General Affairs
PM Narendra Modi Meets His New Zealand Counterpart John Key In US
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WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Washington to attend the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit, held a bilateral meeting with his New Zealand counterpart John Key today.
"Not just cricket on the agenda, as PM @narendra meets New Zealand PM @johnkeypm for 1st meeting in Washington," external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted in an obvious reference to India's World T20 cricket semi-final against the West Indies that was going on in Mumbai on the other side of the globe at the same time.
PM Modi is scheduled to hold more bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit, including one likely with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
He is also scheduled to attend a leaders-only thematic dinner on "Nuclear security threat perceptions" to be hosted by US President Barack Obama at the White House later today.
Leaders of 53 nations and four international organisations have converged in Washington to attend the fourth and final edition of the biennial nuclear security summit which started in 2010.
PM Modi arrived in Washington on the second leg of his three-nation visit on Wednesday night from Brussels where he attended the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit and held a bilateral meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.
WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Washington to attend the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit, held a bilateral meeting with his New Zealand counterpart John Key today."Not just cricket on the agenda, as PM @narendra meets New Zealand PM @johnkeypm for 1st meeting in Washington," external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted in an obvious reference to India's World T20 cricket semi-final against the West Indies that was going on in Mumbai on the other side of the globe at the same time.
PM Modi is scheduled to hold more bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit, including one likely with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
He is also scheduled to attend a leaders-only thematic dinner on "Nuclear security threat perceptions" to be hosted by US President Barack Obama at the White House later today.
Leaders of 53 nations and four international organisations have converged in Washington to attend the fourth and final edition of the biennial nuclear security summit which started in 2010.
PM Modi arrived in Washington on the second leg of his three-nation visit on Wednesday night from Brussels where he attended the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit and held a bilateral meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.
PM Modi Begins His Day In US With Interaction With Indian-American Community
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WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his day in the American capital with an interaction with the Indian-American community members.
PM Modi came out of the hotel where he is staying in Washington DC to meet the Indian-Americans who had gathered outside in large numbers since early in the morning to have a glimpse of their leader.
They were chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Modi, Modi'. The Prime Minister, who has no scheduled engagement with the Indians living here this time, did not made any remarks.
He walked along the rope, amidst tight security, shaking hands with the community members who had gathered from in and around Washington DC area.
PM Modi arrived in Washington in the wee hours today to attend the two-day Nuclear Security Summit, which is being hosted by US President Barack Obama.
Leaders from more than 50 countries including over 20 heads of States are attending the global meet on March 31 and April 1.
PM Modi came out of the hotel where he is staying in Washington DC to meet the Indian-Americans who had gathered outside in large numbers since early in the morning to have a glimpse of their leader.
They were chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Modi, Modi'. The Prime Minister, who has no scheduled engagement with the Indians living here this time, did not made any remarks.
He walked along the rope, amidst tight security, shaking hands with the community members who had gathered from in and around Washington DC area.
PM Modi arrived in Washington in the wee hours today to attend the two-day Nuclear Security Summit, which is being hosted by US President Barack Obama.
Leaders from more than 50 countries including over 20 heads of States are attending the global meet on March 31 and April 1.
President, Vice President Condole Deaths In Kolkata Flyover Collapse
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NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari today expressed grief over the deaths in the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Kolkata.
In a message to West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, the president said: "I am sad to learn about the collapse of the flyover under construction in Kolkata in which number of persons have lost their lives and many others are injured.
"I understand rescue and relief operations are currently underway. I am sure the state government and other agencies are taking necessary steps to provide all possible help to the bereaved families who have lost their near and dear ones, as well as medical assistance to the injured."
The president wished for "speedy recovery" of the injured".
Vice President Ansari today also expressed grief.
"I am deeply grieved and shocked at the tragic loss of life and injuries resulting from the collapse of an under construction flyover in Kolkata earlier today (Thursday).
"I convey my heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved families and pray to the Almighty to give them strength and fortitude to withstand this immense loss. I also wish speedy recovery to the injured," he said.
At least 18 people were killed and many others injured when a portion of the flyover collapsed in Kolkata.
NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari today expressed grief over the deaths in the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Kolkata.In a message to West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, the president said: "I am sad to learn about the collapse of the flyover under construction in Kolkata in which number of persons have lost their lives and many others are injured.
"I understand rescue and relief operations are currently underway. I am sure the state government and other agencies are taking necessary steps to provide all possible help to the bereaved families who have lost their near and dear ones, as well as medical assistance to the injured."
The president wished for "speedy recovery" of the injured".
Vice President Ansari today also expressed grief.
