Sensex closes with 171 points gain

MUMBAI: A benchmark index for Indian equities Friday closed trade with a 171 points gain.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,692.66 points, closed at 16,837.76 points (provisional), 171.36 points or 1.03% up from its previous close at 16,666.4 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended at 5,058.3 points, up 1.1% from its previous close at 5,003.1 points.

Broader markets too saw good buying, with the BSE midcap index ending 1.56% up and the BSE smallcap index closing 1.33% higher.

TOI

Maoist attack derails 13 coaches of Express train, 68 dead

JHARGRAM, West Bengal: At least 68 passengers of a Maharashtra-bound express train were killed early Friday and over 200 injured in a Maoist-backed attack which led to derailment of 13 coaches that were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite direction.

The bodies of the passengers were removed from the mangled remains of the ill-fated coaches of the Howrah-Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express and the injured taken out with the help of gas cutters, a south eastern railway spokesman said.

"The toll could go up," West Bengal home secretary Samar Ghosh said.

The Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) has claimed responsibility for the derailment of the train.

"The PCAPA have left two posters near the rail tracks clearly owning responsibility for the derailment of the Kurla-bound Gyaneswari Express," IGP (Law and Order) S Karpurakayastha said.

The posters read, "We earlier demanded withdrawal of the joint security forces from Jangalmahal (West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia) and end of CPM atrocities, but those demands were not met."

Another poster demanded immediate withdrawal of the joint forces from the area. Police have seized both posters.

The incident occurred at 1:30am when the train was running between Khemasoli and Sardiya stations, about 135 km from Jhargram, south eastern railway officials said.

Surojit Karpurokayastha said that according to preliminary investigation, fish plates were found removed at the derailment site.

Earlier, railway minister Mamata Banerjee said the derailment followed a blast apparently triggered by Maoists who are observing a 'black week'.

"We suspect Maoist hand behind the blast," Member (Traffic) Railway Board Vivek Sahai said.

He said the driver of the train heard a loud explosion after which the train derailed. Railways are investigating if the tracks were tampered with, he said.

5 of the 13 derailed coaches fell on an adjacent track and were hit by a goods train coming from the opposite direction, Additional Superintendent of Police, Jhargram, Mukesh Kumar said.

Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters were pressed into service at the accident spot to airlift some of the injured to the hospitals.

Banerjee, who reached the accident spot, said a patrol engine had passed through the area half an hour earlier, but the timing of the blast proved disastrous with a portion of the line being blown away.

She announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of each of the dead and Rs 1 lakh for the injured.

This is the second Maoist attack on civilians this month. Naxals had blown up a civilian bus in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on May 17, killing at least 36 people, including 12 Special Police Officers.

The West Bengal home secretary said that the over 200 injured have been shifted to different hospitals and the condition of some of them is critical.

"Some of the critically injured people have been brought to Kolkata for surgical treatment," he said, adding that 30 of the bodies have been sent to various hospitals for post-mortem.

President Pratibha Patil, who is in China, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident. The Prime Minister announced Rs 2 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

South eastern railway spokesman Soumitra Majumdar said the train had 24 coaches. After the explosion, 13 including 10 sleeper coaches, derailed of which five were hit by the goods train coming on the opposite track. The derailment took place at a spot, 150 km from Kolkata.

An unreserved coach, the pantry car and luggage van also derailed, he said.

Relief officials used gas cutters to extricate trapped passengers and bodies from the mangled remains of the affected coaches. Passengers’ belongings lay strewn scattered on the tracks.

Angry passengers said the first signs of relief came only around 5 am, three-and-a-half hours after the incident.

Nine of the coaches which were not damaged in the blast took the injured and the other passengers to Kharagpur where they were admitted to hospital.

Anti-Maoist forces were at the spot and assisting the police and rescue personnel in extricating the bodies from four badly damaged sleeper coaches S-5, S-6, S-7 and S-8.

Helplines have been set up at Kharagpur -- (0322) 255751 and 255735, Howrah - (033) 26382217, besides a toll free number 10722.

Helplines have also been set up at Tatanagar (0657) 2290324, 2290074, 2290382, at Rourkela (0661) 2511155, Chakradharpur (06587) 238072 and Jharsuguda (06445) 270977.

TOI

Ambani brothers pledge ‘environment of harmony’ with new pact

Ambani brothers pledge ‘environment of harmony’ with new pact

New Delhi, May 23: In a seeming breakthrough, the respective Reliance groups led by brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani Sunday said they have entered into a new non-compete pact that will help resolve the Krishna-Godavari gas dispute, hoping for an ‘environment of harmony’ in the future. “These developments would eliminate any room for any further disputes between the two groups on matters relating to the scope and interpretation of non-compete obligations,” the Anil Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani group said in a statement.

“All existing non-compete agreements between the two groups executed in January 2006 stand cancelled," the group said, adding the focus was now on an early negotiation of the gas purchase agreement as directed by the Supreme Court. An identical statement was issued by the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries.

The boards of companies belonging to the two groups have also endorsed the new pact that allows the two groups to enter into any business or industry, other than gas-based power generation by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries for 12 years, the statements said. The statement said the cancellation of existing non-compete pact will provide enhanced operational and financial flexibility to both groups and greater ability to participate in growth sectors such as oil, petrochemicals, telecom, power and financial services.

Afzal Guru’s hanging won’t be expedited: Home Secretary

Afzal Guru’s hanging won’t be expedited: Home Secretary

New Delhi, May 23: The government has no plans to jump the queue on the clemency petition of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru or fast track the decision on his execution, says Home Secretary GK Pillai.

“Afzal Guru is in the queue (of mercy petitions in the president’s office). Nobody will be expedited,” Pillai told IANS in an interview, denying reports that the government may consider a fast-track decision on Guru’s fate.

Asked about the hectic activity on Guru’s clemency petition that has been moving back and forth between the home ministry and the Delhi government, Pillai said: “We have sent 20 reminders, but these are general reminders we keep sending to the State Governments. This is all a media hype.”

Shibu Soren’s flip-flop puts BJP in a spot

Shibu Soren’s flip-flop puts BJP in a spot

Ranchi, May 21: A day after Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren declared he would not quit as Jharkhand chief minister, its stunned coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it would decide on May 25 on the future course of action. Shibu Soren, in a turnaround, said in Bokaro on Thursday that he would not quit from the chief minister’s post and the rotation of power agreement with the BJP was unacceptable to him.

Meanwhile, two dissenting JMM legislators, Teklal Mahto and Lobin Hembrom, were in New Delhi Thursday and reportedly are to hold talks with Congress leaders on formation of an alternative government. Soren had also said he will fight the assembly poll, but did not reveal the name of the seat from which he would fight the poll. Soren, a Lok Sabha MP, has to get elected to the state assembly by June 30 to retain his chief ministership.

