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Black money list:<br>Industrialist Yash Birla and son-in-law of late realty and liquor baron Ponty Chadha are among seven Indians with Swiss bank accounts whose names have been made public in Switzerland's official gazette with regard to ongoing tax probes against them in India. Two Mumbai-based individuals named in the famous City Limousines scam, a Delhi-based businesswoman Ritika Sharma and two others — Sneh Lata Sawhney and Sangita Sawhney– are the other Indians whose names have been made public. The names of these seven "Indian nationals" have been published in Switzerland's Federal Gazette with regard to details sought about them by the Indian authorities. Among these, some details have already been shared by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) with India, including about Birla and Sharma of Blessings Apparel, as per the gazette notifications. In case of Sayed Mohamed Masood, being probed for a major ponzi scheme run from Mumbai through City Limousines, some details were shared by Swiss authorities in the past. His accounts were also frozen a few years ago following a request from the Enforcement Directorate. Fresh details about him and about Chaud Kauser Mohamed Masood have been sought by the Indian authorities, as per the notifications published in Switzerland's official gazette. (2652015)
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury to launch a united fight against the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. (PTI)
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3. Budget 2016: Jayant Sinha said the focus will especially be on the farm sector, job creation and eradication of poverty.
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West Bengal govt allots land for investment over Rs 1,000 cr <br> The West Bengal Cabinet today cleared land to a number of investors ensuring an investment of Rs 1,004.25 crore with direct employment opportunities to 1,539 people in the state. Announcing this after the state cabinet meeting here, state finance and industry minister Amit Mitra said all these land have been allotted to the investors within various industrial parks controlled by the WBIDC. Altogether 14 units would come up over 97 acres of land under five industrial parks, he said. Mitra said CPF (India) Pvt Ltd and Prasad Seeds Pvt Ltd would set up their units under Vidyasagar Industrial Park at Kharagpur with an investment of Rs 550 crore and Rs 15 crore respectively. (2652015)
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Encroachments major hurdles for ongoing Kolkata Metro projects <br> Encroachments have been major hurdles for five ongoing Metro Railway projects in the city, a senior official said today. "We are constantly talking to the government to remove these encroachment. In fact I will be meeting the Chief Secretary on how this will be sorted out," Radhey Shyam, who holds additional charge of Metro Railway general manager told reporters here. On whether funds would be a problem for the currently undergoing five projects of the Metro Railway, Radhey Shyam said, "We have sufficient funds for the projects and the total amount is of Rs 580 crores. There are five projects ongoing at the moment. For the Dum Dum to Noapara to Barasat extension work is in progress between Noapara and Airport. Earlier, in the airport area we had planned a overhead railway alignment but after the airport authorities have said that the station must be underground we have to change it accordingly. But there are encroachments problems near Dum Dum Cantonment. Around 800 encroachments are there which will really be a problem. Whatever sites are available between Dum Dum Cantonment and Airport work is in progress." (2652015)
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The government has earmarked Rs 7,940 crore in the Budget for recapitalisation of PSU banks for the current fiscal. (Reuters)
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Forex dealers said besides dollar strengthening against other currencies overseas, fresh demand for the American unit from importers and a lower opening in the domestic equity market put pressure on the rupee. (PTI)
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CEA pitches for rate cut by RBI; sees potential for 9% growth: <br> Pinning hopes on adequate food grain stock helping to keep inflation under control even with below-normal monsoon, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian today pitched for rate cut by the Reserve Bank next week to boost growth. The CEA said the buoyancy in tax collections during April was indicative of GDP growth bettering to about 9 per cent in the current fiscal, from 7.4 per cent a year ago. Drawing parallel with China, Subramanian wanted the RBI to cut interest rates so as to help depreciate the domestic currency to make Indian exports competitive and aid Make in India campaign. He said the Current Account Deficit (CAD), which more than a year back was a big worry, would be less than 1 per cent in the current fiscal. Prices of oil, on which India is 79 per cent import dependent to meet its needs, are likely to remain in the comfort zone of USD 50-80 per barrel without "wild swings". (2652015)
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Tech Mahindra net profit slips 23 pct: <br> Tech Mahindra today reported a steep 23.15 per cent fall in net profit for the March quarter at Rs 472 crore due to currency headwinds, poor performance of recent acquisitions and a slowdown in large telecom clients. The Mahindra Group company's pre-tax margins also saw a massive 5 percentage points decline over the December quarter to 15.2 per cent. Chief financial officer Milind Kulkarni said the poor show by LCC, which it acquired earlier last fiscal has hurt the margins by 1.40 per cent, rupee appreciation shaved 0.90 per cent off the bottom-line. The company's overall revenues rose over 19 per cent, but a bulk of the growth came from the acquired entities, which contributed USD 100 million to the top-line, Kulkarni said. On an organic level, the revenues were down 1.2 per cent, which was on a slowdown in spends by the telecom clients. The pre-tax profit came in at Rs 673.5 crore as against Rs 832.5 crore in the year-ago period. (26�52015)
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Govt should focus on getting investment in infra, housing', says JM Financial:<br> As the Modi government enters its second year in office, it should focus more on getting investment in infrastructure and housing sectors, JM Financial has said. "The most important thing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi can and should do in his second year is to find more source for both domestic and overseas funds. One way to achieve this is to give big tax breaks to infra bonds. Let public savings flow to infra sector as 90 per cent of PPPs are in trouble. Also, the government itself should increase its spends on infra as impact of housing and infra (sectors) on the economy is very large," Vishal Kampani, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Institutional Securities Group at JM Financial said. (2652015)
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PTC India Fin shares nosedive 20% as net profit plunges<br> Stock of PTC India Financial Services plunged nearly 20 per cent today after the company reported a 65.91 per cent decline in net profit for the January-March quarter of FY 2015. The stock tumbled 19.57 per cent to end at Rs 47.05 on the BSE. During the day, it nosedived 20 per cent to Rs 46.80. On the NSE, the scrip dipped 19.69 per cent to settle at Rs 46.90. Led by sharp dip in the stock, the company's market value dropped by Rs 643.4 crore to Rs 2,644.60 crore. PTC India Financial Services (PFS) reported a 65.91 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 15.80 crore in January-March this year, from Rs 46.36 crore a year ago, the company said in a BSE filing. For the entire 2014-15, the net profit stood at Rs 160.87 crore, from Rs 207.71 crore in the previous fiscal. The total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2014-15 grew 45 per cent to Rs 217.25 crore from Rs 149.44 crore in the same period last year. Similarly, the company's total revenue for the full year stood at Rs 801.91 crore as against Rs 463.99 crore (other than profit on sale of investments) in 2013-14, it said. (2652015)
