General Affairs
Farmers' Protest in Punjab Derails Train Traffic
-
CHANDIGARH: Train traffic remained affected in Punjab for fourth day today as thousands of farmers seeking higher compensation for crops damaged in Whitefly attack continued their stir.
As many as 76 trains have been affected of which 44 have been diverted while 32 have been cancelled.
Samjhauta Express, the train to Pakistan, is among the trains that have been cancelled due to the protests.
Union Ministry of Agriculture has asked for a report on the fake pesticides supplied to cotton farmers. The state government has issued directive to deputy commissioners in the districts to compile the list of the distressed farmers who have committed suicide.
Ministry of External Affairs has requested the Railways to resolve the situation at the earliest.
Railways have re-routed, re-scheduled and diverted a number of trains bound for various destinations in the north, south, west and east in the wake of some technical work on railway track at Asaoti near Delhi, officials said.
Railways have already asked Punjab government to prevent protesting farmers from disrupting rail services, saying passengers had to face harrowing time because of such protests.
Meanwhile, after media reports in Pakistan claimed that India has discontinued Samjhauta Express train, Indian authorities cleared the air stating that the train service has not been stopped and the train had to be cancelled due to the farmers' protests.
CHANDIGARH: Train traffic remained affected in Punjab for fourth day today as thousands of farmers seeking higher compensation for crops damaged in Whitefly attack continued their stir.As many as 76 trains have been affected of which 44 have been diverted while 32 have been cancelled.
Samjhauta Express, the train to Pakistan, is among the trains that have been cancelled due to the protests.
Ministry of External Affairs has requested the Railways to resolve the situation at the earliest.
Railways have re-routed, re-scheduled and diverted a number of trains bound for various destinations in the north, south, west and east in the wake of some technical work on railway track at Asaoti near Delhi, officials said.
Railways have already asked Punjab government to prevent protesting farmers from disrupting rail services, saying passengers had to face harrowing time because of such protests.
Meanwhile, after media reports in Pakistan claimed that India has discontinued Samjhauta Express train, Indian authorities cleared the air stating that the train service has not been stopped and the train had to be cancelled due to the farmers' protests.
Suicides No Solution, Rahul Gandhi Tells Karnataka's Drought-Hit Farmers
-
HAVERI: Launching a walk in Karnataka's drought-struck countryside, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today urged farmers not to commit suicide and said it was not a solution to their problems.
On the second day of his tour of Karnataka to meet families of farmers who had committed suicide, Rahul started about a seven-kilometre-long 'padayatra' from Maidur village in Haveri district of north Karnataka.
On the first stop of his walk, the Congress leader interacted with school students in Maidur. Asked how he would solve the farmers' problems if he became the Prime Minister, Mr Gandhi said the country should be run by the citizens and they should be empowered to solve their problems.
He also met the farmers in Rannebennur, where they raised concerns over the Kalasa-Banduri water sharing dispute between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. About 50 farmers from Nargund and Navalgund and Hubli-Dharwad were present.
The farmers urged Mr Gandhi to help resolve the matter.
The Kalasa-Banduri Nala project, to utilise water from the inter-state Mahadayi river, is being undertaken by Karnataka to improve drinking water supply to the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad and the districts of Belagavi and Gadag, over which Goa has reservations.
Protests are on by several organisations and farmers across districts of North Karnataka demanding implementation of Kalasa-Banduri project.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, also in charge of party affairs in Karnataka, and State Congress President G Parameshwara are accompanying Mr Gandhi on his visit to farmers.
The Congress drive in Mandya and Haveri districts comes against amid a spurt in farmers suicides in Karnataka with 541 farmers killing themselves in the last six months.
HAVERI: Launching a walk in Karnataka's drought-struck countryside, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today urged farmers not to commit suicide and said it was not a solution to their problems.On the second day of his tour of Karnataka to meet families of farmers who had committed suicide, Rahul started about a seven-kilometre-long 'padayatra' from Maidur village in Haveri district of north Karnataka.
On the first stop of his walk, the Congress leader interacted with school students in Maidur. Asked how he would solve the farmers' problems if he became the Prime Minister, Mr Gandhi said the country should be run by the citizens and they should be empowered to solve their problems.
The farmers urged Mr Gandhi to help resolve the matter.
The Kalasa-Banduri Nala project, to utilise water from the inter-state Mahadayi river, is being undertaken by Karnataka to improve drinking water supply to the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad and the districts of Belagavi and Gadag, over which Goa has reservations.
Protests are on by several organisations and farmers across districts of North Karnataka demanding implementation of Kalasa-Banduri project.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, also in charge of party affairs in Karnataka, and State Congress President G Parameshwara are accompanying Mr Gandhi on his visit to farmers.
The Congress drive in Mandya and Haveri districts comes against amid a spurt in farmers suicides in Karnataka with 541 farmers killing themselves in the last six months.
30 Killed, 176 Injured in 'Terrorist' Attack on Rally in Turkey's Capital Ankara
-
ANKARA: Two explosions rocked Turkey's capital Ankara on Saturday, killing at least 30 people, mostly activists who had gathered for a peace rally organised by leftist and pro-Kurdish opposition groups.
Corpses of activists were seen strewn across the ground after the blasts, with the banners they had been holding lying next to them.
At least 30 people were killed and 126 wounded, the interior ministry said in a statement giving the first official toll.
"We curse and condemn this atrocious attack taking aim at our democracy and our country's peace," the statement said.
A Turkish government official told AFP that the authorities "suspect that there is a terrorist connection," without giving further details.
There were scenes of chaos after the blast, as ambulances searched for the wounded and police cordoned off the area.
"We heard one huge blast and then one smaller explosion and then there was a a great movement and panic. Then we saw corpses around the station," said Ahmet Onen, 52.
