Rupee Edges Lower; India Steps Up 82 Mining Licenses Scrutiny

Chandrasekhar Atreya
28 Dec, 2010
New York City

Mumbai stocks fluctuated in thin volume trading. Uttar Pradesh signed several agreements with major companies to make the state a power-surplus state. India sought to decide the fate of 82 coal mining licenses that are dormant for last three years.

[R]5:00 PM Mumbai, 8:30 AM New York – Mumbai stocks fluctuated in thin volume trading. Uttar Pradesh signed several agreements with major companies to make the state a power-surplus state. India sought to decide the fate of 82 coal mining licenses that are dormant for last three years.[/R]

Stocks in Mumbai fluctuated and see sawed throughout the day on thin volumes and closed marginally higher. Indexes in China fell sharply for the second day in a row and trading volumes were thin in other Asian markets.

The BSE Sensex added 0.02% or 4.81 points to close at 20,033.74. The CNX Nifty dropped 2.10 points to close at 5,996.00.

The rupee fell by 26 paisa to close at 45.83 in Mumbai today.

India paid Rs 46 crore in additional subsidies to help rural homes and villages install solar-powered lights in 2010. The government program for promotion of use of lights powered by photovoltaic cells installed 78,408 portable lanterns and 108,599 home-lighting systems, the Ministry of Renewable Energy said in a statement today.

The ministry paid a subsidy of Rs 2,400 for each solar lantern and anywhere from Rs 2,500 to Rs 8,660 for each home-lighting system depending on the model installed and the type of user, the ministry said.

The state of Uttar Pradesh took steps to become a power surplus state by 2017 by signing agreements with several major companies for establishing new power plants with a cumulative generative capacity of 9,750 megawatts according to comments from State Power Secretary Navneet Sehgal to reporters in Lucknow today.

The government said on Monday it would decide by next month the fate of the captive coal blocks lying idle with 82 companies, including Arcelor Mittal, Tata Steel and NTPC, which have been issued notices for not developing them within the stipulated time.

“We have received their replies and are compiling them. We will take the final decision in January on the issue,” Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told PTI in New Delhi.

Tata International said on Monday that it acquired 76% stake each in Chennai-based firms Bachi Shoes India Pvt Ltd and Euro Shoe Components Pvt Ltd. However, the financial details were not disclosed by the company.

Hyundai Motor India on Monday said it would invest Rs 400 crore over the next three years to set up a diesel engine manufacturing plant with an installed capacity of 150,000 units per annum.

The company said it will expand its vehicle production capacity to 670,000 units by next year at its two plants to roll out three new models in 2011.

Reliance Money Infrastructure Ltd said on Monday it sold one ton of gold coins by the end of November and aims to double sales by March.

“The one ton gold coin sale landmark valued at over Rs 200 crore in less than nine months is a testimony to the trust and confidence our customers have bestowed in us and our offerings,” RMIL Director Vikrant Gugnani said in a statement in New Delhi.