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Thursday, October 31, 2013

‘CELEBRATING LIFE’ IN STYLE Glittering Stars Light up Nita Ambani’s Birthday

Film personalities, India Inc captains and cricketers among 300 invitees

    Exotic flowers from Florence, a performance by an Oscarwinning musician, guests that included the country's most beautiful people, Bollywood stars, cricketers and business barons in an exquisitely lit palace in Jodhpur — all made the perfect setting for Nita Ambani's 50th birthday party on Thursday evening. 

The wife of Mukesh Ambani, who owns India's largest private sector firm Reliance Industries Ltd and is the country's richest man, played host to a galaxy of celebrities at the Umaid Bhawan Palace. A tree on the grounds was festooned with pictures of invitees, depicting a family tree. The century-old venue, previously known as the Chittar Palace and now managed by the Taj group of hotels under lease from the Jodhpur Royals, was illuminated in gold and white. "The palace is totally mapped with 3D projections and decorated with flowers. It's extravagance never seen before," said a hotel employee. One musician who was to perform said the whole place was decorated with exotic flowers from Florence, in keeping with the theme of the party-—celebrating life. 
Another guest who was at the venue said, "I was awestruck by the life-size tree, which was placed right inside the party venue. It has pictures of every guest hung on it and has been specially designed for the party theme." 
Security was extremely tight at the venue and in Jodhpur as India's richest men and women descended on the town in Rajasthan for a grand party that will spill over into Friday, when the family celebrates Lakshmi Puja on Dhanteras at the Bal Samand Lake Palace, another luxury hotel about 10 kilometres away from the Umaid Bhawan Palace. 
Earlier in the day, dressed in a pink designer salwar suit, Nita Ambani, who manages the Mumbai Indians Indian Premier League cricket team and oversees part of the group's retail business, landed in 
the town in her private jet with her husband, mother-in-law Kokilaben, daughter Isha and sons Anant and Akash. Guests started arriving in shortly after. 
Among the 300 invitees were industrialists Anand Mahindra, Ajay and Swati Piramal, Gautam Singhania, cricketers Sachin Tendulkar (and wife Anjali), Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, actors Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla (and her businessman husband Jay Mehta), Ranbir Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, Anil Kapoor, Vinod Khanna and Rahul Bose besides showbiz personalities Shekhar Kapoor, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ronnie Screwvala and Prasoon Joshi. 
Anil Kapoor tweeted pictures of himself on a private jet with fellow actors Kapoor and Khan en route to Jodhpur. A Bangalore-based de
signer tweeted he had delivered an outfit to Kumble, who is now part of the Mumbai Indians cricket team management. Others tweeted pictures of the palace lit after dusk. A hotel employee said that soon after arriving, the guests had tea with the hosts before dressing up for the party in the evening at which AR Rahman was to perform. 
Another guest said the family had "gone out of the way to make everyone feel very welcome". 
Mukesh Ambani's birthday gift to his wife wasn't known. He had given her an Airbus business jet on her 44th birthday. With a net worth of $21 billion (. 1,29,150 crore), Mukesh Ambani retained his title as India's wealthiest person for the sixth year in a row, according to the Forbes annual list of India's 100 richest people, released on Tuesday.

Clockwise from top: Vinod Khanna with wife Kavita; Anil Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor & Aamir Khan; and Yuvraj SIngh






Elder Pharma Defaults on 261-cr Interest Payment on Debentures Mumbai-based co had received board nod for restructuring business in July

Elder Pharmaceuticals has defaulted on interest payment of . 261.8 crore on its debentures. The Mumbai-based company markets prescription pharmaceutical brands, surgical and medical devices. "The company has not paid interest due on three debentures totalling . 261.8 crore. It was also required to create complete security by February 19, 2013 on . 70 crore debenture," said a senior banker in the know of the development. 

"The securities over the fixed assets of Andheri, Mumbai and North India have been created on November 19, 2012 and May 20, 2013, respectively. However, the security over the fixed assets of the issuer situated at Maharashtra is pending due to non–receipt of NOC from all the existing charge holders," the banker said. 
Recently, the company elevated Alok Saxena as its MD and CEO. The appointment was done after the demise of Elder Pharma chairman and managing director Jagdish Saxena on October 10. "Our total debentures are about . 260 crore and therefore the interest due is about . 10 crore," an Elder Pharma official told ET on conditions of anonymity. 
The company in July had received board approval for restructuring of 
the company's business through raising capital, hiving off of assets or other strategic options to reduce debt. The company has a debt of . 1,300 crore on its books. The street is abuzz that Elder Pharmaceuticals may sell its domestic business for around . 2,400 crore. 
French multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi is rumoured to have made the highest bid for the domestic formulation business of Elder Pharma, ahead of Pfizer and Glaxo. Paris-based Sanofi is understood to have bid for all the brands, valuing the 
Mumbai-based company at . 2,500-2,700 crore. Other contenders such as Glaxo have only shown interest in specific brands, said two official in the know of the development. 
Net profit of Elder Pharmaceuticals has declined by 68.9% to . 6.78 crore in the quarter ended June 2013 compared to . 21.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Sales have also declined by 27.7% to . 187.9 crore in the quarter ended June 2013, compared to . 259.9 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.



SENSEX AT NEW HIGH, CORE GROWS FASTEST IN A YEAR After Dalal St, Economy Joins Diwali Party

 The Sensex surged to another record on Thursday as a festive spirit took hold of the market ahead of Diwali, seemingly undaunted by speculation elsewhere that the US Federal Reserve may withdraw its stimulus programme sooner than expected. 

While this led to emerging markets dropping the most in a week, India bucked the trend as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) rushed to stock up on shares, pushing the Sensex to a second closing high in a row. It ended at 21,164 points, sending derivative volumes on the BSE to over . 2.06 lakh crore, also a record. The investor optimism was borne out by data released after the markets closed, suggesting that the trend may be sustained. The output of eight core sector industries rose at its fastest pace in a year in September, the government said, suggesting that India's industrial economy may finally be bottoming out. There was also good news on the fiscal front. A smart pick-up in revenue helped the government keep September's fiscal deficit at almost the same level it was in August, giving rise to hope that the target for the full fiscal year may be met despite three-fourths of the annual limit having been reached in the first half itself. 
The data could persuade investors to keep pouring back ahead of Diwali, signalling a blockbuster muhurat trading session on Sunday. 
An ET poll said on Thursday that the Sensex is likely to touch 22,000 by 
    January. 

