Sensex gains marginally; Jindal Steel up 8%, NTPC adds 4%

The market has been extremely stubborn today refusing to budge ahead amid volatile trading. The Sensex is up 31.96 points at 19195.98, and the Nifty adds 9.70 points at 5687.60.  About 1000 shares have advanced, 1105 shares declined, and 132 shares are unchanged.

From the small cap space, TV Today is the big buzzer today, up 20 percent after posting a Rs 12 crore profit against a loss of 35 lakh, year-on-year.

Tata Chemicals shares lost nearly 4 percent after the Tata Group company's consolidated net profit dropped more than 30 percent on yearly basis to Rs 75.2 crore in first quarter, but net sales grew by 8.9 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 3,292 crore during the quarter.

Oudh Sugar Mills' loss widened to Rs 27.4 crore in April-June quarter from Rs 6.2 crore on yearly basis while net sales fell by 24 percent year-on-year to Rs 271.2 crore during the quarter. The stock is down 1 percent.

Tech Mahindra inks five year managed service pact with BASE Company

Tech Mahindra and BASE Company have entered into five year managed service agreement for the operations and roll out of the BASE network in Belgium. With this agreement, BASE Company is broadening its partnership with Tech Mahindra, creating highly efficient network operations, where a managed service partner is responsible for both network and IT.

Both the company will partner to realize the expansion and improvement of the network and achieve daily operational excellence in its network systems. Tech Mahindra will be responsible for amongst others mobile site upgrades, maintenance, incident handling, site construction and data centre maintenance for multi-vendor 2G/3G and LTE networks.

As a managed service partner Tech Mahindra is not biased towards any specific equipment vendor and will ensure excellent service management and customer experience for both network and IT with its global Network Operations Centre. BASE Company will retain ownership of the network and of the strategic network planning and development.

BASE, subsidiary of KPN Group, has a leading network position with its 3G dual carrier network supporting speeds of up to 42 Mbps. In addition, BASE has the aim to cover the majority of the country with LTE end-2014.

SC order on reservation gets flak in Lok Sabha

The recent Supreme Court judgement on reservation on Monday came in for criticism in the Lok Sabha with members claiming that it would hit hard 80 per cent population of the country comprising SC, ST and Backwards.

The judgement disallowing reservation in promotion in the faculty of AIIMS also saw members expressing concern over the erosion of Parliament’s supremacy and demanding urgent amendment to the Constitution to annul the apex court verdict.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav lamented that the courts have been repeatedly striking down legislations which are meant to benefit weaker sections.

He said while the judiciary was doing a good work in exposing corruption, it was negating the laws unanimously passed by all parties on social issues like reservation.

“They always do something so that Parliament does not run,” Mr. Yadav said regretting that the Constitution Bench had passed the order on the last day of the tenure of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, who retired recently.

The matter of concern was that this apex court order was not just applicable to the AIIMS but on all such institutions.

“Reservation is a hard-earned achievement of the people after a long struggle. Some way should be found by the government to restore the rights of 80 per cent of the people of the country,” Mr. Yadav said.

Seconding the JD(U) leader, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav sought to know whether the people of weaker sections were “only meant to sweep the floors or be a chaprasi or a chowkidar.”

He said there were only two per cent people in high posts among the backward classes, who constitute 54 per cent of the population.

The SP chief also warned of nationwide protests if the government did nothing to annul the Supreme Court order.

Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP) said the situation would not have arisen if Parliament had passed the Reservation in Promotion Bill which was being strongly advocated by BSP supremo Mayawati.

P.L. Punia (Cong) said it was a matter of regret that the Supreme Court had not considered several important decisions taken by Parliament to give justice to weaker sections through reservation.

“Will only five people (bench of the apex court) decide the future of the country or the representatives sitting in Parliament,” he asked.

Mutual funds withdraw Rs 2,100 cr worth shares in July

Continuing their selling spree in the stock market, domestic mutual funds have sold shares worth over Rs 2,100 crore in July, making it 13th consecutive month of net outflows.

The funds offloaded shares worth about Rs 2,168.50 crore in the equity market during July, higher than Rs 296 crore outflow witnessed in the month of June, according to the latest data available with market regulator Sebi.

With the latest sale of shares by MFs, the net withdrawal reached to Rs 15,042 crore since the beginning of the year.

In comparison, the foreign institutional investors made a net outflow of more than Rs 6,000 crore from equities in June, almost half from Rs Rs 11,027 crore pulled out in the preceding month.

Also, MF investors pulled out Rs 23,740 crore in debt schemes after investing a staggering Rs 64,602 crore in the such schemes in June. Still, the debt market witnessed a net inflow of Rs 2.7 crore in the first seven-months period of 2013.

