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The latest news from India's most respected business daily.



India, US sign final nuclear pact, prepare for Obama visit (Jul 31)
The stage has been set for a four-day November visit to India by United States President Barack Obama with the signature on Friday of a nuclear reprocessing pact that finally eliminates all obstacles and allows US companies to commence nuclear trade with India.


NTC's Worli land goes for Rs 474 cr (Jul 31)
Indiabulls Infratech today emerged the highest bidder for a 2.39-acre mill plot auctioned by state-owned National Textile Corporation (NTC) in central Mumbai. Indiabulls bid Rs 474 crore for the Poddar Mill land in up-market Worli through an e-auction, the first by NTC. The public sector company is selling land in defunct textile units to raise resources for the revival of 21 mills that are seen as potentially viable. The reserve price for the property was Rs 250 crore.


Prepare for life without Cong in Maharashtra: Pawar to team (Jul 31)
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on Saturday gave two messages to the 20 party ministers in the Maharashtra cabinet: One, prepare for an independent fight in all 288 assembly constituencies in Maharashtra; and two, perform or perish. Pawar, who held a closed-door meeting with the ministers, also sent out a stern message to the Congress not to take NCP for granted.


ICICI Bank's Q1 net up 5% (Jul 31)
ICICI Bank, the countrys largest private sector lender, reported a 5.4 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,091 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, compared to a year ago, weighed down by a loss from its life insurance subsidiary.


PMO steps in to clear games mess (Jul 31)
Worried about the allegations of corruption and slow pace of work, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has finally stepped in to salvage the Commonwealth Games to be hosted in Delhi in October. According to bureaucratic sources, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar has been asked by the Prime Minister to take a more pro-active role in the preparations of the games.


ICICI Bank, StanChart penalised for violation of banking norms (Jul 30)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh each on ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank for violating banking regulations.


Vaidyanathan quits ICICI Pru to join Future Capital (Jul 30)
V Vaidyanathan, managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, has resigned and will move to a new role in Future Capital, the financial services arm of the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group.


RBI takes banks to task on MF income (Jul 30)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come down heavily on banks for treating returns from liquid mutual fund (MF) investments as interest income and not as trading income.


Non-Cong states implementing UPA schemes better (Jul 30)
Earlier this month, Congress president Sonia Gandhi spent hours hearing party people grumble on how opposition parties were allegedly hijacking the United Progressive Alliances (UPAs) flagship programmes and claiming these as their own. Yet, the latest figures from the Union rural development ministry suggest opposition-ruled states are actually implementing the UPAs rural schemes better and more efficiently, while Congress-ruled ones are lagging.


SEZs to retain tax sops, with riders (Jul 30)
Units located in special economic zones (SEZ) are likely to retain the income tax concessions even after introduction of the Direct Taxes Code. A compromise is being worked out by the commerce and revenue departments, though a continuation of the tax dispensation will come with certain riders for units in the duty-free enclaves as well as SEZ developers.