“Shibu Soren is an unpredictable politician. We will wait till May 25 and decide the future course of action. Soren had assured us to quit on May 25 to transfer power. We cannot pass a statement on media reports,” a senior BJP leader told IANS declining to be named.

The BJP leader further said: “There are only two options before the party, either to form a government with support of JMM or withdraw support.” BJP sources revealed that the JMM does not want a strong BJP chief ministerial nominee. According to sources, the BJP has cleared the name of party national general secretary and former chief minister Arjun Munda to take over. Munda is seen by JMM leaders as a strong chief minister who would not be dictated to.

Sensex plunges 467 on weak global sentiment

The equity markets ended Wednesday with the worst performance in four months as panic-stricken investors offloaded stocks amid negative global cues. All the major indices ended in the red during the day. Metals and realty, the worst performers in the current downswing, were the biggest losers shedding 4.1% and 3.9% respectively.

The sensex closed at 16,408.49, down 467.3 points or 2.7%. The index hit an intra-day low of 16,373.32 from an opening level of 16,802.39. The Nifty closed at 4919.65 points, down 146.55 points or 2.8%.

The trend of Nifty maintaining its 200 day moving average (DMA) of 4988 points was broken on Wednesday. "Sentiments are quite weak and traders are hesitating to take long positions," said Kishor P Ostwal, MD, CNI Research, an equities research firm.

With the Nifty closing lower than its long time DMA, many traders triggered stop-loss leading to a correction, he said. The ban on short selling in some government stocks and bonds in Germany resulted in traders pressing the exit button, market observers said.

Stock markets worldwide fell on Wednesday and the euro slid again after Germany announced strict measures to reduce speculation in government bonds and bank stocks. The German financial regulator BaFin announced that it would ban naked short-selling in shares of 10 of the country’s most important financial institutions.

During initial trading in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index fell 1%, Germany's DAX index dropped 0.7% and Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 55.8 points, or 0.5%, to 10,186.8. South Korea's Kospi index lost 0.8% to 1,630. Crude for June delivery was down to $68 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

TOI

3G winners announced, Govt to get Rs 67,719 cr

Auction for allocation of 3G Spectrum closed today (May 19, 2010) after 34 days and 183 rounds of intense bidding. Price per block of 2x5 MHz Pan India spectrum is Rs.16750.58 crores.3G spectrum auction including amount payable by MTNL and BSNL will earn revenue of Rs 67718.95 crores to the government.

Details of the provisional winners are given below:

The Winners

• Delhi: Vodafone, Bharti, Reliance Communications at Rs 3317 cr
• Mumbai: Reliance, Vodafone, Bharti Airtel at Rs 3247 cr
• Maharashtra: Tata, Idea, Vodafone at Rs 1258 cr
• Gujarat: Tata, Vodafone, Idea at Rs 1076 cr
• Andhra Pradesh: Bharti, Aircel, Idea at Rs 1373 cr
• Karnataka: Tata, Aircel, Bharti at Rs1580 cr
• Tamil Nadu: Bharti, Vodafone, Aircel at Rs 1465 cr
• Kolkata: Vodafone, Aircel, Reliance Communications at Rs 544 cr
• Kerela: Idea cellular, Tata, Aircel at Rs 312.5 cr
• Punjab: Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications, Tata, Aircel at Rs 322 cr
• Haryana: Idea Cellular, Tata, Vodafone at Rs 222.6 cr
• MP: Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications, Tata at Rs 258.4 cr
• Rajasthan: Reliance Communications, Bharti, Tata at Rs 321 cr
• U.P. (West): Bharti, Idea Cellular, Tata at Rs 514 cr
• U.P (East): Aircel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone at Rs 364.6 cr
• West Bengal: Bharti, Reliance Communications, Vodafone, Aircel at Rs 123.63 cr
• Himachal Pradesh: Bharti, Sing Tel, Idea, Reliance at Rs 37.23 cr
• Bihar: Sing Tel, Bharti, Reliance, Aircel at Rs 203.46 cr
• Orissa: Sing Tel, Aircel, Reliance Communications at Rs 96.98 cr
• Assam: Reliance Telecommunications, Bharti, Aircel at Rs 41.48 cr
• North East: Aircel, Bharti, Reliance Communications at Rs 42.30 cr
• Jammu & Kashmir: Idea Cellular, Aircel, Reliance Communications, Bharti at Rs 30.30 cr

Tharoor, Pushkar to get engaged on June 26

BANGALORE: With the dust kicked up by Shashi Tharoor's foray into matters cricket having settled — but not before ensuring his exit from the Union ministry — the former UN diplomat is now set for an engagement with the lady who was the cause of it all: Sunanda Pushkar.

But, ahead of his engagement with Sunanda on June 26 and 27, the former minister of state for external affairs is currently chilling out abroad. Tuesday was a day for a ferry ride from Victoria to Vancouver, with a discussion on his favourite topic — international relations. Although he is holidaying, preparations for his engagement are on in Bangalore.

As a matter of fact, Bangalore will see a mega, high-profile gathering during the Tharoor-Pushkar ring ceremony. The engagement will be held at actor Sanjay Khan's The Golden Palms Hotel and Spa on Tumkur Road, which has played host to a number of celebrity events.

The venue hosted the dream wedding of actor Hrithik Roshan with Khan's daughter, while Maharashtra Congress MLAs were housed at the Spa when former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh's government was threatened. Even CM B S Yeddyurappa held a meeting with his legislators here sometime back.

Sources at The Golden Palms confirmed to TOI the Tharoor-Pushkar engagement. Tharoor is a good friend of Sanjay.

TOI

Government offers Maoists talks as terror shadows Chhattisgarh

Raipur/New Delhi, May 18: Fear stalked large parts of Chhattisgarh as police totted the toll of the Maoist massacre the day before and disheartened security forces stayed in their camps on Tuesday, when a shutdown called by the guerrillas hit four other states and the central government reiterated its offer of talks.

The shutdown called by the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) began -- a day after 31 people were killed when the guerrillas blasted a bus in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district -- amid fears of fresh attacks and crippled life in Bastar region as well as parts of Rajnandgaon and the rural areas of Raipur and Dhamtari districts.

Rising prices remain a worry, but economy progressed

Rising prices remain a worry, but economy progressed

By Arvind Padmanabhan

Although high inflation remained a sore point during the first year of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s second term, some major steps were taken, such as a cut in fertiliser subsidy, to keep the reform process going.

Logging a 6.5-per cent growth when economies the world over were floundering and limiting the impact of the global slowdown on India were the high points of this government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an internationally recognised economist widely applauded for economically reforming India and keeping it on a high growth path.

The unveiling of a new Direct Tax Code to rewrite the five-decade-old Income Tax Act, the increase in levies on crude and transport fuels and the hikes in fertiliser prices despite political opposition were the other notable achievements. On the flip side, though, was the total silence on reviewing the foreign investment norms on a host of sectors, the lack of movement forward in opening up the financial services industry and delays in implementing a host of infrastructure projects.

