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.PM Sets Infra Ball Rolling
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday sought to send a strong signal the government meant business by outlining an ambitious agenda to put infrastructure projects on the fast track. At a high-level inter-ministerial meeting chaired by him, Singh said the initiatives were part of efforts to pull...
Cabinet likely to take up PFRDA Bill today
NEW DELHI: For now, the government seems determined to carry out financial sector reforms, at least those on the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill and the insurance Bill. The Cabinet, which had deferred the PFRDA Bill in December 2011, is likely to take it up tomorrow....
News Corp to buy ESPN's 50% stake in ESPN STAR Sports
MUMBAI: Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has agreed to acquire the 50% it does not own in its Asian sports TV joint venture, ESPN STAR Sports (ESS), bringing to an end a 16-year-old relationship which, among other things, dominates cricket broadcast in the sub-continent. A unit of News Corporation will...
Power Ministry Looks At Higher Fuel Cost Pass Through To Customer
NEW DELHI: New bids for power projects are likely to allow pass through of fuel costs, but with a caveat. The Power Ministry is planning to further increase the cap on the upward variation of fuel costs. In other words, the bid document will prescribe a percentage beyond which...
RIL Scouts For More Shale Gas Assets
MUMBAI: Reliance Industries (RIL),India’s second largest company by market value, is scouting for more shale gas assets in theUS,CanadaandPoland, investment bankers working on the potential assets said. “RIL is looking for large shale gas assets, which will need investments of anywhere between $500 million and $2 billion,” one of...
India-Built Systems On US Navy's Combat Planes
India’s Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd will deliver the indigenously produced cockpit sub-assembly for the Boeing’s EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. Boeing delivered its first EA-18G to the US Navy earlier this month. The aircraft’s cockpit will receive floodlighting that is compatible with the onboard Night Vision Imaging System...
Massive Military Helicopter Buys Allow For Indigenisation
NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) purchase of 126 Rafale fighters has made global headlines, and the Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) could be another jaw-dropper. But Indian military aviation could see an even more prominent growth area in helicopters, where the defence services are poised to...
PowerMin Wants CoalMin To Change FSA Penalty Rules
NEW DELHI: Unhappy with the minimum penalty norms in CoalIndia’s fuel supply agreements (FSA), the power ministry has approached the coal ministry to change the disputed clauses. ‘‘We are trying … we are taking up this issue with CoalIndiaand ministry of coal. Disincentives are not there for three years...
HPCL Keen On Oil Refinery At Barmer In Rajasthan
NEW DELHI: With ONGC deterring from building a refinery in Rajasthan, state-owned Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) has expressed interest in setting up a 9 million tonne unit at the site of the massive oil find at Barmer district. HPCL, which owns a refinery at Mumbai and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh...
Advisory Firms Differ Over Sesa Goa-Sterlite Merger Proposal
MUMBAI:Institutional Investor Advisory Services India (IIAS) and InGovern, the two leading proxy institutional advisory firms are divided over their recommendations on the SesaGoa-Sterlite merger ahead of the crucial court-convened meeting of shareholders. Since the announcement of the amalgamation in February, the entire proposal has caused consternation among shareholders of...
General Insurance Corporation slips into red, posts Rs 2,469-crore loss in 2011-12
MUMBAI: General Insurance Corporation, the state-owned reinsurer, has posted a loss of Rs 2,469 crore in 2011-12, the first in its history, as it had to pay out more due to natural catastrophes in countries such as Japan and Thailand, while yield on investments and inflow of fresh business...
Commodities Stumble On Slowdown Fears
NEW DELHI: Global commodity prices have slumped up to 34% since January on fears a deepening economic slowdown will reduce demand, although a depreciating rupee will limit any soothing impact on domestic inflation. Economists, however, reckon softening commodity prices will offer some relief to India as huge imports of...
Markets Await 25-Basis Point Rate Cut
MUMBAI: While slowing growth, lower core inflation and fall in crude oil prices make a case for rate cuts in the upcoming policy review, economists say the central bank will have to be cautious. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to announce the mid-quarter policy review on...
Euro Zone Meltdown: India Prepares Contingency Plan
NEW DELHI: India has prepared a contingency plan for Greece exiting the euro zone and even a collapse of the monetary union, Indian officials said on Tuesday. The euro zone debt crisis has already put a damper on India’s exports to Europe— the biggest destination for Indian goods —...
EGoM Calls For Auction 13.75 MHz Spectrum
NEW DELHI: The panel of ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday decided to sell up to 13.75 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in the upcoming auctions, raising the possibility of two mobile phone companies winning back their cancelled permits. The nine-member Empowered Group...
FinMin Files Pile Up Into A Raisina Hill As Work Stops
NEW DELHI: The possibility of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee moving to Rashtrapati Bhavan has brought activity in key economic ministries to a near-halt. Officials in these ministries are preferring to wait and see which politician gets what portfolio, rather than clear files. Decision-making has come to a halt at...
US Focussing On Bengal In A Big Way
By Ashis Biswas After China, it is the turn of the USA and other powers to establish their strategic and economic presence in Myanmar, Bangladesh and to a .lesser extent,West Bengal. Over the past two decades, China set the pace in constantly upgrading its economic links with the most...
Conquests Of Indian Science
By Anjan Roy One hundred years back on June 2, a small beginning was made when the first session of Indian Science Congress was held. Inaugurated by Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, vice chancellor of Calcutta University and a judge of Calcutta High Court, himself was a student of mathematics and...
