Business Ideas
Nation building through learning – Usha Martin Education & Solutions Limited (UMESL), forays into providing standardized end-to-end solutions and school management services to enable the creation of a national network of high quality English medium K-12 schools with a focus on non-metro towns and cities of India.
Akash Prakash / New Delhi January 22, 2010, 0:03 IST
Doha Bank is planning to expand its operations in India by entering into new segments. The Qatar-based bank had in 2007 acquired a 49 per cent stake in Kochi-based brokerage firm Select Securities.
Car maker Toyota Kirloskar Motor today said it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the country"s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), for vehicle finance.
Vietnam is expected to implement the Indo-ASEAN free trade agreement in the first quarter of 2010, liberalising the $2.13-billion trade with India, a commerce ministry official said.
Is the Doha Development Round (DDR) dead, as the anti-globalisation activists claim? Not yet, said trade ministers of the 153 member-countries of the Word Trade Organisation at the seventh Ministerial Conference at Geneva last week. They ended the Conference with a general agreement to recommence the stalled negotiations of the DDR and take it to conclusion by the end of next year. Even such broad agreement was in sharp contrast to the acrimony and bitterness that characterised the earlier failed trade talks at Cancun and Hong Kong.
Swiss banks may have turned over client details to the US, but they have said India is not welcome there on a name-fishing expedition.
Tata Steel, India largest private steel producing company reported a higher than market estimate net profit at Rs 1,191 crore, a growth of 155 per cent for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 as compared to a profit of Rs 466 crore posted during the same quarter a year earlier.
Most are focused on the salaries of the Ambani brothers when it comes to the ‘’vulgar’’ salaries Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid spoke of. The Ambanis, it turns out, take home very reasonable fractions of their companies’ sales/net profits — 0.03/0.23 per cent in the case of Mukesh and 0.22/0.63 per cent in the case of Anil. The Marans of Sun TV, Kalanithi and wife Kavery, in comparison, took home 7.36/16.96 per cent of sales/net profits (see graphic).
The race to succeed Kenneth Lewis as the Bank of America Corp chief executive has narrowed to two internal candidates, though the board is still looking for a new face for the nation"s largest bank by assets, says a media report.
Describing the food inflation a "temporary phenomenon", the Planning Commission has said that the prices of various food items will decline towards the month-end and that the economic growth during the year would exceed 7 per cent.
The benchmark indices fell today despite robust industrial production data for November and Infosys’ better-than-expected results. Fears that the central bank will tighten monetary policy at its January 29 meeting dented the sentiment on the Street.
Usha Martin Education and Solutions has forayed into providing standardized end to end solutions and school management services to enable the creation of a national network of high quality english medium K-12 schools with a focus on non-metro towns and cities of India.
Russia, India and China, a grouping known by the acronym RIC, today agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism emanating from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
For a sign of how the mood has changed at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, consider the speakers at an invitation-only client lunch hosted by Paul Calello, who runs Credit Suisse Group AG’s investment bank.
A sizeable number of Americans believe that the next Bill Gates will come from India or China, as the two Asian giants are fast marching ahead on the global platform, a new US survey reveals.
Apollo Tyres, India’s second largest tyre manufacturer by tonnage, posted an 18-fold increase in net profit at Rs 102 crore for the quarter ended December 31, as compared to Rs 5.5 crore in the same quarter a year earlier.
Sales of commercial vehicles (CVs), which were on a decline for over a year, are showing signs of a recovery. Two out of the three CV makers reported an increase in sales last month.
Vinayak Chatterjee / New Delhi January 18, 2010, 0:53 IST
The state government has invited large and mini cement players in Gujarat for obtaining new mining lease of limestone blocks.
To refine 9-15 million tonnes of crude oil every year, the state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) plans to set up a plant in the Konkan region. It is looking to invest over Rs 20,000 crore for a greenfield project in Raigad or Ratnagiri districts of Maharashtra.
Trades between FIIs generated a volume of Rs 146 crore on the BSE Thursday-an increase of 390.63% from Rs 30 crore clocked on Wednesday. As many as four stocks witnessed trades of 13 lakh shares on Thursday.
Two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India today said it is expecting its sales to grow by 18 per cent during the current fiscal on the back of several launches.