"I am deeply grieved and shocked at the tragic loss of life and injuries resulting from the collapse of an under construction flyover in Kolkata earlier today (Thursday).
"I convey my heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved families and pray to the Almighty to give them strength and fortitude to withstand this immense loss. I also wish speedy recovery to the injured," he said.
At least 18 people were killed and many others injured when a portion of the flyover collapsed in Kolkata.
Larger Pictorial Warnings On Tobacco Products From Today
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NEW DELHI: The notification implementing larger pictorial warnings on all tobacco products will come into effect from tomorrow. The move comes despite a parliamentary panel's recommendation for a drastic reduction in the size of the visual message.
The Health Ministry's notification of September 24, 2015, for implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014, come into force April 1. These prescribe larger pictorial warnings on tobacco products.
The ministry had made a commitment to Rajasthan High Court on March 28 that it will implement the said rules from April 1, 2016.
The Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation had described as "too harsh" the government's proposal that 85 per cent of the packaging surface carry pictorial warnings and recommended that the message occupy 50 per cent of the space.
The stand had evoked sharp criticism from lawmakers and health experts.
In its report submitted to the Lok Sabha, committee chairman Dilip Gandhi justified the recommendations, saying it was urged that the size of the warnings be increased from the present 40 to 50 per cent.
"The committee is of the view that in order to have a balanced approach, the warning on cigarette packets should be 50 per cent on both sides of the principal display area instead of 85 per cent of the principal display area as it will be too harsh and result in the flooding of illicit cigarettes in the country," the committee said in the report.
Health ministry has also informed Rajasthan High Court that its legislative authority is examining the observations/ recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation.
A senior official confirmed that all tobacco products manufactured from April 1 onwards will carry larger pictorial health warnings as the rules framed by the ministry have come into effect.
The Health Ministry's notification of September 24, 2015, for implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2014, come into force April 1. These prescribe larger pictorial warnings on tobacco products.
The Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation had described as "too harsh" the government's proposal that 85 per cent of the packaging surface carry pictorial warnings and recommended that the message occupy 50 per cent of the space.
The stand had evoked sharp criticism from lawmakers and health experts.
In its report submitted to the Lok Sabha, committee chairman Dilip Gandhi justified the recommendations, saying it was urged that the size of the warnings be increased from the present 40 to 50 per cent.
"The committee is of the view that in order to have a balanced approach, the warning on cigarette packets should be 50 per cent on both sides of the principal display area instead of 85 per cent of the principal display area as it will be too harsh and result in the flooding of illicit cigarettes in the country," the committee said in the report.
Health ministry has also informed Rajasthan High Court that its legislative authority is examining the observations/ recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation.
A senior official confirmed that all tobacco products manufactured from April 1 onwards will carry larger pictorial health warnings as the rules framed by the ministry have come into effect.
When Mobsters Meet Hackers - The New, Improved Bank Heist
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No need for stocking masks and sawn-off shotguns.
The unprecedented heist of $81 million from the U.S. account of Bangladesh's central bank is the latest among increasingly large thefts by criminals who have leveraged the speed and anonymity of hacking to revolutionise burgling banks.
Hundreds of millions of dollars, and perhaps much more, have been stolen from banks and financial services companies in recent years because of this alliance of traditional and digital criminals, with many victims not reporting the thefts for fear of reputational damage.
Typically, security and cyber-crime experts say, hackers break into the computer systems of financial institutions and make, or incite others to make, fraudulent transactions to pliant accounts. Organised crime then uses techniques developed over decades to launder the money, giving the alliance much higher rewards than a hold-up or bank vault robbery, with much less risk.
"The internet has made it easier for criminals to get inside banks," said Shane Shook, an independent security consultant. "Criminals are moving away from consumer-targeted attacks to much more substantial bank hacks because it takes less effort to get more money."
There's no evidence that old-fashioned bank robberies are in the decline. But there are increasing instances of the cyber variety of the crime.
Last year, researchers at Russian security software maker Kaspersky Lab publicised the activities of the prolific Carbanak gang, which it says hacked into banks, then ordered fraudulent money transfers and also forced ATMs to spit out cash. Kaspersky estimates the group hit as many as 100 banks, with losses averaging from $2.5 million to $10 million per heist.
A Turkish computer hacker pleaded guilty in a U.S. court in March to one of the most astonishing crimes in this category: "Cashing crews" pulled $40 million out of automated teller machines in 24 countries over a 10-hour period. The 2013 heist was accomplished with the precision of a Hollywood drama, thanks to hackers who breached financial networks, then inflated balances on prepaid debit cards.
