Air India borrows Rs.15,241 crore in less than two years

October 11th, 2009 CHENNAI - The four government-owned non-life insurers - National Insurance, New India, Oriental Insurance and United India - have posted a combined business growth of 10.55 percent for the first half this fiscal. "The four companies earned a total premium of Rs.9,991.18 crore during the period, up from Rs.9,059.3 crore earned during the first half of 2008-09," J.

September 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Stating that the revival plan for cash-strapped national carrier Air India was well on track, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Wednesday said that his ministry will shortly seek cabinet approval for equity infusion into the airline. "There are two issues concerning Air India.

July 30th, 2009 MUMBAI - Food products major Nestle India Thursday reported a 33.8 percent increase in net profit to Rs.162 crore for the quarter ended June 30 as compared to Rs.121 crore in the like period last fiscal. The total income surged 16.8 percent to Rs.1,218 crore from Rs.1,042 crore, the company said in a regulatory statement.

July 25th, 2009 MUMBAI - State-run gas utility company GAIL India Saturday reported a 26.8 percent dip in its net profit at Rs.655.8 crore ($135.5 million) for the quarter ended June 30, compared to Rs.896.8 crore in the same period last fiscal. However, the total income increased 4.3 percent to Rs.6,101.3 crore from Rs.5,845.5 crore, the company said in a regulatory statement.

July 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Cash-strapped national carrier Air India is expected to register a loss of Rs.5,000 crore last fiscal, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told parliament Tuesday. "Nacil (National Aviation Co of India Ltd, that operates Air India) is expected to register a loss of approximately Rs.5,000 crore in 2008-09, largely due to high operating expenses, which have been compounded due to the present economic recession resulting in a drop in passengers," the minister said in a reply in Rajya Sabha.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Out of a total plan outlay of Rs.12,165 crore for the civil aviation ministry, a sum of Rs.190 crore will be provided as budgetary support to various organisations under the ministry, the government said Monday after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the annual budget in Parliament. Out of the Rs.190 crore, India's airport developer, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been allocated Rs.99.15 crore for development of airports.

June 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - About 31,000 employees of flag carrier Air India will receive their June salaries only in mid-July as the national carrier attempts to overcome its losses, which were over Rs.4,000 crore (Rs.40 billion/$8.4 billion) during last fiscal, a top official said Sunday. The July salaries could be delayed by over two weeks, said a senior civil aviation ministry official.

June 11th, 2009 CHENNAI - City Union Bank, an old generation private lender based in Tamil Nadu, Thursday said it will raise Rs.250 crore over the next two years to fund its expansion plans. "Our target is to have a net worth of Rs.1,000 crore in two years time.

June 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In yet another sign of the economy clawing back, direct tax collection in May rose to Rs.11,919 crore compared to the Rs.10,198 crore raised in the year-ago period when the global meltdown was still to hit India. This rise of about 16.88 percent is also in sharp contrast to the 3.19 percent negative growth witnessed in April.

June 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Frito-Lay, the food division of beverage major PepsiCo India, plans to spend about Rs.500 crore over the next three years to push Aliva, a new baked savoury cracker that it launched here Thursday. "We want the new product to get as big as Kurkure (PepsiCo's popular snack)," Gautham Mukkavilli, Frito-Lay India chief executive and PepsiCo India president told reporters.

May 9th, 2009 MUMBAI - The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) Saturday reported a 45.62 percent rise in its net profit for the quarter ended March 31. The bank said in a regulatory statement that its fourth quarter profit stood at Rs.2,742.31 crore, up from Rs.1,883.25 crore in the like period last year.

April 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Nestle India Thursday reported 16 percent jump in sales during January-March this year at Rs.1,265.85 crore from Rs.1,091 crore in the like period last year. The company's domestic sales saw 18.7 percent rise during the quarter, while exports plummeted 15.1 percent, Nestle said in a statement.

April 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Nestle India Thursday reported 16 percent jump in sales during January-March this year at Rs.1,265.85 crore from Rs.1,091 crore in the like period last year. The company's domestic sales saw 18.7 percent rise during the quarter, while exports plummeted 15.1 percent, Nestle said in a statement.

February 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - General insurance premium earning is likely to grow at 20 percent annually over the next six years and top the Rs.1-trillion (Rs.100,000-crore) mark by 2015, says an industry report released Sunday. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), in a joint study with the United India Insurance Co, also said the massive increase in premium earning from Rs.280 billion (Rs.28,000 crore) currently would be on account of increased awareness.

January 26th, 2009 MUMBAI - State-owned steel manufacturer, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Tuesday announced its net profits had declined in the third quarter by 56.4 percent to Rs.8.43 billion (Rs.843.34 crore) from Rs.19.35 billion (Rs.1,934.66 crore) in the year-ago period. The company's net sales were down 7.14 percent to Rs.88.52 billion (Rs.8,852.26 crore) for the period under review, against Rs.95.33 billion (Rs.9,533.3 crore) in the corresponding previous quarter.