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Inflation soars to 7.33%


New Delhi, April 25: There seems to be no respite for the common man despite the slew of measures taken by the UPA government to rein in spiralling inflation. The latest figures released on Friday confirmed that the wholesale price index based inflation rose to 7.33 percent for the week ended April 12, as against 7.14 percent in the previous week.

The price rise is expected to prompt Reserve Bank of India to further tighten money supply in its annual credit policy slated to be announced on April 29. RBI has already increased CRR, the mandatory amount that banks keep with the central bank, by 0.5 percent to check money supply. The hike will come into effect in two phases on April 26 and May 10.

The prices of certain essential commodities like vegetables, cereals, pulses and edible oils, however, softened during the week.

The average rate of inflation, according to the official data, worked out to be 4.51 percent during 2007-08 as compared to 5.42 percent in the previous fiscal.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in the Lok Sabha that some administrative measures were under the government`s active consideration to curb price rise, but warned that such steps could retard economic growth marginally.

"Steps taken will take some time to have an impact on inflation. Every possible measure is being taken. We must be patient," Chidambaram told the Lower House.

"Inflation is largely driven by international prices of commodities," he said.

On the issue of futures trading, Chidambaram said it has been banned with regard to certain commodities like rice and wheat, tur and urad.

Referring to the Abhijit Sen committee set up to assess the impact of futures trading on prices, he said after its report is submitted, the government will take a decision on the futures trading on other commodities.

Turning to public distribution system, he said a study had shown that upto 36 percent of the commodities distributed under it do not reach the intended people.

He said it was the responsibility of state governments to check leakages in the PDS and they should take strong measures in this regard.

Denying that the quantity of foodgrains under PDS had been reduced, the Finance Minister said an average 300 lakh tonnes of foodgrains are allocated for it annually.

This is in contrast to NDA`s tenure, when the maximum allocation touched 239 lakh tonnes.

He, however, said he would support any increased allocation of rice and wheat under the PDS.

The annual rate of inflation, which dipped from a 40-month high of 7.41 percent to 7.14 for week ended April 5, again rose despite a host of measures announced by the government to control prices. Inflation for the corresponding period last year was at 6.34 percent.

Indian Bank net up at Rs 1,008 crore

New Delhi, April 25: The Indian Bank on Friday said it has registered a growth of 32.77 percent in net profit at Rs 1,008 crore during 2007-08, an increase of 32.67 percent from previous year.

The company had last year posted a net profit of Rs 759.77 crore.

The total income of the bank rose to Rs 6,218.66 crore, registering a growth of 23.93 percent over Rs 5,017.86 crore a year ago, the bank said in a release.

The gross NPA of the bank declined to 1.21 percent, against 1.85 percent in the previous year.

Hindujas may invest USD 10bn in India

New Delhi, April 25: The Hinduja Group will invest USD 10 billion in various power projects across India in the next ten years, starting with setting up of 2,000 MW generation capacity in Andhra Pradesh.

The group, run by the London-based Hinduja family, will create a power generation capacity of 10,000 MW over the next ten years, for which it is negotiating with 7-8 states, its global president GP Hinduja told agencies in an interview here.

The first of this would be the 2,000 MW Vizag Project in Andhra Pradesh, he said.

The group`s total investment in the country`s power sector would work out to be around USD 10 billion (about Rs 40,000 crore), given the average cost of about USD 1 billion for creating 1,000 MW capacity, Hinduja said.

The group will also consider bidding for upcoming Ultra- Mega Power Projects (UMPPS) as and when the government invites bids for the same, he said, adding that any decision in that regard would be taken only after the bids are invited and on a case-to-case basis.

While Hinduja did not wish to comment on the current status of the group`s Vizag Project, it is understood that the application for coal linkage has been recommended by the Central Electricity Authority and is awaiting the nod of the Coal Linkage Committee.

Out of the Group`s overall 10,000 MW power generation plan, Vizag Project is expected to be the first to reach financial closure.

Reliance power declares June 2 as date for bonus

Mumbai, April 25: Anil Ambani promoted Reliance Power on Thursday said it will offer bonus shares to the shareholders whose name appears in the register of members as of June 2.

The company had declared a bonus issue within few days of its listing on stock exchanges in the ratio 3:5, that is three shares for every five shares held, a company release said.

The company`s books would remain closed between June 3 and 5 for the purpose.

The shares of the company would be quoted on cum-bonus basis till may 29 and ex-bonus from May 30, the release said.

The company has 41 Lakh public shareholders who would be entitled to the bonus shares. The promoters have been excluded from the bonus entitlement.

SAIL holding its prices without levying raw material surcharge

New Delhi, April 25: State-run Steel Authority of India would possibly be selling cheapest steel products as it announced holding the price line without levying raw material surcharge of Rs 5,000 per tonne, resorted to by all the big private sector producers.

SAIL was the first to announce on April 22 to hold the present price line for two-three months, followed by Tatas, Jindals and others.