The 30-stock benchmark was 92 points away from its lifetime intraday high of 21,256 that it touched on January 8, 2008. The broader index CNX Nifty of NSE rose 0.76% to close at 

    6,299, the highest level for the index since November 9, 2010. The Nifty is 58 points away from its lifetime intraday high. The derivative turnover on the NSE stood at over . 3.07 lakh crore. 
The exuberance on Dalal Street isn't irrational, said Pankaj Vaish, managing director, head of markets, South Asia, Citibank. 
FIIs Don't Want to Miss Out 
"Foreign institutional investors totally understand that the macro fundamentals are challenging, inflation is stubborn, growth is relatively weak, but at the same time they are really worried about missing a big upside move," he said in an interview. "Particularly if it becomes election-driven, as they missed out in 2009, they just don't want to miss that possibility this time." Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan had raised the repo rate on Tuesday by a quarter percentage point to curb inflation. The speculation about the US winding down its stimulus programme points to concerns about the rise being sustained. 
"If the tapering starts off sooner than expected, market will become nervous and start correcting," said Sudip Bandyopadhyay, MD and CEO, Destimoney Securities. India was an exception to regionwide pessimism. Asian markets fell on the taper talk. The Hang Seng dropped 0.42%, the Shanghai 
Composite fell 0.87% and the Nikkei 225 declined 1.2%. 
FIIs bought Indian stocks worth Rs 1,875 crore on Thursday, according to provisional figures. Domestic institutional investors, however, sold stocks amounting to Rs 833 crore. FIIs have pumped in close to $16 billion this year, out of which nearly $4 billion came in the past couple of months. 
"FIIs have been big investors in the past two months, but given the macroeconomic fundamentals and the corporate results for the second quarter it is not clear whether this type of strong FII inflows will continue," said UR Bhat, managing director at Dalton Capital Advisors. Most of the index companies have beaten market expectations despite the overall economic slowdown, which has put Indian markets on a stronger footing compared with what it was a few months back. 
The eight core sector industries — coal, crude oil, refining, steel, cement, natural gas, fertilisers and electricity — have a 38% 
weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), making it a good lead indicator of industrial production. 
The eight core sector industries ex
panded 8% in September, the most since the same month last year and well ahead of 3.7% in August, according to data released on Thursday. The growth is on the back of a strong 8.3% rise in September lastyear, which makes it that much more robust. 
"The encouraging pick-up in core sector growth along with the double-digit rise in merchandise exports suggests IIP may post a modest improvement in September 2013 compared with the first five months of this fiscal," ICRA economist Aditi Nayyar said in a note. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's economic advisor C Rangarajan said India's growth this 
year would be 5% or slightly faster, boosted by farm production and exports. The government is counting on a spurt in the second half of the year to take growth to more than 5% after the economy expanded just 4.4% in the April-June quarter. The government has rolled out a series of measures to revive the economy, which slowed to a decade-low 5% in the year to March. 
On Thursday, State Bank of India rose 4.33% to close at Rs 1,755. The bank announced a reduction in interest rates on bulk deposits (Rs 1 crore and above) across maturities. Tata Steel, Gail, Tata Power, ICICI Bank and Coal India rose 1.8% to 2.45%. Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell 2.64% to Rs 2,455 after reporting its earnings. 
Market breadth, indicating its overall health, was positive. On BSE, 1,319 shares rose and 1,161 shares fell. A total of 177 shares were unchanged. The breadth alternatively swung between positive and negative from early afternoon trade.


Jignesh Shah resigns from MCX board Says FMC Can’t Draw Adverse View About Fit & Proper Tag Till Probe Is Completed

Mumbai: Jignesh Shah, founder, vice-chairman and a director of Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX), resigned from the bourse's board on Thursday even as he replied to a show-cause notice to by Forward Markets Commission (FMC) about why he should not be disqualified from being a 'fit & proper person' to be on the board of an exchange. 

    FMC had slapped the notice on Shah for his alleged role in the Rs 5,600-crore payment crisis at the National Spot Exchange (NSEL), a group company of MCX, the only listed exchange in the country. 
    The 'fit & proper person' test for a person to be on an exchange's board requires that he/she should be honest, with high integrity, a good reputation and solvent. Regulators in India take into account all these factors before allowing a person to be either a shareholder-director or an independent director on an exchange's board. 

    Shah's resignation came exactly three months after the NSEL scam came to light. Shah, along with some others, set up MCX from the scratch over the last decade — it is now one of the largest commodity bourses in the world. Shah was on the board of MCX as a nominee of Financial Technologies (FTIL), the main promoter of the commodities bourse. 
    Shah has already resigned from the MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX). He, however, continues to be a director on the boards of FTIL and NSEL. 
    The resignation came at a time when the economic of
fences wing of the Mumbai Police has taken some of the former top NSEL officials into custody, and also Nilesh Patel, the promoter of N K Proteins, one of the biggest borrowers of the exchange which owes investors about Rs 970 crore. 
    On Wednesday, Mohan India, another large borrower in NSEL, agreed to pay Rs 600 crore to settle its dues that totalled about Rs 770 crore. There are talks that Patel is also on the verge of paying up Rs 600 crore to settle his dues with the commodity bourse. 
    In his reply to FMC's showcause notice, Shah pointed out that proceedings initiated by various agencies into the NSEL fiasco were pending and, hence, it would be premature to draw any adverse inference either against him or FTIL on account of such proceedings, sources said. Shah also defended his position as a qualified board member of the bourse on the basis that neither him, nor FTIL has been found to have played any role in the NSEL scam.

Jignesh Shah

Industrialist buys heritage SoBo bungalow for 180cr


Mumbai: Glamis Villa, a bungalow on Bhulabhai Desai Road off Breach Candy in south Mumbai, was sold for Rs 180 crore on Thursday to an industrialist family. 
    The owner of the over 1,000-sq-m land, the Fazalbhoy family, put it up for sale barely two months ago. It was acquired by M P Aggarwal, chairman of Sajjan India Ltd, on Thursday through a local property broker, it is learned. The Rs 180 crore sum includes a Rs 30 crore payment to a tenant to vacate the premises. 
    The land, part of the larger Westfield Estate, belonged to Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, till the late 1930s. On it stands today a ground-plus-two-storey bungalow with a carpet area of around 11,000 sq ft and three garages. Sources said the new owner, who currently lives on Carmichael Road, does not plan to redevelop his new acquisition and will probably stay in it. 

