B U S I N E S S

Bull run continues, markets rally for ninth day in a row
New Delhi, September 3
Continuing the winning streak for the ninth day in a row, the BSE Sensex gained about 125 points to close at a fresh peak of 27,139 points today as IT stocks led rally powered by positive economic data and continued overseas fund inflows.

Vodafone pioneers concept to cap post-paid mobile bill
Chandigarh, September 3
Vodafone subscribers in the Punjab telecom circle can now heave a sigh of relief. They will no longer have to suffer from a ‘bill shock’ when their data usage goes up phenomenally. Vodafone has pioneered a new concept for its subscribers called a bill cap. The 3G service to the post-paid consumers will be withdrawn each month after the consumer reaches a cap of data usage determined for him, which will be over and above his data plan.

Panel set up on unclaimed PPF, small savings deposits
New Delhi, September 3
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has set up a committee under Reserve Bank of India’s Deputy Governor HR Khan to assess the amount of unclaimed deposit in the PPF and Post Office Saving Schemes, and suggest steps for utilisation of funds for the benefit of senior citizens.

LMA honours Rakesh Bharti Mittal
Ludhiana, September 3
Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman, Bharti Enterprises and co-chairman, Bharti Foundation, was today conferred with ‘Hari Chand Award for Corporate Citizen of the year 2013’ by the Ludhiana Management Association (LMA). He was awarded for his outstanding contribution in the field of education for the underprivileged children through Bharti Foundation, the development arm of Bharti Enterprises.

TCS attains market cap of Rs 5 lakh crore
Mumbai, September 3
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest software services exporter, today attained a market valuation of over Rs 5 lakh crore after over a month. At the end of today’s trade, the market-capitalisation (m-cap) of TCS soared to Rs 5,09,523.91 crore, the highest for the company since its listing in 2004.

Conference on housing tomorrow
Chandigarh, September 3
Industry body FICCI will organise a conference and exhibition on ‘Housing and Urban Development in North India’ here on September 5. Dr A Didar Singh, secretary-general, FICCI, said besides being a leading employment generator, real estate sector contributes a lot in terms of taxes and duties. It with focus on Punjab and tricity and is expected to sensitise the government, planner,s developer about the challenges, opportunities and development of smart and sustainable cities. TNS

Bull run continues, markets rally for ninth day in a row
Sensex up 125 points to close at 27,130, Nifty closes at 8,115
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 3
Continuing the winning streak for the ninth day in a row, the BSE Sensex gained about 125 points to close at a fresh peak of 27,139 points today as IT stocks led rally powered by positive economic data and continued overseas fund inflows.

The wide-based NSE Nifty index rose by 31.55 points to close at record 8,114.60 points. The index touched intra-trade record high of 8,141.90 points, surpassing previous record of 8,101.95 hit yesterday.

BSE Sensex gains were capped by profit booking at record levels and the barometer settled at 27,139 points — fresh record closing level — with net gains of 120 points or 0.45% over last close.

The Sensex bettered its previous closing peak of 27,019.39 hit yesterday. The gauge has now gathered over 825 points in nine straight sessions.

Shares, spread over a broad front, have been hitting new highs for the past few sessions on optimism that the Narendra Modi-led government would announce more reforms that could bring economy back on track.

Dipen Shah, Head-Private Client Group Research, Kotak Securities, said the market rally continued as expectations of better economic growth in the future, continued to propel the markets to higher levels, despite geopolitical and monsoon concerns.

He added that economic data is suggesting that the growth has likely bottomed out. The GDP growth in Q1 of FY15 improved to 5.7%, with a pick-up evident in industrial production and electricity generation. Auto sales are also looking up and so are the tourist arrivals. Crude prices have softened and the subsidy on diesel has now fallen substantially.

“We note that the economy still faces challenges emanating from a deficit monsoon and its upward risk on inflation. Over the medium-to-long term, the decisive mandate in elections is positive for the economy and the markets. We do expect strong reform initiatives from the Government in the months to come”, he added.

Vodafone pioneers concept to cap post-paid mobile bill
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 3
Vodafone subscribers in the Punjab telecom circle can now heave a sigh of relief. They will no longer have to suffer from a ‘bill shock’ when their data usage goes up phenomenally.

Vodafone has pioneered a new concept for its subscribers called a bill cap. The 3G service to the post-paid consumers will be withdrawn each month after the consumer reaches a cap of data usage determined for him, which will be over and above his data plan.

Asit Shekhar, Business Head — Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and J&K, Vodafone India, said data services on mobile has become an important revenue-yielding factor for the company.

“Our effort is to provide a better deal to our customers so as to retain them. Our focus is on consolidating our high-value post-paid subscribers by offering value-based services. As part of this plan, we will launch a new service called Vodafone Red,” he said. This service allows a group of maximum six people (one main subscriber and five add-on subscribers) to have a customised package, based on each member’s individual needs,” he said.

In the Punjab telecom circle, Vodafone has managed to capture 17.8% of market share and 17.8% of the revenue market share as on June 2014. The total subscriber base in the Punjab circle is 2.65 crore, and Shekhar says it is witnessing a high growth trajectory of 8.7%. “Thus there is a need to retain the high value post paid customers and at the same time try and increase the base by offering better services than competitors,” he said.

The company is also setting up its globally designed stores in different parts of the state. The first one will come up in Ludhiana this month. It will not only be a retail point but also have a customer experience zone and a “geek counter” to apprise the customers of various data services on offer.

Panel set up on unclaimed PPF, small savings deposits
Tribune News Service

LMA honours Rakesh Bharti Mittal
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 3
Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman, Bharti Enterprises and co-chairman, Bharti Foundation, was today conferred with ‘Hari Chand Award for Corporate Citizen of the year 2013’ by the Ludhiana Management Association (LMA). He was awarded for his outstanding contribution in the field of education for the underprivileged children through Bharti Foundation, the development arm of Bharti Enterprises.

The award was given to Mittal by Balramji Dass Tandon, Governor of Chhattisgarh. The Ludhiana Management Association honoured six business leaders and leading personalities who have contributed towards social transformation in the ‘Corporate Citizen’ category.

Bharti Foundation was set up in 2000 to help bridge the education divide between urban and rural India. It’s programmes currently reaches out to over 52,000 children from socially and economically weak backgrounds, with special focus on the girl child. The flagship Satya Bharti School Programme offers free education through 254 (primary, elementary and senior secondary) schools and employs around 1,600 teachers from the local community.

TCS attains market cap of Rs 5 lakh crore