India could be in top two markets for Xiaomi
NEW DELHI: Xiaomi, China's largest smartphone maker which is among the world's top 4, believes India could be its second-largestmarket by volumesoon as it continues to get massive traction here when such devices are the fastest-growing consumer category. After selling more than 400,000 smartphones in India, including the entry-level Redmi 1s and highly popular Mi 3, since launching in July, demand for Xiaomi phones has surged, even though the Indian Air Force raised security concerns, which the company hassought to address.
"There's no doubt in my mind that India as a market has the potential to be our second-largest market worldwide and a significant contributor to our global shipments," Hugo Barra, Xiaomi's VP of international markets, " workhard towards making that happen."
Barra was upbeat about prospects in India, where Xiaomi has targeted making 100,000 smartphones available for weekly flash sales, 10 times the number of devices it started out with, to meet unprecedented demand on e-commerce site Flipkart, its only outlet in the country.
The company continues to struggle with supplies."We are still working to meet our goal of having 100,000 units steadily available every week," Overthepast couple of weeks, Xiaomi has faced production and logistics-related difficulties, but Barra is hopeful of hitting the required volume steadily in the coming weeks.
WhatsApp active user base zooms past 70 million mark in India
WhatsApp has managed to attract an active user base of over 70 million in India, a figure which boasts of a growth crossing 10 million within a few months. Neeraj Arora, the company’s business head for the country, claims that these are active users, or those who engage with the app a least once each month.
The 70 million-strong Indian fan-base of WhatsApp makes up for more than a tenth of its users on a worldwide scale. This obviously means the country is one of its biggest markets. There are plenty of opportunities for churning money out from the platform even though the company had previously promised not to roll out ads.
AP Inter Advanced Supplementary Results 2014
AP Inter Advanced Supplementary Results 2014
Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh BIEAP Inter Advanced Supplementary Examinations May/June 2014 Results of both 1st and 2nd year will be released on Third week of June 2014.
Andra Pradesh State board of Intermediate education BIE AP released the Intermediate First and Second Year annual examination results on 28th April 2014 and 3rd May 2014 respectively. BIE AP conducting Advanced Supplementary Examinations from 25th May 2014 to 3rd June 2014 for failed students in annual exams. The Students of Junior and Senior Intermediate of all Groups (MPC, Bi.PC,CEC, MEC, HEC, Vocational) can write these examinations for not to waste their academic year.
AP Intermediate Advanced Supplementary Examinations May/June 2014 Results date:
AP Inter Board Advanced Supplementary Results 2014 will be declared in the Third week of June 2014. We will update the exact date and time after confirmation from the Board.
All the best to Students of AP Intermediate 1st year and 2nd Year Supplementary Exam Appeared Students.
Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh BIEAP Inter Advanced Supplementary Examinations May/June 2014 Results of both 1st and 2nd year will be released on Third week of June 2014.
Andra Pradesh State board of Intermediate education BIE AP released the Intermediate First and Second Year annual examination results on 28th April 2014 and 3rd May 2014 respectively. BIE AP conducting Advanced Supplementary Examinations from 25th May 2014 to 3rd June 2014 for failed students in annual exams. The Students of Junior and Senior Intermediate of all Groups (MPC, Bi.PC,CEC, MEC, HEC, Vocational) can write these examinations for not to waste their academic year.
AP Intermediate Advanced Supplementary Examinations May/June 2014 Results date:
AP Inter Board Advanced Supplementary Results 2014 will be declared in the Third week of June 2014. We will update the exact date and time after confirmation from the Board.
All the best to Students of AP Intermediate 1st year and 2nd Year Supplementary Exam Appeared Students.
Obama suspends Iran oil sanctions for six months
With Iran complying with its commitment on a controversial nuclear weapons programme, US President Barack Obama has suspended his action on Iranian oil sanctions for the next six months.
Even though there is enough oil in the international market for countries like India and China to reduce their dependence on Iranian oil, so as to avoid US sanctions as per Congressional Act, Mr. Obama determined that there is no need to do so for the next six months as Tehran is fully co-operating with the US-led international community to address their concerns about its nuclear weapons program, the White House said on Wednesday.