In another case, Russian banks lost more than $25 million over the past six months to a hacker group infecting their computers using tainted phishing emails, according to Russian security firm Group IB.
The malware gave the hackers access to the bank's inner
network, allowing them to craft seemingly authentic transfer requests via networks including the same SWIFT messaging system used in the Bangladesh Bank attack.
"It (the malware) provides remote access to the attacker. Then the attacker manually orders fraudulent transfers over SWIFT or other payment systems," said Dmitry Volkov, head of cyber intelligence for Group IB.
In the Bangladesh case, the bank says unknown hackers used malware to access the central bank's computers and spoof messages to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. They transferred $81 million from the central bank's account at the New York Fed to Philippine banks.
The funds were then passed on to casinos and handed over in cash to a junket operator in Manila, according to testimony at a senate hearing in the Philippines.
A transfer of $20 million to an entity in Sri Lanka was reported as suspicious because of a spelling mistake in its name and reversed.
Unreported Heists
Cyber fraud experts say they expect more big heists because the industry has yet to properly defend itself.
"The fact is that most of the breaches that happen don't get reported," said Bryce Boland, chief Asia Pacific security officer of computer security company FireEye.
One senior banking security executive, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said he had worked on three cases of cyber thefts that his bank clients had not reported to regulatory authorities. He said the largest involved about $20 million.
In many jurisdictions, banks and financial services companies were not required to report breaches unless there's a material impact, Boland said. The definition is left vague enough so that many are not reported at all.
Boland said that while 20 percent of his banking customers had been targeted in the second half of last year, FireEye had also found cases of financial services companies not realising they had been breached, in one case leaving the attackers inside their computers for five years.
An ongoing Senate hearing in the Philippines is still struggling to determine how the stolen money was laundered, with another hearing scheduled for next week. In most cases the heists go unpunished and the perpetrators remain a mystery.
FireEye's Boland said the company has compiled detailed dossiers on six of the groups behind attacks on financial services companies, but he said he had less complete data on 600 other groups.
Not all focus on extracting money, he added. Hackers aimed at specific institutions, often at specific individuals, and often for financially useful data - inside information on mergers and acquisitions, for example, or data that could be used to create fake credit cards.
No need for stocking masks and sawn-off shotguns.The unprecedented heist of $81 million from the U.S. account of Bangladesh's central bank is the latest among increasingly large thefts by criminals who have leveraged the speed and anonymity of hacking to revolutionise burgling banks.
Hundreds of millions of dollars, and perhaps much more, have been stolen from banks and financial services companies in recent years because of this alliance of traditional and digital criminals, with many victims not reporting the thefts for fear of reputational damage.
Typically, security and cyber-crime experts say, hackers break into the computer systems of financial institutions and make, or incite others to make, fraudulent transactions to pliant accounts. Organised crime then uses techniques developed over decades to launder the money, giving the alliance much higher rewards than a hold-up or bank vault robbery, with much less risk.
"The internet has made it easier for criminals to get inside banks," said Shane Shook, an independent security consultant. "Criminals are moving away from consumer-targeted attacks to much more substantial bank hacks because it takes less effort to get more money."
There's no evidence that old-fashioned bank robberies are in the decline. But there are increasing instances of the cyber variety of the crime.
Last year, researchers at Russian security software maker Kaspersky Lab publicised the activities of the prolific Carbanak gang, which it says hacked into banks, then ordered fraudulent money transfers and also forced ATMs to spit out cash. Kaspersky estimates the group hit as many as 100 banks, with losses averaging from $2.5 million to $10 million per heist.
A Turkish computer hacker pleaded guilty in a U.S. court in March to one of the most astonishing crimes in this category: "Cashing crews" pulled $40 million out of automated teller machines in 24 countries over a 10-hour period. The 2013 heist was accomplished with the precision of a Hollywood drama, thanks to hackers who breached financial networks, then inflated balances on prepaid debit cards.
In another case, Russian banks lost more than $25 million over the past six months to a hacker group infecting their computers using tainted phishing emails, according to Russian security firm Group IB.
The malware gave the hackers access to the bank's inner
network, allowing them to craft seemingly authentic transfer requests via networks including the same SWIFT messaging system used in the Bangladesh Bank attack.
"It (the malware) provides remote access to the attacker. Then the attacker manually orders fraudulent transfers over SWIFT or other payment systems," said Dmitry Volkov, head of cyber intelligence for Group IB.
In the Bangladesh case, the bank says unknown hackers used malware to access the central bank's computers and spoof messages to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. They transferred $81 million from the central bank's account at the New York Fed to Philippine banks.