Mutual fund is an investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets.

According to market participants, overall, fund houses have been shifting focus from equity to debt scheme because of volatility in the secondary market and latter offers better returns compared to bank fixed deposits.

Another reason for investing in debt scheme could be lower-risk in it than equity funds.

HCC back in black after eight quarters

Analysts expected Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) to report increased losses for the first quarter (Q1, April-June). After all, losses have been plaguing the construction and engineering major for the last eight quarters.

But surprise, surprise, HCC reported a Q1 net profit of Rs 19.2 core. For perspective, here’s a tidbit: in Q1 of last fiscal, HCC’s loss was Rs 31 crore.

The stock market quickly cheered the news, sending HCC shares to the upper circuit limit in intra-day trade. HCC closed 20% up at Rs 9.60 on the NSE.

Total income increased 19% on-year to Rs 1,149 crore. Operating profit or Ebitda stood at Rs 201.2 crore (Rs 69.1 crore in Q1 of last fiscal). Ebitda margin was at 17.6%.

HCC management attributed the turnaround to operational efficiencies, cost control and pending claims from clients.

Praveen Sood, group CFO, said 40% of the turnover came from the NH-34 project in West Bengal and the Kishanganga tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir.

HCC’s consolidated Q1 debt  was Rs 10,000 crore while standalone debt was Rs 4,600 crore. Its order book stood at Rs 13,970 crore, excluding contracts worth Rs 2,265 crore where it emerged as a preferred bidder and is hopeful of winning the orders by the year-end.

During Q1, HCC received around Rs 40 crore in claims from government agencies NHPC and the National Highways Authority of India.

As part of its asset monetisation plan, HCC is in advanced stages of divesting its 18 lakh square foot (msf) commercial development at 247 HCC Park, Vikhroli, Mumbai, for Rs 175 crore.

Sood said due diligence is currently on and the deal is likely to be closed soon. Construction activities at its Lavasa township project in Maharashtra is in full swing with 5,000 workers on ground.

During Q1, 110 residential units were sold and more than 500 apartments and villas have been completed.  With 1.9 lakh tourists visiting the hill station, HCC’s hotels there registered average occupancy of 70%.

BHEL sinks over 19% to hit 7-year low post Q1 results

 Bharat Heavy ElectricalsBSE -17.54 % Ltd (BHEL) plunged over 19 per cent on Monday to hit its lowest level of Rs 120.75 since January 2006, after the power equipment maker posted nearly 50 per cent decline in net profit number.

At 12:45 p.m.; BHELBSE -17.54 % was trading 18.8 per cent lower at Rs 121.30. The stock has plunged as much as 19.2 per cent to hit its multi-year low of Rs 120.65.

The power equipment maker reported a net profit of Rs 465.43 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2013 weighed down by lower sales. It had clocked a net profit of Rs 920.90 crore in the year-ago period.

"All the cost items in BHEL's 1QFY14 results were inline with expectations. Only thing amiss is sales, which are down 24 per cent YoY," Citigroup said in a report.

Top-line for the state-run company declined substantially to Rs 6,352.55 crore in the first quarter of current fiscal from Rs 8,326.24 crore reported in the same period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing.

The global investment bank has slashed its target price to Rs140 from Rs185 earlier to factor in cut in target P/E to 7x (from 8x earlier) and 3-12 per cent cut in EPS.

"Going forwards, investors should be looking for signs of business revival to get constructive on the BHEL stock. Without the same, the stock could very well decline more and remain at those levels for long periods of time," added the Citigroup note.

Further, management indicated that even the industrial segment orders (such as orders from Kohinoor Power, HPCLBSE -2.41 %, Haldia) are turning out to be slow-moving. As on Jun-13, the orderbook stood at Rs 1,086 bn, out of which 82 per cent orders are from the power sector.

Power segment declined by 20.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs 5,379 crore while industry segment declined by 34.4 per cent y-o-y to Rs 1,293cr.

"BHEL numbers were far below the streets and as well as our estimates. We anticipated there would be a sales drop y-o-y because of declining trend," said Abhineet Anand, Research Analyst, Quant Broking Pvt. Ltd.
But, what the management has stated in its conference call is the fact that a large number of private players who are in financial stress were not able to pay on time which has led BHEL to non-delivery for these clients, hence the sales drop that we are seeing around odd 24% is largely on account of that," he added.

At the end of June quarter, the company's outstanding order book stood at Rs 1,08,600 crore.