"A demonstration that was to promote peace has turned into a massacre, I don't understand this," he said, in floods of tears.
Turkish police fired in the air to disperse demonstrators angered by the deaths of their fellow activists from the scene, an AFP correspondent said.
Amateur footage broadcast by NTV television showed smiling activists holding hands and dancing and then falling to the ground as the huge explosion went off behind them.
Initial reports spoke of a single explosion but Turkish media said later there had been two separate blasts in short sequence.
The authorities were exploring the possibility that the blasts could have been caused by a suicide bomber, the official Anatolia news agency said.
'Barbaric attack'
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had been briefed over the blast by Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu, Anatolia said.
"We are investigating the explosion and will share our findings with the public as soon as possible," a Turkish official told AFP, without giving further details.
The area was to have hosted an anti-government peace rally organised by several leftist groups later in the day, including the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).
"We are faced with a huge massacre. A barbaric attack has been committed," said the HDP's leader Selahattin Demirtas.
The attack comes with Turkey on edge ahead of November 1 polls and a wave of unrest over the past few months.
An attack in the predominantly Kurdish town of Suruc on July 20 targeting pro-HDP activists and blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists killed 32 people and wounded a hundred others.
The militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) accused Ankara of collaborating with IS and resumed attacks on the Turkish security forces after observing a two-year ceasefire.
Over 140 members of the security forces have since been killed while Ankara claims to have killed over 1,700 Kurdish militants in weeks of bombardments of PKK targets in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq.
There had been suggestions that the PKK was about to announce a new ceasefire to help the HDP boost its score in the upcoming election.
The HDP performed strongly in the last vote on June 7, winning 80 seats to deprive President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of an outright majority for the first time since it came to power in 2002.
The AKP then failed to form a coalition in months of talks, prompting Erdogan -- who had been hoping for a large majority to push through reforms to boost his powers -- to call another election on November 1.
The office of Davutoglu said that he had cancelled election campaigning for the next three days.
He was to host a meeting of top officials, including powerful spy chief Hakan Fidan, in the early afternoon to discuss the attack.
ANKARA: Two explosions rocked Turkey's capital Ankara on Saturday, killing at least 30 people, mostly activists who had gathered for a peace rally organised by leftist and pro-Kurdish opposition groups.Corpses of activists were seen strewn across the ground after the blasts, with the banners they had been holding lying next to them.
At least 30 people were killed and 126 wounded, the interior ministry said in a statement giving the first official toll.
"We curse and condemn this atrocious attack taking aim at our democracy and our country's peace," the statement said.
There were scenes of chaos after the blast, as ambulances searched for the wounded and police cordoned off the area.
"We heard one huge blast and then one smaller explosion and then there was a a great movement and panic. Then we saw corpses around the station," said Ahmet Onen, 52.
"A demonstration that was to promote peace has turned into a massacre, I don't understand this," he said, in floods of tears.
Turkish police fired in the air to disperse demonstrators angered by the deaths of their fellow activists from the scene, an AFP correspondent said.
Amateur footage broadcast by NTV television showed smiling activists holding hands and dancing and then falling to the ground as the huge explosion went off behind them.
Initial reports spoke of a single explosion but Turkish media said later there had been two separate blasts in short sequence.
The authorities were exploring the possibility that the blasts could have been caused by a suicide bomber, the official Anatolia news agency said.
'Barbaric attack'
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had been briefed over the blast by Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu, Anatolia said.
"We are investigating the explosion and will share our findings with the public as soon as possible," a Turkish official told AFP, without giving further details.
The area was to have hosted an anti-government peace rally organised by several leftist groups later in the day, including the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).
"We are faced with a huge massacre. A barbaric attack has been committed," said the HDP's leader Selahattin Demirtas.
The attack comes with Turkey on edge ahead of November 1 polls and a wave of unrest over the past few months.
An attack in the predominantly Kurdish town of Suruc on July 20 targeting pro-HDP activists and blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists killed 32 people and wounded a hundred others.
The militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) accused Ankara of collaborating with IS and resumed attacks on the Turkish security forces after observing a two-year ceasefire.
Over 140 members of the security forces have since been killed while Ankara claims to have killed over 1,700 Kurdish militants in weeks of bombardments of PKK targets in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq.
There had been suggestions that the PKK was about to announce a new ceasefire to help the HDP boost its score in the upcoming election.
The HDP performed strongly in the last vote on June 7, winning 80 seats to deprive President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of an outright majority for the first time since it came to power in 2002.
The AKP then failed to form a coalition in months of talks, prompting Erdogan -- who had been hoping for a large majority to push through reforms to boost his powers -- to call another election on November 1.
The office of Davutoglu said that he had cancelled election campaigning for the next three days.
He was to host a meeting of top officials, including powerful spy chief Hakan Fidan, in the early afternoon to discuss the attack.
Doomsday is not Near, NASA Reassures Amid Collision Rumours
-
LONDON: A giant asteroid - around 2.5 kms in diameter - is heading towards Earth. An asteroid of its size has the potential to cause global devastation if it was to hit Earth, but NASA said the space rock poses no danger to us.
Termed Asteroid 86666 (2000 FL10),it is due to make its closest pass on Saturday, Daily Mail reported.
All asteroids are monitored by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab's Near-Earth Object Observations programme.
The programme keeps track of the orbits of comets and asteroids and publishes warnings if one of these rocks is due to collide with Earth, or will come close to doing so.
The programme's official Twitter handle addressed the speculation surrounding Asteroid 86666 by saying: "In response to Qs, asteroid 86666 will safely pass Earth Oct 10 by over 15 million mi/25 million km. It poses zero threat."
The orbits of Earth and the asteroid began to significantly coincide at the start of September; they reach their closest points this weekend and throughout the course of next week.