“While market conditions suggest that there is sufficient supply to permit additional reductions in purchases of Iranian oil, the United States has committed to Obama suspends Iran oil sanctions for six months and
pause efforts to further reduce Iran’s crude oil sales for a six month period under the Joint Plan of Action between the P5+1 and Iran,” the White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney said.
“In return for this and other limited relief measures, Iran has committed to take steps that halt and in key respects roll back progress on its nuclear programme.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that Iran is complying with these commitments,”
The analysis contained in the Energy Information Administration’s report of April 24, indicates that global oil consumption has exceeded production in recent months, adding to this resulted in a small withdrawal from global oil stocks, in line with rates earlier this year.
“Global oil supply disruptions in recent months increased compared with earlier this year, but the resulting supply reduction was offset by increased petroleum production, particularly in the United States,”
Global surplus crude oil production capacity has increased modestly in recent months but remains lower than a year ago, Oil inventories among members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development are three per cent below year ago levels, The Brent crude oil price remains near $ 110 per barrel, in line with the price level 6 months ago when the last determination was made, he added.
“While these factors indicate general market tightness, they also indicate there currently appears to be sufficient supply of non-Iranian oil to permit foreign countries to reduce significantly their purchases of Iranian oil, taking into account current estimates of demand, increased production by countries other than Iran, inventories of crude oil and petroleum products, and available spare production capacity,”
Apollo Tyres Ltd gained 2 per cent, MRF Ltd was up 2.2 per cent, Ceat Ltd jumped 4.5 per cent, while JK Tyre & Industries Ltd rose 2.1 per cent.
Natural rubber makes up more than 40 per cent of the cost of a tyre, according to analysts.
Indian tyre makers are increasing imports of natural rubber as it is cheaper overseas compared to local supplies.
Sensex ends above 25000, up 214 pts; Infosys, Sesa gain
03:30 pm International markets European shares held steady and the euro languished near four-month lows against the dollar on Thursday, with the common currency hostage to expectations the European Central Bank will ease monetary policy to support a fragile economic recovery. In anticipation of lower interest rates, euro zone government bond yields fell. This helped push the premium that two-year U.S. government debt offers over euro zone benchmarks to its widest since 2007. In one of its most keenly awaited decisions in years, the ECB is expected on Thursday to impose negative interest rates. Economists in a Reuters poll expected the ECB to cut its main refinancing rate to 0.10 percent from 0.25 percent and cut its overnight deposit rate to -0.10 percent from zero. It may also launch a loan programme to banks to encourage lending.
03:20 pm Budget expectation Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet captains of Indian industry to elicit their views on the budget, which is likely to be presented in the first week of July. As a part of the pre-budget consultation exercise, the Finance Minister has already met with agriculturists and will meet representatives of social sector later today. The industry wants the new government to take steps to boost the manufacturing sector, which has remained stagnant in the past two years. It also wants clear and credible policies to attract investments, push mega projects and encourage growth. It has already made a case for non-adversarial, conducive and fair tax regulatory environment.
All the Nifty, Sensex,
CNX Midcap end at record closing highs. The Sensex closed above 25,000
for the first time ever. The Sensex is up 213.68 points at 25019.51 and
the Nifty is up 71.85 points at 7474.10. About 2130 shares have
advanced, 883 shares declined, and 121 shares are unchanged.
Except Bank Nifty, all indices end trade in the green. Infosys, Sesa
Sterlite are major contributors to Nifty gain. Reliance Infra, SAIL
& Havells contribute most to the midcap rally.
03:30 pm International markets
European shares held steady and the euro languished near four-month lows
against the dollar on Thursday, with the common currency hostage to
expectations the European Central Bank will ease monetary policy to
support a fragile economic recovery.
In anticipation of lower interest rates, euro zone government bond
yields fell. This helped push the premium that two-year U.S. government
debt offers over euro zone benchmarks to its widest since 2007.
In one of its most keenly awaited decisions in years, the ECB is
expected on Thursday to impose negative interest rates.
Economists in a Reuters poll expected the ECB to cut its main
refinancing rate to 0.10 percent from 0.25 percent and cut its overnight
deposit rate to -0.10 percent from zero. It may also launch a loan
programme to banks to encourage lending.
