Maoists kill Congress leader in Jharkhand

Maoists kill Congress leader in Jharkhand

RANCHI, June 30: In two separate incidents, Maoists have killed a Congress leader and a building contractor as their two-day strike began in Jharkhand on Wednesday, police said.

Maoists killed contractor Kedar Munda in Khuti district, around 65 Km from Ranchi, after abducting him from his Salehatu village Wednesday morning. His body was recovered from nearby jungle, police said.

In the other incident, rebels killed a local Congress leader, Bardhan Kachhu, in Garwah district. He was abducted from his Barkol village Tuesday night. His body was recovered Wednesday.

Maoists in many districts have asked Congress leaders to quit the party. They blame the Congress for the current security offensive against them.

Rail and road services were hit in Jharkhand today on the first day of a two-day strike in five states, officials said. The national highways wore a deserted look as trucks were stranded at many places and long-route buses did not ply.

This is the second two-day strike called by the Communist Party of India-Maoist in June. It covers Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

RIL, financial shares push Sensex up by 167 pts

RIL, financial shares push Sensex up by 167 pts

MUMBAI, June 30: The BSE benchmark Sensex today recouped early losses to end the day higher by 167 points after a firm opening in European bourses buoyed the sentiment.

The 30-share index closed at 17,700.90, up 166.81 points, or 0.95 per cent, after RIL and financial stocks rallied at the fag-end of trading.

The National Stock Exchange’s wide-based 50-share Nifty Index added 1.07 per cent to finish at 5,312.50 points. Reliance Industries (RIL) ended up close to 2 per cent amid reports that the petrochemicals giant is close to signing a JV deal with US-based private equity and hedge fund giant DE Shaw. The deal, when signed, will see the Mukesh Ambani-led company entering into the financial services sector. Energy major RIL has been on gaining spree since petrol prices were deregulated last Friday, barring its 2 per cent loss yesterday when the markets were hammered.

Banking stocks bounced back, a day after being battered on fears of an imminent rate hike. ICICI Bank rose 1.55 per cent, HDFC Bank 0.57 per cent and HDFC 1.36 per cent. SBI, which fixed its base rate at 7.5 per cent, rose 0.31 per cent. Marketmen said that contrary to expectations that markets would linger in the red on account of global hiccups, the bourses showed strong resilience.

TRAI raises FDI limit for DTH, FM radio

NEW DELHI: Telecom regulator TRAI on Wednesday raised the foreign investment limit for broadcast carriage services like DTH to 74 per cent and that in FM radio to 26 per cent.

The investment limit for news and current affairs TV channels has been retained at 26 per cent. The foreign investment limit for local cable operators (LCO) will be 26 per cent.

The FDI limit for broadcast carriage services ie DTH, IPTV, Mobile TV, HITS, Teleport and MSOs who are upgrading to digital and addressable environment will be 74 per cent.

The foreign investment limits will be 26 per cent for news and current affairs TV channels and FM radio. While for TV and current news channels, the limit has been retained, for FM radio the cap has been raised from 20 per cent to 26 per cent.

Maintaining the status quo, there will be no restrictions on foreign investments for uplinking and downlinking of TV channels other than news and current affairs.

All Foreign investment less than 26 per cent will be through automatic route. Investments of 26 per cent and above will require prior approval of the government.

The ministry of information and broadcasting has requested Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to review its recommendations dated April 26, 2008 on foreign investment in broadcasting sector in the light of recent changes in FDI policy.

The consolidated FDI policy dated March 31, 2010 issued by the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) has come into effect since April one, 2010.

This policy has modified the methodology of calculation of foreign investment in Indian companies.

The ministry had recently said that it has restarted issuing licences for new television channels, but it will not accept any fresh applications until the TRAI recommendations come.

The regulator was studying the existing disparities in FDI limits in different sections of the media sector.

The government had stopped issuing licences to launch new television channels a few years back as it felt that many of the pending nearly 500 applications are not serious players and hence it wanted to keep away non-serious/fly-by night players from the market.

It was also forced by the limited availability of the radio waves for the industry.

