Indian Stock Market Blog

Inflation rises to 5.43%
India’s inflation, based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), rose to 5.43% in the week ended December 16 owing to a rise in the prices of manufactured products, the Government said on Friday. Economists had been looking for a reading of around 5.28%. Inflation was 5.32% in the previous week and 4.62% in the year-ago period. The WPI rose by 0.05% to 207.8 from 207.7 in the previous week. The index for Primary Articles (weight: 22%) declined by 0.1% to 211.8 from 212.1 in the previous week. The index for Fuel, Power, Light & Lubricants (Weight 14.23%) remained unchanged at its previous week’s level of 322.6. The index for Manufactured Products (Weight 63.75%) rose by 0.2% to 180.8 from 180.5 in the previous week. Meanwhile, the Government revised upwards the inflation rate for the week ended October 21, from a provisional figure of 5.41% to 5.61%. The final WPI for the same period stood at 208.8 compared to the preliminary level of 208.4.

Govt mulling FDI in select areas of retail
Foreign investors could get a new year’s gift from the Government. The bounty could come in the form of FDI in various areas of the organised retail. According to newspaper reports, the Commerce & Industry Ministry is preparing a detailed policy on further liberalisation of the retail sector. The official announcement on the same is likely to come before the budget. The Government is considering allowing 51% FDI in retailing of sports goods, electronics goods and building equipment, the papers report. Since there are no small manufacturers or retailers in these areas, the Government might permit FDI in both the front-end and in the back-end operations. Also on the anvil is a plan to allow multi-brand outlets in these areas. What is not clear, however is that whether the Government will allow FDI in these areas through the automatic route or through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Another caveat is that the Government will have to get the green signal from the Left parties before going ahead with any such move.

Govt awards LOI for two UMPPs
The Government awarded the Letters of Intent (LOI) for awarding the first two Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) to the successful bidders, namely Tata Power Co. Ltd. and Lanco Infratech Ltd. Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde handed over the LOI to the consortium of Globeleq Singapore Pte. Ltd and Lanco Infratech Ltd. for Sasan UMPP in Madhya Pradesh while Tata Power bagged Mundra UMPP in Gujarat. Bids for these projects were received earlier and the successful developers were selected on the basis of lowest quoted tariff. The process of selection of successful developer for other UMPPs namely, Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Tiliaya (Jharkhand) is expected to be completed by April 2007. Request from Jharkhand for an UMPP is also under consideration. The Government of India has envisaged a capacity addition of 100,000 MW to meet its mission of ‘Power For All by 2012’. Achievement of this target requires the development of large capacity projects at the national level to meet the requirements of a number of states. The Government is working together for the development of 9 UMPPs through tariff-based competitive bidding.

No pulling out from Singur: Ratan Tata
Despite the controversy surrounding land acquisition in Singur, the Tata Group will not take a backward step on the proposed one-lakh car project, said Ratan Tata, the chairman of the group. The issue snowballed into a political hot potato, with Trinamool Congress leader Mamta Banerjee going on a hunger strike (which she ended later in the week) and the BJP backing her opposition to the proposed car factory. But notwithstanding the local resistance and political pressure, Ratan Tata has made it clear that the group intends to go ahead with its plans for the new plant in West Bengal. “I think the West Bengal government has been very steadfast in its support of the project and I think it would be wrong for us to say that we will pull out and go,” he told NDTV 24×7 in an interview, to be telecast on Saturday at 10 pm.

Anil Ambani confirms interest in Hutch Essar
Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCL) officially confirmed that it is interested in buying Hutchison Telecommunication International Ltd.’s (HTIL) 67% stake in Hutchison Essar, a joint venture between the Essar Group and HTIL. “RCL, as part of its overall growth strategy, is continuously examining several organic and inorganic growth opportunities. Hutch Essar is one such situation,” Anil Ambani, Chairman of RCL said. “A potential combination of this nature could create compelling value for all shareholders of RCL.” Ambani said that his company has exclusive financial support from leading international banks and financial institutions to acquire Hutch Essar. “Frankly, we have lost count of how many private equity players have lined up behind us,” the junior of the two Ambani brothers told a news conference in Mumbai. “The vast majority of the top 10 players are with us.” RCL will need funds to fend off competition from Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile-phone company, and Essar Group, which controls a 33% stake in Hutch Essar, India’s fourth-largest wireless company. According to reports, Vodafone and the Ruias of Essar Group have put forward their indicative prices which value Hutch Essar between US $16.5bn and US $18bn. This is substantially lower than the US$21bn sought by HTIL. Essar has the first right of refusal, or the right to be first offered the option of buying HTIL’s stake in Hutch Essar.