They are then shown moving away from each other by mid-November.
Asteroid 86666 was first spotted 16 years ago in March 2000 by the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona.
In August, NASA was forced to post a blog dispelling the countless rumours and speculation about asteroids that were due to pass the Earth in September.
This speculation suggested that an asteroid would impact Earth, sometime between September 15-28 near Puerto Rico.
Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object office, was reported as saying at the time that there was "no scientific basis or shred of evidence" to confirm those rumours.
He added that there would be no Earth impacts "anytime in the foreseeable future" and all known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids have less than a "0.01 per cent chance of impacting Earth in the next 100 years".
Termed Asteroid 86666 (2000 FL10),it is due to make its closest pass on Saturday, Daily Mail reported.
All asteroids are monitored by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab's Near-Earth Object Observations programme.
The programme keeps track of the orbits of comets and asteroids and publishes warnings if one of these rocks is due to collide with Earth, or will come close to doing so.
The orbits of Earth and the asteroid began to significantly coincide at the start of September; they reach their closest points this weekend and throughout the course of next week.
They are then shown moving away from each other by mid-November.
Asteroid 86666 was first spotted 16 years ago in March 2000 by the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona.
In August, NASA was forced to post a blog dispelling the countless rumours and speculation about asteroids that were due to pass the Earth in September.
This speculation suggested that an asteroid would impact Earth, sometime between September 15-28 near Puerto Rico.
Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object office, was reported as saying at the time that there was "no scientific basis or shred of evidence" to confirm those rumours.
He added that there would be no Earth impacts "anytime in the foreseeable future" and all known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids have less than a "0.01 per cent chance of impacting Earth in the next 100 years".
Diamonds Can Help Spot Cancers at Early Stage
-
SYDNEY: Researchers have found a way to use diamonds to act as beacons in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and identify cancerous tumours before they become life-threatening.
Their findings revealed how a synthetic version of the precious gem can light up early-stage cancers in MRI scans.
"We knew nano diamonds were of interest for delivering drugs during chemotherapy because they are largely non-toxic and non-reactive," said David Reilly from University of Sydney in Australia.
"We thought we could build on these non-toxic properties realising that diamonds have magnetic characteristics enabling them to act as beacons in MRIs," Reilly noted.
The researchers turned their attention to hyperpolarising nano-diamonds, a process of aligning atoms inside a diamond so they create a signal detectable by an MRI scanner.
"By attaching hyperpolarised diamonds to molecules targeting cancers the technique can allow tracking of the molecules' movement in the body," the study's lead author Ewa Rej from University of Sydney noted.
"This is a great example of how quantum physics research tackles real-world problems, in this case opening the way for us to image and target cancers long before they become life-threatening," Reilly said.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
SYDNEY: Researchers have found a way to use diamonds to act as beacons in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and identify cancerous tumours before they become life-threatening.Their findings revealed how a synthetic version of the precious gem can light up early-stage cancers in MRI scans.
"We knew nano diamonds were of interest for delivering drugs during chemotherapy because they are largely non-toxic and non-reactive," said David Reilly from University of Sydney in Australia.
"We thought we could build on these non-toxic properties realising that diamonds have magnetic characteristics enabling them to act as beacons in MRIs," Reilly noted.
The researchers turned their attention to hyperpolarising nano-diamonds, a process of aligning atoms inside a diamond so they create a signal detectable by an MRI scanner.
"By attaching hyperpolarised diamonds to molecules targeting cancers the technique can allow tracking of the molecules' movement in the body," the study's lead author Ewa Rej from University of Sydney noted.
"This is a great example of how quantum physics research tackles real-world problems, in this case opening the way for us to image and target cancers long before they become life-threatening," Reilly said.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Business Affairs
Facing Fed rate hike, confident India predicts investors will keep calm and carry on
-
Two years ago India was a "fragile five" emerging economy growing at five per cent, grappling with a severe current account deficit, near double-digit inflation, and the rupee at record lows as the US Federal Reserve prepared to taper its stimulus programme.
Today, two years into the term of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan , the rupee has shrugged off its taper tantrum, inflation is tamed, and India has lifted foreign investment limits to confidently face the Fed's first rate rise since 2006.
Officials familiar with the bank's thinking say investors are expected to take profits out of emerging markets when the Fed raises interest rates, but they also expect investors to return swiftly to India which Governor Rajan has called "an island of relative calm" among emerging markets.
From "fragile five" to "island of calm" marks a major turnaround under Rajan, whose term is due to end next year. In the months before he took office, the Fed's taper plan had sparked the RBI's worst currency turmoil since the 1991 balance of payments crisis.
The "fragile five" big emerging economies comprising India , Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa were seen to be at high political and monetary risk from the Fed's taper plan, which was completed in late October last year.
The Fed funds rate around 0.13 per cent has encouraged heavy investment in higher-yielding emerging markets, but when the Fed raises rates, seen by end-2015 or early next year, emerging markets are expected to experience a massive outflow of dollars returning to the United States.
"After the initial reaction, investors will factor in India's macroeconomic fundamentals which are better than many countries," said one official, who declined to be identified.
"Investors will initially book profits in countries which are attractive, to offset losses. But after that they will again come back to those countries which earned them profits."
Analysts and the officials familiar with the RBI say confidence was behind last week's move to cut interest rates by a steeper-than-expected 50 basis points, but also to raise limits on overseas investment in government debt.
Many analysts had expected the foreign investment limit to be lifted after the anticipated US rate rise, to avoid significant outflows. But officials said the decision to press ahead was about increasing predictability and confidently attracting more investment to India's young and shallow debt markets.
"One can't wait forever for the Fed to raise rates and hold back market development measures," the official said.
