In a surprise move, India-born Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Citigroup Vikram Pandit resigned from his post on Tuesday. He stunned the Wall Street by abruptly stepping down from his post.

The news came a day after Citigroup announced stronger than expected third-quarter earnings, more proof of the bank's recovery, which has been largely credited to Pandit.

Pandit took the helm at Citigroup at the start of the recession in December 2007.

"Given the progress we have made in the past few years, I have concluded that now is the right time for someone else to take the helm at Citigroup," Pandit said in a statement.

"I could not be leaving the company in better hands." he added.

Pandit also resigned from his position on the Citi's board. Both decisions were effective immediately.

In a memo to Citigroup employees, Pandit wrote: "It has been a privilege and an honour to serve Citi since December 7, 2007. Only you can understand the effort and hard work that was put in to get our company where it is today."

"There is nothing better than our third quarter earnings announcement to demonstrate definitively that we have turned this company around. Yesterday's results show this clearly.

More importantly, I couldn't be more optimistic about the bank's future," he added.

Citi's board of directors announced that Michael Corbat has replaced Pandit as chief executive officer and would join the board. Corbat had been Citi's CEO of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Corbat is the "right person" to tackle the difficult challenges ahead, with a 29-year record of achievement and leadership at this company, he said.

In a statement, Michael O'Neill, chairman of Citigroup's board said: "We respect Vikram's decision. Since his appointment at the start of the financial crisis until the present time, Vikram has restructured and recapitalised the company, strengthened our global franchise and re-focused the business."

Pandit, who was born in Nagpur, received two electrical engineering degrees and a doctorate in finance from Columbia University. He joined Citigroup in July 2007 when the bank acquired his hedge fund and private equity firm, Old Lane Partners.

Shares of the group were down 1.8 per cent to $36 in premarket after news of the resignations.

New Delhi, October 16
The country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) today launched the revamped version of Alto 800, with the promise of it being a game changer in the small car segment. It had received bumper pre-launch bookings of more than 10,000 for the cheaper, more powerful and fuel-efficient version of its Alto.

Already enjoying the most trusted brand name in the Indian car market, MSIL with the Alto 800 launch would be looking at fending off rising competition in the entry-level car market.

The new Alto's petrol models are offered as prices ranging between Rs 2.44 lakh and Rs 2.99 lakh while the CNG variant has been priced at Rs 3.19 lakh and Rs 3.56 lakh.

"We had started the booking for this new Alto from late September and before the launch, we have received over 10,000 bookings," MSIL managing director Shinzo Nakanishi said.

"Our engineering team has made many innovations to offer more space, improve driveability and safety to customers," Nakanishi said.

"The new version of the car is an expression of our gratitude to all those customers who posed deep confidence into this model. The new Alto 800 promises to be even more significant with its stunning new looks, refined driveability combined with superior fuel efficiency of 22.74 kmpl. The availability of CNG variants adds to Alto 800's attraction," Nakanishi said.

The company is also banking on Alto 800's improved fuel efficiency of 22.74 kmpl, which is 15 per cent higher than the previous model. Besides its new design and other features like improved gear shift and more leg room for rear passengers would be an added attraction for the customers.

The factory fitted CNG variant branded Alto Green, delivers a fuel efficiency of 30.46 kilometers per kilogram, 13 per cent better than the outgoing Alto Green.

Maruti Suzuki and its vendors have spent Rs 470 crore in developing new version of the Alto 800. 

New Delhi, October 16
Analysts believe the recent economic measures taken by the government are positive. But they remained skeptical about their efficacy in pushing up potential growth compared to just sentiments. In a research note, Kotak Institutional Equities says it does not expect structural imbalances to disappear in the near term.

The research report states that while a reversal of sentiment might be underway with the announcement of the executive measures, the structural macro-economic imbalances that are now entrenched are likely to prevent any immediate turnaround.

"We remain skeptical of the recent policy dynamics being able to sort out the twin-deficit problems and hence the growth potential of the economy," it adds.

The report says that the deteriorating fiscal and monetary policy dynamics are likely to extend well into the financial year 2014. The Indian economy appears to be caught in two 'vicious circles' that now appear to be firmly entrenched due to the government's inaction over a significant period until it raised diesel prices. Unfortunately, the policy measures announced recently might not help much in pulling India out of the 'vicious circles'.

The note adds that the first of these circles encompasses the interaction of fiscal and monetary policy in a slowing growth phase. Like most of the other economies in the immediate post-Lehman phase, India provided a big push through the fiscal side. The policy mix of consumption-boosting expenditure, through subsidies, social welfare schemes, farm-loan waivers and linkages of wages to inflation have generated a wage-price spiral with demand (to a greater extent rural demand) remaining at elevated levels. The revenue side of the government's finances has continued to be constrained by excessive reliance on tax collection from the economy's production segment.

It says that the gap between savings and investment and twin deficit add to structural problems.

The fiscal push has boosted domestic consumption and in turn fuelled inflation. The effect of this is visible in lower savings with household financial savings declining. Given that inflation remained high, real returns on domestic deposits were low. This pushed up the consumption of gold, especially as rising gold prices produced higher returns.

Lower financial savings suppress the growth potential of the economy, thereby limiting the scope for fiscal correction with fears of more significant slowdown in growth. With the current account deficit (CAD) and fiscal pressures remaining strong, fears of ratings downgrade are likely to return to focus repeatedly, creating restrictions on global capital flows.

New Delhi, October 16
The inter-ministerial group (IMG) on coal blocks is likely to finalise its recommendations by the month end with regard to 33 blocks allotted to public sector firms such as Nalco and MMTC.

"By the last week of October, the IMG will make its recommendations with regard to blocks allocated to public sector firms," an official in the Coal Ministry said.

The IMG reviewed the development of blocks allotted to public sector firms on October 9 and 10 and examined 33 cases.

The PSUs which presented their cases before the panel include Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Company, Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corp, MMTC and Nalco among others.

Earlier, the IMG concluded the scrutiny of 31 coal blocks allotted to 51 private firms.

Coal Secretary S K Srivastava had recently conveyed it to Public Accounts Committee that the IMG would finalise the recommendations with regard to 33 mines allocated to public sector firms by October 20.

Last month, the government had accepted the recommendations of the IMG, which had suggested de-allocation of 13 mines and deduction of bank guarantees of 14 allottees.— PTI