India has potential to grow at 10%: FM

"India's own normal in terms of its growth rate has to target anything close to a double digit Jaitley added. 

India has the potential to make 9 to 10% growth rate "a new normal", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reportedly said.

"India's own normal in terms of its growth rate has to target anything close to a double digit Jaitley added.

Jaitley made the remarks after arriving here to attend the annual spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Report said that Jaitley acknowledged that land reforms bill remains a contentious issue in India

Tata Steel's sales at 24 lakh tonnes in Q4 FY15

The year registered its best ever performance in Hot Metal, Crude Steel, Saleable Steel production and total Sales.

Tata Steel Limited completed FY 2015 with an overall increase in Production and Sales volumes. The year registered its best ever performance in Hot Metal, Crude Steel, Saleable Steel production and total Sales.

The key production and sales figures are given below:

Major Highlights - FY 2015 Production

• Best ever total Agglomerate production of 12.78 million tonnes (Previous best 12.14 million tonnes in FY 2014).
• 
  
• Best ever total Coke production (Jamshedpur & Haldia) of 4.67 million tonnes (Previous best 4.27
• million tonnes in FY 2014).
• 
  
• Best ever Hot Metal production of 10.16 million tonnes (Previous best 9.90 million tonnes in FY 2014).
• Best ever Crude Steel production of 9.33 million tonnes (Previous best 9.16 million tonnes in FY 2014).
• Best ever Saleable Steel production of 9.07 million tonnes (Previous best 8.93 million tonnes in FY 2014).
• 
  

Sales

• Steel Marketing & Sales has achieved its highest ever annual sales volume of 8.75 million tonnes against the previous best of 8.52 million tonnes in FY 2014.
•  Best ever annual Automotive sales of 1.36 million tonnes (Previous best 1.18 million tonnes in FY 2014).
• 
  
• Best ever annual Tata Tiscon sales of 1.24 million tonnes (Previous best 1.09 million tonnes in FY 2014).
• 
  
•  Best ever annual Tata Shaktee sales of 0.23 million tonnes (Previous best 0.21 million tonnes in FY 2012).

Tata Group launches online grocery service in Mumbai

The portal will sell fruits, vegetables, staples, meat, bakery and dairy products 

The Tata Group has launched an online grocery platform called my247market.com.

The portal will be owned and managed by Fiora Hypermarket, a subsidiary of Trent Ltd.

The portal will sell fruits, vegetables, staples, meat, bakery and dairy products. It will also sell packaged food, beverages, confectionery, baby care products and so on. 

Axis Bank cuts home loan rates by 20 bps to 9.95%

In a bid to aid affordable housing finance, Axis Bank also reduced its interest rate on Asha Home loans by 30 bps 

Axis Bank has revised interest rates on its floating home loan to 9.95 per cent, a cut by 20 bps effective April 13.

The bank has also introduced a single slab applicable for all salaried customers irrespective of the loan amount. The bank has accordingly aligned the pricing for new borrowers, an Axis Bank statement said.

In a bid to aid affordable housing finance, Axis Bank also reduced its interest rate on Asha Home loans by 30 bps 

Market slips further

The Volatility index has jumped over 4 percent. CNX IT and CNX Realty indices are top losers. 

The market has extended losses on the back of continued selling in select sectors.

The BSE Sensex so far has tumbled over 250 points from the day's high of 28,876 to a low of 28,623. Currently, the BSE index is down 150 points at 28,649.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty has slipped to a low of 8,684 and is now down 51 points at 8,700.

The Volatility Index - India VIX has jumped 4.6 percent at 15.2875.

Barring CNX Energy and CNX Auto, all the Sectoral indices are trading on a negative note.

The CNX IT and the CNX Realty indices have dropped 1.6 percent each. The CNX PSU Bank and the CNX Pharma indices have shed 1.3 percent each.

Among Nifty-50 stocks, Punjab National Bank has slipped nearly 3 percent at Rs. 162. Bank of Baroda and Lupin have dropped 2.7 percent each at Rs. 174 and Rs. 1,900, respectively.

Wipro has shed 2.4 percent at Rs. 592. Infosys and Kotak Bank have declined 2 percent each at Rs. 2,170 and Rs. 1,416, respectively.

On the other hand, Cairn India has jumped 3.3 percent at Rs. 235 on the back of yesterday's sharp rally of almost 6 percent in global crude oil prices.

ONGC has surged 2.2 percent at Rs. 324. Bharti Airtel has added over 1.5 percent at Rs. 422 on the media reports that merger of its retail business with Future Retail. 