“Barring inflation and less-than-anticipated progress in roads and highways, the latest UPA government has been able to live up to India Inc's expectations," said the leading corporate lobby, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham). “The government has scored seven out of 10 points in the first-year performance since it assumed office for second term on May 22, 2009,” said the chamber, based on a survey it conducted among 500 chief executives across the country. Here is a list of hits and misses of the second term of the UPA government that was somewhat relieved by the electoral verdict of the people, which ensured it no longer needs the support of Left parties in the decision-making process.

Sensex up 40 pts on global cues

MUMBAI: Erasing early losses, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today jumped over 40 points to snap two days of losses, amid positive global trends.

After touching the day's low of 16,744.13 in early trade, the 30-share index bounced to close higher by 40.20 points at 16,875.76.

Brokers said buying interest in blue-chip shares Reliance Industries, Infosys Technologies and Larsen and Toubro helped the markets erase losses and settle the day higher.

The National Stock Exchange index Nifty too closed with a moderate gain of 6.30 points at 5,066.20.

Marketmen said the recent declines were overdone, given the outlook for domestic demand.

In the 30-BSE index components, 19 stocks rose while 11 ended with losses.

The world stocks rose after Wall Street rallied overnight on optimism that plans being made to bail the Euro zone out of the crisis would work out. Chinese and Hong Kong markets closed with more than 1 per cent gain, while European shares were also trading higher by the same margin.

TOI

I-T dept planning to bring rural traders into tax net

I-T dept planning to bring rural traders into tax net

New Delhi, May 16: The Income Tax department is looking to bring rural traders and others into the tax net. The department which is attempting to expand the taxpayer base in the country will now focus their attention on a large swathe of rural businesses that have so far remained untouched. “We are planning to increase the taxpayers base. A number of taxpayers and assessees that the department would include will be from the rural areas,” CBDT Member (Revenue) Durgesh Shankar told PTI. There are a large number of people who do not pay tax.

Tax avoidance is a great worry and the department would strengthen the mechanism to include such assesses in the income tax fold, Shankar said. The I-T department has found that the income generated from numerous kinds of businesses conducted in rural areas can be brought under the tax net. The country''s official auditor, The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in a recent report tabled in Parliament had also expressed concern about the declining tax base during 2008-09. “The number of assessees declined by 3 per cent compared to an increase by 7.6 per cent in 2007-08. The decline was sharper among corporate assessees, indicating, inter alia, stop-filing which would need to be reviewed by the Board (Central Board of Direct Taxes),” the CAG report had said. It is a matter of concern that the Department which is otherwise aiming at widening the tax base had not managed to retain the existing tax base.

Panel to consider demands for HC benches: Moily

Panel to consider demands for HC benches: Moily

New Delhi, May 16: Amid growing clamour for setting up High Court benches in various states, the Government has decided to form a one-man committee to look into the issue. “We have decided to form a one-man committee to look into demands for setting up High Court benches,” Law Minister M Veerappa Moily told PTI here.

A former Chief Justice of India would be entrusted with the task and the Law Ministry would move the Union Cabinet shortly for its nod to set up the committee. Sources said former CJI Justice A M Ahmadi is a frontrunner for the post. But Moily said no name has been decided so far. “It is too early to comment,” he said.

Bolivia demands penalty from Jindal Steel

Bolivia demands penalty from Jindal Steel

UNITED NATIONS, May 10: Bolivia has said that the multi-billion dollar contract it signed with India’s Jindal Steel to develop an iron ore mine has not been rescinded, but the steel company would have to pay a penalty for not fulfilling the terms of the agreement. “The contract will continue but there is a penalty there because the partners need to respect their contract in Bolivia and the Bolivian people,” he told reporters at the UN headquarters where he was speaking on a different issue of the recently concluded climate change conference in Cochabamba. In 2007, Jindal signed a joint venture agreement with the government to develop the El Mutun mine that may produce two million tonnes of iron ore in its first year. In April, reports emerged that the parties were having disagreements over the contract. Media reports noted that Jindal wanted to invest USD 2.1 billion in El Mutun but wanted to produce 40 per cent less steel and around 20 per cent less iron a year than was agreed in the original contract. (PTI)

BJP wants permission to Muivah withdrawn

BJP wants permission to Muivah withdrawn

NEW DELHI, May 14: The BJP on Friday attacked Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram over the Manipur crisis, alleging that his unilateral decision to allow NSCN (IM) leader T. Muivah to visit the State had created tension there and demanded that the permission to the Naga leader be withdrawn.

“The unilateralism of the Home Minister has once again created tension. Earlier, he had announced creation of a separate Telangana State without taking the Andhra Pradesh government into confidence. This time, he allowed Muivah to visit his village in Manipur without asking the State government for its view,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said here.

A four-member BJP delegation led by Javadekar also met Chidambaram and demanded that territorial integrity of Manipur be protected.

“We told him that government must ensure and give a promise that territorial integrity (of Manipur) would be maintained,” he told PTI.

Manipur is facing economic blockade by supporters of Muivah after he was unable to visit his ancestral village in the State due to objections by the State government.

Javadekar said the party demanded that National Highway No. 39 and 53 be opened immediately and adequate supplies of essential commodities be ensured so that prices come down.

“We also discussed issues about threat to non-Manipuris,” the BJP leader said, adding that the “Home Minister has assured us that appropriate actions will be taken on our demands”.

“If things don’t move further, we may also meet the Prime Minister,” Javadekar said.

The party demanded that permission to Muivah to visit Manipur be withdrawn to defuse the situation. (PTI)

Close watch on EU crisis: Sharma

Close watch on EU crisis: Sharma

NEW DELHI, May 10: India on Monday said it is keepinga close watch on the European debt crisis, though it has not seen any significant adverse impact on its economy.

“We are keeping a very close watch on the situation (the European crisis). So far, there is no adverse impact of significant nature,” Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said here.

“I don’t foresee in the immediate context any major impact which would create an alarming situation here,” Sharma told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organized by the Tea Research Association of India. A crisis of confidence in Europe has been triggered by a potential debt default by Greece. Investors worldwide are concerned that Greece’s sovereign debt crisis could spread through the Euro zone and affect world economic recovery. To stabilize world financial markets and curb speculative attacks on the euro, the European Union (EU) finance ministers have pledged an emergency loan package with IMF support touching $1 trillion. (IANS)

Gadkari regrets ‘dog’ remark, Lalu and SP unforgiving

Gadkari regrets ‘dog’ remark, Lalu and SP unforgiving

CHANDIGARH/PATNA/NEW DELHI, May 13: BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Thursday expressed regret for his remarks likening Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Lalu Prasad to “dogs who lick the feet of the Congress and its president Sonia (Gandhi)”, but the outraged parties were unimpressed.