With many rich nations failing to meet Kyoto Protocol goals, top climate expert R K Pachauri today said a “stronger and firmer” regime envisaging punitive action against the defaulters awaits in a new climate treaty, whenever it is framed.
After receiving Stage –II clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) for its 12 million tonne steel plant in Orissa, Posco-India has initiated various activities including infrastructure development to expedite the project work.
Dismissing the US claims that India"s domestic climate actions can be challenged, top environmentalist R K Pachauri today made it clear there was no power granted to America in the Copenhagen accord for such interference.
The issue of proposed amendments to the existing Copyright Act, 1957, is becoming a flash point between broadcasters and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), with news broadcasters asking the government to take them into confidence before undertaking any amendment to the law.
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With the Dubai World crisis, Indian exporters have again started biting their nails, even as the government assured there would be no impact on the domestic economy.
Linking the Kashmir problem with the Middle East conflict, President Asif Ali Zardari has asked the US to demonstrate "neutrality" and step up efforts to "mediate" on the issue between India and Pakistan.
The government"s high borrowings may not push up interest rates sharply towards the end of this year and are likely to hover around the current levels, Prime Minister"s Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan said.
Allaying apprehension about its disinvestment, aluminium giant National Aluminium Company (Nalco) is all set to invest over Rs 25,000 crore to launch new projects and undertake major expansion despite decline in profit due to global recession.
The Tamil Nadu government"s proposed Financial City, aimed at wooing private financial players, is expected to come up on 180-acres at suburban Sholinganallur and Perumbakkam and would initially attract companies involved in banking and insurance accounting operations, Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin said today.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan saw a 23 per cent decline in July, a report by Japan National Tourism Organisation pointed out.
To win without risk is to triumph without glory.
Shobhana Subramanian & Shyamal Majumdar / Mumbai November 24, 2009, 0:00 IST
Global rating agency Moody"s today said large stimulus package provided by the government to perk up the economy and the consequent recovery has set the stage for it to roll back the measures.
US-based car maker General Motors today joined hands with Reva Electric Car Company to develop and produce electric vehicles in the Indian market as part of its plan to make the country a global hub for environment friendly vehicles.
Tata Capital, the non-banking finance arm of Tata Group, today said it expects revival of demand in auto, housing and personal loans from the third quarter and plans to raise Rs 2,100 crore through bond issue by the end of next fiscal.
With an expected rise in the key lending rates the government should continue with the stimulus measures to support exporters, an industry body said today.
IL&FS Cluster Development Initiative Limited, a subsidiary of IL&FS has given a proposal to the Orissa government for setting up 10 more centres in the state for imparting Sewing Machine Operator Training programme.
With the availability of 3G spectrum, about 275 million Indian subscribers will use 3G-enabled services, and the number of 3G-enabled handsets will reach close to 395 million by 2013-end, estimates the latest report by Evalueserve, a provider of Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) services.
Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland (AL) has reported a marginal drop in the total sales during at the month of August 2009 which stood at 4,784 units as compared to 4,819 units, a year ago.
Mumbai-based auto maker Tata Motors today stated that its wholly-owned subsidiary Tata Motors European Technical Centre plc (TMETC) has received a loan of £10 million (Rs 78.81 crore) from the UK government for its £25 million (Rs 197 crore) electric car programme.
The Centre has indicated that it would consider giving direct cash subsidy to state-owned oil marketing companies this year, instead of bonds, to compensate them for selling cooking fuel at lower than market price.
Drug maker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today reported 31 per cent drop in its consolidated net profit at Rs 80.88 crore for the second quarter ended September 2009.
Telecom services provider Neotel, which is majority owned by Indian conglomerate Tatas, is expanding its network across South Africa.
Amid rice prices going up, the government today said it has no plans to abolish customs duty on rice import for now as there is sufficient stocks of the foodgrain.
Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments Limited (ASCIL), the retail broking arm of Aditya Birla Financial Services Group, has appointed Ravishankar Gopalan as their new Chief Operating Officer.
India’s largest IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is eyeing six-seven deals worth over $100 million in the Latin American region.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest IT services provider, will use the new data centre — which was set up by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) — in Chennai as a disaster recovery for its e-passport service.
Business Standard / New Delhi November 25, 2009, 0:52 IST
Brushing aside reports that India is moving away from Russia, President Pratibha Patil has said New Delhi"s ties with other countries would not be at the cost of Moscow.