The funds were then passed on to casinos and handed over in cash to a junket operator in Manila, according to testimony at a senate hearing in the Philippines.
A transfer of $20 million to an entity in Sri Lanka was reported as suspicious because of a spelling mistake in its name and reversed.
Unreported Heists
Cyber fraud experts say they expect more big heists because the industry has yet to properly defend itself.
"The fact is that most of the breaches that happen don't get reported," said Bryce Boland, chief Asia Pacific security officer of computer security company FireEye.
One senior banking security executive, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said he had worked on three cases of cyber thefts that his bank clients had not reported to regulatory authorities. He said the largest involved about $20 million.
In many jurisdictions, banks and financial services companies were not required to report breaches unless there's a material impact, Boland said. The definition is left vague enough so that many are not reported at all.
Boland said that while 20 percent of his banking customers had been targeted in the second half of last year, FireEye had also found cases of financial services companies not realising they had been breached, in one case leaving the attackers inside their computers for five years.
An ongoing Senate hearing in the Philippines is still struggling to determine how the stolen money was laundered, with another hearing scheduled for next week. In most cases the heists go unpunished and the perpetrators remain a mystery.
FireEye's Boland said the company has compiled detailed dossiers on six of the groups behind attacks on financial services companies, but he said he had less complete data on 600 other groups.
Not all focus on extracting money, he added. Hackers aimed at specific institutions, often at specific individuals, and often for financially useful data - inside information on mergers and acquisitions, for example, or data that could be used to create fake credit cards.
Business Affairs
Sensex falls 9.36% in FY16; Rs 7 lakh cr lost
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In its worst show in four fiscals, the market benchmark Sensex on Thursday ended 2015-16 with a yearly plunge of 9.36 per cent, leaving investors poorer by nearly Rs 7 lakh crore as global headwinds and foreign fund outflows pounded domestic equities during the year.
For the day, however, the index inched up by 3.28 points to 25,341.86 on caution due to carry-forward of positions to the April series and S&P putting China on negative outlook.
Broader market, too, remained strong as mid-cap and small-cap indices ended higher by 0.68 per cent and 0.46 per cent, respectively.
In March, the Sensex registered a rise of 10.17 per cent or 2,339 points and Nifty climbed 10.75 per cent or 751.35 points, making it the biggest monthly gain in over four years.
Heavy crash in commodity prices, first rate hike by the US Federal Reserve in nearly a decade, global slowdown, especially in China, and slower pace of key domestic reforms pulled Sensex by 2,615.63 points or 9.36 per cent during the year, its worst performance in a fiscal since 2011-12.
Investor wealth too fell by nearly Rs 7 lakh crore during 2015-16 or over Rs 2,700 crore per trading session.
NSE's Nifty dropped by 752.60 points or 9.72 per cent during the year to settle the fiscal at 7,738.40.
The rupee, at 66.26, lost ground against the dollar as it weakened by Rs 3.61 or 5.86 per cent during 2015-16.
During the day, after surging 141 points in early trade, the 30-share Sensex frittered away most of initial gains and slipped into the negative zone to hit a low of 25,223.22 before bouncing back to close 3.28 points or 0.01 per cent higher at 25,341.86.
The index had soared 438.12 points on Wednesday, the biggest single-day gain in nearly a month, tracking firm global trend after US Federal Reserve softened its stance on rate hikes.
The broader Nifty after shuttling between 7,777.60 and 7,702.00, closed 3.20 points or 0.04 per cent up at 7,738.40.
In stock-specific action, Hindustan Zinc surged 4.77 per cent after the company announced it will pay highest ever dividend of Rs 10,141 crore, including Rs 3,000 crore to the government, to its shareholders for the 2015-16 fiscal.
Natco Pharma settled 4 per cent high after the company's board approved sale of 'Save Mart Pharmacy Stores' in the US, which is a non-core business of the firm.
Meanwhile, foreigners bought shares worth Rs 1,442.47 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.
Overseas, Asian markets witnessed a mixed trend with Shanghai composite and Taiwan up by 0.11 per cent and 0.09 per cent while Japan slipped 0.71 percent, Singapore dropped 0.31 per cent and Hong Kong down fell 0.13 per cent.
Europe opened lower with the UK's FTSE down 0.64 per cent, Germany's DAX 0.66 per cent lower and France's CAC shedding 1.16 per cent.
Moreover, in the first outflow of overseas funds from Indian capital markets in seven years, the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) took out an estimated amount of Rs 18,000 crore during the fiscal 2015-16.
This is also only the third time since foreign portfolio investors began investing in Indian markets in 1992 that they have turned net sellers for an entire financial year.
