New Delhi, August 11
Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana rank among the top 10 states in a report released by the RICS India and the Institute for Competitiveness.

The report titled Sustainable Competitiveness Report 2011 for Indian states was released by Marcus Potter, executive director, developing markets, RICS. The report shows the ranking of Indian states in terms of the sustainability of their growth story.

The states have been divided into three categories based on the density of population and Delhi tops the sustainable competitiveness index in the high density states. Goa and Sikkim similarly top the list for the medium and low population density states, respectively.

When seen as an overall ranking, the top three winners are Goa, Delhi and Sikkim followed by Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Mizoram, Kerala, Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh.

Among the laggards, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand fared the worst. Heavyweight states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh showed disappointing results.

The states sustainability competitiveness is accessed on four basic pillars, which include social inclusion, environment and climate change, economic development and resource availability and utilisation.

When seen against individual ranking parameters or categories, Delhi and Goa top the national rankings across the economic development and resource availability and utilisation categories, respectively.

On environment and climate change, it is Arunachal Pradesh that tops the national rankings, though overall the state ranks number 10. Mizoram ranks as the number 1 state nationally on social inclusion.

The IFC-RICS Sustainability Competitiveness Report seeks to raise awareness and promote inclusive growth amongst cities.

Sachin Sandhir, MD & Country Head, RICS India, said the report seeks to evaluate how Indian states were leveraging and utilising their human, physical, economic and natural resources to align with the broader goal of sustainable development.

This report seeks to showcase and support the innovative ways in which some states in India are creating an equitable green economy which can highlight and transition to a greener and more equitable form for other states and cities in the country as well.

New Delhi, August 11
Worried over the fallout of the US downgrade on Indian economy, Finance Minster Pranab Mukherjee today said he could make a statement on the issue in the current session of Parliament. Stressing that there was no need to press panic button, the Minister said the downgrade of sovereign ratings could have an impact on the domestic IT industry.

"...I am worried (but) there is no need to press panic button. If required, I would like to make a statement (in the current session)," Mukherjee said while winding up the debate on the first batch of supplementary demands for grants in the Rajya Sabha. The Upper House later returned the bills that sought to raise the government expenditure by an additional Rs 34,724 crore. The net cash outgo will be about Rs 9,016 crore, while the remaining amount will be matched by savings elsewhere. India witnessed a steep fall in stock market following the US downgrade on Friday evening.

On the impact of downgrade, Mukherjee said, "No doubt our IT industry may be affected." India's IT sector depends heavily on export to the US. The government will take time to study full impact of the US downgrade on domestic industry, he said, adding the development could also have implications for exports which has been growing at an impressive pace and recorded a growth of over 81 per cent in July.

Referring to the concerns on inflation, which is nearing the double-digit mark, Mukherjee said, "If it is 9 per cent it is not acceptable. It (inflation) would have been ideal at 3.5 to 4 per cent ...even if we can keep it at 5-6 per cent (it will not be bad)," he said, adding the government has taken steps to check inflation. — PTI

Mumbai, August 11
The State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank today raised lending rates by 50 basis points, making its home, auto and corporate loans costlier.

The banks revised the base rate or the minimum lending rate upwards by 50 basis points from 9.50 per cent to 10 per cent, effective from August 13.

The benchmark prime lending rate also goes up by similar percentage points to 14.75 per cent, making loans for existing borrowers dearer by at least 50 basis points.

Following the Reserve Bank’s decision to raise short-term key rates in its first quarter review of monetary policy last month, lenders have responded by increasing interest rates.

Over two dozen banks, including Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Oriental Bank of Commerce have raised interest rates.

The RBI had raised the short-term lending (repo) rate by 50 basis points to 8 per cent and the short-term borrowing (reverse repo) rate by a same margin to 7 per cent.

Subsequently, the interest rate under the Marginal Standing Facility, an additional borrowing window, has gone up to 9 per cent — PTI

New Delhi, August 11
Research In Motion (RIM) and Nokia, fighting hard to retain their stakes in the Indian market, today launched new models of phones targeting different set of customers.

While RIM came in with the slimmest BlackBerry phone priced at over Rs 32,000, Nokia launched phones to strengthen its dual SIM portfolio with new affordable and stylish touch and type-slider phones.

