Mumbai, October 4: Continuing its rising streak for the third straight session, the BSE benchmark Sensex on Friday rose over 60 points in early trade on sustained buying by funds as well as retail investors, ignoring a weak trend on the other Asian boures.

The 30-share index gained 60.89 points, or 0.31 percent, to trade at 19,962.96 points in early trade with auto, consumer durables, IT and realty sector stocks leading the rise.

It had rallied over 522 points in the past two sessions. On the similar lines, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up 12.00 points, or 0.20 percent, to 5,921.70.

Brokers said sustained buying by funds as well as retail investors took place as the partial US government shutdown eased fears about the Federal Reserve tapering its monetary stimulus programme soon.

Stocks of Jet Airways turned buyers' fancy and shot up by 3.60 per cent to Rs 400.50 after the Union Cabinet last night cleared its proposed sale of 24 percent equity to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad.

In the Asian region, the Japan's Nikkei fell 0.90 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.72 percent in early trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.90 percent lower in Thursday's trade.

Mumbai, September 11: The BSE benchmark index Sensex on Wednesday fell nearly 157 points in early trade on profit-booking by funds and retail investors after recent gains amid a mixed trend in the Asian region.

The 30-share index fell by 156.98 points, or 0.79 percent, to 19,840.11 in early trade with shares of Infosys, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank leading the fall.

Sensex had rallied over 1,757 points in the previous four sessions.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty declined by 42.85 points, or 0.73 percent, to 5,853.90.

Brokers said emergence of profit-booking by funds as well as retail investors at prevailing higher levels amid a mixed trend in Asian region mainly attributed fall in stock prices.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 0.38 percent, while Japan's Nikkei Index was up by 0.62 percent in early trade. 

New Delhi, September 8: Grappling with the stressed economy, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said hard decisions would be taken in the next few days and weeks to trim wasteful expenditure and curb import of inessential items.

"We are going through a period of stress...we have to take some hard decisions. Many of these measures are being taken, and many measures will be announced in next few days and weeks. Some measures to curb import inessential items will also be announced.

"All these measures taken together will have beneficial impact", he said, winding up a debate on Appropriation Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Saturday.

Describing inflation as the worst form of taxation which hit the poorest the most, he said, the government would be coming out with more measures to deal with the price situation.

On the issue of hiking oil prices in the backdrop of rising prices in the international market and rupee depreciation, Chidambaram said "no decision has been taken and no decision will be taken in haste" and the government will weigh pros and cons before announcing any step.

Responding to the suggestion for cutting taxes on petroleum products, he said the matter could be considered provided states too agree to reduce the incidence of tax on oil goods.

Attributing the sudden fall in the value of rupee to the 2nd May announcement of the US Federal Reserve regarding withdrawal of monetary stimulus, he said the government will take more measures to increase flow of capital to contain volatility in forex market.

Chidambaram said, "When you are facing gloomy situation, wasteful expenditure has to be curbed....You call it austerity measures, you can call it cut in non-plan expenditure...while we must continue to spend and continue to find money for productive investment."

Stating that there was need to curb all inessential imports, he said, "When you have the money, you can import anything and it does not make any difference to the economy. But when you are facing a stressful situation, you have to curb inessential imports."

Regretting that India has to import coal despite having essential fuel in adequate quantities, he said a way had to be found out to deal with the issues concerning mining of coal and export of iron one fines.

Import of coal and ban on export of iron ore fines, in addition to large import of gold, have been adding to the pressure on the Current Account Deficit (CAD) which has touched an all time high of 4.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012-13.

Referring to inflation, Chidambaram said it can partly be attributed to the rise in the Minimum Support Price (MSP), which in itself was a good thing as it meant more income for the farming community.

The other reason for inflation was spike in crude prices in the international market, Chidambaram said, adding "We don't fix prices of crude oil. Yesterday it crossed 115 dollar per barrel...(but) we have to bear the consequences".

Similarly, he said, India has to depend upon import of edible oil and pulses, which drive inflation.

Chidambaram also spoke about stimulus packages, days after he blamed them for current economic mess in comments which were seen as an attack on his predecessor and now President Pranab Mukherjee.

