New Delhi, May 6
The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict tomorrow in the country’s keenly watched corporate case involving a dispute between Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Anil Ambani-headed Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) over the pricing of gas.

A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan will deliver the verdict at 10.30 am. Justices B Sudershan Reddy and P Sathasivam are the other members of the Bench which heard the arguments over the RIL’s insistence on the government fixed rate of $4.2 a unit and RNRL’s demand for a pricing of $2.34 a unit as agreed between the two brothers.

The Bench had reserved its verdict on December 18 after 26 days of hearing. Earlier, the Bombay High Court had ruled that RNRL was entitled to get gas at $ 2.34 a unit under the family MoU.

The Oil Ministry became a party to the dispute in the SC, contending that natural gas was a national asset and hence private agreements could not override the government pricing.

According to RNRL, Mukesh had committed to selling gas from the oil fields at the Krishna-Godhavari basin (KG-D6) at the lower rate for 17 years. The total gas involved in the MoU was placed at 28 mmcmd meant for RNRL’s 7,800 MW plant at Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. RIL, however, maintained that the family MoU was never approved by the company’s Board, which, in fact, was not even aware of any such agreement, reportedly brokered by the brothers’ mother Kokilaben.

Ahead of the verdict, shares of both the companies fell today, with RIL shares down by one per cent to close at Rs 1,010.9 and RNRL slipping 0.22 per cent at Rs 68.35. While the family agreement was reached in 2005, the government subsequently fixed a higher price at the Gas Utilisation Policy.

Both brothers have levelled allegations against each other outside the court as well, with Anil contending that the government had taken the side of Mukesh. Both had hired a battery of top lawyers in a bid to protect their interests. The feuding brothers are rated among the top 10 richest persons in the world.

New Delhi, May 6
Food inflation eased for the second consecutive week to 16.04 per cent as essential items turned a bit cheaper on arrival of winter crops. A normal monsoon, as forecast by the India Meteorological Department, may further help cool food prices.

However, fuel inflation remained unchanged at 12.69 per cent, as the effect of hike in duties on petrol and diesel translated into higher auto fuel prices - a point of contention with the Opposition parties that demanded withdrawal of these measures.

Earlier this week, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had expressed his inability to roll back the hike in duties on fuels saying fiscal conditions do not permit it now.

The 0.57 percentage points fall in food inflation during the week ended April 24, from 16.61 per cent a week earlier was mainly on account of easing pressure on prices with the arrival of rabi (winter) crops in the markets.

The figures of overall wholesale price-based inflation for the month of April are expected next week, which may see a decline from the current level of 9.9 per cent.

Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu today said overall inflation may decline to 6-7 per cent in next three months.

"I expect the overall WPI to come down to 6-7 per cent in the next three months," he said.

Even though food inflation has fallen for two straight weeks, it's still above 15 per cent - a level it crossed in November last year. UN body ESCAP said enhanced level of food prices is a matter of concern, but expects inflation to cool down this year.

Over the week, inflation declined as prices of fish, wheat, fruits and vegetables fell by one per cent each. However, tea, gram and eggs became costlier. Tea prices rose 13 per cent while maize, gram and eggs prices were up 1 per cent each.

On an annual basis, potatoes saw a significant fall of 32 per cent in prices on glut in supplies in various parts of the country and onions became cheaper by 26 per cent.

However, pulses remained expensive by about 31 per cent, milk by 21 per cent and fruits by over 14 per cent over the last year.

"Wheat harvest is good and the moderation in inflation is visible. The trend will continue as normal monsoon will increase production," Crisil principal economist D K Joshi said. However, many believe that inflation is spreading to non-food manufactured items which may keep pressure on overall inflation. — PTI 

New Delhi, May 6
The latest report by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has revealed that Indian economy is among the selected few from the region that survived the economic slowdown rather well and forecast a healthy growth of 8.3 per cent in the current fiscal. It has called for increased spending in social sector to maximise gains from the economic rebound.

The report released today has given a rosy outlook for 2010, saying the developing economies in the region would grow by 7 per cent, led by China with 9.5 per cent beside India.

“At the height of the economic crisis, the Asia and the Pacific region was the fastest-growing in the world, supported largely by fiscal stimulus packages adopted by the region’s biggest economies,” it said.

But to reap maximum benefits from this economic rebound and to spur over a fairer, more balanced, and sustained economic recovery for a long term, the report puts forth several recommendations, primarily urging the governments in the region to increase social spending.

“Governments must embrace this opportunity to secure the gains of the economic rebound by investing in social programmes that directly benefit people hardest hit by the crisis, act to reduce poverty, and create a more sustainable economy,” said Noeleen Heyzer, UN Under-Secretary-General and executive secretary (ESCAP).

Increased social spending directly supports income security for households by providing food security, education and access to healthcare, reducing the need by poorer families to maintain precautionary savings to protect against adversity. These families are then able to contribute more to local economies and invest more in their own development.

New Delhi, May 6
India's exports declined 4.7 per cent to $176.5 billion in 2009-10 owing to a demand vacuum from traditional markets, setting the government thinking on sops to sectors struggling to find buyers.

"The bad news is that exports did not come up to the target of last year. And the good news is that we are not far (from 2008-09 export performance)," Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar told reporters here. Exports in 2008-09 was $185.3 billion.