The management is trying for the last year's number which is around Rs 30,000 crore plus but what matters more is the sustainability of the order inflow," added Anand.

Road Ministry to cover 6,418 km in North Eastern region by 2016

In a move to improve infrastructure in the country's North Eastern (NE) region, the government has set a target to complete Rs 33,688 crore projects under phase -A of Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP), including Arunachal Package covers 6,418 km by June 2016. The underlined programme is aimed at providing road connectivity to all the district headquarters in the north eastern region by minimum 2-lane highway standards. The programme also envisages providing road connectivity to backward and remote areas, areas of strategic importance and neighbouring countries.

The Road Transport and Highways (RTH) Ministry has said that it targets to award projects in a total length of about 2,000 km and achieve completion in 550 km length during 2013-14. Till now, about 1,180 km have been completed. The projects are being executed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the States Public Work Departments, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

The infrastructure development is crucial to boost the economy’s growth; therefore the government is serious about the development of infrastructure in the country. Recently, it has set up the Cabinet Committee on Investments (CCI) to clear the bottlenecks holding back mega infrastructure projects. For the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), the government has set the $1-trillion investment target for the infrastructure sector. 

Canara Bank shines on reporting marginal rise in Q1 net profit

Canara Bank is currently trading at Rs. 245.20, up by 3.65 points or 1.51% from its previous closing of Rs. 241.55 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 243.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 248.70 and Rs. 230.40 respectively. So far 1, 69,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 550.00 on 14-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 230.40 on 05-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 279.45 and Rs. 237.15 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 10,862 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 67.72% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 26.02% and 6.26% respectively.

On standalone basis, the bank has posted a rise of 2.17% in its net profit at Rs 792.07 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 as compared to Rs 775.24 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income has increased by 14.65% at Rs 10507.88 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 9165.47 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) increased to 2.91% in the April-June quarter as against 1.98% in the same quarter previous year while net NPAs increased to 2.48%.

Food bill, Lokpal and more: What to expect from Parl Monsoon session

The Monsoon session of Parliament which begins on Monday is likely to be a stormy affair with the main opposition party BJP seeking to raise key issues in the House.

The Monsoon session has 44 bills listed but will have only 16 working days in which to pass them. Among the key bills the government is hopeful of passing is the UPA government’s flagship programme, the Food Security bill.

The bill aims to give legal rights to 67 percent of the population over a uniform quantity of 5 kg foodgrains at a fixed price of Rs 1-3 per kg through ration shops.

With elections in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh barely three months away, the Congress hopes the Food bill will serve as a major vote-getter.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for a “constructive and productive” session and sought support from all parties.

While the BJP has said it will ensure a smooth functioning of Parliament this session,  it will raise issues like the Telangana statehood, Food Security Bill, fall in value of rupee and the Uttarakhand floods among others.  The BJP has also decided to raise the issue of confrontation between the CBI and the IB and its implications on the country’s security.

The two central agencies had recently been on loggerheads on the Ishrat Jahan encounter case in Gujarat.

At a strategy meeting chaired by senior party leader LK Advani, the party decided to seek amendments in the Food Bill saying several concerns had to be addressed before its passage, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters in New Delhi.

“In principle, we are in agreement with this (Food) Bill, but we have a lot to say. There is a Chhattisgarh model, then there is the interest of the farmers…we have to put in a lot of suggestions, amendments,” he said.

The government, however, may lose support from the Samajwadi Party. SP leader Naresh Agarwal made it clear the bill in its present form was not acceptable and required certain amendments and that if need be the party will vote against it.

“If need be, we will vote against the bill,” he said.

The SP, which supports the government from the outside, has 22 members in Lok Sabha and its backing is vital for the passage of the bill.

He ruled out that the party’s stand on the food bill had anything to do with Congress President Sonia Gandhi‘s letter on suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal by the Uttar Pradesh government.

With regard to the key financial bills pending in Parliament, the BJP agreed to support routine and necessary financial business but indicated that the party will continue to oppose further opening of the insurance and pension sectors to foreign direct investment (FDI).

On Sunday Finance Minister P Chidambaram met Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj for support to key reform bills on opening up the insurance and pension sector, but failed to get any assurance.

Among the key bills the government seeks to consider and pass in Parliament are:

The National Food Security (Second) Bill, 2013 (to replace the ordinance)
The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011
The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2013
The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2013

Yes Bank loses shine as India liquidity ebbs

For most of the past decade Yes Bank has been the fastest-growing and highest-profile upstart in a new generation of Indian private banks. But in the aftermath of government moves to prop up the nation's currency, it is gaining a fresh reputation as the biggest loser from India's new moment of tighter liquidity.

