After years of dithering, the RBI initiates a debate on allowing business houses into the banking sector.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with the much-awaited discussion paper on norms for new private sector banks. The development is seen as a step closer to some large corporate houses and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) entering the banking sector.The intention ...

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is planning to enter atomic power generation. ONGC is in discussions with the Atomic Energy Commission for partnering with Nuclear Power Corporation of India and picking up minority stakes in the new 700 mwe pressurized heavy water reactor-based projects on the anvil.

China has announced that it will not levy operating taxes on offshore service outsourcing business in 21 of its key cities till 2013. The move is aimed at promoting outsourcing and ending India's dominance in the service outsourcing business. The 5 per cent operating tax exemption will be in effect from July 1 this year to December 31, 2013, according ...

As the US economy falters, its political rhetoric gets irrationally belligerent.Shaky economic situation and soaring unemployment numbers are always familiar bedfellows. And the scenario presents a right mix for a cocktail of political rhetoric and business realities.Surely, the US economy is seething with spiralling unemployment numbers. As more and more jobs are vanishing, jibes from American politicians too are rising. ...

Experian Credit Information Company of India Pvt Ltd formally launched its operations and will provide credit reports to lenders and consumers. It is the first organization to be awarded a license by the RBI to operate a credit bureau in India under the new Credit Information Companies Act (CICRA), 2005.

The Bharat Petroleum chairman Ashok Sinha has inaugurated BPCL's barge loading facility at Irimpanam installation and now BPCL will be able to offer bunkers of furnace oil and HF-HSD to inland vessels at competitive rates in Kochi. Dedicated barge loading facilities would enhance BPCL's bunkering trade from Kochi as bunker fuels could be offered directly to prospective bunker customers.

ARIESPower and energy will be in excess, especially after the first week of this month, when you will be loaded with work. You will slog hard to complete a pending project, achieve a target or accomplish a mission. Your colleagues will cooperate and assist you in your endeavours. Your enthusiasm will reach new heights. Going to parties, socialising and travelling ...

Russia has banned export of grains in a move aimed at keeping down prices of basic foodstuff amid a record drought. According to a government order signed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the ban will extend from August 15 up to December 31. Last year, Russia, the world's third-largest exporter of wheat, had warned that its grain harvest would ...

The annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14 has increased the export incentive by more than Rs 1,000 crore. The major beneficiaries of the government largesse will be the labour-intensive textile, handicraft and leather sectors. "We are not yet out of the woods," noted Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, unveiling the trade policy.For exporters, the sops could not ...

Faiz-Ur-Rehman, Chief Postmaster General, Maharashtra CircleMaharashtra Circle, accounting for 20 per cent of India Post's total revenue, is the largest postal circle in Asia. With 12,592 post offices spread across 3,11,392 sq km of Maharashtra and Goa, it is in the forefront of the nation's postal operations. The circle consists of five regions, namely Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Goa.Taking ...

The Maharashtra government has launched a labour management system called `Mahashramm', which is aimed at bringing two crore labour in the State, both in the organized and the unorganized sector, under the banking net. Under this project, the labours working in the organized and the unorganized sector will get free biometric authenticated wage cards. A no-frill bank account will be ...

Tata Capital's wholly-owned subsidiary, Tata Capital Pte Singapore, has teamed up with Japan's Mizuho to develop a growth fund to invest in promising Indian companies.Star Health and Allied Insurance and Shriram Life Insurance have joined hands to bring out the country's first `combi' product - a health insurance scheme that also covers the life of the breadwinner of the family.

Aegon Religare plans to enter the health insurance segment and launch at least one product this fiscal, according to its CFO, K S Gopalakrishnan. Currently, term products contribute 20 per cent to the number of policies sold and Religare is aiming to increase it to 30 per cent, he added.

Tata AIG Life Maha Guarantee - a non-participating traditional endowment plan with guaranteed returns - is recently launched by Tata AIG Life Insurance company. The plan offers up to 5 per cent of basic sum assured as annual guaranteed additions.

Narendra Somani,CMD, The Grand BhagwatiHis passion for food led him to opt for a profession of a hotelier. The choice was easy, but realising it was nothing short of an adventure. Meet Narendra Somani, the 45-year-old chairman and managing director of the TGB Group, who has single-handedly built one of the leading hospitality groups in Gujarat.Starting off with a small ...

Auto giant Maruti Suzuki revs up operations to take on rivals and regain its lost market share.As the old saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Maruti Suzuki India, the country's largest carmaker, is on a mission to just prove that.For the first time in its history, Maruti Suzuki, which held a stranglehold in the Indian ...

What should one do to recover one's money?Dadashri: What is the natural law? What has happened is justice. Do not look for justice. When you begin to accept natural justice, you will become free and if you seek justice in a court of law, you become bound to it. After making several attempts to collect your money, you are finally ...

Emerging out of the shadow of recession, the Rs 4,00,000 crore textile industry is once again weaving major expansion and acquisition plans.The domestic textile industry is abuzz with life once again. After a devastating 2008-09, triggered by the global economic slowdown, textile companies across segments - spinning, weaving and garment - have turned bullish.Interestingly, the Rs 4,00,000-crore industry, which bore ...

Nobel laureate and economist Joseph E Stiglitz has said that the US economy faces an "anaemic recovery" and that the government will need to enact another round of better-designed stimulus measures. "The Obama administration took a big gamble and it doesn't look like it's paying off. It's absolutely clear that you need a second round of stimulus," opined Mr Stiglitz.

Intel has announced that it is buying security software company McAfee for $7.7 billion. The acquisition will enable the chip giant to capitalise on rising demand for better safeguards for laptops, smart-phones and tablet PCs. The biggest advantage in the deal for Intel will be to sell McAfee's software to PC customers. Intel supplies 80 per cent of the microprocessors ...

Three low-valuation stocks from three different sectors have the potential to offer good returns.Try out the following three scrips, one each from three different sectors - textile, steel and paper. Present valuations appear stretched. However, the three companies have reported very good numbers in the recent quarter.Besides, the respective industry prospects indicate that the coming quarters should be equally good. ...

Stress on fundamentals and customer-friendly approach sees LIC Housing Finance growing rapidly and consistently.Impressive numbers speak volumes about LIC Housing Finance (LICHFL). The country's second-largest housing finance company ended the previous financial year on a strong note, putting up a trail-blazing show.Any company would give its right arm to have a balance sheet as rosy as that of LICHFL. Consider ...

The State government is setting up of a tourist security organization in popular tourist destinations of Mahabalipuram, Udagamandalam, Kodaikanal, Rameswaram and Kanyakumari, according to V Iraianbu, tourism secretary. Ex-servicemen will be appointed in this organization and it would provide adequate security to tourists, act as a bridge between tourists and district administration, the secretary added.

Kotak Mahindra Bank introduced Stock Ace - a new product offering for its individual customers which provides them the power of instant liquidity. Stock Ace is an overdraft facility available to individual customers against their investments such as equity shares, equity mutual funds and other marketable securities that are approved for lending by the bank.

Indian Oil Corporation is in an advanced stage of firming up a Rs 2,850-crore proposal for setting up delayed coker project at its Haldia refinery. The delayed coker unit would replace production of black oil and parts of naphtha by petroleum coke, thereby enhancing the distillate yield and gross refining margin of the refinery.