“I regret the comment made yesterday (Wednesday) and take back my words. I have a lot of respect for Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad,” Gadkari said at a press conference at the Chandigarh Press Club. “The comment created a wrong impression.”

“Meri baat ki bhavna alag thi (The essence of my comment was different). I did not want to hurt anyone,” the Bharatiya Janata Party chief added.

NPS gives 12% average return in first year

NEW DELHI: The New Pension Scheme for private citizens has generated an average return of 12% in the first year of its operations, outperforming most other long-term saving schemes such as the Employees’ Provident Fund and term deposits.

“We’re looking forward to attracting more companies through our performance. Higher returns may lead to more people taking up our scheme,” said an official of the interim pension regulator PFRDA, which administers the scheme.

But independent analysts said the scheme needs to deliver consistently for a long period for it to become a preferred long-term investment. The year-old scheme for unorganised workers has a corpus of just Rs 10 crore with 6,000 subscribers as compared with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) which has over 4.5 crore subscribers with a corpus of over Rs 2,62,000 crore as on March 2009.

Part of the reason why NPS has been able to give a high return is because it can invest up to 50% of its corpus in equities. And its fund management fees is as low as 0.0009% a year. In contrast, the employees’ provident fund of the EPF is weighed down by its very conservative investments and higher costs. “It is already clear that EPF will not be able to pay out more than 8.5% interest rate this year as it would face a deficit of around Rs 430 crore even if it increases the interest rate by 25 basis points,” said the official.

NPS corpus is managed by six different fund managers. The equity investments of the scheme have generated a 26% return. Performance of the six fund managers will soon be reviewed the official added. The returns on government securities and corporate bonds, however, have averaged just about 5% and 11%, respectively in the period, largely because of a lack of funds.

“With just Rs 10 crore amongst all six of us, we did not have adequate funds to deploy directly in government securities or corporate bonds. So the returns are not up to expectation,” an official with one of the pension fund managers said.

“These figures are not indicative and one should wait for the average returns over a full cycle,” said Dhirendra Kumar, CEO Value Research Online, a mutual fund and equity research firm. Mr Kumar, however, feels that the NPS will always provide better return than other long-term saving schemes such as EPF.

“The NPS allows as much as 40% allocation in the equity portfolio. On a five-year basis the investment returns in NPS will be much better than EPF,” he said. The new pension scheme corpus is equally divided amongst the six fund managers including SBI Pension Funds, UTI Retirement Solutions, IDFC Pension Funds, ICICI Prudential Pension Funds, Kotak Mahindra Pension Fund and Reliance Capital Pension Fund.

ET

Sensex above 17,300 on positive global cues

MUMBAI: Indices opened in the green on Thursday, taking cues from the positive global markets. All the sectoral indices moved higher led by gains in rate sensitives like realty, auto and banks.

"Wild swings are here to stay though the outlook for the day appears slightly brighter. Risk aversion is still high with investors across the globe flocking to the safety of gold and the dollar. At the same time, stocks and commodities are showing some signs of staging a comeback. British shares rose as David Cameron took charge of the first coalition government in London since World War II. Spain's announcement of a new austerity plan also helped boost confidence in equities.

Stocks in Europe as well as in the US posted smart gains. Asian markets are up this morning, led by Japan and South Korea though Shanghai continues to struggle amid tightening concerns.

We expect a higher opening on Indian bourses. The NSE Nifty may take a shot at 5200 but will find it tough to get past 5300. Fund flows from overseas investors have tapered off lately and valuations remain quite rich. We are going through a volatile consolidation phase. It's better to stay at a safe range and invest lesser than your means," said India Infoline report.

At 9:10 am, Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 17324.62, up 128.81 points or 0.75 per cent. It touched a high of 17387.04 and low of 17279.71 in early trade.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 5189.75, up 33.10 points or 0.64 per cent. It touched a high of 5200.65 and low of 5147.95 in trade so far.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.97 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.98 per cent.

Jairam refuses to comment on China controversy

NEW DELHI, May 11: Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday declined to comment on his controversial remarks in Beijing criticising the Indian government’s policy towards Chinese companies.“I want to make it clear that I am not going to comment on China. I am here to talk about greenhouse gas emission only,” Ramesh told reporters who tried to make him speak on the row that earned him a rebuke from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

BSE-Sensex gains most in a day in a 10 months period

STAFF WRITER 16:36 HRS IST

Mumbai, May 10 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today registered its biggest single day gain of 561 points in ten months after EU and IMF agreed on a 1 trillion dollar emergency fund for the Union to help contain the region's credit crisis.

The Sensex, which lost over 788 points over the past five sessions, bounced back by 561.44 points to 17,330.55 on positive Asian cues.

Marketmen said European Central Bank's announcement that it will intervene in the public and private bond markets in an effort to help stave off a sovereign-debt crisis bolstered trading sentiment.

Of the 30-BSE index components, 25 stocks gained while six ended in the negative. The uptrend was further fueled by a higher closing in Asian stock markets and better opening in Europe.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty shot up by 175.55 to 5,193.

Sensex 92 pts down in opening trade on profit-taking

STAFF WRITER 9:27 HRS IST

Mumbai, May 11 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell by over 92 points in the opening trade today after rising the most in nearly 10 months in the previous session, on emergence of profit-booking by foreign funds and retailers.

The 30-share index, which surged 561.44 points in yesterday, edged lower by 92.07 points, or 0.53 per cent to 17,238.48.

Realty, metals, auto and oil and gas sector stocks were under pressure, dragging the Sensex down.

The National Stock Exchange's Nifty fell 17.55 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 5,176.05 points.

Brokers said besides emergence of profit-booking by foreign funds and retail investors, weak trend on other Asian bourses was also responsible for the fall.

Among losers Reliance Industries fell by 0.62 per cent to Rs 1,073.50, Infosys Technologies by 0.70 per cent to Rs 2,656.50, DLF Ltd by 1.27 per cent to Rs 300.25, Sterlite Industries by 0.

Maoists have massively mined Chhattisgarh forests: Police

Maoists have massively mined Chhattisgarh forests: Police

RAIPUR, May 9: A day after eight paramilitary troopers were killed in a landmine blast by Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, a top police official said the guerrillas have massively mined the State’s forested areas and it was difficult to de-mine the vast stretches without the technology required.

“The big problem is we have no technology and resources to de-mine the massive forested pockets. Without taking out landmines it’s literally impossible to go after them freely in thickly forested areas where Maoists are always ready with a booby trap,” Director General of Police (Chhattisgarh) Vishwa Ranjan said on Sunday.

Eight Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed on Saturday when Maoist guerrillas blew up their vehicle in Bijapur, nearly 480 km south of State capital Raipur. The bullet-proof vehicle was blown up in the Koretal forested stretch. A CRPF personnel and two civilians were injured in the blast.