Founded in 2004, Yes Bank has expanded rapidly to become the country's fourth-largest private bank by loans, with after-tax profits growing at an eye-catching compound annual rate of 44 per cent over the last five years - creating an unorthodox image bolstered by the group's charismatic and publicity-loving founder Rana Kapoor.

Setting up of national rural bank mooted

A.H. Vishwanath on Sunday suggested that national rural bank of India should be established by amalgamating the regional rural banks (RRBs) to improve the efficiency of the banks operating in the rural areas.

He was speaking after inaugurating the 9th triennial conference of the All Karnataka Grameen Bank Employees’ Federation here.

Mr. Vishwanath said that he would convey to the Centre the RRB employees’ demand for setting up of National Rural Bank of India.

He said that if regional rural banks were strengthened, it would serve a dual purpose. It would not only improve implementation of government welfare schemes by reaching the benefits to the needy but would also check the functioning of private financiers in rural areas.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was slated to inaugurate the conference, could not make it. So, Mr. Vishwanath inaugurated it and delivered the inaugural address.

Mr. Vishwanath expressed concern over staff shortage in banks.

“Not just banks, other sectors are also facing staff shortage. There is about 30 per cent staff shortage in banks in the State, and in north Karnataka it is even more. I will urge the Chief Minister to address the issue for facilitating effective implementation of government welfare schemes”.

The federation presented a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister to Mr. Vishwanath.

Minister for Revenue and in charge of Mysore district V. Sreenivas Prasad said he would discuss with the Chief Minister the federation’s demand for setting up National Rural Bank and State Rural Bank. Kaveri Grameena Bank Chairperson Somashekara Shastry spoke. Describing RRBs as the “champions of rural economy”, he said the business turnover of RRBs in the country is around Rs. 35,000 crore, and their market lending was substantial.

Sensex flat; BHEL tanks 10%, Coal India at record-low

The market has opened on a tepid note. The Sensex is up 17.90 points at 19181.92 while the Nifty is up 4.50 points at 5682.40. About 216 shares have advanced, 96 shares declined, and 25 shares are unchanged.

10:00 am Boardroom: S Narsing Rao, Chairman and managing director of Coal India in an interview to CNBC-TV18 said that e-auction volumes remained flat but realisations slipped significantly to Rs 2,140 per tonne.

Rao further said production guidance will remain at 48 million tonne (MT). Though sales volume was up 2 percent (year-on-year) Y-o-Y, blended realisation de-grew around 2 percent Y-o-Y, he added.

9:50 am: Strides Arcolab surges 4 percent on the BSE as shareholders have approved FII investment limit to 74 percent from 52 percent in the company.

"As required under the FEMA Regulation, the Company has made necessary intimation to the Reserve Bank of India confirming the shareholders' approval for the increased Fll investment limit," the company said in a statement.

9:40 am Alert: As downward pressure continues on rupee and share prices, India has moved dangerously close to slipping out of the elite 14-member global league of stock markets having a trillion-dollar valuation, reports PTI.

Currently at USD 1.004 trillion, Indian market is managing to stick to its trillion-dollar tag by a wafer-thin margin of 0.4 percent and may lose this status by any further fall of this small magnitude in rupee or stock valuations.

According to the data available with the stock exchanges, the total value of all listed companies in the country has retained the trillion-dollar level by a margin of less than one per cent for many days now.

9:30 am Gainer: Financial Technologies continue to remain in focus today with a surge of around 8 percent on the BSE. NSEL has issued a proposed settlement cycle involving Rs 5,600 crore . NSEL said that Rs 2181 crore will be paid by members but the remaining Rs 3107 crore will be settle on weekly basis, but this was rejected by FMC.

9:25 am Record low: Shares in Coal India fell more than 2 percent to a record low of Rs 248 on poor April-June qaurter earnings . With such a downfall, the stock price is almost nearing its IPO price which was fixd at Rs 245 per share.

Its first quarter net profit falling higher-than-expected 16.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,731 crore, led by lower realisation from E-auctin sales.

Chairman and managing director, S Narsing Rao, in a press conference, said realisations from e-auction slipped significantly to Rs 2,140 per tonne in April-June quarter as against Rs 2,561/tonne Y-o-Y.

Net sales declined marginally to Rs 16,472 crore in April-June quarter from Rs 16,500.6 crore in a year ago period, which too came in lower than forecast.

9:20 am Big crash: State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals  ( BHEL ) shares crashes around 12 percent on the BSE. On Saturday it reported a dismal performance on every parameter as the first quarter standalone net profit halved to Rs 465.4 crore from Rs 920.9 crore in a year ago period, dented by weak power segment performance, despite higher other income.

