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17 BLASTS ROCK AHMEDABAD

Ahmedabad, July 26: A day after a series of explosions rocked the IT city of Bangalore, seventeen blasts went off in Ahmedabad Saturday evening. The areas targeted are Maninagar, Isanpur, Narol circle, Bapunagar, Hatkeshwar, Sarangpur bridge, Sarkhej, Odhav, Sardar Patel market, Civil hospital, Juhapura, Ambur tower building, Raipur and Gowribhadi. Reports suggest that nearly 30 people have been killed and 100 others injured. Lashkar and HuJI have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Helpline No: 09873603313.
Ahmedabad Control Room No: 256301006900

The Prime Minister has announced ex gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh for the kin of those killed in explosions. The injured will be given Rs 50,000/- each. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has also announced compensation of Rs five lakhs to the families of those killed in the serial blasts. The state government has also announced compensation of Rs 50,000 to the injured.

17 in 90 minutes

All blasts went off in a span of 90 minutes starting 6:45 pm.

The first two blasts were reported in Chakla area of Raipur and Narole Circle of Maninagar. Then another blast was reported from Saranpur area of Raipur. Soon after another followed in Maninagar again.

Maninagar also happens to be the constituency of Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Bapu Nagar and Diamond Market are in the Old City area which is very congested particularly on Saturday evening. Splinters from the explosion set off small fires in some areas.

A seventh explosion took place in Sarkhej. The bomb here went off in CNG bus.

In another market near Sabarmati River, eyewitness accounts suggest that two men were seen throwing a bag near the shops. Immediately after there was an explosion.

News has also come of blasts from Isanpur, Hatkeshwar, Amraiwadi, Govindvadi, Sattar Bapa Nagar, Johapura and Saraspur.

In the second wave of explosions, four blasts went off near hospitals, perhaps with the intention of hitting emergency services, which would have by then be struggling to cope with the casualties. Another blast was reported close to the trauma centre of one of Ahmedabad’s biggest hospitals, the Civil Hospital, where most of the victims were being rushed.

There are also reports that some explosions were in very close periphery. Again this may have been done to maximise casualties as rescuers were gathering to help the victims of the initial blasts.

Nature of Blasts

Though details are sketchy, it is believed that most of the bombs may have been placed on cycles, like was done Jaipur in May this year.

According to intelligence sources, the bombs were crude in nature which may have been set off by timer devices. The bombs contained parts of micro processors and quartz.

The same elements were found in bombs that went off in Bangalore yesterday.

Rescue Operations & High Alert

Police and ambulances immediately rushed to all the sites that had been targeted. All the injured have been rushed to the Civil and LG hospital.

A live bomb was found in the Gandhinagar Kalol area in the combing operations after the blast. The bomb was fixed with a timer device which was set to go off on 12 o’clock. Bomb disposal squads were out in full force sanitizing different parts of the city. Ahmedabad has been cordoned off from the rest of the state as authorities don’t want tensions to flare up.

Delhi, Mumbai, and other metros have been put on high alert. As has Tamil Nadu after indications that the ancient Meenakashi Temple may be on target. Security has been beefed up at all major temples as a precautionary measure.

Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh have also been put on high alert.

The pattern of blasts in Ahmedabad seems very similar to those in Bangalore. However, the intensity of the explosions in Ahmedabad is slightly higher than those used in yesterday’s attack.

They also look like a very coordinated effort by terror organisations create panic across the country.

The Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the people to maintain peace and asked the people to cooperate in maintaining law and order in the state. Modi convened a emergency meeting at the police headquarter in Gandhinagar and reviewed the security situation.

LeT, HuJI claim responsibility

Lashkar-e-Toiba and Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami have claimed responsibility for the Ahmedabad serial blasts.

Earlier, an organisation called Indian Mujahideen had sent an email warning of a wave of violence in Gujarat as a revenge for the riots in 2002. The email also warned Narnedra Modi, with an open challenge: “Stop us if you can”.

