Inflation fell 1.17%

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Date : Jul-23-2009 15:41

Inflation stayed negative for the sixth consecutive week at -1.17% for the week ended July 11, 2009 as compared to -1.21% in the previous week ended July 4, 2009 while 12.13% during the corresponding week July 12, 2008.

The wholesale price index for all commodities, used to measure the inflation, was up 0.1 per cent on a week-on-week basis, at 236.7 as against 236.4 for the previous week. Moreover, the index for Primary Articles group shot up by 0.7% to 260.3 from 258.5 for the previous week. The index for ''Food Articles'' group grew by 0.9% to 255.9 from 253.6. The index for Fuel & Power group rose by 0.1% to 338.4 from 338.2 for the previous week. The index for Manufactured group fell by 0.1% to 205.9 from 206.1 the previous week.

Mobile number portability to be delayed

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Date : Jul-24-2009 08:40

As the telecom regulator is a still busy preparing regulation for the new system, Mobile Number Portability (MNP) will be delayed by at least three months from its scheduled execution date. MNP is a service that allows subscribers to hold on to their existing mobile telephone number when they switch from one service provider to another or from one technology to another of the same service provider. It is scheduled to come by the end of this year and not by September, as it was told previously. The Department of Telecommunications (DOT) had issued guidelines for its implementation in the country in August last year. Subsequently, the DOT issued licenses to two companies each serving a separate zone in the country. Hence, telecom regulator TRAI is working on regulations and the charges for the same.

Adani Power IPO to open on July 28

Date : Jul-21-2009
Adani Power Ltd, promoted by Adani Enterprise going for an initial public offering of 301,652,031 equity shares of Rs. 10 each for cash at a price to be decided through a 100 per cent book building process. The issue for the IPO opens on July 28.
The company has not mentioned about the price band of the issue. However, the company release says that the price band and the minimum bid lot will be decided by the company in consultation with the Global co-coordinator and the book running lead manager and advertised at least two working days prior to the bid/issue opening date. The face value of the equity shares is Rs. 10.

The global coordinator and book running lead manager for the issue is DSP Merrill Lynch. The other book running lead managers are Enam Securities, IDFC -SSKI, JM Financial Consultants, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley India, ICICI Securities and SBI Capital.

The issue would constitute 13.84 per cent of the post issue paid-up equity share capital of the company. The issue includes a reservation of up to 8,000,000 equity shares for eligible employee. This Issue has been graded by ICRA Limited as IPO Grade 3, indicating average fundamentals through its letter dated July 2, 2009. The equity shares offered through this Red Herring Prospectus are proposed to be listed on the NSE and the BSE.

The company intends to utilize the net proceeds of the issue to part finance the construction as well as development of Mundra Phase IV power project for 1,980 MW and fund equity contribution in its subsidiary - Adani Power Maharashtra to part finance the construction and development cost of power project for 1,980 at Tiroda.

The company has an installed combined capacity of 6,600 MW. Currently, Adani Power is working on the following projects: a) Mundra Phase I and II with capacity of 1,320 MW. b) Mundra Phase III with 1,320 MW and c) Mundra Phase IV with 1,980 MW d) Tiroda Power Project, being developed by company's subsidiary Adani Power Maharashtra Ltd with 1.980 MW. Along with this, the company is also planning to develop two power projects with combined installed capacity of 3,300 MW through its subsidiaries.

India No. 2 in sending students abroad

More students than ever before are leaving their homeland to pursue higher studies abroad. The number of these mobile students increased two-and-a-half times between 1975 and 2007, to reach 2.8 million. Two-thirds of these foreign students make a beeline for six countries — the US, UK, France, Australia, Germany and Japan in that order.

Interestingly, Germany and Japan also figure among the top countries of origin of such students. China sends the largest number of students outside (about 421,000 in 2007) followed by India (153,300), Republic of Korea (105,300), Germany (77,500) and Japan (54,500).

The number of female mobile students is increasing at a slightly faster rate, as a result raising their share of the total from 46% to 49%, according to UNESCO’s recent report, ‘Global Education Digest, 2009’. Despite increasing numbers, the proportion of students going abroad for higher education has remained the same since 1999, approximately 2 out of every 100 students.

Among regions, Western Europe hosts the largest proportion of mobile students, over 41%, followed by North America with 24% and East Asia and Pacific with over 18%. In terms of individual countries, the US hosts the largest proportion, 21%.

A new trend in the flow of mobile students is the preference to stay within their regions of origin. For instance, 77% of students going abroad from West European countries stay within that region, while the corresponding figure for North America is 39%.

Mobile students from South and West Asia are understandably much less likely to stay within their own region — just 1.3%.

What seems surprising initially is that this is much lower than even in sub—Saharan Africa, where 23% stay within the region. But thats because most of these students would be concentrated in South Africa, which hosts one out of five mobile students of the region.

Mobile students also now have a wider choice of destinations. For instance, earlier, 71% of mobile Indian students went to the US, 8% to the UK and 7.6% to Australia. Now, the US share of Indian students going abroad is down to 56%. Many more are now going to Australia, Germany, New Zealand and the UK.

Globally too, the US’s share has declined. One out of every four mobile students went to the US in 1999. Now, it is down to one out of every five, though in absolute numbers, it has increased from over 450,000 mobile students to nearly 600,000.