TOI

LG launches 2 touchscreen phones

NEW DELHI: LG has refreshed its touchscreen lineup in the country with the launch of two mid-range phones -- Cookie Fresh GS290 and Cookie Plus GS500v.

Sporting a sleek look, LG GS290 features a 3-inch LCD touchscreen display with 240x400 pixel resolution. The phone has a 2 megapixel camera and a built in Oxford dictionary. GS290 has a 28MB of internal memory that can be expanded upto 16GB.

The phone also features a one touch access to social networking sites with a dedicated Facebook interface. The handset supports MPEG 4 videos and video editing. Other multimedia features include FM tuner with recorder, 3.5 mm earphone jack and an MP3 audio playback.

The phone's battery promises upto 5 hours of talktime and upto 390 hours of standby time.

The second model LG Cookie Plus GS500v sports a 3-inch LCD touchscreen display and has a 3 megapixel camera. The phone's key features include one touch social networking, editable screen shot, MMS and a 3-way user interface.

The handset offers support for 3G connectivity and comes with Facebook auto update feature. The phone has 30MB of internal memory that can be expanded upto 8GB.

LG Cookie Fresh GS290 will come for Rs 6,199 while the LG Cookie Plus GS500v is priced at Rs 7,999.

TOI

Oil firms to invest $1.1bn: Govt

NEW DELHI: Oil minister Murli Deora said on Wednesday companies have committed an investment of $1.1 billion in the eighth oil and gas blocks auction round held in 2009.

Deora said, later in the day, India will be signing contracts for 31 exploration blocks awarded to 23 companies, including BHP Billiton Petroleum International, BG Exploration and Production and Cairn IndiaCAIL in the eighth round.

"Out of (the) 31 blocks, 17 blocks are awarded to national oil companies like ONGC, Oil India Ltd and NTPC," Deora said in his written speech at the event to sign the contracts for the blocks.

India aims to launch the ninth round of oil and gas blocks licensing in the third quarter of 2010, Deora said.

"...The total investment under the earlier NELP (new exploration licensing policy) rounds stands at $13.8 billion," he said, referring to the earlier seven auction rounds.

TOI

PM calls meeting to discuss situation in Kashmir

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a high-level meeting this evening to discuss the situation in Kashmir, which has seen unrest for the last four days.

The meeting will be attended by union home minister P Chidambaram and senior officials of his ministry, Prime Minister's Office and from security agencies.

Chidambaram is expected to brief the meeting on his discussions with Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.

The meeting is expected to take note of intelligence reports suggesting that certain elements from Pakistan were trying to foment trouble in the valley.

National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon is also likely to attend the meeting.

PTI

Kashmir has been on the boil due to protests over killings of youth in alleged CRPF firing.

Suzuki Motorcycle India sales jump 44 pc in June 2010

STAFF WRITER 16:12 HRS IST
New Delhi, June 30 (PTI) Two-wheeler maker Suzuki Motorcycle India today reported a 44.37 per cent jump in sales to 17,876 units in June, on the back of good response to its new products.

The company had sold 12,382 units in June 2009, Suzuki Motorcycle India said in a statement.

"As promised, we have delivered quality products as well as customer satisfaction to our consumers. We will continue to keep up this growth momentum in coming months as well," Suzuki Motorcycle India Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) Atul Gupta said.

The subsidiary of the Japanese auto giant Suzuki Motor Corporation attributed robust growth last month on good response to its new motorcycle GS150R and its only scooter Access 125.

The two-wheeler maker had earlier this month launched its superbike GSX-R1000 at Rs 12.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) making it the costliest product from the company's stable in the country.

Sensex ends 167 points higher in volatile trade

STAFF WRITER 16:9 HRS IST
Mumbai, June 30 (PTI) In choppy trade, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today ended nearly 167 points higher on buying support which emerged after a strong opening in European bourses.The 30-share index settled at 17,700.90 points, a rise of 166.81 points, or 0.95 per cent, from the previous close.The index for a brief period dipped into negative terrain in opening trade, falling as much as 160.31 points.The National Stock Exchange index Nifty closed 56.35 points, or 1.07 per cent higher, at 5,312.50 points. It moved in a range of 5,210.00 to 5,315.55 during the session.Brokers said trading sentiment turned bullish following the firm opening in European markets and a partial recovery on Asian bourses.Covering-up of short positions by investors also had a positive impact, they added.

