Freight rates up on busy cargo movements

SBI merger process is awaiting Govt approval: Guha

Greater wealth tied to lower stroke risk

Indian entertainment industry to generate Rs 1,10,000 crore by 2017

Govt to import more cement if required

NEW DELHI, Apr 26: The Government today said it will import more cement, if necessary, to address the demand-supply mismatch in the domestic market and check any rise in prices.

"We have allowed cement import and already a substantial amount of 1.3 lakh tons has arrived in the country from Pakistan. If further imports are necessary to address the demand-supply mismatch, it will be done," Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar told reporters on the sidelines of a FICCI seminar here.

Kumar, however, did not give the quantum of cement that would be imported. Trading firm MMTC is one of the firms designated to import the building material.

Besides looking at ways to increase the domestic production capacity of cement, Kumar said the Government is engaging with cement producers to ensure there is no cartelisation in the sector.

"While companies can make profits, profiteering will not be allowed," he said.

The Government had banned cement exports to boost domestic supplies and keep a check on rising prices.

Earlier, speaking at the FICCI seminar on Intellectual Property, Kumar said the Government has allocated Rs 320 crore for modernisation and further strengthening of the Intellectual Property offices in the country.

He further said, the Indian Patent Office has been conferred the status of an International Searching Authority and an International Preliminary Examination Authority by the World Intellectual Property Organisation. With this, India joins the club of only 15 other such offices across the world. (PTI)

Sugar closes quiet on some support

NEW DELHI, Apr 26: Sugar price closed unchanged in the wholesale sugar market here today following restricted arrivals against fresh buying by stockists to meet the current marriage season demand.

Marketmen said restricted supply from producing region of Uttar Pradesh in the face of buying by stockists for the ongoing heavy season of marriages, mainly kept the prices around last levels.

They said the production of sugar declined due to hot weather and caused tight stocks position in Uttar Pradesh.

Following were today quotations per quintal:

Sugar ready M-30 1600-1625 and S-30 1575-1615.

Mill delivery M-30 1350-1510 and S-30 1340-1500.

Sugar mill gate prices (excluding duty): Modi Nagar 1510,Bagpat 1470, Daurala 1520, Chandpur 1340, Titabi 1515, Mawana 1510, Simbhawali 1520 Khatauli 1510, Badaiun 1345, Sattha 1330, Ruderavilash 1340, Bijnor 1490, Amroha 1500 and Samali Rs 1510. (PTI)

Gur price rises by Rs 50 on poor supply

NEW DELHI, Apr 26: Gur prices firmed up by Rs 50 per quintal in the wholesale gur (jaggery) market here today following poor arrivals against better offtake.

Muzzafarnagar and Muradnagar gur mandies also found fresh support on restricted arrivals.

In Delhi, gur chakku hardened by Rs 50 to close at Rs 1550-1600 a quintal on better offtake.

At Muzzafar Nagar, gur raskat gained by Rs 50 to Rs 1100-1150 from Rs 1050-1100 a quintal truck load on increased offtake by alcohol makers and cattle-feed stockist.

Chakku and Khurpa prices also remained in keen demand and moved ahead from Rs 1300-1500 and Rs 1200-1250 to Rs 1300-1525 and Rs 1250-1275 a quintal truck load respectively.

Turning to Muradnagar, gur pedi jumped up from Rs 1250-1300 to Rs 1200-1250 a quintal truck load on reduced arrivals.

Following were today's quotations:

Chakku 1550-1600, Pedi 1450-1500 and Dhayya 1450-1500. Shakkar 1500-1550 and Khandsari 1500-1550.

In Muzaffarnagar: Raskat 1100-1150, chakku 1300-1525 and Khurpa 1250-1275.

In Muradnagar: Pedi 1250-1300, Dhayya 1250-1300. (PTI)

Freight rates up on busy cargo movements

NEW DELHI, Apr 26: Freight rates for nine metric tonne pay load section showed a rising tendency on the local truck transport market today following busy cargo movements amid less availability of lorries.

Transporters said increased movements of cargo compared to the availability of lorries, mainly pushed up some of destinations freight rates.

Delhi to Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai freights rose by Rs 1000 each at Rs 24,000, Rs 17,000 and Rs 35,000 per nine metric tonne respectively.

Rates to Banglore and Mysore also went up by Rs.1000 each at Rs.30,000 and Rs.32,000 respectively.

