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At Cape Town Two days ahead of the second inning of Indian Premier League tournament beginning, a festival carnival got the mega event off to a festive start on Thursday.

Star players—Yuvaraj Sing, Bret Lee, , Kevin Pietersen, Gilcrist, Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya-and high profile franchise owners today converged on an cloudy day in South Africa's most scenic city.

The high profile owners of various teams present during the festival included Shah Rukh Khan of Kolkata Knight Riders, Priety Zinta-Owner of Punjab Kings XI, Shilpa Shetty-Co-owner of Rajasthan Royals.

Commissioner of the cash-rich league Lalit Modi was also present, where all the teams were parading on the streets of Cape Town.

Even though the Indian league was shifted to South Africa, the crowds were making the street lively like in India.

Mumbai Indians face Chennai Super Kings and defending champion Rajasthan Royals face Bangalore Royal Challengers in the opening match on April 18.

All players looked to be in good spirits, soaking in the attention.

Indian Bank’s margins already under pressure due to the global economic hold up, the RBI has provided them a breather by revising the method of calculating the current value of restructured loans.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has provided a rest to banks by revising the method of calculating the current value of restructured loans as banks' margins are under pressure due to the global economic slowdown.

The existing treatment compares the post-restructuring fair value of the loan with the book value. In a falling interest rate scenario, the difference is too low while in a rising interest rate the difference is too high, the RBI said.

As per the new formula, the corrosion in the fair value of the advance should be computed as the difference between the fair value of the loan before and after restructuring. The existing formula has resulted in higher provisioning due to rise in the rate of interest during the last few years. It has been decided to modify the formula for computing diminution in the fair value of restructured loan, the central bank said in a notification.

At present, while restructuring the loans, banks take into account the benchmark lending rate, Prime Lending Rate, which have been on a rise during the last few years, the RBI said. It further said that it is adding to the financial difficulties being fa ced by banks due to the current downturn. The proposed formula, according to the RBI, moderates the swing in the diminution of present value of loans with the interest rate cycle.

Mumbai airport on Friday become the fourth airport in the country to be allowed to levy a advance fee from passengers to bridge the deficit in funds for moderation the facility.

The government approved collection of Rs 100 from outbound domestic passengers and Rs 600 from worldwide passengers from April 1. The fee would be in force for four years, but be reviewed after six months.

The Mumbai airport modernization project cost is pegged at Rs 9,802 crore and the Mumbai International Airport Ltd has been allowed to raise up to Rs 1,543 crore through the development fee. However, if the project cost escalates beyond Rs 9,802 crore, MIAL would have to tap other fund sources.

New airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore have been charging a development and DIAL, which manages the New Delhi airport, too was allowed to charge the development fee, although the move has come in for criticism from global airlines' body IATA.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had yester on Thursday said such fees could be imposed even at airports being modernised by the state-owned Airports Authority of India. The massive aviation infrastructure required in India "cannot be made on such a scale without the contribution from passengers and other stakeholders, " he had said. - PTI

India were final in on their first test series victory in New Zealand since 1968 as they comprehensive their lead to 233 runs at the close of play on the second day of the third and final test on Saturday.

Zaheer finished with five for 65 from 18 overs as New Zealand conceded a 182-run lead after they had bowled India out for 379 earlier in the day.

The company, who hold a 1-0 series lead after a 10-wicket victory in the first game in Hamilton, were 51 for one at the close after Zaheer Khan's seventh five-wicket haul helped bowl the hosts out for 197 in their first innings.

The visitors extended that lead with only the loss of explosive opener Virendra Shehavag, who blasted three boundaries in his seven-ball innings of 12.
Sehwag was caught by first slip Ross Taylor when a vicious bouncer from Chris Martin brushed his glove.

Gautam Gambhir was on 28 while Rahul Dravid was on nine as the shadows lengthened across the ground.

New Zealand reverts back from daylight saving time on Sunday, which will undoubtedly shorten the remaining days' play by at least 30 minutes in the fading light.

Zaheer took advantage of a blustery northerly wind to produce some swing and sharp bounce, though New Zealand's batsmen did not help themselves with poor shot making.

