Coal India unit starts production at 12 mtpa mine in Jharkhand

CIL has struggled to raise output fast enough to meet rising demand from power companies

Reports stated that Coal India has started production at a 12 million tonnes per year mine, which should help boost supplies to fuel-starved power plants. CIL has struggled to raise output fast enough to meet rising demand from power companies, the report added. CIL unit Central Coalfields took almost a decade to start digging out coal from the Amrapali open cast pit in the eastern state of Jharkhand, mainly due to delays in land acquisition and lack of a railway network to connect the mine.

Diesel price deregulation likely by December if global price trend stays

Diesel prices may be deregulated as early as December if the current trend in global prices continues, while the number of subsidised cylinders supplied to households may be cut again as the government strives to cut fuel subsidies and achieve the fiscal discipline targeted by the finance minister. 

Brent crude oil, which had soared above $115 last month due to the crisis in Iraq, has fallen to $106.7 as fears of supply disruption receded. Prospects of higher supply from Libya has also dampened prices. This is expected to reduce the gap between India's diesel price and the international price. The gap had fallen to Rs 1.6 a litre but rose to Rs 3.4 last month. 

Diesel is a major drag on the public exchequer as state oil firms incurred a revenue loss of Rs 62,837 crore in the previous fiscal year. 

The government also plans to cut cooking gas subsidies with steps such as checking its diversion and reducing the number of subsidised cylinders. On an average each household consumes 7.2 cylinder a year but they can buy 12 if they need. 

Canara Bank expands its Gramodaya scheme in Delhi.

State-owned Canara Bank today said it has expanded Gramodaya scheme in Delhi by bringing in more slums under the project. 

Gramodaya is a scheme floated by bank for identifying villages or slums for overall development, Canara Bank said in a statement. 

Accordingly in Delhi, Canara Bank has adopted one village and three slums, including one in Vasant Kunj. 


Recently, the bank conducted financial literacy camps and Training for various skill development activities like manufacturing artificial jewelry for the ladies in the slum. 

Certificates were also handed over to ladies who have undergone training on artificial jewelry under the Entrepreneurship Development Programme of the bank by the General Manager Hemant Kumar Tamta. 

To promote education and to create job avenue the bank is starting Training Centre in tailoring/stitching in the slums of Delhi. 

Gold eases but still near 4-month high on safe-haven bids.

Spot gold fell 0.2 percent to USD 1,334.89 an ounce by 0301 GMT after posting its sixth straight weekly gain last week.

Gold ticked lower on Monday as Asian share markets gained strength, but the metal stayed close to a four-month high hit last week on safe-haven demand from escalating tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine. Spot gold fell 0.2 percent to USD 1,334.89 an ounce by 0301 GMT after posting its sixth straight weekly gain last week. The metal had hit USD 1,345, its highest since March, on Thursday after worries about the financial stability of Portugal's largest listed bank Banco Espirito Santo hammered equities and stoked fears of an European banking crisis. "The Portugal fears have subsided as markets don't think it is going to be another widespread crisis," said one trader in Tokyo. "However, the safe-haven demand for gold is still there due to the tensions in the Middle East. Portugal was only one reason for safe-haven bids, the geopolitical situation has not changed," the trader said. Israel appeared to hold off on a threatened escalation of its week-old Gaza Strip barrage on Monday despite balking at Western calls for a ceasefire with an equally defiant Hamas. On Sunday, the Israeli military had warned residents of the northern border town of Beit Lahiya to leave or risk their lives when, after nightfall, it planned to intensify air strikes against suspected Palestinian rocket sites among civilian homes. Elsewhere, Russia threatened Ukraine on Sunday with "irreversible consequences" after a man was killed by a shell fired across the border from Ukraine, an incident Moscow described in warlike terms as aggression that must be met with a response. Gold is seen as an alternative investment to riskier assets at times of geopolitical and financial uncertainties. Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that hedge funds and money managers increased their bullish bets on gold and silver futures and options in the week to July 8, underscoring the metal's safe-haven appeal. 

Amul sponsors Indian Contingent to 2014 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games

Amul has become the Official Sponsor of the Indian team in the category of Dairy products.