Latha Jishnu / New Delhi November 26, 2009, 0:28 IST
"Slumdog Millionaire" the Mumbai based potboiler about a street urchin"s struggle to find true love has become UK"s most successful movie of 2009.
Gold today surged by Rs 250 to touch a new peak of Rs 16,220 per 10 gram in the bullion market here on frantic buying by stockists ahead of the festival season amid the global rates climbing to an 18-month high of $1,018.15 an ounce.
Tanishq, India’s jewellery brand, today unveiled its exclusive ‘Lakshmi Feet Pendant’, a range of divinity jewellery.
Gold and silver sparkled and logged an all-time peak in Mumbai"s Zaveri Bazar on Wednesday on heavy stockists buying and firm global guidance.
A day after alleged TRS activists attacked the shooting unit of a movie produced by his firm, noted Telugu actor M Mohan Babu today said he would file a case against K Chandrasekhar Rao for making "inflammatory speeches" against people of Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.
The Nifty closed above 5,000 due to short-covering on healthy GDP numbers for the September quarter and easing of concerns about the debt default in Dubai. The Nifty December futures saw short-covering above 5,030 and there was long build-up below 5,010. In the end, futures shed 813,250 shares in open interest (OI) and closed at four points premium to the spot, indicating unwinding of short positions.
Surjit S Bhalla / New Delhi December 5, 2009, 0:50 IST
Aurobindo Pharma Limited, a Hyderabad-based manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), has received approval from the Medicines Control Council (MMC) to manufacture and market two more products in South Africa.
The country"s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India, is expecting its sales to grow by over 10 per cent during the current fiscal on the back of last year"s low-base and is planning to upgrade all its models to Bharat Stage-IV emission norms compliant by March 2010.
The country"s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India, today said it is targeting to export one lakh units of its small car A-Star.
The country’s largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India, expects double digit growth over the next few months.
Samsung India Electronics is planning to invest $20 million (around Rs 100 crore) in 2009 to support its turnover target of $2 billion (around Rs 10,000 crore) for the current calendar year. The company also said it would double its export in 2009 to Rs 1,200 crore.
The Centre, in an attempt to end the imbroglio over Telangana, today convened a meeting here on January 5 of the eight recognised political parties in Andhra Pradesh for a discussion on the issue, a move welcomed by a grouping of all parties spearheading the statehood stir.
The Indian corporates have all the reasons to smile in this scorching summer of June, as they can take their teams on the fast track. Radio City Connect, activation arm of Radio City, India’s first and leading FM radio brand has partnered with Force India F1 team for Corporate Go Karting Championship across Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Corporates from these five cities will get an opportunity to participate in the Maruti Suzuki Ritz presents Force India & Radio City Connect corporate Go Karting Championship.
After four days of vehement denial, Force India on Thursday announced that its Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella is joining Ferrari with immediate effect, while also insisting that there was no financial settlement involved in his move.
Kingfisher Airlines chief Vijay Mallya has been elected President of the Aeronautical Society of India, replacing former Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Ashoke Baweja.
In a rebuttal to Plan panel"s comments that his ministry"s highway targets were "unrealisable", Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath today said he was "realistic" about his 2009-10 plans on awarding projects for 12,652 km, which will be completed by June.
State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam"s (BSNL) net profit dipped to Rs 104 crore in 2008-09 as staff costs rose and revenues fell in the period, Rajya Sabha was informed today.
The government today constituted a Group of Ministers to look into pricing and auctioning of spectrum for 3G telephony that will revolutionise the way data is received and transferred on mobile phones.
The yellow metal rose Rs 155 on the announcement of RBI’s asset purchase, weak dollar.
Sensex ends up 35pts
Consumption of the metal in the countryside may be affected due to poor kharif.
With equities looking fully valued or overvalued, wealth managers are setting their eyes on the yellow metal.
Gold prices today hit an all-time high of Rs 16,980 per 10 gram in the bullion market here in tandem with the global market, where the metal crossed the crucial $1,115 an ounce level.
FMCG major Nestle today posted a 33.8 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 162 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2009, compared to the same period last year.
Sung Kim, the US special envoy for the six-party talks on ending North Korea"s nuclear drive, will shortly travel to Asia and Russia to discuss how to respond to Pyongyang"s recent nuclear and missile tests, Japanese lawmakers who met him said.