"He had an extra yard on his, looking up at the screen it was his normal speed, but he bent his back and hurried the batsmen up a little bit," New Zealand's Taylor said of Zaheer's bowling. "He bowled extremely well.

"Only batting 65 overs is very disappointing and also not giving our bowlers enough rest is also disappointing," he added.

India's wholesale price index raised 0.44 percent in the 12 months to March 7, below the previous week's annual rise of 2.43 percent, government data showed on Thursday.Inflation in India drastically fell to a two-decade low of 0.44 per cent in the first week of March as food and fuel items turned cheaper.

Wholesale price-based inflation declined by 1.99 percentage points from 2.43 per cent during the week ended February 28, fuelling expectations that the Reserve Bank of India would cut interest rates to spur the economic growth.

Inflation rate for food, beverage and tobacco was slower at 2.7 percent in March from 3 percent in February; housing and repairs, 1.4 percent from 2.3 percent; fuel, light and water, 1.2 percent from 1.5 percent; services, 2.2 percent from 2.4 percent; and miscellaneous items, 1.8 percent from 2 percent.

The annual inflation rate within the National Capital Region alone also eased by 0.3 percentage point at 2.1 percent in March from 2.4 percent in February. In areas outside Metro Manila, the inflation rate was also slower at 2.3 percent in March from 2.7 percent in February.

After a year of spiraling prices, rising inflation, India is now heading towards deflation. The Indian economy may go into deflation by April as inflation is likely to fall below zero percent.

India's wholesale price index raised 0.44 percent in the 12 months to March 7, below the previous week's annual rise of 2.43 percent, government data showed on Thursday.Inflation in India drastically fell to a two-decade low of 0.44 per cent in the first week of March as food and fuel items turned cheaper.

Wholesale price-based inflation declined by 1.99 percentage points from 2.43 per cent during the week ended February 28, fuelling expectations that the Reserve Bank of India would cut interest rates to spur the economic growth.

Inflation rate for food, beverage and tobacco was slower at 2.7 percent in March from 3 percent in February; housing and repairs, 1.4 percent from 2.3 percent; fuel, light and water, 1.2 percent from 1.5 percent; services, 2.2 percent from 2.4 percent; and miscellaneous items, 1.8 percent from 2 percent.

The annual inflation rate within the National Capital Region alone also eased by 0.3 percentage point at 2.1 percent in March from 2.4 percent in February. In areas outside Metro Manila, the inflation rate was also slower at 2.3 percent in March from 2.7 percent in February.

After a year of spiraling prices, rising inflation, India is now heading towards deflation. The Indian economy may go into deflation by April as inflation is likely to fall below zero percent.

Software exporter HCL Technologies on Monday said it has bagged a 350-million-dollar IT outsourcing services deal from media and marketing house Readers Digest Association. The complex transformational engagement will cover the end-to-end IT landscape of RDA from IT infrastructure to applications.

"IT is a key enabler to our business. We expect that HCL will bring down cost of operations significantly, while improving services and bringing cutting-edge technology and capabilities to transform our IT functionality and service," said Al Perruzza, senior vice-president, global operations, IT and business redesign, RDA.

As part of the engagement, HCL Technologies would provide application development and infrastructure support across the application stack of Oracle, open technologies, main frame, infrastructure support for network, security, storage, end user computing and data centres, HCL said in a statement.

Applauding the win, Som Mittal, president of the IT industry body, Nasscom said, "We congratulate HCL for this landmark engagement". Mittal added, "This deal reinforces the fact how global sourcing helps economies to take advantage of the talent and new opportunities, which will help revive the current economic situation."

The recessionary environment in many economies of the world, especially the US and Europe, has forced global corporations to squeeze their IT spending with a complete freeze on budgets in certain cases. With the situation worsening, Indian IT companies are coming by very few large-size contracts along with significant pricing pressures on existing contracts. Apart from the sheer size of the deal, the present market scenario adds to the significance of the deal.

As per the quarterly results of the company, HCL had two clients with revenues contribution of over a $100 million. The $2 billion company has around 315 active clients. "RDA partnership is a unique service offering in which HCL blends all its outsourcing strengths applications and infrastructure capabilities, industry knowledge, and global reach, to help RDA achieve fundamental transformation at the enterprise level," said Sanjeev Nikore, corporate vice-president, HCL Technologies.