03:20 pm Budget expectation
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet captains of Indian industry to
elicit their views on the budget, which is likely to be presented in the
first week of July.
As a part of the pre-budget consultation exercise, the Finance Minister
has already met with agriculturists and will meet representatives of
social sector later today. The industry wants the new government to take
steps to boost the manufacturing sector, which has remained stagnant in
the past two years.
It also wants clear and credible policies to attract investments, push
mega projects and encourage growth. It has already made a case for
non-adversarial, conducive and fair tax regulatory environment.
03:10 Deal
Piramal Enterprises has acquired 9.99 percent stake in Shriram City
Union Finance for a total of Rs 790 crore. The Mumbai-based firm has
acquired 65,79,840 equity shares of Shriram City Union Finance Ltd, the
retail focused non-banking financial company (NBFC) of the Shriram
Group, Piramal Enterprises said in a statement today.
The acquisition, by way of a preferential allotment of shares by Shriram
City Union, was at a price of Rs 1,200 per equity share, taking the
total capital paid at Rs 790 crore, it added.
"We are happy that the shareholders of Shriram City Union Finance have
approved our investment in the company. Thiscapital infusion will
support its present business model and help further its growth plans
over the next few years," Piramal Enterprises Ajay Piramal said.
Shriram has a good team and the company is confident about creating
long-term value for shareholders of both the companies, he added.
02:55pm J&K Bank up 1.4%
Jammu and Kashmir Bank will raise Rs 500-600 crore by selling 5 percent
stake in PNB Metlife. The stake sale process will be completed by
December, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting Reuters.
02:45pm IDFC weak
IDFC’s provisions will increase over the next couple of quarters, the
infrastructure financier’s executive chairman Rajiv Lall said in an
interview to CNBC-TV-18.
On the positive side, Lall said his firm was sitting on 21 percent
Tier-I capital and had enough capital to ride out the worst storm.
He said the health of gas power plants would be the key to IDFC's asset
quality.
According to him, pure infrastructure loan growth for IDFC is likely to
take place in the next fiscal because of their transition to bank .
“Even if there is an opportunity, pure market based to grow the balance
sheet, we may not want to because our starting position as a bank
becomes that much more complex,” says Lall.
02:35pm Interview
Reports suggest that the RBI has rejected United Bank of India's plea to
ease curbs on lending.
United Bank of India’s Executive Director Deepak Narang says that they
need to show RBI that all systems and procedures are in place and credit
administration has been tightening.
The bank hopes to approach the Reserve Bank soon to enhance the limit
for AAA and AA rate accounts. Narang believes RBI is willing to relax
those accounts up to Rs 25 crore for normal lending. In an interview
with CNBC-TV18, he says they are focussing on recovery and not on credit
expansion.
02:26pm Suzlon bags repeat order
Suzlon Group, the world's largest turbine maker has received a 100.8 MW
order from ReNew Wind Power.
"As per the agreement, the group will not only supply 48 units of its
robust S97-120 m WTG's but will also oversee operations, maintenance and
service of the wind site over the contracted period," says Suzlon Group
in its filing.
It further says, "ReNew Wind Power currently deploys Suzlon WTG's for
100+ MW at their wind farms in Gujarat and Maharashtra and this will be
the third successful order placed with Suzlon Group. This repeat order
demonstrates the confidence our customers have with Suzlon's products
and service capabilities,"
02:22pm Market Update
The Sensex surged 202.92 points to 25008.75 and the Nifty rose 68.60
points to 7470.85. About 2086 shares have advanced, 835 shares declined,
and 105 shares are unchanged.
02:18pm Oil marketing companies in focus
Sources told CNBC-TV18 that oil ministry will consult prime minister's
office and finance ministry on hiking LPG and kerosene prices. It will
consult on one-time LPG price hike, say sources.
The current under-recovery on LPG stands at Rs 432.71 per cylinder and
in case of kerosene, it is at Rs 32.87 per litre.
It is learnt that PMO and finance ministry want more market-aligned
prices and better targetted subsidies. Oil ministry says FY15
under-recovery bill is expected to be at Rs 98,000 crore, say sources.