"Interest rates have already been lowered, so the arbitrage opportunity that usually attracts short-term flows is less. Therefore, more genuine and long-term foreign investors are expected to buy Indian debt."
RESERVES OF CONFIDENCE
India was less directly affected by the Chinese stock market rout and yuan devaluation that battered currencies and markets in the region.
It draws considerable confidence from foreign exchange reserves just off record highs at $350 billion, enough to cover nearly 10 months of imports, from a low of $274.8 billion in September 2013.
Nagaraj Kulkarni, senior rates strategist at Standard Chartered in Singapore, said he expected India to be resilient when the Fed raises rates.
"From a foreign investor perspective India offers a very good risk-reward ratio," he said, "so we expect foreign investor interest in India to continue."
_100915032722.jpg "Facing Fed rate hike, investors to keep calm and carry on")
Two years ago India was a "fragile five" emerging economy growing at five per cent, grappling with a severe current account deficit, near double-digit inflation, and the rupee at record lows as the US Federal Reserve prepared to taper its stimulus programme.
Today, two years into the term of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan , the rupee has shrugged off its taper tantrum, inflation is tamed, and India has lifted foreign investment limits to confidently face the Fed's first rate rise since 2006.
Officials familiar with the bank's thinking say investors are expected to take profits out of emerging markets when the Fed raises interest rates, but they also expect investors to return swiftly to India which Governor Rajan has called "an island of relative calm" among emerging markets.
From "fragile five" to "island of calm" marks a major turnaround under Rajan, whose term is due to end next year. In the months before he took office, the Fed's taper plan had sparked the RBI's worst currency turmoil since the 1991 balance of payments crisis.
The "fragile five" big emerging economies comprising India , Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa were seen to be at high political and monetary risk from the Fed's taper plan, which was completed in late October last year.
The Fed funds rate around 0.13 per cent has encouraged heavy investment in higher-yielding emerging markets, but when the Fed raises rates, seen by end-2015 or early next year, emerging markets are expected to experience a massive outflow of dollars returning to the United States.
"After the initial reaction, investors will factor in India's macroeconomic fundamentals which are better than many countries," said one official, who declined to be identified.
"Investors will initially book profits in countries which are attractive, to offset losses. But after that they will again come back to those countries which earned them profits."
Analysts and the officials familiar with the RBI say confidence was behind last week's move to cut interest rates by a steeper-than-expected 50 basis points, but also to raise limits on overseas investment in government debt.
Many analysts had expected the foreign investment limit to be lifted after the anticipated US rate rise, to avoid significant outflows. But officials said the decision to press ahead was about increasing predictability and confidently attracting more investment to India's young and shallow debt markets.
"One can't wait forever for the Fed to raise rates and hold back market development measures," the official said.
"Interest rates have already been lowered, so the arbitrage opportunity that usually attracts short-term flows is less. Therefore, more genuine and long-term foreign investors are expected to buy Indian debt."
RESERVES OF CONFIDENCE
India was less directly affected by the Chinese stock market rout and yuan devaluation that battered currencies and markets in the region.
It draws considerable confidence from foreign exchange reserves just off record highs at $350 billion, enough to cover nearly 10 months of imports, from a low of $274.8 billion in September 2013.
Nagaraj Kulkarni, senior rates strategist at Standard Chartered in Singapore, said he expected India to be resilient when the Fed raises rates.
"From a foreign investor perspective India offers a very good risk-reward ratio," he said, "so we expect foreign investor interest in India to continue."
Suzlon Energy ends 8% up after CARE BBB rating
-
Shares of Suzlon Energy surged over 11 per cent in trade on Friday after the wind turbine manufacturer secured an investment credit rating for its long-term loan facilities after about three years.
The stock ended 8.13 per cent higher at Rs 23.95 after rising as much as 11.2 per cent to Rs 24.65.
Rating agency CARE has assigned an investment grade credit rating to the company's outstanding bank facilities as well as to the proposed commercial paper instrument.
"CARE has assigned BBB- credit rating assigned for long-term bank facilities and fund-based working capital limits," said the company in a statement.
Instruments with 'CARE BBB' rating are considered to have moderate degree of safety regarding timely servicing of financial obligations. Such instruments carry moderate credit risk.
Suzlon Group Chief Financial Officer Kirti Vagadia said, "We are pleased to announce that we have been upgraded to Investment grade (BBB-) from D rating (in 2012)."
On tuesday, Suzlon Energy won a repeat turnkey order of 100.8 MW from Orange Renewable, a subsidiary of AT Holdings, Singapore.
Shares of Suzlon Energy surged over 11 per cent in trade on Friday after the wind turbine manufacturer secured an investment credit rating for its long-term loan facilities after about three years.
The stock ended 8.13 per cent higher at Rs 23.95 after rising as much as 11.2 per cent to Rs 24.65.
Rating agency CARE has assigned an investment grade credit rating to the company's outstanding bank facilities as well as to the proposed commercial paper instrument.
"CARE has assigned BBB- credit rating assigned for long-term bank facilities and fund-based working capital limits," said the company in a statement.
Instruments with 'CARE BBB' rating are considered to have moderate degree of safety regarding timely servicing of financial obligations. Such instruments carry moderate credit risk.
Suzlon Group Chief Financial Officer Kirti Vagadia said, "We are pleased to announce that we have been upgraded to Investment grade (BBB-) from D rating (in 2012)."
On tuesday, Suzlon Energy won a repeat turnkey order of 100.8 MW from Orange Renewable, a subsidiary of AT Holdings, Singapore.
IndusInd Bank Q2 net profit rises 30% to Rs 560 crore
-
Private sector lender IndusInd Bank today posted 30.2% increase in net profit at Rs 560.04 crore for the second quarter ended September 30.