He stressed, "We allowed fiscal deficit target to breach. We allowed CAD to swell. I blame nobody. We include all of us in government, we include all in Parliament".

Chidambaram said that like India many countries had provided stimulus packages to help the industry tide over the impact of the global financial meltdown of 2008.

The stimulus, he said, had helped in anchoring growth in difficult times, though it had its consequences on the Fiscal Deficit and the Current Account Deficit (CAD).

"We anchored in growth but that resulted in some consequences. Fiscal deficit went high what I call to unacceptable (level). CAD swelled", he said.

On declining value of rupee, Chidambaram said its rate was market determined and there was no question of going back to the pre-1991 days of fixed exchange rate.

"Rupee does not have fixed exchange rate. We have moved from that. It has been beneficial for the country. We cannot go back to pre-1991 for fixed exchange rate of rupee," he said.

Attributing the rupee decline to external factors, the Minister said the US policy has created havoc impacting markets in emerging countries. Observing that value of rupee had improved during the last few days, Chidambaram said, "...I keep my fingers crossed.

"We are fighting many unknown factors in the currency markets...but measures are being taken, measures will taken to increase dollar inflow," he said, welcoming the decision to raise currency swap arrangements to USD 50 billion from USD 15 billion currently.

Referring to the inflation, Chidambaram said although WPI inflation was around 5-6 per cent, retail inflation was high.

Inflation, he said, had to be tackled by addressing the supply side constraints and removing distribution bottlenecks.

"First step is to focus on supply side. Distribution side is antiquated... We have to focus on distribution system also," he added. 

Mumbai, September 5: The BSE benchmark Sensex on Thursday soared by 488 points in opening trade on the back of a flurry of buying by funds and investors after RBI announced a slew of measures to revive the economy amid further recovery in the rupee.

The 30-share index gained 488.19 points, or 2.19 per cent, to trade at 19,055.74, with all sectoral indices trading in the positive zone rising up to 7.53 per cent.

Banking, realty, capital goods and consumer durables stocks were leading gainers.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 153.80 points, or 2.82 per cent, to trade at 5,601.90.

Brokers said sentiments turned buoyant after new RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan yesterday came out with a slew of measures, including more trade settlement in rupees to rescue the battered financial markets.

Rajan also hinted at a shift in focus from inflation control, doggedly pursued by his predecessor, to boosting growth.

Brokers said further recovery in the rupee also supported the upside in equities. The rupee gained 138 paise against dollar to 65.69 in early trade.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose by 0.95 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei was up by 0.61 per cent in early trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.65 per cent higher yesterday. 

New Delhi, August 25: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday held a closed-door meeting with top bankers to take stock of the situation in the wake of rupee volatility and ways to shore up foreign capital to bridge the widening current account gap.

The minister, who will also be meeting foreign institutional investors whose money is key to funding CAD in the afternoon, did not speak to reporters waiting outside.

Chidambaram was accompanied by his top officials, including economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram and financial services secretary Rajiv Takru, while the bankers who met the minister included SBI's Pratip Chaudhuri, ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochhar, HDFC Bank's Aditya Puri, Pramit Jhaveri of Citigroup India, Vijayalakshmi Iyer of Bank of India, Canara Bank chief RK Dubey and StanChart India's Anurag Adlakha among others.

The meeting assumes importance as it comes against the backdrop of continuing flight of capital, especially after RBI put restrictions of capital withdrawal by corporates and individuals last week, which triggered concern among overseas investors that the government was on the verge of a throwback to the early 1991 crisis, when stiff capital control was imposed due to the balance of payment crisis.

The FIIs, who pulled out over USD 12 billion since 22nd May after the US Fed hinted at scaling down bond buyback sooner than expected, has had a debilitating impact on the rupee, which had plumbed to a low of 65.56 to the dollar on Thursday.

The current plight of the rupee, which is the most bruised currency in entire Asia losing nearly 20 percent since beginning of the fiscal, has mostly attributed to the high current account deficit, which stood at 4.8 percent last fiscal and is likely to be higher in Q1 as well.

"The meeting was mainly to seek ideas and suggestions on what can be done about capital inflows. It was a very good and positive meeting," Kochhar told reporters after the meeting.

