New Delhi, April 16
With the wholesale price index (WPI) inflation showing some signs of moderation at 6.9 per cent in March, there are mounting expectations that the Reserve Bank of India will cut interest rates by at least a 25 basis points on Tuesday, the first in three years.

The RBI in its preview of the credit policy drew attention to the macroeconomic challenges that warrant careful calibration of monetary policy. RBI said that growth is likely to improve moderately in 2012-13. While inflation has moderated, risks to inflation are still on the upside.

Inflation still has not eased to the extent the government and RBI would have liked to start a rate cutting cycle. While core inflation has come down as manufacturing demand is weak, the current number is higher due to surging food inflation including vegetables, milk, pulses, eggs which came in at 9.4%, very close to the double digit mark.

Inflation declined marginally to 6.89% in March, from 6.95% a month ago. It was 9.68% in March last year.

While there is a fear that inflation has not yet tapered off, the clamour for rate easing after a long time is gaining currency as concerns are now shifting to a weakening GDP growth and lower industrial output. In the trade off between growth and inflation, growth seems to have edged up in the priority list as industry and consumers both are asking for some relief.

However, there are skeptics also who are warning against such a move. Crisil Research says that it is still premature for the RBI to start reducing policy rates. It points out that upward risks to headline inflation remain in the form of food and fuel inflation which are expected to remain high. Also, a weak rupee and pass-through of indirect taxes into prices could also add to inflationary pressure.It also says that any pick-up in investment growth is more reliant on easing of policy-related bottlenecks than on reduction in interest rates.

The RBI has been in pause mode after a relentless exercise in rate hikes with as many as 13 in 2010 and 2011.

Apex industry chamber FICCI has argued that GDP has fallen to a three-year low of 6.1% and industrial growth remains subdued. Also, the investment climate remains depressed with project cancellations at a high.

PTI adds: The Reserve Bank today hinted at lowering interest rates saying that focus of monetary policy needs to be shifted to arrest declining growth while keeping inflation under control. 

Faridabad, April 16
Communications & IT Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday inaugurated BSNL’s six Internet Data Centres including the one at Faridabad. The centres have been billed to be a leading global provider of IT enabled services and solutions.

The IDCs, built, operated and managed by BSNL in partnership with a private firm, Dimension Data, are expected to give a boost to IT-enabled-services in India.

The other five internet data centres are located in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Ludhiana and Ghaziabad.

BSNL said the IDCs will offer a highly secure, scalabe and simple to use environment for “cloud computing needs” of the state-owned telecom firm’s clients and incorporate the latest technologies in power management, cooling and IT infrastructure performance.

Sibal said the venture was a pioneering public-private initiative to leverage BSNL’s strength in telecom infrastructure and that of Dimension Data in providing data centre and cloud computing. – TNS 

Beijing, April 16
Drugmaker Piramal Healthcare sees revenue potential of $1.5 billion from its new florbetaben molecule, a possible Alzheimer's treatment acquired by the company in a deal with Germany's Bayer AG.

Florbetaben, which is in the final stages of clinical trials, detects symptoms in probable sufferers of Alzheimer's and could allow early diagnosis and specific treatment of the disease. U.S. approval will be sought in late 2012.

"There are about 25 million patients of Alzheimer's disease globally and it would grow to 100 million by 2020 ... hence the segment has a huge revenue potential and has lower competition," Piramal chairman Ajay Piramal told reporters. "Post U.S., we plan to file for approvals in Europe and Japan as well," he said.

Florbetaben is racing with similar Alzheimer's imaging agents from global pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly and Co, Pfizer Inc and General Electric Co to enter a global market estimated at anywhere from $1 billion to $5 billion.

Piramal, which makes over-the-counter drugs and manufactures pharmaceutical products on a contractual basis, has agreed to buy a research and development portfolio from Bayer that includes florbetaben, the company said in a statement.

Piramal will acquire intellectual property, worldwide development, marketing and distribution rights of florbetaben and other clinical and pre-clinical assets of Bayer's molecular imaging business in the deal. Financial aspects of the deal were not available.

Shares in Piramal, valued at $1.5 billion by the market, were trading down 0.3% at Rs 449 at 1 p.m. — Reuters

Seoul, April 16
Samsung Electronics Co said on Monday it would unveil the third-generation of its flagship smartphone Galaxy S on May 3 in London, banking on a heavy marketing campaign heading into the summer Olympics in the city.

Samsung became the world's top smartphone maker last year on the back of strong sales of Galaxy lineups and the latest edition comes after it released Galaxy S II in late April last year.

The South Korean firm sold over 40 million Galaxy smartphones since the model was released in June 2010.

Samsung, which dominates in the top end of smartphone market along with Apple Inc, estimated earlier this month that its first-quarter operating profit would hit a record 5.8 trillion Korean won thanks to strong sales of Galaxy series smartphones.

The electronics giant’s current sponsorship deal with the International Olympics Committee runs out in 2016. It has said its market share in China doubled after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

It was reported earler this week that Samsung Electronics Co Apple's biggest competitor in the market for iPad-sized tablet computers, is updating its line to include a feature that lets a tablet act as a universal remote control for an entertainment center.

The storage space on the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 will also be expandable with small memory cards. The tablets will come in two sizes. The 7-inch version will cost US $250 and goes on sale April 22. The 10-inch version will cost $400 and goes on sale May 13. — Agencies