Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Rupee gains 15 paise against dollar in early trade

Mumbai, Jan 6 (PTI) The rupee today appreciated by 15 paise to 46.09 a dollar in early trade on sustained capital inflows into stock markets.

Dealers said increased capital inflows by funds into equities, helped the rupee gain in early trade.

Dollar's weakness against other Asian currencies also supported the rupee sentiment.

The rupee had ended 5 paise higher at 46.24/25 yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex opened up 104.09 points at 17,790.33, the highest level since February 2008.

Mercedes-Benz India launches luxury bus at 85 lakh

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) Automobile maker Mercedes-Benz India today launched its multi-axle luxury bus at a price of Rs 85 lakh in the domestic market.

The chasis of the three-axles vehicle will be made by Mercedes Benz while the body will be assembled by its Indian partner Sutlej Motors.

The bus will be powered by a Euro III engine with six cylindres.

Without disclosing the sales target for the vehicle, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director Wilfried Aulbur said, "The momentum for 2010 semms to be good".

The company launched its 2-axle buses in India in 2008 and has sold 25 units so far.

The total market for two and three axle buses in the country is estimated at 800-1,000 units per annum.

When asked about whether the company would introduce its buses with alternative fuels like CNG, he said, "We will take the decision based on the market demands.

Amir Khan to attend final of Int'l boxing in Pak

Karachi, Jan 6 (PTI) Professional boxing star Amir Khan would be a guest at the final bouts of Benazir Bhutto international tournament here in which two Indian pugilits have clinched bronze medals.

The light welterweight professional world champion Amir will reach here today to be present at the event, the first major international sporting tourney being hosted by Pakistan since the terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in March last year.

A three-member Indian team competed in the event, from which Parnoj Singh (81kg) and Naresh Singh (91kg) settled for bronze medals after losing the semifinals.

According to the organisers of the tournament, Amir, an immensly popular British boxer of Pakistani descent, is coming to Karachi on the invitation of the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF).

Amir came into the limelight after winning silver in the Athens Olympics at the age of 17.

Footballers granted bail in SpiceJet airhostess case

Mumbai, Jan 6 (PTI) Three members of Goa's leading football club Churchill Brothers were today granted bail after they were arrested here for allegedly misbehaving with an airhostess and other cabin crew members on board a SpiceJet plane.

Nigerians Odafe Okolie (25) and Ogba Kalu (20), and goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya (20) were arrested last night from the Mumbai airport for allegedly pushing and teasing an airhostess of the SpiceJet flight they were travelling in.

All three were booked on charges of outraging the modesty of a woman, which is a bailable offence. They were granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 5000 each.

The team was on its way from Goa to Kolkata via Mumbai for their I-League match against Mohun Bagan on Friday. The trio were offloaded from the SpiceJet flight SG 804 after the incident was reported to the CISF.

Bus strike: Normal life hit for second day in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 6 (PTI) Normal life in Kerala continued to be crippled as the indefinite strike called by private bus operators demanding fare hike entered the second day today.

Hundreds of private buses -- the main means of transport for vast sections of people -- continued to be off the roads throughout the state except the capital city.

Reports from across the state said the stir caused severe hardship to office-goers, teachers and students as they had to rely on other modes of transport for reaching their work places.

"Since yesterday, I have engaged an auto-rickshaw to commute between home and office, 10 km from here," a bank employee from Kozhikode district, Balagopalan, said.

The Government had yesterday warned bus owners of stern measures including suspension of route permits if they continued the strike.

Centre approves Rs. 9,000 crore for Jammu-Srinagar National Highway

New Delhi, Jan.5 (ANI): The Government has approved 9000 crore rupees for four- laning of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, a step which is expected to ensure smooth traffic movement and easing frequent traffic snarls.



According to Minister for Roads and Buildings of Jammu and Kashmir G.M. Saroori, the preliminary work of the project, which includes acquisition of land and forest clearance, has almost completed.



Saroori revealed this as he presided over a high-level officers meet convened to review the pace of road projects and constructions of tunnels in the State by BEACON and SAMPARK.



For four-laning, the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has been divided into six phases, Qazigund-Banihal, Banihal-Ramban, Ramban-Nashri, Nashri-Chinani, Chanani-Uhdampur and Udhampur-Jammu.



In all cases, 80% of the land has been acquired so far.



The nine kilometer long Qazigund-Banhihal tunnel would be constructed at a cost of Rs.2,400 cores.