Cut in interest rates: Will home loan becomes cheaper? India Infoline News Service | Mumbai | April 16, 2015 11:07 IST

Most banks have reduced their lending rates by 0.25% and the new rate for most banks is at 9.9% 

Recently many banks, including SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank have cut their base rates or the minimum rate of interest they charge to their customers.

Bank	New Rates
ICICI Bank	9.90%
SBI	9.85%(For Women Borrowers) 9.95% (for others)
HDFC	9.90% -10.40%
Axis Bank	9.95%
DHFL	9.90%
Indiabulls	9.90%

NBFCs such as India Infoline Housing Finance (IIHFL), DHFL and India Bulls have also cut their base rates. Most banks have reduced their lending rates by 0.25% and the new rate for most banks is at 9.9%. IIHFL has cut home loan rates by 0.25 per cent to 9.9 per cent. It expects home loan interest rate cut to benefit affordable housing segment borrowers.

According to Rishi Mehra, Co-Founder, Deal4loans.com, “A cut in interest rates would prompt customers to apply for home loans. Now for a Rs. 30 lakh loan, the EMI will be Rs. 28,752 for 20 years against a rate of 10.15% per annum it was Rs. 29,249 for a similar tenure.”

Loan Category	Top Up Amount (Rs)	ROI	Tenure	EMI	Total Interest paid
Home loan	30 lakh	10.15%	20	29,249	4,019,862
	30 lakh	9.90%	20	28,752	3,900,520

 
Lower EMIs, would attract customers to enter realty market. For instance, during 2008-09, when rates were 8%-9% the demand for buying property was much higher. Now with reduced rates, we anticipate a rise in demand, Mehra added. 

TCS to announce FY15 results today

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd has announced that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on April 16, 2015. 

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd has announced that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on April 16, 2015, inter alia, to:

approve and take on record the audited financial results of the Company for the year ended March 31, 2015.

approve and take on record the audited consolidated financial results of the Company and its subsidiaries for the year ended March 31, 2015.

recommend a Final Dividend, if any, on the Equity Shares of the Company for the year ended March 31, 2015 for the approval of the shareholders at the ensuing Annual General Meeting. 

The fourth quarter is typically a soft quarter for Indian IT companies as client’s freeze their IT budgets for the calendar year and its allocation.

The company is expected to post 3%+ qoq organic constant currency growth in Q4 FY15 

Limiting cash withdrawals from ATM is policy decision: RBI

The Delhi High Court questioned RBI's decision to put a cap on withdrawals by banking customers using their ATM cards, saying account holders were being "unnecessarily taxed".

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that limiting the number of cash withdrawals by banking customers using their ATM cards without being charged, is a policy decision taken in public interest, according to a media report.

The RBI also informed the bench of Chief Justice Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai that the ATM facility was made available with a view to reduce "cash usage and increase electronic transactions in the country".

A public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Swati Aggarwal, seeking directions to allow banking customers to make an unlimited number of transactions free of any charge on their own bank ATMs.

The central bank opposed the PIL saying the petition is not maintainable, as RBI has "not violated any laws of the land".

RBI reply came after the court questioned it's decision to put a cap on withdrawals by banking customers using their ATM cards, saying account holders were being "unnecessarily taxed".

According to RBI's new guidelines, bank customers in six metros -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore -- are allowed to withdraw money free of charge only five times a month and every transaction beyond this limit will be charged Rs 20 per use 

Top corporate news of the day - April 16, 2015

Assocham seeks 25% cut in iron ore prices by NMDC. The industry body says the company is charging 25% higher charges as compared to other iron ore miners based in Odisha. 

Bosch Limited has informed the Government of Rajasthan that it would lift the lock out at its Jaipur plant with effect from April 15, 2015. 
 
Surana Telecom and Power Limited acquired majority stake of 51% in Arhyama Energy Private Limited, which is implementing a 10-Mw solar power project in the neighboring Nalgonda district in Telangana state. 
 
Assocham seeks 25% cut in iron ore prices by NMDC. The industry body says the company is charging 25% higher charges as compared to other iron ore miners based in Odisha. 
 
DLF's appeal against Securities Exchange Board of India's penalty order has been adjourned to July 9 by the Securities Appellate Tribunal. 
 
The Tata Group has launched its online grocery platform my247market.com, which will compete with online grocery sites such as Localbanya.com, bigbasket.com and the online version of Godrej's Nature's Basket. 
 
Coal India, which was forced to keep a provision for imports in fuel supply agreements with power producers following a directive from Prime Minister's Office in 2012, imported even less than half a million tonne in the maiden year as there were hardly any takers. 
 
