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HCL Technologies has emerged as the best managed entity in the list of top 50 global outsourcing vendors for 2009 compiled by the Black Book of Outsourcing, which also features atleast eight other Indian IT services firms.
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Software product development company GlobalLogic plans to double its total revenues in three years by growing at a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of 40 per cent, through increased focus on research and development in telecom, homeland security and medical electronics.
The Railways is not short of smart ideas. After using the inside walls/doors of trains like the Rajdhani Express to place ads, another smart idea is to make use of the long waiting period at its telephonic information services. Those calling 139, the information service, are asked to enter their choices (1 for Hindi, and so on) on various prompts — after a while, ads of Tata Indicom phones get played.
He allegedly paid Rs 64 cr as commission in the Swedish Howitzer deal.
When Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao meets top bankers in the customary pre-policy meeting on October 12, he can draw comfort from the fact that a majority of the bankers think interest rates may not be hiked till the end of the financial year.
Bollywood film maker Mahesh Bhatt"s son Rahul is a witness in the case relating to terror charge probe against American national David Headley, a top police official said.
The Sensex touched a fresh 22-month high of 17,790, However, it were the mid-cap and small-cap stocks which stole the limelight this week.
KSK Energy Ventures today posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 4.91 crore for the third quarter ended December 31.
The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has initiated an inquiry into Vedanta group company Sesa Goa. The scope includes verifying the past eight years’ financials, said a government official. “The investigation period also includes the time after Vedanta acquired Sesa Goa in April 2007. The movement of the share prices will be checked as part of the investigation,” said the official.
Says HC allocation order wrong, for govt is custodian of all gas in India
Mukesh Ambani group firm Reliance Industries (RIL) today told the Supreme Court that its directors have filed the affidavits in the gas row to counter Anil Ambani"s contention that the family MoU was approved by the RIL board.
The Orissa government will start a pilot project for computerisation of the details of land acquisition for different projects and rehabilitation and re-settlement (R&R) of affected persons. To be launched under the banner of ‘punarbas project’, the pilot scheme will initially cover three projects.
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare(GSKCH) has resumed operations at its plant in Dowlaiswaram, Andhra Pradesh, the company said in a statement posted on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. Work at the plant was temporarily halted on December 11 following widespread unrest in the state.
The dish TV antennas on asbestos or even thatched roofs bring colour pictures in this village. “The cable TV networks, television sets come as dowry items during our marriages,” says Babloo Rathode.
Tata Group"s Infiniti Retail today said it expects to have over 100 "Croma" stores across the country in the next three years as it eyes deeper penetration into Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
Metal producers’ earlier plan to raise funds through equity issues may get delayed, as the flush of liquidity has slowed and the market has turned weaker. Sterlite Industries, JSW Steel, Hindalco and Tata Steel together plan to raise about $5 billion through different equity issues.
The Business & Enterprise Committee in the UK, appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR), has voiced its disappointment over the government’s delays in providing support to the cash-strapped Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the Midlands-based car maker which is now a part of Tata Motors.
Auto index finally closed at 5,070, up 5%.
The government is understood to have approached industrialist Ratan Tata to head an advisory board of the ailing Air India.
Cracking the whip to turn around ailing Air India, the government today announced an overhaul of its top management within 30 days by inducting seven independent directors with proven track record on the airline"s board.
The government today admitted its failure in dealing with the losses suffered by tribals in land acquisition for various projects, but said one solution was that tribals must benefit from the projects for which they had been displaced.
The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C), which started its summer placements process today, saw offers trickling in from the world’s leading finance and consulting firms on day one.
The Punjab government would soon announce its new Agro Industrial Policy-2009 which would be implemented through its nodal agency – Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Ltd (PAIC) to achieve the goal of rapid industrialisation in the field of agriculture and agro-processing.
The government today said there is a need to enhance investment in the agriculture sector to achieve 4 per cent growth during 11th Five Year Plan.