Mumbai, August 22: Snapping a four-day losing streak, the BSE benchmark Sensex on Thursday surged 407 points, the biggest daily jump in nearly 2 months, on value-buying in bluechips led by the metal sector, amid robust China manufacturing data and a positive trend in European markets.

The Sensex, which had tumbled over 1,400 points in past four trading sessions, fell to 17,759.59 at the outset but bounced back by 407.03 points, or 2.27 per cent, to end at 18,312.94.

Investors were richer by Rs 1.17 lakh crore today.

Stock markets ignored the continued fall in the rupee which hit yet another all-time low of 65.5 against the dollar.

On similar lines, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty surged by 105.90 points, or two per cent to 5,408.45, after dipping below 5,300.

Also, SX40 index, the flagship index of MCX-SX, closed 199.44 points up at 10817.88.

Brokers said the current rally was backed by metal stocks after a manufacturing index in China, the biggest consumer of metals, increased in August from an eleven-month low.

They said higher opening in European stock markets as manufacturing in Germany expanded at a faster-than-expected pace, further influenced the Indian market sentiment.

"This relief rally should not be taken as buying indicator and caution be maintained for long positions," said Nidhi Saraswat, Senior Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio.

The metal sector index gained the most by rising 8.23 per cent to 7,739.26 as Tata Steel shot up by 10.22 per cent to Rs 273.30, Sesa Goa by 13.10 per cent to Rs 155.45, Hindalco by 10.93 per cent to Rs 103.55, Sterlite Ind by 10.42 per cent to Rs 87.45 and Jindal Steel by 4.89 per cent to Rs 231.45.

The three most influential Sensex stocks, with nearly 20 per cent weight, shone bright in today's trade.

RIL shot up by 2.81 per cent to Rs 805.85, Infosys by 2.37 per cent to Rs 3,023.30 and ITC by 2.58 per cent to Rs 307.95.

In 30-share Sensex, 28 stocks gained while HDFC Bank and HDFC Ltd ended with losses.

Mumbai, August 21: The Sensex and Nifty rose by 300 points in the opening session on Wednesday on fresh buying by funds and retail investors amid weak Asian cues.

The rupee was trading weak by 13 paise at 63.36 against the dollar at 9.31 a.m. local time against the previous close of 63.23.

Asia’s benchmark stock index fell for a fifth day to trade at the lowest level in six weeks ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting.

Nikkei fell 63.45 points or 0.47 percent to 13,332.90, Hang Seng shed 224.69 points or 1.02 percent to 21,745.60, while S&P/ASX 200 was up 15.12 points or 0.3 percent a 5,093.30.

Mumbai, August 20: Markets continued to decline for the third day on Tuesday and dropped below 18,000 level to 17,970.98 in late morning trade due to persistent selling pressure from investors amid sustained unloading by foreign funds.

Sharp depreciation of rupee value against the dollar in early trade weakened the market sentiment as the domestic currency breached 64-mark level.
   
The sensex resumed lower at 18,142.83 and dropped further to a low of 17,970.98 before quoting at 18,167.27 at 1050hrs, showing a loss of 140.25 points or 0.77 per cent from its last close.
   
The NSE 50-shares Nifty also declined by 41.15 points or 0.76 per cent to 5,373.60 at 1050hrs.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 680.08 crore on Monday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Most Asian stocks retreated in the early trade triggered by a fourth straight day of losses on the Wall Street.

Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were down by 0.15 pct to 4.69 pct while China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.08 pct.

Mumbai, August 19: The BSE benchmark index Sensex plunged further by 222 points in early trade on Monday, onsustained selling by funds sparked by a rupee hitting to an all-time low.

The 30-share index, which had lost 769.41 points in the previous session, plunged further by 221.94 points, or
1.19 percent, to 18,376.34 with stocks of capital goods, metal and banking leading the fall.

In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 53.65 points, or 0.97 percent,
to 5,454.10.

Brokers said sustained selling by funds as rupee tumbled to all-time low raised fears of slowing economic growth mainly
influenced the sentiment.

Mumbai, August 19: The Rupee tumbled to record low of 62.60 against the dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on dollar demand from importers.

