&ldquo;I can say that we are not as bad as 2009, as of now.

'Rainfall and crop situation better than 2009'

Business Standard

The Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office (PMO) on Friday released detailed schedules for speedy implementation of various flagship infrastructure projects in key sectors, including railways, civil aviation and shipping.

Road map for some key infra projects

Levying a one-time charge on telecom service providers for all spectrum held could get the government Rs 72,792 crore from incumbent GSM and CDMA operators.

One-time spectrum charge could fetch Rs 72,792 cr

With the state receiving a good rainfall in last few days, about 64 per cent sowing has been completed for the kharif crop in Chhattisgarh.

Chhattisgarh eyes good kharif production

The rise in coal costs and the political resistance against higher electricity tariff may force CESC to walk on a tight rope in the medium-term, its vice chairman Sanjiv Goenka said on Friday.

Tight rope walking may increase for CESC: Goenka

Trades between FIIs generated a volume of Rs 10 crore on the BSE Friday-an decrease of 61.57% from Rs 26 crore clocked on Thursday. As many as two stocks witnessed trades of 1.30 lakh shares on Friday.

FII-TO-FII: Grasim Ind traded at 4% premium

Infosys Ltd, India&rsquo;s second-largest information technology services company, may not hire freshers from engineering colleges this year, according to a report by US banking giant Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley says Infosys may skip campus hiring this yr

The company, which is India&rsquo;s largest passenger car maker, said it was still apprehensive of the safety of its employees and could not say now when the facility would be reopned.

Maruti apprehensive about workers safety 

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, on Friday reported a net loss of Rs 1,521 crore in the quarter ended June 30 on account of inventory and forex losses. It had a net profit of Rs 173 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. Gross turnover at Rs 13,465 crore in Q1 was lower than Rs 14,522 crore last year.

MRPL Q1 loss at Rs 1,521 cr

Higher taxes and increase in minority interest in the cement business have led Aditya Birla Group company Grasim Industries to post a 4.5 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 718 crore for the quarter ended 30 June.

Grasim net down 4% on higher taxes

State-owned and the country&rsquo;s largest power producer, NTPC Ltd, has registered a 20 per cent jump in net profit for the quarter ended June this year on the back of higher power generation. The company posted a net profit of Rs 2,498.6 crore for the April-June period, compared to Rs 2,075.7 crore recorded during the corresponding period last year.

NTPC Q1 net up 20% as power generation picks up

To tackle competition from the MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX), the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is widening its product basket. The exchange is set to launch a new product that would allow systematic investment plans (SIPs) through its platform. The move is aimed at attracting retail investors. BSE officials said the exchange would soon announce the operational details and the date of launching the SIP product.

BSE to launch SIPs for retail investors

Private sector lender HDFC Bank on Friday surpassed State Bank of India (SBI) as the country's most valued bank, in terms of market capitalisation, for the first time since January. Based on on Friday's closing price, HDFC Bank's market capitalisation stands Rs 1,37,727 crore, compared with SBI's Rs 1,30,250 crore.

HDFC Bank pips SBI as most valued bank

The ethnic clashes in Assam, which have left at least 45 people dead so far, have affected supplies from IndianOil Corp Ltd&rsquo;s (IOC) Bongaigaon refinery, as transporting products across the crisis-hit areas in lower Assam was a challenge, oil industry officials say.

Oil supplies partly affected in Assam's crisis-hit areas

Cigarette-to-hotels conglomerate ITC Ltd will take international firms in the non-cigarette fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) space head-on through creation of Indian brands and foray into new segments.

ITC to 'box its way' in FMCG competition

A rise in bad loans and provisioning for non-performing assets (NPAs) resulted in two large public sector lenders, Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India, reporting subdued profits. Bank of India and Dena Bank reported healthy profits, while Central Bank of India&rsquo;s recovery efforts paid off.

Bad loans, NPA provisioning drag net profits of PNB and Union Bank

ICICI Bank on Friday said its standalone net profit for the quarter ended June 30 expanded 36 per cent to Rs 1,815 crore from Rs 1,332 crore in the corresponding period last year.

ICICI Bank net up 36%

State Bank of India Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said he expected the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut banks&rsquo; cash reserve ratio (CRR) 50 basis points (bps) in the first quarter monetary policy review on Tuesday.

SBI chief expects 50-bp CRR cut

Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) has signed a performance MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the industries department for 2012-13. The MoU was signed by P K Jena, chairman and managing director of Idco and Parag Gupta, industries secretary. The MoU signed as per the corporate governance manual of public enterprises department, delineates targets for Idco. The pact also stresses on speeding up land acquisition for industrial projects.

Idco inks MoU with industries department

Godrej Properties posted a 89 per cent jump in net profit for the June quarter to Rs 25.8 crore, compared to Rs 13.7 crore for in the year-ago period. The company's total income went up 73 per cent at Rs 226 crore, compared to Rs 131 crore in the year-ago period.

BS Reporter