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Eicher Nov truck, bus sales fall 71 pct on yearMUMBAI (Reuters) - VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd, a joint venture between Volvo and India's Eicher Motors, said on Saturday the November sales of its Eicher brand of trucks and buses fell 71 percent to 661 units.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Dec 2008 | 10:59 am Jayalalithaa for immediate rollback of fuel prices - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 10:37 am India's central bank cuts key rates, warns of 'painful adjustment'Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvuri Subbarao Saturday warned of a period of 'painful adjustment' for the country's economy as he cut key rates to lower the cost of funds for commercial banks and help them reduce their interest rates for the corporate sector.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Dec 2008 | 10:32 am Kingfisher Airlines cuts fuel surchargeFollowing in the footsteps of state-owned Air India and Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines Saturday decided to cut fuel surcharge by up to Rs.400 for its low-cost and full service carriers 'with immediate effect'.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Dec 2008 | 10:32 am Corporates promote child rights through sportsExecutives of top corporates came together Saturday to play cricket, soccer, table tennis and badminton matches in the capital in a bid to raise some Rs.3 million for underprivileged children in the country.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Dec 2008 | 10:30 am Evidence of slowdown in economic activity: RBI - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 10:12 am IndiGo cuts in fuel surchargeFollowing the footsteps of Air India and Jet Airways, no-frill carrier IndiGo today announced a cut of Rs 400 in its fuel surcharge across all domestic routesSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:54 am RBI slashes rates to shore up growthMUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India on Saturday slashed its key interest rates by 1 percentage point to boost growth and shore up investor confidence amid signs of economic slowdown and in the wake of deadly attacks in Mumbai.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:44 am Vodafone verdict may lead to more IT action - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:39 am HIGHLIGHTS - RBI governor on economy, policyMUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India cut its short-term lending and borrowing rates by 100 basis points each and announced a slew of other measures on Saturday to try to shore up a slowing economy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:38 am SEBI asked exchanges to recover security deposits - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:26 am Ministry says no irregularity in refund to RComThe Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on Friday said that no irregularity has been made in making refund to Reliance Communications Ltd. on surrendering its dual technology approval in six circles.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:21 am Direct tax growth slows to 22.2% - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:20 am Indian Oil commissions first LPG pipelineIndian Oil Corporation Ltd. (Indian Oil) has completed the commissioning of its first crosscountry liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pipeline in North India, between Panipat and Jalandhar.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:10 am MPs delay flight, say they protested against AI apathy - Expressindia.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:04 am Central bank cuts lending ratesIn a bid to lower the cost of borrowings for commercial banks and help them reduce interest rates for the corporate sector, India's central bank Saturday cut two key interest ratesSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 6 Dec 2008 | 8:52 am RBI slashes rates to shore up growthMumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday slashed its key short-term interest rates by 1 percentage point to boost growth and shore up investor confidence amid signs of economic slowdown and in the wake of terror attacks in Mumbai. The central bank reduced its key lending rate, or repo rate, by 100 basis points to 6.5%, its lowest rate in two years, with effect from Monday. The reverse repo rate, the rate at which the central bank absorbs excess cash from the system, falls to 5.0% from 6.0%, its lowest in more than three years. “Industrial activity, particularly in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, is decelerating,” RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao told a news conference. Also Read RBI’s Growth Stimulus (PDF) Subbarao said the central bank would closely monitor developments in global and domestic financial markets and would take swift and effective action as appropriate. “The Reserve Bank’s policy endeavour will be to minimise the negative impact of the crisis and to ensure an orderly adjustment,” he said. The main lending rate has now been cut by 250 basis points since 20 October, when the central bank made its first rate reduction in more than four years to shield the economy from the global financial crisis. Saturday’s decision was the first change in the reverse repo rate since July 2006. The cash reserve ratio, the proportion of deposits banks must keep with the central bank, was left unchanged at 5.5%. Expectations of rate reductions have mounted ever since last week’s attacks in Mumbai in which gunmen brought the business district to a standstill as they holed up in two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre, killing 178 people. The benchmark 10-year bond yield fell 8 basis points to 6.76% on Friday ahead of the central bank’s decision, which had been well flagged by government officials, and the rupee gained against the dollar. The government is also expected to announce fiscal measures to give impetus to the economy, which data show may be decelerating more rapidly than anticipated from an annual rate of 9% in the fiscal year which ended last March. The exact timing of the government’s expected steps is not known. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 6 Dec 2008 | 8:46 am Highlights of growth stimulus unveiled by India's central bankFollowing are the highlights of a growth stimulus package unveiled by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao here Saturday in a bid to cushion the impact of global slowdown on the country's economy:Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Dec 2008 | 8:30 am Air travel to be cheaper, fuel surcharge cut by up to Rs 400 - Press Trust of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 8:16 am India's central bank cuts key lending ratesIn a bid to lower the cost of borrowings for commercial banks and help them reduce interest rates for the corporate sector, India's central bank Saturday cut two key interest rates but said a period of 'painful adjustment' was inevitable for the country's economy.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Dec 2008 | 8:00 am Kingfisher cuts fuel surcharge by up to Rs 400 - Press Trust of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 7:11 am Indian equities end lower on weak global cuesA key Indian share market index ended with a loss of 127 points during the trading week ended Friday but analysts expect the mood to turn positive following a fiscal stimulus from the government and rate cuts by the central bank.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Dec 2008 | 7:01 am Tata Motors, Mahindra to shut plantsMUMBAI (Reuters) - Auto makers Tata Motors Ltd and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd are closing plants for up to 6 days in December as demand for vehicles is hit by tight financing in a slowing economy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Dec 2008 | 6:55 am Allahabad Bk revises interest rates on FCNR & NRE deposits - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 6:38 am Lawmakers, White House agree on auto aid planWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats and the White House have reached agreement on emergency aid for U.S. automakers of between $15 billion and $17 billion, two senior congressional aides said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Dec 2008 | 5:41 am Pakistan awaits ’proof’ on Mumbai terror linksPakistan was still awaiting “concrete proof” Saturday that a group based there carried out the devastating Mumbai attacks, as India said evidence was mounting and warned its anger had not cooled. As twin bomb blasts killed 27 people in Pakistan’s northwest, President Asif Ali Zardari stressed the country was also a victim of terror and was carrying out its own investigation into the assault on India’s financial centre. Pakistan is currently doing its own internal investigation and is waiting for concrete proof to be handed over to us,” Zardari told reporters in Istanbul, where he discussed ways to combat extremism with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai. “Our position is that we have always been and still are the victims of terrorism,” he said. The attack by gunmen against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the landmark Taj Mahal hotel, killed 163 people including 26 foreigners. Nine militants were killed, while one was captured alive. On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India has been angered “as never before” by the attacks as his new home minister hinted at growing evidence of Pakistani involvement. “We have told the world that the people of India have felt a sense of hurt and anger as never before due to the Mumbai terror strikes,” Singh said. “It is the obligation of all concerned that perpetrators of this horrible crime are brought to book,” Singh added. Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram also said “There is ample evidence to show that the source of the terrorist attack was clearly linked to organisations which have in the past been identified as being behind terrorist attacks in India”. “There are one or two countries which have broadly confirmed our preliminary conclusions,” he added. However, Chidambaram also acknowledged there had been some security and intelligence “lapses” prior to the attacks. Separately Vienna officials said they would investigate reports the militants used an Austrian cellphone number during the siege. The European Union also said it may increase aid to Pakistan and pledged to strengthen relations with Zardari’s government to counter the threat of terrorism. Pakistan has been a key US ally since the September 11 attacks seven years ago, but many critics openly question whether elements in the Pakistan military and intelligence services support Islamist militants. In the latest violence in Pakistan, at least 27 people were killed and dozens more wounded when two bomb blasts struck crowded markets in the northwest Friday as shoppers prepared for the Eid Muslim festival. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 6 Dec 2008 | 5:29 am Oil drops 6 pct to 4-year low on bleak U.S. job dataNEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil dropped more than 6 percent to a four-year low on Friday after a U.S. report showed the heaviest job losses in 34 years in the world's top energy consumer.Source: Reuters: Money News | 6 Dec 2008 | 5:21 am RJ Naved's contribution to society are his pranksHis impeccable sense of humor, deep baritone and ability to connect with his listeners through his pranks have made him very popular but Radio Mirchi's 98.3 FM RJ Naved feels his job has made him 'insane' - something he is not complaining about.