RIM’s BlackBerry Bold 9900 comes with the BlackBerry 7 operating system.

“We are thrilled to bring this outstanding new smartphone to the Indian market,” said Frenny Bawa, Managing Director, India, RIM.

BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone is built on a new performance-driven platform powered by the latest BlackBerry software and hardware. In addition to supporting the new BlackBerry 7 operating system, it features a range of powerful hardware enhancements, including a 1.2 GHz processor, HD video recording, 24-bit high resolution graphics and advanced sensors enabling new augmented reality applications such as Wikitude that can be seamlessly integrated with BBM 6.

BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone at only 10.5 mm. It is also the first BlackBerry smartphone to include built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communications), a new technology that is enabling many new and exciting capabilities, including the ability to pair accessories or read SmartPoster tags with a simple tap of the smartphone.

Meanwhile, Nokia brought in the dual SIM phones C2-03 and C2-06. Nokia also introduced a single SIM variant of the phone - C2-02. These phones are targeted towards the young and savvy who can now avail and flaunt a range of web applications with a faster internet experience at an incredibly affordable price point.

The phones have been priced at between Rs 4,300 to Rs 5,300. The Nokia C2-03, the third dual SIM phone Nokia has brought to market in the past two months, comes with Nokia’s differentiated dual SIM capabilities. These include features that allow the user to personalise up to five SIM cards with an easy swap option that lets users change SIM cards in seconds without having to turn off the phone or remove the battery.

New Delhi,August 11
Nostalgia over the withdrawal of 25 paise coins (chawani) triumphed in the Rajya Sabha today as the Parliament permitted the government to mint coins of Rs 1,000 denomination. “The Coinage Bill, 2009 passed by the Upper House limits payment through coins up to Rs 1,000”, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, responding to a debate on the topic.The Lok Sabha had passed the bill without discussion in March. As per the suggestion of The Reserve Bank of India , Mukherjee said the payment and receipt by way of coins was limited to Rs 1,000 for the sake of convenience.

In reply to the concerns over counterfeit notes, the Minister agreed that there really was a serious threat. While it was a battle the government had to fight continuously, some countries on the other hand are using it as a potential tool to destablise the Indian economy, he remarked. "Some times it is used as a policy matter. I do not want to use the names of the country. Everybody is aware of their objective," he emphasized. Though the Finance Minister did not name any country, concerns have often been expressed over fake currency pouring in from Pakistan routed through Nepal. The Finance Minister pointed out that only eight out of one million notes have been detected as counterfeit. To counter this illegal practice, he stated that any unlawful melting of coins will magnetise imprisonment of seven years under the Coinage Bill.

While answering to a question of senior BJP leader S S Ahluwalia as to why there was a contradiction in the penal provisions between this bill and the Indian Penal Code, Mukherjee said that it was "deliberate". — PTI

New Delhi, August 11
India’s exports jumped by a record 81.8 per cent year-on-year to $29.3 billion in July, 2011, due to the sterling performance of sectors like engineering, petrochemical products and gems and jewellery.

However, this high growth rate is unlikely to be sustained in the coming months due to uncertainty in the US and European economies, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said.

"Exports have done well... but my sense is that it (high export growth) is not going to sustain. It is simply not sustainable. We should see immediately by August-September growth rates slipping," Khullar told reporters here.

During April-July, 2011-12, overseas shipments of Indian products grew by 54 per cent to USD 108.3 billion.

Though most of the sectors posted robust expansion in export volumes, Khullar cautioned that the exporting community should not get carried away by these high numbers and should brace themselves as "summer is not over".

Uncertain economic conditions in the US and Europe are likely to hit global demand. Together, these countries account for about 35 per cent of the country's exports.

Imports, too, increased by 51.5 per cent to USD 40.4 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $ 11.1 billion.

During the first four months of the fiscal, imports grew by 40 per cent to $ 151 billion, led by inbound shipments of petroleum products worth $ 42 billion, an increase of 23 per cent year-on-year. The trade deficit during the period stood at $ 42.7 billion. — PTI

Mumbai, August 11
Piramal Healthcare today said it expects about 20 per cent return from its Rs 2,856-crore investment for buying 5.5 per cent stake in Vodafone India in the next two years.

