INDIA BUSINESS UPDATE - PM Meets Electronic Press But Offers No Answers; Anil Ambani At CBI HQ For 2G Probe; Sensex Up 27 Pts

Wednesday, Feb 16, 2011 SPECIAL LEAD Click here for India Business Update Mobile Version PM BREAKS SILENCE ON SCAMS, OFFERS NO ANSWERS Prime Minister Manmohan Singh broke his silence, only to sound less than convincing about his own effectiveness in containing corruption within his administration. Harping repeatedly on the need for compromises in managing coalitions, he virtually admitted that many decisions, possibly dubious, were taken by individual ministers and officials without the full participation of the Cabinet. read more LEAD STORIES ANIL AMBANI AT CBI HQ FOR 2G PROBE Anil Ambani met CBI officials to clarify issues relating to ongong telecom matters. No summons of any kind have been issued by CBI to Ambani. read more SENSEX RISES FOR FOURTH DAY, UP 27 PTS Sensex closed 27.10 points up at 18,300.90 due to rise in realty and metal stocks. Nifty ended 5,481.70 up 0.7 points. read more TOP STORIES • No backroom talks on Antrix-Devas deal: PM • Not aware of methods used in 2G allocation: PM • PM trying to cover up corruption, alleges BJP • Left slams PM for 'loot' of public money via 2G • Devas threatens to sue if deal with Antrix annulled • Deutsche Boerse seals $9.53 bn deal with NYSE • BSE, NSE see little chance of mergers • Mahindra motorcycle output hit on faulty parts • Bharti Airtel still seeks to delist Zambia unit • Bennett, Coleman mulls stock options and IPO • 32 bills to be moved in budget session of Parliament • BT in talks with hardware cos to sell Tech Mah stake • EIH rights issue to raise Rs 1,178 cr • Ex-Spicejet promoter Ajay Singh eyes stake in MDLR • Swiss firm Satarem in JV with SA India • Sanofi to buy Genzyme for $20 bn • ICC bans tweeting during World cup • Mubarak loyalist becomes Egypt's transition leader • U.S. bankruptcy filings touch 1.59 mn in 2010 • Rs 3 crore wedding for 'aam aadmi' on TV now more stories TOP VIDEOS Will Usher In Cabinet Reshuffle After Budget Session: Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister Inflation Worrisome In Emerging Markets, Oil Price Risky: Nouriel Roubini, Economist Hike In Fertiliser Sop Close To Industry Needs: Satish Chander, DG, Fertiliser Association Of India AT A GLANCE BSE 18300.9 +27.1 NSE 5481.7 +0.7 TURNOVER Rs. 121,328 cr BSE CASH Rs. 3,022 cr NSE CASH Rs. 10,903 cr NSE F&O Rs. 107,402 cr BULLION GOLD 20485 -15 SILVER 46252 -138 CRUDE WTI 84.97 +0.65 BRENT 4666.36 +56.76 FOREX $ / Re 45.5 -0.02 £ / Re 72.809 -0.44 € / Re 61.311 -0.03 EVENTS 17 February Emerging Trends In Healthcare, A Journey From Bench To Bedside, Le Meridien, New Delhi 17-19 February Electronics Expo 2011, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi 21-22 February 2nd Annual Conference On Project Management In Infrastructure Sectors, Hyatt Regency, New Delhi 21-23 February Indian Business Aviation Expo, Shangrila, 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 25 February Railway Budget EXPERT VIEWS "The country voted our party to be the leader of the UPA coalition and we have lot of unfinished tasks to be accomplished. I have never felt like giving up halfway. I will stay the course. I never thought of resigning." Manmohan Singh Prime Minister "...Anil Ambani met CBI officials today to clarify ongoing issues. Contrary to reporting in a section of the media, the enquiries by CBI and other authorities are by no means specific to RCOM, and instead, have already reportedly covered more than 50 people from across a large number of telecom operators. No summons of any kind have been issued by CBI to Ambani." Reliance ADA Group Press Statement "The Prime Minister's press conference was very disappointing and shows his helplessness. Coalition dharma cannot mean support to corruption. And coalition is related only to 2G. What is the relation between coalition and the case of ISRO (S-band allocation), Commonwealth Games and Adarsh cases?" Nitin Gadkari BJP President WATCH OUT Budget 2011: Taxing Times Can't lower tax rates because of the need for more revenue (remember no 3G auction in FY12!). Can't increase tax rates because industry is already facing inflationary headwinds. Can't rewrite direct tax policy as the DTC already does that! So what can the FM do this Budget 2011? Tune in to find out on Taxing Times with Ajay Lalvani, Co-Chair Direct Taxation Committee - Bombay Chamber, D Muthukumaran, Head, Corporate Finance - Aditya Birla Group & Uday Ved, Head, Taxation - KPMG. SHOW TIMINGS Thursday 6:30 pm CNBC-TV18 PROGRAMME SCHEDULE STOCKS & INVESTING INDIA EARNINGS PORTFOLIO