S&P affirms Reliance ratings
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) affirmed its long-term foreign and local currency ratings on Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) at ‘BBB’, indicating investment grade. The affirmation reflects RIL’s dominant competitive position, the relatively stable medium term prospects for its core refining and petrochemical businesses, and an overall moderate financial profile of the company, the global credit rating agency said in a statement. The ratings, with stable outlook, factor in the likelihood of timely completion of its ongoing projects, specifically the new refinery at Jamnagar. It is also underpinned by the expectation that RIL would pursue its non-core businesses, specifically the retail foray, in a phased-out manner, as an accelerated investment strategy can weigh on the company’s overall credit p rofile, S&P said.
The ratings remain constrained by RIL’s exposure to highly cyclical industries, large capital commitments in its refining, exploration and production businesses, and uncertainties in developing its reportedly large gas reserves, it added.

Dr. Reddy’s wins nod for generic Zofran
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. announced that the USFDA had granted final approval for it’s Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Ondansetron Hydrochloride Tablets, in 4mg, 8mg, 16mg and 24mg strengths. As the first company to file an ANDA containing a paragraph IV certification for this product, the company has been awarded a 180-day period of marketing exclusivity, Dr. Reddy’s said. The company will commence the shipment of this product shortly, it added. Dr. Reddy’s Ondansetron Hydrochloride Tablets are the AB-rated generic equivalent of GlaxoSmithKline’s Zofran tablets, a product indicated for the prevention of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer treatment. The brand product has annual IMS sales (June 2006 MAT) of about US$639mn. “With six product introductions to date in the current year, we are making good progress in building a sustainable base generics business with potential upsides in the US in the medium term,” said G.V. Prasad, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Dr. Reddy’s.

Wockhardt launches Ondansetron injection in US
Wockhardt Ltd. said that its US subsidiary launched Ondansetron injection, the first working day after the patent for the product expired on Dec. 24. Ondansetron is the generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Zofran injection and is used in controlling nausea and vomiting following cancer chemotherapy. It is the largest selling anti-emetic product in the world. Sales of Zofran injection in the US during the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2006, were US$628mn. According to the online magazine Drug Topics, Zofran was the 20th most expensive brand-name drug used in hospitals in the US in 2005, with total costs of US $839.26mn. Ondansetron injection is manufactured at the USFDA-certified sterile formulation plant at Waluj in Aurangabad. Wockhardt has two other sterile formulation plants approved by USFDA in India and the UK. “This is Wockhardt’s eighth product approval from USFDA in 2006 and the third injection product in the US market,” said Wockhardt Chairman Habil Khorakiwala. “We now market 15 products in the US, with 10 of them launched during 2006.”

Indian Hotels buys Amalgam Foods
Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. said that Residency Foods & Beverages Ltd. (RFBL), an associates company, has picked up 80.6% stake in Kochi-based Amalgam Foods & Beverages Ltd. (AFBL) for Rs 180mn. Residency Foods is an existing associate company of Indian Hotels with interest in the food & beverages business. The acquisition has been made by Residency Foods in a related line of activity, namely foods. Residency Foods is an unlisted company in which Indian Hotels holds a 25% stake. Amalgam Foods is part of the Rs2.5bn sea food exporter Amalgam Group and has a portfolio of frozen ready-to-eat products under the Sumeru brand. The company is currently selling its products through 2,000 outlets across the country.

Bajaj Hindusthan FY06 net up 36% yoy
Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd. reported a 36% increase in net profit at Rs1.91bn for the financial year ended September 30, 2006. The company’s net profit during 2004-05 stood at Rs1.4bn. Total revenue stood at Rs14.87bn for the year 2005-06 versus Rs8.55bn in the previous year, registering a growth of 74%. The company has recommended a dividend of 60%. Bajaj Hindusthan’s sugar sales volume increased 57% during the year to 720,798 tons. “The results could have been much better but for higher cane prices, lower recoveries due to earlier start of the crushing season and the Government’s ban on exports, which impacted the domestic sugar realisations,” Chairman and Managing Director, Shishir Bajaj said. He said that the expansion of the company’s subsidiary Bajaj Hindustan Sugar and Industries Ltd. (BHSIL) was on schedule and crushing was expected to start at 40,000 tons crushed per day (TCD) in the next crushing season.