BPCL touched a record high of Rs 605.55, up 5 percent now while IOC and
HPCL gained 3-3.7 percent.
02:10pm Market Update
The Sensex inched towards the 25000-mark, up 178.01 points to 24983.84
and the Nifty rose 61.10 points to 7463.35. About 2056 shares have
advanced, 829 shares declined, and 102 shares are unchanged.
02:05pm FII View
Sanjay Shah, Co-Country head and Co-head Indian Equity Business, Morgan
Stanley, said the “realms of a strong policy framework in the making”,
has made India an attractive destination for foreign investors. He said
the investor interest has returned after election results.
In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, on the sidelines of Morgan
Stanley Annual India Summit 2014 which was attended by over 70
corporates and 370 investors, Shah said the investors here are not just
India-dedicated or confined to emerging markets, but they are the large
global funds from North America and Europe who are looking at emerging
markets as an asset class and within that finding India much more
interesting. However, international investors are closely monitoring the
Budget, he added.
02:00pm Equity benchmarks gained strength post consolidation. The Sensex
rose 129.36 points to 24935.19 while the Nifty touched 7450 level (for
the first time since May 26), up 48.10 points to 7450.35. The BSE Midcap
and Smallcap indices climbed 1.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
About 2039 shares have advanced, 846 shares declined, and 87 shares are
unchanged.
Sesa Sterlite remained top gainer in the Sensex, gaining over 6 percent
followed by Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel and Hindalco
Industries with around 3 percent.
Index heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC and ITC recouped losses in
afternoon trade, rising 0.5 percent, 1.2 percent and 0.2 percent,
respectively. Top lender State Bank of India and its rival Axis Bank
advanced 0.9 percent each while ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank declined 0.6-1
percent.
Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/local-markets/sensex-inches-towards-25000-reliance-hdfc-rebound_1099528.html?utm_source=ref_article
Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/local-markets/sensex-inches-towards-25000-reliance-hdfc-rebound_1099528.html?utm_source=ref_article
All the Nifty, Sensex,
CNX Midcap end at record closing highs. The Sensex closed above 25,000
for the first time ever. The Sensex is up 213.68 points at 25019.51 and
the Nifty is up 71.85 points at 7474.10. About 2130 shares have
advanced, 883 shares declined, and 121 shares are unchanged.
Except Bank Nifty, all indices end trade in the green. Infosys, Sesa
Sterlite are major contributors to Nifty gain. Reliance Infra, SAIL
& Havells contribute most to the midcap rally.
03:30 pm International markets
European shares held steady and the euro languished near four-month lows
against the dollar on Thursday, with the common currency hostage to
expectations the European Central Bank will ease monetary policy to
support a fragile economic recovery.
In anticipation of lower interest rates, euro zone government bond
yields fell. This helped push the premium that two-year U.S. government
debt offers over euro zone benchmarks to its widest since 2007.
In one of its most keenly awaited decisions in years, the ECB is
expected on Thursday to impose negative interest rates.
Economists in a Reuters poll expected the ECB to cut its main
refinancing rate to 0.10 percent from 0.25 percent and cut its overnight
deposit rate to -0.10 percent from zero. It may also launch a loan
programme to banks to encourage lending.
03:20 pm Budget expectation
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet captains of Indian industry to
elicit their views on the budget, which is likely to be presented in the
first week of July.
As a part of the pre-budget consultation exercise, the Finance Minister
has already met with agriculturists and will meet representatives of
social sector later today. The industry wants the new government to take
steps to boost the manufacturing sector, which has remained stagnant in
the past two years.
It also wants clear and credible policies to attract investments, push
mega projects and encourage growth. It has already made a case for
non-adversarial, conducive and fair tax regulatory environment.
03:10 Deal
Piramal Enterprises has acquired 9.99 percent stake in Shriram City
Union Finance for a total of Rs 790 crore. The Mumbai-based firm has
acquired 65,79,840 equity shares of Shriram City Union Finance Ltd, the
retail focused non-banking financial company (NBFC) of the Shriram
Group, Piramal Enterprises said in a statement today.
The acquisition, by way of a preferential allotment of shares by Shriram
City Union, was at a price of Rs 1,200 per equity share, taking the
total capital paid at Rs 790 crore, it added.