As per the market data, the net outflow during the fiscal ending today would have been more than double this amount, but for the resumption in their buying spree in the last month.
The FPIs are estimated to have infused a net amount of nearly Rs 20,000 crore (about $3 billion) during March 2016.
For the day, out of 30-share Sensex pack, 14 scrips ended higher while 16 finished lower.
TCS surged 1.11 per cent followed by Infosys 1.01 per cent, Sun Pharma 0.97 per cent, HUL 0.79 per cent, Adani Ports 0.75 per cent, Dr Reddy's 0.72 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 0.72 per cent, HDFC Bank 0.60 per cent and ITC 0.41 per cent.
SBI took the biggest hit at 1.65 per cent followed by Bharti Airtel 1.53 per cent, Tata Steel (1.51 pc), Coal India (1.50 pc), Asian Paints (1.44 pc), ONGC (1.42 pc) and BHEL (0.96 pc).
Among BSE sectoral and industry indices, consumer durables rose 1.21 per cent followed by power 0.82 per cent, healthcare (0.66 pc), IT (0.66 pc), utilities (0.64 pc), teck (0.63 pc), FMCG (0.57 pc) and realty (0.25 pc).
The market breadth remained positive as 1,306 stocks ended higher, 1,247 closed lower while 187 ruled steady.
The total turnover rose to Rs 2,764.82 crore from Rs 2,545.99 cr on Wednesday.
In its worst show in four fiscals, the market benchmark Sensex on Thursday ended 2015-16 with a yearly plunge of 9.36 per cent, leaving investors poorer by nearly Rs 7 lakh crore as global headwinds and foreign fund outflows pounded domestic equities during the year.
For the day, however, the index inched up by 3.28 points to 25,341.86 on caution due to carry-forward of positions to the April series and S&P putting China on negative outlook.
Broader market, too, remained strong as mid-cap and small-cap indices ended higher by 0.68 per cent and 0.46 per cent, respectively.
In March, the Sensex registered a rise of 10.17 per cent or 2,339 points and Nifty climbed 10.75 per cent or 751.35 points, making it the biggest monthly gain in over four years.
Heavy crash in commodity prices, first rate hike by the US Federal Reserve in nearly a decade, global slowdown, especially in China, and slower pace of key domestic reforms pulled Sensex by 2,615.63 points or 9.36 per cent during the year, its worst performance in a fiscal since 2011-12.
Investor wealth too fell by nearly Rs 7 lakh crore during 2015-16 or over Rs 2,700 crore per trading session.
NSE's Nifty dropped by 752.60 points or 9.72 per cent during the year to settle the fiscal at 7,738.40.
The rupee, at 66.26, lost ground against the dollar as it weakened by Rs 3.61 or 5.86 per cent during 2015-16.
During the day, after surging 141 points in early trade, the 30-share Sensex frittered away most of initial gains and slipped into the negative zone to hit a low of 25,223.22 before bouncing back to close 3.28 points or 0.01 per cent higher at 25,341.86.
The index had soared 438.12 points on Wednesday, the biggest single-day gain in nearly a month, tracking firm global trend after US Federal Reserve softened its stance on rate hikes.
The broader Nifty after shuttling between 7,777.60 and 7,702.00, closed 3.20 points or 0.04 per cent up at 7,738.40.
In stock-specific action, Hindustan Zinc surged 4.77 per cent after the company announced it will pay highest ever dividend of Rs 10,141 crore, including Rs 3,000 crore to the government, to its shareholders for the 2015-16 fiscal.
Natco Pharma settled 4 per cent high after the company's board approved sale of 'Save Mart Pharmacy Stores' in the US, which is a non-core business of the firm.
Meanwhile, foreigners bought shares worth Rs 1,442.47 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.
Overseas, Asian markets witnessed a mixed trend with Shanghai composite and Taiwan up by 0.11 per cent and 0.09 per cent while Japan slipped 0.71 percent, Singapore dropped 0.31 per cent and Hong Kong down fell 0.13 per cent.
Europe opened lower with the UK's FTSE down 0.64 per cent, Germany's DAX 0.66 per cent lower and France's CAC shedding 1.16 per cent.
Moreover, in the first outflow of overseas funds from Indian capital markets in seven years, the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) took out an estimated amount of Rs 18,000 crore during the fiscal 2015-16.
This is also only the third time since foreign portfolio investors began investing in Indian markets in 1992 that they have turned net sellers for an entire financial year.
As per the market data, the net outflow during the fiscal ending today would have been more than double this amount, but for the resumption in their buying spree in the last month.