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 6 Dec 2008 | 3:30 am Rolls-Royce appoints Anil Shrikhande as India President!Aerospace engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has appointed Anil Shrikhande as president of its India operations.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Telecom giant Vodafone to take tax case to Supreme Court!Telecom giant Vodafone on Friday said it would challenge the government decision to impose capital gains tax on it following its acquisition of Hutchison Essar.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Rupee gains 30 paise 49.56/57 against a dollar!Indian rupee on Friday rallied by 30 paise at 49.56/57 against the greenback to extend the gains for the fourth day in succession, with banks selling dollars heavily amid a continuous fall oil prices.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am ArcelorMittal may increase production: Report!ArcelorMittal, may increase production if demand for the commodity rises next year, a media report says.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Microsoft ropes in Yahoo`s Qi Lu to head internet biz!Software giant Microsoft Corp has appointed former Yahoo Inc executive Qi Lu to head its online services group, overseeing internet offering for consumers, advertisers and publishers.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am `Oil prices may dip to $25 a barrel next year`!Global financial services major Merrill Lynch has cautioned that oil prices may decline to a low of USD 25 a barrel next year if the slowdown that has already hit the developed nations extends to China.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am General Motors India to hire 500 people!Even as companies are giving pink slips to employees as a result of the global meltdown, GM India is increasing its employee strength from the present 4,000 to 4,500 by 2009, a top official of the company said.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Singapore faces years of slow growth, says PM!Singapore`s economy may shrink for a year and faces slow growth for several more as a global downturn undermines demand for the city-state`s exports, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Reliance Industries seeks textile-related patents!Reliance Industries, the largest private company of country, is seeking two patents related to the textile industry.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am ICICI Lombard`s weaver`s policy covered 17.74 lakh families!The ICICI Lombard General Insurance private Limited, one of the private sector companies, has covered 17.74 lakh families under its health insurance scheme for handloom weavers.Source: Zee News : Business | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Govt cuts petrol price by Rs 5, diesel by Rs 2Call it a Christmas gift or ushering in a feel-good factor, the Government on Friday announced a cut in auto fuel prices.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am SEBI: Ensure cos maintain security deposit with SEsMumbai, Dec. 5 The capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India, has asked stock exchanges to ensure that all listed companies maintain the mandatory security deposit with them.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am ‘I’ve never seen such a positive environment for renewable energy’It has been a long day for Mr Ditlev Engel, President & CEO of leading wind turbine maker Vestas. He has been accompanying financial analysts to Vestas facilities in Aarhus and Hammel, Denmark, with other senior company officials.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Markets this weekThe Sensex opened on a positive note on Monday but changed direction and closed more than two per cent lower following a spate of bad news from the domestic economy and weak global equity markets. The Sensex ended 252 points down at 8,839 whileSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Mid & small-cap stocks outperform benchmarksMumbai, Dec. 5 The benchmark indices ended in the red this week, while mid-cap and small-cap indices showed relatively firm trend.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am NBFCs may get easier access to fundsNon-banking financial companies (NBFCs) may get some policy support from the Government and the Reserve Bank of India as part of the economic stimulus package slated to be unveiled on Saturday.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Will Indian auto parts cos break into Japanese clubs?Chennai, Dec. 5 The Japanese auto industry has begun exploring possibilities of sourcing components from India.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Outdoor media, hoardings going vacant on poor market sentimentMumbai, Dec. 5 A few weeks ago, when your car zoomed across the neon-lit streets in Mumbai, there was a glitzy illuminated sign that promised you the comfort of a luxury apartment at an affordable price or a telecom company that kept buzzingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Pact signed for supply of Russian copters worth Rs 2,400 crNew Delhi, Dec. 5 India is to receive 80 MI-17V-5 helicopters from the Russian Federation. An agreement for the supply of the helicopters, which industry expects to be a contract of around Rs 2,400 crore, was signed during the on-going visit ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Lots of business, but little profit for call centres hereThis seems to be the common complaint among the captains of BPO firms that provide third party collections and debt recovery services for clients in the banking and financial servicesSource: Business Line - Home Page | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Will pump-priming moves work?The Centre is working on an economic stimulus package to address the nitty-gritty of the multi-facted crisis facing the nation.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:03 pm After variable, fixed pay being cutFrom freezing recruitments to postponing the joining dates of new employees, to laying off 'non-performers' - the players have tried it all already.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:02 pm Realty projects delayed by 2 quartersWith credit repayment dates nearing and banks refusing to refinance their loans, real estate developers are left with no choice but to defer their project launchesSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:54 pm Fiscal boost for economy todayThe government, along with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is on the verge of announcing a set of special measures to spur demandSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:45 pm India signs $1.2b deal with Russia for 80 Mi-17 choppers - Times of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:10 pm GM to hike prices by 3%General Motors (GM) India said it would increase prices by 3% in January to make up for low margins on sales in the country.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:08 pm Excise cut alone won't do, say car makersThe government may be looking to offer some relief to the beleaguered auto industry through a reduction in excise, but the industry does not seem amused.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:07 pm Bond goldmine awaits banks at month-endAfter spending most of the financial year staring at rising loan defaults and an uncomfortable lending climate, Indian banks finally have something to cheer this quarter.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:00 pm JSW Steel woos Jharkhand villagers with heritage tripJSW Steel has found a unique way to solve the problem of land acquisition in Jharkhand - build confidence among villagersSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:58 pm Auto cos cut price; experts doubt increase in salesBad times for the auto industry seem to be good times for the consumer. Car manufacturers are doling out discounts to lure customers. There are heavy discounts running up to as much as Rs 91,000 but experts doubt if this will translate into real sales.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 8:34 pm Monetary solutionsFive major central banks slashed interest rates on Thursday. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to follow suit on Saturday with a deep cut in its policy rates. There is now a growing case for lower rates in India: The economy is slowing and inflation—at least in terms of wholesale prices—is dropping. But there are certain risks that RBI needs to be careful about. First, the battle against inflation has not yet been won. Second, there is a danger that RBI may run out of ammunition too soon in case this is a protracted slowdown. The US is already facing that problem, with target interest rates too close to zero. Third, there has to be recognition that not all the problems, which firms face right now, are because of the lack of cheap credit. Exports have suffered because of the collapse of global demand, while some sectors such as real estate and aviation took too many risks in the boom. Some of the demands from industry lobbies are self-serving. However, on balance, a meaningful cut in rates is needed to boost confidence. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:04 pm Start-ups bail out IITians facing placement bluesOn the back of a global meltdown, big-ticket firms may not be flocking at the premier Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campuses. IITians, however, have not lost all hope.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:58 pm Roche to sell arthritis drug in India ahead of US, Europe approvalRoche Scientific Company (India) Ltd, the local arm of Swiss drug maker F Hoffman-La Roche, will launch a new-generation rheumatoid arthritis drug, Actemra, in India, even as it awaits approvals fromSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:57 pm ICICI Bank's new CEO to be decided in JanuaryThe board of ICICI Bank, the countrys second-largest lender, will take a final call on appointing a successor to K V Kamath, its present managing director and chief executive officer, nextSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:56 pm LIC raises outlay for cash-starved India IncAt a time when companies are finding it tough to raise funds, the countrys largest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), has stepped up investment in non-convertible debenturesSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:55 pm Petrol cheaper by Rs 5 a litre, diesel by Rs 2The government today cut prices of petrol by 10 per cent and diesel by 6 per cent, effective midnight, a day before the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are expected to announce aSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:52 pm Need to Know | Jet Airways cuts fares, Kingfisher yet to decideNew Delhi: Jet Airways (India) Ltd has reduced fares across the board by Rs400, following national carrier National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India’s announcement of similar reduction on Monday. Fuel surcharge will be cut by Rs400 to Rs1,950 for flights covering a distance less than 750 km, while it will be Rs2,700 for that above 750 km. The Mumbai-based airline firm’s low-fare subsidiary JetLite will also reduce fuel surcharge by Rs250 to Rs300, effective Saturday. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, which had said last month that it will look at fare reduction after government announces jet fuel as a declared good, said late on Friday it is yet to take a decision on reducing fares. SpiceJet Ltd, too, said it hasn’t taken a call as yet. —Tarun Shukla ********* UN, India join hands to help backward districts New Delhi: The UN and India’s Planning Commission on Friday agreed to work together to help the country’s backward districts achieve the Millennium Development Goals. “Currently, each district receives approximately $75 million (Rs373 crore) per year from a large number of government schemes. However, the absence of convergence leads to poor utilization and results,” said a joint statement issued by the UN and Planning Commission. “The joint programme on convergence (signed by the two sides) aims to address this lacuna through improved district planning, better budgeting and collaborative implementation where departments do not duplicate efforts,” the statement added. —Staff Writer ********* AIADMK, CPM tie up for general election Chennai: The main opposition in Tamil Nadu, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and the Communist party of India (Marxist) (CPM) have decided to resume their electoral ties after seven years ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The decision was taken following an hour-long meeting between AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa and CPM general secretary Prakash Karat at the former’s residence here. —PTI ********* ONGC ‘not going’ slow on capital expenditure Mumbai: Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC), India’s largest oil producer, would not go slow on capital expenditure this year, its director of offshore operations said on Friday. “We are not going slow on capex for the time being,” N.K. Mitra said, adding that the state-run firm has lined up capital expenditure of Rs18,000 crore this year. —Reuters ********* Colgate declares Rs9 per share interim dividend New Delhi: Oral care company Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd on Friday announced it would pay an interim dividend of Rs9 per share for the fiscal year 2008-09. The dividend payout to the shareholders will be Rs122.4 crore and will be paid on or about 30 December. The company had declared an interim dividend of Rs6 per share and a final dividend of Rs7 per share last fiscal. —PTI ********* HDFC Bank to buy 10% in fourth Indian comex New Delhi: HDFC Bank Ltd has applied to the Reserve Bank of India to buy a 10% stake in MMTC-Indiabulls promoted commodity exchange, which is expected to be operational by March, a top MMTC official said on Friday. “HDFC Bank has applied to the RBI for a 10% stake in our exchange,” MMTC chairman and managing director Sanjiv Batra told reporters here. HDFC Bank holds 2% stake in Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX). The proposed exchange would be set up in Gurgaon, becoming the fourth commodity exchange at national level, after MCX, NCDEX and NMCE. —PTI ********* Suzlon says no rights offer in near term New Delhi: Indian wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy Ltd has no plans to revive its suspended rights equity issue in the near term and will pay for an additional stake in Germany’s REpower from internal funds and debt, its chairman said on Friday. “Rights issue was mainly for payment of equity stake. It is not required now. Payments will be from internal accruals and debt,” Tulsi Tanti said. Suzlon had said in October it was suspending an up to Rs1,800 crore rights share issue due to falling markets. —Reuters ********* Sebi asks exchanges to update security deposits Mumbai: Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has directed stock exchanges to set up a system to monitor bank guarantees given by firms issuing new securities. In a statement on Friday, Sebi said it has come across several instances where bank guarantees of firms have expired but the exchanges have not taken any initiative to revive them. “The stock exchanges are hereby directed to recoup immediately any shortfall in the deposit that has been caused due to the expiry of such bank guarantees by taking either cash or fresh/re-validated bank guarantees from the concerned issuer companies,” the statement said. Sebi also prohibited stock exchanges from using in any other manner the security deposit given to them by firms wishing to go public. According to listing agreement norms, a firm issuing securities has to deposit 1% of the total amount of securities offered for public subscription with the stock exchanges. This deposit remains with the stock exchange till the firm gets a no objection certificate from the regulator. —Khushboo Narayan ********* Glivec patent refusal in line with norms: govt MUMBAI: The Government of India and the department of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks on Thursday argued that the Chennai patent office’s decision to refuse a patent to Swiss drug maker Novartis AG for its blood cancer drug Glivec was in line with existing patent law. The government and the controller’s general’s office were defending the patent office’s January 2006 decision before an Intellectual Property Appellate Board hearing in Chennai in an appeal filed by Novartis. The Supreme Court had in early 2007 directed Novartis to take its case to the appellate board. According to a lawyer present at the hearing, the government said that the department had rejected the patent application because it did not find any novelty in the claims made by Novartis in the application compared to the earlier patents of the company in Switzerland and the US granted in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Indian patent law doesn’t allow patent exclusivity to a modified form of a previously (before 1995) known drug under Section 3 (d) of the Act, unless the new claim proves to be more efficacious, said R. Ravindram, additional solicitor-general (southern states), in the government’s defense. Novartis had in 1998 applied for an India patent for the beta-crystalline form of imatinib mesylate, its popular drug compound for treating chronic myelogenous leukemia, a type of blood cancer. The appellate body resumed hearing the Novartis plea last week after the Union government appointed a special technical member P.C. Chakraborty in the judiciary panel in October. The panel had earlier asked the company to provide documents to support its explanation of efficacy. Novartis will reply later as the hearing has been adjurned to 10 December. —C. H. Unnikrishnan ********* ’10 Games: MCD to carry out Rs2,500 cr projects New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will carry out development works worth at least Rs2,500 crore before the Commonwealth Games in 2010, said MCD commissioner K.S. Mehra while announcing the corporation’s budget. Of the Rs2,576 crore for Games’ projects, Rs400 crore will be spent on venues and the remaining Rs2,176 crore will be utilized for development works. Separately, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed all proceedings pending in the Delhi high court pertaining to the construction of 1,100 flats in the Games village near the Yamuna river bank. The High Court had on 3 November refused legal sanction for building the flats and appointed a committee to assess the ecological impact of the project. —PTI ********* Essar won’t cut output as demand may increase Mumbai: Essar Steel Ltd has no plans to cut production as it sees demand for the metal bouncing back, its chief executive said on Friday. “I think it is coming back,” J. Mehra told reporters, referring to demand for steel. “As of now we are almost at (production) target...of 6.3 million tonnes,” he added. —Reuters ********* April-November direct tax collection rises 22% New Delhi: India’s direct tax revenue from companies and personal incomes rose 22.2% in the eight months ended 30 November, the finance ministry said on Friday. Total direct-tax revenue increased to Rs1.77 trillion, the ministry said in a statement in New Delhi. —Bloomberg ********* 16 killed, 75 injured in Peshawar blast Peshawar: A bomb blast in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Friday killed at least 16 people and wounded 75, according to police and provincial government officials. The blast occurred near a Shi’ite assembly hall in a congested part of the city. One building had collapsed in flames, while half a dozen others were badly damaged and on fire. “It was a bomb. The number of casualties is very high. People are still trapped under the rubble,” senior police official Kashif Alam said. —Reuters ********* Airports, refineries put under alert after threats Bangalore/Sydney: The country broadened its security alert from airports to key government buildings and installations such as refineries after intelligence reports that terrorists may strike using a hijacked aircraft. The increased vigil began after a purported email threat sent by the Deccan Mujahedeen, which had claimed responsibility for last week’s terror attacks in Mumbai. —Bloomberg ********* Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:37 pm Boeing stir to further delay delivery of aircraft to NacilNew Delhi: US plane maker Boeing Co.’s worker union strike last month is expected to further delay deliveries of 787 Dreamliner jets to National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India from late 2009 to 2010, which could affect its planned route launches. This would be the fourth time the aircraft’s delivery schedule to Air India may have to be reshuffled. The first delivery of the aircraft was expected in 2008, which was pushed back to early this year and then to October. The ‘Wall Street Journal’ reported on Thursday that Boeing might push back the first deliveries of the Dreamliner by at least six more months.  Still waiting: A file photo of Boeing 787 Dreamliner. A worker union strike at Boeing may further delay deliveries of the jets to Air India. Tangi Quemener / AFP “It has not caught us unawares. We are kept posted of the schedule with regards to the developments of the aircraft by Boeing,” said Air India’s executive director Jitender Bhargava. The airline’s chairman and managing director Raghu Menon had told Mint last month that the airline was planning to expand new routes starting winter next year and was training crew to operate the new aircraft. Bhargava on Friday said the delay will not impact the airline largely because of the global traffic slowdown “Some delay is not unusual, as these new aircraft have a long development cycle and a complex global supply chain. If there are persistent delays, then the collective impact on the manufacturer is far greater then the individual impact on a carrier. All put together, for Boeing it is a reputational setback and it will have financial consequences.” said Kapil Arora, an aviation analyst with audit and consulting firm Ernst and Young. Boeing’s vice-president, sales (commercial airplane), Dinesh A. Keskar, who met Air India officials on Friday, said the firm was assessing the extent of the delay. It has roughly 900 orders for Dreamliners, the first of which was to fly with Japan’s All Nippon Airways mid-next year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:37 pm Jet Airways cuts fuel surchargeA few days after state-owned Air India slashed fares by reducing its fuel surcharge by Rs.400 for all routes, Jet Airways Friday decided to cut fuel surcharge across all domestic sectors by the same amount from Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:30 pm Life in a metroA thick brown cloud hangs over Delhi—not some figurative cloud of doom but a very real cocktail of soot, sulphates, and other aerosols that dims the daylight and chokes the lungs. A recent United Nations report says the cloud hangs over most of South and East Asia. Such a visceral example of ecological damage provides a pressing urgency to the 48°C Public Art Ecology Festival that will showcase artworks installed in public places at eight sites along the three Metro Rail lines in Delhi.  