BIG DEALS 
Glamis Villa stands on 1,000 sqm land with 11K sq ft carpet area 

•Industrialist Sajjan Jindal bought a Nepean Sea Road bungalow for 400cr 


•Kapadia Bungalow at Nepean Sea Road sold to Runwal Group for 350cr 


•Villa Nirmala at Carmichael Road bought for 300cr by Ashok Piramal Group and developer Khemchang Kothari


Goodies for mobile users signal new market war

New Delhi: Mobile phone users have a lot to cheer about this festive season. It's raining freebies and discounts on phone buys as well as internet data charges. And with the Diwali weekend coming up, the pitch may get stronger. 

    One of the most attractive offers comes from Anil Ambani-owned RCom. The operator is offering the latest Apple iPhones, 5C and 5S, at never-heard-before prices. RCom will give you the 16 GB versions of the devices without any down payment. The 5C will cost you Rs 2,500 per month for two years and the 5S Rs 2,850. 
    This payment comes bundled with free unlimited calls and SMSes (local and STD across network), apart from zero cost for 3G data usage. There is also no charge on national roaming. 
    There is a down payment though for higher versions of the two devices, 32 GB and 64 GB. 
    Sony, which is also expanding in the Indian mobile phone market, is offering free limited-period 3G data packs as well as other accessories along with its premium Xperia Z range of phones. 

After cut, petrol to cost 78.04 in city 
tate-run fuel retailers cut the price of petrol by Rs 1.45 per litre on Thursday. The fuel will now cost Rs 78.04 a litre in the city. Meanwhile, diesel prices have been hiked and will cost Rs 60.08 in Mumbai. P 10 Real war's on mobile data front 
New Delhi: Jaideep Ghosh, who tracks the telecom sector at KPMG India, said operators are expected to go aggressive on iPhone schemes as the customers of the brand are high users of data and calls. "If the offer is good, iPhone fans will lap it up. Moreover, the operator will stand to benefit as a bundled scheme ensures that you are locked up with the telco for a long period." 
    Contacted for confirmation, RCom refused to comment on the schemes, saying it'll be announced on Friday. Sources said RCom, which does not enjoy high brand equity among premium customers, wants to ride on the scheme to poach topend customers. 
    And as the competitive heat spreads on to the devices market, the real war appears to be on the data tariffs front. While call charges—that are the lowest in the world—have been sobering for sometime, data is witnessing an intense battle between operators who see internet as the next growth driver for revenues, as well as profits. 
    The trend has been strong for sometime and went up to a new high when in July RCom cut the price of its 3G data tariffs below that charged for 2G. 3G had failed
to be a high flier in the market, but with lower charges, companies expect its acceptance to go up. 
    RCom's scheme spurred fresh competition in the market and there has been a renewed thrust to acquire data customers and push up internet usage. Airtel, the country's biggest phone operator, has been aiming at first-time internet phone users with the expansion of its 'Re 1 entertainment store' plan. 
    And on Thursday, Vodafone—its closest competitor-—slashed its 'pay as you go' 2G tariffs by as much as 80%, bringing them at par with 3G 
prices. Vodafone termed the scheme as 'Diwali bonanza' and said under it, mobile internet charges will remain the same as home rates even on roaming. The rate has been cut from 10paisa for 10KB of internet usage to 2paisa per 10KB usage. "This reduction in mobile internet charges is an important step in our strategy to drive mobile internet and we are confident that this move will facilitate in faster adoption and better usage," said Vivek Mathur, chief commercial officer at Vodafone India. 
    KPMG's Ghosh said lower data prices and attractive 
schemes help companies attract new users to the data fold. "And apart from getting new data subscribers, it also helps drive up the usage of data amongst users. The higher usage compensates for the lower entry prices that they offer." 
    Industry officials said that Vodafone's aggressive pitch will have to be matched up by other operators who will have to follow suit soon. "Everybody will have to match it. End of the day, we have to be competitive," an official with a leading operator said, requesting anonymity.


Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Sensex at all-time closing high, but euphoria’s missing

Mumbai: The 30-scrip BSE sensex closed at an all-time high of 21,034 points on the back of aggressive buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) with access to lowcost funds in the US. But the euphoria that normally accompanies such milestones was missing—and for good reason, because the real economy is anywhere but on ahigh. Economic growth is at 4.4% (for the quarter ended June), less than half the 9.2% it was at when the sensex was 

its previous peak of 21,005 in November 2010. It's not very different from the US situation, where Wall Street and 'Main Street' have diverged. 
    The record peak for the benchmark index comes at a time when several broking houses are either cutting sal
aries or shutting shop because retail investors, who have not made much money in the last five years, are staying away from Dalal Street. 
    This has been a narrow rally driven by a few select stocks that the FIIs have fa
voured. Of the 30 sensex stocks, only 13 have returned double-digit gains since the last peak in 2010. In contrast, five stocks lost nearly 50% and 14 have given negative returns during the same period. 
    And although the sensex has gone past the last high, the more broad-based indices like BSE-100, 200 and 500 are well short of the November 2010 levels.
India looks to be a safer bet than China, Brazil 
    The sensex is now just about 170 points short of its all-time peak of 21,207, reached in intra-day trades on January 10, 2008—around the same time the US subprime bubble was bursting and threatening to sink global financial markets. 
    Since Raghuram Rajan took over as RBI governor and stabilized the rupee, which had become a major investment negative for FIIs, the sensex has rallied 13.3%, backed by net foreign fund inflows of $4.5 billion. Combined with the 8.8% appreciation in the rupee to 61.24 now from 67.09 then, the total gain for the FIIs is a little over 24%. And all this in just about 55 days. 
    With the US Fed expected to continue with its stimulus package of keeping interest rates at home low and 
funds cheap, FIIs are punting on relatively risky assets like emerging market (EM) stocks. Significantly, among EMs, currently India looks to be a safer bet than China, Brazil and other markets. "There is ample liquidity in the market for FIIs to get funds," said Dharmesh Mehta, MD-institutional equities, Axis Capital. "With little or no fresh supply of stocks in India, FIIs are being forced to restrict themselves to a small basket." 
    There is another reason for this FII frenzy. Several fund managers are betting on a better show by the BJP-led coalition in the state elections in Delhi, Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh. 
    Most market players expect the BJP, which now controls two of the four states going to polls, to improve its tally by eating in
to the Congress' two states. "If that happens, there'll be a euphoric rally," said the head of a brokerage. 
    In Wednesday's session, the sensex opened above the 21K mark and picked up gains through the session to hit an intraday high of 21,090 but closed a tad off that mark, but still 29 points higher than its previous peak of 21,005 on November 5, 2010. 
    Unlike in February 2000 and November 2007, when the sensex had scaled new highs followed by euphoria on Dalal Street, this new peak was rather low key. "The value of the sensex shows it is at a new high. However, retail investors feel disillusioned because the high priced stocks they owned were sold off months ago. What they are left with are stocks that have halved in value," said Arun Kejriwal, director, KRIS.


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

RBI ups rate, but your EMIs unlikely to go up


Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday stepped up the inflation control drive by raising a key policy rate but the increase is unlikely to impact interest rates for home, car and consumer loans. 
    The 25 basis points (100 basis points equal one percentage point) increase in repo rate (to 

7.75%), which is the rate at which banks borrow from the central bank, has offset gains that banks would have made by two other measures that the RBI go
vernor announced. 
    Amid the mixed signals from the central bank, bankers are unwilling to commit which way EMIs are headed but they 
dropped enough hints to suggest that they would prefer to maintain a status quo. 
Now, earn interest 
every 15 days or mth 
    
The RBI has allowed banks to pay interest on fixed deposits and bank accounts on a monthly or fortnightly basis instead of a quarterly basis. Also, SMS alerts will be charged on usage basis instead of a fixed levy. P 23 

Sensex soars 359 pts, near historic peak 
    
Astrong rally in banking and interest rate-sensitive stocks lifted the sensex by 359 points to 20,929, its third-best close ever. The rally came after the RBI raised the repo rate but tweaked other monetary parameters. Brokers now expect the index to scale a new peak before Diwali on Sunday. P 23 
Inflation remains Rajan's big worry 
Mumbai: Tuesday's 25bps increase was the second repo rate hike in less than 2 months by RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, who has spent a little over 50 days in Mumbai. 
    "The cost of funds over the last three months has gone up. We are going back to a normalized monetary policy and over a period of time, it would come down," said HDFC Bank managing director and CEO Aditya Puri. "We don't see much impact on interest rates," added Uco Bank chief Arun Kaul. 
    For the moment, however, there is good news despite the RBI raising repo rate. Simultaneously, it also reduced the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate by the same margin and enhanced 
the limit for banks to tap the 7-day and 14-day term repo window. MSF is the window that banks use to borrow from the central bank in case of extreme funds crunch. Under the repo facility banks can borrow for onethree days while under the term repo facility the duration could be seven days and also 14 days. MSF and the 
term repo were announced as part of a series of steps to deal with the continuous slide in the rupee seen in July and August. 
    Through the two steps announced on Tuesday, Rajan sought to signal an unwinding but did not comment on the special dollar purchase window for oil marketing companies and other mea
sures that are in place till the end of November. 
    In any case, with the government insisting that banks offer cheaper retail loans to boost demand, public sector banks that account for 70% of the business would find it tough to raise rates. Nevertheless, the calculators are out with the State Bank of India, the largest player in the business, set to take a call over the next few days. For Rajan, inflation is the biggest concern despite faltering growth. "We can't live with close to double-digit CPI (consumer price inflation) for an extended period of time. My intention is to bring CPI within the boundaries of control," he said. 
    Despite signs of improved farm output this year and revival in exports, RBI
lowered the economic growth forecast to 5%, compared to the earlier projection of 5-5.5%. At the same time it noted that inflation will remain "higher than current levels" during the remaining part of the year. Wholesale price inflation was estimated at close to 6.5% in September, while retail inflation accelerated to 9.8%, prompting the repo rate hike. In fact, analysts are already betting on further increase in interest rates. 
    "With household inflation expectations still far into double-digit territory and CPI likely to be much more stubborn than its WPI sibling in the face of a still widening output gap, further rate hikes by the hawkish Rajan-led RBI cannot be ruled out," BNP Paribas's Richard Iley said in a note.



Infy to pay $35m, settle visa ‘fraud’ case in US


Washington: India's IT services major Infosys is expected to cough up nearly $35 million (Rs 215 crore) in penalties— said to be the biggest fine of its kind in American history—to settle visa fraud allegations with the US Justice Department. The settlement, reached with the East Texas Attorney's office, is to be announced on Wednesday although the market long had an inkling of the deal from Infosys' regulatory filing. 
    The Bangalore-based company acknowledged receiving a federal grand jury subpoena seeking records related to its sponsorships for B-1 business visas and its
use of them, according to an October 11 filing, which also said it had reserved $35 million for a settlement tied to the probe. 
    The charge against Infosys basically is that it used inexpensive, easy-to-obtain B-1 visas, meant to cover short business visits, instead of harder-to-get H-1B work visas, to bring an unknown number of its employees for long-term stays. A former US manager blew the whistle on this scheme, resulting in investigations involving the Justice Department, Homeland Security, and State Department, amid a toxic debate about how India was stealing American jobs. 
H-1B visas: Infosys pays for 'misusing' law for gain 
Washington: Here's how Infosys is alleged to have circumvented the growing protectionist visa road blocks which some sections in India view as trade barrier: The US typically issued just 65,000 H-1B visas a year for skilled long-term guest workers visiting for up to three years. The cost of these visas has gone up steadily over the years to nearly $5000 per visa, including filing and legal fees, as domestic lobbies have sought to stop cheaper foreign workers from taking over jobs in America although the US labor department has tried to bring about wage parity. 

    Typically, H1-B workers have to be paid locally in the US and their employers withhold federal and state income taxes, and social security payments. If the employees return to India in less than ten years (or 40 quarters), they lose the money they have paid into the social security net. But often 
the employees prolong their stay with visa extensions and by defecting to a local US employer and applying for permanent residency. 
    To get around these problems, Infosys is said to have send workers to the US with a B-1 visa on which there is no cap, which can obtained easily, and which costs only $160. B-1 visa holders are also paid from their home country—in rupees—and don't have to pay tax
es or social security contributions in the US. But US rules mandate that the B-1 visas are intended only for foreign nationals who come to the US for purposes such as attending business conventions and consulting with business associates, rules that Infosys interpreted more loosely to further its business and undercut competitors. 
    The company is now having to pay for this fast-and-loose interpretation of rules.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Mukesh ties up with UK firm for chicken restaurant chain

Mumbai: Mukesh Ambanicontrolled Reliance Industries plans to run an exclusive chicken restaurant 

chain in India in partnership with a UK-based company as he seeks a bite of the quick service restaurant (QSR) pie, which is pegged to grow at 30% per annum. Given that Ambani is a strict vegetarian, it is a clear sign that business decisions can be separated from an individual's dietary and lifestyle choices. 
    The chain, to be called 'Chicken came First' (CCF) will directly compete with KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain. 
    RIL has picked up a 45% equity stake in Two Sisters Foods India (TSFI), which belongs to 2 Sisters Food Group (2SFG). 2SFG, the third large
st food company in the UK, supplies poultry, red meat, fish, and bakery and chilled/ frozen products to the retail, food service and food manufacturing sectors. 
    RIL has picked up the stake through Reliance Retail for an undisclosed sum. The balance 55% is held by 2 Sisters Food Group, founded by British businessman Ranjit Singh Boparan.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Tax breaks for seniors on the house Income From Mortgaging Properties To Rise | 80-Plus To Gain The Most