Tech Mahindra is partnering with US-Israeli Comverse Inc to set up a research and development centre in Israel. However the companies did not disclose financial details. 
 
SBI associate State Bank of Travancore has raised over Rs4.74bn through a rights issue to fund business expansion. 
 
Aurobindo Pharma Limited announced that the company has received final approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration to manufacture and market Cefixime for Oral Suspension of different doses. The product is ready for launch, the company said.
 
BHEL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Russian company INTMA, to set up a gas-based power project in Kazakhstan.
 
Essar Steel's captive power plant (30 MWs), severely damaged in the cyclone Hudhud, has resumed generation after five months, according to a press release. 
 
BASF India Ltd unveiled its largest construction chemicals plant in India at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. 
 
Strides Arcolab has received approval from USFDA for some of its drugs. These drugs include Polyethylene Glycol 3350, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Bicarbonate, and Potassium Chloride for Oral Solution. 

ICICI Bank, BMRCL launch Unifare Bangalore Metro Card

This card offers the commuters dual benefits of an ICICI Bank credit or debit card and BMRCL’s smart card, called Namma Metro Smart Card 

ICICI Bank and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) on Wednesday launched ‘ICICI Bank Unifare Bangalore Metro Card’.

This card offers the commuters dual benefits of an ICICI Bank credit or debit card and BMRCL’s smart card, called Namma Metro Smart Card. This is a co-branded card in association with MasterCard.

Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive Director, ICICI Bank, said, “We have been leveraging technology to introduce digital innovations and provide a world-class banking experience to our customers. In the last one year, we have offered a range of new solutions in the field of transit payment. We are now partnering with some of the most successful transport operators in India.”

Sabharwal said, “We are happy to launch the ‘ICICI Bank Unifare Bangalore Metro Card’ in partnership with BMRCL and are confident that this will go a long way in making commuting easier for the people of Bengaluru. We have tied up with metro rail operators for similar cards in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.” 

The other benefits of ‘ICICI Bank Unifare Bangalore Metro Card’ which uses the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology at the metro stations include:

·         Commuters can redeem reward points accumulated on their card for free metro rides

·         15% discount on metro fare

·         2.5% fuel surcharge waiver across HPCL pumps if the transaction is swiped on an ICICI Merchant Services’ machine

·         Minimum 15% discount on dining bills at leading restaurants across India with the ICICI Bank ‘Culinary Treats’ programme

Existing credit or debit card customers can apply for this card by placing a request at ICICI Bank’s customer care helpline. New customers can apply for the card by sending ‘UNIFARE CBN’ for credit cards or ‘UNIFARE DBN’ for debit cards to 5676766. Applications can also be made through the bank’s branches. 

Lower oil prices present opportunity to reform energy subsidies and taxation: IMF

However fiscal risks remain elevated, the report warns. Advanced economies face the triple threat of low growth, low inflation and high debt. 

In the global context of a moderate and uneven economic recovery, sound management of public finances can secure elusive growth and jobs.
 
In its latest Fiscal Monitor, the IMF recognizes influential factors that are assisting the recovery in many countries. Lower oil prices, growth-friendly monetary policy and slower rates of fiscal adjustment are all playing their part. 
 
However fiscal risks remain elevated, the report warns. Advanced economies face the triple threat of low growth, low inflation and high debt.  Emerging and developing economies have experienced softening growth and higher costs linked to financial and exchange rate fluctuations. Exporters of oil and commodities have been hit with lower revenues. 
 
Smart taxation and spending and strong fiscal frameworks make a huge difference. “Fiscal policy continues to play an essential role in building confidence and supporting growth,” said Vitor Gaspar, Director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department.
 
The IMF Fiscal Monitor is published twice a year to track public finance developments around the world. The latest edition outlines three areas for action: 

• Strengthening fiscal frameworks
• Reforming energy subsidies
• Using fiscal policy to stabilize output 

 
Advanced economies still slowed by debt 
Public debt continues to present a headwind to growth. Despite significant efforts since 2010, advanced economies’ average ratio of debt to GDP remains above 100 percent. This is expected to decline only slowly in coming years and some countries’ debt projections have been revised upward. 
 
Debt reduction efforts have been aided by stronger-than-expected growth in some countries, such as the United States. But they have been hampered by low levels of inflation levels in many advanced economies, notably in the euro zone. 
 
Growth and inflation have the potential to significantly ease the debt burden. If Austria, Italy, Japan and Portugal could attain 4 percent nominal growth by 2017, their debt ratio could drop by as much as 10 percentage points by 2020.
 