"All other producers agreed to hold on to their price line after levying a raw material surcharge of Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per tonne" a steel industry official said.

After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked steel producers earlier this week not to manipulate the market for short term gains, all major producers had announced holding their prices.

The prices of the PSU's flat products were also lower than those of other producers.

Market sources said the price differential between sail's produce and products of private steelmakers was considerable. The PSU's price of 8 mm steel plates was around Rs 46,832 per tonne, while that of another steel company was Rs 50,856 a tonne.

Similarly, the price of SAIL's galvanised corrugated steel sheets was Rs 51,192 a tonne, Essar sold it at about Rs 55,060, the official said.

FIIs sell shares worth Rs 759 crore on bourses

Mumbai, April 25: Foreign Institutional Investors were net sellers in equities today, while the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index, Sensex, ending 23 points up.

FIIs made gross sale of equities worth Rs 4,384.58 crore and gross purchase of Rs 3,625.42 crore, resulting in a net sale of Rs 759.16 crore.

Domestic Institutional Investors, however, were net investors in shares worth Rs 442.88 crore, provisional data available on the BSE show.

Among other categories, Non-Resident Indian entities and proprietors sold shares worth Rs 1.94 crore and Rs 49.16 crore respectively.

However, brokers invested in shares worth Rs 57.59 crore for their clients or retail investors.

According to the information available on the SEBI website, FIIs sold shares worth Rs 263.10 crore yesterday.

The Sensex ended the day at 16,721.08 points, a rise of 23.04 points or 0.14 percent.

Tata Motors wins EU approval for JLR takeover

Brussels, April 25: The European Commission gave the green light Friday to Tata Motors` takeover of Jaguar and Land Rover from US car-maker Ford.

Europe`s top antitrust watchdog gave its blessing to the deal after reviewing the deal for competition threats through a fast-track procedure reserved for transactions not expected to pose any problems.

Tata Motors said in March it was buying the two British luxury icons Jaguar and Land Rover from ailing US carmaker Ford for USD 2.3 billion, vaulting the Indian company into the premium global car market.

For India`s top carmaker, the deal is part of plans to expand its reach beyond Asia.

For ford selling the prestige brands is supposed to help it focus on turning around its North American operations after losing USD 15.3 billion over the past two years.

Ambuja Cements Q1 net drops 42% at Rs 326 cr

Mumbai, April 25: Ambuja Cements Friday announced a net profit of Rs 326.2 crore for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008, a drop of 42.39 percent compared to the corresponding period a year-ago.

The company had a net profit of Rs 566.25 crore in the year-ago period, Ambuja Cements informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The total income for the quarter ended March 31, rose to Rs 1,695.41 crore, from Rs 1,452.49 crore in the same period a year ago.

Stating that the overall economy is slowing down, the company added: "the construction sector remains relatively buoyant and cement demand is unlikely to be significantly affected."

"The cement industry and the government should work together, with the aim of streamlining the indirect tax regime through abatements, as well as improving access to, and pricing of, key inputs such as coal in order that cement prices can remain at reasonable levels," the company said.

The company has commissioned a one million tonne grinding facility at Surat during the quarter, the filing added.

It plans to increase its capacity to 25 million tonnes by second half of 2009, it said.

"Work continues to progress satisfactorily on the major clinkerisation expansion projects at Bhatapara and Rauri. The total outlay on these projects will be in the region of Rs 3,500 crore," the company added.

Shares of the company closed at Rs 114.8, down 0.35 percent on the BSE.

Mittal is Britain’s richest resident

London, April 26: Indian steel baron Lakshmi Mittal has been ranked as Britain`s richest resident, for the fourth year in a row by a leading media house.

According to the Sunday Times rich list 2008, to be published tomorrow, the London-based 57-year-old Mittal and his family`s total fortune is worth an estimated 27,700 million pounds.

The steel baron consolidated his position at the top by acquiring world`s leading steel company Arcelor last year.

The combined business, Arcelor Mittal, produces 115 million tons of steel a year and accounts for ten percent of market.

Mittal is followed in the list by Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich, with a 11,700-million-pound fortune, and the duke of Westminster - the richest property developer in Britain, worth 7,000 million pounds.

The Hinduja Brothers - Sri and Gopi -- are at number four, and they will celebrate the 100th anniversary of their father`s 6,200-million-pound industry and finance empire in the year 2014.

Alisher Usmanov, a former prosecutor in Uzbekistan, who appears at number five, built his 5,726-million-pound fortune through steel and ore mines.

A former Miss United Kingdom from Staffordshire, Kirsty Bertarelli, is the highest placed woman, appearing at number six on the list, alongside her 42-year-old husband, Swiss biotechnology tycoon Ernesto Bertarelli.

Next on the list are Hans Rausing and family, who developed the Tetra Pak; the Shipping Owner John Fredriksen; the Retail Millionaires Sir Philip and Lady Green; and David and Simon Reuben, who have been active in the British property market for a decade, after making their fortune in aluminum.