The company also said it would put in Rs 7,000 crore in its pharmaceutical business by 2016. “We are acquiring a 5.5 minority stake in Vodafone for Rs 2,856 crore. It is a minority stake. We expect 17-20 per cent return from the Vodafone investment over the next two years,” Piramal Group promoter and Chairman Ajay Piramal said.

The expected return of 20 per cent would work out to be around $128 million (about Rs 580 crore). Piramal said the company would not take a board seat.

Yesterday, Vodafone and Piramal issued a joint statement announcing the latter’s acquisition of around 5.5 per cent stake in the country’s second-largest mobile operator by revenues and market share.

Hinting at a possible sale of his Vodafone stake, he said, “You have heard Vodafone talking about an IPO (in the past) ... Therefore, we are assuming that this IPO will take place anywhere in the next 12-24 months. This is where we could participate in or we could participate with Vodafone and get an expected return. — PTI

New Delhi, August 11
A Parliamentary Standing Committee today asked the government to find immediate solution to the “foodgrain glut” in the country and take early decision on lifting the ban on overseas selling of wheat and premium non-basmati rice in order to earn valuable foreign exchange and prevent grain from going waste.

The committee, in its report submitted to Parliament, expressed displeasure over huge quantities of grains being wasted and farmers “scarcely getting the return of their investments” and asked the government to review the existing policy so that timely decision is taken on removing the ban on export.

With the promised food security Bill just round the corner, currently, the export of foodgrains is a politically sensitive issue. To make the matter worst, the government’s two key ministries also do not see eye to eye on the issue. While Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is understood to be in favour of export, Food Minister KV Thomas is opposed to any such decision. Despite Pawar going public with the announcement that the eGoM had lifted the four-year old ban on the export of wheat, the Centre had put on hold the decision to allow wheat exports, apparently due to unfavourable global market conditions.

The fact is that wheat exports is becoming difficult with India returning to the overseas market after a gap of four years. Traders say export of wheat is not feasible at the huge price difference, however, there is tremendous scope in the non-basmati section and rice exports have better prospects as Indian rates are currently lower than international market. The government may consider allowing another one million tonne rice to be exported as demand is strong in the international market at current rates.

Commerce Ministry officials have indicated that the government is considering the proposal of exports of additional quantity of non-basmati rice.

Chandigarh, August 11
With the gold prices (spot price) touching a new high of Rs 26,490 for 10 gm today, the lure of the yellow metal is catching the fancy of investors.

Be it gold ETFs, other gold funds or future trading in the metal - the investors are going all out to make profit from the rally run of gold.

Since the beginning of this month, the trade volumes in gold exchange traded funds have gone up by over 20 per cent, while the futures trading in the yellow metal have seen a manifold increase in volumes of trade.

Multi Commodities Exchange (MCX) and National Commodities and Derivates Exchange (NCDEX) are reporting a massive jump in trading of this metal along with copper and crude oil, as investors prefer to park their funds in these non-agricultural commodities.

Aditya Mittal, product manager, bullion and non-agriculture commodities, NCDEX, said gold trading has started to pick up volumes and the daily trading of the metal on the exchange was to the tune of Rs 300 crore. Even today, spot prices of gold saw a hike of Rs 435 to Rs 26,490 for 10 gm in the bullion market.

In New Delhi, the price of gold (of 99.9 per cent purity) increased to Rs 26,490 for 10 gm, while the price of gold of 99.5 per cent purity increased to Rs 26,370 per 10 gm.

With the rupee getting weaker because of oil importers' demand for dollars and weak domestic shares, the prices of gold have seen a jump today.

The increase in the domestic price of gold has been seen even as the price of gold in overseas market fell by 1 per cent.

Market analysts believe that with the demand for the gold increasing with the wedding and festival season in India, there is little chance of the prices coming down drastically, though correction in prices is expected soon.

With many exchanges across the world increasing their margins for trading in gold, so as to bring down the gold rates, trade analysts believe that a correction in the domestic prices is on the cards.

Naveen Mathur, associate director, Angel Broking, said, "We expect that the gold prices will not go higher than the present prices."

Meanwhile, even the exchange traded gold funds like SBI Gets, Kotak Gold Religare Gold, HDFC and Gold Share are witnessing a renewed interest from investors.