Besides increased demand from oil importers for the US currency, lower opening in the equity market pulled down to Rupee to all-time low, forex dealers said.


The Rupee had lost 22 paise to close at 61.65 against the dollar on Friday's trade.

New Delhi, August 17: Gold surged by Rs 1,310 per 10 gram, the highest in two years, to Rs 31,010 on strong demand from stockists ahead of festive season, after government increased import duty on the metal to 10 percent.

A sharp fall in Sensex and rupee against dollar and strong global cues also contributed to the upsurge in gold price, which posted the biggest single-day gain after August 19, 2011.

Interestingly, the metal had shot up by Rs 1,310 on August 19, 2011 as well.

Gold has regained Rs 31,000 level after a gap of six months. An all-time high was Rs 32,975 per 10 gram on November 27, 2012, in Delhi bullion market.

Silver followed suit and spurted by Rs 3,270 to Rs 49,320 per kg, its biggest single day gain this year on rising demand from industrial units and coin makers.

Bullion traders attributed the sharp jump in gold prices to fear of tight supply following government's decision to hike import duty of silver and gold to narrow current account deficit.

The buying sentiment got bolstered as rupee hit record low of 62 against the US currency, making the dollar -denominated metal costlier.

Seeking to reduce gold imports, RBI also prohibited inward shipment of gold coins, medallions and dores without licence.

"Gold is back in demand as falling rupee and melting equities leaving no place for investor to park their funds," All India Sarafa Bazar vice president Surender Jain said.

He said a firming trend in overseas markets also supporting the bullion where as market hardly witness any physical buying.

Gold in overseas markets climbed to two-month high on strong buying from China and prospects for less US monetary stimulus. The metal rose by 0.50 per cent to 1,372.97 dollar an ounce in Singapore.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity spurted by Rs 1310 each to Rs 31,010 and Rs 30,810 per ten grams respectively. Sovereign followed suit and climbed by Rs 200 to Rs 24,700 per piece of eight gram.

Silver ready sky-rocketed by Rs 3270 to Rs 49,320 per kg and weekly-based delivery by the same margin to Rs 49,220 per kg.

Silver coins flared up by Rs 2000 to Rs 86,000 for buying and Rs 87,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

New Delhi, August 17: A Delhi court on Saturday fixed 5th October for hearing arguments on a plea by former MP Subramanian Swamy that the written statement given by former Telecom Minister A Raja to the JPC on 2G scam be placed before court.

The matter, which was scheduled for arguments for Saturday, was deferred as the counsel appearing on behalf of Swamy told the court that the former MP had written a letter to Lok Sabha

Speaker Meira Kumar on the issue on whether Raja's statement to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was "privileged".

The counsel told Special CBI Judge O P Saini that they are awaiting the reply from the Lok Sabha Speaker and after seeking clarification on this issue, Swamy would advance arguments on his plea.

He informed the judge that it would take around a month to get the response and thus the court should defer the matter.

Swamy had earlier argued that Raja's statement to the JPC is an important piece of document to arrive at the truth and the logical conclusion in 2G spectrum case.

He had also alleged that examination of witnesses of the CBI is "incomplete" as they have not discussed the meetings which took place regarding the allocation of 2G spectrum during Raja's tenure as Telecom Minister.

He had said that Raja's statement to the JPC speaks about various meetings which took place regarding allocation and pricing of spectrum.

Swamy had also pressed for summoning of then Finance Ministry officials Sindhushree Khullar and Shyamala Shukla as witnesses to explain the file notings during those meetings.

On 4th May, Swamy had approached the court saying, "In order to ensure that all aspects of the case are examined, actual culprits may be booked, tried and punished it is necessary to summon the complete written statement filed by Raja before the JPC".

Swamy has sought summoning of Raja's 22nd April written statement to JPC Chairman P C Chacko along with the draft report of the JPC, the draft report of the Public Accounts Committee and also that of Shukla, the then Director of Infrastructure, and Khullar, the then Additional Secretary of Economic Affairs Department, to ascertain the truth.

New Delhi, August 15: The move to open up several sectors to foreign direct investment in the coming months.

"I believe that this phase of slow growth in India will not last long... The average rate of economic growth that we have attained in the last nine years (7.9 per cent) shows what we are capable of," Singh said in his address to the Nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on the occasion of 67th Independence Day.