ICICI sees no threat to expansion from nationality

ICICI sees no threat to expansion from nationality

Mumbai, May 3: ICICI Group does not see any problems to its expansion plans due to the government’s FDI norms that classify the bank as foreign-owned. “Nothing has changed in our ownership structure in the recent past, so we do not think there are any hitches in our expansion plans,” ICICI Bank CEO and Managing Director Chanda Kochhar said here today.

Last month, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary R P Singh had said that going by the definition, they are certainly a bank which is not owned by Indians, because equity of at least 74 per cent or around 74 per cent is from outside. ICICI Group has life insurance venture with the UK-based Prudential Plc which owns 26 per cent stake, the maximum FDI allowed in the sector.

Going by the classification of ICICI as foreign-owned, it was feared that the entity cannot put more than 26 per cent equity in the insurance venture. Kochhar has, however, dismissed this theory, saying its expansion plans would not be affected. “We are an Indian originated Bank, controlled by an Indian management and governed by the Reserve Bank of India,” she said after inaugurating the bank’s 2000th ATM here. Asked on overseas expansion plans, Kochhar said, “We are in the process of applying (for new branches overseas). This year, we are more into expanding and deepening our presence in the locations we are already present in.” ICICI Bank’s presence spans 19 countries. (IANS)

Govt buckles, agrees to caste in 2011 census

NEW DELHI: The stage is set for the inclusion of caste in the national headcount after a gap of 79 years after high-pressure lobbying by OBC satraps and an intervention by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi saw Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promising a decision "soon".

The remarkable turnaround in the government's stand which even on Friday morning reflected caution with home minister P Chidambaram elaborating logistical and practical difficulties came about after Yadav leaders Mulayam Singh, Lalu Prasad and Sharad angrily rejected the minister's statement.

The Yadav trio, who had the support of a large majority in the House, felt that the home minister's promise that their views would be heard and kept in mind somewhat evasive and wanted a clear assurance on whether caste enumeration would be part of the ongoing census.

This prompted a quick intervention from Sonia who beckoned the Yadavs over on the floor of the Lok Sabha. She placated the OBC chieftains and this was followed by discussions in finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's chamber. Shortly after, Singh told the Lok Sabha, "I am aware of the views of members belonging to all sections. I assure you that the Cabinet will take a decision soon."

Later, Mukherjee told reporters, "Yes, we will include it (caste) in this census." He added that it was not too late to add the criterion as part of the exercise rolled out on April 1. "It (the census) has just started. All we need to do is to include a column on OBC. There are already columns on General, SC/ST." He also rebuffed apprehensions that collection of data on caste would lack authenticity as people could lie about their castes.

The finance minister's statement made clear what had been indicated by the PM who stopped short of spelling out the specifics. It also pointed to the backstage parleys where an agreement on what Singh would tell the House had been hammered out.

The three Yadavs urged the Congress chief to take the initiative, and use the powers vested in her to clear the "confusion" caused by the home minister's statement. They are confident that the very next meeting of the Cabinet could take the decision to include caste in the census.

That would be a signal victory for OBC politicians who have been pressing for a caste count, confident that their numbers are significant and will help stake claim to greater political benefits. They also see the caste census as a step to breaching the 50% cap on quotas set by the Supreme Court while increasing the role of the already significant "backward" factor in politics.

While the housing survey is currently on, the actual headcount will begin from February next year. Though enumerators will record the answer to the question "what is your caste" without verifying it, the results of the census will bear an "official" stamp. Though not tested, the data will impact the future course of politics as backward groups base their demands on the basis of the numerical strength the census will throw up.

The backward population is claimed at 52% but the NSSO survey pegged it at 41%. The BPL survey by the ministry of rural development showed rural OBC population at around 38.5%.

While Chidambaram attempted to wriggle out of a ticklish position with a vague commitment to consider "the views of the House", the Yadav triumvirate aggressively lobbied Sonia, Singh and Mukherjee to see a clarification. This saw Sonia assuaging the Yadavs who have proved handy supporters for UPA despite the clash over the women's quota bill.

The PM obliged, saying "a decision will soon be taken by the Cabinet" and the outpouring of compliments from across the political divide showed that OBC leaders had eked out a major victory. It was then left to Mukherjee to clarify after the Budget session ended that the caste census was very much on.

The move concludes a serious onslaught by backward leaders who brought Parliament to a halt over the last few days to demand that the census include caste as a criteria to count the number of OBCs in the country.

The demand picked momentum through the week with an across-the-board consensus in its favour and the mood reflected in the Union Cabinet on Wednesday when a large section of ministers argued in favour of such a headcount.

Inclusion of caste in the census would mark a watershed in independent India where a conscious decision was taken not to enumerate castes except SCs and STs. As the census is the most authentic exercise in national headcount and profiling, results of OBC enumeration will carry weight which extrapolation of backwards on the basis of 1931 figures as done by the Mandal commission lacks.

It has triggered speculation on the implications of the country getting a relatively authentic figure of OBC share in national population. While the argument is that the figure is required to make proportional financial allocations for OBC welfare, there is a strong belief that it may lead to a demand for hiking OBC quota in jobs and education in the ratio of population. The figure of 52% as given by Mandal is highly disputed, but it is fairly safe to assume that OBC population will always be higher than 27% quota given to them.

TOI

AGP debating presidium

AGP debating presidium

Legislature Party to decided on CM candidate: Patowary

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, May 7: The AGP, which is still licking its wounds after successive electoral debacles, continues to be dogged by internal bickering, specially over the issue of whether the party should fight the 2011 State Assembly election under its president or a presidium.

There has also been a debate in the AGP over who should take the hot seat of the Chief Minister if the party returns to power. Though the AGP is nourishing the dream of forming the next State Government, time seems to be running out for the Opposition party to set its house in order as only 11 months are left for the Assembly poll.

When contacted today, AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary claimed credit for unification of the AGP and the AGP (P) but said the unification process at the grassroots-level was taking time.

Budget session of Parliament ends

STAFF WRITER 17:47 HRS IST

New Delhi, May 7 (PTI) The budget session of Parliament concluded today amid growing concerns by Presiding Officers over "disturbing frequency" of disruptions and Speaker Meira Kumar lamenting that the House was being rendered "irrelevant".

The two-and-a-half month long session saw 70 hours of Lok Sabha and 45 hours of Rajya Sabha being wasted due to disruptions over various issues including women's bill, nuclear liability bill and price rise.

"An overview of the session cannot avoid the impression that much time was lost in disruptions and adjournments arising out of disruptions," Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari said.

He expressed anguish over the lowering of the "image of the legislature" in the eyes of public.

"Rules for the conduct of business were sought to be flouted with disturbing frequency. The Question Hour became its principal victim and could not be conducted on 13 of the 31 scheduled sittings," he observed.

Nifty closes above 5000; RIL lends support

MUMBAI: Indian market ended in deep red Friday after concerns of sovereign debts in the Europe sparked sharp sell-off in global equities. The worst hit were high-beta sectors like realty and banks while oil&gas bucked the trend.