The 14-page email of the Indian Mujahideen also gave out the exact details of the cycle frame numbers that were going to be used and details of the exact locations. The previously unknown organization also took responsibility for the Mumbai and Jaipur blasts.

Claiming the Ahmedabad attack was against the post-Godhra violence in 2002, the group said that in the near future they will target the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Centre sends help

Madhukar Gupta, Union Home Secretary while confirming reports over 14 blasts, said that the Centre was in touch with the state security agencies and would render all help necessary.

He informed the media that a NSG commando team has already been dispatched to Ahmedabad and another team would be dispatched on Sunday.

Referring to the remarkable similarity of the serial blasts with those that took place in Bangalore yesterday, and in Jaipur in May, he said that the government would probe into the probable link of the between the three serial blasts.

He said that while there was no specific input regarding Ahmedabad, all the states had recently been issued a general advisory. A meeting had also been held to review the progress made in terrorist strikes cases.

The Home Secretary also said that a meeting of the DGs and the state Home Secretary would be held in the next few days to review the situation.

Meanwhile the Home Minister said that high level meeting had been convened at 11 am Sunday morning to take stock of all the recent terror attacks.

Oil prices could drop if Iran concerns allayed: OPEC President

Algiers, July 26: The price of oil could drop to between 70 and 80 dollars a barrel if the dollar strengthens and concerns over Iran are reduced, OPEC chief Chakib Khelil said on Saturday.

"If the dollar strengthens and if the crisis with Iran is resolved, the trend in oil prices should be to go towards 70 to 80 dollars," the head of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries said on the sidelines of a conference.

Khelil is also Algeria's Energy Minister.Oil prices ended the week at around 125 dollars abarrel in London and New York. Crude oil prices have dropped by nearly 25 dollars on both sides of the Atlantic in less than two weeks.

Zandu surge may throw spanner in Emami works

BS Reporters / Mumbai July 25, 2008, 0:13 IST

The Zandu Pharmaceutical stock has surged three-fold over the open offer price of Emami, plunging the latter's takeover plans into uncertainty. The open offer begins from July 24.



Emami's offer price of Rs 7,315 a share would receive a lukewarm response from retail and other corporate investors as Zandu's share closed at Rs 21,315.60 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday, said analysts.


"Instead of tendering shares at the open offer, an investor would rather sell their shares in the open market," an executive of an institutional investment firm said. "Emami will either have to increase the offer price or simply let this offer to lapse," he added.


Keeping in mind the higher acquisition cost, the Kolkata-based company has set up a war chest of Rs 250 crore to fund the Zandu takeover. This also gives credence to reports that Emami will make a better offer to Zandu shareholders, including the Parikhs.


"Emami is quite serious about Zandu and it will try to control the company," said analysts. In a communication to its shareholders, Emami informed that it woudl invest Rs 250 crore to acquire the Mumbai-based company from its own funds.


The company is also raising its borrowing limit to Rs 500 crore to look for other takeover targets. The Kolkata-based company is also raising money by selling convertible securities equivalent to 15 per cent of its post-issue, paid-up capital to qualified institutional bidders (QIBs).


Emami's attempt to raise funds from all quarters comes at a time when its acquisition cost for Zandu Pharmaceutical has shot up substantially. The open offer to the Zandu shareholders follows the acquisition of 27.5 per cent stake by Emami from the Vaidyas, one of the promoter families.


The ayurvedic medicine maker's other promoter, the Parikhs, are resisting the takeover attempt. Though in the past, Emami had made an offer to the Parikhs to share the management of the company with it, the Parikhs had not responded positively.


Since the announcement of the Emami takeover plan, the Parikhs have been buying shares from the open market, which has ignited Zandu's share price to touch an all-time high. Zandu's 52-week low was Rs 3,370 a share.


