Briefly Business

Under pressure from railway minister Mamata Banerjee and concerned over rising inflation,the government has once again deferred a decision on levying service tax on transport of goods by rail to July 1.

Rail freight service tax deferred by 3 months

New Delhi: Under pressure from railway minister Mamata Banerjee and concerned over rising inflation,the government has once again deferred a decision on levying service tax on transport of goods by rail to July 1. This is the fourth time that the government is postponing a decision on service tax on rail freight which was to be implemented from April 1,2010. The service tax on rail freight was to be implemented from April 1. We have deferred it by three months, a finance ministry official said.

Sensex up 178 points,regains 19,000 level

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex on Tuesday closed above the 19,000 level after a gap of 2 months as it gained 178 points,up for the sixth session in a row on sustained FII buying,amid further easing of oil prices that reduced fears of inflationary pressure and hike in interest rates. The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer closed at 19,120.80 the level not seen since January 24. It rose 177.66 points or 0.94 per cent. The NSE 50-issue Nifty also firmed by 49.10 points or 0.86 per cent to end above the 5,700-mark,at 5,736.35.

UBI receives R682 cr capital infusion

Mumbai: Union Bank of India UBI on Tuesday said it has received a capital infusion of Rs 682 crore from the government of India through a preferential allotment of shares. The bank received the infusion by way of preferential allotment of equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 344.94 in favour of Government of India,the lender said in a release. With the infusion,the governments equity holding in the bank moves up to 57.07 per cent from 55.43 per cent it disclosed as of December 31,2010.

BoM opens 11 new branches,22 ATMs

Mumbai: In a bid to expand its pan India presence,Bank of Maharashtra BoM today opened 11 branches and 22 ATMs facilities in three states 8212; Gujarat,Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. Its branch-network now stands at 1,536 and its ATM network at 415,which will serve more than 13-million customers,a release said. Of the 11 new branches opened,six are in Gujarat,four in Maharashtra and one in Chhattisgarh. Of these,one is an exclusive branch for self-help groups SHGs in Mumbai,the release said.

RBI offices in Mumbai to remain open on Apr 1

Mumbai: Despite the Maharashtra governments decision to declare a holiday on April 1,2011,the RBI will remain open on the same day in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai on April 1,the apex bank said. The RBI and its offices in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai will function normally on April 01,2011,the RBI said in a release. The government of Maharashtra has declared April 1 as a bank holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act,1881,to facilitate the annual closing of banks accounts by March 31,2011.