Airfone launches cheapest Dual SIM handset in India for Rs 1,499/-

Airfone Mobiles launched a new AF11 model in the Indian market for a price of Rs 1,499/-.

The handset supports dual SIM, has FM, MP3, talk-time of 420 minutes, standby time of 240 minutes and is available in Black+Grey, Black+Red and Black+Blue colour combinations.

According to Mr. Vishal Chitkara, Director, Airfone, “Our focus is to bring in the latest technology to provide our customers world class mobile handsets at local prices. AF11 is our latest offer to the Indian market, for commencing our aggressive expansion plans in major cities in India.”

HP launches touch-enabled All-in-One PCs

PC maker Hewlett Packard on Friday launched its new range of All-in-One (AIO) PCs, based on touch technology which is priced at Rs59,990 onwards. "HP's new range of All-in-One PCs combine the monitor and CPU and the result is a powerful, sleek and elegant desktop. HP has also introduced multi-touch computing for consumers with the introduction of HP TouchSmart300 All-in-One Desktop PC, HP said in a statement.

The HP TouchSmart300 PC and HP TouchSmart600 PC feature enhanced multi-touch technology, including gestures such as pinch, rotate, arc, flick, press and drag, enabling users to move, modify and share all digital content with natural and intuitive movements. The AIO PCs are priced at Rs 59,990 and Rs 89,990 respectively, it added.

The HP Pavilion MS200, which is the company's first non-touch consumer all-in-one desktop PC, is priced at Rs 36,990.

"From touch to entertainment and multimedia, HP continues to showcase its technology innovation and leadership," HP India Country Manager (Consumer Desktop PCs) Ketan Patel said.

Nifty gains momentum; oil & gas, metals up

Equities were witnessing sustained buying activity across the board led by gains in oil & gas, metals and auto stocks. The market is

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likely to turn volatile later in the day ahead of November series F&O expiry.

“With F&O expiry just a day away, it would be wise to remain non-committal. We expect a flat to cautious start and another choppy day. The main indices will remain mostly sluggish in a tight range. Global events will continue to drive the sentiment.

Concerns about banks came back to haunt China and Europe. In the US, stocks lost some ground amid persistent economic worries. A slow recovery is what the Fed predicts for the US along with high unemployment. This means rates will remain near zero for a few more months. The so-called ‘exit’ from the accommodative monetary policy is still some distance way. This holds true not just for the US, but for all the nations, including India.

What this also means is there is no danger to the dollar carry trade. But, it would be interesting to see how the markets behave once the dollar bottoms out. That unwinding, whenever it unfolds will have a bearing on global equities. Whether the economic recovery picks up further momentum or fizzles out will also be keenly followed, said India Infoline report.

At 11:18 am, National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 5126.05, up 35.50 points or 0.70 per cent. The index touched an intraday high of 5126.45 and low of 5078.35.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 17,248.18, up 117.10 points or 0.68 per cent. The 30-share index hit an intra-day high of 17254.79 and low of 17124.15.

“Trend deciding level for the day is 5086 / 17130. If Nifty trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 5118 – 5145 / 17232 – 17333. However, if Nifty trades below 5086 / 17130 for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 5058 / 17029,” said Angel Broking note.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.91 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.95 per cent.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Oil&gas Index was up 1.82 per cent, BSE Metal Index moved 1.28 per cent higher and BSE Auto Index gained 1.12 per cent. BSE Realty Index was down 0.12 per cent.

BPCL (6.91%), GAIL (2.33%), Reliance Industries (2.04%), SAIL (2.03%) and M&M (1.68%) were amongst the top Nifty gainers.

HCL Tech (-0.96%), Reliance Infrastructure (-0.95%), Tata Power (-0.84%), ICICI Bank (-0.63%) and Jaiprakash Associates (-0.55%) were amongst the losers.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1550 advances and 721 declines.

Meanwhile, the US stocks fell on Tuesday on lackluster economic data in a session marked by low volume and choppy trading, but losses eased after the Federal Reserve raised its expectations for growth in 2010.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 17.24 points, or 0.16 per cent, to end at 10,433.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index inched down just 0.59 of a point, or 0.05 per cent, to 1,105.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 6.83 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 2,169.18.

