The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Greece debt woes hit global markets London, April 28 Stocks across the world took a severe beating today as investor sentiment was rattled by fears that the intensifying Greece debt contagion could spill into a few more European nations. Right from Tokyo to London, shares sailed south wards with the Japanese benchmark index Nikkei 225 tumbling 2.57 per cent, amid growing uncertainty over the possible financial options for the debt-ridden Greece. Most of the markets in Asia ended in the negative territory. Apart from Nikkei which closed at 10,924.79 points, Hong Kong's Hang Seng decreased by 1.47 per cent to end the day at 20,949.40 points. Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index shed 2 per cent to 2,923.04 points while South Korea's Kospi fell nearly 1 per cent to 1,733.91 points. Further, India's key 30-share Sensex plummeted 310 points to 17,380.08 points. European bourses began on a weak note and key regional indices slipped into the negative zone in early trade. The London Stock Exchange's benchmark FTSE 100 shed nearly 1 per cent to 5,549.30 points in the morning session. France's CAC 40 declined over 2 per cent to 3,760.41 points while Germany's DAX dropped nearly 1 per cent to 6,042.83 points. Global rating agency Standard & Poor's yesterday downgraded its ratings on Greece and Portugal - the two Eurozone nations that share the common currency euro. It downgraded Greece to junk status. The downgrades have also sparked concerns that many other European countries might also find it difficult to meet their debt obligations after spending their way out of recession. On Tuesday, the US markets closed deep in the red and the key Dow Jones plunged nearly 2 per cent to 10,991.99 points. The broader S&P 500 plunged 2.34 per cent to 1,183.71 points while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged over 2 per cent to 2,471.47 points. — PTI
	Pranab pegs GDP growth at 8.5% New Delhi, April 28 Buoyed by predictions of normal monsoon and better economic conditions, the government today said inflation in essential items is likely to decline further and pegged economic growth at 8.5 per cent this fiscal. "The outlook is further brightened by the fact that a normal monsoon is predicted this year...Indications of softening of food inflation are clearly visible...Inflation in essential commodities also declined...It is expected that this decline will continue in the coming months uninterruptedly," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in the Lok Sabha. Initiating the debate on the Finance Bill, Mukherjee said inflation in essential commodities declined from the peak of 23.8 per cent in January this year to 19.8 per cent in March. "Indications of softening of food inflation are clearly visible. There has been a significant decline from the peak food inflation of over 20 per cent in December 2009 to 17.7 per cent in March 2010," the minister said. He also indicated that the proposed Finance Bill may undergo changes. "I shall cover the reliefs we propose to grant, the amendments that we seek in the Bill and our responses to the issues that are raised in the discussions, in my reply," he added. Pointing towards several improved parameters in the economy like industrial growth, investment, private consumption, capital markets and business confidence, corporate earnings, Mukherjee said the economy is expected to grow around 8.5 per cent this fiscal and 9 per cent in 2011-12. He, however, said demand recovery is yet to attain the "pre-2008 momentum". GDP growth had slowed down to 6.7 per cent during 2008-09 after 9 per cent in the previous three fiscals following the global financial meltdown. — PTI
	Crystal Phosphates augments capacity by 1,500 tonnes Ruchika M. Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 28 The Rs 600-crore Sonepat-based Crystal group is on an expansion spree. The leading agro-chemical company, Crystal Phosphates, has increased its production capacity for various agro-chemical formulations by 1,500 tonnes per annum. With this, the company is now eyeing to increase its exports to countries in southeast Asia and Africa. Talking to TNS here today, NK Aggarwal, chairman, Crystal Phosphates, said since January this year, they had increased their production capacity by 1,000 tonnes per annum at their Kundli plant and by 500 tonnes per annum at their Jammu plant. “While we have added 1,000 tonnes per annum capacity at our Kundli (Sonepat) plant, we have increased capacity utilisation from 1,000 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes per annum at our Jammu plant. We have also achieved a complete automation of our plant at Kundli,” he said. Aggarwal said with this capacity expansion, they would now be manufacturing all formulations of agrochemicals - granules, powder, suspended concentrates and wetable dispensable granules. “Thus we will increase our exports from 175 tonnes in last fiscal to over 300 tonnes this year. Besides existing markets of Nigeria, Kenya, Vietnam, Phillpines and some Gulf countries, we will soon start exports to Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They are expecting the export turnover to go up to Rs 25 crore, as against Rs 4.50 crore last year. Aggarwal said they were hopeful of achieving a 25 per cent growth this year and achieving a turnover to Rs 750 crore this fiscal. He said as part of the corporate social responsibility, Crystal Phosphates had entered into a unique public-private partnership with the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) to increase the rice productivity in India. Under this, the company will be launching an awareness campaign on latest technology like laser levelling of rice fields, use of rice transplanter, suitable seeds for different topographic conditions, weed management and subsidies given by the government on getting laser levellers and transplanter et al, in 20,000 villages across the rice growing states.
