Opinion
Appeal
The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.India Inc's Sales Growth Rate At 10-Quarter Low
MUMBAI: The fourth-quarter sales growth at 10.3 per cent for manufacturing and software services companies (excluding oil marketing companies, refineries and banks) confirm a demand slowdown for India Inc. The sales growth rate has been a 10-quarter low, dragged by slowdown in the key sectors — capital goods, construction,...
Incumbents May Pay Market Rate For 2G Waves
NEW DELHI: The government plans to ask all mobile phone companies to pay auction-discovered price for the 2G spectrum they hold for the remaining period of their licences, as it seeks to create a level playing field, said a top telecom ministry official. The move will send shockwaves among...
Govt Switches On, Lifts Coal Mining Hurdles
NEW DELHI: The government has removed roadblocks to coal mining by leading business houses and taken the first step to relax scrutiny of corporate expenditure on oil and gas fields, in a burst of action that has cheered investors and industrialists in the languishing energy sector. A group of...
Power Demand Crosses 5000 MW On Wednesday
NEW DELHI: Power consumption in the city touched an all-time high of 5,155 MW at 3.23pm on Wednesday afternoon. The previous record was recorded less than a week ago on Friday. Power sector experts attributed the growing demand for electricity to the rising mercury and noted a trend in...
Robust Q4 Nos: State-Run Oil Companies May Cut Petrol Price By Rs 2/Litre From June 1
NEW DELHI: State-run oil companies are ready to cut prices of petrol by about Rs 2 per litre after reporting strong earnings, signalling a surprise turnaround in the sector that scared investors with talk of astronomical losses from subsidised fuel sales. Oil marketing companies could cut retail price of...
State-run insurers asked to raise premiums
NEW DELHI: The finance ministry has asked state-run general insurers to increase premiums on health insurance, motor and other policies, and refrain from undercutting each other to get new business. In a recent letter to National Insurance, Oriental Insurance, New India Assurance and United India Insurance, the ministry laid...
Bharti Group JV acquires 49% stake in startup Y2CF
NEW DELHI: A Bharti Group joint venture company, set up last year to invest in social media and gaming and partly managed by promoter Sunil Mittal’s son Kavin, has made its first acquisition in the e-commerce space. Bharti SoftBank Holdings (BSB), the JV between the Indian mobile phone firm...
India Launches Mini-UAV Aircraft Contest
The Indian hi-tech industry is growing fast, but for particular equipment such as modern pocket UAVs,Delhicontinues to launch billion dollar contests (it is to be noted that 10% of armament sales worldwide is directed toIndia). The remote-controlled aircraft, or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are the latest developments featured by...
Foreign Investor Norms Eased To Accelerate Capital Inflows
NEW DELHI: The government today allowed qualified foreign investors (QFIs) from six member-countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and 27 countries of the European Commission (EC) to invest in the Indian capital market to enhance foreign capital inflows. Saudi Arabia,Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE),Oman,QatarandKuwaitare the six countries....
MCA Panel Seeks Tough Biz Responsibility Norms
NEW DELHI: Companies may now have to inform shareholders about the policies taken by them to tackle the menace of corruption, including bribery. They may also have to inform shareholders of how many complaints they receive, as well as how many they resolve. The committee, constituted by the Ministry...
India Inc Eyes Bigger Slice Of Myanmar's Growth Pie
YANGON: Two years ago,Myanmarwas to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) what Bihar was toIndia: Dogged in its isolation, a region with low development indices and one the West loved to hate — a state perpetually on the defensive. However,Myanmar’s growth has also been as rapid as that...
Corpore Debt Recast Referrals Touch All-Time High In April
MUMBAI: In growing evidence of banks’ deteriorating asset quality, the number of corporate loans referred to the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) cell in April was the highest in any month since the cell was set up in 2001. Senior officials said the cell received 18 cases with an aggregate...
Steel, Power & Cement Firms Likely To Get Alternative Coal Blocks Soon
NEW DELHI: Power, cement and steel companies, which are facing uncertainty due to environmental and other regulatory issues over their captive coal blocks, can now relax. This is because the government will soon come out with a policy on allocation of alternative coal blocks to them. The group of...
GoM May Address Jaiswal's Concern Over NTPC's North Karanpura Project
NEW DELHI: A ministerial panel on mining in forested areas is likely to take into consideration Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal’s concerns regarding the location of National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) proposed North Karanpura project in Jharkhand, which he says is situated too near to a huge reserve of dry...
HPCL Q4 Profit Jumps Four-Fold To Rs 4,630 Crore
NEW DELHI: State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) today reported a four-fold jump in its net profit in the March quarter on back of lump sum subsidy it received from the government to cover for fuel losses in the 2011-12 fiscal. Net profit in January-March quarter rose to Rs...
HAL Inks Pact With Russia For Multi-Role Transport Aircraft
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has signed a tripartite General Contract with United Aircraft Corporation -Transport Aircraft (UAC-TA), their Russian partner and their JV, Multirole Transport Aircraft Ltd (MTAL) for the Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) project. HAL will carry out the design & development of its workshare of MTA at Aircraft...
Global giants eye ING's mutual fund business in India
MUMBAI: Three global giants are interested in purchasing Dutch firm ING Asset Management’s Indian mutual fund business, which may be carved out of the Asian operations and sold separately. South Korea’s Mirae, Vanguard and US-based Pramerica have held talks with ING on the issue, people close to the transaction...
Pranab to review performance of banks on June 12
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will meet the chairmen and managing directors of state-run banks on June 12 to review their performance for the previous financial year and will also discuss the road map for the current financial year. The ministry will review public sector banks’ performance on...