Back home, the fall in benchmarks was clipped a bit as investors bought shares of index heavyweight Reliance Industries after the company won the gas dispute case against RNRL.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 5030 down 60.85 points or 1.20 per cent. The index touched a high of 5085.65 and low of 4984.60 in today’s trade.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex closed at 16769.11, down 218.42 points or 1.29 per cent. The index touched intra-day high of 16939.58 and low of 16684.13.

BSE Midcap Index was down 2.45 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 3.04 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index was down 4.24 per cent, BSE Bankex fell 3.27 per cent and BSE IT Index was down 2.32 per cent. BSE Oil&gas Index was up 0.91 per cent.

Reliance Power (-9.09%), Reliance Infrastructure (-7.60%), Tata Motors (-6.20%), Suzlon Energy (-5.12%) and Unitech (-5.05%) led the Sensex decline.

Reliance Industries (3.49%), HUL (1.70%) and BPCL (1.22%) were the only Nifty gainers.

Shares of Reliance Industries surged while shares of Anil Ambani owned ADAG group tanked after the Supreme Court announced its verdict in the favour of Reliance Industries.

The three-member bench presided by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan passed the judgment that the Memorandum of Understaning between the Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani is not legally binding. The bench has asked the two parties to renegotiate the gas price in next 6 weeks time.
Market breadth was negative on the NSE with 2373 declines against 622 advances.

(All figures are provisional)

ET

Sensex under pressure; RInfra, RCom, SBI down

MUMBAI: Indian markets were under selling pressure on Friday traders off-loaded positions after sharp fall in the global equities. Realty, banks and power stocks were the worst hit while oil&gas space showed resistance.

At 2:22 pm, Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 16799.66, down 187.87 points or 1.11 per cent. The index touched intra-day high of 16939.58 and low of 16684.13.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 5019.85, down 71 points or 1.39 per cent. The index touched a high of 5085.65 and low of 4984.60 in trade so far.

BSE Midcap Index was down 2.28 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 2.68 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index was down 3.92 per cent, BSE Bankex fell 2.85 per cent and BSE Power Index was down 2.31 per cent. BSE Oil&gas Index advanced 0.90 per cent.

Reliance Infrastructure (-6.67%), Tata Motors (-4.79%), DLF (-3.24%), Reliance Communications (-2.96%) and SBI (-2.81%) led the Sensex decline.

Reliance Industries (2.87%) and HUL (1.25%) were the only Sensex gainers.

Shares of Reliance Industries surged while shares of Anil Ambani owned ADAG group tanked after the Supreme Court announced its verdict in the favour of Reliance Industries.

The three-member bench presided by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan passed the judgment that the Memorandum of Understaning between the Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani is not legally binding. The bench has asked the two parties to renegotiate the gas price in next 6 weeks time.

Shares of Reliance Natural Resources plunged 21.58 per cent on the NSE after losing the case against RIL.

Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 1185 declines against 136 advances

ET

Gold prices at 5-month high of over Rs 18,000 per 10 gram

NEW DELHI: Gold prices today spurted by Rs 495 to regain the Rs 18,000 per ten gram level after five months on heavy buying driven by a rally in overseas markets.

Standard gold surged by Rs 495 to Rs 18,110 per ten gram, a level last seen on November 26, 2009.

Silver also jumped Rs 565 to Rs 28,165 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Marketmen said trading sentiment remained firm as gold climbed in overseas markets on stronger demand for the alternative investment as currencies weakened and equities dropped.

Gold in global markets, which normally set the price trend on the domestic front, recorded a handsome rally of 33.20 dollars to 1,208.80 dollars an ounce last evening.

Some funds shifting from melting equity to rising gold for quick gains and firming trend at the futures trading further fuelled the uptrend, marketmen said.

Standard gold and ornaments surged by Rs 495 each to Rs 18,110 per ten gram and Rs 17,960 per ten gram respectively, Sovereign, followed suit and rose by Rs 100 to Rs 14,250 per piece of eight gram.

In line with the general firming trend, silver ready spurted by Rs 565 to Rs 28,165 per kg. The weekly-based delivery shot up by Rs 480 to Rs 27,815 per kg.

Silver coins too traded higher by Rs 100 to Rs 34,000 for buying and Rs 34,100 for selling of 100 pieces.

ET

‘Confession of Kasab nailed him in 26/11 terror attack’

MUMBAI, May 5: The 26/11 court has accepted a major portion of the confession given by convicted terrorist Ajmal Kasab in which he talked about the involvement of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayeba and the security apparatus of the neighbouring country in the diabolic attacks.“I have accepted most part of the confession and also held that it was voluntarily given by Kasab and not given under duress as claimed by him,” Judge M L Tahaliyani said while pronouncing the operative part of the verdict on Monday.

Magistrate Sawant Waghule had done her best to explain to Kasab that his confession can go against him in the trial and also gave him 72 hours to ponder over his move to confess voluntarily, the judge noted.“I have rejected Kasab’s plea that his confession was not voluntary and was given under police duress,” the judge said, adding he also dismissed the defence argument that a policeman was present in the magistrate’s chamber when the accused was making a statement.

Nine deadlines on fencing along B’desh border since 2006!

Nine deadlines on fencing along B’desh border since 2006!

Does it not reflect on the insincerity of the government in sealing the border with Bangladesh in the Assam sector? After all, Assam is the best living and breeding space for illegal Bangladeshis on earth, who the ruling Congress would shield in every way for them being such

Sensex falls below 17k, Nifty under 5100

MUMBAI: The downtrend on the Indian stock markets continued Wednesday, with the Sensex opening sharply lower and slipping below the 17,000 mark. The fall is an extension of the global slump in equities on concern Europe’s debt crisis is worsening and after Greece, similar rescue packages will need to extended to Spain and Portugal. ( Watch )

The BSE 30-share index was at 16,919.60, down 217.54 points or 1.27 per cent. The benchmark opened at 17,103.95 against the previous close of 17,137.14. The index saw a low of 16,868.83.

NSE’s 50-share Nifty fell 71.25 points or 1.38 per cent to 5077.25. The benchmark had opened flat at 5148.35 versus Tuesday’s close of 5148.50 and immediately slipped to 5064.05.

Among sectors, metal stocks continued to be beaten down, followed by consumer durables, realty, auto, banking, and power. All the sector indices were in the red.

ET

Sensex tanks 268 points on Greece debt concerns

STAFF WRITER 9:40 HRS IST

Mumbai, May 5 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today tanked over 268 points to trade below the 17,000- points level in opening trade in line with the meltdown in overseas markets on concerns that Greece's debt crisis could spread to other countries.

The 30-share index, which had lost over 421 points in the previous two sessions, plunged further by 268.31 points, or 1.56 per cent to slump below the 17,000-points level-for the first time since March 5-at 16,868.83 points.