Net sales dropped 23.7 percent to Rs 6,352.5 crore in April-June quarter from Rs 8,326.2 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) slipped 74.7 percent on yearly basis to Rs 283 crore and EBITDA margin plunged 890 bps year-on-year to 4.5 percent in the first quarter.

JSW Steel surges on reporting crude steel production jumps by 47% during July 2013

JSW Steel is currently trading at Rs. 535.40, up by 3.80 points or 0.71% from its previous closing of Rs. 531.60 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 531.25 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 543.00 and Rs. 530.50 respectively. So far 20,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 893.75 on 29-Jan-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 515.20 on 31-Jul-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 575.00 and Rs. 515.20 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 11,945 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 35.83% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 24.09% and 40.08% respectively.

JSW Steel has reported monthly crude steel production for the month of July 2013 of its three manufacturing locations - Vijayanagar, Salem and Dolvi together. The crude steel production has seen growth of 47% during July 2013 at 9.91 lakh tonnes as against 6.76 lakh tonnes produced in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The production of rolled products (flat) increased by 64% to 7.96 lakh tonnes compared to 4.85 lakh tonnes in July last year. Meanwhile, the production of rolled products (long) during the month rose by 31% at 1.86 lakh tonnes as compared to 1.42 lakh tonnes in July, 2012.

The capacity utilization was lower at Vijayanagar works due to shutdown of one of its Corex furnaces for relining and capacity enhancement and the same is expected to recommence production by end of September 2013.

Tata Motors develops country’s first fuel cell bus

Tata Motors in association with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has developed a Hydrogen-powered automobile bus after several years of research. It’s a CNG-type bus. Hydrogen in bottles at high pressure is stored at the top of the bus and there would be zero pollution. The fuel cell technology makes it a clean and silent bus on-road.

An ISRO team had generated technical specifications for all the elements and general specifications for the bus. ISRO and Tata Motors entered into an MoU in 2006 to design and develop an automobile bus using hydrogen as a fuel through fuel cell route. The company has successfully completed design and development of Fuel Cell Power System (FCPS) for bus application starting from 20Kw to 120Kw with co-operation of ISRO.

Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. It is also the world's fourth largest truck and bus manufacturer.

Bharti Airtel set to launch 4G services in Delhi by September

Bharti Airtel is all set to launch fourth generation (4G) services in Delhi by September this year and has selected Huawei for the network. The firm already offers 4G services in Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune and Chandigarh. After Delhi, the company will launch 4G services in Mumbai and the company is in talks with players such as Huawei and ZTE for network.

The company, which recently reduced 4G data tariffs by up to 31%, is trying to boost up data usage and increase adoption for its 4G service for improving revenues. 4G mobile Internet technology provides download speeds of around 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) on the move and it can go up to 1 Gigabits per second (Gbps) at a fixed location.

Bharti Airtel is a leading integrated telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top 5 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers.

Union Bank of India plans to raise Rs 3,000 crore to meet Basel-III norms after 2015

In a bid to meet Basel-III norms after 2015, mid-sized lender Union Bank of India is planning to raise Rs 3,000 crore towards equity. In this regard, the bank has given a proposal to the Ministry of Finance for the additional capital and it is currently being studied.

Indian banks, according to Basel III norms, have to maintain their capital adequacy ratio at 9% as against the minimum recommended requirement of 8%. Under Basel-III accord, banks have to maintain Tier-one capital (equity and reserves) at 7% of risk weighted assets (RWA) and a capital conservation bugger of 2.5% of RWA.

The bank had received capital infusion of Rs 1,140 crore from the government last year and it gave proposal to infuse nearly Rs 1,800 crore in this year.

The bank has reported a rise of 9.51% in its net profit at Rs 560.22 crore for first quarter ended June 30, 2013, as compared to Rs 511.59 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income from operation of the bank has increased by 16.04% to Rs 7613.53 crore for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 6561.10 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Oriental Bank seeks capital infusion of Rs 1,600 crore from the government

In a bid to enhance its capital base, state-run Oriental Bank of Commerce is seeking capital infusion of Rs 1,600 crore from the government during the current fiscal. The fund would be utilised for expanding business of the bank. Earlier in March 2011, the bank had received a capital support of Rs 1,740 crore as part of recapitalisation package. The fund was raised through preferential allotment of about 4 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at an issue price of Rs 422.11 per unit. As a result, government’s holding in the bank had rose from 51.09% to 58%.

Oriental Bank of Commerce is a government of India undertaking whose business activities includes monetary intermediation of commercial banks, saving banks and discount houses.

