By IANS,

Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities ended flat Thursday amid signs of nervousness in the investor community a day before the annual budget is to be presented in parliament.

The index, which traded in a very narrow range throughout the day, ignored positive industry growth numbers given out in the Economic Survey tabled in the Lok Sabha Thursday.

Key sectors of the economy grew 9.4 percent in January against 6 percent the previous month, according to the data released by the commerce and industry ministry.

By IANS,

New Delhi : Parliament on Thursday finally got down to discussing the crushing rise in prices of essential commodities after the opposition paralysed both houses for two days over the manner in which the issue would be discussed.

By IANS,

New Delhi : There is good news on India's energy front, with the Economic Survey recording an increase in the coal and crude production, coming down of power peak deficit, and a slowdown in the demand for power.

As per the Economic Survey 2009-10 tabled in parliament Thursday, the production of raw coal during April-November 2009 registered a growth of 12.5 percent - at 325.87 million tonnes compared to the same period in the previous year.

By IANS,

Lucknow : With a view to boosting exports from Uttar Pradesh, the Mayawati government has announced a major tax incentive - a full waiver of trade tax - to all export-oriented industrial units across the state, an official spokesman said Thursday.

By Soudhriti Bhabani, IANS,

Jangipur (West Bengal) : A day ahead of the general budget, the Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is looking expectantly at him for sops that would help in usher economic development and better employment opportunities.

Muslim-majority Jangipur, 260 km north of Kolkata and close to the Indo-Bangladesh border, is located near the historic battlefield of Plassey where the British East India company defeated the young Nawab of undivided Bengal to get a foothold to rule the country.

By IANS,

New Delhi : The economic survey for the current fiscal has favoured liberalising foreign direct investment (FDI) policies in services like health insurance, rural banking and higher education.

"In case of services sector, a more conducive environment can be created by liberalising FDI in services like health insurance, rural banking and higher education as FDI inflows and trade in services have a close relationship," the survey said Thursday, a day ahead of the Union budget.

By IANS,

New Delhi : Key sectors of the economy grew 9.4 percent in January against 6 percent the previous month, official data released Thursday said.

According to the data released by the commerce and industry ministry, electricity production increased 5.6 percent in January 2010, crude oil 9.7 percent, petroleum refinery products 3.8 percent, coal 6 percent, cement 12.4 percent and finished carbon steel 16.2 percent.

The six sectors have a weight of 26.7 percent in the index of industrial production (IIP) that measures country's factory output.

By IANS,

New Delhi : India's annual food inflation based on wholesale prices fell to 17.58 percent for the week ended Feb 13 from 17.97 the week before, as per official data released Thursday.

Prices of essential items continued to move up, with vegetables dearer by 13.57 percent, potatoes by 30.4 percent, pulses by 35.74 percent and fruits by 12.08 percent over the 52-week period, official data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed.

By IANS,

New Delhi : There is scope for introduction of catastrophe bonds in the Indian capital market and it is an area that needs focus in the future, according to the Economic Survey laid in parliament Thursday.

"Capital market solutions for catastrophe risk insurance are another area that needs focus," the survey noted.

In other words, transfer of insurance risk of natural calamities like earthquakes, hurricanes and floods to the capital market through the catastrophe bonds is what is being looked at now.

By IANS,

New Delhi : The job market in India made a significant recovery during the second quarter of this fiscal with employment up by 500,000 against a cut of 131,000 in the country's employed workforce between April and June 2009, says the Economic Survey tabled Thursday.

The survey covered eight sectors such as textiles, leather, metals, automobiles, gems and jewellery, transport, IT and business process outsourcing and handloom and powerloom with the information being collected from 2,873 units from 21 centres spread across 11 states.