It was another good day as the market closed at the high point of the day. Good global cues saw a smart pullback rally today. Sensex closed at 8943.54, up 186.93 points (provisional) and Nifty at 2777.25, up 58 points (provisional) from the previous close. The market breadth was positive with advances at 882 against declines of 326 on the NSE.

Taking a cue from the global markets, the domestic markets snapped their three-week losing streak on Friday and ended the week on a positive note with a 412-point rise. The 30-share benchmark index Sensex closed the week with a gain of 1.73 per cent, at 8,756.61 compared with 8,607 last Friday. "Friday's 412-point rise was basically due to the stability in the global markets. The US markets have been on the rise for the last three consecutive days and the Asian markets too were up this morning.

Asia , Europe and America all market seen in green label. hansang gain up to 450 point plus today. that’s good effect for Indian market and Indian market gain up to 2.13% plus. At the market open positive but at the hour of opening market goes to minus but good recovery after 12 pm.

Two crucial numbers were released during the week: IIP data and inflation figures. The Index for Industrial Production for January fell 0.5 per cent year-on-year. Inflation, on the other hand, hit a seven-year low at 2.43 per cent for the week ending February 28. According to Jasani, "Both these numbers are along expected lines. Inflation is expected to fall further."

The United States' recession "probably" will end this year if the government succeeds in bolstering the banking system, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Sunday in a rare television interview.

In carefully hedged remarks in a taped interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," Bernanke seemed to express a bit more optimism that this could be done.

'I do think that we will get it stabilized, and we'll see the recession coming to an end probably this year,' he told news programme 60 Minutes. 'We'll see recovery beginning next year. And it will pick up steam over time.'

The decline 'will begin to moderate and we'll begin to see leveling off. We won't be back to full employment. But we will see, I hope, the end of these declines that have been so strong in a last couple of quarters,' he said.

The biggest risk to recovery remains a lack of political will to attack the problem, Bernanke said in what was the first television interview with a central bank chief in decades.

Bernanke said he believes all the big banks the Fed regulates are solvent. Big banks won't fail under his watch, Bernanke said -- though, if necessary, the government should try to "wind it down in a safe way."

Job market is very cold for students with a degree in Finance or IT, booming with multiple job opportunities for students of metallurgy and aeronautical engineering, traditionally the least preferred branches of study.

Hero Honda has recruited two students from the Metallurgy department of the Punjab Engineering College (PEC), with the highest pay package offered standing at Rs 4.7 lacks per annum.

The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has also offered an annual package of Rs 4.5 lacks for students pursuing aeronautical engineering.

Students of both these departments are a happy lot as they are much better off than their counterparts from other branches. Not only are they getting good pay packages but many also have two jobs in hand to choose from.

Professor K K Garg, Training and Placement Officer at PEC said: “Gone are the days when branches like metallurgy were the least preferred option. Students have now started opting for them and are getting positive responses.”

“We have received a positive response for both the branches and are expecting the same in future as well,” he added.

Out of the nineteen students in the Metallurgy department, six have two job offers in hand to choose from.”

A positive trend is also that girls have begun showing interest in the stream. There are eight girls in the Metallurgy department, while four are pursuing aeronautical engineering out of a total of 19 in the class. Experts claim that with the country making rapid progress, there are several new opportunities in steel-related industries, which have great scope.

Forbes Release World’s richest people of year 2009.Last year there were 1,125 billionaires. This year there are just 793 people richest in Forbes’s list. That list 30% decline from a year ago.

Of the 1,125 billionaires who made last year's ranking, 373 fell off the list--355 from declining fortunes and 18 who died. There are 38 newcomers, plus three moguls who returned to the list after regaining their 10-figure fortunes. It is the first time since 2003 that the world has had a net loss in the number of billionaires Reported by Forbes.

The world's richest are also a lot poorer. Their collective net worth is $2.4 trillion, down $2 trillion from a year ago. Their average net worth fell 23% to $3 billion. The last time the average was that low was in 2003.