The FPIs are estimated to have infused a net amount of nearly Rs 20,000 crore (about $3 billion) during March 2016.
For the day, out of 30-share Sensex pack, 14 scrips ended higher while 16 finished lower.
TCS surged 1.11 per cent followed by Infosys 1.01 per cent, Sun Pharma 0.97 per cent, HUL 0.79 per cent, Adani Ports 0.75 per cent, Dr Reddy's 0.72 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 0.72 per cent, HDFC Bank 0.60 per cent and ITC 0.41 per cent.
SBI took the biggest hit at 1.65 per cent followed by Bharti Airtel 1.53 per cent, Tata Steel (1.51 pc), Coal India (1.50 pc), Asian Paints (1.44 pc), ONGC (1.42 pc) and BHEL (0.96 pc).
Among BSE sectoral and industry indices, consumer durables rose 1.21 per cent followed by power 0.82 per cent, healthcare (0.66 pc), IT (0.66 pc), utilities (0.64 pc), teck (0.63 pc), FMCG (0.57 pc) and realty (0.25 pc).
The market breadth remained positive as 1,306 stocks ended higher, 1,247 closed lower while 187 ruled steady.
The total turnover rose to Rs 2,764.82 crore from Rs 2,545.99 cr on Wednesday.
Core sector growth rises to 5.7% in February
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The eight core sectors expanded to a 15-month high of 5.7 per cent in February due to sharp pick-up in natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, cement and electricity generation.
The sectors - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity - comprising nearly 38 per cent of India's total industrial production, had grown at 2.3 per cent in February last year.
It is the highest growth since November 2014, when these sectors had witnessed a growth of 6.7 per cent.
Crude oil grew by 0.8 per cent, natural gas (1.2%), refinery products (8.1%), fertiliser (16.3%), cement (13.5%) and electricity generation (9.2%) in February, year-on-year.
Coal production, however, dipped to 3.9 per cent from 10.8 per cent in February 2015. Steel output was (-)0.5 per cent.
The cumulative growth of core sectors in April-February period of 2015-16 came in at 2.3 per cent, lower than 5 per cent in the 11 months of the previous financial year.
The eight core sectors expanded to a 15-month high of 5.7 per cent in February due to sharp pick-up in natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, cement and electricity generation.
The sectors - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity - comprising nearly 38 per cent of India's total industrial production, had grown at 2.3 per cent in February last year.
It is the highest growth since November 2014, when these sectors had witnessed a growth of 6.7 per cent.
Crude oil grew by 0.8 per cent, natural gas (1.2%), refinery products (8.1%), fertiliser (16.3%), cement (13.5%) and electricity generation (9.2%) in February, year-on-year.
Coal production, however, dipped to 3.9 per cent from 10.8 per cent in February 2015. Steel output was (-)0.5 per cent.
The cumulative growth of core sectors in April-February period of 2015-16 came in at 2.3 per cent, lower than 5 per cent in the 11 months of the previous financial year.
SBI sets lending rates under new rules
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State Bank of India, the nation's top lender by assets, on Thursday set lending rates under new rules that are aimed at improving transmission of policy rate cuts and also making bank loans more competitive.
Bankers have said they do not expect any significant impact on margins from the new lending rate structure, which is based on marginal cost of funds. All local currency loans effective April 1 are required to be priced based on the new rules.
Currently, most banks decide lending rates based on average cost of funds.
SBI will charge an annual interest of 9.2 percent for loans of one-year tenor, 9.3 percent for two-year tenor, and 9.35 percent for three-year tenor.
That compares with the 9.3 per cent base lending rate of the bank. Loans of overnight and one-month tenor will have interest rate of 8.95 percent and 9.05 percent, respectively, the bank said in a document posted on its website on Thursday.
Ratings agency India Ratings and Research said in a note it expected as much as Rs 1.2 trillion ($18 billion) worth of corporate borrowing to flow back to the banking sector from the commercial paper market as rates become competitive with the implementation of the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate.
State Bank of India, the nation's top lender by assets, on Thursday set lending rates under new rules that are aimed at improving transmission of policy rate cuts and also making bank loans more competitive.
Bankers have said they do not expect any significant impact on margins from the new lending rate structure, which is based on marginal cost of funds. All local currency loans effective April 1 are required to be priced based on the new rules.
Currently, most banks decide lending rates based on average cost of funds.
SBI will charge an annual interest of 9.2 percent for loans of one-year tenor, 9.3 percent for two-year tenor, and 9.35 percent for three-year tenor.
That compares with the 9.3 per cent base lending rate of the bank. Loans of overnight and one-month tenor will have interest rate of 8.95 percent and 9.05 percent, respectively, the bank said in a document posted on its website on Thursday.