Sensex rises by 57 points in early trade

MUMBAI: Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday continued to rise for the eighth day by adding over 57 points in early trade on sustained buying by funds, influenced by a firming global trend.

The 30-share index, which had gained 153.82 points in the previous session, gathered another 57.49 points to 17,674.18 points.

Similarly, wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also rose by 15.25 points to 5,290.10 points.

Marketmen said that the continued rise on foreign funds buying reflected a positive trend in global equity markets.

Japanese stocks Nikkei index was up by 0.29 per cent to 10,027.98,while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.34 per cent in early trade.
TOI

Prithvi-II successfully test-fired off Orissa coast

BALASORE: India on Friday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed, nuclear-capable, ballistic missile Prithvi-II from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 15 km from here off the Orissa coast.

The missile mounted on a mobile launcher was blasted off from the launch complex-3 in the ITR at around 6:50am, defence sources said.

"The trial of Prithvi-II, conducted by the Army, has gone through nicely," ITR director S P Dash said.

With a maximum striking range of 350 km, Prithvi-II is capable of carrying a pay-load of 500 kg.

The test firing of the surface-to-surface missile, which has already been inducted into Indian armed forces, was a users trial by the Army's specialised group "strategic force command" (SFC), the sources said.

Prithvi, the first ballistic missile developed under the country's prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), is propelled by liquid propulsion twin engine.

With a length of nine metre and one metre diameter, Prithvi-II uses an advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory.

The entire trajectory of Friday's trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars and electro-optic telemetry stations positioned in different locations for the post-launch analysis, the sources said.

The trial was conducted in the presence of Army officials and scientists as part of an exercise to well acquaint the personnel with various aspects of the sophisticated missile, they said.

The last trial of the Prithvi-II missile was successfully conducted from the same site on March 27, 2010.

TOI

CNG prices hiked by Rs 5.60 per kg in New Delhi

TAFF WRITER 18:26 HRS IST

New Delhi, June 16 (PTI) Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) today hiked Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) prices here by over 25 per cent, following the government's move to more than double the price of natural gas.

CNG rates in Delhi will go up by Rs 5.60 per kg - from Rs 21.90 to Rs 27.50 per kg, IGL said in a statement here.

"The new consumer price of Rs 27.50 per kg in Delhi and Rs 30.60 per kg in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad would be effective from midight tonight," it said.

The hike was necessitated because of the government's decision to raise natural gas prices from Rs 3.2 per cubic meter to Rs 7.5 per cubic meter (USD 4.2 per million British thermal unit).

IGL, however, did not increase the price of gas that it pipes to households for cooking purpose.

Sensex opens 44 points higher

STAFF WRITER 9:36 HRS IST

Mumbai, June 17 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex opened higher by 44 points on buying by funds in heavyweight stocks amid a mixed pattern in the Asian region.

The 30-share index, which had gained 50.04 points in the previous session, added another 43.99 points to 17,506.86 in first five minutes of trading.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty gained 13.45 points to 5246.80 points at the same time.

Market leader Reliance Industries gained 0.51 per cent to Rs 1062.70 while oil major ONGC rose over 1 per cent to Rs 1175.90 in early trade.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index opened 0.67 per cent higher, while Japanese Nikkei index lost 0.58 per cent in early trade.

Sensex gains further ground on bullish global trend

STAFF WRITER 9:28 HRS IST

Mumbai, June 16 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today rose further over 111 points in early trade today as funds remained net buyers in fundamentally strong shares amid a firming global trend.

The 30-share index, which gained 74.66 points in the previous session, added another 111.05 points to 17.523.88 points in the first five minutes of trading, largely supported by stocks in Bank and Technology shares.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty gained 33.30 points to 5255.65 points at the same time.

The market remained firm in tandem with a higher trend in the Asian region, followed by overnight gain in the US market.

