Airtel to enter the market.

India can tide over economic crisis: Kamal Nath

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:28:23 GMT

New Delhi: Stating that India with its strong economic fundamentals could tide over the current global financial crisis, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday said that the country received foreign direct investments (FDI) worth $2.25 billion and $2.32 billion in July and August respectively.

Rupee tumbles by 54 paise to 6-year low

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:17:51 GMT

Mumbai: The Indian rupee tumbled by 54 paise to nearly six-year low of 48.47 against the greenback in morning trading today on fears of more capital outflows due to turmoil in equity markets. In active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency started weak at 48.

Tata firm to invest $12 mn in Qatar science park

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:51:35 GMT

Dubai: TCE Consulting Engineers, a Tata Group subsidiary, will invest $12 million over the next five years in the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). The investment will see development of new engineering solutions to meet environmental challenges. "Buildings account for 40 per cent of energy consumption worldwide, so with the right technology we can make a real difference in this area," Qatar's local media quoted TCE chief executive A P Mull as saying in Doha.

Govt not to launch overseas dollar bonds

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:58:07 GMT

New Delhi: Government today ruled out launching of dollar-denominated bonds but indicated that it may further relax overseas borrowing norms and raise FII investment limit in debt instruments to help companies tide over the liquidity crunch created by global financial crisis. "There is no proposal to launch sovereign long-term dollar-denominated bonds as of now," a finance ministry official said when asked whether the government is planning to hit the overseas market to raise funds.

However, the Finance Ministry is considering further liberalisation of external commercial borrowings (ECB) norms for companies besides raising FII limits in Indian debt market.

RBI cuts CRR by 50 basis points

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:55:58 GMT

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has slashed by 0.50 per cent Cash Reserve Ratio, the rate of mandatory deposits that banks need to keep with it to ease the tight liquidity position, a move that may induce banks to lower commercial lending rates. The new CRR of 8.

Indian equities end lower after volatile trading

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:37:08 GMT

Mumbai: Amid volatile trading triggered by fears over recession in the US and possible impact on the Indian financial system, Indian equities fell again on Monday despite opening on a positive note. The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed at 11,695.24 points, with a loss of 106.

India criticises UN over financial crisis

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:48:53 GMT

New York: India has sharply criticised the United Nations and its affiliated organisations for sitting on the sidelines as the current financial crisis unfolded, saying that the IMF remained helpless despite the economic meltdown impacting adversely on the developing nations. India called on the world body to use its universality to coordinate an international response, which is crucial to overcoming the crisis. During a discussion on the annual report of UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Indian Ambassador Nirupam Sen attacked the Secretariat for ignoring the economic crisis that is now "crushing" the poor around the globe and for lacking any vision for the future or how the organisation could help developing countries deal with the serious looming challenges.

NTPC declares Rs 28.85 bn dividend

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:24:29 GMT

New Delhi: The state-owned power generation firm National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has declared Rs 28.85 billion ($641 million) as dividend to shareholders for 2007-08, the power ministry announced in New Delhi today. The ministry said that in a release that the dividend was the highest ever declared by the firm, that accounts for nearly 30 per cent share of the country's power generation capacity.

SEBI does away with curbs on issue of P-Notes by FIIs

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:32:31 GMT

Mumbai: In a bid to boost inflow of funds, market regulator SEBI today lifted the 40 per cent cap on issue of Participatory Notes (PNs) by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), a move that will help revive the troubled equity markets. Announcing the SEBI Board decision here, its Chairman C B Bhave told reporters, "the curbs put on PNs were no longer considered necessary" as their issuance has gone down substantially in line with a declining market.

Bhave said that the Board has also decided to review the entire framework of participation of FII in Indian markets.

Direct tax collections up 32.54 pc in the first half

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:15:17 GMT

New Delhi: Deceleration in economic growth has not impacted revenue collections as the realisation from direct taxes have gone up by 32.54 per cent during the first half of the current fiscal. Within the direct taxes, collections from the corporate tax went up by 35.