At Nashri-Chenani , a 8.75 kms long tunnel would also be constructed at a cost of Rs, 2,100 crore which, on completion, would reduce 60 kilometres of travel distance between Jammu and Srinagar.



The NHAI has already provided 275 crore rupees to Deputy Commissioners of Jammu , Udhampur and Anantnag for acquiring the land for the project. Of that 137 crore rupees have been paid as land compensation to the land owners and other cases are under process of acquisition and payment. (ANI)

Maruti Suzuki not to phase out its 800-model

New Delhi, Jan.5 (ANI): Maruti Suzuki India Limited on Tuesday denied reports that the company is mulling over plans to phase out its most popular Maruti 800 model, which has literally dominated the Indian car market for almost last two decades.



Asked if the Maruti is contemplating about phasing out of its oldest model in India, Mayanak Pareek, Marketing Head of Maruti Suzuki, said:



"No we are not planning to phase out Maruti 800. In the year 2000 the first question that came to us was are you planning to phase out Maruti 800. Since then we have sold 1 million Maruti 800''s we are not phasing them out," said Mayanak Pareek.



"Models are phased out by customers. If people are buying it , why should we phase it out, " added Pareek on the first day of the week-long 10th India Auto Expo here,



He, however, also mentioned that Maruti Suzuki would create a new segment with the launch of its new family car and hopes to maintain sales growth in calendar 2010.



The Maruti 800 model comprises only 5 per cent market share of the total Maruti Suzuki sales. Only 3,000 Maruti 800 models are sold monthly compared to 20,000 Alto sales in a month. Yet, seeing the demand Maruti has no plans to phase out 800 model in the near future.



Auto Expo is the complete automotive show organized jointly by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).



Car sales in India, world''s second-most populous country, are set to jump about 16 per cent this year to 1.4 million vehicles, buoyed by robust economic growth and government incentives, in contrast to a slump in many developed markets.



That, and the abundance of important new models waiting to make their world premiere has industry insiders talking for the first time of a Delhi auto show that could rival or surpass the annual Detroit auto show in importance.



The first Auto Expo was held in 1986, the second in 1993, and the third in 1996. Since then, Auto Expo has been institutionalised as a biennial show. (ANI)

German carmakers launch new models in Autoexpo

New Delhi, Jan 5(ANI): German carmakers Audi, BMW and Skoda launched dazzling new models at the Autoexpo, an annual automobile exhibition held in the national capital, on Tuesday.



Audi announced the release of its new model, the A7 Sportback, and said that the model would be available in the Indian markets by 2011.



Stefan Hamberger, Audi''s Director of the regions of Africa, Middle-East, India and the French Overseas, also announced a price-cut in one of Audi''s most popular models - the A6, to celebrate Audi''s centenary.



"I''m pleased to announce today that to celebrate hundred years of Audi, we launched, starting today, a limited edition of the Audi A6 2.7 TDI for Rs. 31 lakhs on road," Hamberger said.



Audi India''s Managing Director, Benoit Tiers, said that they were pleased with Audi''s growth in the country and were confident of seeing it increase.



Meanwhile, Czech Republic-based carmaker, Skoda, a subsidiary of German auto-giant Volkswagen also unveiled the highly popular sports utility vehicle (SUV) the Yeti.



Other models on display by Skoda were the Fabia Elegance and a top-of-the-line Superb, which boasted of a 3.6 litre V6 engine, four-wheel-drive (4WD), as well as a seven-speed gear system.



Board members of Skoda Auto said that they had always met customer expectations and were confident on maintaining their niche in Indian markets.



"We are on the road to meet customer expectations of the car and relying on future as well. So, this will be obviously one of the reasons that we are here, hitting directly at the market," said Reinhard Fleger, Member of the Board (Sales and Marketing), Skoda Auto.



The show-stealer, though, was arguably the BMW display, which showcased BMW''s convertible, Z4, and the SUV X1.

BMW announced the release of the X6 M, and the seven-series model, BMW 760 Li. It also launched the limited edition of the new Gran Turismo, of which only a mere hundred models will be released in India.



The President of BMW India, Peter Kronschnabl, announced BMW''s lead in India''s ''Luxury Car Segment'', and said that they expected growth in Tier Two cities (cities with a population of less than one million).



"All the products are enlarging the dealer networks to tier II cities, applying only international standards, we are well-prepared to maintain the number one position in the year 2010," Kronschnabl said.



The X1 is scheduled for launch in India by the end of 2010. (ANI)