Sensex fails to maintain initial gains, up 51 points

STAFF WRITER 11:48 HRS IST

Mumbai, Mar 23 (PTI) The BSE benchmark sensex failed to maintain initial gains on profit-booking ahead of the expiry of the near-month March 2010 derivatives contracts on March 25.

The BSE benchmark resumed higher at 17,422.51 and shot up further to 17,530.79 on firm Asian cues before quoting at 17,461.26 at 1015 hours, still showing a gain of 50.69 points or 0.29 per cent from its previous close.

The market rebounded by a surprise hike in short term interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which it announced after trading hours on last Friday, yesterday.

The NSE 50-share nifty also moved up by 16.70 points or 0.32 per cent to 5,221.90 at 1015 hours from its last close.

No decision to provide India access to Headley, says US

STAFF WRITER 12:7 HRS IST

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) In a surprise development, the US today said it has taken no decision to provide Indian investigators direct access to Pakistani-American David Headley, who has confessed to plotting the Mumbai terror attacks.

Four days after US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake publicly stated here that the Indian investigators will have access to Headley, American Ambassador Timothy J Roemer said in a statement that "no decision on direct access for India to David Headley has been made."

Following Blake's statement and a telephonic discussion with US Attorney General and Head of the Department of Justice Eric Holder, Home Minister P Chidambaram had directed NIA and other agencies concerned in the case to quickly prepare documents necessary to start a judicial proceeding in which Indian authorities could require Headley to answer questions and to testify.

India could grow by 9 per cent by 2011-12, says PM

STAFF WRITER 10:33 HRS IST

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today exuded confidence the Indian economy would grow by 8.5 per cent in the next fiscal and accelerate to nine per cent the following year from an estimated 7.2 per cent this fiscal.

Going forward, the country should step up the pace of economic expansion to above 10 per cent per annum in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2107) to generate employment for the youth and remove poverty, the Prime Minister said at a conference on building infrastructure hosted by the Planning Commission.

"We expect to achieve 8.5 per cent growth rate in the year 2010-11... I hope we can achieve growth rate of 9 per cent in the year 2011-12," he said.

However, the country should do even better, he said.