Gold prices surged by Rs 100 to Rs 17,100 per ten gram in the bullion market here today on sustained buying by stockists and jewellers to meet the marriage season demand and as investors increasingly are moving funds from the dollar into higher-yielding assets.
The government today said it will allow sugar mills more time to comply with export obligations as the priority now was to meet domestic demand.
Tata Communications has launched its internet clean pipe solution for the small and medium business segments. The solution, company said, will ensure clean internet traffic by eliminating malware, spam and virus without the customer having to incur capital expenditure on security hardware.
India"s agriculture growth could be down by 5 per cent due to deficient monsoon, a top corporate leader said today.
US markets advanced on Monday, sending indexes to fresh 13-month closing highs, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reinforced expectations that interest rates would stay low to help growth.
The BJP leadership fears the Congress party is likely to try and topple the Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka. With former chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy knocking at the Congress door, the Karnataka Congress is waiting for the signal from the party high command to begin Operation Topple after the Budget session is over. Part of the plan, it appears, is to put pressure on business houses close to the Yeddyurappa government to distance themselves from the government.
At the upper price band of Rs 212, it will be the most valued listed media company in India.
State-run power equipment maker BHEL today said it has bagged a Rs 5,040-crore contract from Jindal Power for setting up a 2,400-Mw thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh.
Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) organized an awareness camp at its headquarters at Burla near Sambalpur in association with the Young Men Christians" Association (YMCA) on the occasion of the World AIDS Day. Free comdoms and pamphlets on HIV/AIDS were distributed to the truck drivers on the occasion.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is taking a final view on the report of a task force which suggested easy access to bank finance and preference in public sector procurement to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The condition of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is suffering from swine flu, has improved overnight, doctors attending on him said today.
Should I buy the Maruti Suzuki Swift or the Ritz? I’d like to go for the petrol VXi model of either of these two. My daily travel is not more than 30 km maximum. Do you think I should go for a diesel instead?
Communications Minister A Raja today alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government had distributed free spectrum to operators in what he called “biggest ever scam” that deprived the exchequer of over Rs 1.6 lakh crore revenue.
Corporate acquisitions in India could become costlier, with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) mulling making it mandatory for acquirers to make an offer for up to 100 per cent stake in any listed company.
With Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda earlier indicating review of the Haryana industrial policy, industrialists in Panchkula eagerly await the review that might help in changing the facade of industry in the state.
The railway ministry is contemplating new policies for land acquisition, including job offers, for the displaced landowners, Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said in the Lok Sabha.
Business Standard / New Delhi September 28, 2009, 0:36 IST
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would kick-off his five-day visit to the United States with an address to the influential American business community, which had a key role in the passage of the historic Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. The American business community has termed the Prime Minister"s decision to start the trip by addressing the top leadership of the US business as a "momentous occasion".
The controversy surrounding "3 Idiots" has taken a new turn with Chetan Bhagat, the author of the book from which the movie has been adapted, accusing the filmmakers and actor Aamir Khan of not giving him due credit.
An upset Aamir Khan has spoken out against author Chetan Bhagat, on whose novel the star"s latest blockbuster "3 Idiots" is based, accusing him of trying to take away the credit from the film"s scriptwriter.
John Paulson disclosed that his hedge-fund group acquired 300 million shares of Citigroup during the third quarter, while selling its entire stake of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Business Standard / New Delhi August 26, 2009, 0:58 IST
Life insurers are pitching for increased exemption on investments in long-term policies. They have asked the government to consider raising the exemption limit to around Rs 1.5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh at present.
Insurance companies have sought changes in the draft exposure guidelines and have asked the regulator to defer their implementation by three months. In addition, the set of public disclosures for the insurance companies going public and those not approaching the market to raise capital are likely to be different.
India’s life insurance sector is expected to grow by almost 15 per cent in the current financial year and touch a total premium income of Rs 2,55,000 crore (about $ 50 billion).
Crisil’s IER initiative should benefit investors in the long-run provided the service is available on an ongoing basis
Despite being the fourth largest economy, India"s per capita emission levels are 70 per cent below world average and 93 per cent lower than those in the US, says a latest report on climate change.
The government should bring petrol and diesel under a uniform VAT structure of 8 per cent as the variation in state tax was putting additional burden of taxation, industry body Assocham today said.