Friso Witteveen’s Hocus Pocus The Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) commissioned the festival and invited Pooja Sood, director of Khoj, the artists’ collective in Delhi that works with alternative art exhibits, to curate it. Sood chose sites along the metro to have a “ready-made public” though there is always a chance that not all will appreciate the interference in their commuting space. “I’m not sure about issues of reception. That’s a big unknown,” says artist Ravi Agarwal. “It attempts to deal with the public which is not used to dealing with contemporary art.” Sood feels the fact that the works will be on display for only 10 days and then dismantled lends more creative freedom to the artists. “You know (the public) can say, ‘It’s there for 10 days…Okay, good, thank god it’s over.’” Conveniently for viewers, each installation will be a 5-minute walk or a 10-minute cycle rickshaw ride from the next site. The festival’s other key aim is to “interrogate the teetering ecology of the city through the prism of contemporary art”. Each of the 25 installations, ranging from wooden lighthouses projecting videos to enormous stainless steel water buckets, will highlight the precarious relationship between nature and humans. “I see the separation of ecology from humans as a fundamental alienation of the self,” says Agarwal. His project, a visual and sound installation at Mandi House, focuses on India’s dwindling vulture population, which has dropped from millions to a few thousand in less than 20 years. “It’s the fastest extinction in human history,” he says. Agarwal grew up birdwatching, spotting vultures easily all over the city, but says that “now the only two vultures in Delhi are dead vultures”—a reference to the two stuffed vultures at the Natural History Museum. Some exhibits will be interactive—Ichi Ikeda, a Japanese artist, will “anchor” a futuristic boat on the grounds of the Town Hall in Chandni Chowk. He hopes people will be “in a creative partnership” with him as they climb aboard Waterpolis and try to connect water joints that will find water in the future. Other pieces include fixed sculptures, such as Subodh Gupta’s fountain, represented by an oversized bucket overflowing with water. As with many of his sculptures, Gupta draws from an iconic image ripped from every home in India, where people “forget to turn the tap off”. Gupta feels that this is the best project the Capital has seen in a long time, especially since people in Delhi only see contemporary art in galleries where it is a marketable commodity. Agarwal says the scale of the project will make it impossible to ignore: “It’s a spectacle.” Besides the Khoj productions, which have been taking place since 1997, this festival is a rare occasion for people to access contemporary art for free. Gupta blames the government for this state of affairs, saying that there is little institutional backing for locations to host contemporary art. Devi Art Foundation in Gurgaon, the one museum dedicated to contemporary art, was set up through private effort. Having the chance to show their art to a large swathe of the public drew many of the artists to the project. Sheba Chhachhi, whose The Water Diviner will be installed in what used to be the swimming pool at the Delhi Public Library, hopes her work will engage a multiplicity of people, “from the unemployed youth hanging around parks to the library-bound student, the elderly sunning themselves on a bench to the busy shopper or commuter.” She says people will be interested in seeing public art “which raises questions and awareness, initiates dialogue, shares insight and information without needing to ‘sell’.” The festival itself, Sood says, is “immersive; it’s not didactic; it’s inviting you to accept it or not accept it. It’s interesting objects that you look at and say ‘What the hell is going on?’” Dutch artist Friso Witteveen—whose piece Hocus Pocus mimics the shape of Jantar Mantar but is made up of reflective surfaces—says the “what-is-it” curiosity factor powers public art. As a teenager, he recalls seeing the Pont Neuf bridge across the Seine river in Paris wrapped in pink gauze by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. He spent the next two days watching people react to the strange sight. “People walk around with a funny, happy feeling in their eyes,” he says. “Everyone had to say something about it.” Sood sees the 48°C festival as a the beginning of a conversation. “At best, art can just shift your perception and make you look at things differently and that’s a hell of a lot. If you just begin to think about things and talk about things that’s when you begin to do stuff.” The festival will be on from 12-20 December. For the map, schedule of events and day programmes at the festival, visit www.48c.org Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:29 pm Agreement seen vital in Vodafone’s $2 bn tax caseNew Delhi: The contents of Vodafone International’s undisclosed February 2007 agreement with Hutchison International to enter the Indian telecom market may be critical to its tax case if it approaches the Supreme Court. Vodafone’s refusal to disclose this to the Bombay high court was one of the factors that led to the court dismissing its writ petition challenging the income-tax (I-T) department’s notice asking for information to find out if the deal was subject to domestic tax. “The high court asked for the agreement to determine the nature of transaction. That’s an important part. It will certainly come up before the Supreme Court, but whether the Supreme Court will consider it necessary is not known,” said Uday Ved, head of tax practice at audit and consulting firm KPMG. In its judgement, the Bombay high court said: “We are also clearly of the view that the petitioner (Vodafone) has wilfully failed to produce the primary/original agreement dated 11 February 2007.” Vodafone’s counsel and partner of ALMT Legal, Hitesh Jain, said that Vodafone would appeal the high court’s judgement in the Supreme court. “Now that interim relief has been granted by the high court for a future period of eight weeks, the matter will be decided by the Supreme court.” He said that the “judgment is at best confined to facts” and could have been of a “precedent setting” nature if the court had looked at whether a transfer of shares between two foreign entities could be brought under the ambit of Indian tax laws. Also Read Bombay High Court’s Judgement (PDF) Instead, the court’s ruling was procedural—on the right of the I-T department to ask for information. “In view of the high court judgement, the I-T department can issue a show cause notice or make an enquiry in transactions of similar nature,” Jain added. Anticipating a move by Vodafone International to approach the Supreme Court, the I-T department plans to shortly request the apex court to keep it informed in the event Vodafone approaches it. “We will file a caveat before the Supreme Court so that there is no ex parte stay. We will do it very soon,” Prakash Chandra, director general of international taxation, said on Thursday. The tax incidence in the case is around $2 billion (nearly Rs10,000 crore), making it “perhaps the highest tax matter in the country,” N.B Singh, chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, said. Vodafone bought 67% of Hutchison Essar for $11.1 billion in 2007 and got the government’s approval for the deal in May 2007. Hutchison controlled its Indian subsidiary through a cobweb of companies that finally led to a Cayman Islands-registered firm receiving the payment from Vodafone. Though I-T department officials said they would await the written judgment before extensive comment, Chandra interpreted the verdict, dismissing Vodafone’s writ petition, as saying that the tax department had the “jurisdiction” to raise a tax demand. sanjiv.s@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:21 pm Plan for checkposts at borders droppedNew Delhi: The Mumbai terror attacks have forced India to abandon its plans to set up all border posts that would have facilitated the movement of goods and people to and from countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. “What to do? Every integrated checkpost plan has been put on hold across our borders, be it in Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar or Pakistan as there is an increased threat perception,” said Jairam Ramesh, minister of state for commerce and power. India had planned to set up 13 such posts before 2012 at a total cost of Rs635 crore: seven along the border with Bangladesh, four along that with Nepal, and one each along those with Pakistan and Myanmar. The so-called integrated checkposts or checkpoints would have had facilities for cargo handling, immigration, customs clearance, warehousing, banking, housing, border security and parking. They would have also had hotels. Nepal’s representative here said he wasn’t aware that the plan was being abandoned. “This has not come to my knowledge. India has been very active for the integrated checkpost plans and even the World Bank has been supporting it. Putting it on hold will affect the growing trade between the two countries,” said Durgesh Man Singh, Nepal’s envoy to India. India had planned to build its checkpost on its border with Nepal at Raxaul in Bihar, which would have been linked to Birganj in Nepal. India is Nepal’s largest trading partner. Of the Rs6,078.70 crore in total exports by Nepal in 2007-08 (15 July-14 July), India accounted for 63.53%, or Rs3,862 crore. And of the Rs22,611.60 crore worth imports into Nepal, India accounted for 63.91%, or Rs14,452.40 crore. Analysts, however, say that actual trade between the two countries could be at least twice the official trade because of rampant smuggling. Experts say that Pakistan’s external security agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), has been active in Nepal and uses the Terai districts along the India-Nepal border to facilitate the arms trade and movement of operatives into India. They add that Bangladesh has terror camps set up by outfits such as the Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami, Jamaat-ul-Mujahidin, Purbo Banglar Communist Party, Bipplobi Communist Party and the Sarbahara Party. “A majority of population in Nepal believes that India is an aggressor country. These sentiments have been made use of by ISI to move arms and operatives in India. They are also pushing fake Indian currency notes into India,” an Indian intelligence official posted in Kathmandu had told Mint in September. Myanmar, the experts said, has been used by separatist outfits, such as the United Liberation Front of Assam, the Muslim Liberation Tigers of Assam, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland and the Bodo Liberation Tigers to set up bases to launch terror strikes in the north-eastern part of India. An expert said the move to not go ahead with the checkposts would backfire. “This is precisely where we lose out. I would like to actively engage with the neighbouring countries, therefore, I want a checkpoint at our border. It was a very good proposal,” said Bhashyam Kasturi, a New Delhi-based strategic affairs analyst. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:21 pm Incredible India ads taken off air during Mumbai attacksMumbai: The Incredible India advertising campaign was taken off from international television networks immediately after the terror attacks on Mumbai on 26 November, an official said. The ads were restored on 30 November on global entertainment networks after the attacks were dealt with by security forces, a tourism ministry official told Mint on condition of anonymity, adding that they continue being off the air on major news channels. An advertising agency executive with knowledge of the campaign confirmed the development. The executive didn’t want to be named, given the sensitivity of the issue. The ministry official said TV spots were withdrawn but print ads continued to run. The campaign is still not running on major news channels However, Leena Nandan, joint secretary at the tourism ministry, denied that ads were pulled back in global markets and said schedules remained. She also denied the ministry was mulling a so-called repair campaign. While an advertising campaign to repair the image of India as a tourist destination would be a natural sequel to the Mumbai atrocities, it would be wise to defer it for the time being as the wounds are still raw, ad professionals said. Ashish Khazanchi, national creative director, Publicis Ambience Pvt. Ltd, said it was clear that international tourists would not be keen on visiting India till normalcy returned, so any repair campaign would have to be timed accordingly. Anil Nair, president of ad agency Law and Kenneth India, said it was best for the ministry to wait a few months. “What the ministry can do is to project areas which are culturally rich and historically peaceful. They could promote peaceful areas in central India, the southern states such as Kerala, and the Himalayas, he said. “It’s better to steer clear of five-star hotels or urban areas.” In his view, strong public relations activity rather than advertising could be more beneficial for the ministry at this point. News reports that assure tourists on safety aspects will do a great deal more to bolster international tourist confidence, Nair said. Ravi Deshpande, chairman, Contract Advertising (India) Pvt. Ltd, said the big challenge for the ministry (in any repair campaign) will be to show that India is a secure country without showing too many guards or soldiers. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:20 pm Go for a deep rate cut, Mr Governor The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond dipped to 6.71% this week, its lowest since April 2005. The cost of five-year interest rate swaps or derivatives contracts that are used to guard against interest rate fluctuations also dropped to 5.25%, something not seen since May 2004. In April 2005, the repo rate was 6% and the reverse repo rate 4.75%. And, in May 2004, the reverse repo was even lower, at 4.5%. Today, the repo rate is 7.5%, after a 150 basis points rate cut in October and November, and the reverse repo rate, at 6%, has been unchanged since mid-2006. This means the market is expecting a 150 basis points cut in the repo rate and a 125 basis points cut in the reverse repo rate. (One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.) Will RBI pander to market expectations? I think it will, to a large extent. RBI should go for a deep cut in both the policy rates if it wants to bolster the sagging economy. Also Read Tamal Bandyopadhyay’s earlier columns On Thursday, the European Central Bank that sets the interest rates for the 15-nation euro zone, cut its policy rate by 75 basis points, the deepest cut in its history, to 2.5%. The Bank of England, too, cut its policy rate by 100 basis points to 2%, its lowest. Both the central banks are not ruling out any further rate cuts. The US Federal Reserve’s policy rate already stands at 1%. The choice before RBI is to tinker with the policy rates, opting for smaller dosages of cuts spread over a period, or go for a deep, effective rate cut now. Unlike many other global central banks, it can go for deep cuts, as it has a lot of headroom—the policy rates are still fairly high. This will give confidence to the financial system as well.  Time to act: Reserve Bank of India governor D. Subbarao. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint By the time RBI realized the magnitude of the crisis and swung into action by cutting interest rates and the cash reserve ratio—the portion of deposits that banks need to keep with the central bank—the confidence of the financial system was shattered. And it has not yet been rebuilt. Banks are still not comfortable in lending to individuals as well as corporations as they are not confident that liquidity will remain in the system. They also continue to pay high rates to depositors for the same reason—they want to hoard money for rainy days. The biggest challenge before the central bank is to restore the confidence of the financial system and convince banks that the liquidity is here to stay. This can only be done by deep rate cuts. RBI should not have a problem in doing so because wholesale price-based inflation has dropped to 8.4%, a seven-month low, and it should come down further in coming weeks. Most analysts see the inflation rate at around 5% by the end of this fiscal year and less than 2% by the middle of the next. The biggest worry before the central bank is the economic slowdown. Economic growth slowed to 7.6% year-on-year for the quarter ended September, led by moderation in both the industry and services sectors, but we have not yet seen the worst of it. In October, India’s exports shrank for the first time since March 2002, following a decline in demand for Indian goods in the US and Europe. Weakening domestic demand, falling asset prices and rising job losses are all contributing to the gloom that is being intensified by banks’ aversion to lend. A deep cut in interest rates will be a strong signal to encourage banks to start lending and cut both loan as well as deposit rates. RBI must also make it clear that reverse repo is the real policy rate. Since it infuses money into the system at the repo rate, this is the policy rate of a liquidity-starved economy. But if RBI wants to give a signal that liquidity is here to stay, the reverse repo rate, or the rate at which it sucks out liquidity, should be the policy rate. Lowering of the reserve repo rate will also discourage banks to park excess money with the central bank as they will earn less from this. A cut in interest rates should be accompanied by a strong fiscal stimulus package from the government, if it wants to revive economic activity and arrest the slowdown. RBI should also come out with a one-time relief package for the stressed borrowers. Under the current norms, non-payment of interest or principal for a quarter or 90 days makes a loan a non-performing asset. This forces banks to provide for such loans and dents its profitability. At the same time, it blocks avenues for borrowers for raising fresh loans to tide over funds’ crunch. The regulator should not dilute the prudential norms, but a one-time relief will help both the financial system and the real economy. Tamal Bandyopadhyay keeps a close eye on all things banking from his perch as the Mumbai bureau chief of Mint. Please email comments to bankerstrust@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:20 pm Rane rebels after Chavan named CM of MaharashtraNew Delhi: After three days of dithering, the Congress party on Friday appointed Ashok Chavan, currently Maharashtra’s industries minister, as the next chief minister (CM) of the state, triggering a near-rebellion by the other aspirant, the state’s revenue minister Narayan Rane. While the change in leadership is being portrayed by the Congress as a decisive move to punish the former CM for his inept handling of the terror attacks in Mumbai last week that left at least 183 dead, the delay in appointing a new CM may only reinforce the perception that the party, also the largest constituent of the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre, cannot deliver credible governance, say analysts. “The Congress president (Sonia Gandhi) has decided to appoint Ashok Chavan as the new CLP president,” senior Congress leader and the country’s foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters.  New role: Ashok Chavan at his residence on Friday after being named as Maharshtra’s new CM. Gautam Singh / AP In response, a visibly embarrassed Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said: “Every Congress (party) member should understand the party ethos. Only one person can fill one post.” Subrata Mukherjee, professor in the department of political science at the Delhi university, said the incident was just another indication of “anti-democratization” in the country’s oldest political party. Meanwhile, talking to media in Mumbai, Chavan, the 50-year-old son of former Maharashtra CM S.B. Chavan, said he would not respond to public remarks made by “senior leader like Rane”. “My priority is to support (the) people of Mumbai in their difficult times (and) also to honour those who have laid down their lives to save the city,” Chavan added. The Congress’ coalition partner in the state, Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party announced that Chhagan Bhujbal would be the new deputy CM and the home minister of Maharashtra, replacing R.R. Patil, who resigned on Monday. While former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, too, had resigned the same day, his resignation was accepted by the Congress late Thursday evening. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:19 pm Ensure security on mobile rigs, firms toldBangalore: Less than two weeks before the Mumbai terror attacks, India’s maritime regulator, the directorate general of shipping, had asked all mobile offshore drilling units operating in the Indian exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to comply with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, which aims to reduce vulnerability of ships and port facilities. The code, mandated by global maritime regulator, the International Maritime Organization, came into effect in July 2004, but most of the 58 mobile offshore drilling units operating in the Indian EEZ do not abide by it as implementing additional security measures raises their costs and, in some cases, results in a loss of revenues. India’s EEZ, which extends to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its shores, gives the country exclusive rights for exploration and use of marine resources in the area. Also See Maritime Code (Graphic) “It has been observed that some mobile offshore drilling units registered under the Indian flag (or registered in India) or calling in Indian ports or offshore areas are yet to comply with the provisions of the ISPS Code,” said a 14 November circular from R.K. Awasthi, deputy director general of shipping. In fact, some of them even sought exemption from conforming to the international code. “Owners/operators/managers of such units are approaching the directorate seeking exemption from the implementation of the ISPS Code on board these units,” the circular added. The circular said foreign mobile offshore drilling units operating in the Indian EEZ would also have to comply. The maritime regulator refused to disclose names of those seeking exemption. Mint could not independently verify the names of these owners/operators. Some operators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the huge costs involved in implementing the security measures made them seek an exemption. Moreover, drilling units, they said, are hired out on a day rate, and implementing the global shipping safety code would require them to be taken offline for as long as it takes to have security systems and personnel in place, resulting in significant revenue loss to the operator. The ISPS code prescribes responsibilities for governments, shipping companies, ship personnel, and port/facility personnel to detect security threats and take preventive steps. The code was developed in response to perceived threats to ships and ports following the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in the US. It also covers passenger ships, including high-speed passenger craft, cargo ships including high-speed