"We are happy that the shareholders of Shriram City Union Finance have
approved our investment in the company. Thiscapital infusion will
support its present business model and help further its growth plans
over the next few years," Piramal Enterprises Ajay Piramal said.
Shriram has a good team and the company is confident about creating
long-term value for shareholders of both the companies, he added.
02:55pm J&K Bank up 1.4%
Jammu and Kashmir Bank will raise Rs 500-600 crore by selling 5 percent
stake in PNB Metlife. The stake sale process will be completed by
December, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting Reuters.
02:45pm IDFC weak
IDFC’s provisions will increase over the next couple of quarters, the
infrastructure financier’s executive chairman Rajiv Lall said in an
interview to CNBC-TV-18.
On the positive side, Lall said his firm was sitting on 21 percent
Tier-I capital and had enough capital to ride out the worst storm.
He said the health of gas power plants would be the key to IDFC's asset
quality.
According to him, pure infrastructure loan growth for IDFC is likely to
take place in the next fiscal because of their transition to bank .
“Even if there is an opportunity, pure market based to grow the balance
sheet, we may not want to because our starting position as a bank
becomes that much more complex,” says Lall.
02:35pm Interview
Reports suggest that the RBI has rejected United Bank of India's plea to
ease curbs on lending.
United Bank of India’s Executive Director Deepak Narang says that they
need to show RBI that all systems and procedures are in place and credit
administration has been tightening.
The bank hopes to approach the Reserve Bank soon to enhance the limit
for AAA and AA rate accounts. Narang believes RBI is willing to relax
those accounts up to Rs 25 crore for normal lending. In an interview
with CNBC-TV18, he says they are focussing on recovery and not on credit
expansion.
02:26pm Suzlon bags repeat order
Suzlon Group, the world's largest turbine maker has received a 100.8 MW
order from ReNew Wind Power.
"As per the agreement, the group will not only supply 48 units of its
robust S97-120 m WTG's but will also oversee operations, maintenance and
service of the wind site over the contracted period," says Suzlon Group
in its filing.
It further says, "ReNew Wind Power currently deploys Suzlon WTG's for
100+ MW at their wind farms in Gujarat and Maharashtra and this will be
the third successful order placed with Suzlon Group. This repeat order
demonstrates the confidence our customers have with Suzlon's products
and service capabilities,"
02:22pm Market Update
The Sensex surged 202.92 points to 25008.75 and the Nifty rose 68.60
points to 7470.85. About 2086 shares have advanced, 835 shares declined,
and 105 shares are unchanged.
02:18pm Oil marketing companies in focus
Sources told CNBC-TV18 that oil ministry will consult prime minister's
office and finance ministry on hiking LPG and kerosene prices. It will
consult on one-time LPG price hike, say sources.
The current under-recovery on LPG stands at Rs 432.71 per cylinder and
in case of kerosene, it is at Rs 32.87 per litre.
It is learnt that PMO and finance ministry want more market-aligned
prices and better targetted subsidies. Oil ministry says FY15
under-recovery bill is expected to be at Rs 98,000 crore, say sources.
BPCL touched a record high of Rs 605.55, up 5 percent now while IOC and
HPCL gained 3-3.7 percent.
02:10pm Market Update
The Sensex inched towards the 25000-mark, up 178.01 points to 24983.84
and the Nifty rose 61.10 points to 7463.35. About 2056 shares have
advanced, 829 shares declined, and 102 shares are unchanged.
02:05pm FII View
Sanjay Shah, Co-Country head and Co-head Indian Equity Business, Morgan
Stanley, said the “realms of a strong policy framework in the making”,
has made India an attractive destination for foreign investors. He said
the investor interest has returned after election results.
In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, on the sidelines of Morgan
Stanley Annual India Summit 2014 which was attended by over 70
corporates and 370 investors, Shah said the investors here are not just
India-dedicated or confined to emerging markets, but they are the large
global funds from North America and Europe who are looking at emerging
markets as an asset class and within that finding India much more
interesting. However, international investors are closely monitoring the
Budget, he added.
