Region

Inflation Rate Rises by 0.26 Percent

Apr. 23 – India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry reported that inflation rate increased by 0.26 percent in the week ended April 11. A week earlier inflation rate rose by 0.18 percent a week earlier. Based on five analysts asked by Dow Jones Newswires, on the other hand, inflation rate was above the 0.13 percent […]

Farewell To Mumbai’s Premier Padmini

MUMBAI, Apr. 20 – The ubiquitous Premier Padmini, the tiny black taxi derived from the 1957 Fiat 1200, is to be phased out. The Bombay High Court ruled last week that taxis over 25 years old must be taken off the road by the end of the year. The ruling comes a year later than […]

Launch of the Tata Nano – The People’s car

Mar. 23 – The year’s most awaited car will officially be launched today. Tata Motors jellybean sized 10.2 feet, US$2000 Tata Nano will make Indian automotive history. Due to its revolutionary price tag, the People’s car, or the Nano, is designed for India’s burgeoning middle class and is expected to sell 50,000 cars during the next year.

India Needs to Expedite Preparations for 2010 Commonwealth Games

Feb. 26 – A parliamentary panel released a report on Wednesday stating that the Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in New Delhi in October 2010 would need nothing short of a miracle to be completed on schedule. At a time when India and China are competing neck and neck for Asian dominance, India seems drastically under prepared for what the country hails as India’s Olympics. According to the report, only half of the 30,000 extra hotel rooms and most of the sporting venues needed would be completed by October.

The panel blames the lackadaisical attitude on the poor coordination between the various government agencies. "The 2010 games are drawing near and so many projects are yet to be initiated, let alone being completed," the AFP quoted the report by the panel on transport and tourism headed by federal lawmaker Sitaram Yechury.

Satyam Chief Admits to US$1 billion Corporate Fraud

Jan. 8 – In a case that some may liken to the scamster Bernard Madoff, Chairman of India's fourth-largest IT company Satyam, Ramalinga Raju resigned from his post and admitted to gross misrepresentation of the companies balance sheets. Satyam which is listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange admitted to being involved in the country's biggest corporate fraud involving about Rs 8,000 crore (US$1.6 billion).

Following the inflation of profits and assets, investors in Satyam Computer Services Ltd's American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) have filed two class action suits against the Indian software services firm. The company has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers since its listing on the New York Stock exchange.

India Aims to Double Steel production in Next Two Years

Dec. 15 – India is aiming to more than double its steel production to 124 million tonnes by 2011-12 and further raise it to 280 million tons by 2020, Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told ministers at the upper house of Parliment the Rajya Sabha. India which currently ranks fifth in steel production globally produced 54 million tons this year.

At the same time, NMDC ltd, India’s largest iron-ore producer, announced that it may need to cut production because of falling demand for steel. NMDC’s iron-ore sales in the domestic market have fallen by as much as 30 percent, while steel consumption in the country fell to 1.75 percent from a high of 13 percent Bloomberg reported. International exports to China and Austrailia are also expected to fall next year as demand slumps. Prices of steel have fallen since June.

Manufacturing Sector to Slow Down By 10-30 percent

Dec. 10 – India’s labor intensive manufacturing sector has slowed down and is expected to cut production by 10-30 percent over the next three months. A Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) survey of 200 large and SME manufacturers released yesterday states that the leather, metals and textile industries are to be most affected, with job losses of 10-30 percent expected across the board. Due to cuts in production exports will also be affected by approximately 10-20 percent, with a 60 percent drop in leather exports expected the survey said.

India’s Commercial Capital Mumbai Attacked By Terrorists

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Nov. 27 – Terrorist’s attacked 10 prime landmarks in Mumbai at 10 pm local time last night killing at least 100 people and wounding over 900 others. Prominent amongst those shot down are chief of the anti-terror squad Hemant Karkare, Mumbai’s additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar.

A group called the Deccan Mujahideen, have claimed responsibility for the attack, however it is yet to be ascertained to which terrorist outfit they belong. Reports state that the terrorists are targeting foreigners in the city. Besides attacking prominent tourist hot spots such as the Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Towers and Leopolds café in South Mumbai the terrorists reportedly asked guests in these hotels for British and American passport holders. Adding to the panic, hospitals including Cama hospital and Bombay Hospital as well as Mumbai’s largest railway station, the CST station and the Municipal Corporation headquarters have also been attacked.