Other historically popular destinations like Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa now get a larger share of mobile students. Also, countries like China, South Korea and New Zealand have emerged as new popular destinations.

You might be surprised to know that India has a low rate of students going abroad compared to the global average. Just one in every 100 Indian tertiary students studies abroad against the world average of 1.8%.

Soruce:TOI

Bill Gates in India to receive Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

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NEW DELHI: Bill Gates, the founder of software giant Microsoft, is in India to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that has been actively working here in the field of health and development, especially HIV/AIDS.

Gates will also meet Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here on Friday.

According to officials at the foundation, he has a tightly packed schedule but the main focus of Gates' visit is accepting the prize on behalf of the foundation.

"The foundation has been working actively on a range of issues, including HIV/AIDS. During his visit, therefore, he will highlight the key milestones of the foundation," an official said.

In 2003, the foundation launched Avahan, a 10-year initiative to support India's efforts to reduce the spread of HIV. To achieve this the foundation has been working with vulnerable communities like sex workers, drug injectors, and men having sex with men, among others, in six states of the country.

TOI

29 pilots failed test for alcohol consumption

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NEW DELHI: Pilots flying for the ``king of good times'' seem to be having a gala time themselves. On Tuesday, aviation minister Praful Patel revealed that as many as 29 pilots failed pre-flight breath tests conducted to detect alcohol consumption.

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher topped the list with eight pilots failing the breath test. Low-cost carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet were close on its heels with six pilots each caught in 'high spirits'. Three pilots each of JetLite, Paramount and Jet Airways were also caught in a similar state. "Any pilot found to be alcohol positive is immediately grounded for a period of up to six weeks," Patel said in Parliament.

Industry sources say most drunk pilots are caught during festive season — Christmas and New Year. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) mounts surveillance at airports for pre-flight checks during this time.

There have been instances when pilots, who consumed alcohol within 12 hours of a scheduled flight, have fled from airports after finding out breath tests were being conducted.

On international flights, the DGCA often conducts post-flight breath tests to see if the cabin or cockpit crew sipped any of the alcoholic delights served on board to passengers. "This is an issue that needs to be addressed on a psychological level. The fear of getting caught has to be in the crew always and DGCA could increase deployment for this purpose once its manpower shortage is overcome," said a senior official.

TOI

No compromise on security of leaders, Pranab assures MPs

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NEW DELHI: There would be no compromise on the security of political leaders, the government asserted on Thursday as reports of protection cover being downgraded created an uproar in Parliament with the opposition disrupting both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

"On the security of the leaders, there will be no compromise," finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the leader of the house, said in the Lok Sabha.

Parliamentary Affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal also assured members that there would be "no reduction in the security" of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, Samajwadi Party's Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Lalu Prasad and Bharatiya Janata Party's Murli Manohar Joshi.

A similar assurance was also made in the upper house, Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned soon after it began the day's proceedings.

In Lok Sabha, too, angry BSP members took up the issue as soon as the house met at 11 am and rushed towards Speaker Meira Kumar's podium shouting slogans against the government after reports that the Z-plus security cover being given to Mayawati may be downgraded.

The Speaker's repeated requests to them to raise the matter during zero hour would not pacify the members, forcing her to adjourn the house for half-an-hour.

Chaos ruled even after the house re-assembled.

"The government is planning to scale down the security provided to Mayawati and home minister P Chidambaram should reply soon," BSP leader Dara Singh Chauhan said.

In a move to calm the situation, Mukherjee said: "I checked up the position on the issue with the home minister and he has assured me that he has not received the report of review committee so far."

"It is a periodic exercise to review security. The review committee report has not reached him and the government will take a decision after taking (into account) the concerns of the members of the house and the persons concerned," he added.

But the BSP was not pacified and the protests continued.

The BJP also added to the din. "The name of party leader Murli Manhohar Joshi who led 'ekta yatra' against terrorism to Kashmir also figured in the list of persons whose security will be downscaled," Sushma Swaraj said.

Soon after Swaraj's brief speech, BJP MPs joined the chorus, forcing the speaker to adjourn the house till noon.

When it reconvened, the house was adjourned for a third time, till 2pm, following slogan shouting. The fracas continued in the house even after this adjournment, forcing the government to make a statement on the issue.

Tempers cooled only after Mukherjee's assurance.

Home ministry officials have had three meetings so far to examine the security cover being given to 395 VIPs in the capital. Security cover may be either whittled down or removed for some of them. The final decision has to be taken by the home minister.

The matter also figured Wednesday in the Lok Sabha when Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav voiced their protest against the government's move.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the same reason soon after it began the day's proceedings.

TOI

Jotun launches new paint, says 8 pc growth on target

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New Delhi, July 23 (PTI) During recession, when people are cutting down on non-essential expenditure, painting one's house would be the last thing on mind. But, the slowdown notwithstanding, paint maker Jotun India has big plans to increase its retail stores across the country.

By December this year, the company, part of Norway-based Jotun, is planning to increase the number of retail stores to 250 from 170 now, Jotun India, General Manager (Decorative) Percy Jijina said.

These exclusive Jotun stores would be a one-stop shop for all the requirements of customers wanting to get their house painted. From consultancy to technical support to whether a particular paint is suitable for the climatic conditions of the city, the company trained staff at the stores will have the answers to all of them.