Four new cases of swine flu were reported in Canada, bringing the total number of people infected with the virus nationally to 285.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 885.65 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may meet state finance ministers next week to discuss their requirements and implementation of proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST), speculated to be delayed by over six months, is likely to be discussed during the meeting.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament is expected to see renewed high-stakes bidding with two new teams up for grabs from the fourth season starting 2011.
Srei Infrastructure Finance has posted a consolidated profit-after-tax (PAT) of Rs 38.91 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year as against Rs 43.20 crore during the same quarter the previous year, a fall of about 9.93 per cent.
The ambiguity over availability of 3G (third generation) telecom spectrum would end soon, as the ministry of defence has agreed to release 25 MHz of 3G spectrum before December 8, paving the way for auctioning of all the four slots in every circle simultaneously. But, the successful bidders in the auction would be able to utilise the spectrum only after June 2010, despite the auction process happening on schedule in January.
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on the auction of third generation (3G) spectrum will meet tomorrow to discuss the vacation of spectrum by defence forces.
The Telangana agitation has forced several companies including Bharat Forge, Lakshmi Mittal Group and NTPC-BHEL join venture to either put their expansion plans on hold or explore other states.Addressing the media here on Tuesday after a meeting with industry representatives, chief minister K Rosaiah said Bharat Forge, which planned to set up a nuclear power plant equipment unit at Nellore at an estimated cost of Rs 2,500 crore, was considering Gujarat.
Government will support public sector banks to merge if they wanted, provided they fulfilled RBI and SEBI guidelines, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said today.
Reliance Mutual Fund (RMF), part of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has said it will look at offering more plans and schemes on the recently launched MF trading platform of stock exchanges.
Authorities investigating a disproportionate assets case against former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda will start questioning top officials of the Union Bank of India tomorrow regarding funds deposited in the bank’s Zaveri Bazaar branch here.
Sunil Jain / New Delhi December 7, 2009, 0:29 IST
The Hepatitis-C treatment of former chairman of Satyam Computers B Ramalinga Raju, who is in judicial custody is yet to start, as he is still suffering from high fever.
The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre and Maharashtra government on a petition seeking laying down of security guidelines for hotels to avoid any terror attack like the 26/11 strikes in Mumbai.
Auto major General Motors India today said it will commercially launch electric car Spark in October this year which could be priced at around Rs 7 lakh.
Shilpy Sinha / Mumbai January 5, 2010, 0:12 IST
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has raised Rs 1,970 crore through a issue of bonds to refinance the debt its overseas investment arm had taken to buy UK-based Imperial Energy.
Aditi Phadnis / New Delhi December 06, 2009, 0:23 IST
The day-one of the 96 hour oil-blockade against Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Upper Assam by the All Assam Students" Union (AASU) has passed off peacefully today without affecting much the operations of the company.
The Indian Embassy today said it did not facilitate the entry of a third gatecrasher to US President Barack Obama"s State Dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, after the Secret Service claimed that the individual sneaked in by boarding an Indian delegation bus.
Barclays today appointed Suvrat Saigal as Consumer Banking Director, Global retail and commercial banking (GRCB) India.
Delhi-based real estate company Emaar MGF plans to utilise over half of the amount it will raise through its initial public offer to repay part of its debt.
The government will import essential commodities to improve supplies, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said, as food inflation touched a ten-year high.
Amid reports that Indian corporate giant Reliance Industries (RIL) was mobilising funds for its acquisition, global petrochemical major LyondellBasell has said it has not yet received a final bid.
Invest moderately in equities, and be ready to average down if market falls.
The US Administration will bring a Bill in the Congress to remove the federal cap on intake of medical students, a move that will benefit international students, including those from India, a body of Indian-origin physicians in America has claimed.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 03, 2009, 1:34 IST
The rupee fell, reversing earlier gains, on speculation importers used the currency’s rise to a week’s high today to buy cheaper foreign exchange.
Private sector life insurer Aegon Religare today said it would hire 10,000 agents in the current fiscal to support its expansion plans.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc will receive 31.3 billion pounds ($51 billion) in a second bailout from the UK taxpayer as the two banks agreed to cap bonuses.
The details of disciplinary proceedings against an employee cannot be withheld from disclosure on the grounds of being personal information and should be made public under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has held.
The industrial sector in Chhattisgarh government termed 2009 as good while the investors said it was bad.