Govt drops plan to tax PF, pension funds withdrawals

NEW DELHI: In a major relief to the middle class, the Centre has proposed to drop earlier suggestions of taxing withdrawals from provident funds, pension funds and pure life insurance schemes and of imposing tax on retirement and service perks given by employers.

The revisions in the Direct Tax Code (DTC), originally proposed in August 2009, also clarified that the tax exemption on interest up to Rs 1.5 lakh per annum on housing loans will continue. In a major concession to industry, the proposal to impose minimum alternate tax (MAT) on gross assets of a company was also shelved. MAT will continue to be applied on book profits as at present.

Another significant change is in the manner in which long-term capital gains on assets held for over a year will be treated. In the case of listed securities, where there is now no long-term capital gains tax, the proposal is that a proportion of the gain in the value of the securities will be added to the person’s income, with the proportion declining as the period of investment increases.

Revenue secretary Sunil Mitra said the government would entertain suggestions on the revised DTC draft till June 30. A Bill will be brought before Parliament in the monsoon session. Once passed by Parliament, the new tax code will replace the 1961 Income Tax Act and be implemented from April 1, 2011.

Under the revised DTC, retirement benefits, subject to specified limits, will be exempt unlike in the earlier version. These include gratuity, amounts received under VRS, commutation of pension linked to gratuity received or from encashment of leave at the time of retirement.

TOI

Sensex closes 74 pts up

MUMBAI: Recovering from early losses, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today ended 74 points higher at a fresh six-week high on fag-end buying by funds in bluechips, particularly RCom and Sterlite Industries.

The 30-share index extended gains for the fifth straight session rising by 74.66 points to close at 17,412.83 points. The barometer had opened lower and further fell to an intra-day low of 17,249.46 points due to profit booking.

Anil Ambani group company RCom rose to a four-month high after it decided to demerge its telecom infrastructure unit, Reliance Infratel, to create an independent entity. The stocks surged by 4.27% to Rs 186.65.

Brokers said fresh buying mainly in realty and PSU sectors on the back of disinvestment news coupled with recovery in european markets boosted the market sentiment.

The government today approved disinvestment of 10% each in Coal India Ltd and Hindustan Copper Ltd, as it pushes its agenda to raise Rs 40,000 crore this fiscal through stake sales in PSUs.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty closed at 5,222.35 points, showing a gain of 24,65 points.

In 30 BSE index components, 21 stocks closed with gains. The heaviest on the benchmark, Reliance Industries, rose by 0.19% to Rs 1,065.45, Sterlite Industries by 3.41% to Rs 675.35 and DLF Ltd by 2.99% to Rs 272.25. The three carry nearly 19% weightage on the Sensex.

MMTC Ltd, a state-run trading company, by rising 20.86% to Rs 34,476.60, the most since July 2002, after saying it will consider a proposal on June 29 to issue free shares and split its stock

Inflation up at 10.6%

NEW DELHI: Indian inflation broke into double figures in May, hitting 10.16 percent over 12 months from 9.59 percent in April, official data showed on Monday.

The headline wholesale price index figure, likely to add to pressure on the government to control price increases, was above the 9.59-percent median forecast by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

The government also revised the inflation rate for March to 11.04 percent year on year from a provisional 9.9 percent.

Markets continue to move up, NTPC, BHEL dip

NEW DELHI: Sensex erased some gains but was still trading higher at midsession on Monday. Shares of oil & gas, technology, metal and FMCG led the rally and helped the markets to stay on the higher side.

At 1.20 pm, the Sensex was trading 117 points up to be at at 17,182 and the Nifty was up 29 points at 5,148. However, scrips of auto and realty companies' slipped. Selling pressure was witnessed by Bharti Airtel, NTPC, BHEL, SBI, Idea and Suzlon Energy due to which markets came off their day's high.

In the morning session, Sensex opened over 172 points up on buying in heavyweight stocks, led by Reliance Industries.

The Sensex, which gained 142.87 points in the previous trading session, added another 172.71 points to touch 17,237.66 in the first five minutes of trading.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange Nifty gained 45.55 points to 5,164.90 at the same time.