The bank had recorded a net profit of Rs 430.20 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, IndusInd Bank said in a filing to BSE.
The total income of the lender also increased to Rs 3,581.31 crore during the quarter from Rs 2,972.72 crore over the corresponding period of 2014-15 fiscal.
During the quarter, the gross Non-performing Assets (NPAs) decreased to 0.77% from 1.08% at the end of second quarter of 2014-15.
At the same time, net NPA of the bank also declined to 0.31% from 0.33% of the total assets.
During the first half of 2015-16, the bank clocked 27.4% rise in net profit to Rs 1,085.08 crore compared to Rs 851.26 crore in the same period a year ago.
The bank reported a total income of Rs 7,066.42 crore in the first six months, compared to Rs 5,875.95 crore in the April-September period of 2014-15.
Private sector lender IndusInd Bank today posted 30.2% increase in net profit at Rs 560.04 crore for the second quarter ended September 30.
The bank had recorded a net profit of Rs 430.20 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, IndusInd Bank said in a filing to BSE.
The total income of the lender also increased to Rs 3,581.31 crore during the quarter from Rs 2,972.72 crore over the corresponding period of 2014-15 fiscal.
During the quarter, the gross Non-performing Assets (NPAs) decreased to 0.77% from 1.08% at the end of second quarter of 2014-15.
At the same time, net NPA of the bank also declined to 0.31% from 0.33% of the total assets.
During the first half of 2015-16, the bank clocked 27.4% rise in net profit to Rs 1,085.08 crore compared to Rs 851.26 crore in the same period a year ago.
The bank reported a total income of Rs 7,066.42 crore in the first six months, compared to Rs 5,875.95 crore in the April-September period of 2014-15.
About 8.5 lakh chemist shops to shut for a day on October 14
-
As many as 850,000 small chemist shops in India will shut for a day next week to protest against a burgeoning online pharmacy industry that is attracting big money backers.
Healthcare provider Apollo Hospitals Enterprise plans to start online drug sales in India, while Zigy, and Sequoia Capital-backed 1 mg already have e-pharmacies to tap a retail market IMS Health says is worth about $13 billion.
Varun Gupta, head of medical affairs at 1mg said the company gets up to 60 million hits a month on its website and its mobile app has been downloaded 3.5 million times since 2012.
Indian law does not regulate e-pharmacies.
The one-day nationwide strike on October 14, called by the All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) comes as a government panel started working on regulations for the sector.
Drug retailers say e-pharmacies challenge their businesses and would allow medicines that could be abused to be sold without verification. They also say the online pharmacies make it easier to use one prescription to purchase medicines numerous times.
"Our children are savvy to social media. If they put one prescription online, they will take a picture and send it to other companies to get medicines," AIOCD President JS Shinde said.
The group will also organise a street protest in the capital New Delhi. An indefinite strike will be considered if the government does not stop online sales, Shinde said.
Medical shops in hospitals and 24-hour pharmacies will not be shut.
A drug regulator in the state of Maharashtra who is aware of the deliberations on the issue called AIOCD's decision "premature" and said draft guidelines were several months away.
Regulators began checks after online retailer Snapdeal was found selling prescription medicines online without prescriptions in May. Snapdeal was forced to delist some products and sellers.
But drug sales, even at traditional shops in India, are weakly regulated. Pharmacists often sell medicines without verifying prescriptions.
E-pharmacies said they were not violating drug laws and customers needed to upload prescriptions before buying regulated drugs.
"We expect new regulations to give clarity for online players to exist," said Hemant Bhardwaj, chief executive at Zigy.
Apollo's Joint Managing Director Sangita Reddy told Reuters they will start online drug sales once the new regulations are finalised.
Consumers are attracted by the convenience.
"A huge database of medicines makes it a one-stop shop," said Thongsuanmung Vualnam, a New Delhi health consultant who recently started shopping for drugs online.
As many as 850,000 small chemist shops in India will shut for a day next week to protest against a burgeoning online pharmacy industry that is attracting big money backers.
Healthcare provider Apollo Hospitals Enterprise plans to start online drug sales in India, while Zigy, and Sequoia Capital-backed 1 mg already have e-pharmacies to tap a retail market IMS Health says is worth about $13 billion.
Varun Gupta, head of medical affairs at 1mg said the company gets up to 60 million hits a month on its website and its mobile app has been downloaded 3.5 million times since 2012.
Indian law does not regulate e-pharmacies.
The one-day nationwide strike on October 14, called by the All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) comes as a government panel started working on regulations for the sector.
Drug retailers say e-pharmacies challenge their businesses and would allow medicines that could be abused to be sold without verification. They also say the online pharmacies make it easier to use one prescription to purchase medicines numerous times.
"Our children are savvy to social media. If they put one prescription online, they will take a picture and send it to other companies to get medicines," AIOCD President JS Shinde said.
The group will also organise a street protest in the capital New Delhi. An indefinite strike will be considered if the government does not stop online sales, Shinde said.
Medical shops in hospitals and 24-hour pharmacies will not be shut.
A drug regulator in the state of Maharashtra who is aware of the deliberations on the issue called AIOCD's decision "premature" and said draft guidelines were several months away.
Regulators began checks after online retailer Snapdeal was found selling prescription medicines online without prescriptions in May. Snapdeal was forced to delist some products and sellers.
But drug sales, even at traditional shops in India, are weakly regulated. Pharmacists often sell medicines without verifying prescriptions.
E-pharmacies said they were not violating drug laws and customers needed to upload prescriptions before buying regulated drugs.
"We expect new regulations to give clarity for online players to exist," said Hemant Bhardwaj, chief executive at Zigy.
Apollo's Joint Managing Director Sangita Reddy told Reuters they will start online drug sales once the new regulations are finalised.