Emerging markets and low-income countries 
Average deficit for emerging, middle income and low-income countries is on the rise and expected to increase in 2015. Oil exporters have lost significant revenues due to the sharp drop in prices. While some have responded with fiscal tightening, others are accommodating the shock with increased deficits. 
 
Volatility in financial markets, capital outflows, and exchange rates have raised the cost of financing for countries such as Brazil, Ecuador and Russia. 
 
The recent Ebola outbreak added pressure to already fragile infrastructure in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. These countries were the first beneficiaries of the IMF’s newly established Catastrophe, Containment and Relief Trust. The trust will provide debt relief to countries public health crises of this kind and other disasters. 
 
Areas for action 
The Fiscal Monitor outlines three main recommendations. First, it advises strengthening fiscal frameworks so as to manage public finance risks and ensure debt is sustainable. Sound management can play a supporting role in delivering macroeconomic stability and growth. 
 
Second, falling oil prices present an opportunity to reform energy subsidies and energy taxes. More than 20 countries have recently taken steps to cut energy subsidies, including Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. Getting energy prices right would be beneficial to the economy, environment and public health. It would assist governments with their fiscal consolidation efforts or to make further investment in critical areas such as education and health. In advanced economies, taxes on labor could be cut, and paid for with higher energy taxes.
 
Third, the Fiscal Monitor’s analytical chapter explains why a stable macroeconomic environment is a growth-friendly one. Its analysis of 85 economies over three decades has a clear conclusion. Fiscal policy can stabilize output and gain about 0.3% extra growth annually. A blog by the IMF’s Xavier Debrun sums it up as governments needing to save in good times so they can stabilize output in bad times.

DLF gets interim reprieve from Sebi's penalty order

DLF Ltd has announced that the Company has filed an Appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) against the Order dated February 26, 2015 passed by the Adjudicating Officer, SEBI under Section 15 HA and HB of the SEBI Act 1992 imposing a cumulative penalty of Rs.26 crores.

DLF Ltd has announced that the Company has filed an Appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) against the Order dated February 26, 2015 passed by the Adjudicating Officer, SEBI under Section 15 HA and HB of the SEBI Act 1992 imposing a cumulative penalty of Rs.26 crores.

The appeal was listed on April 15, 2015 before the SAT. 

The SAT has passed an order taking on record SEBI's undertaking that SEBI will not take any action to enforce the payment of penalty amount against the Company during the pendency of the appeal and has posted the Appeal on July 9, 2015 for hearing.

Sensex, Nifty volatile; IT, healthcare stocks drag

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.39% at 11,114, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.26% at 11,932. 

At 9:26 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 28,816 up 16 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,751 up 1 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.39% at 11,114, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.26% at 11,932.

ONGC, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors and Tata Steel are among the gainers, whereas Welspun Corp, HPCL, PMC Fincorp and BayerCropScience are losing sheen on BSE.

The results are slowly pouring in and attention will be on tech companies today. The fourth quarter is typically a soft quarter for Indian IT companies as client’s freeze their IT budgets for the calendar year and its allocation. The spend is weak but accelerates from Q1. At the broader level, the business environment for offshore vendors is gradually improving with demand from key markets of US and Europe remaining fairly strong. But all that will be reflected in the current quarter (Q1). TCS is expected to post 3%+ qoq organic constant currency growth in Q4 FY15 while Mindtree is likely to report flat revenues in cc terms impacted by ramp‐up deferment in projects at a couple of clients in the Retail & CPG vertical.

Global cues are positive. The Dow rose 0.42% while S&P 500 gained 0.51%. Nasdaq added 0.68%. Asian markets were trading mixed. Japan's Nikkei is down while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is up.

Rupee is seen firming up as reports indicate banks may be selling  dollars following its weakness against the euro. At the same time PSUs are expected to buy dollars which will prevent any undue appreciation in the Indian currency.

Governor Raghuram Rajan will be attending G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings and World Bank Spring Meetings 2015 at International Monetary Fund, Washington DC. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi meanwhile is touring Canada.

CMI board will meet today to consider issue of equity shares on preferential basis.

The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at -2.33% (provisional) for the month of March, 2015 (over March, 2014) as compared to -2.06% (provisional) for the previous month and 6.00% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was -2.33% compared to a build up rate of 6.00% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Nokia said it has agreed to buy Alcatel-Lucent in an all-share transaction that values the smaller French rival at US$16.58 billion, according to reports.Report said that Nokia will give Alcatel-Lucent shareholders 0.55 shares in the combined company for each of their old shares.The deal will be finalised in the first half of 2016, says report.

