INDIA BUSINESS UPDATE - BP Pays $7.2 Bn For 30% Stake In 23 RIL Oil Blocks; Sensex Rallies 226 Pts

Monday, Feb 21, 2011 SPECIAL LEAD Click here for India Business Update Mobile Version BP PAYS $7.2 BN FOR 30% STAKE IN RIL OIL BLOCKS British Petroleum is all set to take over 30% stake in 23 oil and gas blocks of Reliance Industries. The deal would fetch Reliance Industries an aggregate of $7.2 billion and Chairman Mukesh Ambani said that this is the single largest FDI into India. The petroleum majors have entered into a 50-50 joint venture for sourcing and marketing of gas. The joint venture is also aimed to create infrastructure for gas transportation. British Petroleum has said that its total investments in the joint venture could go up to $20 billion and the company expects future performance payments to the tune of $1.8 billion. read more LEAD STORIES SENSEX RALLIES 226 PTS LED BY IT SECTOR Sensex closed at 18,438.31 points as investors bought strong stocks at cheaper levels led by IT sector. Nifty ended at 5,518.60 up 59.65 points. read more REMOVE DISTINCTION BETWEEN TAX EVASION AND FRAUD: FM At the G20 meeting in Paris last week, Pranab Mukherjee pressed for removal of distinction between tax evasion and tax fraud. read more TOP STORIES • Bombay HC confirms death penalty to Kasab • CBI questions Videocon's Dhoot in 2G case • Rupee up 21 paise, hits 7-wk high at 44.98/$ • Silver hits another historic high of Rs 49,955 • FY11 GDP at 8.6%; March-end inflation at 7%: PMEAC • Budget session of Parliament begins • PM to make statement in Parliament on JPC • 15 FIIs in I-T net for undisclosed investment • Black money: Germany to share details of secret a/c • Vedanta bond yields drop on Cairn collapse bets • AP govt set to bring new MFI products under MFI Act • Anand Mahindra offers to resign from Air India board • SAIL plans 4 overseas plants worth $12 bn • Ruia Group buys German firm Acument GmbH & Co • SKIL Infra plans to raise Rs 1,000 cr via IPO • Govt clears appointment of Butola as IOC chairman • SC asks AP govt to pay Rs 3,500 cr to pvt colleges • Honda launches new 'Accord' at Rs 19.6 lk • Corporate America sends budget wish list to FM • Wesbite crashes on scramble for World Cup final tickets more stories TOP VIDEOS We Need To Curb Inflation To Sustain 9% Growth: C Rangarajan, Chairman, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Cannot Have Preset Pricing For Spectrum, It Will Have To Be Market Determined: Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member Of Parliament If We Do Not Bring About Fiscal Discipline Then Investments Will Be Taken Out Of Infrastructure And Given To Subsidies: Venu Srinivasan, Chairman & MD, TVS Motors There Is Always A Possibility Of Some Further Bad News Coming Out Of The Middle East, Which Would Then Drive Up Oil Prices: Marc Faber, Publisher, Gloom, Boom & Doom Report AT A GLANCE BSE 18438.31 +226.79 NSE 5518.6 +59.65 TURNOVER Rs. 179,122 cr BSE CASH Rs. 2,764 cr NSE CASH Rs. 10,928 cr NSE F&O Rs. 165,429 cr BULLION GOLD 20706 +158 SILVER 49711 +1173 CRUDE WTI 89.55 +3.35 BRENT 4696.36 +66.48 FOREX $ / Re 44.96 -0.14 £ / Re 72.907 -0.11 € / Re 61.402 -0.11 EVENTS 22 February Core Sector Growth For January To Be Detailed By Commerce & Industry Ministry 23 February CII Techtex India Summit 2011, The Lalit, New Delhi 23-26 February Chemtech World Expo, Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai 23-26 February BuildArch 2011, Building The Future, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bengaluru 24-27 February Agri Food Technology Meet 2011, Lulu International Convention Center, Thrissur, Kerala 24 February CII Seminar On Emerging Opportunities For India-Saudi Arabia Business Cooperation, Taj Palace, New Delhi 24 February SC Hearing On Govt's Complaint Against Radia 24 February SC To Hear Case Against Former Sebi Chief CB Bhave 25 February Railway Budget & Economic Survey EXPERT VIEWS "I am firmly of the view that the Government of India should introduce GST first at the central level. At the central level you have central excise and you have the service tax. Now, if you first merge the two, you have your own GST. Then you present an example to the states that this is how we do GST and the states might follow." Yashwant Sinha Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee On Finance "Some countries/jurisdictions differentiate between tax fraud and tax evasion. This difference in perception assists deliberate concealment of wealth for the purpose of evading tax, something regarded as crime all over the world...We should encourage countries to remove this distinction in order to help efforts of govt authorities in pursuing tax cheats who have parked funds outside the country." Pranab Mukherjee Finance Minister "This Budget session of Parliament is very crucial. The budget has to be debated and passed by the two Houses of Parliament. It's our sincere hope that this session will be peaceful and productive." Manmohan Singh Prime Minister WATCH OUT Overdrive Maruti's SX4 sedan first hit Indian roads in 2007 and now it finally gets a diesel engine. Sirish Chandran has Overdrive's verdict. Shumi is in Chennai testing TVS's new Apache RTR 180 ABS & we stay in Chennai for all the high octane action from the MRF Formula Championships 2011. Also catch Auto Selector & all the motoring news from around the world. SHOW TIMINGS Tue 6:30 pm CNBC-TV18 PROGRAMME SCHEDULE STOCKS & INVESTING INDIA EARNINGS PORTFOLIO