Asian markets were trading with modest gains after a weak session earlier. The Nikkei gained 0.34 per cent, Straits Times climbed 0.10 per cent and Shanghai Composite advanced 0.76 per cent.

Maruti to Mull Fresh Investment in January

The Indian unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. said Monday it will consider in January making fresh investment at its manufacturing plants.

"Our next board meeting is still two months away," I.V. Rao, managing executive officer for engineering at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., told reporters. "We are internally discussing fresh investment proposals, but a final decision will be taken at the board meeting (in January)."

Mr. Rao declined to elaborate on the planned investment, but India's largest car maker by sales had said previously it may raise manufacturing capacity to meet rising demand for its hatchbacks and sedans.Maruti's factories are located at Gurgaon and Manesar in the northern state of Haryana.

The company wants to increase capacity as rising incomes, easier loan rates and the introduction of new models such as the Estilo and Ritz have lifted local demand. Exports are also showing a rising trend because of increasing global demand for fuel-efficient small cars.

Sale of Maruti cars grew 25% during April-October 2009 to 558,332 vehicles. Local sales grew 16% to 478,049 vehicles, while exports more than doubled to 80,283 vehicles from 35,599 a year earlier.

Mr. Rao said also that Maruti, which sells one in every two cars sold in India, has discontinued production of the Versa multipurpose vehicle because of low demand.

"The numbers were very low as it is for Versa and we were making the car only on demand," he said. "Now we have completely stopped production for the model."The Versa will be replaced with a new van, Mr. Rao said, without giving a timeframe.He said Maruti will likely touch one million unit annual car production by March.

Pay just Rs 19 for portability

Come January 2010, consumers need to pay only Rs 19 and change their service provider, even as they retain the same mobile number.In a move could intensify the stiff competition in the world's fastest-growing telecom market and push call charges ever lower, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Friday said the porting charges for switching one's mobile operator 'cannot be more than Rs 19.'
The country is set to introduce mobile number portability (MNP) on December 31. MNP allows the subscribers to retain their existing mobile telephone number even as they move from one access provider to another. This move is irrespective of the mobile technology or from one cellular mobile technology to another of the same access provider, in a licensed service area. In other words, the consumer can switch from CDMA to GSM.
The move is expected to increase competition among operators and act as a catalyst to improve their quality of service. Operators are free to levy any amount less than or equal to Rs 19, the regulator has said in a statement.
The dipping charges, payable by an access provider or an international long distance operator to MNP service provider for dipping of each message, has been left to mutual negotiation between telecom service providers and respective MNP service providers, the statement added.
MNP was initially planned to be launched in the country by October. According to the Trai guidelines, porting or switching a mobile number from the existing service provider to the new one should be completed within a maximum time period of four days.
A shakeout is clearly indicated in the telecom field. The move is being looked at as one of opportunity for new licencees, which are clearly looking to connect with potential subscribers. Existing operators are also mulling the the opportunity to let go of those subscribers who are not profitable.
Four new firms, including ventures of international telecom operators Telenor, Etisalat and Batelco, are set to start services in India this year, and MNP would clearly make it easier for them to lure existing subscribers, according to an analyst tracking the telecom sector.
"The principal loss in any kind of number portability are the bigger players. The new ones, however, stand to gain tremendously," the analyst said, adding, that around 2-3% of the consumers "are likely to port."
"Number portability intends to increase churn rates since it gives consumers the ability to change service providers without changing their mobile phone numbers," said a senior official with a telecom firm, requesting anonymity. However, the official cautioned, "that the threat for operators is that regulators may use it as a tool to force tariffs down and create opportunities to license more operators."
MNP would "also lead to high implementation costs for the operators, including equipment costs

Airtel cuts mobile roaming rates by 60%

Telecom major Bharti Airtel today cut mobile roaming rates by 60 per cent for its 115 million users, opening a new turf in the ongoing tariff war.
Under the new plan 'Airtel Turbo', users will be charged 60 paisa per minute on all incoming calls while roaming. The 60 paise rate will also apply to local and STD calls within its own network.
Despite profitability getting affected with tariffs touching new-lows, companies are eager to catch the volume growth as subscriber numbers are going up.
The local and outgoing calls to another network on roaming will be charged at 80 paise a minute, a statement said.
"These reduced roaming tariffs spells huge benefits of up to 60 per cent for all Airtel users who would enrol under this plan," it said.
"Recent research has shown that customers need benefits while travelling and are not satisfied with just local calling benefits", Bharti Airtel President (Mobile Services) Atul Bindal said in a statement.
Airtel Prepaid mobile customers wishing to avail this benefit will be charged a plan enrolment fee of Rs 98, which will give an incoming validity of one year, while postpaid users can subscribe to a monthly rental plan.

Ambanis, Mittal in Forbes' list of richest Indians

Mukesh Ambani has emerged the wealthiest person in India with a net worth of $32 billion, as the number of Indian billionaires in Forbes'

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‘India Rich List’ this year has nearly doubled to 52, thanks to the rebound in stock markets.
London-based Lakshmi N Mittal with $30 billion, Anil Ambani with $17.5 billion, Azim Premji with $14.9 billion, Shashi and Ravi Ruia with $13.6 billion and K P Singh with $13.5 billion make up the top five billionaires on this year's list.
"The combined net worth of India's 100 richest people is $276 billion - almost a quarter of the country's gross domestic product," the magazine said, adding the number of Indian billionaires has also nearly doubled from 27 last year.
The number of Indian billionaires now is just two short of the peak reached in 2007 when the stock markets were booming.
"The head of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, is once again the wealthiest person in India. His net worth is put at $32 billion, an increase of 54 percent from nearly $21 billion last year."
While Mittal's net worth has jumped 46 percent, Anil Ambani has seen the value of his assets jump 40 percent.
"The story also highlights interesting differences between the rich in India and China. The 100 richest Indians are worth $276 billion: Their Chinese counterparts have a net worth of $170 billion," the magazine said.
"The list is also an indicator of how India's billionaires have done better than their counterparts in other parts of the world."
Forbes said even though the top 10 positions remain largely unchanged, there are some shifts in the fortunes of some. Sunil Mittal moved down from fourth position to eighth, while Premji moved up to fourth and the Ruias to Number 5.
Adi Godrej moved out of the top 10 to the number 12, while Savitri Jindal, non-executive chairperson of the O.P. Jindal group, made it to Number 7 and is one of only six women on the list.
The richest newcomers are two brothers of Torrent Power, Sudhir and Samir Mehta, ranked 23, even as another notable mention is Nandan Nilekani who stepped down from Infosys to join the government and ranks 43 with a net worth of $1.25 billion.
"Southern India's TV king, Kalanithi Maran, ranked 20, almost doubled his net worth to $2.3 billion from $1.2 billion," said the magazine, adding that it had featured him in a cover story.
The top 10 richest in India are:

1. Mukesh Ambani $32 billion

2. Lakshmi Mittal $30 billion

3. Anil Ambani $17.5 billion

4. Azim Premji $14.9 billion

5. Shashi & Ravi Ruia $13.6 billion

6. K.P. Singh $13.5 billion

7. Savitri Jindal $12 billion

8. Sunil Mittal $8.2 billion

9. Kumar Birla $7.8 billion

10. Gautam Adani $6.4 billion

Sensex closes below 17,000 points

A key index of the Indian equities markets slipped 52 points Wednesday to close below the 17,000-point mark amid selling pressure and weak cues from Asian markets.The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened lower at 17,032.01 points, closed at 16,998.78 points, down 51.87 points from its previous close.The index hit an intra-day high of 17,098.79 points, but failed to hold on to the gains as investors preferred to book profit in key scrips.At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader S&P CNX Nifty also closed in the red at 5,054.7 points, down 0.15 percent from the last close.However, investors found favour with broader market indices, with the BSE midcap index closing 0.29 percent higher and the BSE small cap index 0.8 percent up.The market breadth was positive, with 1,598 stocks advancing, 1,166 declining and 82 remaining unchanged.Of 30 stocks on the Sensex, 12 ended on the gainers' list.Prominent among them were Tata Motors, up 3.14 percent; Tata Steel, up 1.68 percent; ITC Ltd, up 1.61 percent; and Infosys, up 1.54 percent.Among losers were Reliance Infrastructure, down 3.2 percent; Larsen and Toubro, down 1.72 percent; ICICI Bank, down 1.47 percent; and Reliance Industries, down 1.47 percent.According to data with the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), foreign institutional investors bought shares worth $128.4 million Wednesday.Other Asian markets ended on a dull note.The primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hang Seng, closed 73.82 points or 0.32 percent lower at 22,840.33 points.The Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed at 9,676.8 points, down 53.13 points.In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange composite index closed marginally in the green at 3,303.23 points, up 0.62 percent.European markets were trading mixed.Britain's FTSE 100 index was ruling 22.75 points lower at 5,368.68 points, while its French peer, CAC 40, was trading 24.84 points up at 3,853.9 points.The German index, DAX, was ruling 46 points up at 5,824.43 points.

Nokia launches Nokia N97 mobile phone with Lifecasting news

Nokia on Monday launched the new addition to its N series mobile phone devices, Nokia N97, which enables users to lifecast. The N97 mini features Lifecasting with Ovi that will open up the next innovative chapter of personal and location-aware internet. The mobile phone is offered in partnership with the world's largest social network, and Lifecasting with Ovi is the first application to allow publication of user's location and status updates directly to their Facebook account from the user's mobile phone home screen.Lifecasting goes much beyond mere publication of user status, it makes for building deeper and closer connections between people. It builds new kinds of communication patterns, such as sending messages or status updates or even navigating to a friend or a place.The new device was launched during Nokia N-Tour-Age, a showcase of Nokia's premium devices and services.The device is aimed at the style-conscious consumer, active on social networks. The Nokia N97 mini is a small mobile computer featuring a tilting 3.2" display. It has a QWERTY keyboard and a fully customisable homescreen that gives the Nokia N97mini the uniqueness of a fingerprint

Sensex ends 184 pts up on strong global cues

The Sensex crossed the psychological 17,000 mark in early trade this morning as the bulls, backed by strong global markets and recent buoyant economic reports, stormed the ring and grabbed stocks almost across the board. The barometer then moved in a tight band for almost the entire duration of the session but was never really in any danger of losing ground as several front line stocks held on to their gains thanks to sustained buying support.While the Sensex, which rose to 17,083.20 in afternoon trades, ended the day at 17,032.51 with a sharp gain of 183.68 points or 1.09%, the Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange closed at 5058.05, slightly off the day's high of 5073.20, with a gain of 59.10 points or 1.18%.

Notwithstanding the recent upward revision in inflation forecast by the Apex bank and concerns over a possible hike in interest rates in the near future, investors remained upbeat thanks to a firm trend across the globe. The sentiment was also aided by strong industrial production data for September (announced on Thursday last week) and the government's plans to sell some of its stakes in several state run firms in order to raise funds for various social welfare schemes and to reduce the widening fiscal deficit.Realty stocks bounced back into the reckoning. Auto and metal stocks were the other impressive performers of the day. Oil stocks took time to settle down but rallied well in afternoon trades. Select consumer durables, bank, power and pharma stocks closed with sharp gains.Capital goods, PSU and FMCG stocks lacked support at higher levels and shed some of their gains. Information technology stocks remained subdued almost right through the session. It was a good day for several stocks from midcap and smallcap segments as well.Maruti Suzuki ended stronger by nearly 5.5%. Hero Honda moved up 3.85%. Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra gained 2.35% and 1.8% respectively.DLF gained over 4.5%. Sterlite Industries, Reliance Communications, Tata Steel, Hindalco, Hindustan Unilever, Grasim Industries and State Bank of India ended higher by 2% - 3.75%. Sun Pharmaceuticals, Reliance Industries, ONGC, ACC, Jaiprakash Associates, Reliance Infrastructure andICICI Bank also closed on a firm note. Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Tata Power, ITCand Larsen & Toubro closed with modest gains.Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies ended with modest losses, while NTPC, HDFC Bank, BHEL and HDFC ended flat.Suzlon Energy closed with a strong gain of 7.35% on reports of a big order win. Reliance Power notched up over 5%. Siemens gained over 3%.Idea Cellular, Unitech, GAIL India, ABB, Ambuja Cements, Jindal Steel,Reliance Capital, Cairn India and Punjab National Bank also closed on a firm note today.Everest Kanto Cylinder shot up by 9.6%. Pantaloon Retail ended nearly 7% up. RECL, IRB Infrastructure, Jain Irrigation Systems, Lanco Infratech,Aban Offshore, Hindustan Zinc, Shriram Transport, GVK Power, Zee Entertainment, Koutons Retail, Bajaj Auto and Financial Technologies also closed with strong gains.Midcap stock BF Utilities ended with a hefty gain of 20%. Amtek Auto, HT Media, ING Vysya Bank, Gammon Infrastructure, SKF India, Motherson Sumi, IPCA Laboratories, Aban Offshore, Info Edge, Alfa Laval andKalpataru Power recorded impressive gains.The market breadth was strong right through the day. Out of 2864 stocks traded on BSE today, 1758 stocks closed higher. 1017 stocks declined and 89 stocks ended flat.

SEBI allows registered brokers to deal in MF products

In a move that could considerably widen the distribution network for mutual funds, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday allowed registered stockbrokers to transact mutual fund units on behalf of their clients through the stock exchange mechanism.

“The infrastructure that already exists for the secondary market transaction through the stock exchanges with its reach over 1,500 towns and cities, through over two lakh stock exchange terminals can be used for facilitating transactions in mutual fund schemes,” the SEBI circular said.

Stockbrokers will be eligible to be considered as official points of acceptance, the circular said. These stockbrokers need to pass AMFI’s (Association of Mutual Funds in India) certification examination, and become empanelled distributors.

Every mutual fund has to disclose the locations of its official points of acceptance in its offer documents and Web sites.

Selling through the stock exchange mechanism basically means an additional order routing system for buying or selling mutual fund schemes; there is no price discovery, said a senior official at a transfer agent’s office.

End-users can use the convenience of their neighbouring broker’s office for their mutual fund transactions, said Mayank Shah, CEO of Anagram Stock broking.

Whether brokers can charge a fee for the service or not is unclear. But Shah felt a fee structure would evolve once the system is in place.

This issue must be seen in the light of SEBI abolishing the entry load on mutual fund investments for distributors, starting August 1. This affected distributor income as well as inflows into equity schemes.

Currently investors roughly pay 1.25% as commission to distributors; 0.75% is upfront commission and the rest in the form of “trail commission” (when an investor remains invested in his fund).

“Once the broker starts acting as a distributor, there is an issue about what commission he might ask for and whether the client would be ready to pay that or not,” said a broker.

The SEBI circular on Friday also said that investors can hold units of mutual fund schemes in dematerialised form, and that the demat statement given by the depository participants would be deemed adequate compliance with SEBI norms.

Further, the stock exchanges should provide for an investor grievance handling mechanism to handle disputes between brokers and their clients. The time-stamping for transactions would be in the form of a confirmation slip issued through the stock exchange mechanism. The markets regulator has asked the stock exchanges to provide detailed operating guidelines for facilitating transaction in mutual funds on their platform by their member-brokers.

L&T Sells Part of Satyam Stake

Larsen & Toubro Ltd. Friday sold a part of its stake in Satyam Computer ServicesLtd. for about 3.13 billion rupees ($67.1 million), according to Bombay Stock Exchange data.

L&T, India's biggest engineering firm by sales, sold 27.2 million shares at 114.90 rupees each--a 42% premium to the 81 rupees average price at which L&T had bought the stake.

An L&T executive, who declined to be named, confirmed the stake sale but didn't offer details of the transaction.

On Sept. 30, L&T and unit L&T Capital Co. held 81.13 million shares--or 6.90%--of Satyam, a Hyderabad-based software maker.

L&T acquired part of the stake in early 2009 in the run-up to an auction of a 31% stake in the software exporter.

This came after a government-appointed board took control of Satyam following founder B. Ramalinga Raju's confession in January that he had cooked the company's accounts for several years.

The auction was held in April and L&T, which has an information technology unit L&T Infotech, was outbid by Tech Mahindra Ltd.

Under the bid guidelines L&T had to retain its stake in Satyam Computer for six months. This ended Oct. 13.

Late August, L&T Chairman A.M. Naik had said the company expects to sell its stake in Satyam Computer by March 2010 and make a profit of 2.00 billion rupees to 2.50 billion rupees.

Delhi Metro enters Noida, thousands to benefit

Delhi Metro today achieved another milestone when a brand-new train chugged into the satellite city of Noida for the first time paving the way for thousands of commuters in east Delhi and adjoining areas to enjoy the new age transport system.

The 13.1 km Yamuna Bank-Noida line was inaugurated by Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy in the presence of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at the newly-built Akshardham station here.

Reddy flagged off the first train with destination to Noida City Centre (Sector-32). This is the first time a Metro train formally enters Noida.

The line, which will be opened for public from 6 am tomorrow, is expected to bring a paradigm shift in the travelling habits of thousands of people in east Delhi and trans-Yamuna areas.

Bulls on rampage; Nifty reclaims 5000 mark

Bulls were on a rampage on Wednesday helping the 50-share Nifty to reclaim the 5000-mark after six trading sessions. The 30-stock sensex managed to garner over 400 points as well. Metals and technology stocks were the star-performers.

The day began with positive news from Asian shores where China’s economic data beat market forecast. The country’s industrial production and trade surplus climbed in October, indicating a recovery. However, it failed to enthuse market participants back home with equities witnessing a sluggish start.
The next trigger which sent the key indices sharply higher was the strong opening on the European bourses, signaling bullishness. According to the latest jobs data, UK’s unemployment rate rose at the slowest pace in 18 months which boosted sentiment that the economy is on the road to recovery.
“The market has closed on a very strong note. From hereon, we expect the Nifty to scale to 5050-5100 in the near term while support lies at 4900. Unless 4900 is breached, the market is poised upward. Being sector-specific, I believe capital goods will take lead with Larsen & Toubro being the top bet. Technology stocks like Infosys also look attractive,” said Michael Pillai, technical analyst at Nirmal Bang Securities.
National Stock Exchange’s Nifty settled at 5003.95, higher by 2.5 per cent or 122.25 points. The index climbed to a high of 5016.70 from a low of 4870.05 intra-day.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 16,849.60, up 409.04 points or 2.49 per cent from the previous close. The index surged to a high of 16,887.80 from a low of 16,405.19.
Midcaps and smallcaps participated in the rally as well. The BSE Midcap climbed 2.01 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index rose 1.6 per cent.
Sectorwise, BSE Metal Index surged 4.27 per cent, BSE IT Index rose 3.94 per cent and BSE Realty Index advanced 2.34 per cent.
The Nifty rally was led by Sterlite Industries (6.15%), Reliance Infrastructure (6.04%), Jaiprakash Associates (5.63%), HCL Technologies (5.29%) and Tata Steel (4.61%).
BPCL (-1.38%), Idea Cellular (-0.6%) and Cairn (-0.09%) were the only laggards in the 50-share index.
Market breadth was strong with 1726 advances against 1004 declines on the BSE.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India said it may withdraw some monetary stimulus if inflation rises towards the end of 2009. “The central bank will wait and see how price situation develops in Nov-Dec," C. Rangarajan, chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council said. The fiscal deficit needed to be reduced by 1 to 1.5 percentage points in the next fiscal year, he said.
Among stock-specific news, Shree Renuka Sugars acquired Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer Vale Do Ivai S.A. Acucar E Alcool for $82 million. The acquisition includes two sugar and ethanol production facilities with a cane crushing capacity of 3.1 million tonnes per annum. Shares of the company ended at Rs 218.95, up 2.31 per cent on the NSE.
On the other hand, entertainment firm Pyramid Saimira Theatre nosedived nearly 10 per cent to hit the lower circuit after market regulator SEBI banned the entity from dealing in stock markets for seven years. Shares of Pyramid Saimira plunged 9.82 per cent to hit the lower trading limit at Rs 19.75 on the BSE.

Reliance discovers oil in Cambay basin

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries on Tuesday said it has made the first oil discovery at an exploratory block in the Cambay basin

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in Gujarat.

The company has found oil for the first time in the exploratory block 'CB-ONN-2003/1', it said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

RIL holds 100 per cent participating interest in the block in the Cambay basin, which was awarded under fifth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). The block covers 635 square kilometres.

"The discovery, named 'Dhirubhai-43' has been notified to the Government of India and Directorate General of Hydrocarbons. Commerciality of this discovery is being ascertained through more data gathering and analysis," the filing said.

In October, Reliance Industries had surrendered 14 blocks back to the government after incurring an expenditure of Rs 1,400 crore in unsuccessful exploration.

Nifty gains momentum; Axis Bank, SAIL, RIL up

Intensified buying activity index heavyweights helped benchmarks to move past psychological resistance levels. Meanwhile, broader markets continued to remain firm.
At 1:05 pm, National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 4862.85, up 66.70 points or 1.39 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 4864.90 and low of 4789.90.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 16378.65, up 220.37 points or 1.36 per cent. The index touched a high of 16379.93 and low of 16147.21.
“The next hurdle which the bulls will face in their path is the resistance of 4950. On weekly candlestick chart, Nifty has formed a marginally bullish candle, which does not seem to be very tempting unless we clear the hurdle of 4950. Going further we still maintain our bearish stance and treat the current pull-up just as a relief rally where traders can built fresh short near the resistance area of 4900-4950,” said Emkay Global Financial Services.
BSE Midcap Index was up 1.09 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.75 per cent higher.
Sectorwise, large scale buying was seen in the banking, metal and energy space. BSE Bankex advanced 2.41 per cent, BSE Metal Index surged 2.2 per cent, BSE Oil&Gas added 1.9 per cent and BSE FMCG rose 1.65 per cent.
Biggest Sensex gainers were ITC (3%), Reliance Industries (2.85%), Tata Power (2.64%), HDFC Bank (2.5%) and State Bank of India (2.37%).
Reliance Industries is close to announcing a major overseas acquisition. If all goes according to plan, RIL is looking to do so before its annual general meeting on November 17. The likely target is a part of the assets owned by troubled petrochemical major LyondellBasell, which is undergoing reorganisation under the protection of a US court.
State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, said on Monday it had entered into an agreement with T Rowe Price to sell a 6.5 per cent holding each in UTI AssetManagement Company and UTI Trustee Company.
Bharti Airtel (-3.45%), Reliance Communications (-2.11%), Hindustan Unilever (-1.1%) and BHEL (-0.39%) were trading with losers.
Market breadth on BSE was extremely positive with 1803 advances outnumbering 729 declines.

3.4 million apply for 11,000 clerical vacancies in SBI!

Chennai, Nov. 6 Clerical jobs, you may think, are out of fashion. Think again. State Bank of India advertised a few months ago for 11,000 clerical vacancies. The response, to put it mildly, has been overwhelming.

SBI received a staggering 3.4 million applications in response to the advertisement, according to its Deputy Managing Director, Mr N. Raja. That’s about 300 applications for every vacancy. “It might even earn us an entry into the Guinness Book of Records!” he quipped.

That might well happen — and for another reason too. Official estimates put the number of unemployed persons in the country at around 10 million. If one takes that at face value, this job advertisement has managed to attract a third of the unemployed in the country!

Last year, when SBI advertised for about 20,000 vacancies, it received about two million applications. Mr Raja explained that the fairly high response in the previous year was because the recruitment then had taken place after a considerable period of time and so there was pent-up demand.

Mammoth exercise

The response this time has been so high that the SBI has been forced to conduct its entrance test spread over six sessions on three Sundays, starting from November 8. The mammoth exercise will see exams conducted in two sessions (morning and afternoon of each Sunday) across 83 centres all over the country. In each city and town, a number of schools and colleges have been roped in to provide basic infrastructure . The exercise is estimated to cost at least Rs 65 crore.

The objective-type tests will evaluate the candidates’ General Awareness, General English, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability, Marketing Ability and Computer Knowledge.

For applicants, career prospects are bright given SBI’s growth plans, Mr Raja said. (The bank currently has over 11,500 branches. It added over 1,500 branches in the last two years.) Besides, the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations have also helped raise pay levels to make them competitive with entry-level salaries in other sectors, he added. The starting emoluments for an employee in the clerical cadre would be around Rs 8,000 a month.

And the jobs are not going to be desk-bound. In keeping with the changing profile of bank jobs, the new recruits are expected to “have a flair for marketing, will be required to make customer calls and cross-sell products.”