	Move to dilute package incentive hits pharma units Ambika Sharma Solan, April 28 The recent move of the Central Excise department to disallow benefits of the central excise package to new products has sharply hit the pharmaceutical industry in Himachal. Though no clarification has as yet been issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs but couple of pharmaceutical units who were in the process of seeking approvals for new products for the US FDA came across with this revelation recently. According to a plant manager of a renowned pharmaceutical unit at Baddi, “This would spell doom for the pharmaceutical units as product innovation was a regular process in the healthcare industry. The restriction to grant central excise benefits to only those drugs whose approvals have been sought till March 31 before the expiry of the central excise package would not augur well for the industry in Himachal, Uttaranchal and other such states.” The Federation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs which had taken up the issue with the Central Board of Excise and Customs have failed to get any clarification in written though numerous assurances have been extended not to curtail these benefits, informed RK Arora, its chairman. He added that the issue was also taken up with the Secretary Revenue, Government of India, and despite his directions to the board, it has not issued any clarification on the issue. The federation has also sought legal opinion which has vindicated the stand of the industry in the excise-free zones. Citing an example of a judgment of a State Administrative Tribunal, the legal luminaries in the field opined that a similar case at Kochi was given the exemption for all products under similar circumstances and only enhancement in capacity was locked while even change to new machinery was upheld. While a unit was restricted to enhance its capacity and could produce only a given amount of drugs for which it had sought permission till March 31, the industry was protesting the board’s move to cut down benefits for new products for which permission had not been sought till March 31. The failure of the Union government to enhance the package period had already come as a major blow to this pharmaceutical hub of Asia.
	Corporate Results Bharti profit dips 8% in Q4 New Delhi, April 28 Bharti Airtel, the country's largest telecom operator, today posted its first fall in earnings in three years as cut-throat competition dented margins leading to an 8 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 2,060 crore in the fourth quarter. During the period, the company's total revenues crossed the Rs 10,000-crore mark for the first time in the quarter. Total revenues were at Rs 10,060 crore for Q4 ending March 31, 2010, up 2 per cent from the same quarter last year. Falling margins, a falling average revenue per user and a sharp decline in call rates, mainly accounted for the slide in profits. "Bharti Airtel continues to be strongly positioned in India despite a hyper competitive market," Bharti Airtel CMD Sunil Bharti Mittal said. For the full-year 2009-10, the consolidated revenue was up 7 per cent at Rs 39,620 crore year-on-year, while its net profit was up 7 per cent at Rs 9,103 crore. Dabur net up 30 pc FMCG major Dabur India today reported a 29.7 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 135.28 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. During the the fourth quarter of FY2010, the company's total income rose by 16 per cent to Rs 855.28 crore as against Rs 737.06 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. Exide net up 97 pc Battery major Exide Industries today said its net profit rose by 97.27 per cent to Rs 134.54 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010. Total income of the company rose to Rs 1,030.28 crore for the quarter ended March 31 compared to Rs 799.50 crore during the same period last fiscal, Exide Industries said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The firm has recommended a final dividend of 40 per cent, or Rs 0.40 per share, for the financial year ended March 31, 2010. Canara Bank net dips 30 pc Public sector lender Canara Bank today said its net profit declined by 30 per cent to Rs 503.10 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010. Total income of the bank rose to Rs 5,506.72 crore for the quarter ended March 31 compared to Rs 5,500.35 crore during the same period in the previous fiscal, Canara Bank said. The bank has recommended a dividend of 100 per cent for the year. Bank of Baroda Public sector lender Bank of Baroda today said its net profit rose by 20.40 per cent to Rs 906 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010. Total income rose to Rs 5,120.7 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, from Rs 4,992.4 crore in the same period last fiscal, Bank of Baroda said. The board has proposed a dividend of Rs 15 per equity share on face value of Rs 10 per share for the financial year 2009-2010. LIC Housing State-run LIC Housing Finance today said its net profit rose by 35.51 per cent to Rs 213.51 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010. Total income rose to Rs 962.94 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31 compared to Rs 790.47 crore during the same period in the corresponding fiscal, LIC Housing said in a filing to the BSE. The firm has recommended a dividend of 150 per cent or Rs 15 per share. — TNS, PTI
	Insurance cos to reveal commission on ULIPs New Delhi, April 28 Insurance regulator IRDA has asked life insurers to make public the commission they pay to agents for unit-linked products from investors money, absence of which has been decried by mutual funds as a disadvantage. “...It has been decided to disclose the commission or brokerage payable to an agent or broker explicitly...From enhanced transparency viewpoint,” the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) said in a circular. The move comes at a time when IRDA is engaged in a public and legal battle with market regulator Sebi over who controls unit-linked products. Insurance companies, by and large, welcomed the decision saying the new rule, effective from July 1 this year, will bring about more transparency by providing prospective policy holders clear information about the amount that has been collected from them as brokerage or commission. Mutual Fund industry watchers said now it was up to the investors to decide which product to choose from. — PTI
	RIL strikes more oil in Cambay Basin New Delhi, April 28 Reliance Industries today said it had made a fourth oil discovery in the Cambay Basin in Gujarat. Two hydrocarbon-bearing zones were discovered in a well drilled in exploration block CB-ONN-2003/1, which flowed 300 barrels of oil during testing, the company said in a press statement here. “The discovery is significant as this play fairway is expected to open more oil pool areas, leading to better hydrocarbon potential within the block,” it said. The 635-sq km CB-ONN-2003/1 block is located at a distance of about 130-km from Ahmedabad, in Gujarat. “This discovery, named Dhirubhai-47, the fourth oil discovery in the block so far, has been notified to the government and Director-General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons,” it said. — PTI