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NEW DELHI: The country’s diesel consumption rose a massive 11.9 per cent in 2011-12, leading to an expected 4.9 per cent growth in the sale of petroleum products in the just-ended financial year. That will mark a four-year-high growth, which is significantly above 2.9 per cent in 2010-11. The...
MUMBAI: Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the local currency rating of ONGC and GAIL. However, it retained stable outlook for these companies. ONGC has been downgraded to Baa1 from A2 and GAIL to Baa2 from A3. The rating reflects Moody’s view that both ONGC and GAIL cannot be completely...
NEW DELHI: When Mumbai-born Yasmine Hilton takes charge of Shell India in October, she will run the biggest multinational energy operation in the country, but she will have to steer growth in a policy regime that has exasperated state firms and Reliance Industries, and frustrated her suave and well-connected...
Oil markets are better-supplied for the first time since 2009 as “sluggish” demand and Opec output at more than a three-year peak eased inventory depletion, according to the International Energy Agency. Global oil inventories may have increased by more than 1 million barrels in the first quarter, the Paris-based...
GENEVA: India has vaulted to the top of the list of Iran’s oil customers, overtaking China, in a first quarter buying surge ahead of tighter sanctions against Tehran this summer, data published by a leading industry consultant showed. Direct imports to India from Iran were 433,000 barrels per day...
Keeping the high costs of hardware upgrade in mind, India’s Rafale negotiators will be well-advised to seek firm contractual assurances. They will also keep in mind that the order is a life-or-death situation for Rafale and leverage that advantage to extract maximum benefits from the French firm. Dassault Aviation...
After the Army chief General V. K. Singh warned to the central govt. that his entire tank fleet is devoid of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks, the government is fast-tracking orders to arm the T-90S main-battle tanks with missiles and specialized ammunition to outclass Pakistan on the western...
CHENNAI: Indian Navy today commissioned its third Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) squadron in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, a move that would enhance the coastal security along the East Coast. Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Naval Command, commissioned the INAS 344, known as ‘Spirited...
Preparations are on in full swing at the Wheelers Island off the Odisha coast for a series of tests of the three variants of the Agni Missiles. This will include testing India’s longest range ballistic missile Agni-5 which is termed as an ICBM Missile. Prior to the first development...
NEW DELHI: The erstwhile NDA English School has been upgraded to an ARMY Public School, while Tiny Tots School has also been upgraded to NDA Army Pre-Primary School. Both the schools will function under the aegis of the Army Welfare Education Society (AWES), which is at present running 123...
JAIPUR: In a major strategic decision the Indian Army has decided to shift its 42 Artillery Division of the Jaipur-based South Western (SW) Command to Bassi, 25 km from the Rajasthan capital. The new location is much closer to Jaipur as compared to its present location in Alwar, about...
All that has happened since the eruption of the controversy over the age of the Chief of Army Staff, General V. K. Singh, has had one unintended effect: It has been public education on a massive scale on the delicate nature of the relations in a democracy between the...
NEW DELHI: Defence Minister AK Antony today issued a stern warning to defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) asking them to maintain transparency in their dealings with the armed forces. Antony said he wanted DPSUs to speed up work and set benchmarks of standard and quality for private sector companies....
The horrifying tragedy of Pakistani soldiers who got buried under an avalanche in Siachen is very much unlikely to affect India’s decision to station a permanent military base there. New Delhi is still considering to try and check if there is any room for flexibility on the matter. It...
NEW DELHI: Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company agreed to buy out New York Life’s 26% stake in its life insurance joint venture with Max India, valuing the insurer at about Rs 10,000 crore, nearly double the market cap of the listed holding company. The 2,731-crore, two-leg, all-cash deal values...
MUMBAI: PSU lender IDBI Bank expects to increase the size of its medium-term notes (MTN) programme from the current $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion by January next year, a senior executive said on Thursday. Melwyn Rego, executive director at IDBI Bank, said that the bank has already raised $720...
MUMBAI: Even if the Reserve Bank of India reduces the repo rate in order to provide the much needed relief to turnaround the economy, the bankers might not pass on the benefits to the customers soon after. Some bankers refrained, and said status quo is likely too. “The economic...
Any signs of a hard landing in China may lead to a growth scare, says Andrew Holland, CEO, Investment Advisory, Ambit Capital. In an interview with Fe’s Devangi Gandhi, he says such a scenario, however, may turn India into an interesting market for foreign investors as it would gain...