vessels of 500 gross tonnage (total internal cubic capacity of a ship) and above, and port facilities serving such ships that undertake international voyages. Graphics by Sandeep Bhatnagar / Mint Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:19 pm Govt slashes petrol and diesel pricesNew Delhi: Giving politics precedence over economics, the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government reduced the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs5 per litre and Rs2 per litre, respectively, effective from Saturday. Analysts say the UPA’s move could be driven by the desire to regain the goodwill it lost after last week’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and, help it create a more populist image for itself ahead of Lok Sabha elections. Significantly, the decision was taken after a meeting of the cabinet committee on political affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The decision was taken after a meeting of the cabinet committee on political affairs, chaired by PM “We have to strike a balance and cannot stop all decisions for one month. In fact, even earlier (when EC had asked Deora for an explanation about his promise to reduce prices), the Bharatiya Janata Party told us they would not have objected had the government got it cleared by us since they have also been demanding it (a price cut),” said S.Y. Quiraishi, election commissioner. Announcing the price cut, the first since February 2007, Deora said that it was an “interim measure”, signalling the possibility of further reductions. The government’s decision comes after international crude prices dropped from record highs of nearly $147 (Rs7,306 today) per barrel to less than $50. Global crude prices were around $43.40 a barrel on Friday and that imported by India at $41.53. One economist said the government could have waited for some more time and allowed oil marketing companies to make some profit before effecting a cut in prices. “Now the government may have to issue oil bonds to such companies to meet their under-recoveries,” said M. Govinda Rao, director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. India’s public sector oil marketing companies sell at a government-decided price and absorb the difference between this and the international price of petroleum products. In turn, the government compensates them. Even at the rate of $41.53 a barrel, oil marketing firms such as Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd are expected to end 2008-09 with losses of Rs1.09 trillion. Ruhi Tewari, Asit Ranjan Mishra and Liz Mathew contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:18 pm Power plants may get to raise own forcesNew Delhi: After the Mumbai terror attack, the power ministry is looking at allowing all electricity generation and transmission companies it oversees to raise security forces of their own. “We are planning to call a meeting of all public sector units (PSUs) under the ministry to discuss the options of raising battalions on the lines of what ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd) has done,” said a senior power ministry official who didn’t want to be identified. Assets and personnel of ONGC have been under threat, mainly in some states in the country’s north-east. To address security concerns, some state governments will strengthen safety measures on behalf of the state-owned hydrocarbon company. “We have signed memorandums of understanding with Gujarat, Assam and Tripura to raise a battalion each of force strength of around 1,100 personnel to protect our assets in these states,” said Ashok Kumar Balyan, director of human resources, ONGC. The PSUs that are expected to attend the meeting to be called by the power ministry include NTPC Ltd, NHPC Ltd, Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd(PGCIL), North Eastern Electric Power Corp. Ltd, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd, Tehri Hydro Development Corp. Ltd, Damodar Valley Corp. and Bhakra Beas Management Board. India has a power generation capacity of 145,000MW. Of this, nuclear and hydropower account for 4,120MW and 35,900MW, respectively. These and transmission projects—some of which are in border areas—have been on the terror threat list. “We are already being guarded by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel. It is to be seen whether the force to be raised by the PSUs will be given the statutory powers given to the CISF,” said PGCIL chairman and managing director S.K. Chaturvedi. PGCIL manages power transmission in India, and owns and operates around 61,875km of transmission lines. At present there are five regional grids in India and all of them, except the southern grid, are interconnected. Grid collapse is the worst-case scenario for any transmission utility. If that happens, states that draw electricity from a particular grid will have to go without power. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:18 pm India, Russia sign nuclear cooperation agreementNew Delhi: Russia and India signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement under which additional reactors will be built in the South Asian nation. India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed the agreement as a “milestone,” at a briefing in New Delhi on Friday along with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.  Joint efforts: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (left) and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Friday. AP Separately, OAO Tvel, the Russian nuclear-fuel monopoly, agreed to deliver nuclear fuel worth $700 million (Rs3,480 crore) to other Indian power stations, Kiriyenko said. Russia and India are looking to boost trade to $10 billion by 2010, to help restore a relationship that has cooled since the Soviet Union collapsed. The two countries also signed accords on the sale of 80 helicopters to India and cooperation in areas including space exploration, financial markets and tourism. Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian Space Agency, said India may get its own spacecraft after 2015. Russia will offer its help under a contract system and the two countries will decide on details of space cooperation in six months, he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:18 pm Schools get more vigilant, instal hi-tech systems to foil attacksNew Delhi: Maqsood Ali Khan, who runs three Delhi Public Schools in Bangalore, was one of the people who attended Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s funeral last week. “To honour the martyr,” said Khan. Khan called a meeting of his staff the next day. From Monday this week, his schools have been equipped with metal detectors, the boundary walls are being raised and the schools will soon deploy ex-army soldiers for its security. In Mumbai, the venerable Cathedral and John Connon School, whose alumni include J.R.D. Tata, issued a circular to all parents on Thursday, assuring them that security will be tightened.  Safeguarding: Security personnel checking bags of schoolchildren at Delhi Public School, Bangalore (north). Hemant Mishra / Mint “No hi-fi measures. This is a school and we want it to remain a school,” said Abha Sahgal, principal of the up-market Sanskriti School in south Delhi, which has conducted security drills after the Delhi blasts. It will now conduct a drill, including evacuation, every month. A few schools echoed Sahgal’s views. “Over zealousness will not solve the problem,” said Harold Carver, principal of St. Stephen’s School in Chandigarh, which has 2,400 students. “If a well-trained terrorist intends to break in, there is very little that any of us can do.” His school has placed extra guards at the gates, drawn up emergency plans and prepared for a quick mobilization of staff on duty at the slightest hint of trouble. Some schools plan to scale-up security to a constant tracking of students. The Delhi Public School (DPS) in Sector 45 of Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi, is relying on sophisticated technology to track children—while making parents pay for it. DPS will instal a system combining satellite-based and mobile phone technologies to equip each of its 5,000 students in its Sector 45 school with a chip that can monitor their movements. Ghazi Aasim, head of marketing for RJ Corp., or the Ravi Jaipuria group which runs DPS Gurgaon, and a parent himself, said the security precautions are appropriate. “Yesterday (Wednesday), I went for nursery admission for my child in a school in Noida and did three recces to see from where the bus will go. That’s when I felt whatever we are doing in our school is the right thing”, said Aasim. The school plans to charge parents a one-time security deposit of Rs2,700 and a monthly charge of Rs250 for the system. While some parents have protested online (including in an email forwarded to Mint), other parents said they are willing to pay-up. “It (the system) is important for the security of kids. It is our responsibility also”, said Sunaina Arora, a doctor who has two daughters at DPS Gurgaon. But some schools say they will provide extra security without passing the cost on to the parents. “The security does not cost much,” said Khan of DPS in Bangalore. Parents of Sanskriti School say they feel safe about the school’s measures. “I am not worried. Life has to go on. I am quite confident about the security,” said Guneeta Duggal, who represents parents for one class in the Sanskriti School’s parent-teacher association, and has a son in the school. Taru Bahl contributed to this story. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:17 pm US: Terrorists were Pakistani nationalsNew Delhi: Admiral Michael Mullen, the top military official of the US, confirmed to India that Pakistan’s military and intelligence chiefs had effectively admitted that the terrorists involved in last week’s terror attacks in Mumbai were Pakistani nationals and members of terrorist outfit the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), according to a top Indian government official familiar with the subject and who did not wish to be identified. Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was in New Delhi on Thursday and met national security adviser M.K. Narayanan, defence minister A.K. Antony and navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta. He flew in from Islamabad, where he had met army chief Gen. Ashraf Kiyani, the chief of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha and the country’s national security adviser (Retd) Gen. Ahmad Durrani. Mullen told the Indians that he had told the Pakistanis that the US had evidence that the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks were Pakistanis and members of LeT. “‘They did not deny it’,” the Indian official quoted Mullen as saying. The official added that Mullen said he had told Pakistan’s security and army chiefs that the US had “independent proof” on the nature of Pakistan’s involvement in the terror attacks. “They (the Indian officials and Mullen) exchanged information and Admiral Mullen reported on the conversations that he had in Pakistan,” US embassy spokesperson Larry Schwarz said. “It was essentially the same tough message that secretary of state Condoleezza Rice delivered to the Pakistani leadership. We are now watching very closely and expecting action in short order.”  