The Air India board met here today and decided to initiate a series of major steps to cut costs and enhance savings as it gets ready to receive the first tranche of government"s equity infusion worth Rs 800 crore.
Monster Worldwide, the parent company of global online employment solution provider Monster.Com, today reported a net loss of $1.37 million in the quarter ended June 30 this year.
Natco Pharma net up 13%
The Mumbai-based Avon Corporation has posted first ever quarterly net profit at Rs 3.38 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal on a turnover of Rs 25.79 crore.
Brokerage firm Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services has clocked a net profit of Rs 13.06 crore in the second quarter this fiscal, registering a 150 per cent growth over Rs 5.22 crore in the same period last year.
The Dubai debt repayment woes have dragged down markets across the globe, but analysts are still optimistic and believe that investors here should not press the panic button instead hold on to their portfolios as the downslide is only momentary.
Surajeet Das Gupta & Mansi Taneja / New Delhi December 15, 2009, 0:25 IST
Google, the world’s largest search engine and one of the biggest internet brands, is understood to be eyeing opportunities in the third generation of mobile telephony, or 3G, in India.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today questioned Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to appoint prominent intellectuals, considered close to her, at ‘high salaries’ in Railway"s Heritage and Cultural Committee.
ING Life Insurance is expecting a 60 per cent growth in renewal premiums during this fiscal.
Dispelling fears that the swine flu threat may keep people away from theatres and multiplexes during the long weekend (August 14, 15 and 16), Kaminey, the latest Bollywood release produced by UTV, is estimated to have done business of around Rs 22 crore, with multiplexes accounting for nearly 55-60 per cent of the weekend business at the domestic box office.
Partition in Bengal, despair in Delhi and power games in Tudor England: three new books to read.
ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Limited (ING Life), part of the ING Group, a financial services company, today announced its tie-up with Mumbai-based Suvidhaa Infoserve, a company pioneering in service commerce (s-commerce), to collect insurance policy renewal payments for its customers. Customers of ING Life can now pay their policy renewal premium at over 7,000 Suvidhaa outlets across 300 cities in India, including over 700 outlets in Gujarat.
Shobhana Subramanian / Mumbai July 31, 2009, 0:55 IST
Media and entertainment firm UTV Software today said it plans to acquire the remaining 23.18 stake in its UK subsidiary UMP Plc in a move to consolidate its motion picture business and enhance shareholders value.
Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer My Name is Khan, directed by Karan Johar, is set to create a record ahead of its release early next year with Fox Star Studios reportedly buying its marketing and distribution rights for around Rs 100 crore.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today said the Obama Administration is not "cutting and running" from Afghanistan.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today conducted search operations at offices of real estate company Emaar-MGF, a joint venture between MGF India and the Dubai-based Emaar. These operations were of a routine nature and were not linked to the investigation into the dealings of the former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, the company said in a statement. Some news reports said the search operations were triggered by the directorate finding documents that showed Koda’s associates on the boards of some Emaar group companies.
Bharti Airtel Direct to Home (DTH) service, Airtel digital TV, added nearly 1.5 million customers across India in first seven months of the current financial year. Majority of the customers were added during October.
Leading telecom firm Vodafone along with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) today launched the new version of the Storm2 smartphone in seven European countries as well as South Africa.
The government’s move to sell wheat through the country’s two leading online trading platforms will help mills, which are operating at less than 40 per cent capacity due to lack of availability of wheat and the government’s stock limit regulation.
Among all the political parties in Jharkhand, former chief minister Babulal Marandi"s Jharkhand Vikash Morcha (Prajatantrik) scored the highest winning percentage.
Caught in the Ambani gas dispute and facing a CBI probe over allegations of favouring Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), oil regulator V K Sibal may not continue as Director General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) from next week.
Tired of filling several application forms to invest in different mutual fund schemes? Wait till March 2010, and you’ll just click this cumbersome process away.
Tata Teleservices thinks it has hit upon the formula for success with its "pay per call" plan.
IT company HCL Infosystems today said it will raise funds to the tune of Rs 847 crore by private placement of shares with qualified buyers and issuing warrants.