NTPC plans to mop up Rs 1 lakh crore of debt

In a bid to fund its expansion in the current five-year Plan period ending March 2017, NTPC is planning to mop up over Rs 1 lakh crore of debt. The company has already been deployed debt of Rs 11,133 crore during FY13 and debt of Rs 17,074 crore has been tied up and is yet to be drawn as on March 31, 2013.

The state-run utility, which has more than 41,100 MW of installed generation capacity, plans to add more than 14,078 MW during the 12th Plan period. Of this, 4,170 MW of capacity was commissioned in the first year (2012-13). Further, the company is likely to add 1,875 MW, besides 65 MW of solar capacity.

NTPC is the largest power generating company in the country. It has also diversified into hydro power, coal mining, power equipment manufacturing, oil & gas exploration, power trading & distribution.

Yes Bank MD Rana Kapoor opens settlement talks with Madhu Kapur

Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO of YES Bank, has initiated settlement talks with Madhu Kapur, the wife of late co-promoter Ashok Kapur, in an effort to end the family dispute over nomination rights to the bank's board, said two persons aware of the development. They cautioned that there is no certainty that these talks would be successful.

"Rana Kapoor and Bindu Kapoor met with the Madhu Kapur family on Saturday. Both the families were involved in a day-long discussion on ways to resolve the conflict," said one of the persons aware of the ongoing talks. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Bindu Kapoor, the wife of Rana Kapoor, is Madhu Kapur's sister. The Madhu Kapur family was not available to comment. Responding to an email query, a YES BankBSE -3.06 % spokesperson said, "As the matter is sub judice, we cannot comment on your queries."

"Rana Kapoor has offered to acknowledge Madhu Kapur as co-promoter to resolve the conflict. However, this would be without any nomination rights," said one of the persons quoted earlier. The families of the founders of the bank - the late Ashok Kapur and Rana Kapoor - are locked in a legal dispute over the Madhu Kapur group's claim to a right to nominate a representative to the board of the bank. The High Court will hear the matter on August 12. Ashok Kapur died during the 26/11 terror attacks at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai.

In 2009, the board declined to appoint Shagun Gogia, daughter of the late Ashok Kapur, because the board was of the view that she might not pass muster with the Reserve Bank of India's fit-and-proper criterion. The matter resurfaced in June 2013, when the Madhu Kapur group objected to the appointment of six directors and pressed for the nomination of Gogia.

Recently, the bank board had considered Gogia's candidature for directorship on a Bombay HC suggestion. However, the board rejected her application citing inexperience and the composition of large bank boards such as ICICI Bank with which YES Bank benchmarks itself. Madhu Kapur holds 12% in the bank while Rana Kapoor owns 13.72%. 

Rupee recovers to 60.92 after closing at record low

The Indian rupee pulled back on Monday after closing at a record low last week. The partially convertible rupee traded at 60.92 as of 09.05 a.m. as against Friday's close at 61.10/11 per dollar.

The currency has been weakening despite several steps taken by the regulators raising concerns the Reserve Bank is losing the battle to prop up the currency while the government has yet to take any meaningful measures to bring in inflows.

The monsoon session of parliament is due to start today, with important legislation such as a food security bill pending.

The rupee closed at a record low on Friday, posting its worst week in 22 months. The currency fell 3.4 per cent last week, and is below the levels at which it was trading on July 15 when the Reserve Bank of India unveiled its cash tightening steps to defend the currency.

Strides Arcolab enhanced FII investment limit to 74%

Strides Arcolab Ltd has informed BSE that the Shareholders of the Company at their Extraordinary General Meeting held on August 03, 2013, have approved increase in the Fll Investment limit in the Company.FII's can now invest upto 74% of the paid up equity share capital of the Company under the Portfolio Investment Scheme. The current Fll holding in the Company is 52%.As required under the FEMA Regulation, the Company has made necessary intimation to the Reserve Bank of India confirming the shareholders' approval for the increased Fll investment limit.

Godrej Properties to develop new property in Gurgaon

The project will be developed as a premium residential group housing project and is expected to offer 1.2 million sq. ft. of saleable area.

Godrej Properties Limited, the real estate development arm of the Godrej Group, has entered into a Development Agreement with M/s Oasis Buildhome Pvt. Ltd. to develop a 13.76 acre property situated onNorthern Periphery Road (NPR) in Sector 88A/89A, Gurgaon. The project will be developed as a premium residential group housing project and is expected to offer 1.2 million sq. ft. of saleable area.

