20 September, 2013

Gold futures shed 0.25% on profit-booking

Gold futures prices on Friday fell by 0.25% to Rs 30,469 per 10 grams as speculators locked in gains amid a weak global trend.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold prices for delivery in October fell by Rs 75 or 0.25%, to Rs 30,469 per 10 grams in business turnover of 136 lots.

Similarly, metal prices for delivery in December declined by Rs 73, or 0.24%, to Rs 30,336 per 10 grams in 13 lots.

Market analysts said the fall in gold futures was mostly attributed to the profit-booking by speculators and a weak trend in the global market as US economic data backed the case for reduced stimulus after the Federal Reserve this week maintained the pace of monthly bond purchases.

Meanwhile, gold prices fell 0.07% to $1,364.10 an ounce in Singapore.

Govt approves 10% dearness allowance hike, to benefit 80 lakh

The government on Friday approved a proposal to hike dearness allowance to 90% from existing 80%, a move that would benefit about 50 lakh central government employees and 30 lakh pensioners.

"The Union Cabinet approved the proposal to increase dearness allowance to 90% at its meeting. The hike would be effective from July 1, this year," a source said.

According to the source, the increase in DA to 90% would result in additional annual expenditure of Rs 10,879 crore. There would be additional burden of Rs 6,297 crore on exchequer during 2013-14 on account of this hike in DA.

L'Oreal India acquires Cheryl's Cosmeceuticals

L'Oreal India has announced the acquisition of Cheryl's Cosmeceuticals, a pioneer in professional skin care products and treatments in beauty salons across the country. This is the first acquisition for L'Oreal in India.

Mumbai-based, Cheryl's Cosmeceuticals was created in 1986 by Oscar & Cheryl Pereira and is today synonymous with superlative skin care treatments and products across salons in India. In 2012, Cheryl's Cosmeceuticals had a distribution network spanning over 10 000 salons in India and a turnover of approximately Rs 20 crore.

"This is an attractive opportunity for L'Oreal in India as it broadens the product offering of our Professional Products Division in this country to also include skincare products and services. It will further enhance our leadership position in the very dynamic professional products market where we are present with our brands — L'Oreal Professionnel, Matrix, and Kerastase,'' said Jean-Christophe Letellier, managing director, L'Oreal India.

SBI surprises with rate hike

Home and auto loans have become costlier with State Bank of India (SBI) hiking its benchmark rates and revising the pricing in retail loans. The bank has also raised its deposit rates to increase the pace of fund mobilisation.

A Rs 30-lakh home loan from SBI will now cost 10.1%, while loans for a higher amount will attract 10.3%. Earlier, the rates were 9.95% and 10.1%, respectively. Existing borrowers will, however, see their rates rise by only 10 basis points. This is perhaps the first time that existing borrowers will pay a lower rate than new borrowers following a revision in the spread. The spread refers to the mark-up over the benchmark base rate, which has been revised from 9.7% to 9.8%.

Bastar's 'Tiger boy' passes away; had played lead role in Oscar-winning movie

Tribal Bastar's "Tiger Boy", who had shot into international fame as a 10-year-old after starring in an Oscar-winning movie the " Jungle Saga" by Swedish director Arne Suksdorff in the 1960s, passed away at his native village Garh Bengal in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh.

"Chendru Mandavi died after a prolonged illness, triggered out of a paralytic stroke which he had suffered last year. He died on September 18 in Bastar," said his friend Yeshwant Ramteke who posted an appeal on social networking sites last month requesting for the support of the people, saying that his family was struggling for his treatment.

Shot into fame at the age of ten as a 'Tiger Boy' in the 1960 Oscar-winning movie 'Jungle Saga' that depicted his amazing friendship with a tiger in the jungle, Chendru's journey from the remote district of Bastar to international glory and back again to the still remote and backward village in Narayanpur district is a story of short-lived fame. Chendru became more famous when a book "Chendru: The boy and the tiger" was written on him, which eventually became a bestseller

Chidambaram overruled home ministry babus on Bharat Ratna for sports stars

Sportspersons would have continued to be denied India's highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, if bureaucrats had their way. File notings, accessed through RTI, reveal that the home ministry was initially not in favour of widening the scope of Bharat Ratna fearing that it would open floodgates for sportspersons and other vocations like social work, trade and industry as well.

The government eventually reversed its decision and amended the qualification for the decoration from "exceptional service towards the advancement of art, literature and science, and in recognition of public service of the highest order" to "decoration shall be awarded for exceptional service in any field" in November, 2011.

According to documents — received in response to an RTI filed by activist S C Agrawal — the home ministry officials felt that inclusion of sports as a category may raise the issue of other fields of work to be added. In its note, a ministry official argued for keeping the norms unchanged, "The reason behind inclusion of sports as a field of Bharat Ratna is to honour Shri Sachin Tendulkar. No doubt Shri Tendulkar deserves the highest recognition of the country but there are several other sportsperson who have made the country proud such as Major Dhyan Chand in hockey, Jaspal Rana in shooting, Vishwanathan Anand in chess, P T Usha in athletics and many more."

Later, this view was overruled by senior officials and then home minister P Chidambaram who voiced the opinion that "Bharat Ratna be considered a decoration for advancement in any field instead of a limited number and be qualified to include only exceptional cases." The view was also endorsed by PM Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil.

The issue came up after sports minister Ajay Maken sought conferment of the honour for Tendulkar. In a letter written in April 2011 Maken said that sports acted as a binding force in a pluralistic society and helped nurture national pride. "It has become one of the most potent tools of involving youth and citizen away from divisive tendencies. Hence sports should be included as an area of recognition for the conferment of the Bharat Ratna," he had said. A similar request was sent by MP Madhusudan Yadav. The ministry also received letters against Tendulkar being given the award.

Wily N Srinivasan may be re-elected BCCI chief unopposed

The smug look on N Srinivasan's face at the end of the BCCI's marketing committee meeting in Mumbai on Thursday said it all. That is because Srinivasan is set to be elected president unopposed for an additional one-year term at the BCCI's Annual General Meeting in Chennai on September 29.

Srinivasan is virtually sure of retaining the chair after getting his candidature endorsed by five of the six South Zone units. As per BCCI's constitution, any candidate aspiring for the top post needs a proposer and 'seconder' from the zone whose turn it is to elect the president. And the turn this time is South Zone's.

By securing the backing of Karnataka, Kerala, Hyderabad, Andhra and, of course, his own association, Tamil Nadu, Srinivasan has engineered a technical knock-out of sorts by eliminating any opposition to his candidature. Srinivasan's master stroke has left his rivals in the BCCI red-faced as they need the support of at least one more South Zone unit apart from Goa Cricket Association to put up a candidate against the incumbent president.