New Delhi: If your parents are considering a reverse mortgage, here is a festival bonanza. The government has made the return from mortgaging their house to earn a monthly income more attractive. Now, the annuity income from a reverse-mortgage loan will become tax-free. The government has also scrapped the restriction of a 20-year annuity payment and said it would be applicable as long as the owner lives. 
    Several senior citizens have availed of the scheme, launched in 2009, to support them in their old age. Under a reverse mortgage loan, a senior citizen of 60 years taps the value of his residential house, while enjoying the security of 
using the same as his residence until either the mortgagee or his/her spouse survives. 
    The government has also allowed insurance companies to participate in the scheme. This is set to increase the annuity income three-fold from 
the present level on the same value of a reverse mortgage loan and usher in competition in this segment. 
    For example, a senior citizen has a house, the market value of which is Rs 1.25 crore. He or she can avail of a reverse 
mortgage loan of Rs 1 crore on the house. Only 80% of the value of the house is allowed as reverse mortgage loan. But, the entire amount is not handed out in one go. Of the total amount, a house owner can take 50% of the loan amount or Rs 15 lakh, whichever is lower, as a lump sum payout. The rest comes as annuity. 
    So, the owner who has availed of a Rs 1-crore reverse mortgage, is eligible for Rs 15 lakh as a one-time payment and the remaining Rs 85 lakh would be invested in annuity. 
    The amount of annuity depends from bank to bank and is calculated on the basis of the period for which the beneficiary wants to receive the annuity. For an average 10-year period, the annuity is Rs 420 per month for every Rs 1 
lakh of reverse mortgage loan and for 20 years it is about Rs 100 per month for every Rs 1 lakh reverse mortgage value. There is no benchmark so far fixed for life-long annuity. 
    The Rs 85 lakh that the house owner has received would be invested in annuity and he will get an annuity of Rs 35,700 per month for 10 years and Rs 8,500 for 20 years. Now, after the National Housing Bank's (NHB) intervention, this amount would be trebled. 
    Until now, only banks were allowed to participate in the scheme. The entry of insurance companies, is expected to stir up the sector. NHB chairman R V Verma said the changes in the tax treatment for annuity will help largeticket reverse mortgage loans for a shorter tenure. 

FESTIVE GIFT 

    The annuity income from a reverse-mortgage loan will become tax free 
    The government has also scrapped the restriction of a 20-year annuity payment and said it would be applicable as long as the owner lives. Several senior citizens have availed of the scheme, 
launched in 2009, to support them in their old age 
Under a reverse mortgage loan, a senior citizen of 60 years taps the value of his residential house, while he can enjoy the security of using the same as his residence until either the mortgagee or his/ her spouse survives



Sunday, October 20, 2013

CBI mulls option of closing Coalgate case against Birla Statement By PMO Leaves Agency In A Bind

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's strong defence of the allocation of the Talabira II coal block to Hindalco has created uncertainty about the fate of the CBI's investigation into the matter, with many feeling that it may turn out to be still-born. 

    Sources in the agency acknowledged that with the PM owning up the controversial allocation, they were in abind. "We can't close the investigation straightaway and, having registered an FIR for alleged misconduct, will have to talk to all people concerned. But we are open to the idea of closing the investigation," said a senior source in the agency when asked about the fallout of the PMO's intervention in the high-profile probe. 
    The CBI had never ruled out the possibility of the investigation being wou
nd up, with senior officials emphasizing at the outset that "FIR is just a primary action in any case" and that "many probes initiated by the agency are shut down". But while closure of investigation was talked about as a technical possibility, it is now being seen as a distinct prospect, with sources in the CBI appearing reconciled to aborting the probe after seeking legal opinion. 
    A senior CBI officer explained, "According to our enquiry, the joint venture between PSUs and Hindalco was designed to favour the private company, and it involved violation of rules. However, we 
will take a thorough legal opinion on whether there was criminality in this matter and if there is nothing against Kumar Mangalam Birla, Hindalco Industries Ltd and P C Parakh, there is a possibility that the case will be closed." 
    In what marked a repudiation of the allegation against Birla and former coal secretary Parakh, the PMO had said on Saturday, "The PM is satisfied the final decision in this regard was entirely appropriate and based on merits of the case placed before him." 

'FIR JUST A PRIMARY ACTION' 

    Senior CBI officers say FIR is just a primary action and 
many cases end in closures 
    "We will take a thorough legal opinion... if there is nothing against K M Birla, Hindalco and P C Parakh, there is a possibility the case would be closed," 
says an officer 
On Oct 19, PMO defended allocation of coal block to Hindalco, saying decision was "appropriate and merit-based" 
    CBI has already stated that 
"it is not probing quid pro quo against Parakh" in the case but "misuse of official position" 
    Agency is expected to file status report to SC on Coalgate this week, probably by Oct 22 
'PMO hint clear: Get off their backs' 
    The CBI had accused Birla and Parakh of conspiring to allocate Talabira II coal block in Odisha to Hindalco, reversing the decision of the screening committee under the coal ministry to award the block to public sector entities Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited. In the FIR, the agency also alleged that the change was to the disadvantage of NLC which had planned to use the Talabira deposits for a power plant it proposed to set up. 
    The charge was rejected by the PMO which said the decision was changed at the instance of Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik who had cited the needs of his state to demand a reconsideration. It dismissed the charge that NLC was adversely impacted by saying that the final decision was arrived at after factoring in the interests of the PSU. 
    In contrast to the CBI's charge about there being a conspiracy between Birla and Parakh to favour Hindalco, the PMO painted the decision as legitimate and influenced by the spirit of federalism and the need to generate jobs in Odisha. In fact, the PMO went on to say that it had relaxed the guidelines to enhance Hindalco's share from the block: a fact that even the CBI had not mentioned in its FIR to substantiate the charge of criminal conspiracy 
between the aluminium major and the coal ministry. 
    Although the PMO emphasized that it did not wish to impede the CBI's investigation, sources in the agency said the public rejection of their FIR translated into a clear hint to get off the back of Birla and Parakh. 

Explain all coal block allocations: BJP to PM 
New Delhi: On the day PM Manmohan Singh left on a tour of Russia and China, the BJP asked why he had explained only one coal block allocation when even the SC has held that all allocations were not done in a free and fair manner. "For the first time since the coal block allocation scam came up, the PM has explained about one allocation. But there have been more than 150 coal block allocations, so will he be able to explain all of them," party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar asked on Sunday. TNN

Kumar Mangalam Birla



Saturday, October 19, 2013

PM admits he cleared coal block to Hindalco


In Strong Rebuttal Of CBI's FIR Against Birla & Ex-Coal Secy, Says Decision Was 'Appropriate' And 'Merit-Based'



New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office on Saturday ended its silence on the latest and possibly most explosive development in Coalgate by acknowledging that Manmohan Singh put his stamp of approval (on October 1, 2005) on the allocation of a coal block to top industrialist Kumar Birla's Hindalco. At the same time, it vigorously rebutted the Central Bureau of Investigation's claim of illegality, saying the PM stood by the decision as no wrong had been committed. 
    Taking what is being seen in political and bureaucratic circles as an uncharacteristically strong stand, the PMO 

said, "The PM is satisfied that the final decision in this regard was entirely appropriate and based on merits of the case placed before him." 
    The PMO statement comes after retired coal secretary P C Parakh—booked along with Birla for alleged criminal conspiracy and misconduct, and corruption—said that if the CBI thought there were irregularities, then the PM ought to be "accused No 1" for giving his approval. 
    With the opposition baying for his resignation, Singh's move to forthrightly own up to having sought a reassessment of Hindalco's case after a representation by Od
isha chief minister Naveen Patnaik appears intended to cap a politically debilitating controversy. But by doing so, Singh, who at the time held charge of the coal ministry, accepted he was the "competent authority" who signed off on the allocations in 2006-09, the period under CBI's lens. 
WHY HE UPTURNED ORIGINAL DECISION 

May 7, 2005 | PM receives letter from Kumar Mangalam Birla for allocation of Talabira II coal block to Hindalco. PMO seeks report from coal ministry June 17 |Birla repeats his request to PM Aug | Coal ministry sends file to PM, says screening committee decided to allocate Talabira II block to state-owned Neyveli Lignite Corp Aug 17 | PMO gets letter from Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik backing Hindalco request Aug 29 | Coal ministry asked 
to re-examine the allotments based on Patnaik's letter 
Sept 16 | Coal ministry resubmits file. Says Talabira II and III be mined as a single mine by a JV between Mahanadi Coalfields, Neyveli Lignite & Hindalco 
Oct 1 | PM approves the proposal 
Oct 15, 2013 | CBI registers a case against Birla and former coal secretary P C Parakh for criminal conspiracy and corruption in the Hindalco case. CBI says Hindalco was ineligible for coal block 
PMO stresses on Naveen's 'preference' for Hindalco 
    But by doing so, Singh, who at the time held charge of the coal ministry, accepted he was the "competent authority" who signed off on the coal allocations in the 2006-09 period – under CBI's lens. On whether the PM would be ready to be questioned in any Coalgate case, as suggested by senior minister Kamal Nath, a PMO spokesperson declined comment, saying CBI was yet to make such a request. 
    The PMO said it didn't wish to impede the CBI's investigation, but justified altering the screening committee's earlier decision to award the coal block in question to public sector companies Neyveli Lignite Corp (NLC) and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) by relying heavily on Patnaik's backing to Hindalco. 
    In accommodating Hindalco as the third partner in a joint venture, the PM also waived a violation in guidelines to enhance the firm's share by arguing that NLC and Mahanadi were "sister PSUs" and Neyveli's share could be made good 
from Mahanadi's 70% allocation. 
    It invoked the "federal framework" to say Patnaik's views had to be accommodated, and claimed that public sector claimants had not been disadvantaged. Countering criticism that private sector firm Hindalco had been favoured, the PMO said the coal requirements of the two PSUs, who also sought the blocks, were protected in a separate arrangement. 

    Neyveli Lignite was allotted Talabira II coal blocks in Sambhalpur by the screening committee headed by then coal secretary P C Parakh as the panel held that Hindalco had failed to utilize a previously allocated block. The PMO said while the original recommendation was being processed by it, the PM received a letter dated 17.8.2005 from the Odisha CM saying that the state government assigned "topmost priority" to allocating Talabira II to Hindalco. Singh noted "please get a report from the coal ministry" on the letter. Birla, in his letter, also sought the linkage and officials said he explained that Hindalco had not been able to use its previous allocation as a bauxite lease for its aluminium plant had not materialized. 
    Neyveli could not be dropped as it was a central PSU backed by the screening committee. In its account, PMO has leaned on the Odisha CM's "clear preference" for Hindalco in the "interest of creating more employment and growth of the state's manufacturing sector." 

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Loan defaults stall two mega townships

Mumbai:Real estate firm Hirco has defaulted on payments to lenders for its two large Rs 1,000 crore-plus townships in Panvel and Chennai, casting a shadow on the future of the projects. 