India’s largest food products marketing organization Amul announced its sponsorship of the Indian contingents to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, Incheon, South Korea by signing a MoU with the Indian Olympic Association. The MoU was signed by Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General, IOA and RS Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) in a function graced by Rakesh Gupta, Joint Secretary and Anil Khanna, Treasurer, Indian Olympic Association. Amul has become the Official Sponsor of the Indian team in the category of Dairy products. Announcing Amul’s support for the Indian contingent to both these prestigious sporting events, RS Sodhi, Managing Director GCMMF said that  “Amul is committed to strengthening the support to sports in various forms and encourage young generation from all corners of the country to take up sports. I take great pleasure and pride in announcing our sponsorship of the Indian contingent to the XX Commonwealth Games and the XVII Asian Games.”  Explaining the rationale of this association, he said that milk is nature’s original energy drink and plays a pivotal role in building the physical and mental strength of the athletes. Amul has embarked upon an “Eat Milk with Every Meal” campaign to highlight the importance of milk and dairy products like cheese, yogurt, butter, ghee, paneer etc. in the daily diet. India is the largest producer of milk in the world and Amul is not only India’s but Asia’s largest milk brand. Further, he said that this association and activities around it will help in engaging the kids and youth so that they can enjoy a healthy life. Amul has associated with sports events like football, Cricket World Cup and Formula 1 to engage the youth. Mr Sodhi mentioned that the Amul had sponsored the Indian contingent to the London Olympic Games in 2012 which was India’s most successful Olympics. With the kind of investments made by our country to select, nurture and train the best athletes, we are confident that Indian contingents  to the forthcoming Commonwealth and Asian Games will deliver their best ever performances and make our country proud.  Amul will launch a series of advertising campaigns for milk and various dairy products to promote this association in the coming months. The XX Commonwealth Games will be held at Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 3 and the XVII Asian Games scheduled to be held at Incheon, South Korea from 19thSept– 4th October, 2014.

Tata Steel slips ex-dividend

Tata Steel fell 0.78% to Rs 497.05 at 9:20 IST on BSE on turning ex-dividend today, 14 July 2014, for dividend of Rs 10 per share for the year ended 31 March 2014.

On BSE, so far 39,000 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 9.61 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 498.90 and a low of Rs 493.65 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 578.60 on 9 June 2014. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 195.40 on 7 August 2013.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 11 July 2014, falling 8.79% compared with 1.76% fall in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 19.25% as against Sensex's 10.59% rise.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 971.21 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Before turning ex-dividend, the stock offered a dividend yield of 2% based on the closing price of Rs 500.95 on Friday, 11 July 2014.

On a consolidated basis, Tata Steel reported a net profit of Rs 1035.87 crore in Q4 March 2014 as against net loss of Rs 6528.51 crore in Q4 March 2013. Total income from operations rose 22.44% to Rs 42428.05 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013.

Tata Steel Group is among the top-ten global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of over 29 million tonnes per annum. It is now the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries.

AirAsia and AirAsia X introduce 139 new Fly-Thru routes

The newly launched Fly-Thru services from India are available from Tiruchirappalli, Kochi, Kolkata and Chennai to Penang (via Kuala Lumpur), AirAsia and AirAsia X introduce 139 brand new Fly-Thru routes, making flying on multiple-city flights a seamless travel experience without the hassle of numerous check-ins, transit visas or multiple baggage transfers.   Effective immediately, AirAsia / AirAsia X Fly-Thru guests will receive an onward flight boarding pass from the first point of embarkation and will be allowed to bypass immigration clearance at the airline’s Fly-Thru hubs—Kuala Lumpur (klia2) or Bangkok-Don Mueang (DMK)—with all check-in baggage tagged for automatic transfer to the consecutive flight, all the way to the final destination. The newly launched Fly-Thru services from India are available from Tiruchirappalli, Kochi, Kolkata and Chennai to Penang (via Kuala Lumpur), from Kochi, Kolkata, Chennai to Langkawi / Bali (via Kuala Lumpur) and from Jakarta to Kolkata & Chennai (via Kuala Lumpur). With these brand new routes, AirAsia guests could enjoy more than 700 Fly-Thru routes, via the airline’s Fly-Thru hubs in Kuala Lumpur (klia2) and Bangkok-Don Mueang (DMK), with the initial and consecutive flights’ connecting time of between 90 minutes to six hours. Among popular AirAsia and AirAsia X Fly-Thru routes includes Phuket - Melbourne, Phuket – Sydney, Melbourne – Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok-Don Mueang – Melbourne, Bangkok-Don Mueang – Osaka-Kansai, Jakarta – Tokyo-Haneda, Adelaide - Phuket and many more. AirAsia Berhad CEO Aireen Omar said, “The Fly-Thru service reflects our continuous effort to innovate and enhance our service offerings, presenting utmost convenience to our guests and making multiple-city flights easier and more efficient. Fly-Thru also allows guests to leverage on the strength of our network and connectivity to various destinations in Asean and beyond. “While creativity and effectiveness continue to drive AirAsia forward, we will also continue to pursue innovative approaches and platforms to make air travel simpler and convenient while providing the best service experience to all our guests.” Fly-Thru is available to guests travelling on selected AirAsia and all AirAsia X flights transiting through Kuala Lumpur (klia2) or Bangkok-Don Mueang (DMK), With Fly-Thru, guests can connect to their next flight without the need for immigration clearance or a transit visa in Malaysia or Thailand. Upon arrival at AirAsia’s Fly-Thru hub guests will be given access to the transfer hall which is connected to the departure hall and issued with a subsequent flight boarding pass. The service also eliminates the need to re-check-in luggage all the way through to the final disembarkation point. Fly-Thru guests are also able to enjoy guaranteed connection. In the event delays caused by the airline results in the missing of consecutive flights, AirAsia will automatically accommodate affected Fly-Thru passengers on the next available flight without any additional charges.

