Business/Economy

Three cricketers grilled together, TV footage sought (Second Lead) (21:34)
New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Three Rajasthan Royal players, S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan, arrested for alleged spot fixing in IPL cricket matches, were Saturday questioned in each others' presence by Delhi Police, an official said.

Tihar registers record turnover (21:04)
New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) The Tihar Jail here registered a record turnover of Rs.32.17 crore in 2012-13 against a turnover of Rs.12.20 crore during the previous year.

Selling less gold coins may not reduce consumption: SBI chief (21:02)
Kolkata, May 18 (IANS) State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Pratip Chaudhuri Saturday said the central bank's request to banks not to aggressively sell gold products may not lead to a reduction in consumption and greater steps are required to check the demand for the precious metal.

Saradha promoter says 'happy' with scam probe (18:44)
Kolkata, May 18 (IANS) Days after submitting an affidavit in the court opposing a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, Saradha chit fund scam's suspected kingpin Sudipta Sen Saturday said he was happy with the course of the investigation being carried out by the West Bengal Police.

15 percent funds earmarked for sanitation projects (18:44)
New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) The government is earmarking 15 percent of the total outlay of all projects in any district for proper sanitation and clean drinking water, officials said Saturday.

Let RBI be sole regulator for all home loan providers: SBI chief (18:24)
Kolkata, May 18 (IANS) The country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), Saturday sought the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should become the sole regulator for all home loan institutions - banks as well as housing finance companies.

Ghaziabad eases land policy for weaker sections (18:18)
Ghaziabad, May 18 (IANS) The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has liberalised its policies to benefit small land holders, farmers and economically deprived section of the society, an official said Thursday.

Chhabaria unveils auto design studio in Bangalore (18:10)
Bangalore, May 18 (IANS) Renowned automobile designer Dilip Chhabaria Saturday unveiled his design studio here to showcase his award-winning and innovative designs.

Hydro projects in Spiti top priority: Virbhadra Singh (17:48)
Tabo (Himachal Pradesh), May 18 (IANS) Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Saturday said more micro and mini hydropower projects would be set up in Spiti Valley to usher an era of prosperity and provide employment opportunities to the youth of the area.

Saradha Group promoter sent to judicial custody till May 31 (Lead) (17:46)
Kolkata, May 18 (IANS) Rejecting the bail plea of Saradha Group promoter Sudipta Sen and one of his close aides, a local court in West Bengal Saturday remanded them to judicial custody till May 31

SBI's overseas business margins under pressure: Chairman (16:58)
Kolkata, May 18 (IANS) Public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Pratip Chaudhuri Saturday said the lender's margins in overseas business were under pressure.

Punjab, Haryana stare at lower wheat arrivals (16:54)
By Jaideep Sarin
Chandigarh, May 18 (IANS) What was supposed to be a bumper crop with a record target for wheat procurement has turned out to be a dampener with much lower quantities of wheat arriving in grain markets across Punjab and Haryana - the country's breadbasket.

Sensex rallies for 5th straight week; up 164 points (Weekly market review) (16:52)
Mumbai, May 18 (IANS) Key indices of Indian equities markets rallied for the fifth week in a row, with the benchmark Sensex gaining 164 points in the weekly trade as a sharp drop in inflation boosted hopes of an early rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India.

Saradha Group promoter sent to judicial custody till May 31 (16:38)
Kolkata, May 18 (IANS) Rejecting the bail plea of Saradha Group promoter Sudipta Sen and one of his close aides, a local court in West Bengal Saturday remanded them to judicial custody.

PM to attend SEBI silver jubilee May 24 (16:02)
Mumbai, May 18 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend the silver jubilee celebrations of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) here Friday, an official said here.

Make people aware of shady firms: SBI chief (15:50)
Kolkata, May 18 (IANS) Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman of the country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), said Saturday that the RBI and SEBI should start public awareness campaigns for depositors on the risk of investing in shady companies.

Kashmir quake victims allege discrimination (15:02)
Jammu, May 18 (IANS) Victims of the May 1 earthquake in the mountainous Doda and Kishtwar regions of Jammu and Kashmir allege the government is adopting an "unfair and partisan approach" in disbursing relief to them.

Northeast railway projects will be delayed (14:18)
Agartala, May 18 (IANS) Due to lack of funds, several national railway projects in southern Assam, Tripura and other northeastern states would be delayed by a year, an official said here Saturday.

Western Ghat report has imperialist mindset: Ecologist (14:08)
Panaji, May 18 (IANS) Ecologist Madhav Gadgil has picked holes in former ISRO head K. Kasturirangan's high-level working group (HLWG) report on the environmentally sensitive Western Ghats, saying it endorses "exploitation" of the region's natural resources.

Indian, Nigerian teams win Africa business contest (With Images) (12:10)
Johannesburg, May 18 (IANS) An Indian team comprising IITians and a Nigerian team promoting low-cost farm products have triumphed at an India-Africa business competition held here.

Brazilian firm to build thermal plant in Peru (11:04)
Lima, May 18 (IANS/EFE) Genrent do Brasil has been awarded a concession to build a 70 MW thermoelectric plant and temporarily supply electricity to the Peruvian Amazon city of Iquitos, authorities said.

Russia's GDP growth slumps to 1.6 per cent (07:48)
Moscow, May 18 (IANS/RIA Novosti) There was just 1.6 per cent growth witnessed in the Russian GDP in the first quarter this year, which is its fifth quarterly fall, according to the country's federal statistics service.

UAE, Mozambique sign air transport accord (06:34)
Dubai, May 18 (IANS/WAM) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Mozambique have signed a bilateral accord covering air transport.

China opposes EU's aviation emissions levy (05:14)
Beijing, May 18 (IANS) China has opposed the European Union's (EU) unilateral decision to incorporate international flights originating from countries outside of the EU into its carbon trading scheme, reported Xinhua.

Woodland to re-position 'Woods' footwear sub-brand (22:16)
Kolkata, May 17 (IANS) Footwear major Woodland, owned by the Aero Group, is looking to re-position its sub-brand 'Woods' in the luxury footwear segment, focusing primarily on women's footwear, a top company official said Friday.