The rally was led by Reliance Industries on reports that the company now plans to invest in the power sector after it acquired a broadband wireless access company last week.

The good start in the market was amplified by an upsurge in the Asian stock market.

TOI

Bhopal gas tragedy: PM asks GoM to submit report in 10 days

NEW DELHI: Concerned over the uproar on the Bhopal gas leak judgment, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday directed the Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by home minister P Chidambaram, to report to the cabinet within 10 days on all aspects relating to the tragedy.

Manmohan Singh directed that the GoM "may meet immediately to take stock of the situation arising out of the recent court judgement, to assess the options and remedies available to the government on the various issues involved and to report to the cabinet within 10 days", a statement from the prime minister's office (PMO) said here.

The GoM, set up to look into all issues relating to the Bhopal disaster, was reconstituted recently with Chidambaram as the head of the panel.

The empowered GoM also comprises health and family welfare minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, law minister M Veerappa Moily, minister for urban planning S Jaipal Reddy, minister for roads and highways Kamal Nath, tourism minister Selja, minister for fertilisers and chemicals MK Alagiri, minister of state in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan and environment minister Jairam Ramesh.

Madhya Pradesh's minister in-charge of rehabilitation will be a permanent invitee to the panel.

TOI

Sensex ends above 17000; RIL, BHEL, M&M lead

MUMBAI: Indian markets ended on a positive note taking cues from positive global peers and roboust economic data back home. India’s Index of Industrial Production grew at 17.6% in April against 13.5% a month ago.

The upmove was led by oil&gas and index major Reliance Industries. The company made oil discovery in Cambay Basin and there are reports of it entering telecom sector by acquiring Infotel Broadband.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 17042.28, up 120.20 points or 0.71 per cent. The 30-share index hit a low of 16994.07 and high of 17131.56.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty closed at 5114.20, up 35.60 points or 0.70 per cent. The index touched a high of 5139.05 and low of 5078.75.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.18 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.36 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Oil&gas Index was up 1.46 per cent, BSE Bankex advanced 0.98 per cent and BSE Capital Goods Index advanced 0.87 per cent. BSE Realty Index inched 0.64 per cent lower.

Reliance (3.03%), BHEL (2.66%), M&M (2.11%), ICICI Bank (1.94%) and Jindal Steel (1.82%) were amongst the top Sensex gainers.

Bharti Airtel (-3.75%), Sterlite Industries (-1.04%), ACC (-0.98%), Reliance Infra (-0.90%) and Reliance Communications (-0.89%) were under pressure.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1530 advances and 1305 declines.

ET

RIL entry may trigger a tariff war in broadband

The fierce bidding in the broadband wireless auction that ended on Friday is not likely to trigger further value destruction in the already troubled domestic telecom sector. However, the entry of Reliance Industries (RIL) in the broadband telephony may give rise to a tariff war in this highly lucrative segment of the domestic telecom sector.

The impact of immediate cash outflow post-bidding will be limited since big listed players have either opted out of the process or participated only in a few circles. Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest telecom player, has won licences in four circles for a total of Rs 3,314 crore. Its peers Reliance Communications (RCOM) and Idea Cellular decided to give it a pass.

For Bharti, the cash outflow due to broadband is just over 8% of the total investment of Rs 58,000 crore made by the company in 3G licences and in acquiring Kuwait-based Zain Group’s African telecom operations. Some analysts feel that such a small proportion of outflow can be accommodated into the other two bigger payments without extensively stretching the balance sheet.

For both RCOM and Idea, the balance sheets would have no effect of the broadband bids. Given this, net debt — long-term debt minus cash equivalents — as a percentage of operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) works out to over 3.5 for each of the three players. This means the top-rung of the telecom sector may have to shoulder a similar debt burden.

However, Bharti’s leverage, measured in terms of debt-equity ratio, will shoot up to 1.6 compared with that of one for the other two. Analysts think that this would come down to healthier levels in future once it turns around Zain’s African operations.