Emami has paid Rs 130 crore to the Vaidyas to buy out their shares at a price of Rs 6,900 a share and according to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India's takeover regulations, Emami has to make an open offer to the other shareholders.


Both the Parikhs and the Emami executives did not comment on the issue.

Tatas plan to drive out electric car on Indica platform

New Delhi, July 27: Tata Motors, which plans to deliver its first electric car by the end of this fiscal, has turned to its tried and tested Indica platform for the vehicle.

According to industry sources, the company is currently working on five prototypes of electric vehicles on the Indica platform.

"These will use lithium ion batteries for high energy and power density," a source said.

It is understood that the electric car, which Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata said would be delivered by end of this financial year, would have an approximate range of 200 kilometers.

Aimed mainly at city driving, Tata Motors' electric car is a part of its larger project on developing eco-friendly vehicles.

Ratan Tata had said that the electric car has been developed for Norway and "hope to deliver it by end of this financial year and then it will be available to employ in other markets".

Besides the electric car, the company is also developing an electric version of its mini truck Ace, primarily for exporting to the US and European markets.

The sources said the electric vehicle on the Ace platform is in advanced stage of development.

"The prototype for the vehicle is in production ready stage," a source added.

CDMA cries foul over Govt decision to ahead with 3G policy

New Delhi, July 27: The association of CDMA telecom operators, AUSPI, today said the government decision to go ahead with the 3G policy without deciding on the spectrum band for them is likely to benefit the rival GSM service providers.

AUSPI Secretary General S C Khanna said in a statement that the 3G policy under which spectrum would be made available by auction only in 2.1 GHZ band which is suitable only for GSM operators. The CDMA operators do not have network equipment to operate in in 2.1 GHz and handsets.

"If 3G policy is announced without providing 3G path for CDMA operators, it is going to benefit only the established GSM operators and create serious level playing field disturbances," he said.

The equipment and handsets for operating in the band are unlikely to be available for a couple of years at affordable prices. This means the established GSM operators who are able to get 3G spectrum would have a two-year lead time over CDMA operators creating consciously level playing field imbalances, Khanna said.

The Department of Telecom in its 3G policy announced in November 2007 had accepted the specific TRAI recommendations for for 3G services by CDMA operators and said that two carriers in 800 MHz band would be reserved for CDMA operators.

AUSPI has made a presentation to DOT to take into account the requirements of CDMA operators before announcing the 3G Policy, otherwise 80 million CDMA subscribers would be deprived of the benefit of 3G services.

L&T Q1 net up 33 % at Rs 502.44 cr

Mumbai, July 28: Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro on Monday reported a profit after tax of Rs 502.44 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal, a 33 per cent growth from that in the corresponding quarter a year-ago.

L&T had a PAT of Rs 376.85 crore in the first quarter of FY'08, L&T said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The total income rose 51 per cent to Rs 7,103.26 crore, from Rs 4,715.47 crore in the first quarter of the previous fiscal.

Shares of L&T were trading at Rs 2,740, up 4.36 per cent on the BSE.

HDFC Bank Q1 Net up 45 pc at Rs 464.4 cr

Mumbai, July 28: Private sector lender HDFC Bank today reported a jump of 44.6 per cent in the net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, at Rs 464.4 crore.

A substantial increase in net interest income combined with a healthy jump in fees and commission has enabled HDFC Bank to clock a total income of Rs 4,215.2 crore in Q1 FY 2009, up 59.6 per cent as compared to the year-ago period.

The bank which recently merged Centurion Bank reported a jump of 74.9 per cent in the Net interest income at Rs 1,723 crore driven by average asset growth of 68 per cent and a core net interest margin of just over 4.1 per cent.

Fees and commission, the main contributors to other income for the quarter, increased by 37.3 per cent to Rs 511.2 crore, the release said.

The two other major components of other income were foreign exchange and derivatives revenues of Rs 157.4 crore as compared to Rs 146.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.