    Work on the firm's project in Panvel, Raigad district, has been stalled for the past few months. The project has a mix of commercial and residential properties and is spread over 300 acres. More than 1,000 apartments are believed to have been sold in Panvel. 
    Hirco claims to have more than 66 million sq ft of development in the two township 
projects being built by its subsidiary, Hiranandani Palace Gardens. 
    Following the default, the residential township outside Chennai, the Hiranandani Palace Gardens, is under threat of a takeover by the lenders, TOI has learned.
HDFC may sell off Hirco's Chennai property 
Mumbai: Two mega township projects undertaken by Hirco have run into trouble following loan defaults by the developer. HDFChad advanced aroundRs 500 crore in two tranches to the Chennai projectjointly promoted by Niranjan Hiranandani and his daughter Priya. Both have since stepped down from theHircoboard.Itisbeing built in three phases on an over-200 acresprawl. 
    The lender has already classified the first tranche as an NPA (non-performing asset) and will classify the second tranche similarly. It plans to send a notice to the firm for re
payment under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act(SARFAESI). 
    If Hirco fails to pay up, HDFC will attach the Chennai property estimated to be worth several times the loan. The property would then be auctioned.Marketsourcessaidone of the Hiranandanis may bid for it. "Because of a family dispute, neither family member is willing to bring in fresh capital for the project. With RBI norms becoming stricter on project lending, there cannot be any progress unless promoters bring in money,'' said a source familiar withthedevelopment. 
    Early this year, Tata Fi
nanceCapital Servicesdragged thecompany tocourtfor a term loan default of Rs 76 crore, and demanded the company's liquidation for non-payment. 
    Hirco's chief financial officer, Samir Shroff,wasunavailable for comment and did not respond to text message and phonecallsseeking comment. 
    A Hiranandani Construc
tions spokesperson said, "Niranjan Hiranandani resigned from Hirco Plc around 22nd December 2010. This knowledge is in public domain. Hence the details of the companies, which you areseeking now,is not available with us." It is learned that Hiranandani has made an offer tobuy outthecompany. 
    "It's a mismanaged company," said a former executive. "A 1.75 million sq ft commercial building in thePanveltownship is 75% complete. It could easily fetchRs500crore." 
    Hirco, listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market, was set up in 2006 to invest in residential andcommercialcomplexes. 
    On June27,chairman David 
Burton said in the company's half-yearly statement that progress on the developments appearedsomewhatsubduedwith only moderate progress in the last six months. The company had said in its annual financial statement in September 2012 that the completion of both the Chennai andPanvel projects remained atleast a decade away. 
    "While information flow on the projects remainsunsatisfactory and we have no real clarity over who is really in control of the projects, what does seem clear is that completion will needsubstantialfurther investmentof bothequity andlongertermdebt," Burton hadsaid. 
Infra problems, title disputes plague affordable homes on city's fringes 
Mumbai: The affordable homes market, thriving on the outer fringes of Mumbai, is beset with problems like lack of infrastructure, poor transport connectivity, issues of land titles and delayed clearances. 
    In 2008, many developers who rode the real estate boom by catering mainly to high-income buyers started enticing lower and middle class clients with smaller properties outside Mumbai limits when the market slowed down. These locations are 60 to over 100 km from Mumbai. But they claimed to have registered brisk sales of smaller flats in places like Boisar, Virar, Panvel, Kalyan, Shahpur, Ambivali and Karjat. These homes cost anywhere from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 35 lakh. 
    But despite frenzied construction in these far-flung places, problems soon arose. Buyers realized that in several of these locations, there was barely any social infrastructure like schools, markets, hospitals and restaurants. Some projects are located 8-10 km from the nearest railway station. Builders too found that permissions from local civic bodies were inordinately delayed. 
    In Vasind near Shahpur, Tata Housing had to scrap one of its affordable homes projects because environmental clearanc
es got stuck in red tape. In Karjat, only phase I of a large low-cost project by Tanaji Malusare City was completed. The remaining phases have failed to take off despite a huge initial demand. 
    Experts said that despite the slowdown in the property market, demand for affordable homes is eight to ten times more than luxury apartments. Shubhankar Mitra, head, strategic consulting (west), Jones Lang LaSalle India, said, "Anticipated supply in this segment is 50,000 to 60,000 tenements. Most of the supply comes from 
grade B and C developers offering flats in the range of Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500 a sq ft." 
    "Infrastructure is not adequate. This pushes up the cost, making the project unviable for many developers," added Mitra. 
    Concurred Pankaj Kapoor of Liases Foras, a property research firm, "Locations like Panvel still lack the livability factor. You require human mass for infrastructure to come up and this may take another decade." 
    He said the affordable homes market is relatively better than the luxury one. "Sales to inventory ratio is higher than the luxury segment. The current stock of expensive flats will take at least 100 months to sell. The affordable ones have an inventory of about 30 months, although ideally it should be about 11 months," he added. 
    Builder Nayan Shah of Mayfair Housing, which builds luxury apartments in suburban Mumbai, branched out into the affordable sector a few years ago with a project in Virar. "There is good demand from people who want to sell their tenements in Mumbai and move to a larger, cheaper home further away from the city," he said. 
    Developer Nayan Bheda of Neptune Group blamed the government for not promoting affordable housing. "Permissions don't come in time and there is little support from the local municipality," he said.

1,000 flats have been sold in the 1,000cr Hirco township in Panvel


Hirco's 2012 financial statement said the Panvel and Chennai projects will take at least 10 years


Despite frenzied construction in farflung places like Virar and Shahpur, there is barely any social infrastructure in like schools, markets, hospitals and restaurantsin several areas

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Fitch warns it may cut US rating



New York: Fitch Ratings warned on Tuesday it could cut the sovereign credit rating of the United States from AAA, citing the political brinkmanship over raising the federal debt ceiling. 
    "Although Fitch continues to believe that the debt ceiling will be raised soon, the political brinkmanship and reduced financing flexibility could increase the risk of a US default," the firm said in a statement issued before US lawmakers managed to avert a debt default. 
    The firm put its opinion 
about the creditworthiness of US government debt on what its calls Ratings Watch Negative, a reflection of the increasing risk of a nearterm default if the debt limit is not raised in time. It gave itself until the end of the first quarter of 2014 to decide whether it will actually cut the rating. Still, Fitch reaffirmed its belief that an agreement to raise the debt ceiling will be reached, allowing the US government to pay its bills by borrowing beyond the $16.7-trillion limit currently in place. 
    Fitch is the only one of the three major credit rating agencies to have a negative outlook on the US sovereign credit. Standard & Poor's downgraded the rating to AA-plus with a stable outlook during the last debt ceiling impasse, in August 2011. REUTERS 

Fed hawk Fisher sees no QE cut in Oct 

New York:"Reckless" US fiscal policy will likely force the Federal Reserve to stand pat on monetary policy this month, one of the Fed's biggest critics of the US central bank's bond-buying programme said on Tuesday. Richard Fisher, the hawkish president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said that the fiscal standoff means even he would find it difficult to make a case for scaling back bond purchases at the Fed's policy meeting on October 29-30. "My personal opinion is that it's not in play," Fisher said. "This is just too tender a moment." REUTERS