Another factor to watch out for is the impact of Reliance Industries’ entry into the broadband fray. Analysts at Networth Stock Broking feel that this would most likely trigger a tariff war in the enterprise segment pulling down the operating margins from existing level of 40-45% for the segment. However, the impact on the overall consolidated margins would not be significant as telcos earn a substantially lower portion of revenue from this segment. In that, RCOM would see lesser impact since its enterprise revenue and operating profit contribute just over 15% to its total revenue.

Bharti, which earns 20% of its revenue and 25% of operating profit from enterprise services, would face a higher exposure to the risk of lower margins. But the pure play broadband players such as Tulip Telecom, and Tata Communications may see an erosion in margins in case of a tariff war. Also, according to Prakash Diwan who heads institutional business at Networth Stock Broking, smaller players like Tulip Telecom may benefit by outsourcing their expertise in this business to the new entrants.

The effect of a possible price war in the wireless broadband will also be felt by players such as You Broadband and Cable, which currently provide wired broadband services. You’s CEO EVS Chakravarthy anticipates a pressure on pricing, as broadband prices will be dragged down by competition. “While pricing will be under pressure, I think, the overall market size will expand. Also, higher competition will bring in higher efficiencies at the market place.” He believes that this will lead to improved customer experience.

Experts also foresee emerging opportunities in the field of WiMAX solutions. “Once the operators start rolling out broadband services, companies that now provide WiMAX-based solutions would come into limelight,” says Mr Diwan.

WiMAX holds promise especially for rural internet connectivity, given its ease of installation of last-mile connectivity. “The ongoing programme of unique ID cards for citizens means that database of people in every nook and corner of the country needs to be transferred to the common repository. WiMAX may go a long way in enabling this connectivity,” says Mr Diwan. He thinks companies including Sasken and Zylog that have worked in the past on various broadband technologies may stand to gain.

ET

Volvo to make India hub for engines

NEW DELHI: Swedish commercial vehicle giant Volvo on Friday said it will make India a hub for medium-duty engines for which the company will make new investments in its local joint venture with Eicher. VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), the joint venture between Eicher and Volvo, will see investments of Rs 288 crore to boost engine capacity at its Pithampur plant in Madhya Pradesh by 85000 engines a year. The current capacity at the plant is 40000 engines.

"This investment by VECV in its Pithampur plant gives the Volvo group a complete facility in India for manufacturing and assembling the new medium-duty engine which will be introduced in the Volvo groups trucks and buses worldwide over the next few years. Additionally, these engines will also be used for Eicher's range of heavy-duty commercial vehicles," Par Ostberg, president (trucks Asia) for Volvo group and chairman of VECV, said.

VECV MD & CEO Siddhartha Lal said the decision will catapult the company into one of the largest commercial vehicle engine manufacturers in India and will give it the capability well beyond any of its competitors.

"The new capacity will come onstream in the second half of 2012, initially to serve Volvo group's and Eicher's local requirements and later for exports," Lal said.

Lal said the fresh investments would be over and above the Rs 500 crore investment that VECV had announced in January to expand production capacity and develop new engine technology over the next three years.

The plant will do the final assembly of 55000 Euro 3 and Euro 4 engines from 2012 and will start shipping a year later 30000 base engines to Volvo's plant in France for final assembly of Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines. "Indian market is extremely important and in a few years will become one of the most important countries in terms of turnover and profitablity for us," Ostberg added.

TOI

Industry grows 17.6% in April

NEW DELHI: India's factory output bettered expectations to expand at 17.6% in April, marking a near 20-year high achieved on the back of copious domestic consumer demand, a revival in exports and higher infrastructure spending but also got boosted by a low base effect. While the best show by the manufacturing sector since December 2009 raised hopes of an 8.5% GDP growth rate in the ongoing fiscal, it also reinforced expectations of a further rate hike by the RBI next month.

The April figure is almost equal to the 20-year-high of 17.7% posted in December 2009. Manufacturing, which accounts for around 80% of the IIP (index of industrial production), expanded by 19.4% in April. Capital goods showed a growth of 72.8% and consumer durables by 37%. The expansion follows an annual 8.6% expansion in the economy in the quarter through March. But finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said he had expected the industry to do even better in April. "Of course, my appetite is infinite. I would have been happier if it was 20%," he told reporters.