This well located parcel of land has strategic access from the existing Pataudi Road and the NPR. Upcoming road infrastructure will further enhance the connectivity of
the project to Delhi and other parts of Gurgaon.

The company is currently developing two residential projects in Gurgaon, Godrej Frontier and Godrej Summit, and has recently added a new project in Okhla, New Delhi where it plans to do a premium residential development. As with most Godrej Properties projects, this project is being done as a joint venture.

Pirojsha Godrej, Managing Director & CEO, Godrej Properties said, “We are happy to add this new project in Gurgaon to our development portfolio. NCR is an important growth market for us and this is the second new project we've entered in NCR in FY14. The project fits well with our strategy of growing our presence in India's leading real estate markets and we will aim to replicate the success of our previous projects in the Gurgaon market.”

NSEL meets FMC on settlement issues

These meetings were also aimed at ensuring avoidance of any incidence, which may have consequential impact on larger market.
As per circular issued by the NSEL, the Exchange suspended trading and merged the settlement cycles of all one day forward contracts (other than e-series contracts) on 31st July, 2013. The said action was taken due to certain abrupt structural changes in the market place leading to disruption.

This situation was aggravated by the loss of trading interest, due to uncertainties leading to trade in-equilibrium.  However, the Exchange is fully committed to ensure proper settlement of all outstanding obligations and to comply with the directions issued by the Government in this regard and to settle all issues as per Rules and Bye laws of the Exchange.

Anjani Sinha, MD & CEO, NSEL stated that in the interest of arriving at a consensus and satisfactory solution for settlement of dues in accordance with Exchange Rules and Bylaws, he held various meetings with the Members of the Exchange and the buyers/ processors. These meetings were also aimed at ensuring avoidance of any incidence, which may have consequential impact on larger market.  He also held meetings with the Forward Markets Commission (FMC).


He expressed confidence over handling large quantum of pay-in /payout obligation at the same time. However, in case of declaration of default by any member, which would lead to a long litigation process, the following options have been proposed and the final decision would be taken after due consultation with all stakeholders.

Option 1:

There are 8 members/ processors, who are willing to pay as per the scheduled due date or even earlier. The total amount pertaining to such 8 members is Rs. 2181 crores.

There are 13 members/ processors, who have offered to pay 5 % of their total dues every week, if the same is agreed upon. Total amount comes to Rs. 3107 crores approximately. Name of such members are as follows: 

Sr No Name of Party 1 Jugger nautes Projects  Ltd 2 MSR Food Processing 3 PD Agro Processors  Pvt Ltd 4 Shree Radhe Trading Pvt. Ltd 5 Sankhya Investments 6 Spin cot Textiles Pvt Ltd 7 Swatik Overseas Corporation 8 Topworth Steels & Power Pvt Ltd 9 Vimladevi Agrotech Pvt Ltd 10 N K Corporation 11 NCS Sugar 12 METKORE ALLOYS & INDUSTRIES LTD 13 ARK Imports Pvt. Ltd.

There are 3 processors with whom negotiation is still going on. The amount pertaining to these parties comes to Rs. 311 crore.

    

1	NAMDHARI FOOD INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD
2	NAMDHARI RICE & GENERAL MILLS
3	LOTUS REFINERIES PVT LTD

Option 2:

The exchange is in possession of Post dated cheques (PDC) from various processors amounting to Rs. 4900 crs. against their settlement obligation and balance parties have confirmed payment regularly. While PDCs are a commitment, the payout process may not roll out smoothly in a month’s time. Hence, the market participants have proposed Option 1 as a safer alternative.

FMC Officials have also asked for details of Members, Planters and other participants who are not cooperating with the Exchange in resolving the matter related to settlement cycle. The FMC along with other Government agencies would work together to ensure a safe and secure settlement of dues. 

Manufacturers expect higher production in Q2: Ficci survey

With the government taking number of reform measures, manufacturers expect higher production in the second quarter (July-September) of FY14, according to the Quarterly Survey on Manufacturing Sector by the  Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

Forty-seven per cent of the respondents expect production to rise in the second quarter against 37 per cent in the previous quarter and 44 per cent in the second quarter of FY13.

The Ficci survey, which covered 276 units, also revealed that those expecting a fall in their production decreased to 16 per cent in the second quarter from 26 per cent in the first quarter.

The survey showed there could be a visible growth in textiles, cement and leather sectors in the second quarter.

If the results of the survey translate into reality, it will give a breather to the government which is trying hard to put the economy on track.

However, there were signs of worry in the survey as well. First of all, 85 per cent of the respondents reported that the depreciation in rupee has taken a toll on the input costs of the manufacturers. “On an average, rupee depreciation has increased input cost by 11 per cent for the manufacturers,” said Ficci.