Top Most Billionaires list below :

1. William Gates III
Net Worth: $40 billion
Source: Microsoft/U.S.

2. Warren Buffett
Net Worth: $37 billion
Source: Investments/U.S.

3. Carlos Slim Helú
Net Worth: $35 billion
Source: Telecom/Mexico

4. Lawrence Ellison
Net Worth: $22.5 billion
Source: Oracle/U.S.

5. Ingvar Kamprad
Net Worth: $22 billion
Source: Ikea/Sweden

6. Karl Albrecht
Net Worth: $21.5 billion
Source: Supermarkets/Germany

7. Mukesh Ambani
Net Worth: $19.5 billion
Source: Petrochemicals/India

8. Lakshmi Mittal
Net Worth: $19.3 billion
Source: Steel/India

9. Theo Albrecht
Net Worth: $18.8 billion
Source: Supermarkets/Germany

10. Amancio Ortega
Net Worth: $18.3 billion
Source: Fashion/Spain

The CBI moved a local court here to seek the custody of tainted Satyam Computer founder B Ramalinga Raju and involved four others for questioning in connection with the Rs 7,800-crore accounting scam in the IT Company.

The move from the CBI comes after receiving legal opinion that the agency could question Raju and others. Its prosecution department, citing a Supreme Court ruling, had claimed that it could not seek Raju's custody. The official said an application seeking seven days custody of the five accused, including Raju, was filed by the CBI in the court of XIV Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.

The judge asked the CBI's public prosecutor to serve notices to defence lawyers tomorrow. Besides Ramalinga Raju, the CBI wants to question company's former managing director Rama Raju, ex-CFO Vadlamani Srinivas and sacked partners of PriceWaterhouse S Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas.

After attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan, US President Barack Obama has expressed deep concern about an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan, saying the country's frontier regions still remain safe havens for Al Qaeda terrorists and his government was reviewing policies towards that region.

'The details are still coming in, and so I don't want to be too specific’, Obama told reporters Tuesday after meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. 'O bviously we're deeply concerned.'

'The truth is that the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated, the safe havens for Al Qaeda remain in the frontier regions of Pakistan and we are conducting currently a comprehensive review of our policies,' he said.

Obama said the review looked at US policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan and coordination with NATO allies and other members of the international security force in Afghanistan.

He would make announcements ahead of the NATO summit in April about 'the direction the United States would like to go,' he said. 'What I'm confident in is that our strongest partner in that effort once again will be the United Kingdom' and Brown.

'We condemn this vicious attack on innocent civilians but also on the positive relations that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are trying to enjoy,' he said. 'This is an attack on peaceful, normal relations, and we utterly condemn this terrorist attack.'

The United States today said the Indo-US relationship is destined to grow stronger under the Obama Administration. "I don't see the US-India relation doing anything but growing and becoming stronger," Gordon Duguid, the State Department's Acting Deputy spokesman, said.

"No matter who the next US Ambassador to India is, the United States and India share many interests," Duguid said. "We began with a strategic dialogue.

We now see India as a strategic partner, as well as an economic partner," he said. "We have a growing amount of cross-trade.

We have a number of issues that we have been able to work together on over the last 10 years or so. And we will continue on that trend, I foresee," he added.

"I see US-India relations becoming stronger, and not negative policies being generated because of our growing contacts," He said when asked if the current US policies on H-1B visas and outsourcing would have an impact on bilateral relationships. It’s all right but the burning question is this “why US help to Pakistan ? ? ?”

Indian business taycoon Vijay Mallya said that the Indian government has nothing to do with the bidding for Mahatma Gandhi's memorabilia and he bid on his own. "I bid independently. I wanted to get back the items to the country. I am not sure if anyone was aware that I was bidding," Mallya said.

As part of building a domestic ballistic missile Defense system, India on Friday successfully test fired its homegrown interceptor missile. The third interceptor, tested from Integrated Test Range at Wheeler Island in Orissa, destroyed an incoming decoy ballistic missile.

The two-stage Interceptor Missile fitted with advanced systems hit the target 'enemy' missile at an altitude of 75 kilometers. Many congratulations to DRDO and Indian scientists….

hi thats my first post for news blog.its now continue with hot news.