New Delhi, July 29
Food inflation fell to single digit at 9.67 per cent for the first time this year bringing relief to the government, which has been braving concerted Opposition attack on rising food and fuel prices within and outside Parliament.

Falling for the second week in a row, the food inflation slipped by 2.80 percentage points for the week ended July 17 from 12.47 per cent in the previous week, driven mainly by falling prices of vegetables, especially potatoes and onions.

"It is a very welcome news. Inflation has moved pretty much on cues as I had expected. It feels good. However, it should not be over interpreted," Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu said.

The food inflation came down to single digit for the first time since the government in November 2009 started giving separate figures for inflation of primary articles.

Though the government can draw comfort from food inflation declining to single digit, the data released by the government shows that prices of pulses, milk and fruits rose by 21.23 per cent, 19.03 per cent and 12.14 per cent, respectively in the last one year.

The fall in inflation was mainly on account of decline in potato and onion prices. Potatoes became cheaper by over 46 per cent and onions by over 10 per cent. Overall vegetable prices fell 14.77 per cent.

"The fall is basically due to the high base affect. Besides seasonal fall in food inflation is normal. And we can expect further fall due to monsoon progress and rise in farm productivity," said Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Yes Bank chief economist Shubhada Rao too opined that, "over the next few weeks we can expect some more easing of the food inflation...The progressive easing of the food index will also provide some comfort from the overall inflation". — PTI

Chandigarh, July 29
Telecom behemoth BSNL is gearing up to promote its state-of-the-art Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) in Punjab. Launched about two years ago, the service has not found many takers. But all this is going to change soon as BSNL plans to tap its over two lakh broadband subscribers for this service.

Officials in BSNL, Punjab, informed TNS that in spite of offering the most competitive rates in the market (vis-a-vis other DTH service providers), they have managed to rope in just 3,200 subscribers. “Though this service is being provided in a select few cities, we had hoped for a better response. With all the initial glitches in the service removed, we are now reaching out to all our broadband customers, offering this service, which is compatible to hi-definition viewing,” said the official.

As part of the drive, a letter signed by the chief general manager, telecom, is being sent to the 2.12 lakh broadband users in Punjab circle. These letters will educate the customers on how the IPTV technology has an edge over DTH viewing and how the rates are cheaper than the DTH service providers. Besides, the customers are also being educated that it is not necessary to have a computer to get IPTV.

“IPTV provides limitless interactivity, compared to the limited interaction possible through DTH. It allows customers to surf the Internet via TV sets; view caller IDs of incoming calls and with a click on the remote, even make a phone call and; purchase a product while it is being advertised on the TV. IPTV users can also stream TV programmes to their mobile or to an office computer rather than being restricted to viewing them on TV sets alone. IPTV users can also schedule their TV programmes and also set reminders from their PCs at work using the IPTV network.”

As of now, BSNL’s IPTV service is available in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Patiala. “As part of the rollout of the first phase, we are going to start this service in Sangrur next month. As our technology partner Aksh Optifibre gives us a go-ahead, we will be launching this service across all other urban areas in Punjab,” said the official.

Chandigarh, July 29
Punjab National Bank is likely to hike its deposit rates by 25 to 50 basis points in view of the increase in repo and reverse repo rates by the RBI in its recent review of the monetary policy.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Nagesh Pydah, executive director, PNB, said the deposit rates may increase by 25 and 50 basis points over a period of time. “A final call on the issue will be taken during the next Asset Liability Committee meeting, which is scheduled later this week,” he added. Pydah, who was here to preside over the 112th State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting for Punjab, said initially only the deposit rates will be hiked and lending rates may be hiked later.

Talking about the growth of the bank, the ED said that PNB was targeting a growth of 20 per cent in deposits and 24 per cent in advances in the current fiscal. “We have kept out growth level of deposit and lending two to three per cent higher than the RBI’s guidance for this year,” he said.

Earlier, while presiding over the bankers committee meeting, Pydah also expressed satisfaction at the implementation of the financial inclusion initiatives in Punjab. “However, there are 1,581 unbanked villages having population of 2,000 and more in the state. Efforts have to be made for their financial inclusion at the earliest,” he said.

Among other things, discussions were also held on the setting up of rural self-employment training institutes and the need on the part of the Punjab government to allocate land for these centres. It was also informed that the banks in the state had achieved the national goals in terms of priority sector lending and agriculture credit for the period ending March 2010.

New Delhi, July 29
India's largest realty firm, DLF, today said it would sell a 92 per cent stake in its wholly-owned retail subsidiary, DLF Brands, to a promoter group company for Rs 92 crore as part of its strategy to exit from non-core businesses and only focus on real estate.

DLF Brands, which is engaged in the business of retailing various luxury and lifestyle brands, has paid-up equity capital of Rs 8 crore. Yesterday, the DLF board had approved the further issue of equity shares by DLF Brands to a promoter group company.

Billionaire KP Singh-promoted DLF said in an analyst presentation that the promoter group company would infuse Rs 92 crore in DLF Brands to acquire a 92 per cent stake.

Post-promoter infusion, DLF's stake in DLF Brands will be reduced to 8 per cent from the current 100 per cent, the presentation said. Following shareholders' approval, DLF Brands will cease to be a subsidiary of DLF.

DLF said the company is exploring possibilities for a strategic partnership on its hospitality chain, Aman Resorts, to "further strengthen the business model", while noting that the operating performance of Aman Resorts continues to improve as the global economic environment stabilises. — PTI 

New Delhi, July 29
The Rs 977-crore follow-on offer of the state-run Engineers India Limited (EIL) got an overwhelming response with the FPO getting oversubscribed a whopping 11.63 times on the third day of the issue today, lapped by institutional investors.

The offer, expected to fetch up to Rs 977 crore to the government, received bids for over 39.18 crore shares against 3.36 crore equities on offer, thereby getting subscribed 11.63 times, as per the NSE data.

Today was the last day for institutional buyers to apply for the EIL public offer. The FPO, which opened on July 27, closes tomorrow for others (retail and HNIs).

The company is offering equity shares of Rs 5 each in the price band of Rs 270-290 apiece.

By the end of the third day, the FPO had been subscribed 23.43 times in the portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), as per the NSE data.

In the retail category, the pubic issue was subscribed 41 per cent and in the HNI portion 14 per cent,the NSE data show. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Noel Tata is Tata International MD
New Delhi: Noel Tata will take charge of the overseas business of the Tatas as managing director of Tata International. A half-brother of Ratan Tata, Noel Tata will step down as the MD of the group's retail venture, Trent Ltd, on August 12 in view of his new appointment.— PTI

Bajaj Corp fixes IPO price band
New Delhi: Hair oil producer Bajaj Corp on Wednesday fixed a price range of Rs 630-660 per share for its IPO, which opens on August 2. Bajaj Corp is coming out with initial public offer of 45 lakh shares of Rs 5 and at the upper end of the price band the company would be able to mop-up up to Rs 297 crore. — PTI

ArcelorMittal Q2 profit $1.7 bn
London: World's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal has reported a net profit of $1.7 billion in the April-June quarter on account of improved steel demand. The company's sales increased to $21.65 billion in the second quarter ended June 30, 2010 from $15.17 billion in the year-ago period, thereby registering a growth of 43 per cent.— PTI

Apollo Tyres plan
Kochi: Tyre major Apollo Tyres Ltd will invest Rs 1,100 crore this year in its nine plants in India and abroad, besides expanding its operations in Asia, a top company official said here on Thursday. In the current fiscal, total capacity of the Indian plants would touch 1,450 tonnes, while 200 tonnes each would be added to the South African and European plants.— PTI