Sensex Falls 1.8%; IndiGo Places Largest Jet Plane Order

Chandrasekhar Atreya
13 Jan, 2011
New York City

Stocks in Mumbai fell 1.8% as the latest wholesale inflation price index increased 0.3%. IndiGo placed a $15.6 billion order for 180 Airbus 320 to be delivered between 2016 and 2025. Abhijeet Power plans Rs 1,500 crore IPO in February.

[R]5:00 PM Mumbai, 8:30 AM New York – Stocks in Mumbai fell 1.8% as the latest wholesale inflation price index increased 0.3%. IndiGo placed a $15.6 billion order for 180 Airbus 320 to be delivered between 2016 and 2025. Abhijeet Power plans Rs 1,500 crore IPO in February.[/R]

Stocks in Mumbai fell more than it gained on Wednesday as rate hike fears to arrest inflation and below expected results of Infosys dampened sentiments of the investors.

The BSE Sensex lost 1.8% or 351.28 to close at 19,182.82. The CNX Nifty closed 111.35 down at 5,751.90.

The rupee closed the day at Rs 45.68 to a dollar in Mumbai.

The wholesale price index in India increased 0.3% to 194 from 193.4 for the previous week. For the year to the week, calculated on point-to-point basis, inflation increased 17.58% compared to 20.2% in the previous week.

Most of the medical expenses incurred by an average Indian are paid from their own pocket, according to a survey.

According to an analysis published in the British medical journal Lancet, private expenditure on health in India is close to 78% compared to 14% in the Maldives, 29% in Bhutan, 53% in Sri Lanka, 31% in Thailand and 61% in China.

IndiGo, India’s private air carrier ordered 180 Airbus A-320s on Wednesday to be delivered between 2016 and 2025. The jet order is the largest single order received by European consortium Airbus.

The company has still to arrange financing for the deal.

“There is not enough supply and India requires more capacity. This was the rationale behind the order. Also the 100 aircrafts ordered in 2005 would join the fleet by 2015 and we need to look beyond,” IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh told PTI.

Banks, which keep India’s $1.3 trillion economy humming, are seeking Reserve Bank of India’s as banks fear investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the telecom scandal will disrupt normal functioning.

Indian Banks’ Association, the lobby group headed by State Bank of India Chairman Om Prakash Bhatt, is seeking the central bank’s intermediation in the Supreme Court-ordered probe into irregularities in granting licenses to companies that is now spreading to banks, said two bankers familiar with the request.

Indian Oil Corp has so far been unaffected by oil payments row with Iran but could turn to the spot market if there is any disruption in imports, the company Chairman said today.

“IOC is not buying much of its crude from Iran. So far we are not affected,” B.M. Bansal said during a trip to Singapore as a part of a delegation.

Nagpur-based Abhijeet Power is in advanced stages of seeking regulatory approval for an initial public offering of up to Rs 1,500 crore and expects to file by early February, a senior official told Reuters.

“We are setting up a 1,080 megawatt project in Jharkhand and 1,320 megawatt in Bihar, and funds will be utilized for these two projects,” Rajesh Tulsiani, CFO, said in a telephone interview.

A ministerial body will be set up under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to jumpstart the electric and hybrid car market in the country.

The National Council on Electric Mobility will consider incentives to make green vehicles a viable option for two-wheeler and car buyers. A national policy for electric vehicles, finalized after 14 months of deliberations, spells out several measures to promote green cars, including direct subsidies, concessional excise duties and income tax sops.