Mulayam terms Amar Singh as ‘history’

Sanjay Dutt says will follow ‘elder brother’ Amar Singh

New Delhi, Jan 18: Terming Amar Singh as a part of history, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday made it evident that the exit of his one-time blue-eyed party general secretary would not affect the party. Reacting to a barrage of queries related to Amar Singh’s resignation, Yadav said: “Why do you talk about the past? I never believe in looking back. Think about what lies ahead and not history.”

He, however, declined to give a direct reply to pointed queries regarding Amar Singh, whom he had given such a free hand that it caused heartburn among Yadav’s long-time colleagues and committed socialists in the party. Yet significantly, the SP supremo looked more relaxed compared to a few days ago when he was mulling over Amar Singh’s resignation, submitted to the party Jan 6. The way he went about skirting and parrying questions on his one-time closest confidant made it clear that Amar Singh was a closed chapter for him. “However much you may try, you are not going to get anything more from me on this issue. Yes, I can assure you that some of your queries would get answered tomorrow when I will lead a huge demonstration in protest against the rise in prices and escalation in crime across the state,” he said.

Centre may divest stake in 60 PSUs

NEW DELHI, Jan 18 (PTI): The government today said 60 state-owned companies are likely to hit the capital market in the next couple of years, with steel giant SAIL and coal major CIL coming out with IPOs in the next fiscal itself.

“The 60-odd companies which we are tracking now, we hope a majority of these will come into our action plan for disinvestment over the next few years,” Disinvestment Secretary Sunil Mitra told private TV channel CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

On Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) he said, “... FPO (follow-on public offer) will happen next year ... They need to mobilise money. Their expansion programme is on hold from last year and they want to go forward with it.”

In addition to CIL, he said, the telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) could also come out with its maiden public issue in the next fiscal.

The government would come out with a detailed action plan for offloading its stake in PSUs by March, he said, adding the strategy would be to ensure maximum returns for the government and bigger retail participation.

In the current fiscal the government will offload equity of five major public sector undertakings – NTPC, Rural Electrification Corporation, Engineers India Limited, NMDC and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited, he said.

Even as four of the five disinvestments planned in the current fiscal are FPOs, Mitra said the government’s priority remains listing-led disinvestment.

“We would attach due credence and priority to the objective of this exercise, which is to unlock greater shareholder value and therefore get more and more IPOs out,” Mitra said.

However, he added, “Only how this sequencing will happen is something that will play out over the next couple of months and we should be far more definitive about this around March.”

The Government plans to divest stakes in NTPC, REC, NMDC and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam by March end, which will together fetch around Rs 30,000 crore to the exchequer.

The Cabinet had earlier asked all listed profitable CPSUs to have public holding of at least 10 per cent in them. It had also asked profitable unlisted PSUs to hit the capital market. This makes around 60 PSUs eligible for disinvestment.

The listed CPSUs that are making profits and have public holding of under 10 per cent include trading firm MMTC, mining major NMDC, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Engineers India, State Trading Corporation, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers, National Fertilisers and Andrew Yule.

Gold eases on reduce offtake, silver up

NEW DELHI: Gold prices eased by Rs 10 at Rs 17,080 per 10 gram on the bullion market here today on reduced offtake by customers, even as the global trend remained firm, while silver rises picked up on higher demand.

Silver prices moved by Rs 150 per kg in the local market. Marketmen said the gold remained volatile, moving in line with investment demand, even discounting any fresh cues on the global front which controls prices in the domestic markets.

In the international markets gold rose as drop in dollar and equities prompted investors to shift their funds to the precious metal that is considered as safe heaven, they added.

Meanwhile, silver, however, gained on pick up in demand among industrial units, fearing the prices might further go up, the traders said.

Standard gold and ornaments declined by Rs 10 each at Rs 17,080 and Rs 16,930 per 10 gram respectively. Sovereign held unchanged at Rs 14,050 per piece of eight gram.

Silver ready rose by Rs 150 to Rs 28,750 per kg and weekly-based delivery rose by Rs 125 to Rs 28,375 per kg.

Silver coins, on the other hand, remained unchanged at Rs 33,700 for buying and Rs 33,800 for selling of 100 pieces.

TOI

Led by banks & PSUs, Sensex gains 87 pts

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex today rose 87 points on funds buying in blue-chip counters led by banks and PSUs. The Sensex after a weak start, bounced back to close higher by 86.75 at 17,641.08 after hitting a high of 17,712.60 and a low of 17,505.50 during the session.

The largest software major TCS surged to all-time high of 816.40 in early trade after it beat street expectation on Friday with an over 33% jump in profit. The stock closed at Rs 799.60.

The third-biggest lender HDFC Bank climbed Rs 76.55 to Rs 1,767.55, after Morgan Stanley upgraded it to "overweight" from "equal-weight," saying lower credit-cost estimates are boosting earnings forecasts.

The National Stock Exchange index Nifty 50 rose by 22.65 to 5,274.85, after moving between 5,292.50 and 5,228.95.

Even as the stock markets in Asia remained weak, a better opening in Europe pushed the local markets in the last hour of trade.

Among the 30 Sensex counters, 19 gained while other 11 ended with losses. The bank and finance company stocks gained the most with the banking index rising 2.41% on expectations of better third quarter earnings. The second biggest gainer was PSU index with a 1.91% jump.

The auto index rose by 1.70%, consumer durables by 1.37%, IT index by 0.59%, and Tech index by 0.59% to 3,418.11. However, the upsurge was checked as stocks in healthcare, oil and gas, metal and power sectors closed with losses.

TOI