Ratings agency India Ratings and Research said in a note it expected as much as Rs 1.2 trillion ($18 billion) worth of corporate borrowing to flow back to the banking sector from the commercial paper market as rates become competitive with the implementation of the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate.
FM sees FY16 GDP growth at 7.6 pc hopes for better rate next year
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Pegging India's GDP growth rate at 7.6 per cent for the fiscal 2015-16, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said it is "much less" than its potential and expressed hope for better numbers next year.
Jaitley also said that India earlier had a bad reputation of not being the best place to do business, but the governments at the Centre and states have made considerable headway in reforming the system.
"As the current financial year ends today, we hope to finish this year at 7.6 per cent growth rate which is much less than our potential... we are hopeful that we will do better than this next year.
"Our current account deficit is well under control, inflation rate is under control. In last 16 months, the wholesale price index has been negative. Consumer index has been in the range of 4-5 per cent... interest rates are slowly coming down," he said.
"We had to reform our systems. There is a considerable amount of ease which has come in and we have moved up in global rankings," Jaitley said while delivering a K R Narayanan Oration series lecture here on the topic of 'New Economics of Financial Inclusion in India'.
The Narayanan Lectures are hosted by the Australian National University in honour of the former Indian President K R Narayanan. The annual oration is delivered by eminent Indian thinkers and the past speakers include Raja J Chelliah, Jagdish Bhagwati, U R Rao and P Chidambaram.
In his speech, Jaitley further said, "We had a fairly aggressive tax system which we have rationalised."
Stressing on the importance of GST, Jaitley said its implementation could further add to the growth story of India.
Elucidating on long term vision for India, Jaitley indicated that there were very challenging tasks for the ruling government to bring and integrate rural India with similar facilities with urban India.
"Our main thrust of expenditure now would be development of rural areas and infrastructure sector," Jaitley said.
"We have 700,000 villages in India and by 2019 we intend each village to be connected by a regular pucca road," he said, adding that the allocation for rural road works were increased by almost three times this year.
Jaitley also talked about various initiatives taken by the Modi government like Swachch Bharat, Aadhaar and Jan Dhan.
He later attended a special reception organised by the Indian High Commission here.
Jaitley further said the entire benefit that government received from the gas subsidy campaign would be used for gifting gas connections to those five crore lowest income group families who were using conventional chulahs.
Speaking on Mudra scheme which was introduced last year by the government, Jaitley said the scheme has turned out to be a runaway success that has allowed "unfunded" people to set up their small businesses.
"For the very first year we have been able to support over 22 million people with the Mudra scheme which was launched last year," Jaitley said, while citing several measures on financial inclusion undertaken by the government.
He further said that the government is all set to launch another initiative called 'Stand up India' in the coming week which will work for SC/STs and women.
"Every branch in India, public or private, has been requested to support one entreprenuer from SC/ST category and one from the women category," Jaitley said.
"We will give them a loan of Rs 1 crore and create about 250,000 new entreprenuers coming from these sections which has not seen too many entreprenuers coming up," he added.
Pegging India's GDP growth rate at 7.6 per cent for the fiscal 2015-16, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said it is "much less" than its potential and expressed hope for better numbers next year.
Jaitley also said that India earlier had a bad reputation of not being the best place to do business, but the governments at the Centre and states have made considerable headway in reforming the system.
"As the current financial year ends today, we hope to finish this year at 7.6 per cent growth rate which is much less than our potential... we are hopeful that we will do better than this next year.
"Our current account deficit is well under control, inflation rate is under control. In last 16 months, the wholesale price index has been negative. Consumer index has been in the range of 4-5 per cent... interest rates are slowly coming down," he said.
"We had to reform our systems. There is a considerable amount of ease which has come in and we have moved up in global rankings," Jaitley said while delivering a K R Narayanan Oration series lecture here on the topic of 'New Economics of Financial Inclusion in India'.
The Narayanan Lectures are hosted by the Australian National University in honour of the former Indian President K R Narayanan. The annual oration is delivered by eminent Indian thinkers and the past speakers include Raja J Chelliah, Jagdish Bhagwati, U R Rao and P Chidambaram.
In his speech, Jaitley further said, "We had a fairly aggressive tax system which we have rationalised."
Stressing on the importance of GST, Jaitley said its implementation could further add to the growth story of India.
Elucidating on long term vision for India, Jaitley indicated that there were very challenging tasks for the ruling government to bring and integrate rural India with similar facilities with urban India.