Straight talk: Michael Mullen, US military admiral. Chris Kleponis / Bloomberg India has said that Yusuf Muzammil, an LeT leader, is one of the main plotters and has asked Pakistan to hand over 20 terrorists New Delhi says are living in that country, including Muzammil. On Tuesday, US director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, blamed LeT for the blasts without actually naming the group. On Thursday, an Indian government official told reporters that the government had “proof” linking ISI to the Mumbai terror, including “names of the handlers and trainers, the locations where the training was held, (while) some of the communication through voice over Internet protocol have addresses that have been used by known ISI people before,” The Hindu reported. The Indian official quoted in the first instance said that in conversations with Rice and Mullen, India shared information, including personal details disclosed by the lone surviving terrorist Amir Ajmal Kasav about his parents, brothers and sisters, and where they live in Pakistan and what they do. “This much is at least enough to establish that he is a Pakistani national.” The official added that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has been given access to substantial evidence that has been and is being put together by the Indian intelligence agencies. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:17 pm PE companies wooing limited partnersMumbai: As private equity (PE) firms find it difficult to raise capital in difficult economic times, they are offering limited partners (LPs) more incentives to put in their money.  Creating value:Blackstone India chairman Akhil Gupta. Ashesh Shah / Mint LPs are entities that include public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies, high net-worth individuals, and university and other endowments that are the source of money for PE firms, which then establish funds to invest. PE fund investors Mint spoke with said LPs have collectively turned cautious, are demanding more rights, and subjecting those raising funds to intense scrutiny. “LPs are now negotiating terms on the fee and share of profits that the fund can take home,” said Sandeep Aneja, chief operating officer and managing director of Milestone Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based real estate fund that is raising a $400 million fund from overseas, and has commitments of $220 million. “The two and 20 structure is being actively questioned,” said Akil Hirani, managing partner of Mumbai-based corporate law firm Majmudar and Co., referring to the 2% commission and the 20% carry that PE firms, also called general partners (GPs), typically get. Carry is an industry term referring to the profit from exiting from an investment. Driven largely by large erosions in the market value of fixed income and equity exposures, many LPs—particularly pension funds and endowments—could suddenly find themselves overexposed to private equity, an asset class that is not marked to market. If they decide to reallocate their funds, PE firms will be hard pressed to garner more. According to Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, a Washington DC-based research service on private equity, funds focused on emerging Asian economies, including India, raised $26.2 billion in commitments in the first half of 2008, as compared with $28.6 billion raised in 2007. However, the liquidity crisis that began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in the US, has cast a cloud over how much of those commitments will be honoured, and how much more they will be able to raise in the second half. Hedge funds, many of which have gone bust, are also not in a position to make fresh commitments. In short, capital is scarce, and GPs are chasing whoever has it with multiple incentives. For instance, CX Partners, a new firm promoted by former Citigroup Venture Capital International head Ajay Relan, is aiming to raise $750 million for its first fund. The fundraising, which started in September, has so far garnered only about $150 million of that from two overseas anchor investors. However, Relan declined to say if his fund was offering LPs any extra incentives. An official with a LP said that a GP recently offered a discount on the management fee and the carried interest, if there was a commitment of at least $25 million to its new fund. “They offered us a management fee of 1.5%, a carry of 15%, a seat on the investment advisory board and co-investment rights up to double the value of the commitment,” he said on condition of anonymity. He also declined to name the PE firm. At the same time, LPs are pushing back on the terms of engagement as well as demanding more control over funds they commit to private equity. One way LPs are doing this is by demanding more co-investment rights. “I think one of the sweeteners that people who have money want is a little more co-investment rights,” said Akhil Gupta, chairman and managing director of Blackstone Advisors India Pvt. Ltd, the India arm of US asset manager Blackstone Group Lp. Gupta said some PE firms don’t have to pay any carry on direct co-investments, while others may pay only 10%-15%. “There’s value that gets created for them if they have direct co-investments,” he said, Milestone’s Aneja said another route for co-investments is to commit the money into a separate investment vehicle owned by the fund. In such a scenario, the LP still pays the 20% carry to the GP, but has a say in investments made. “Investments will be evaluated by the LP on a deal-by-deal basis. The decision to invest is theirs and the money is not on the GP’s call,” Aneja said. In other words, the investment decision is not left entirely to the discretion of the fund manager. The so-called clawback—finding a way to take money back from people that they were given in another way—is another area on focus. For example, if a fund makes a 40% return on a particular investment, it gets to keep 20% of this, and the remainder goes to the LPs. But in case of a clawback clause in the agreement, if the next few exits from the same fund fail to cross the hurdle rate—usually set at around 8-12% by the GPs—the 20% taken by the GP from the profits of the first investment will go back into the mix. “About 50% of the funds raised had clawback clauses built into the agreement with LPs. But in such a market, more LPs will demand this,” said Hirani of Majmudar and Co. Aneja also points to how LPs now want roles in investment committees. “LPs don’t really believe the NAV (net asset value) reports that GPs prepare and give them every six months. So there will be more LP advisory committees formed, much like what happened following the 2000 dotcom bust, so that LPs have more oversight, and they can have informal and frequent meetings to assess performance of portfolio companies,” he said. Hirani also pointed out that LPs are no longer buying into the macro-India story. “Broad-based themes like the consumer story or infrastructure story are not working as efficiently now. LPs are seeking a... micro-focus in GPs,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:38 pm BPTP asks for time to pay off Sep duesNew Delhi: A property developer that won a bid for a 95-acre plot for some Rs5,000 crore—one of the costliest land deals in India—has asked for time till next year to pay an instalment due in September. Realty firm Business Park Town Planners Ltd (BPTP), which beat rivals DLF Ltd, Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd and Omaxe Ltd to win the land bid in Noida near Delhi, has sought a second extension for an instalment due in September from the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority that sold the plot in March for Rs4,957 crore. “We have asked for an extension and will make the payment some time next year,” a company executive said on condition of anonymity but declined to be more specific. Real estate firms are facing tight liquidity as sales have dropped in the wake of an economic slowdown. Debt, the primary source of funding for developers, has become scarce with banks going slow on lending to the sector. Funding from private equity funds has also dried up because the global credit market meltdown has made funds wary of investing in realty firms. BPTP was given an earlier extension to pay the Rs230 crore involved by October. Under terms of the agreement with the authority, BPTP is allowed extensions on dates to make the payment. “The way markets are today, it makes sense to exercise the option that we have of taking an extension. We will, however, have to pay a higher rate of interest of 14% because of the extension,” the company official said. BPTP’s management was earlier looking to dilute stake either in the company or in a special purpose vehicle formed for the Noida project to private equity investors to finance payment for the land. That plan, however, has not met with success. The firm has already paid Rs1,297 crore, equivalent to one-quarter of the bid, through internal accruals, sale of a 3% stake for Rs250 crore to JPMorgan Chase and Co. and sale of an undisclosed stake in special economic zones it is developing. This amount comprised the first instalment of Rs1,250 crore and interest levied on the amount because the company delayed the payment from April to July. The remaining money is required to be paid over eight years, in six-monthly instalments. The land, meanwhile, has not yet been handed over to BPTP, Lalit Srivastava, chairman of the Noida Authority, said. “Possession of land can be given once the developer pays 25% of the amount, which BPTP has done,” he said. “However, they have not yet entered into a lease deed agreement with the authority. The company needs to pay 5% of the total amount (as fee) before the lease deed document can be registered, which they have not done yet,” said Srivastava. BPTP expects possession by December or January, according to the company executive. Earlier, it said it expected possession by September or October. The delay in gaining possession of land may delay the project that includes building 125,000 sq. ft of office space spread over five towers and a luxury hotel in the first phase. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:23 pm Kerala looks to use global yacht competition to promote tourismKochi: The second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race—from Cape Town to Kochi—concluded here when a Russian team, the last of eight, called at the port on Thursday night. The third leg of the yacht race—held every three years that circumnavigates the earth—starts on 13 December when the competitors leave for Singapore. This is the first time the race has included an Indian port of call.  