All the sectoral indices, led by metals and realty, were trading in the negative zone with losses up to 2.95 per cent.

Likewise, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell below 5,100-points level to trade at 84.45 points, or 1.64 per cent down at 5,064.05

Crippling Mumbai train strike finally ends

MUMBAI, May 4: A 36-hour strike by suburban train drivers that crippled India’s financial capital ended on Tuesday evening shortly after the authorities cracked down on the strikers for causing chaos but promised to back their demands for better working conditions.

Some seven million commuters who use the electric trains daily heaved a sigh of relief as Maharashtra’s Home Minister RR Patil announced the end of the work stoppage after talks with union leaders. Patil told reporters that the State government would take up the demands of the motormen, as the drivers are known, with the Central Railway Board. Disciplinary action taken against the strikers would be withdrawn.

Coffee exports shoot up by 42 pc in Jan-April 2010

STAFF WRITER 14:57 HRS IST

New Delhi, May 3 (PTI) Strong global demand and increasing domestic supply pushed up the country's coffee exports by 42 per cent to 1,00,574 tonnes in the first four months of 2010, according to the Coffee Board of India.

In terms of value, coffee exports surged to Rs 1,025 crore between January and April from Rs 763.38 crore in the same period last year, it said.

"Exports have increased due to a rise in demand for the robusta variety of coffee and a hike in the re-export of processed coffee," a Coffee Board official told PTI.

The country had shipped only 70,843 tonnes of coffee in the same period last year even as demand slumped due to the economic recession, he said.

India is Asia's third-largest producer of coffee.

ICICI Bank to hire up to 7,000 employees in 2010-11

STAFF WRITER 14:8 HRS IST

Mumbai, May 3 (PTI) ICICI Bank today said it plans to increase headcount by up to 7,000 this financial year.

"We plan to hire around 5,000-7,000 people this fiscal.

We have also declared bonus and increments for our employees," ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar told reporters after inaugurating the 2,000th branch of the largest private sector bank in Mumbai today.

ICICI Bank has become the first private sector bank to reach this milestone, giving it a wide distribution reach in the country, Kochhar said.

The bank plans to add more branches and ATMs in the current fiscal, she said.

"The inauguration of this 2,000th branch signifies our commitment to getting closer to our customers through an enhanced branch network. Our branches are well-equipped to address customer needs through a wide range of products and services. Our branches now have dedicated service area for privilege banking customers," she added.

Deer deaths: 3 forest department personnel suspended

STAFF WRITER 0:56 HRS IST

Rohtak, May 3 (PTI) Three forest department officials were today placed under suspension in connection with the death of ten deer at a Deer Park in Meham town near here.

Wild life Inspector Rajender Punia, guard Charan Singh, and night watchman Randhir Singh were suspended on the basis of preliminary inquiry conducted by DFO (Hisar Range) Shakti Singh, District Forest Officer (Rohtak Range) Jagdish Chander said.

Prima-facie, all the three were found "guilty" in the inquiry report, he added.

Ten deer were found dead and four others injured at the park on Saturday morning.

Night watchman Randhir Singh had found the deer dead when he went inside the park and saw dogs eating their carcass.

Local train services disrupted, 20 motormen dismissed

STAFF WRITER 9:16 HRS IST

Mumbai, May 5 (PTI) Suburban train services in Mumbai continued to be disrupted today on the second day of motormen's strike even as 20 motormen were dismissed for refusing to report for work.

"Ten motormen of Central and Western railway each have been dismissed as they refused to work," railway officials said here.

The western and eastern express highway also continued to be jammed with commuters opting for road transport to reach their destinations.

Railway authorities today said only 20 per cent suburban trains were operating as a result of the hunger strike by motormen demanding hike in pay scales and allowances.

Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil said the state government will take up the issue with the Centre, seeking its intervention to provide relief to Mumbai commuters.

The state government is also reviewing if provisions of Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) could be invoked in this case, he said.

Sensex recovers 79 pts in opening trade on funds buying

STAFF WRITER 9:28 HRS IST

Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex recovered by nearly 79 points in opening trade today on fresh capital inflows by foreign funds.

The 30-share index, which had lost 172.63 points in the previous trading session, rose by 78.74 points, or 0.45 per cent to 17,464.82 points.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange's Nifty also moved up by 27.40 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 5,250.15 points.

Brokers said fresh buying by foreign funds on the back of overnight gains in the US market mainly buoyed the trading sentiment here.

Besides, steady inflow of encouraging quarter earnings by companies also generated buying activity, they added.

Among major gainers, Jaiprakash Associates was up 1.59 per cent to Rs 146.80, Infosys Technologies 0.13 per cent to Rs 2,698.05, Wipro 0.23 per cent to Rs 676.25, Tata Consultancy Services 0.47 per cent to Rs 770.60, Mahindra and Mahindra 0.

Asian markets mixed in morning trades

Asian markets are trading mixed this morning, in spite of cues from the US markets.

The Hang Seng has added 136 points to 20,947.

The Seoul Composite and the Taiwan Weighted are flat at 1,723 and 7,955, respectively.

However, the Straits Times has dropped 28 points (1%) to 2,916. The Shanghai Composite is down 15 points at 2,855

Markets open in green on US cues

Markets opened on a positive note this morning, taking cues from the US markets, even as Asian peers trade mixed.

The Sensex opened flat at 17,371. The index thereafter touched a high of 17,465 and is now up 45 poinst at 17,431.

The Nifty is up 17 points at 5,239.

US markets ended in green on Monday as hopes of a financial recovery strenghtened as Europe introduced a rescue package for Greece. The Dow added 143 points (1.3%) to 11,151. The Nasdaq jumped 38 points (1.5%) to 2,498. The S&P 500 advanced 16 points (1.3%) to 1,202.

Asian markets are trading mixed this morning, in spite of cues from the US markets. The Hang Seng has added 136 points to 20,947. However, the Straits Times has dropped 28 points (1%) to 2,916.

BSE healthcare and realty indices have added 0.6% to 5,376 and 3,473, respectively. Auto and metal have also advanced in trades today.

Most of the stocks in the Sensex are tading flat with a positive bias.

Jaiparaksh Asoociates has gained 1.5% at Rs 146.

ACC and Hindustan Unilever have added 0.8% each to Rs 911 and Rs 236, respectively.

HDFC, Reliance Communications, Maruti and ICICI Bank are marginally up.

However, Hindalco has dropped 0.4% to Rs 172.

Hindustan Motors to report to BIFR

NEW DELHI: Hindustan Motors, the CK Birla group-owned maker of the Ambassador , said on Monday that the company will shortly report to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction as its net worth has eroded by 50% from the peak in the preceding four years.

Hindustan Motors chairman CK Birla told ET that the financial performance of the company will not affect the production of the Ambassador.