The government expects the economic growth to recover to 6 per cent in the current fiscal, from the decade low level of 5 per cent recorded in 2012-13.

"... economic growth has slowed down at present and we are working hard to remedy the situation," Singh said.

Singh said the government has eased investment caps in several sectors and simplified procedures to boost flow of foreign direct investment (FDI).

Last month, the limit on foreign holdings in telecom was raised from 74 per cent to 100 per cent while restrictions in a dozen other sectors from insurance to tea plantations were eased or abolished. Besides, it has also liberalised the ECB norms for corporates.

"In the coming months, we will see visible results of these efforts to increase investment. Our growth will accelerate, new employment opportunities will be generated and there will be improvements in the infrastructure sector," he said.

Prime Minister hoped the landmark food security bill, which guarantees foodgrains at highly subsidised rates to 81 crore people, will be passed by Parliament shortly.

Faced with widening Current Account Deficit (CAD), the government is looking at ways to attract foreign funds in the form of FDI, External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) and Foreign Institutional Investment (FII).

The government hopes to bring down CAD, which is the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange, to USD 70 billion this fiscal from USD 88.2 billion in 2012-13.

The government will kick-start a number of new infrastructure projects including 8 new airports and two new sea-ports in the coming months to boost sluggish economic growth, Singh said while listing out government's initiative in this key sector.

"We will start work on a number of new infrastructure projects in the coming months. This includes 2 new ports, 8 new airports, new industrial corridors and rail projects," he said.

India is not the only country facing economic slowdown and world over there has been a slump in export markets and growth in developing countries have been affected.

"It is not only our country that is facing economic difficulties. The last year has been difficult for the world economy as a whole. Major European nations are experiencing a slowdown these days," he added.

In the last nine years, the economy has grown at an annual average rate of 7.9 per cent. "This pace of development is the highest in any decade so far," he said.

After growing at over 8 per cent for two consecutive years, the economic growth slowed to 6.2 per cent in 2011-12 and further to decade's low rate of 5 per cent last year on account of poor performance of farm, manufacturing and mining sectors.

"The average rate of economic growth that we have attained in the last 9 years shows what we are capable of," Singh said.

He said rapid economic growth is an imperative as without it the country cannot possibly achieve targets of removal of poverty, provision of good quality education and health services and creation of new employment opportunities.

In order to accord fast track clearances to large infrastructure projects, the government had in January set up a Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI), headed by the Prime Minister.

Stating that inadequate supply of coal had affected electricity generation, Singh said, "this has been resolved to a large extent."

"Our growth will accelerate, new employment opportunities will be generated and there will be improvement in the infrastructure sector," he said.

He said without rapid agriculture growth it would not be possible to make the villages prosperous.

"We have constantly endeavoured to increase production and ensure that farmers get remunerative prices for their produce," the Prime Minister added.

In the last 9 years, support prices for various crops have been enhanced as never before, Singh said adding that many states which faced shortages of food grains earlier are now producing more than what they require.

Singh said there had been good progress in the last 9 years in the infrastructure sector in areas such as roads, railways, power, civil aviation, ports and telecommunications.

He mentioned that telephone connections in the country has now reached 73 per cent from only 7 per cent in 2004.

"A special cell has been set up to help big projects with clearances. The Cabinet Committee on investment is working to remove hindrances in the way of stalled projects," Singh said.

New Delhi, August 13: To curb rising instances of public getting defrauded by money pooling schemes, capital market regulator SEBI has decided to declare illegal mobilisation of funds as a "fraudulent and unfair trade practice".

Besides, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has clarified that the existing list of activities coming under fraudulent and unfair trade practices can be further expanded whenever the need arises.

The decisions were taken by the Sebi board during its meeting in Mumbai on Monday.

Following Monday’s decision, all activities of money mobilisation through unauthorised Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) would face stronger penalties prescribed under the revised Sebi (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) Regulations.

The board has approved the "proposal to declare illegal mobilisation of funds without obtaining a certificate under the Sebi (Collective Investment Schemes) Regulations, 1999 as a fraudulent and unfair trade practice," according to an official release on Monday.