"Our main thrust of expenditure now would be development of rural areas and infrastructure sector," Jaitley said.
"We have 700,000 villages in India and by 2019 we intend each village to be connected by a regular pucca road," he said, adding that the allocation for rural road works were increased by almost three times this year.
Jaitley also talked about various initiatives taken by the Modi government like Swachch Bharat, Aadhaar and Jan Dhan.
He later attended a special reception organised by the Indian High Commission here.
Jaitley further said the entire benefit that government received from the gas subsidy campaign would be used for gifting gas connections to those five crore lowest income group families who were using conventional chulahs.
Speaking on Mudra scheme which was introduced last year by the government, Jaitley said the scheme has turned out to be a runaway success that has allowed "unfunded" people to set up their small businesses.
"For the very first year we have been able to support over 22 million people with the Mudra scheme which was launched last year," Jaitley said, while citing several measures on financial inclusion undertaken by the government.
He further said that the government is all set to launch another initiative called 'Stand up India' in the coming week which will work for SC/STs and women.
"Every branch in India, public or private, has been requested to support one entreprenuer from SC/ST category and one from the women category," Jaitley said.
"We will give them a loan of Rs 1 crore and create about 250,000 new entreprenuers coming from these sections which has not seen too many entreprenuers coming up," he added.
April-February fiscal deficit at $86.5 billion
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Fiscal deficit was Rs 5.73 trillion ($86.49 billion) during April-February, or 107.1 per cent of the full-year target, government data showed on Thursday.
The deficit was 117.5 per cent of the full-year target during the same period a year ago.
The deficit figure tends to exceed the budgeted target nearer to the end of fiscal year, but gets adjusted against hefty tax inflows in March, when the fiscal year ends.
Net tax receipts were Rs 7.36 trillion in the first eleven months of the fiscal year to end-March 2016, while total spending was Rs 15.56 trillion.
Fiscal deficit was Rs 5.73 trillion ($86.49 billion) during April-February, or 107.1 per cent of the full-year target, government data showed on Thursday.
The deficit was 117.5 per cent of the full-year target during the same period a year ago.
The deficit figure tends to exceed the budgeted target nearer to the end of fiscal year, but gets adjusted against hefty tax inflows in March, when the fiscal year ends.
Net tax receipts were Rs 7.36 trillion in the first eleven months of the fiscal year to end-March 2016, while total spending was Rs 15.56 trillion.
General Awareness
India ranks third among highest financial Trojan Infections
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The Internet which has been ruling the world has also left the possible risk of security like Virus infections and hacking risks. It is unfortunate to know that India has been globally placed at third rank in terms of Trojan infections.
Flash points
- The analysis was made by Symantec, a global security solutions firm
- The report places India at third place owing to the continued exposure of Indian financial systems to Trojan infections
- However the overall risk was reduced by 73% at the global level
- India has been found increasingly vulnerable year by year, it was placed 7th in 2013; 5th in 2014 and finally third in 2015
- It has been reported that 60000 systems of financial institutions in India have been infected by Trojan last year
- The Trojan infections are used to defraud the customers in online banking and they have been targeting every range of financial transactions
- They have analysed 656 malware samples and detected2048 infected URL’s
- Trojans are targeting customers of 547 organisations in 49 countries
- The financial sector was the highest targeted sector in January with 2 per cent of all types of cyber attacks
- The mode of transmitting Trojans were mainly the e-mail attachments
- Symantec suggested keeping security software and operating systems up to date.
- It also told to enable advanced account security features, such as 2-factor authentication and use strong passwords for all accounts
The Internet which has been ruling the world has also left the possible risk of security like Virus infections and hacking risks. It is unfortunate to know that India has been globally placed at third rank in terms of Trojan infections.Flash points- The analysis was made by Symantec, a global security solutions firm
- The report places India at third place owing to the continued exposure of Indian financial systems to Trojan infections
- However the overall risk was reduced by 73% at the global level
- India has been found increasingly vulnerable year by year, it was placed 7th in 2013; 5th in 2014 and finally third in 2015
- It has been reported that 60000 systems of financial institutions in India have been infected by Trojan last year
- The Trojan infections are used to defraud the customers in online banking and they have been targeting every range of financial transactions
- They have analysed 656 malware samples and detected2048 infected URL’s
- Trojans are targeting customers of 547 organisations in 49 countries
- The financial sector was the highest targeted sector in January with 2 per cent of all types of cyber attacks
- The mode of transmitting Trojans were mainly the e-mail attachments
- Symantec suggested keeping security software and operating systems up to date.
- It also told to enable advanced account security features, such as 2-factor authentication and use strong passwords for all accounts
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