Consumers are attracted by the convenience.
"A huge database of medicines makes it a one-stop shop," said Thongsuanmung Vualnam, a New Delhi health consultant who recently started shopping for drugs online.
Apax Partners-backed firm buys 23.2% in Harsh Goenka's Zensar Technologies
-
Marina Holdco, a company backed by Apax Partners, on Friday bought 23.2 per cent stake in Zensar Technologies .
The stake was acquired from Electra Partners Mauritius, an existing minority shareholder. Financial details of the deal, however, were not disclosed by the company.
RPG Group continues to be the promoter and the largest shareholder in the company with 48 per cent stake.
"Zensar is a key focus area for the RPG Group and we aim to scale the company into top 10 Indian technology services business in the medium term, through a combination of organic growth and M&A," Chairman of Zensar and RPG Group Harsh Goenka said in a filing to the BSE.
Zensar said in association with Apax, it expects to further focus on its key differentiated capabilities and achieve a leading position in the emerging offerings including e-commerce, digital, cloud and mobility.
"Apax is a leading private equity investor in technology services space globally... we look forward to working alongside the company and RPG Group to drive transformational growth over our investment period," said Shashank Singh, MD and Head of Apax Partners India.
Marina Holdco, a company backed by Apax Partners, on Friday bought 23.2 per cent stake in Zensar Technologies .
The stake was acquired from Electra Partners Mauritius, an existing minority shareholder. Financial details of the deal, however, were not disclosed by the company.
RPG Group continues to be the promoter and the largest shareholder in the company with 48 per cent stake.
"Zensar is a key focus area for the RPG Group and we aim to scale the company into top 10 Indian technology services business in the medium term, through a combination of organic growth and M&A," Chairman of Zensar and RPG Group Harsh Goenka said in a filing to the BSE.
Zensar said in association with Apax, it expects to further focus on its key differentiated capabilities and achieve a leading position in the emerging offerings including e-commerce, digital, cloud and mobility.
"Apax is a leading private equity investor in technology services space globally... we look forward to working alongside the company and RPG Group to drive transformational growth over our investment period," said Shashank Singh, MD and Head of Apax Partners India.
General Awareness
Updated List of Important Office Holders, Bank CEO and MD’s in India
-
-
Dear Readers,
We are sharing with you the List of Important Office Holders, Bank CEO and MD’s Name in India. It will help you in upcoming IBPS,SSC and other competitive exams.
CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES :
1. President of India—Pranab Mukherjee
2. Vice President of India / Chairman of the Rajya Sabha—Mohammad Hamid Ansari
3. Chief Justice of India—H. L. Dattu
POLITICAL OFFICIAL :
1. Prime Minister of India—Narendra Damodardas Modi
2. Speaker of the Lok Sabha—Sumitra Mahajan
3. Minister of Defence—Manohar Parrikar
4. Minister of External Affairs—Sushma Swaraj
5. Minister of Finance—Arun Jaitley
6. Minister of Home Affairs—Rajnath Singh
7. Minister of Agriculture—Radha Mohan Singh
8. Minister of Human Resource Development—Smriti Zubin Irani
9. Minister of Railways—Suresh Prabhu
10. Minister of Law and Justice—D. V. Sadananda Gowda11. Minister of Road & Transport minister–Nitin Jairam Gadkari
12. Minister of Minority Affairs– Dr. Najma A. Heptulla
13. Minister of Water resources–Uma Bharati
14. Minister of Micro,small and medium enterprises–Kalraj Mishra
15. Minister of Women & child development–Meneka Gandhi
16. Minister of Health & family welfare–Jagat Prakash Nadda
17. Minister of Food processing industries–Harsimrat Kaur Badal
18. Minister of Mines and steel–Narendra Singh Tomar
19. Minister of Rural/panchayat raj/drinking water and saniation–Chaudhary Birender Singh
20. Minister of Tribal affairs–Jual Oram21. Minister of Urban Development/housing and urban poverty alleviation/Parliamentary affairs–M. Venkaiah Naidu
22. Minister of Consumer affairs,Food and Public Distribution–Ramvilas Paswan
23. Minister of Science & technology,Earth science–Dr. Harsh Vardhan24. Minister of Social justice and empowerment–Thawar Chand Gehlot
25. Minister of Chemicals and fertilizers–Ananth Kumar
26. Minister of Communications and information technology–Ravi Shankar Prasad
27. Minister of Civil aviation–Ashok Gajapathi Raju
28. Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises–Anant Geete
HEADS OF GOVT. APEX WING :
1. Chief Election Commissioner of India–Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi
2. Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission–Justice Cyriac Joseph
3. Chief Commissioner, Central Information Commission–Vijai Sharma
4. Chairman, National Commission for Minorities–Shri Naseem Ahmad
5. Chairman, National Commission for SC–P. L. Punia
6. Chairman, National Commission for ST–Rameshwar Oraon
7. Chairperson, National Commission for Women–Lalitha Kumaramangalam
8. Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission–Ratan Kumar Sinha
9. Chairman, ISRO–A S Kiran Kumar
10. Chairman, Union Public Service Commission–Deepak Gupta
11. Chairman, National Knowledge Commission–Sam Pitroda
12. Chairman, University Grants Commission–Ved Prakash
13. Chairman, Central Water Commission of India–Ashwin B. Pandya
14. Space Applications Center, Administrator(Director)–Tapan Misra
HEADS OF FINANCIAL BODIES :
1. Governor of Reserve Bank of India–Raghuram Rajan2. Chairman, 14th Finance Commission of India–Y.Venugopal Reddy
3. Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)–Upendra Kumar Sinha
4. Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India–T. S. Vijayan
5. Chairman, 7th Pay Commission–Ashok Kumar Mathur
6. Chairman, SIDBI–Kshatrapati Shiaji
BUREAUCRATS :
1. Cabinet Secretary of India–Ajit Seth
2. National Security Adviser–Ajit Kumar Doval
3. Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha–Shumsher K. Sheriff
4. Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha–Anoop Mishra
5. Attorney General of India–Mukul Rohatgi
6. Comptroller and Auditor General of India–Shashi Kant Sharma
7. Solicitor General of India–Ranjit Kumar
8. Principal Scientific Adviser–R. Chidambaram
9. Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations–Asoke Kumar Mukerji
10. Chairman, Railway Board–AK Mittal
11. Foreign Secretary–Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
12. Union Home Secretary–Rajiv Mehrishi
13. Finance Secretary–Ratan P Watal
DEFENCE & SECURITY :
1. Chief of Army Staff–General Dalbir Singh Suhag
2. Chief of Air Staff–Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha
3. Chief of Naval Staff–Admiral Robin K Dhowan
4. Chief of Integrated Defence Staff–Air Marshal PP Reddy
5. Director General, Border Security Force–D K Pathak
6. Director General, Central Reserve Police Force–Prakash Mishra
7. Director General, Central Industrial Security Force–Surender Singh
8. Director-General of Military Intelligence–Lt. Gen K G Krishna
9. Director, Central Bureau of Investigation–Anil Kumar Sinha
10. Director, Intelligence Bureau–Dineshwar Sharma
11. Director General, National Investigation Agency–Sharad Kumar
12. Secretary (Research)–Rajinder Khanna
13. Member (Investigation CBDT)–Anita Kapur
14. Director General of ITBP–Krishna Chaudhary
CEO & MD OF BANKS :
1. State Bank of India–Smt Arundhati Bhattacharya
Nationalised Banks :
2. Allahabad Bank–Rakesh Sethi
3. Andhra Bank–C.V.R. Rajendran
4. Bank of Baroda–P.S. Jayakumar
5. Bank of India–M.O. Rego
6. Bank of Maharashtra–Sushil Muhnot
7. Bharatiya Mahila Bank–Vacant
8. Canara Bank–Rakesh Sharma
9. Central Bank of India–Rajeev Rishi
10. Corporation Bank–Sadhuram Bansal
11. Dena Bank–Ashwani Kumar
12. IDBI Bank Ltd–Kishore Piraji Kharat
13. Indian Bank–T. M. Bhasin
14. Indian Overseas Bank–R Koteeswaram
15. Oriental Bank of Commerce–Animesh Chauhan
16. Punjab And Sind Bank–Jatinder Bir Singh
17. Punjab National Bank–Usha Ananthasubramanian
18. Syndicate Bank–Arun Shrivastava
19. UCO Bank–Arun Kaul
20. Union Bank of India–Arun Tiwari
21. United Bank of India–P Srinivas
22. Vijaya Bank–Kishore Kumar Sansi
Private Banks :
23. Axis Bank–Smt. Shikha Sharma
24. Catholic Syrian Bank–Anand Krishnamurthy
25. City Union Bank–Dr. N. Kamakodi
26. Development Credit Bank–Murali M. Natrajan
27. Dhanalakshmi Bank–G. Sreeram
28. Federal Bank–Shyam Srinivasan
29. HDFC Bank–Aditya Puri
30. ICICI Bank–Smt Chanda Kochar
31. IndusInd Bank–Romesh Sobti
32. ING Vysya Bank–Uday Sareen
33. Jammu & Kashmir Bank–Mushtaq Ahmad
34. Karnataka Bank–Polali Jayarama Bhat
35. Karur Vysya Bank–K. Venkataraman
36. Kotak Mahindra Bank–Uday Kotak
37. Lakshmi Vilas Bank–Vacant
38. Nainital Bank–Vacant
39. Ratnakar Bank–Vishwavir Ahuja
40. South Indian Bank–V.G. Mathew
41. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank–H.S. Upendra Kamath
42. Yes Bank’s Ltd–Rana Kapoor
- Dear Readers,
We are sharing with you the List of Important Office Holders, Bank CEO and MD’s Name in India. It will help you in upcoming IBPS,SSC and other competitive exams.
CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES :
1. President of India—Pranab Mukherjee
2. Vice President of India / Chairman of the Rajya Sabha—Mohammad Hamid Ansari
3. Chief Justice of India—H. L. DattuPOLITICAL OFFICIAL :
1. Prime Minister of India—Narendra Damodardas Modi
2. Speaker of the Lok Sabha—Sumitra Mahajan
3. Minister of Defence—Manohar Parrikar
4. Minister of External Affairs—Sushma Swaraj
5. Minister of Finance—Arun Jaitley
6. Minister of Home Affairs—Rajnath Singh
7. Minister of Agriculture—Radha Mohan Singh
8. Minister of Human Resource Development—Smriti Zubin Irani
9. Minister of Railways—Suresh Prabhu
10. Minister of Law and Justice—D. V. Sadananda Gowda11. Minister of Road & Transport minister–Nitin Jairam Gadkari
12. Minister of Minority Affairs– Dr. Najma A. Heptulla
13. Minister of Water resources–Uma Bharati
14. Minister of Micro,small and medium enterprises–Kalraj Mishra
15. Minister of Women & child development–Meneka Gandhi
16. Minister of Health & family welfare–Jagat Prakash Nadda
17. Minister of Food processing industries–Harsimrat Kaur Badal
18. Minister of Mines and steel–Narendra Singh Tomar
19. Minister of Rural/panchayat raj/drinking water and saniation–Chaudhary Birender Singh
20. Minister of Tribal affairs–Jual Oram21. Minister of Urban Development/housing and urban poverty alleviation/Parliamentary affairs–M. Venkaiah Naidu
22. Minister of Consumer affairs,Food and Public Distribution–Ramvilas Paswan
23. Minister of Science & technology,Earth science–Dr. Harsh Vardhan24. Minister of Social justice and empowerment–Thawar Chand Gehlot
25. Minister of Chemicals and fertilizers–Ananth Kumar
26. Minister of Communications and information technology–Ravi Shankar Prasad
27. Minister of Civil aviation–Ashok Gajapathi Raju
28. Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises–Anant GeeteHEADS OF GOVT. APEX WING :
1. Chief Election Commissioner of India–Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi
2. Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission–Justice Cyriac Joseph
3. Chief Commissioner, Central Information Commission–Vijai Sharma
4. Chairman, National Commission for Minorities–Shri Naseem Ahmad
5. Chairman, National Commission for SC–P. L. Punia
6. Chairman, National Commission for ST–Rameshwar Oraon
7. Chairperson, National Commission for Women–Lalitha Kumaramangalam
8. Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission–Ratan Kumar Sinha
9. Chairman, ISRO–A S Kiran Kumar
10. Chairman, Union Public Service Commission–Deepak Gupta
11. Chairman, National Knowledge Commission–Sam Pitroda
12. Chairman, University Grants Commission–Ved Prakash
13. Chairman, Central Water Commission of India–Ashwin B. Pandya
14. Space Applications Center, Administrator(Director)–Tapan MisraHEADS OF FINANCIAL BODIES :
1. Governor of Reserve Bank of India–Raghuram Rajan2. Chairman, 14th Finance Commission of India–Y.Venugopal Reddy
3. Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)–Upendra Kumar Sinha
4. Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India–T. S. Vijayan
5. Chairman, 7th Pay Commission–Ashok Kumar Mathur
6. Chairman, SIDBI–Kshatrapati ShiajiBUREAUCRATS :
1. Cabinet Secretary of India–Ajit Seth
2. National Security Adviser–Ajit Kumar Doval
3. Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha–Shumsher K. Sheriff
4. Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha–Anoop Mishra
5. Attorney General of India–Mukul Rohatgi
6. Comptroller and Auditor General of India–Shashi Kant Sharma
7. Solicitor General of India–Ranjit Kumar
8. Principal Scientific Adviser–R. Chidambaram
9. Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations–Asoke Kumar Mukerji
10. Chairman, Railway Board–AK Mittal
11. Foreign Secretary–Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
12. Union Home Secretary–Rajiv Mehrishi
13. Finance Secretary–Ratan P WatalDEFENCE & SECURITY :
1. Chief of Army Staff–General Dalbir Singh Suhag
2. Chief of Air Staff–Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha
3. Chief of Naval Staff–Admiral Robin K Dhowan
4. Chief of Integrated Defence Staff–Air Marshal PP Reddy
5. Director General, Border Security Force–D K Pathak
6. Director General, Central Reserve Police Force–Prakash Mishra
7. Director General, Central Industrial Security Force–Surender Singh
8. Director-General of Military Intelligence–Lt. Gen K G Krishna
9. Director, Central Bureau of Investigation–Anil Kumar Sinha
10. Director, Intelligence Bureau–Dineshwar Sharma
11. Director General, National Investigation Agency–Sharad Kumar
12. Secretary (Research)–Rajinder Khanna
13. Member (Investigation CBDT)–Anita Kapur
14. Director General of ITBP–Krishna ChaudharyCEO & MD OF BANKS :
1. State Bank of India–Smt Arundhati Bhattacharya
Nationalised Banks :
2. Allahabad Bank–Rakesh Sethi
3. Andhra Bank–C.V.R. Rajendran
4. Bank of Baroda–P.S. Jayakumar
5. Bank of India–M.O. Rego
6. Bank of Maharashtra–Sushil Muhnot
7. Bharatiya Mahila Bank–Vacant
8. Canara Bank–Rakesh Sharma
9. Central Bank of India–Rajeev Rishi
10. Corporation Bank–Sadhuram Bansal
11. Dena Bank–Ashwani Kumar
12. IDBI Bank Ltd–Kishore Piraji Kharat
13. Indian Bank–T. M. Bhasin
14. Indian Overseas Bank–R Koteeswaram
15. Oriental Bank of Commerce–Animesh Chauhan
16. Punjab And Sind Bank–Jatinder Bir Singh
17. Punjab National Bank–Usha Ananthasubramanian
18. Syndicate Bank–Arun Shrivastava
19. UCO Bank–Arun Kaul
20. Union Bank of India–Arun Tiwari
21. United Bank of India–P Srinivas
22. Vijaya Bank–Kishore Kumar Sansi
Private Banks :
23. Axis Bank–Smt. Shikha Sharma
24. Catholic Syrian Bank–Anand Krishnamurthy
25. City Union Bank–Dr. N. Kamakodi
26. Development Credit Bank–Murali M. Natrajan
27. Dhanalakshmi Bank–G. Sreeram
28. Federal Bank–Shyam Srinivasan
29. HDFC Bank–Aditya Puri
30. ICICI Bank–Smt Chanda Kochar
31. IndusInd Bank–Romesh Sobti
32. ING Vysya Bank–Uday Sareen
33. Jammu & Kashmir Bank–Mushtaq Ahmad
34. Karnataka Bank–Polali Jayarama Bhat
35. Karur Vysya Bank–K. Venkataraman
36. Kotak Mahindra Bank–Uday Kotak
37. Lakshmi Vilas Bank–Vacant
38. Nainital Bank–Vacant
39. Ratnakar Bank–Vishwavir Ahuja
40. South Indian Bank–V.G. Mathew
41. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank–H.S. Upendra Kamath
42. Yes Bank’s Ltd–Rana Kapoor
No comments:
Post a Comment