The rupee closed at 61.10 against the dollar on Friday.

The demand is still to perk up as 32 per cent respondents reported higher order books for July-September this year against 31-37 per cent in the previous quarter. The government has been saying that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will take back its liquidity choking measures if the rupee stabilises. However, the rupee’s value has been depreciating against the dollar, and hence it might take time for RBI to reverse its stance, said analysts.

The survey showed that sectors such as automotive, capital goods, paper and food could still witness a subdued growth in the second quarter of FY14.

Also, 39 per cent of respondents have no plans for capacity addition for the next two quarters. While sectors such as chemicals, textiles, leather and footwear may witness an improvement in capacity utilisation in July-September 2013, others such as metals, food products and automotive are likely to see deceleration on this front, showed the survey.

Around 49 per cent of manufacturers were of the view that power deficiency could act as a major constraint for manufacturing growth. Further, 37 per cent respondents were dependent on captive power for their manufacturing units.

On the export front, demand in international markets such as the UK and Japan could lead to higher exports in the second quarter this year. It also stated the growth in exports has bottomed out.

“Exports may not fall further as the proportion of respondents expecting reduction in exports has fallen from 32 per cent in Q1 to 22 per cent in Q2,” said Ficci.

In the first quarter, India’s merchandise exports grew only in the month of April, and that too by just 1.68 per cent to $24.16 billion, year-on-year (y-o-y). May and June saw contraction by 1.11 per cent and 4.56 per cent to $24.50 billion and $23.78 billion, respectively, on a y-o-y basis.

Overall, exports fell 1.41 per cent to $72.45 billion in the first quarter of the current financial year against $73.49 billion in the same period in FY13.

The manufacturing output grew at a sluggish pace in first two months of the first quarter as it expanded only 2.8 per cent in April and contracted 2 per cent in May. In total, manufacturing production rose just 0.1 per cent in April-May of FY14.

The official numbers for June would be released on August 12. However, eight core industries have shown a slow growth of 0.1 per cent in June, which has almost 38 per cent share in the Index of Industrial Production, which measures the industrial output.

Monsoon session of Parliament begins today

When Finance Minister P Chidambaram met Opposition leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley on Saturday to seek support for the insurance Bill (which will increase foreign direct investment cap from 26 to 49 per cent), Swaraj’s reply was: “Jab nai sarkar aayegi tab hum karenge,” (we will do it when a new government is in place). Chidambaram’s retort was: “Why waste time? It is going to be our government again, so you might as well do it now.”

The rhetorical exchange suggests another contentious session of Parliament that starts from today.

The session, on till August 30, will see a hopeful government listing 44 Bills to be cleared in 16 working days. These include the food security Bill, those related to reforms in the insurance and pension sectors and an amendment to the Right to Information Act to keep political parties out of its ambit. Top government managers said their priority would be to get the ordinances cleared to avoid having to re-promulgate these, and of course, get pending Bills, including the Companies Bill, passed.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday he hoped the monsoon session would be “constructive and productive”. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said all parties wanted the smooth running of Parliament but expressed their concerns, especially related to erosion of Parliament’s supremacy as a result of a Supreme Court order on criminals in politics. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who was present during the meeting, said the government was likely to make a statement on the issue.

Leaders belonging to the Left parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have expressed concern over the implications of a court order disqualifying a legislator, if convicted in a criminal case and barring those in jail or police custody, from contesting the polls.

Although the BJP, which disrupted the Budget session demanding Singh’s resignation over the faulty allocation of coal blocks, has said it does not want to disrupt the monsoon session, there are others who will be happy to perform that function. The opposition wants debates on the land acquisition Bill, the state of the economy, rampant corruption in the midday meal scheme, floods in Uttarakhand, the ongoing tussle between the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in the Ishrat Jahan shootout case and Chinese intrusions into the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

The opposition leaders are also concerned over another Supreme Court order barring reservation in super-speciality courses in medical colleges. The decision on a separate Telangana could cast a shadow on the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in the first few days, with members from Andhra Pradesh, agitated over the move, likely to create uproar. Several members from the Seemandhra region belonging to Congress and Telugu Desam parties have tendered their resignations in protest against the decision but these have not been accepted and the Congress leadership is attempting to persuade its Members of Parliament and ministers not to take such a step.

While the BJP has demanded that the Bill on the formation of Telangana be brought in the monsoon session, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) wants discussion on the government’s recent move to allow more foreign equity in many sectors. The main opposition party has also decided to raise the issue of confrontation between the CBI and the IB and its implications on the country’s security.