Sensitive items import up by 15.8 pc

Indias imports of sensitive items,including foodgrains and milk products.

NEW DELHI: Indias imports of sensitive items,including foodgrains and milk products,have gone up by 15.8 per cent to Rs 33,912 crore during the April-September of the current fiscal,from Rs 29,292 crore a year-ago. Foodgrains import soared to Rs 190.8 crore during the first six months of this fiscal from mere Rs 8.4 crore and in the year-ago period,according to the latest official data. Items such as foodgrains,automobiles,milk and beverages fall in the sensitive category and these imports are monitored by the government to see if there is any adverse impact on the domestic industry.

MMTC to open office in Johannesburg

NEW DELHI: State-owned trading firm MMTC is all set to open its office in Johannesburg on January 10,a move aimed at stepping up its business,especially in diamonds,with South Africa and other countries in the African continent. Initially the company will start a liaison office,which will later be upgraded into a full-fledged establishment,an official said. The MMTC office would be inaugurated by commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma.

Railways earnings up nearly 8 per cent

NEW DELHI: Indian Railways registered an increase of nearly 8 per cent in its earnings during April-December this fiscal. The PSU earned Rs 67,880.82 crore during April-December 2010 period as compared with Rs 63,009.23 crore earned during the same period last year,registering an increase of 7.73 per cent. Goods earnings have gone up from Rs 42,522.43 crore during April-December 2009 to Rs 45,290.35 crore for the same period in 2010,showing an increase of 6.51 per cent. Passenger earnings during the first nine months of the financial year was Rs 19,205.26 crore compared with Rs 17,496.89 crore during same period last year.

Tata Steel forges JV with Nippon Steel

Mumbai: Tata Steel on Friday said it has inked a joint venture agreement with Nippon Steel for setting up a Rs 2,300 crore specialty steel-making line having a capacity of 60,000 tonnes per annum at Jamshedpur to cater to the domestic auto sector. The project is expected to be operational in three years time. Tata Steel would hold a majority 51 per cent stake in the unnamed joint venture entity while the Japanese major would have the rest 49 per cent stake,the domestic steel major said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

CARE gets rating licence in Maldives

MUMBAI: Indian rating agency Credit Analysis and Research Ltd CARE Ratings has been granted licence for conducting credit rating operations in the Maldives by its Capital Market Development Authority CMDA with effect from January 6,2011. This is the first rating agency to be awarded such a licence. Managing director and CEO of CARE Ratings DR Dogra said,It is a great opportunity for two dynamic markets to create synergies and grow together.