02:00pm Equity benchmarks gained strength post consolidation. The Sensex
rose 129.36 points to 24935.19 while the Nifty touched 7450 level (for
the first time since May 26), up 48.10 points to 7450.35. The BSE Midcap
and Smallcap indices climbed 1.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
About 2039 shares have advanced, 846 shares declined, and 87 shares are
unchanged.
Sesa Sterlite remained top gainer in the Sensex, gaining over 6 percent
followed by Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel and Hindalco
Industries with around 3 percent.
Index heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC and ITC recouped losses in
afternoon trade, rising 0.5 percent, 1.2 percent and 0.2 percent,
respectively. Top lender State Bank of India and its rival Axis Bank
advanced 0.9 percent each while ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank declined 0.6-1
percent.
Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/local-markets/sensex-inches-towards-25000-reliance-hdfc-rebound_1099528.html?utm_source=ref_article
Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/local-markets/sensex-inches-towards-25000-reliance-hdfc-rebound_1099528.html?utm_source=ref_article
03:40 pm Market closing
All the Nifty, Sensex, CNX Midcap end at record closing highs. The
Sensex closed above 25,000 for the first time ever. The Sensex is up
213.68 points at 25019.51 and the Nifty is up 71.85 points at 7474.10.
About 2130 shares have advanced, 883 shares declined, and 121 shares are
unchanged.
Except Bank Nifty, all indices end trade in the green. Infosys, Sesa
Sterlite are major contributors to Nifty gain. Reliance Infra, SAIL
& Havells contribute most to the midcap rally.
03:30 pm International markets
European shares held steady and the euro languished near four-month lows
against the dollar on Thursday, with the common currency hostage to
expectations the European Central Bank will ease monetary policy to
support a fragile economic recovery.
In anticipation of lower interest rates, euro zone government bond
yields fell. This helped push the premium that two-year U.S. government
debt offers over euro zone benchmarks to its widest since 2007.
In one of its most keenly awaited decisions in years, the ECB is
expected on Thursday to impose negative interest rates.
Economists in a Reuters poll expected the ECB to cut its main
refinancing rate to 0.10 percent from 0.25 percent and cut its overnight
deposit rate to -0.10 percent from zero. It may also launch a loan
programme to banks to encourage lending.
03:20 pm Budget expectation
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet captains of Indian industry to
elicit their views on the budget, which is likely to be presented in the
first week of July.
As a part of the pre-budget consultation exercise, the Finance Minister
has already met with agriculturists and will meet representatives of
social sector later today. The industry wants the new government to take
steps to boost the manufacturing sector, which has remained stagnant in
the past two years.
It also wants clear and credible policies to attract investments, push
mega projects and encourage growth. It has already made a case for
non-adversarial, conducive and fair tax regulatory environment.
Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/local-markets/sensex-inches-towards-25000-reliance-hdfc-rebound_1099528.html?utm_source=ref_article
Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/local-markets/sensex-inches-towards-25000-reliance-hdfc-rebound_1099528.html?utm_source=ref_article
03:40 pm Market closing
All the Nifty, Sensex, CNX Midcap end at record closing highs. The
Sensex closed above 25,000 for the first time ever. The Sensex is up
213.68 points at 25019.51 and the Nifty is up 71.85 points at 7474.10.
About 2130 shares have advanced, 883 shares declined, and 121 shares are
unchanged.
Except Bank Nifty, all indices end trade in the green. Infosys, Sesa
Sterlite are major contributors to Nifty gain. Reliance Infra, SAIL
& Havells contribute most to the midcap rally.
03:30 pm International markets
European shares held steady and the euro languished near four-month lows
against the dollar on Thursday, with the common currency hostage to
expectations the European Central Bank will ease monetary policy to
support a fragile economic recovery.
In anticipation of lower interest rates, euro zone government bond
yields fell. This helped push the premium that two-year U.S. government
debt offers over euro zone benchmarks to its widest since 2007.
In one of its most keenly awaited decisions in years, the ECB is
expected on Thursday to impose negative interest rates.
Economists in a Reuters poll expected the ECB to cut its main
refinancing rate to 0.10 percent from 0.25 percent and cut its overnight
deposit rate to -0.10 percent from zero. It may also launch a loan
programme to banks to encourage lending.