Business Standard / New Delhi November 04, 2009, 0:02 IST
Oil secretary says, ONGC’s production to halve by 2030
Low availability of cane and higher price realisation force mills to pay more.
Come New Year, cars will be costlier with automakers like Toyota and General Motors today saying that they will hike prices by up to three per cent due to rising input costs, while the country"s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India is still evaluating the situation.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 03, 2009, 1:34 IST
The Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries (RIL) has reopened about two-thirds of its 1,432 petrol pumps in the country and is selling about 2,000 kilolitres of auto fuel per day, RIL President (Refinery Business) P Raghavendran said today.
With improvement in the global credit markets and narrowing of spreads, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided today to reintroduce the ceiling on interest rates that Indian companies pay for external commercial borrowing.
The Trident Group company Abhishek Industries today said it is planning to enter into a joint venture with the Portugal-based Mundotextil Industrias to produce luxury linen and other home textile products.
Ten years ago if you had compared the film and television broadcasting businesses in India, you wouldn’t have given films a second chance. Today the film industry looks attractive while the TV business seems to be falling apart.
Within less than three months of raising $325 million through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), Unitech Ltd, the second largest real estate company in the country, is raising $575 million (Rs 2,770 crore) through the same route. The fund would be used to repay part of the company’s debt, which is currently at Rs 7,500 crore.
It makes you wonder about India’s ‘vibrant democracy’
The US-brokered deal with India and three other emerging economies went down to the wire with a personal push by President Barack Obama, even as developing nations appeared to have staved off attempts to subject their voluntary mitigation actions to international review.
Weighed down by the slump in economic activity during the first half of the year, the value of private equity (PE) and mergers and acquisitions (M&As) deals dropped 48.96 per cent to $21.20 billion from $41.54 billion during 2008.
Investors who bought shares in the primary market through qualified institutional placements (QIPs) have reason to celebrate as their money in 50 QIPs has grown 23 per cent in 2009. On the contrary, investments in initial public offers (IPOs) during the period have come down 3 per cent. It means that Rs 37,040 crore of investments in 50 QIPs have risen by Rs 8,545 crore, while IPOs saw a value erosion of Rs 268 crore.
The markets are trading marginally weak, with the Sensex quoting at 17,084, lower by 17 points, and the Nifty down 13 points at 5095. Metals, energy and pharma pack are weighing down on the indices.
Pharmaceutical firm Suven Life Sciences today said it will raise $50 million (nearly Rs 239.5 crore) through the issue of securities.
South Korean steel giant Posco has been asked by the Environment Ministry to take the consent of local tribals as required under the Forest Rights Act before commencing its proposed steel project in Orissa.
Bharati Shipyard ended at Rs 165, higher by Rs 1 or 0.88%, on the BSE. The stock had opened at Rs 166 and touched an intra-day high of Rs 174 and a low of Rs 164. Total trading volumes of 218,525 shares were registered on the counter as against the two-week average of 99,782 shares.
Latha Jishnu / New Delhi November 20, 2009, 0:40 IST
If it was dry arid land which was being used for growing jatropha, it is now the turn of water ponds to add fuel to biodiesel production in the country. All it takes is to grow algae in water bodies and then press it to get oil that is processed to get biodiesel.
The government today shot down a suggestion in the Lok Sabha for setting up a committee under the Member of Parliament in respective constituencies for monitoring disbursement of loans by banks to priority sector like agriculture, small and medium enterprises.
Government today ruled out a CBI probe into the Jaipur oil depot fire of November and informed the Lok Sabha that a Committee had already been formed to look into the safety aspects and lapses that led to the incident.
Reliance Industries (RIL), today said the bonus shares allotted by the company last month have been listed on stock exchanges and will be traded from tomorrow.
Public-sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) today said it will buy a majority stake in Kazakhstan-based Dana Bank this fiscal for a consideration of around Rs 93 crore.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) today said it is expecting oil bonds worth Rs 6,200-crore from the government to make good the losses it suffers on selling petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene at below market rates.