Following were today’s freight rates for the nine metric ton load:

Ahmedabad 9,000 Hyderabad 22,000

Mumbai 17,000 Vijayawada 24,000

Baroda 12,000 Bangalore 30,000

Pune 18,000 Mysore 32,000

Surat 13,000 Pondicherry 36,000

Kanpur 7,000 Coimbatore 42,000

Kolkata 24,000 Chennai 35,000

Ludhiana 9,000 Kochi 41,000

Chandigarh 5,500 Thiruvananthapuram 48,000 Jaipur 4,500 Goa 25,000

Indore 10,500 Gwalior 6,500

Patna 19,000 Guwahati 39,000

(PTI)

SBI merger process is awaiting Govt approval: Guha

HYDERABAD, Apr 26: The merger process of State Bank of India’s subsidiary banks with itself is awaiting Central government approval, a senior banking official said.

"The merger process has not slowed down but awaiting the Centre’s approval", State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) Chairman and Managing Director Amitabha Guha told reporters here yesterday.

Announcing the annual results ending March 31, 2008, Guha said SBH has recorded a business of Rs 88,665.46 crore during FY 2008, against Rs 71,000 crore during 2007 and the net profit was recorded at Rs 556.99 crore in 2008 as against Rs 505.50 crore.

Bank’s total deposit grew by 22.78 per cent and advances by 26.060 per cent.

Highlighting the plans for the 2008-09, Guha said the Bank aims at a growth of 25 per cent in deposits and 30 per cent in advances and also 30 per cent increase in operating profit.

He projected the net profit higher than Rs 765 crore and gross NPAs to be less than 0.75 per cent of total advances.

Referring to performance of last quarter ending March 31, 2008, Guha said net profit for Q4 of FY08 stood at Rs 186.23 crore is lower vis a vis for Q4 of 2007 at Rs 199.54 crore on account of the provisions to the tune of Rs 23 crore made during Q4 of FY08 towards employee wage revision and sick leave.

He said the advances grew by Rs 2,682 crore during Q4 of FY08 as compared to Rs 1,181 crore during fourth quarter of FY07. (PTI)

Greater wealth tied to lower stroke risk

NEW YORK, Apr 26: For people aged 50 and 64 years, being wealthy seems to protect them against having a stroke, according to new research. After age 65, however, wealth appears to make little difference in stroke risk.

''We confirmed that lower wealth, education and income are associated with increased stroke up to age 65, and wealth is the strongest predictor of stroke among the factors we looked at,'' Dr. Mauricio Avendano, who was involved in the research, noted in a written statement.

''After age 65, the association of education, income and wealth with stroke are very weak, and wealth did not clearly predict stroke,'' said Avendano, of Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Each year about 780,000 Americans suffer strokes; about 27 per cent of strokes occur before age 65, according to the American Heart Association.

Avendano and co-investigator M Maria Glymour assessed the effect of income (ie, annual earnings), wealth (total of all assets minus liabilities) and education on stroke risk in 19,445 Americans in the ongoing University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which surveys Americans age 50 and older every two years.

All of them were stroke-free when they entered the study in 1992, 1993 or 1998. During an average of 8.5 years, 1,542 people in the study had a stroke.

Avendano and Glymour report in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke that the 10 per cent of people with the lowest wealth had three times the stroke risk at age 50 to 64, compared with those with the highest wealth.

''Lack of material resources themselves, and particularly wealth, appear to strongly influence people's chances to have a first stroke,'' Avendano said. ''From a public health perspective, this would mean that diminishing the large wealth gap at age 50-64 also could help diminish the large disparities in stroke.''

However, as noted, from age 65 on, stroke risk was not significantly different between the two wealth groups for men or women. ''We expected wealth to be a strong predictor of stroke in the elderly,'' Avendano said. Wealth more than income ''comprehensively reflects both lifelong earnings and intergenerational transfers, and increases access to medical care and other material and psychosocial resources,'' Avendano added. ''We were surprised to see that it was not associated with stroke beyond age 65.''

The study also found a greater prevalence of common risk factors for stroke, including high blood pressure, smoking, inactivity, overweight, and diabetes, among the 50- to 74-year-olds with lower wealth, income and education. (AGENCIES)

Indian entertainment industry to generate
Rs 1,10,000 crore by 2017

Shimla, Apr 26: The Indian entertainment industry is poised for a massive growth and is expected to generate Rs 1,10,000 crore by 2017, noted media expert Ashok Ogra said.

"Over 500 TV channels and over 600 FM radio stations will be available to Indian viewers in the next four to five years," he said, while addressing journalism students of International Centre for Distance Education and Open Learning (ICDEOL), here.

Quoting latest FICCI-PWC (Price waterhouse Coopers) report, Mr Ogra, who is also Discovery Channel’s vice president, said the entertainment industry would generate about Rs 1,10,000 crore in the next nine to ten years due to the presence of large number of TV channels and radio stations.

He also referred to the increasing de-massification and fragmentation of audiences due to the options available to viewers and audiences, unlike in the past when only Doordarshan was available.

"The next wave, that we will see, will be that of citizen journalist, narrow and personal casting leading to greater empowerment and control by the audience over the media and its content," he said. (UNI)