03:20 pm Budget expectation
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet captains of Indian industry to
elicit their views on the budget, which is likely to be presented in the
first week of July.
As a part of the pre-budget consultation exercise, the Finance Minister
has already met with agriculturists and will meet representatives of
social sector later today. The industry wants the new government to take
steps to boost the manufacturing sector, which has remained stagnant in
the past two years.
It also wants clear and credible policies to attract investments, push
mega projects and encourage growth. It has already made a case for
non-adversarial, conducive and fair tax regulatory environment.
Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/local-markets/sensex-inches-towards-25000-reliance-hdfc-rebound_1099528.html?utm_source=ref_article03:40 pm Market closing All the Nifty, Sensex, CNX Midcap end at record closing highs. The Sensex closed above 25,000 for the first time ever. The Sensex is up 213.68 points at 25019.51 and the Nifty is up 71.85 points at 7474.10. About 2130 shares have advanced, 883 shares declined, and 121 shares are unchanged. Except Bank Nifty, all indices end trade in the green. Infosys, Sesa Sterlite are major contributors to Nifty gain. Reliance Infra, SAIL & Havells contribute most to the midcap rally. 03:30 pm International markets European shares held steady and the euro languished near four-month lows against the dollar on Thursday, with the common currency hostage to expectations the European Central Bank will ease monetary policy to support a fragile economic recovery. In anticipation of lower interest rates, euro zone government bond yields fell. This helped push the premium that two-year U.S. government debt offers over euro zone benchmarks to its widest since 2007. In one of its most keenly awaited decisions in years, the ECB is expected on Thursday to impose negative interest rates. Economists in a Reuters poll expected the ECB to cut its main refinancing rate to 0.10 percent from 0.25 percent and cut its overnight deposit rate to -0.10 percent from zero. It may also launch a loan programme to banks to encourage lending. 03:20 pm Budget expectation Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet captains of Indian industry to elicit their views on the budget, which is likely to be presented in the first week of July. As a part of the pre-budget consultation exercise, the Finance Minister has already met with agriculturists and will meet representatives of social sector later today. The industry wants the new government to take steps to boost the manufacturing sector, which has remained stagnant in the past two years. It also wants clear and credible policies to attract investments, push mega projects and encourage growth. It has already made a case for non-adversarial, conducive and fair tax regulatory environment.
Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/local-markets/sensex-inches-towards-25000-reliance-hdfc-rebound_1099528.html?utm_source=ref_article03:40 pm Market closing All the Nifty, Sensex, CNX Midcap end at record closing highs. The Sensex closed above 25,000 for the first time ever. The Sensex is up 213.68 points at 25019.51 and the Nifty is up 71.85 points at 7474.10. About 2130 shares have advanced, 883 shares declined, and 121 shares are unchanged. Except Bank Nifty, all indices end trade in the green. Infosys, Sesa Sterlite are major contributors to Nifty gain. Reliance Infra, SAIL & Havells contribute most to the midcap rally. 03:30 pm International markets European shares held steady and the euro languished near four-month lows against the dollar on Thursday, with the common currency hostage to expectations the European Central Bank will ease monetary policy to support a fragile economic recovery. In anticipation of lower interest rates, euro zone government bond yields fell. This helped push the premium that two-year U.S. government debt offers over euro zone benchmarks to its widest since 2007. In one of its most keenly awaited decisions in years, the ECB is expected on Thursday to impose negative interest rates. Economists in a Reuters poll expected the ECB to cut its main refinancing rate to 0.10 percent from 0.25 percent and cut its overnight deposit rate to -0.10 percent from zero. It may also launch a loan programme to banks to encourage lending. 03:20 pm Budget expectation Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet captains of Indian industry to elicit their views on the budget, which is likely to be presented in the first week of July. As a part of the pre-budget consultation exercise, the Finance Minister has already met with agriculturists and will meet representatives of social sector later today. The industry wants the new government to take steps to boost the manufacturing sector, which has remained stagnant in the past two years. It also wants clear and credible policies to attract investments, push mega projects and encourage growth. It has already made a case for non-adversarial, conducive and fair tax regulatory environment.