Japanese industrial output hits new record
Japan’s industrial production rose to a new record in November, buoyed by increased demand for it’s cars, consumer electronics, liquid crystal displays and game consoles in the global market. Factory output rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% from a month earlier. The average estimate of economists was for an increase of 1%. The industrial production index climbed to 108.6, the highest ever as measured by the 2000 base year. The rise followed a 1.6% gain in October from September. Year-on-year, output rose 4.8% in November, the 16th consecutive month of increase. Manufacturers’ output – the core component of production – is expected to rise a further 0.7% in December but would slip 0.8% in January. The trade ministry maintained its assessment on industrial output, saying that it is on a rising trend. Despite a rebound in production and shipments, the inventory index rose a sharp 1.4% from the previous month to 97.2 in November, an all-time high. Record production, combined with recent reports that showed rising inflation and a drop in the jobless rate, may prompt the Bank of Japan to hike the lowest interest rates among Group of Seven (G7) countries as soon as next month. Central bank Governor Toshihiko Fukui and his policy board are scheduled to conclude their next rate meeting on January 18.

Taiwan quake affects undersea cables
Telecom and Internet services across South East Asia was badly affected after a major earthquake hit southern Taiwan on Dec. 26. The quake, measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, damaged at least eight undersea fibre-optic cables that connect Asia with the rest of the world. The damage to the undersea cables disrupted voice as well as data traffic and hit business in the region. However, by the weekend, most telecom operators recovered most of their voice services and Internet access. China Network Communications and PCCW said they have normal voice services. Japan’s Softbank Corp. said 83% of its affected 152 corporate lines had recovered. The improvement in telecom services was due to operators rerouting traffic overland to Europe, then to the US, or via Southeast Asia to the US. Repairing the broken submarine cables may take two to three weeks.

Apple under scanner for stock options grant
Shares of Apple Computer fell on renewed concerns over the company’s stock-option granting practices. A California legal publication said that CEO Steve Jobs had hired a lawyer to represent him in federal inquiries and that some officials may have falsified documents. London-based Financial Times reported that CEO Steve Jobs was handed 7.5mn stock options in 2001 without the required authorization from the Apple’s board. The FT report said that records purported to show a full board meeting had taken place to authorize the stock options were later falsified. The story didn’t say who falsified the report. Jobs later surrendered his options before they were exercised, implying that he did not gain any direct benefit from them, FT reported. A spokesman for Apple said that the company had handed over the results of its previously announced internal probe to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

IBM, Siemens bag mega IT deal
International Business Machines (IBM) and Siemens announced that they had won a US $9.3bn deal to modernize the German military’s technology. The 10-year project, codenamed Herkules, foresees the modernization of the computers and communication networks for the German armed forces. According to a statement from the military, that covers more than 140,000 computer workstations, 7,000 servers, 300,000 telephones and 15,000 mobile phones. Siemens Business Services and IBM’s German unit jointly will hold 50.1% of a company being founded with the German government, named BWI Informationstechnik, to carry out the project. The federal government will hold the remaining 49.9%. IBM will be responsible for modernising the data centres, while SBS will take care of PCs, servers and phone systems at more than 1,500 locations around Germany.

Pfizer wins Viagra copycat case in China
Pfizer won a trademark case in China blocking drugmakers in the Middle Kingdom from copying its Viagra impotence pills’ blue diamond shape. A Beijing court ordered the three companies to pay a US$38,000 fine to Pfizer, stop producing the blue, diamond-shaped pills and print a public apology in a Chinese legal newspaper. This is the second intellectual property victory in China this year for New York-based Pfizer. In June, the same court sided with Pfizer in overturning a 2004 decision by China’s patent and trademark office that had invalidated Viagra’s patents. Pfizer has a separate lawsuit filed in China that would block companies from using Viagra’s Chinese name. Viagra is one of the world’s most copied drugs, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Viagra was used by 23mn men and had worldwide sales of US $1.6bn last year.

Major News

Hindustan Zinc cuts prices by Rs3200 to Rs2,21,500

Aurobindo Pharma acquires Pharmacin International in Netherlands

Lanco Infratech secures 4000 MW Ultra Mega power Project in MP

SBI plans to raise Rs20bn by March 07

State Bank of Mysore raises prime rate to 12% from 11.5%

Unichem gets nod to sell generic Mobic in US

Insider Trades:

Aurionpro Solutions Limited: Mr. Sandeep Daga, Director has sold in open market 9695 equity shares of Aurionpro Solutions Limited on 26th December, 2006.

Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd: Shri P B Kulkarni (Director) has sold in open market 12000 equity shares of Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd on 27th December, 28th December and 29th December 2006.
GENERAL

1)Manipur, Punjab and Uttaranchal will go to the polls in February next,
the Election Commission announced on Friday. Manipur (60 constituen-
cies) will witness polling on February 8,15 and 23; Punjab (117 consti-
tuencies) on February 13 and Uttaranchal(70 constituencies) on February
21. The terms of the Assemblies are due to end on March 11,17 and 20.
Hindu

ECONOMY

2)INFLATIONARY pressures heightened at the close of the year, touching
5.43% for the week ended December 16, one basis point short of the
fiscal’s highest inflation rate. The inflation stood at 5.32% in the
previous week. Inflation had touched its highest-level of 5.44% this
fiscal on June 17, which prompted the government to relax imports of
wheat, pulses and sugar, besides banning exports of sugar to augment
supply of these essential commodities. Finance minister P Chidambaram
said that the government’s immediate goal is to control inflationary
expectations, with a view to contain inflation below the 5%-mark in
2006-07 and below the 4%-mark in the medium term.
ET
3)Industry body Assocham has demanded creation of a Rs 100 crore venture
capital fund to enable various domestic outsourcing industries to take
on global giants and retain their strength in the global market. The
fund should be created with public private partnership to provide easy
financing facilities to business process outsourcing(BPO), knowledge
process outsourcing(KPO) and business transformation outsourcing(BTO)
industry to grab larger domestic ITeS market size from competing coun-
tries, the chamber said in a statement.
BS

CORPORATE / INDUSTRY

4)Aban Offshore Ltd on Friday said that its wholly owned subsidiary Aban
Singapore Pte Ltd(ASPL) will present an open offer to acquire the
remaining shares of Sinvest ASA for approximately $800 million. Aban
had bought 33.76% stake in Sinvest in June this year for an equity
value of $1.32 billion nd an enterprise value of $2.25 billion. The
open offer will enable the company to acquire a majority stake in
Sinvest ASA, there by placing it in the league of top 10 offshore dril-
ling service providers in the world in terms of offshore drilling assets
under management, Aban said in a statement to the BSE.
FE
5)THE Lanco Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the
government of Jharkhand for setting up a 2,640-mw thermal power pro-
ject in the state. As per the pact, the state government would assist
in land acquisition, infrastructure support and recommend captive coal
blocks required for the project. The MoU closely follows Lanco Group’s
recent win of the country’s first 4,000-mw ultra mega power project
estimated to cost Rs 16,000 crore by quoting a tariff of Rs 1.19 per
unit. With the Jharkhand project, Lanco’s total power generation
capacity would touch 12,000 mw.
ET
6)HYDERABAD-based Aurobindo Pharma has, through its subsidiary Agile
Pharma, Netherlands, acquired for E6 million Dutch generic pharma com-
pany Pharmacin International for an undisclosed sum. This is Aurobindo’s
second acquisition in Europe after it took over the UK’s Milpharm early
this year. According to a company statement, the acquisition will help
Aurobindo reduce its time to market in Europe and also build a broad
portfolio in the generic value chain. Pharmacin brings to the table
its strong presence in Europe with over 200 product registrations for
63 customers in Europe. With this acquisition, Aurobindo will gain
an opportunity to expand into several markets in Europe with Pharmacin’s
network.
ET

MONEY / BANKING

7)Despite an infusion of close to Rs 1,26,000 crore over a week by the
Reserve Bank of India(RBI) to ease the ongoing liquidity crunch, call
rates ended at a nine-year high of 18.5%-19.5% on Friday. The rates
recorded an intra-day high of 21% on the last reporting Friday of the
2006 calendar year.
FE
8)Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has crossed another milestone, with
the total business of the bank touching the Rs 1,00,000 crore mark
on December 22. The public sector bank expects to close the current
calendar year with total business of over Rs 1,01,000 crore, its
chairman and Manging Director, Mr K N Prithviraj, said on Friday.
BL
9)Federal Bank plans to enter the capital market shortly to mobilise
fresh resources to fund some of its strategic investment projects. “We
should be entering the capital markets some time next fiscal either
through a rights or public issues,” said Mr M Venugopalan, Chairman.
BL

INSURANCE

10)THE INSURANCE Regulatory Development Authority(Irda) has said that
general insurance companies can alter premium rates only once in six
months even in a free pricing regime following detariffing. This
means that insurers will have to be very careful in pricing as they
will not be able to revise rates immediately if they find that their
quotes are not enough competitive or profitable enough.
ET

MARKETS

11)The Sensex and Nifty ended down on the last trading day of 2006 as in-
vestors trimmed positions ahead of the extended weekend. Equity market
will be closed on Monday for ‘BakrEid’. The indices erased early gains
as investors booked profits in heavyweights Hindustan Lever and Oil
and Natural Gas Corp. Metal shares gained the most as prices remained
firm on the London Metal Exchange, while shares of fast moving consumer
goods were the worst hit. The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex ended at
13786.91, down 59.43 points or 0.4 per cent from Thursday. It touched
a low of 13770.06 and high of 13929.10 intraday. The National Stock
Exchange Nifty settled at 3966.40, down 4.15 points or 0.1 per cent.
BS
12)THE year 2006 was a rocking one for the stock markets. And a rocky
one too! Not only did the sensex show a whopping jump of 47%, it also
demonstrated the greatest volatility in the last five years in 2006.
An ETIG analysis reveals that the annualised volatility coefficient
for sensex stood at 26% for 2006, compared to 17% and 25% during 2005
and 2004 respectively. The benchmark index was significantly less
fluctuating in 2003 and 2002 also, with annualised volatility coef-
ficients of 19% and 17% respectively. The bourses witnessed huge see-
saw movements during the year, with a continous upward movement from
January to May, a sudden crash from May to June and then again a strong
recovery continuing throughout till December. On the one hand, sensex
touched an all-time high of 14,000. On the other, it witnessed its
single largest fall ever in one trading day since 1991. With Indian
markets getting more globally aligned, this year witnessed sharper reac-
tions to global macreconomic changes and domestic policy measures. An-
nualised volatility indicates the amount of fluctuations in market move-
ments during the year. The higher the volatility, the riskier it is
to invest for a short term.
ET
13)Dalal Street has been witness to a major roll-a-coaster ride this
calendar year as the equity markets staged an impressive come-back from
a massive fall in May this year, only to bounce back sharply, and breach-
ing new peaks, gaining 46% since January. Interestingly, of all the
BSE sectoral indices, only BSE Capital Goods(CG) index and BSE Tech
index were able to outperform the benchmark Sensex by a wide margin,
by registering a gain of nearly 56% and 50% respectively. All other
BSE sectoral indices have been under-performers, when compared with
the Sensex. “The companies under the Teck Sector has come out with
good quarterly numbers and hence are in great demand with the investors,”
said Amitabh Chakraborty, Head-Research, Brics PCG said.
FE
14)INFOSYS was the sole tech heavy weight amongst the top five Indian
IT service providers that managed to outperform the benchmark Nifty
index during 2006. The other tech stocks like Wipro, Satyam and HCL
Technologies, gave less returns (than Nifty). An analysis of the
scrips of the top 10 IT services companies(in terms of their market
capitalisation) reveals in the Tier-II software companies MphasiS
and i-flex churned-out spectacular returns for investors, while the
largest software exporter TCS’ stocks performed in line with the Nifty
returns of 43.2%. “Infosys got listed at the Nasdaq-100 index and this
had a very positive impact on its scrip at the domestic stock exchange.
Some of the other tech stocks have not performed very well at the index
this year, especially Patni, which lost some of its significant clients
to other IT companies,” said KPMG executive director & head markets,
Pradeep Udhas. The Nasdaq-100 index comprises 100 largest non-financial
stocks on the Nasdaq Stock Market in terms of market capitalisation.
Infosys’ addition to the elite list ensures that the company joins the
ranks of global tech giants like Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Oracle and
eBay. Infosys stock on Nifty, during 2006, gave investors Rs 151 for
every Rs 100 invested. During the same period, the Nifty index -
which rose from 2750 to 3940 points – generated returns of Rs 143.2
for every Rs 100 invested.
ET
15)The government on Friday ruled out extending the December 31 dead-
line for investors to submit their PAN details to depositories for
trading on the stock exchanges, according to finance ministry
sources.
FE
16)The BSE and the NSE are now working on a common portal for dis-
semination of filings of corporates listed on the stock markets and it
is expected to go live by January 1,2007, an official release said.
BL

IPO

17)Cambridge Technologies Enterprices Limited (CTEL) is coming out
with a public issue of 63,15,800 equity shares of Rs 10, for a cash
price of Rs 38 per equity shares, inclusive of premium of Rs 24 crores.
The issue opens December 29 and closes January 9,2007.
FE
18)Nelcast Limited is planning to come out with an Initial public Offer
(IPO) to raise capital to double their installed capacity from 72,000
TPA to 1,50,000 TPA by 2008. The company has filed its draft of red
herring prospectus with the market regulator said.
FE

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

19)India Inc’s cross-border acquisitions may have topped $20 billion in
2006, but that is just a dot in the global M&A space, whose volume
reached a record $4 trillion through 31,858 deals. However, India-
born steel tycoon L N Mittal and Arcelor emerged the world’s fourth
biggest deal this year. US telecom gaint AT&T’s $83.4 billion buyout
of Bell South Crop, announced in March, is this year’s top M&A deal,
according to data from global financial information provider Dealogic.
FE

COMMODITIES

20)Gold edged higher on the last working day of the year to trade just
below a three-week high, and was likely to extend gains in 2007, dealers
said on Friday. Lingering worries over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and a
weakness in the dollar against the euro kept market sentiment positive,
they said. “Having broken through key chart levels at $630 (an ounce),
further gains could be in store for gold should it be able above $630
and position for a break higher in the New Year,” Standard Bank said
in a daily report.
BL
21)The prices of pulses, particularly chana, have declined by about 10
per cent in spot as well as futures markets over the month, owing to
low demand and the expectation of a better chana crop this rabi season.
Owing to the overall bearish sentiment in pulses, urad futures have
also declined by about 6 per cent.
BS
22)Gold recovered smartly on the bullion market on Friday due to heavy
demand from stockists after firm global advices. Silver gained on in-
creased support along with higher London advices. Standard gold(99.5
purity) ended at Rs 9,145, up Rs 95. Pure gold (99.9 purity) hardened
to Rs 9,195. Ready silver (.999 fineness) pared initial gains to end
at Rs 19,430, a gain of Rs 75.
BL

REAL ESTATE

23)THE REAL estate industry is on an hiring overdrive with the top
realty companies out to double their headcount over the next one year.
Top real estate companies such as DLF, Emaar MGF, Unitech, Omaxe
et al are out to double their employee base in the next 12 months.
ET

COMMUNICATIONS

24)IF FREE SMSs in your pre-paid and post-paid mobile plans lured you
into taking your connection, then beware of going overboard on January
1. Consumers may be unaware, but even those who come under the plans
offering free SMSs will have to pay for the service on January 1.
Mobile operators claim that charging SMSs on New Year’s Day is a way
to ensure network decongestion. So, while you send mobile messages
to all your friends and family on New Year, keep a tab on your mobile
bill.
ET

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

25)IBM has been shortlised by the Income Tax department for supply of
servers for its proposed national data centre. IBM toppled HP and
Sun-Wipro in the race for the Rs 250-crore tender. The proposed
national data centre is crucial to the single data processing system.
The much-touted zone-free filing of income tax returns is contingent
to setting up of a single data centre. Under zone-free filing a tax
payer residing in one city or a locality can file his or her income
tax return anywhere in India. They would also be able to get their
income tax refund anywhere.
ET

INTERNATIONAL

26)Oil prices edged lower towards $60 a barrel on Friday as unusually
mild weather deterred buyers and the market looked poised for its
first year-on-year decline since 2001.
BL