Sailing winners:The Ericsson 3 yacht. It emerged as the winner in the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. Manan Vatsyayana / AFP The Cochin Port Trust and the Kerala tourism department are co-hosts for the stopover, which has seen an influx of mostly domestic tourists. Officials here are hoping the presence of a number of sailing teams, officials and people associated with the race from across the globe will help them attract tourists. “It’s a mix of sports, tourism and business,” said N. Ramachandran, chairman of the Cochin Port Trust. The regatta around the globe that typically takes nine months to complete, started from Alicante in Spain on 11 October and will conclude at St Petersburg in Russia in late June. Formerly known as the Whitbread Round the World Race, the race is expected to cover 39,000 nautical miles. One nautical mile is equal to 1.85km. For now, however, it is companies that sponsor teams or otherwise promote themselves through the race which are the ones reaping the benefits. “It makes sense to use this as a platform for us, a global player in the telecom industry, and turn this into an event for meeting our customers who can converge at a place,” said Richard Brisius, manager of the Ericsson racing team that has sponsored two yachts. The Ericsson 3 yacht emerged as the winner in the second leg, arriving at Kochi three days ahead of its expected arrival date of 3 December. Ericsson 4 came in third. Brisius, who was part of the sailing team in the race in 1989 and 1992, said these stopovers are also spots where its customers gather and where sales and marketing activities are undertaken. During the last race three years ago, the company met over 4,500 customers, most of them represented by senior officials. Planning for these marketing activities were started two years earlier. Brisisus, however, admitted there are limitations since the stopover is just at one port in India. But rather than holding a series of meetings, linking marketing with the sport helps in adding value to its brand,he said. In some of the countries such as Singapore, China, Brazil and the US, there is also a small race at the port, which will attract a lot of people, giving more promotion to the brand, he said. For Puma, the sports goods manufacturer, which has brand ambassadors such as soccer player Pele and 2008 Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt, the race is a platform to give credibility and visibility to the brand, said Rajiv Mehta, managing director of Puma Sports India Pvt. Ltd. “Puma is among the very few firms that is also into manufacture of race and sail apparatus which is being used by most yachts and their sailors in this race. And this should give the company more credibility in its step to get into lifestyle business,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:22 pm We plan to reduce the expense ratio to 26% by fiscal-endNew Delhi: Chief executive of Reliance Life Insurance Co. Ltd P. Nandagopal plans to invest around Rs700 crore and hire some 9,000 employees by the end of this fiscal year. Considering the slowdown, he discusses some concerns relating to asset-liability mismatches and high management costs of insurance firms. Edited excerpts: As pointed out by the regulator, do you see any asset-liability mismatch for insurance companies in the period ahead?  Varied offers: Nandagopal says the firm’s philosophy is there is a rural segment in urban population as well. Ramesh Pathania / Mint In most life insurance there is some sort of guarantee...like death benefit is a guarantee. That way life insurance companies have mechanisms to handle risks. But... unless you have superior actuarial techniques and models where you offer return guarantee...(it) can be an issue because in this kind of market you can’t be sure what can be returns on a long-term basis. Can many companies get into trouble this way? In case of single premium plans, you have guaranteed assets that matches liabilities. Like you buy in corporate debt (of AAA rating) for five years and it gives you 8% and you issue policies for the same year. You lock in money and they match. Then there is no problem. To the best of my knowledge, most of the companies are either offering capital guarantee on long term or they are offering a single premium guarantee where they have assets matching with liabilities. How has slowdown impacted your investment portfolio? Our investment portfolio caters to investment objectives of each fund. In that way we don't see any relationship of short-term volatility to long-term. How do you plan to expand? We have been expanding very fast in the last three years. Even in this financial year we are growing very fast. Our expansion is...in two directions. One direction is expanding distribution reach...covering depth and width (are) the two dimensions of the expansion...depth means deep into the markets having more officers and advisers. We have 1,145 offices this year compared with 745 last year. For width, we have just now launched an electronic channel. We did soft launch a couple of months back. Another facet of expansion is product expansion. Health is definitely a focus area. Pension will be a focus area. And there is definite need for reading into rural micro-insurance. Do you have overseas expansion plans? We are looking at an appropriate time to do that. We are looking where the Indian population is high to start with such as South-east Asia, Middle East and Australia. Do you plan to raise headcount? We have recruited over 40,000 advisers in the current financial year and have added 8,000 employees in sales functions. We are planning to add close to another 90,000 advisers by the end of the year and 2,500 employees. How much is the attrition rate? It’s in line with the industry. At salesmen level it is around 12%. The industry standard is if you recruit 100 agents within three years, two-third will leave and one-third remain. The regulator has expressed concerns over high management costs of the industry. Your take? It is important for people not to look only at topline (revenue) growth but also quality parameters such as persistency, expense ratio, claim settlement record and customer care. Once people monitor these things the accountability stands. As long as the expense ratio is met through shareholders’ funds, it is fine. Over time, companies reduce their expense ratio. How much is your expense ratio? We plan to reduce it to 26% by the end of this financial year (to March). How much premium comes from rural and micro-insurance? It accounts for 18% of total premium collected. Important point here is not what percentage is of the total premium but are we addressing the needs of the people. And again, our philosophy is that there is a rural segment in the urban population as well. Like in Bombay we have Dharavi as a slum area where income levels of people may be different so they need different kind of products and different premium collection mechanism. So our initiative is to address that kind of layers. Does rural business make a good business sense? It can. I definitely like to operate under group business. We believe these segments may have different needs and different kind of structures but it does not mean they are loss-making propositions. It is you (who) have to do it through cost-effective channels and reduce operational expenses lowest possible. Once we do it, it makes business sense. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:21 pm Government returns licence fee to RCom for six circlesThe government Friday said it will refund the Rs.1.12-billion (Rs.112 crore) license fee Reliance Communications (RCom) paid to acquire dual technology spectrum in six service areas.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:31 pm Guarded response by auto companies to fuel price cutAuto majors across categories welcomed the cut in fuel prices but said more measures were needed to lift sagging sales. The government Friday announced a price cut of Rs.5 for petrol and Rs.3 for diesel.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:30 pm Auto cos line up discounts, schemes to lure customersIf you have been planning to buy a car, this could be the best time as most auto companies are lining up discounts and schemes to lure customers.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:26 pm Shriram Transport Fin slows down disbursements in Q3R Shridhar, Shriram Transport Finance Company said the company has been financing both new as well as used trucks. Used trucks form 75% of our loans. We have deliberately slowed down disbursements this quarter. We will get back to the original situation from January onwards.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:00 pm As going gets tough, CEOs prefer clearspeak to rally teamsAmid panic and allround mayhem, when business is difficult and spirits are low, its a question that CEOs across India Inc are grappling with. What to say and how to say? Amidst a bleak present and uncertain future, Indian CEOs are doing what they dont do often and welltalk to their employees.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 3:43 pm Reliance group, support companies ask 5,000 employees to goThe global financial crisis has hit India\'s largest private sector conglomerate. The Reliance group and its associate companies have asked about 5,000 employees to resign, according to inside sources. A significant portion of the staff reduction has come from the retail operations.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 2:58 pm India and Russia sign deal for new nuclear plantsNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Russia President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday signed agreements to develop new nuclear plants in India as the countries sought to deepen ties beyond their historic defence and weapon sales relationship.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 2:53 pm Jet Airways, JetLite cut fuel surchargeMUMBAI (Reuters) - Jet Airways, India's top domestic carrier, and group firm JetLite cut fuel surcharge on air tickets from Saturday, following a similar move by state-run Air India, after fuel prices eased.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 2:38 pm Govt cuts petrol, diesel prices as economy flagsNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government cut fuel prices for the first time in nearly two years on Friday after crude oil's fall of over $100 gave the government room to expand its planned economic stimulus package to lift sagging markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 5 Dec 2008 | 2:02 pm Experts scale back sugar crop estimates on poor yieldNarendra Murkumbi, Managing Director, Shree Renuka Sugars, said the sugar crop estimates are getting progressively downgraded as one moves into the crushing season. The main reason has been that the yield of sugarcane per hectare seems to be poorer than expected. This view is shared by Vivek Saraogi, Managing Director, Balrampur Chini Mills.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 5 Dec 2008 | 1:33 pm Facebook entices websites to join their social circlesSan Francisco: Google and Facebook on Thursday launched rival technology platforms that can be used to infuse websites with trendy social-networking features. A Facebook Connect service that was tested for months with selected partners is now available to anyone interested in transforming static websites into interactive communities of users. Internet colossus Google picked the same day to unveil a beta, or test, version of Friend Connect software aimed at “any webmaster looking to add a dash of social to his or her site.” Online communities and user-contributed content are core aspects of the evolution of life on the Internet and the superstar California companies are evidently jockeying to be the preferred platform for websites. Facebook Connect lets outside website operators tie into the social-networking website so its more than 130 million users can range the Internet from profile pages taking friends and data with them. “We create active communities around this content, and Facebook Connect makes it easy for our users to share their opinions, ideas and advice with their entire social network.” “We opened Facebook Platform in 2007 to enable hundreds of thousands of developers to create meaningful social experiences for users on Facebook.com,” said Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Google Friend Connect provides website operators with computer codes that add social-networking features such as creating personal profiles, finding users with similar tastes, or interacting online with friends. Friend Connect lets people log into participating websites using existing Google, Yahoo, America Online or OpenID accounts instead of requiring users to set up new log-in names and passwords. OpenSocial is a set of computer applications developed by Google, MySpace and other Internet firms to serve as a common social-networking platform that breaks down walls between websites. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:25 am
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