The bank reported a loss of Rs 77.6 crore on revaluation or sale of investments in the reporting quarter as against a profit of Rs 52.6 crore in the year-ago period.

There was an increase in provisions and contingencies for the quarter at Rs 344.5 crore as against Rs 307.1 crore in the year-ago period.

These comprised primarily of specific provisions for NPAs and general provisions for standard assets of Rs 324.4 crore as against Rs 299.7 crore in the year-ago period, the release said.

Hindalco net up 16% at Rs 696.76 cr

Mumbai, July 28: Aditya Birla flagship firm Hindalco Industries on Monday announced a net profit of Rs 696.76 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, a 16 percent growth over the corresponding period a year-ago.

The company had a net profit of Rs 598.62 crore in the first quarter of FY'08, Hindalco said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The total income rose to Rs 4862.19 crore in the June quarter, from Rs 4809.76 crore in the same period previous fiscal.

"A steep depreciation of the Indian rupee against the US dollar affected the copper business by about Rs 151.9 crore in the June quarter. For the corresponding quarter of the previous year this had an estimated favourable impact of Rs 14.3 crore," the filing added.

Shares of Hindalco were trading at Rs 147, down 1.64 percent in the late afternoon trade on the BSE.

ONGC Q1 profit up 44 pc at Rs 6,636 cr

New Delhi, July 28: Oil major Oil and Natural Gas Corp on today reported a 44 per cent jump in profit in first quarter of the current fiscal, despite nearly three-fold increase in subsidy payout.

Net profit rose to Rs 6,636 crore in the first quarter of FY 2009, against Rs 4,611 crore an year-ago, a company official said.

The company had to bear Rs 9,811 crore towards subsidising domestic LPG and kerosene in the Q1. This was a nearly three-fold increase from Rs 3,649 crore for April-June quarter last year.

The gross realisation on crude oil was 125.85 dollar per barrel but after taking into account the subsidy payout, the net realisation was 69.14 dollar per barrel.

The official said the turnover in the quarter rose by 47 per cent to Rs 20,123 crore.

Crude oil production rose marginally to 6.41 million tons in the April-June this year, against 6.38 million in the last year. Natural gas production improved 5.63 billion cubic meters (bcm) from 5.50 bcm.

ONGC to foray into uranium mining

Close on the heels of Indo-US nuclear deal, state-run ONGC will make a foray into uranium mining, an official said.

ONGC board has approved entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL), for exploration and exploitation of uranium, the official said.

This collaboration with UCIL is to leverage ONGC's expertise in exploration of hydrocarbons to commercially exploit this vital and strategic mineral, he added.

Currently, ONGC is passively studying the prospects through ONGC Energy Center (OEC) by studying the logs of existing wealth.

There would be an opportunity to synergies the respective strengths of both ONGC and UCIL in pursuing opportunities for exploration and exploitation of uranium in India and abroad, he added.

Bajaj launches new variants of Discover 135cc bike

New Delhi, July 28: Country's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto on Monday introduced a new variant of its 135cc bike Discover DTSi priced between Rs 46,248 and Rs 51,895 (ex showroom Delhi) as part of strategy to reinforce its position in the premium segment.

"The new Discover 135cc is a stylish and sporty bike with all the necessary features for an exciting ride for performance-oriented customers. The newly launched Discover will further reinforce our position in the premium segment," Bajaj Auto CEO (Two Wheeler) S Sridhar said in a statement.

The three versions of the new Discover 135 DTS-I available are -- Sports version, Electric Start version and Kick Start version.

The launch is expected to boost the company's motorcycle sales. In June, the sales of Bajaj Auto declined 2.5 percent to 1,20,143 units, against 1,23,273 units in the same month last year.

For the April-June period, the company's motorcycle sales stood at 3,88,328 units, against 3,79,491 units in the corresponding period last fiscal, up 2.32 percent.