Persistent Systems, providing software product development services, set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) around the Android open mobile platform.
UTI Mutual Fund would revise the exit load for 18 schemes from Monday, the fund house said on Friday, amending the scheme’s offer document.
BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar October 12, 2009, 0:30 IST
The Paradeep Port Trust (PPT) authorities have sought the intervention and permission from the Centre and the director general of shipping to initiate legal action against the owner and the management company of the vessel MV Black Rose, which sank near the port two weeks back.
The Orissa government today asked the Orissa Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) to take steps to prevent any possible oil spillage by the sinking of the Mangolian ship, M V Black Rose, in the port limit of Paradip port.
The Supreme Court today set aside the Orissa High Court’s interim order that restrained the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) from reinviting financial bids from the short-listed bidders for developing a coal berth.
TransCare Logistics India Private Ltd, part of the TransCare group of companies based in Germany, has forecast a traffic handling of 100 million tonne for Paradeep Port Trust (PPT) by 2016-17.
India"s foreign exchange reserves rose by $0.962 million to $286.376 billion for the week ended November 13 from $285.414 billion in the previous week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said today.
Focus is on underground, abandoned mines.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves fell $1.13 billion in the week up to September 11 to $284.4 billion on the back of portfolio investments and revaluation of currencies.
In order to reduce costs, global oil major Shell will soon transfer additional office jobs from Houston and elsewhere to India and the Philippines.
Heavy buying by foreign and domestic institutional investors saw the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex rise 2.25 per cent, or 339 points, to close at a 10-month closing high at 15,466. The rally was led by index heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC) as global crude oil price touched $71 a barrel after settling above $70 for the first time in over seven months. Firm global markets too helped the rally.
The worth of a company in the infrastructure sector needs careful evaluation.
Investment decisions based only on current events can lead to Serious losses. A disciplined approach is better
There were marginal changes in networth for the four fund managers in the first week of Smart Portfolios II. The managers have invested around 28-35 per cent of their individual starting corpus.
Home Minister P Chidambaram today said he has invited TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao here to discuss the next step for formation of a separate Telangana state.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that he agreed to the November 7 run-off elections for the sake of peace and stability of the country, though he feels that the Presidential election result was "clear".
Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, son of late Y S Rajashekhara Reddy, today met Congress President Sonia Gandhi at her residence here, amid demands by his supporters to make him chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
The damage caused by the devastating floods in the Krishna river basin of Andhra Pradesh has been preliminarily estimated at Rs 12,225 crore, chief minister, K Rosaiah, said urging the Centre to release Rs 6,000 crore immediately for undertaking, relief, rehabilitation and restoration works.
Ch Prashanth Reddy / September 27, 2009, 0:07 IST
Dubai"s indebted conglomerate Dubai World has said its ship building firm Drydocks World and its subsidiaries will not be included in the proposed restructuring plan.
The hearing on the issue of land acquisition for the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) company’s 8,000 Mw Dadri power project in Uttar Pradesh could not commence in the Supreme Court today as one of the judge recused himself from the Bench.
The six largest lenders to the debt-ridden Dubai World have started discussions with the government-owned conglomerate prior to the firm"s creditors" meeting scheduled for December 21, says a media report.
Cognizant Technology Solutions, a leading provider of consulting, technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) services, said on Tuesday that it had acquired all the assets of Pepperweed Advisors, the information technology consulting services division of Pepperweed Consulting. The company did not disclose the value of the acquisition.
Nasdaq listed IT company Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp today announced the acquisition of Pepperweed Advisors, the IT consulting services division of US-based Pepperweed Consulting, for an undisclosed sum.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has pointed out serious lapses in the way banks sold derivative products in 2007 and 2008. This is part of RBI’s reply to a questionnaire sent by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Orissa High Court had last year asked the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to submit a report on the derivative losses incurred by the industry last year.
