Daily News Roundup - Nov 8 2011

Axis Bank said it continues to be bullish on lending to small industries despite concerns over asset quality coupled with doubtful macroeconomic situation and is targeting to grow the book by up to 25 % each over the next two years.(ET)

State Bank of India said a bank officers' body has deferred a two-day nationwide strike it had earlier called for, restoring normal operations at the bank. (ET)

Reliance Power has tied up funds for its 40 MW solar power project, with loans worth Rs5.25bn coming from the Asian Development Bank and the US Exim Bank.(ET)



The ONGC board has given its nod for acquiring Asian Development Bank's stake in Petronet LNG. (BL)

In a move to adopt the best international practices, Coal India Limited may benchmark its produce to gross calorific value (GCV) of coal, beginning January1. (BL)

Despite buying close to 3.5 mn tonnes (mt) of iron ore through e-auction till date, JSW Steel still hasn't managed to ramp up production at its 10-mt plant in Karnataka.(BS)

GMR Infrastructure is close to winning a Rs15bn highway project in Andhra Pradesh. The company, based in this city, is bidding aggressively for this 145-km project connecting Hyderabad with Sangareddy, a district headquarters to the northwest, on the route to Mumbai.(BS)

Hypercity Retail (India) is planning to open 9-12 large format stores in tier I and II cities in the next three years.(BS)

NTPC has chalked out ambitious plans of taking its capacity to over 1,28,000 MW by 2032.(ET)

The Jaypee Group is negotiating with investors to sell a part of its cement business as the real estateto-power group tries to pare debt, which is over US$8bn by more than a third. (ET)

DLF Brand has struck an agreement with Claire's Stores Inc, one of the world's leading fashion jewelry and accessories retailers, to bring the brand to India. (ET)

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), in navi Mumbai, is in the process of expanding its capacity five fold in the next eight to 10 years, apart from its major projects such as setting up of a special economic zone (SEZ) in a public private partnership.(BS)

Central Bank of India is consciously bringing down the proportion of high-cost bulk deposits in total deposits, focusing on lending to retail, the priority sector and mid-corporate segments, and holding recovery camps for small-ticket loans which have turned bad. (BL)
Economy Snippets

Food inflation in India was a matter of great concern and Finance minister cited higher demand for meat, eggs, vegetables and milk as the prime reason for the recent spike in food prices. (ET)

The Reserve Bank of India has made a case for fixed lending rates for longterm loans. "Any long-term product, if it is on a fixed-rate basis, is better from an interest rate-risk perspective," said Reserve Bank of India deputy governor, Anand Sinha while speaking on the sidelines of a bankers' conference. (ET)

Post office savings bank deposits without any fixed maturity will earn interest of 4 % up from 3.5 % now.(BL)

Reserve Bank of India has eased rules regarding share transfers between Indians and non-resident investors, in a move to liberalize and rationalize policies governing foreign direct investments (FDI) in the country, it said in a statement.(FE)

India's coffee exports rose by 42 % to 3,60,540 tonnes in the 2010-11 coffee year ended September this year, according to a report by the International Coffee Organisation (ICO).(FE)