11 July 2013

NTPC to tap Rs 2.5k crore via tax-free bonds this fiscal

The infrastructure bond market is in for some big action, with state-run generation utility NTPC gearing up to issue tax-free bonds for Rs 2,500 crore this fiscal to fund its capital expenditure plansThis will be the first of the Rs 50,000 crore tax-free infrastructure bonds that the government had said in the Budget it would issue this fiscal. NTPC has approached the government for permission to issue the bonds with maturity periods ranging from 10-20 years due to the long time power projects take to build.

France bans sale of latest Mercedes cars

The latest models of Mercedes cars cannot be sold in France as they still use an air conditioning refrigerant the EU says emits excessive greenhouse gases and should be replaced, the German auto company said on Tuesday.

"Only new cars are subject to the measure," a company spokesman told AFP adding that customers confronted with the ban are to be offered alternate models.

Since January 1, European Union norms demand that car makers use a cleaner R1234yf refrigerant, deemed less polluting than older products.

But Daimler is sticking to R134a, an older coolant, as it claims studies have shown that the new gas catches fire more easily and puts cars at a greater risk of explosion in case of a crash.

Dealers can exploit holes in trading curbs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Sebi's moves to curb speculation in the currency derivatives market have left several loopholes that traders can still exploit, raising demands for further checks.

To begin with, exchanges are interpreting the rules differently even when the norms are applicable. Sebi has said that the rules are applicable from Thursday and has asked non-bank traders to maintain open position of up to 15% of the total open interest or $50 million, whichever is lower.

Unmanned jet lands aboard US Navy carrier in historic first

An unmanned US jet carried out a maneuver on Wednesday long considered the most challenging in naval aviation - landing aboard an aircraft carrier - in a milestone that lifted expectations about basing drones with reconnaissance and strike capabilities on ships. The X-47Bs will be retired to flight museums in Florida and Maryland after completing a minimum of three arrested landings aboard a carrier in the coming week, officials said.

In their place, the Navy has started the follow-on UCLASS program to design and build unmanned reconnaissance and strike aircraft to be deployed aboard carriers in the coming three to six years.

IIT entry turns into a lopsided ‘board game’, 80% candidates from 3 boards

For long, when it came to getting into an Indian Institute of Technology, signing up with the right coaching centre was what mattered more than which school board you attended. But the new entrance exam system, which gives weightage to class XII scores of candidates, has changed the rules of the game in one fell swoop.

The list of candidates selected last week for the IITs showed that a vast majority of the successful candidates - more than 8,000 out of 9,700 - or over 80% came from just three school boards: the CBSE, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab state boards.

Veteran Luxembourg PM Juncker resigns in spy scandal

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, Europe's longest-serving leader, tenders his resignation on Thursday in a scandal involving the tiny nation's secret services, alleged to have indulged in misconduct on his watch.

Govt in favour of quota in higher judiciary

The government seems to be in agreement with Chief Justice of India-designate P Sathasivam on having reservation in the higher judiciary.

We have to give representation to OBCs,SCs/STs and other minorities in the appointment of judges to high courts and the Supreme Court. Though there is no reservation rule, the selection or appointing authority must keep this in mind. In a country like ours, where different communities, cultures are there, we have to give some latitude to them and fill up those pores," Justice Sathasivam had said.