INDIA BUSINESS UPDATE - PM Flags Off Nationwide Roll-Out Of Mobile Number Portability; IT Sector Suffers Massive Incentives Blow; Sensex Up 68 Pts

Thursday, Jan 20, 2011 Click here for India Business Update Mobile Version LEAD STORIES SENSEX RECOVERS 68 PTS AS FOOD INFLATION FALLS Sensex closed at 19,046.54, up 68.22 points after a decline in food inflation. Nifty rose by 20.55 points to settle at 5,711.60. read more IT SECTOR SUFFERS MASSIVE INCENTIVES BLOW In a move that will have an adverse impact, the government has withdrawn incentives to exporters of IT/ITeS, telecommunication and airlines services. read more PM FLAGS OFF NATIONWIDE ROLL-OUT OF MNP Manmohan Singh launched nationwide mobile number portability, a move that will allow users to switch operators without losing their phone numbers. read more TOP STORIES • Budget session starts Feb 21; Union budget on Feb 28 • Food inflation falls to 15.52% from 16.91% • 'No cover-up in disclosing Swiss bank accounts' • Vodafone asks regulator to probe Essar unit stock rise • SKS Microfinance gets Rs 2K-cr lifeline • Mah Satyam in talks to settle US lawsuits out-of-court • SC asks Karnataka govt to allow iron ore export • Coal Regulatory Bill in Budget session of Parliament • New oil min says no proposal to raise diesel prices • Posco forms JV with Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys • Brighton to set up $600 mn nuclear power unit in India • C Mahendra Exports debuts up 0.90% at Rs 111 • TVS Motors net jumps 2-fold; board okays 50% interim • Yes Bank Q3 net up 52% but margins squeeze • Mahindra set for MotoGP debut in Qatar Grand Prix • GoM on FM radio finalises e-auction for phase III • China overtakes S Korea as world's largest shipbuilder • China's Q4 GDP expands faster-than-expected at 9.8% • Amazon to buy full control of Lovefilm • 'Uncensored' Playboy coming to iPad: Hefner more stories TOP VIDEOS Market May Trend Lower Until Budget: Suresh Mahadevan, Head Of Research, UBS Securities We Are A Product Of Competition; Customers Believe In Our Strategy: Sanjay Kapoor, CEO, Bharti Airtel Taking Into Account Earnings And Valuations, My View Is That The Market Will Underperform Through The Course Of The Year: Philip Poole, Global Head - Macro & Investment Strategy, HSBC Global Asset Management AT A GLANCE BSE 19046.54 +68.22 NSE 5711.6 +20.55 TURNOVER Rs. 165,011 cr BSE CASH Rs. 3,331 cr NSE CASH Rs. 13,351 cr NSE F&O Rs. 148,329 cr BULLION GOLD 20193 -203 SILVER 43302 -999 CRUDE WTI 88.92 -1.94 BRENT 4423.25 -45.37 FOREX $ / Re 45.53 +0.08 £ / Re 72.745 +0.29 € / Re 61.225 +0.21 EVENTS 20 January CII Session With South Korean Minister, Taj Mansingh, New Delhi 20 January All India Management Association's 51st Foundation Day, Hotel Le-Meridien, New Delhi 20-22 January Future Of Financial Markets 2011, Leadership Summit, Renaissance, Mumbai 20-24 January 8th Plastivision India 2011, Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai 20-26 January Tooltech 2011, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bengaluru 20-26 January IMTEX 2011, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bengaluru 21 January 2nd National Power Conference, Sheraton, New Delhi 21-22 January 6th North East Business Summit, Intercontinental The Lalit, Mumbai EXPERT VIEWS "We don't have to disregard the importance of this greenfield investment (by Posco), which can create a great deal of jobs in India and a great deal of values for Indian industry. What produces more value, what produces more jobs is greenfield investments and Posco is a good example." Kim Jong-Hoon South Korean Trade Minister "I told President Hu (Jintao) that we welcome China's increasing the flexibility of its currency. But I also had to say that the RMB (Renminbi) remains undervalued, that there needs to be further adjustment in the exchange rate and that this can be a powerful tool for China boosting domestic demand and lessening the inflationary pressures in their economy." Barack Obama President, USA "No other country has introduced MNP as quickly when there was this level of complexity, with 10 to 12 players operating in 22 telecom circles, two mobile number portability operators, several international long-distance and national long-distance carriers and over 700 million subscribers." Rajan S Mathews COAI Director General WATCH OUT Young Turks Dream Decade Young Turks turns 10 and we celebrate it with our new series Young Turks Dream Decade. On Young Turks On The Road we catch up with Sam Goldman of d.light who is lighting up lives in energy starved economies with his solar powered LED devices. Catch the founders of food listing portal Zomato.com in a master class with Sanjeev Bikhchandani of Naukri.com on the Young Turks Tutorial. And on YT Buzz, meet our Young Turk from 2006, Vijay Shekhar Sharma of One97 Communications as he gets ready for his IPO. SHOW TIMINGS Saturday 11 am & 7:30 pm CNBC-TV18 PROGRAMME SCHEDULE STOCKS & INVESTING INDIA EARNINGS PORTFOLIO