SpiceJet is further increasing its international services with the addition of two more weekly flights on the Ahmedabad – Muscat sector, taking the total frequency to 5 flights a week. The additional flights are effective from May 13th 2015.

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd has received USFDA Approval for Cefixime for Oral Suspension USP.The approved ANDAs are bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product (RLD) Suprax Oral Suspension USP 100mg/5mL and 200mg/5mL respectively of Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. 

Indices to open positive

The indices saw a free fall in late trade on Wednesday perhaps due to some basket selling by a foreign fund. 

The results are slowly pouring in and attention will be on tech companies today. The fourth quarter is typically a soft quarter for Indian IT companies as client’s freeze their IT budgets for the calendar year and its allocation. The spend is weak but accelerates from Q1. At the broader level, the business environment for offshore vendors is gradually improving with demand from key markets of US and Europe remaining fairly strong. But all that will be reflected in the current quarter (Q1). TCS is expected to post 3%+ qoq organic constant currency growth in Q4 FY15 while Mindtree is likely to report flat revenues in cc terms impacted by ramp‐up deferment in projects at a couple of clients in the Retail & CPG vertical.

The outlook is marginally positive start. The indices saw a free fall in late trade on Wednesday perhaps due to some basket selling by a foreign fund. Global cues are positive. The Dow rose 0.42% while S&P 500 gained 0.51%. Nasdaq added 0.68%. Asian markets were trading mixed. Japan's Nikkei is down while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is up.

Rupee is seen firming up as reports indicate banks may be selling  dollars following its weakness against the euro. At the same time PSUs are expected to buy dollars which will prevent any undue appreciation in the Indian currency.

Governor Raghuram Rajan will be attending G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings and World Bank Spring Meetings 2015 at International Monetary Fund, Washington DC. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi meanwhile is touring Canada.

CMI board will meet today to consider issue of equity shares on preferential basis.

The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at -2.33% (provisional) for the month of March, 2015 (over March, 2014) as compared to -2.06% (provisional) for the previous month and 6.00% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was -2.33% compared to a build up rate of 6.00% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Nokia said it has agreed to buy Alcatel-Lucent in an all-share transaction that values the smaller French rival at US$16.58 billion, according to reports.Report said that Nokia will give Alcatel-Lucent shareholders 0.55 shares in the combined company for each of their old shares.The deal will be finalised in the first half of 2016, says report.

SpiceJet is further increasing its international services with the addition of two more weekly flights on the Ahmedabad – Muscat sector, taking the total frequency to 5 flights a week. The additional flights are effective from May 13th 2015.

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd has received USFDA Approval for Cefixime for Oral Suspension USP.The approved ANDAs are bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product (RLD) Suprax Oral Suspension USP 100mg/5mL and 200mg/5mL respectively of Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Walmart India Pvt. Ltd, wholly owned subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores Inc announced that Pankaj More has been appointed as Head – Technology.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and the Technion – Israel institute of technology announced that their respective subsidiaries have entered into an exclusive worldwide research and license agreement. This agreement aims at the development of a joint project, based on new findings by Nobel Prize laureate Distinguished Professor Aaron Ciechanover, Dr. Gila Maor and Professor Ofer Binah, that can potentially lead to the development of novel anti-cancer drugs. The pre-clinical research was funded thus far by Dr. Alfred Mann.  

Asian Oilfield Services Ltd has hit 10% upper circuit 13% at Rs 39 after its Dubai Arm bagged Order Worth $10 m from Gazprom.

Ashoka Buildcon was in focus as the company announced opening of its QIP issue. The company's board fixed a floor price of Rs 185.05 per share for the QIP issue. Last year, the company's shareholders had approved a proposal for raising up to Rs 850 crore through the QIP route. The stock touched a fresh 52-week high at Rs. 205, but ended eventually unchanged at Rs. 193.

Lancor Holdings jumped 4% to Rs. 104 following Madras High Court approval for the proposed amalgamation plan. The stock, however, reversed gains in the late trades and ended 3.4% lower at Rs. 96.65.

Alstom T&D India gained 0.6% at Rs. 582 after the company won an Rs 56.9 crore order from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for its Challakere unit in Chitradurga, Karnataka.

Aurobindo Pharma gained 0.7% at Rs. 1,360 after the company announced that it received final approvals from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Cefixime for Oral Suspension USP 100mg/5ml and 200mg/5ml respectively for Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Torrent Pharma rallied to a fresh all-time high at Rs. 1,335 on talks of eyeing Mumbai-based Encore's dermatology business.