Analysts said the strong industrial showing in April coupled with a normal monsoon would put the economy on an 8.5% growth trajectory in 2010-11. "The industrial growth can be equal to the growth rate last year and, therefore, taking that into account and if agriculture performs reasonably well during the year, one should hope to get a growth rate close to 8.5%," prime minister's Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan said.

The double-digit growth strengthened the case for stimulus rollback but Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the pace of monetary policy normalisation need not be quickened. This essentially reflects worries over Eurozone debt crisis and the health of the global economic recovery as well as concerns expressed by most other central banks in Asia.

India Inc too cautioned that the growth trend may moderate from June onwards since part of the industrial expansion could be attributed to a low base in April last year. Ficci secretary-general Amit Mitra said, "This trend of very high growth might moderate from June onwards because of the base effect." The low base is evident from the fact that capital goods had contracted by 5.9% in April 2009, even as consumer durables had risen by 17.6%.

Besides manufacturing, mining expanded by 11.4% in April against 3.4% a year ago. On the broad sectoral storyboard, electricity was a weak link as generation rose by 6% in April, lower than 6.7% a year ago. The robust economic growth is, however, also raising the prospects of capacity constraints that are seen aggravating price pressures.

TOI

Food Inflation rises to 16.74%

NEW DELHI: Food Inflation rose marginally to 16.74 per cent for the week ended May 29 on high prices of pulses, milk and fruits.

Inflation increased by 0.19 percentage point from 16.55 per cent in the previous week, food inflation data released on Thursday showed.

Prices of pulses shot up by 31 per cent, milk by 21.1 per cent and fruits by 18.7 per cent.

However, potatoes and onions became cheaper by 30.87 and 12.27 per cent respectively.

For the month ended April, the overall inflation, which includes manufactured goods, stood at 9.59 per cent.

TOI

Sensex rises 95 pts on funds buying

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Thursday rose by over 95 points in early trade on buying by funds and retail investors.

The 30-share index, which gained 40.79 points in the previous session, gathered another 95.51 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 16,753.40 points.

Stocks of auto, oil & gas and metal sectors were leading the rally.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty gained 28.40 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 5,028.70 points.

Brokers said increased buying by foreign funds and retail investors helped the Sensex remain in the positive for the second straight session, but overnight losses in the US market and mixed cues from Asian markets capped gains.

Among auto stocks, Tata Motors gained 0.95 per cent to Rs 735, Mahindra and Mahindra was up 0.99 per cent to Rs 582.90 and Maruti Suzuki rose by 0.46 per cent to Rs 1,308.30.

Stocks of most-weighted Reliance Industries was up by 0.60 per cent to Rs 1.012.90 supported by reports that the company was looking to enter the telecom sector.

Rcom was up 0.32 per cent to Rs 170.50, Bharti Telecom by 0.79 per cent to Rs 274.30, Sterlite Industries by 0.78 per cent to Rs 634.45, Hindalco by 1.54 per cent to Rs 135.05 and State Bank of India by 0.97 per cent to Rs 2,295.

TOI

Vijay Mallya enters RS fray

STAFF WRITER 16:21 HRS IST

Bangalore, Jun 7 (PTI) Liquor baron Vijay Mallya today filed his nomination papers as JDS-backed independent candidate for the June 17 biennial elections to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

Flanked by former chief minister and Karnataka unit JDS president H D Kumaraswamy and his brother H D Revanna, who is leader of the 27-member JDS legislature group in the Assembly, Mallya submitted the papers to the Returning Officer.

"There is nothing dramatic in my candidature. I have represented Karnataka before. I was supported by JDS before and now also as well," a beaming Mallya, a former Rajya Sabha member, told reporters after submitting his nomination.

Asked how confident he was of winning, he quipped, "If I were not confident, then I would not be here.

PM's promise to act against rights violations in JK

TAFF WRITER 17:9 HRS IST

Srinagar, Jun 7 (PTI) Against the backof a raging controversy over alleged fake encounters in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today gave an assurance that government will "act" to ensure that security forces respect the rights of civilians while tackling terrorism.

"I am aware of some complaints related to human rights.

On this issue, the government policy is to protect the human rights of the people even when dealing with terrorism.

"The security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have been strictly instructed to respect the rights of the civilians. We will act to remove any deficiency in the implementation of these instructions," he said in his convocation address at the Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology.

The Prime Minister's assurance comes in the context of allegations of a fake encounter in Machil area along the Line of Control where three civilians were killed reportedly by Army men.

Govt proposes windfall tax on miners

STAFF WRITER 16:18 HRS IST

New Delhi, June 7 (PTI) On the heels of Australia announcing 40 per cent tax on bumper profits of miners, India said it proposes a similar windfall tax on iron ore.

"We have already moved the Finance Ministry...we are for it (windfall tax). We have sent the letter," Mines Minister B K Handique told PTI in an interview.

He said the move, initiated after Australia announced such a tax on miners in his country, would not only deliver "justice" to locals in mining areas through corporate social responsibility (CSR) but would check rampant illegal mining.

Australia proposed the tax in May after prices of iron ore and other commodities jumped on demand from countries like China. Windfall tax is levied by several countries on some super profit making industries.

Sensex tanks 337 points on European debt woes

STAFF WRITER 17:8 HRS IST

Mumbai, June 7 (PTI) The BSE benchmark Sensex today tanked 337 points, mirroring sharp decline in world markets that were shaken by fears of widening financial crisis in Europe and fragile economic recovery in the US, besides a rush of public offers at home.

The 30-share barometer of the Bombay Stock Exchange ended its three-day gain and settled lower by 336.62 points, or 1.97 per cent, at 16,781.07 points.

Analysts had on Friday forecast a plunge in the market following the government's decision to make 25 per cent public holding in listed companies mandatory, which would result in a flood of public offers that would lead to stock price correction.

The markets did open down, but on negative global cues and remained weak for the entire session. During the day, the bellwether sank 431 points to hit a low of 16,686.73.

PM Manmohan Singh to visit IIT-K on July 3

STAFF WRITER 13:35 HRS IST

Kanpur, June 5 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit IIT-Kanpur on July 3 to participate in the ongoing golden jubilee celebrations of the premier institute.

"Prime Minister will visit the institute on July 3," Sanjeev Kasalkar, Registrar of IIT Kanpur said today.

The Prime Minister has been invited as the Chief Guest of the annual convocation, he said.

On March six this year, President Pratibha Patil had inaugurated the golden jubilee celebrations of the institute.

Forex reserves fall down at USD 271.970-billion

STAFF WRITER 0:11 HRS IST

Mumbai, Jun 4 (PTI) India's foreign exchange reserves fell by a significant USD 1.394 billion for the week ending May 28 to USD 271.970 billion as compared to USD 273.364-billion in the previous week.

Reserves had inched up by a marginal USD 64 million to USD 273.364-billion for the week ending May 21, as compared to USD 273.300-billion in the period a week ago.

Foreign currency assets, during the week, declined to USD 247.263 billion as compared to USD 248.637 billion in the previous week, the RBI said in its weekly report.

Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies, such as euro, sterling and yen, held in the reserves, the RBI said.

During the week, gold reserves remained static at USD 18.537 billion while the country's special drawing rights slightly declined to USD 4.861 billion, the RBI said.

Sensex extend gains for third day led by FMCG, auto

STAFF WRITER 16:27 HRS IST

Mumbai, June 4 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by over 95 points today on heavy buying of FMCG and auto stocks.

The Sensex, which gained 450 points in the last two trading sessions, advanced further by 95.36 points to 17,117.69 after touching a high of 17,150.42. The gauge has risen for the third straight day and 1.4 per cent this week.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 25 points to 5,135.50, after touching the day's high of 5,147.90.

The upsurge in the market was backed by strong demand for Hindustan Unilever, a household products maker, which climbed to a four-month high after its board said it will consider buying back shares.

The index-related Hindustan Unilever, a unit of the world?s second-largest consumer-goods maker, advanced 1.74 per cent to Rs 251.50, near its highest close since January 28.