Crop Prices Trade Near Four-Year Lows on Output Prospects

Corn and soybeans traded near the lowest levels since 2010 in Chicago before a government report later today that may predict U.S. farmers will harvest the biggest crops on record.

U.S. production may total 13.93 billion bushels of corn and 3.79 billion bushels of soybeans, the most ever, according to a Bloomberg News survey before the U.S. Department of Agricultureupdates its outlook at noon today in Washington. Most crops are in good or excellent conditionafter ample rain, USDA data show. Cool weather in the Midwest will prevent heat stress on crops through next week, according to MDA Weather Services.

Corn for December delivery was unchanged at $3.9275 a bushel at 4:20 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. The price touched $3.915 yesterday, the lowest since July 2010. Soybeans for November delivery were little changed at $10.925 a bushel, after earlier touching $10.92, the lowest since October 2010.

Global inventories of corn may rise to 184.47 million metric tons by the end of the 2014-15 season, the most since 2000, the Bloomberg survey showed. Soybean reserves at 84.69 million tons may be the highest ever.

Citigroup Inc. said soybeans may drop to $10.50 in the fourth quarter, while corn was seen at $3.70 a bushel, according to a report e-mailed yesterday.

Wheat for September delivery rose 0.2 percent to $5.495 a bushel, near yesterday’s four-year low of $5.4625. In Paris, milling wheat for November delivery was 0.1 percent higher at 182 euros ($247.74) a ton on Euronext.

Gold price dips 3.2 per cent to Rs 29,190/10 gm in 2013-14.

The average price of gold has eased by 3.2 per cent on an annual basis to Rs 29,190 per 10 gm in 2013-14, Parliament was informed today.

In the current fiscal, gold price has come down to Rs 28,738/10 gm in May from Rs 29,329/10 gm in April, said Minister of State for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Silver prices too fell by 19 per cent from Rs 57,602/kg in 2012-13 to Rs 46,637/kg in 2013-14.co

"The yearly average price of gold in India decline by 3.2 per cent from Rs 30,164/10 gm in 2012-13 to Rs 29,190/10 gm in 2013-14," she said.

Besides, silver prices in May stood at Rs 42,116/kg, down from Rs 43,606/kg in April.

"The movements in the domestic price of gold and silver are broadly in tandem with movements in international markets," Sitharaman said.

In order to curb gold imports the government had hiked customs duty on it to 10 per cent and imposed certain restrictions on its imports.

Infosys Q1 net falls 3.5%, FY15 $ revenue to grow 7-9%

Infosys , the second largest software services exporter in India, has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,886 crore in April-June quarter, degrowth of 3.5 percent compared to Rs 2,992 crore in previous quarter. Year-on-year growth in profit was 21.6 percent. Bottomline as well as operating performance were better-than-expectations while revenue was inline. According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, analysts had expected the company to report net profit oRs 2,667 crore on revenue of Rs 12,814 crore for the quarter. Consolidated revenue fell 0.8 percent (up 13.3 percent on yearly basis) to Rs 12,770 crore during April-June quarter from Rs 12,875 crore in previous quarter and dollar revenue stood at USD 2,133 million, up 1.95 percent on sequential basis. Analysts had estimated dollar revenue at USD 2140 million for the quarter.