“Our net worth has been eroded by 50% and we now have to report to BIFR. There is a significant difference between this and becoming a BIFR case,” Birla said. “We have no plans of phasing out the Ambassador . In fact, demand has been good and we have lined up a lot of plans for the company ,” he added. BIFR is a government agency that helps to expedite either the revival or the closure of sick industrial companies.

Accumulated losses at the end of 31 March 2010 has resulted in an erosion of more than 50% of the company’s net worth from the peak during the preceding four years, the company said in a communication to the National Stock Exchange. This makes it mandatory for the company to report to BIFR as such cases are considered to be “potentially sick” under the norms. The board has also accepted the resignation of managing director Ravi Santhanam .

Hindustan Motors has been losing marketshare in the last two decades, first to state-owned Maruti and then to a slew of foreign manufacturers that brought unprecedented diversity, choice and affordability to car owners following the economic reforms of the early 1990s.

Govt to introduce bill to regulate unique ID project

BANGALORE | NEW DELHI: India plans to introduce a law for regulating the ambitious programme of giving unique identity numbers to nearly 1.2 billion citizens, chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Nandan Nilekani confirmed to ET last week. “It’s happening. The UIDAI would be proposing a UIDAI Act to provide for statutory powers and responsibilities to the authority. This Act would address the issues of privacy and data security of the UIDAI database,” Mr Nilekani said.

In fact, the authority was formed last year with a road map to be established by an act of Parliament. The proposed law will authorise the UID to collect identity information, such as name, gender, date of birth, parents’ name, address and finger prints, from people voluntarily seeking a unique identity number.

Mr Nilekani added that the draft proposed UIDAI Bill will be submitted to the ministry of law shortly. Preparations are already underway to prepare a draft legislation and submit it to the concerned as per extant procedures, another UID official added. Constitutional experts like Subhash C Kashyap, former secretary general of the lower house of the Indian Parliament, say a legal act will help the UID authority strengthen its case.

“Planning Commission is in itself not a constitutional body. Getting a sanction of the law for such a body like UID will strengthen its case. To exercise abundant caution in their functions, such bodies often seek legislative approval,” he said. The government has already allotted Rs 1,900 crore to the authority this year. And the finance commission plans to spend another Rs 3,000 crore to give Rs 100 as an incentive to every ‘below-poverty-line’ citizen as a motivation to get enrolled.

Over the past few weeks, several civil right activists and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) have been protesting against the identity project for lack of proper legislation and concerns of privacy. “Passing a law won’t be easy for the government. We are definitely going to oppose it,” said Sanjay Parikh, advocate for human rights at the Supreme Court. Others like People’s Union for Civil Liberties say mammoth citizen data residing in a single database is what worries them. “The authority will have lots of data regarding a citizen that can be misused by vested interests,” said Pushkar Raj, general secretary of the organisation.

Meanwhile, activists also want the government to take a sympathetic view towards thousands of refugees from neighbouring countries, such as Bangladesh, while running the identity programme. “The government should take a sympathetic view towards them and consider them as citizens. They should be allotted UID numbers,” said Rajinder Sachar, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court and a human rights activist. Mr Sachar is the author of controversial report on the social, economic and educational status of Muslims in India.

ET

Sensex in positive; auto, healthcare stocks up

MUMBAI: The Indian stock markets opened in the positive Tuesday, tracking a rebound in other Asian markets.

The Sensex opened at 17,371.75 against the previous close of 17,386.08. The BSE sensitive index traded at 17,444.69, up 58.61 points or 0.34 per cent. The 30-share index touched a high of 17,464.82.

Nifty was ruling at 5233.15, gaining 10.4 points or 0.20 per cent. The NSE benchmark opened the session at 5223.90 against Monday’s close of 5222.75. In the early minutes of trade, the 50-share moved between 5250.15 and 5221.65.

Auto and healthcare stocks took the lead among the sectors while consumer goods, which were much in demand in the earlier session, slowed down.

“In line with mixed global markets today, our market may see flat opening and may move in a range bound mode. Nifty has strong support around 5180 levels. If it sustains below these levels, then we may see selling pressure till 5150-5120 levels. On the upside, if Nifty sustains above 5250 levels, only then can we see an upmove till 5280-5300 levels,” brokerage Anand Rathi said in its daily report.
.
The brokerage added that reversal of the short term positive trend can be seen below 5150-5100 levels. If Nifty closes below 5150 levels, then selling could intensify and liquidating leverage and excessive positions would be advised.

Your opinion matters. Express it on PeerPower.com - India's largest "invite only" professionalnetworking site. Request for an invite today.

ET

Tata Housing to launch 10 new residential projects

NEW DELHI: Tata Housing today said it is planning to launch about 10 new residential projects in both affordable and luxury segments in 2010-11, with an investment of about Rs 1,200 crore along with its partners.

"We will acquire about 10 million sq ft of land in this fiscal, in which we will launch the new projects. While some projects will be developed with our joint venture partners, some will be standalone projects," Tata Housing Development Company Managing Director and CEO Brotin Banerjee told PTI.

The company will roll out the projects in different cities, like Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Bangalore, he added.

Tata Housing develops residential properties of four different economic categories - ultra luxury (Rs 3-7 crore), premium (Rs 80 lakh-Rs 2.5 crore), affordable (Rs 15-50 lakh) and value homes (sub Rs 10 lakh).

"We usually tie up with some small local partners, who have the land. The investment is also shared accordingly. To develop these 10 million sq ft, we will require about Rs 1,200 crore," Banarjee said.

When asked about the source of funding, he said it will be a mix of internal accruals, debt and sales revenue.

At present, the company is building about 10,000 housing units comprising 18-20 million sq ft across the country.

Banerjee said most of the projects are being developed in partnership and about Rs 2,000 crore is being invested for completion of the projects by 2011.

Last week, the company had announced to develop a super luxury hosing project 'Prive' at Lonavala, near Mumbai, offering apartments in a price range of Rs 3-7 crore.

On the other hand, in 2009, the company had launched a 1,300-unit low-cost housing project, which offered a room and a kitchen, at Rs 3.9 lakh under 'Shubh Griha' brand at Boisar around 100 km from Mumbai. It plans to take this brand across the country.

ET

Left-leaning students used for Maoist overground work

Left-leaning students used for Maoist overground work

NEW DELHI, May 2: Students sympathetic to the Leftist cause and labourers in unorganised sector were used by Maoists to increase their influence and for overground work in the capital, police sources said today.

Sources said Gopal Mishra and his wife Anu, who were arrested last week, were into “talent hunting” and had used the services of some “Left-leaning” students to propagate Maoist ideology in the city. Maoists were using “sympathetic” students for “overground” party work in Delhi where they were also organizing displaced labourers under its umbrella, they said.

Sources said Maoists have “some influence” among a section of “brilliant” students in Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University. The ultra-Left is targeting those students who are disillusioned with the mainstream Left.