Professedly secular vs. conspicuously communal
A quasi-secular ideology remained dominant for much after
independence, but concessions were periodically made in favour of
particular religions
Until the beginning of the 20th Century, India’s war of
independence from foreign rule was fought on the plank of equality of
all faiths and of their followers. The scene changed thereafter and
certain sections of the majority community began projecting their
religion as an inseparable part of the country’s future political
ideology. As a reaction to this, some Muslim leaders began demanding
special arrangements for their community in the nation’s forthcoming
political structure. These competitive aspirations eventually led to the
partition of the country accompanying its independence from British
rule in 1947. During the protracted phase of Constitution-making,
demands were made for the protection of certain religious traditions in
the national charter under preparation, and some of these had to be
accommodated. This gave birth to a peculiar concept of state secularity,
different from how the rest of the world understands it.
No state religion
Adopted
in the third year of independence from foreign rule, the Constitution
of India did not declare any religion to be the state religion or an
otherwise privileged faith tradition. It declared liberty of belief,
faith and worship and equality of status and opportunity to be the basic
ideals of future polity, and non-discrimination on religious grounds to
be one of the people’s Fundamental Rights.
However, it neither erected a
U.S.-type ‘non-establishment’ clause — a ‘wall of separation’ between
state and religion — nor adopted the French doctrine of laïcité
requiring the state to estrange its people from all walks of life. To
put it in concrete terms, the state was not prevented from playing a
role in the affairs of religion, but religion was to have no role
whatsoever to play in state affairs. Twenty-six years later the Preamble
to the Constitution was amended to add the word ‘secular’ to the
prefatory description of the character of the country. It, however, made
no difference, and the concept of secularism remained basically
distinct from its western stereotypes, leaving ample room for the
politicians of tomorrow to play with it as they liked.
A
quasi-secular ideology remained dominant in state affairs for about
half a century after independence, but throughout these years
concessions were periodically made in favour of particular religions.
Towards the end of the 20th Century, the majority community’s
protagonists of a different ideology that they called ‘Hindutva’ — an
ideology which insists on the religio-cultural beliefs and practices of
the majority community being an essential attribute of patriotism,
national culture and social practice — began aspiring to capture
political power. Soon they took over the reins of the nation and their
ideology of ‘cultural nationalism’ remained dominant in the country’s
governance throughout their six-year rule. The professedly secular
political outfits returned to power in 2004 and have ruled the country
for a full decade. There have been severe blows to secularism under both
dispensations — destruction of the Ayodhya mosque in 1992 and the
Gujarat pogrom of 2002 bear testimony to this fact. The difference has
been of a passive tolerance and active support to a gradual decline of
the ideal of state’s secularity and neutrality to religion.
The judiciary and secularism
The
judiciary in India has been generally favouring the ideology of
secularism. A leading case on India’s secular character was decided by
the Supreme Court in 1994. The Court declared that secularism was an
inalienable part of the Constitution and clarified that “secularism is
more than a passive attitude of religious tolerance; it is a positive
concept of equal treatment of all religions… when the State allows
citizens to profess and practise their religions, it does not either
explicitly or impliedly allow them to introduce religion into
non-religious and secular activities of the State” (S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, 1994).
There have, however, been occasional aberrations too, a clear instance
of which was found in the late Justice J.S. Verma’s so-called Hindutva
judgments of 1995. Gravely disturbed by their tenor, his brother judge
K. Ramaswamy hastened to get them referred to a larger Bench for review.
The public outcry against the language used in those rulings, which
seemed to be lending weight to protagonists of political communalism,
forced the learned author to dispel such impressions in a clarifying
decision given in quick succession. He was soon appointed to the Chair
of the National Human Rights Commission, and his policies and
performance there turned into a direction exactly opposite to what his
earlier judgments were made out to be.
Democracy
envisages periodical change of guard, and a time for that has come once
again. The race for taking over the reins of the nation next is
currently on, and is unfortunately fast developing into a tug of war
between professedly secular and conspicuously communal ideologies. The
outcome is anybody’s guess. Neither unbridled political ambitions nor
media speculations will however be decisive. The people of this country
will be the real arbiters of its destiny.
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