"This amendment has been made to impose deterrent adjudication penalties on unregistered CIS entities mobilising money," the release said.

The latest move comes against the backdrop of rising instances of fraudulent money pooling activities, including by a number of West Bengal-based groups such as Saradha, Rosevalley and Sumangal.

There have been also many innovative but illegal fund-raising schemes in the name of emu farming, goat rearing, cattle and butter, and holiday memberships.

Sebi has already got stronger powers to deal with all kinds of money pooling activities, including by unlisted companies, involving Rs 100 crore or more.

According to the release, the board also took note of the provisions in the ordinance promulgated last month to provide more powers to Sebi.

Meanwhile, the government has introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday to amend the existing securities market laws.

The Securities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013, would replace an ordinance promulgated last month.

Besides clamping down on fraudulent money pooling schemes, the amended legislation would provide more powers in terms of carrying out search and seizure activities and set up special courts to expedite cases.

The Bill is to amend the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and the Depositories Act, 1996.

"To protect the interests of investors and to ensure orderly development of securities markets, it has become necessary to enhance the powers of the Board," according to the Bill.

Sebi would also have powers to seek information, such as telephone call data records, from any person or entity in respect to any securities transaction being investigated by it.

The amendments, once in place, would clear the air over regulatory gaps and overlaps with regard to types of instruments used in raising funds.

Last month, the government had said the amendments would give Sebi the legal backing to clamp down on unscrupulous entities that are using newer methods to take gullible investors for a ride.

"... based on the experience gained over the years, it has become necessary to further strengthen the regulatory provisions to ensure effective enforcement of the securities market related laws while ensuring its orderly development," the Bill said.

New Delhi, August 12: Government will introduce on Monday in Parliament the Bill to amend the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Act that would give more powers to the capital market regulator Sebi.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram would introduce a "Bill further to amend the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and the Depositories Act, 1996", according to legislative business listed in the Lok Sabha for Monday.

Besides, the Minister would lay in the House an explanatory statement showing reasons for immediate legislation (The Securities Laws Amendment Bill, 2013) by promulgation of the securities laws.

Last month, President Pranab Mukherjee had promulgated an ordinance amending the securities law that would provide more powers to the capital market watchdog.

With the amendments, Sebi would have more powers to crack down on ponzi schemes, seek phone call records to check insider trading and carry out search and seizure operations.

In July, the government had said promulgation of the ordinance demonstrated its firm commitment and resolve to act with speed and alacrity to curb irregularities and frauds in securities market.

"Government believes that these amendments would give Sebi the legal backing to clamp down on unscrupulous entities that are using newer methods to take gullible investors for a ride," the government had said in an release.

As per the amended law, Sebi can regulate any money pooling scheme worth Rs 100 crore or more and attach assets in cases of non-compliance, it said adding the Sebi Chairman would have the authority to order "search and seizure operations".

The market watchdog would also have powers to seek information, such as telephone call data records, from any persons or entities in respect to any securities transaction being investigated by it.

The amendments would clear the air over regulatory gaps and overlaps with regard to types of instruments used in raising funds.

"Owing to new and innovative methods of raising funds from investors, such as art funds, time-share funds, emu /goat farming schemes, there has been regulatory gap/overlap regarding types of instruments/fund raising," the release had said.

New Delhi, August 9: Housing finance companies and infrastructure finance companies will get higher funding from the insurance companies as the sector regulator IRDA has relaxed investment norms for these firms.

"The investments in the debt instruments issued by housing finance companies as specified in the investment regulations shall not be included under the exposure to Financial and Insurance Activities," Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) said in a notification.

Presently, it said, such exposure to Housing finance companies and infrastructure finance companies is treated as exposure under Financial and Insurance Activities.

However, the industry exposure limits will continue to apply for such investments, it said.

According to analysts, the measures will help these companies to attract long term funds from insurance companies and help them in overcoming liquidity crunch.

Among other measures, the single investee debt exposure limits in housing finance companies have been enhanced to 20 percent of equity plus free reserves from existing 10 percent limit.

The 20 percent limit mentioned above can be further increased by an additional 5 percent with the prior approval of board of company, the notification said.

The group and promoter group exposure norms will continue to apply on the investments made in a housing finance company, it said.