Accusing V K Sibal of having a ‘nexus’ with private parties when he headed the upstream oil regulator, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has decided to seek government permission to probe his actions.
Meanwhile, park spare cash in short-term debt.
The Finance Ministry today said the surge in foreign capital inflow in the country, powered by initial recovery in the global economy, is not a cause for concern at present and no specific action is required to arrest it.
Shilpy Sinha / Mumbai December 25, 2009, 0:41 IST
Joe C Mathew / New Delhi September 22, 2009, 0:22 IST
Rajesh Bhayani / Mumbai September 18, 2009, 0:02 IST
Andhra Pradesh chief minister, K Rosaiah, has agreed to hand over the land already allotted for a new shipping technology unit at Visakhapatnam as and when required. He gave this assurance to shipping secretary, APVN Sharma, who called on him on Saturday.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has put India on the "Wall of Shame" for hiking airport user charges by over 200 per cent, but hopes that the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) would play a role to rationalise these charges paid by airlines and passengers.
Finance Ministry is understood to have supported Anil Ambani group"s plans to raise $1.1 billion of overseas loans for power business and suggested to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that entities should not be denied a nod on account of alleged violations by end use of funds by other group firm.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today claimed that the CPI(M) was importing Naxalites from Nepal and providing them with arms to terrorise the people.
Mumbai-based IRB Infrastructure Developers today reported an 80 per cent jump in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 74.31 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2009.
Foreign direct investment in the country surged by 60 per cent to $1.74 billion (around Rs 8,000 crore) in November, an official said today.
Engineering products manufacturer, Forbes Marshall is expecting a lower growth rate during 2009-10 at around 15 per cent due to slowdown in the economy, a top official said.
The district administration has decided to deploy the Global Positioning System (GPS) at Paradip to assess illegal encroachment of the revenue land by the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) under Kujang tehsil in Jagatsinghpur district.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has sold 26 per cent stake in its wholly owned housing subsidiary, PNB Housing Finance, to financial services firm Destimoney Enterprises for Rs 79.17 crore.
Encouraged by the success of a pilot to implement the smart card-based electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system on “one district, many banks” model in three districts of the state, Karnataka has shown interest in implementing the scheme in another three districts on a “one district, one bank” model.
Claiming that the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) was in its expansion mode and would open at least 200 new branches every year in the next three fiscals, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Bank T Y Prabhu said the bank had sought capital support of Rs 1,000 crore from the government to implement its expansion plan.
Trades between FIIs generated a volume of Rs 133 crore on the BSE Friday-an increase of 99.55% from Rs 66 crore clocked on Thursday. As many as five stocks witnessed trades of 9.73 lakh shares on Friday.
Ashok Leyland ended the day at Rs 53, higher by Rs 0.6 or 1.2%.
After initial resistance, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has relented and would now seek telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India"s (Trai) recommendations on a proposal to bring in a uniform licence fee.
Ajai Shukla / New Delhi November 3, 2009, 0:58 IST
Peeved by undue delays in implementing the Hubli-Ankola Railway line, Dharwad MP Prahlad Joshi has urged the Centre to take steps to implement the work immediately.
The will enable smaller units in the region to overcome problems posed by inadequate power supply.
The government will take a considerate view of the telecom regulator Trai"s proposal to bill customers based on per second usage instead of the prevailing pulse system, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot today said.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) will approach Cabinet shortly seeking allocation of Rs 10,000 crore to prepare an optical fibre cable (OFC) network for defence forces in the next three years in lieu of release of spectrum for mobile services.
IT firm Sterlite Technologies today said its net profit jumped nearly nine-fold to Rs 54.67 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2009, over the same period last year.
Hinting at Pakistani link to the Kabul Embassy attack, India today said Afghanistan faced threat from terrorists and their "patrons residing across the border" and that the blast was the handiwork of those who wanted to undermine Indo-Afghan friendship.
West Bengal government shelves IT township project at Rajarhat in the wake of Vedic Village land scam.