Sensex, Nifty to open on a flat note

Global cues are not supporting a further confident up move. The US indices ended flat in overnight and Asian markets are seeking direction this morning. European Central Bank's policy meet minutes indicate possibility of further stimulus. The S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower. The Dow was down 0.02% while Nasdaq ended 0.03% lower.

On expected lines, the Seventh Pay Commission announced a 23.55% pay hike for Central govt staff which includes 4.7 million government employees and another 5.2 million retirees. The total financial impact in FY17 is likely to be ₹1,02,100 crore, over the expenditure as per the ‘Business As Usual’ scenario. Of this, the increase in pay would be ₹39,100 crore, increase in allowances would be ₹ 29,300 crore and increase in pension would be ₹33,700 crore. The street expects that this bonanza could spur demand and boost the growth of multiple sectors especially FMCG and Auto.

The outlook however is a flat to weak start. Global cues are not supporting a further confident up move. The US indices ended flat in overnight and Asian markets are seeking direction this morning. European Central Bank's policy meet minutes indicate possibility of further stimulus. The S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower. The Dow was down 0.02%  while Nasdaq ended 0.03% lower.

The Vijay Kelkar Committee, set up to review the public private partnership (PPP) model in India, presented its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday. The report is aimed at reviving the PPP model of infrastructure development.  The Kelkar committee has analysed the risks involved and the existing framework of risk-sharing between the project developer and the Government.

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group will develop a 6,000 megawatt (MW) Solar Power Park in Rajasthan at an estimated investment of INR 60,000 crore. "The Reliance Group has signed an MoU to develop Solar Park and Solar Projects of 6,000 MW capacity, spread over nearly 30,000 acres, over next six years, with a potential to attract investment of about INR 60,000 crore in Rajasthan," Ambani said at the Resurgent Rajasthan Summit in Jaipur on Thursday.

Domestic air traffic rose by nearly 19 per cent to 70.39 lakh passengers in October as the domestic tourism season got underway, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).  IndiGo maintained its leadership position with a market share of 36.80 per cent in October. It flew as many as 25.90 lakh passengers last month. With a load factor of 93 per cent, SpiceJet saw the maximum occupancy in its planes in October while its market share stood at 12.8 per cent.

Shriram Automall India Ltd. is on track to a strong 15-20 per cent growth in the current financial year over the previous fiscal year’s business volume of INR 1,750 crore, reports a business daily. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Shriram Transport Finance Company, Shriram Automall provides sale and disposal of pre-owned vehicles through a network of 55 automalls.

The Government on Thursday announced that it would auction eight coal blocks from schedule III mines for non-regulated sectors like iron and steel, cement and captive power plants in January.

The National Aluminium Co. Ltd. (NALCO) on Thursday signed an agreement with the Skill Development Ministry to spend 5% of its corporate scocial responsibility (CSR) corpus on vocational training.

Britannia Industries Ltd. plans to enter the snack, chocolate and breakfast segments in the next six months and open a new INR 65 crore Research & Development (R&D) Centre in February, reports a business daily. Managing Director Varun Berry is planning to introduce premium cookies and an improved dairy portfolio, according to the financial newspaper.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has vowed a corruption-free governance, reasonable tax rates and non-discretionary allotment of natural resources to make it easier for companies to do business in India, according to reports.

The Reserve Bank of India issued revised Directions necessitating prior approval for acquisition of shares or voting rights in private sector banks.

The Indian wind sector is likely to see a transition with two-thirds of the incremental capacity additions till 2017 to come up in the secondary states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra).