* AGRICULTURE: Minister Sharad Pawar said rabi crop sowing is progressing well, boosting prospects of a higher production this year. Around 3 bln tn of subsidised urea, which is meant to reach farmers, is being smuggled to chemical industries, minister of state for chemical and fertilisers said.
* AUTOMOTIVE: French carmaker Renault, which makes the popular Duster sport utility vehicle, will raise prices in January to offset high input costs. German luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz plans to locally assemble 90% of the cars it sells in India , up from 50% now.
* BANKING: RBI will award new bank licences three months after screening applications, said head of the external panel set up to make recommendations
on licences.
* COMMODITIES: The Andhra Pradesh government decided to increase the support price for oil palm fruit brunches to 7,516 rupees per tn from 6,907 rupees.
* COURTS: Supreme Court has directed Sahara group to furnish details of the source of over 170 bln rupees the group claims to have redeemed to its
debenture holders. The Sahara Group has agreed before the Supreme Court to deposit title deeds of 71 properties with the Securities and Exchange Board of India as assurance that it is not trying to escape payment of its 200-bln-rupee dues to investors.
* ECONOMY: STATE BANK OF INDIA has revised its current account deficit projection for 2013-14 (Apr-Mar) lower to $40 bln or 2.2% of GDP. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said India 's growth is stabilising but it is too early to claim that the economy is in the midst of a strong recovery.
* ENERGY: Petroleum Secretary Vivek Rae said there is need to restructure regulatory bodies in oil and gas sector and set good international petroleum
industry standards.
* HEALTHCARE: Private equity company Actis plans to sell its stake in Sterling Hospitals back to the original promoters, Girish Jain and family. Johnson & Johnson's hip replacement device has been put on recall alert in India by the health ministry, following global reports of metal poisoning.
* INFRASTRUCTURE: The Comptroller and Auditor General has highlighted "undue benefit" to the tune of 58.87 bln rupees given by the civil aviation ministry
to Mumbai International Airport, which runs the commercial airport in Mumbai.
* INITIAL PUBLIC OFFER: BSE's offer size could range between 4-10 bln rupees, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ashishkumar Chauhan said.
* MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS: Moody's has acquired India 's knowledge process outsourcing firm Amba Investment Services.
* PHARMACEUTICALS: The Competition Commission of India has directed the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists to desist from anti-competitive practices that affect supply of drugs.
* POLITICS: The Bharatiya Janata Party favours the abolition of income, sales, and excise taxes, and the party may include this in its vision document to be unveiled ahead of the general elections next year.
* REGULATORS: RBI will take more steps in the coming weeks to improve liquidity and depth of gilt markets. RBI will provide additional liquidity to the tune of 100 bln rupees through the 14-day term repo auction, scheduled for Friday. A committee set up by SEBI recommended tighter insider trading norms by including even public servants and judges trying corporate cases in under the ambit of insiders and connected persons.
* TELECOM: The Department of Telecommunications has in total provided 54.76 bln rupees as set off to various telecom operators, who had bought second generation spectrum. The Tata Group will invest 40 bln rupees in two tranches in its telecom arm Tata Teleservices, after banks said they could not renew loans for the company till its annual losses were funded. The Department of Telecommunications has sent a proposal to a group of ministers to hive off more than 61,600 telecom towers owned by Bharat Sanchar Nigam into a separate company.
* TRADE: India is pursuing a case for reducing non-tariff trade barriers for its products in Chinese markets.
* AUTOMOTIVE: French carmaker Renault, which makes the popular Duster sport utility vehicle, will raise prices in January to offset high input costs. German luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz plans to locally assemble 90% of the cars it sells in India , up from 50% now.
* BANKING: RBI will award new bank licences three months after screening applications, said head of the external panel set up to make recommendations
on licences.
* COMMODITIES: The Andhra Pradesh government decided to increase the support price for oil palm fruit brunches to 7,516 rupees per tn from 6,907 rupees.
* COURTS: Supreme Court has directed Sahara group to furnish details of the source of over 170 bln rupees the group claims to have redeemed to its
debenture holders. The Sahara Group has agreed before the Supreme Court to deposit title deeds of 71 properties with the Securities and Exchange Board of India as assurance that it is not trying to escape payment of its 200-bln-rupee dues to investors.
* ECONOMY: STATE BANK OF INDIA has revised its current account deficit projection for 2013-14 (Apr-Mar) lower to $40 bln or 2.2% of GDP. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said India 's growth is stabilising but it is too early to claim that the economy is in the midst of a strong recovery.
* ENERGY: Petroleum Secretary Vivek Rae said there is need to restructure regulatory bodies in oil and gas sector and set good international petroleum
industry standards.
* HEALTHCARE: Private equity company Actis plans to sell its stake in Sterling Hospitals back to the original promoters, Girish Jain and family. Johnson & Johnson's hip replacement device has been put on recall alert in India by the health ministry, following global reports of metal poisoning.
* INFRASTRUCTURE: The Comptroller and Auditor General has highlighted "undue benefit" to the tune of 58.87 bln rupees given by the civil aviation ministry
to Mumbai International Airport, which runs the commercial airport in Mumbai.
* INITIAL PUBLIC OFFER: BSE's offer size could range between 4-10 bln rupees, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ashishkumar Chauhan said.
* MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS: Moody's has acquired India 's knowledge process outsourcing firm Amba Investment Services.
* PHARMACEUTICALS: The Competition Commission of India has directed the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists to desist from anti-competitive practices that affect supply of drugs.
* POLITICS: The Bharatiya Janata Party favours the abolition of income, sales, and excise taxes, and the party may include this in its vision document to be unveiled ahead of the general elections next year.
* REGULATORS: RBI will take more steps in the coming weeks to improve liquidity and depth of gilt markets. RBI will provide additional liquidity to the tune of 100 bln rupees through the 14-day term repo auction, scheduled for Friday. A committee set up by SEBI recommended tighter insider trading norms by including even public servants and judges trying corporate cases in under the ambit of insiders and connected persons.
* TELECOM: The Department of Telecommunications has in total provided 54.76 bln rupees as set off to various telecom operators, who had bought second generation spectrum. The Tata Group will invest 40 bln rupees in two tranches in its telecom arm Tata Teleservices, after banks said they could not renew loans for the company till its annual losses were funded. The Department of Telecommunications has sent a proposal to a group of ministers to hive off more than 61,600 telecom towers owned by Bharat Sanchar Nigam into a separate company.
* TRADE: India is pursuing a case for reducing non-tariff trade barriers for its products in Chinese markets.