These decisions were taken after representations from Housing finance companies and infrastructure finance companies.

New Delhi, August 6: The Indian rupee dropped to an all-time record low of 61.51 per dollar in the late morning session on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers amid weakness of dollar in the overseas market and fall in the equity market.

The rupee on Tuesday resumed lower at 61.05 per dollar as against the last closing level of 60.88 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and dropped further to an all-time record low of 61.51 per dollar before quoting at 61.43 at 1030 hrs.

The intra-day lowest of 61.21 was recorded on 8th July 2013.

Fresh dollar demand from banks and importers in view of fall in the equity market mainly affected the rupee value against the dollar, a forex dealer said.

The Indian benchmark Sensex dropped by 194.44 points or 1.01 percent at 18,987.82 at 1030hrs.

In New York, the dollar fell broadly on Monday as a better-than-expected reading on activity in the US service sector failed to overcome last weeks below-consensus report on job growth in the US and its implications for a slowing of Federal Reserve stimulus.

New Delhi, August 4: A special CBI court on Saturday listed for August 17 the arguments on a plea by Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy that the written statement given by former Telecom Minister A Raja to the JPC on 2G scam be placed before court.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini, who was scheduled to pass an order on the plea, posted it for August 17 after the counsel appearing on behalf of Swamy said that he would advance some arguments in the matter.

The lawyer told the court that Swamy was not in Delhi while the counsel, who was to argue on the plea, was unwell.

Swamy had earlier argued that Raja's statement to the JPC is an important piece of document to arrive at the truth and the logical conclusion in the 2G spectrum case.

He had also alleged that examination of witnesses of the CBI is "incomplete" as they have not discussed the meetings which took place regarding the allocation of 2G spectrum during Raja's tenure as the Telecom Minister.

He had said that Raja's statement to the JPC speaks about various meetings which took place regarding allocation and pricing of spectrum.

Swamy had also pressed for summoning of then Finance Ministry officials Sindhushree Khullar and Shyamala Shukla as witnesses to explain the file notings during those meetings.

On May 4, Swamy had approached the court saying, "In order to ensure that all aspects of the case are examined, actual culprits may be booked, tried and punished it is necessary to summon the complete written statement filed by A Raja before the JPC".

Swamy has sought summoning of Raja's April 22 written statement to JPC Chairman P C Chacko along with the draft report of the JPC, the draft report of the Public Accounts Committee and also Shukla, the then Director of Infrastructure, and Khullar, the then Additional Secretary of Economic Affairs Department, to ascertain the truth.

Mumbai, July 30: The BSE benchmark Sensex on Tuesday recovered by over 27 points in early trade as funds and investors made selective buying ahead of the RBI's quarterly monetary policy review, amid a firming Asian trend.

Snapping its four-day long losing streak, the 30-share barometer gained by 27.29 points, or 0.13 percent, to 19,620.57 with capital goods, IT and banking sector stocks leading the recovery. The index had lost nearly 710 points in the last four sessions.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty up by 11.85 points, or 0.20 percent, to 5,843.50.

Brokers said fresh buying by participants before the Reserve Bank's first quarter monetary policy review today, mainly attributed rise in stock prices.

Besides, a firming trend in the Asian region also supported the upside, they said.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.69 percent, Japan's Nikkei up by 1.38 points in early trade on Tuesday.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.24 percent lower in the previous session.

Mumbai, July 29: The BSE benchmark Sensex on Monday  fell over 39 points in early trade, extending losses for the fourth straight session, due to increased selling by funds ahead of RBI's policy review Tuesday amid a weak trend in other Asian markets.

The 30-share barometer fell by 39.37 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 19,708.82.

The index had lost nearly 555 points in the previous three sessions.

Stocks of banking, FMCG, realty, metal and capital goods sectors were major losers, pulling down the benchmark Sensex.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index, Nifty moved down by 16.19 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 5,869.30.

Brokers said selling by funds and other participants ahead of Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review to be announced tomorrow and a weak trend in the Asian region, mainly dampened the trading sentiment here. In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded lower by 0.51 per cent, Japan's Nikkei Index fell 2.33 per cent, in early trade.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.02 per cent higher on Friday.