Although exports have rallied for five straight months, growing by 54.1 per cent to $19.9 billion in March, Khullar said: "Exports are not yet out of the woods." The looming economic crisis in Europe and the continued bad performance of several sectors could have adverse impact on overseas shipments in the coming months, Khullar cautioned.

"We will be tweaking the policy of some of the incentives, where required, giving more support to sectors which are still hurting and in deep red," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said.

Sectors like engineering, readymade garments, leather, carpets, oilmeals, petroleum products and gems and jewellery, which together account for about 70 per cent of India's exports, either showed no growth or contraction and has become a cause of concern for the government.

India has set an export target of $200 billion for the current fiscal.

The government is conducting a sectoral review and is likely to complete the process by July.

The country's exports fell for 13 months in a row, starting October 2008, due to the global slump in demand. Exports turned positive for the first time since the slowdown in November 2009 and continues to remain in positive zone.

However, the significant increase in March is owing to a low base impact.

Meanwhile, the imports bill for 2009-10 has been estimated at $278.7 billion, down 8.2 per cent from a year ago, leaving a trade deficit (gap between exports and imports) of $102 billion.

A senior official indicated that the government may take away incentives from the sectors which were showing growth and distribute among those which are yet to pick up.

Khullar cautioned exporters against the impact of the Greece debt crisis and its subsequent fallout in Europe, the traditional market for Indian merchandise.

"It (looming crisis in Europe) was never factored in earlier," he said, adding that the Commerce Ministry has no further room for additional fiscal incentives. — PTI 

Chandigarh, May 6
Jammu and Kashmir will be the major focus area for growth for Reliance Communications (RCom) this year. The company is not just looking at a rapid volume growth in its mobile telephony business but is set to introduce its high-speed data cards in the state.

Talking to TNS here today, Arvind Kumar, hub CEO (J&K, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh), said since J&K still had a low mobile teledensity, they were looking at gaining a major share of the pie. “We already have a subscriber base of 5 lakh in the state, with a market share of almost 13 per cent. This year, we are looking at increasing our market share to 15 per cent,” he said.

Kumar said the company was witnessing a growth of 30 per cent (on a month-on- month basis) in Jammu and Kashmir. “Though the ban on pre-paid connections in the state (between October 2009 and January 2010) had created a lot of problems for all telecom operators, including Reliance, we are now on the recovery path. Since almost 90 per cent of all mobile subscribers use pre-paid connections, we lost a sizeable number of customers. But we are back on a growth trajectory,” he said. He added that the company was going to double its network in the state this year. “We already have 800 BTS sites in the state and will have 1,500 sites by the end of this fiscal,” he said.

Kumar said the other focus in the region will be on launching its data card in J&K and more cities in Punjab. “As of date, our high-speed data cards are available in Chandigarh, Patiala and Ludhiana. We will be launching it in all cities along the GT Road - from Sonepat to Amritsar. We will also be launching this in all major cities in Jammu and Kashmir, besides Hisar. We hope to have 45,000 data card users in J&K in two years, besides adding 42,000 users in Punjab and 30,000 in Haryana by March 2011,” he said.

Mumbai, May 6
Public sector lender Punjab National Bank today said its net profit rose by 31.13 per cent to Rs 1,135 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010, over the same period last year. Total income rose to Rs 6,460.78 crore for the quarter ended March 31, from Rs 6,047.94 crore in the same period last year, Punjab National Bank (PNB) said.

BRIEFLY

Re falls by 37 paise
Mumbai: Continuing its downward march for the fourth straight day on Thursday, the rupee weakened by 37 paise to a close at a six-week low on strong demand for dollar amid falling stock markets. The rupee ended at 45.30/31 per dollar, down by 37 paise over the previous close. The domestic unit had opened sharply lower at 45.07/08 a dollar from its last close of 44.93/94. — PTI

Mini Ratna status for Pawan Hans
New Delhi: Government will soon grant mini Ratna status to Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited which plans to acquire 100 helicopters over the next few years, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Thursday. "It will also have a Board of independent directors," he said while inaugurating the new corporate office of the state-owned helicopter firm at Noida. — PTI

Gold prices soar
New Delhi: Gold on Thursday jumped Rs 365 to Rs 17,615 per 10 gram in the bullion market here on aggressive buying by stockists and jewellery fabricators after the prices of the precious metal rose in international markets. Gold in global markets, which normally set the price trend on the domestic front, rose by $2.67 to $1,177.95 an ounce. — PTI

Vodafone handset at Rs 799
New Delhi: Vodafone has unveiled a cellular device priced at just Rs 799. The handset would not be locked for exclusive use of Vodafone subscribers, company officials said, adding that "we will offer free connection with the phone. It is up to customer to take only mobile device or both." — PTI

BPTP gets nod for IPO
New Delhi: Realty firm BPTP Ltd has received SEBI's nod to raise up to Rs 1,500 crore through its maiden public issue. BPTP had filed draft prospectus with SEBI last December. Out of the net proceeds, BPTP intends to deploy around Rs 460 crore to part-finance the construction and development of Project Parkland, a township in Faridabad. — PTI

Inverter battery
New Delhi: One of South-East Asia’s largest battery manufacturers, Rahimafrooz Batteries, has launched deep cycle inverter battery with 4BS technology “Globatt Glow” in the Indian market. It had launched batteries for four wheelers with the brand name Globatt Ace, Globatt Race, and Globatt Josh during the 10th Auto Expo in January last. — TNS