AN INSULT TO BIZ COMMUNITY India Inc biggies rally behind Kumar Birla


Mumbai: Industry leaders have come out strongly against the CBI move to lodge an FIR against Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla for alleged irregularities in the allocation of a coal block, terming it as "deplorable" and "unfortunate". Rallying behind Birla, at least one of them described the incident as an "insult to the entire business community", while another said it would affect business confidence. 
    What has shocked India Inc is that even leaders, who are known to be upright and scrupulous, conscientiously sticking to norms and procedures, are being implicated without substantial evidence being made public. 
    "The FIR against Kumar Mangalam Birla is deplora
ble,'' Adi Godrej, chairman, Godrej Group, said. Going by the facts mentioned by Hindalco when it clarified on the coal block allocation, Godrej said, "the company (Aditya Birla Group company, Hindalco) has only 15% stake in the coal block. Just because it is a coal block reserved for a PSU, it does not mean some allocation cannot be made.'' Godrej hopes that the CBI would quickly reverse its action. 
    Leaders across industries couldn't fathom that Birla's name was being linked to the coal allocation scam. "K M Birla is an epitome of virtuousness,'' said Kishore Biya
ni, founder, Future Group. "India has to learn to respect its entrepreneurs. This is an insult to all of us and the entire business community,'' Biyani added. On Tuesday, Deepak Parekh, chairman, HDFC, had lashed out at the CBI while adding that such moves were scaring businesses out of the country. 
    "It is very unfortunate. To go and meet somebody is not a crime. Kumar is a clean man," said G P Goenka, chairman, Duncan Goenka Group. Some even questioned CBI's standing. Ramesh Chauhan, chairman, Bisleri International, said Birla could not possibly have done something shady. 
    "The credibility of CBI has gone down, not only in the eyes of the Supreme Court, but all. There's no doubt something has gone wrong 
somewhere that someone has to be wrongfully made a scapegoat,'' said Chauhan. 
    K M Birla, the great grandson of Ghanshyam Das Birla who is known to have financially supported Mahatma Gandhi in India's freedom movement, is held in high esteem in India Inc. However, more than just his famous surname, it is the impeccable image that K M Birla has painstakingly built over the decades which is the reason why he has garnered so much support from all quarters. 
    "Nobody will believe that Kumar can do this,'' said M K Jalan, chairman, Keventer Agro. "It was a shock to everyone from the business fraternity,'' said Rashesh Shah, chairman, Edelweiss Group, who added that the move would affect business confidence.

The FIR against Kumar Mangalam Birla is deplorable … (Hindalco) has only 15% stake in the coal block. Just because it is reserved for a PSU does not mean some allocation cannot be made 
ADI GODREJ || CHAIRMAN, GODREJ GROUP


K MM Birla is an epitome of virtuousness. Inndia has to learn to respect its entrepreneurs e . This is an insult to all of us u and the entire business community 
K ISHORE BIYANI | FOUNDER, FUTURE GROUP


PMO distances itself from Birla controversy

New Delhi:Expressing worry over the CBI action on Kumar Mangalam Birla, commerce and industry ministry Anand Sharma said, "Time has come for all institutions to collectively reflect because who is going to take the responsibility for what has happened so far?" He refused to comment on individual companies. 

    Speaking to TOI, corporate affairs minister Sachin Pilot too advised caution. "While no one is above the law and wrong doers have to be brought to justice, we must ensure that such actions are based on hard facts and do not create an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. Recent incidents will certainly dampen business confidence and investment sentiment, both domestic and foreign. It will perhaps also negatively impact decision-making by bureaucrats and policymakers." 
    Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh urged caution in proceeding in the case, saying that while "we are witch hunting", the country is forced to import coal to feed its thermal power stations. "The government, the judiciary and everyone should note that despite one of the largest coal reserves, 
we are witch hunting and importing coal to feed our thermal power plants," Singh said. 
    On Tuesday, the CBI lodged an FIR against Aditya Birla Group chairman K M Birla, and former coal secretary P C Parakh, sending shockwaves across the industry and the bureaucracy. 
    Many drew parallels between the current round of probes with the string of actions by an overzealous Enforcement Directorate under V P Singh against top industrialists such as S L Kirloskar, L M Thapar and Kapal Mehra. 
    Coming under attack from the opposition, the PMO sought to distance it
self from the controversy. PMO sources said Manmohan Singh has made it clear that he had nothing to hide in any coal block allocation under investigation. "The government is fully cooperating with the Supreme Court on the probe," said an official. In recent months, apart from Birla, several top industrialists—Sunil Mittal, Ravi and Anshuman Ruia of Essar, Naveen Jindal of JSPL, JSW's Sajjan Jindal and Unitech's Sanjay Chandra. A host of corporate houses, including Anil Ambani's group, Vodafone and Tata Communication, are facing CBI action for alleged irregularities.

Maha 5th in list of requests for no. portability

Mumbai: The number of requests for mobile number portability (MNP) nearly hit the 10 crore mark at the end of July this year.About80lakhof these were from Maharashtra, according to figures submitted to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). 

    Sincetheintroduction ofthe MNP provision in 2011, the country's service providers have received applicationsfrom 9.8croresubscribersfor porting of mobile number. In July this year alone, 22 lakh requests were made. "Acting on the requests, in most cases, subscribers' service provider was changed without changing their mobile number," a senior bureaucratsaid. 
    The Centre allowed shifting of a mobile number from one operator to another within a service area in January 2011. It expanded the provision and enabled shifting of a mobile number from one service area to another early this year. 
    The largest number of applications MNP was received in Karnataka (1.14 crore), followed by Rajasthan (95.8lakh),Andhra Pradesh (89 lakh), Gujarat (83.3 lakh) and Maharashtra (79.5 lakh). "Taken as a whole, there was no major exodus from any one service provider. A service provider that received a large number of MNP requests in one state got new subscribers in a neighbouring state," the bureaucratsaid. 
    According to Trai, private operators held 88.3% of the wireless market at the end of July, while state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL) respectively held a share of 0.5% and 11.2%. "Both MTNL and BSNL will have to improve their per
formance in the wireless market," thebureaucratsaid. 
    The total wireless subscriber base rose from 87.3 crore in June to 87.5 crore in July. The share of urban wireless subscribers increased from 59.8% to 60.1% during the period, whereastheshareof ruralwirelesssubscribersdecreasedfrom 40.2% to 39.9%. Wireline subscriber base, meanwhile, declined from 2.97 crore at the end of June to 2.95 crore at the endof July.




BJP to be single largest party in 2014: Survey ‘Regional Allies Will Hold Key To 272-Mark’

The BJP looks set to emerge as the single largest party in 2014 with 162 seats, far ahead of the Congress tally of 102. But even with its allies, the BJP looks likely to be well short of a majority, leaving several regional players holding the key to power in New Delhi. 

    The NDA is projected to get 186 and the UPA just 117, which leaves 240 seats with others. Some of the biggest among them are mutually incompatible like the Trinamool and the Left Front or the SP and the BSP. That could make government formation an extremely complicated exercise come May next year. 
    These are the major findings of the latest Times Now-CVoter survey, which sug
gests that the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha will be a far cry for any pre-election formation. 
    Among the "other" parties, Left Front is projected to get the largest number, 32 seats, followed by BSP with 31 and AIADMK with 28 seats. SP and Trinamool are expected to bag 25 and 23 seats respectively. The split with the BJP seems to have hurt the JD(U), which is predicted to see its tally crash from 20 in 2009 to just nine.



 

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