Inflation at 5.74 pc on March 31

NEW DELHI: India's wholesale price index rose 5.74 per cent in the 12 months to March 31, lower than the previous week's increase of 6.39 per cent, data showed on Friday. The figure was below a forecast of an annual 5.81 per cent in a Reuters poll of analysts but above the central bank's projection of 5.0-5.5 per cent for the end of the financial year. March 31 was the last day of the 2006/07 financial year.

The annual inflation rate was 3.98 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

The wholesale price index is more closely watched than the consumer price index, which is published monthly, because it covers a higher number of products and is published weekly.

Karnik to exit Nasscom

NEW DELHI: Raw treatment meted out to Indian information technology sector by Union Finance minister P Chidambaram in his Annual Budget 2007 seems to have taken a toll upon the main lobbying body for Indian software, Nasscom with its president Kiran Karnik bowing out of office.

The decision, formally announced by Nasscom on Thursday, confirmed what was being talked about in hushed tones by the industry captains for the past few weeks.

In a terse statement, Nasscom said it had appointed search firm Korn Ferry to look for Karnik’s successor in consultation with him and key organisation members. This, it said, was part of the mission to “institutionalize” Nasscom through appropriate structures, systems and processes “for which well-defined HR policies had been laid down”.

Read more at Economic Times

Nandan Nilekani to become co-chairman of Infy

BANGALORE: The Board of Directors of Infosys Technologies Limited today approved changes at the senior level management, with Nandan M Nilekani becoming Co-Chairman of the Board, effective June 22.

S Gopalakrishnan would assume the role of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, and S D Shibulal the Chief Operating Officer of the NASDAQ-listed software major.

Jet, Sahara seal deal, finally

Tribunal's nod for Rs 1,450cr merger; Jet to make staggered payments stretching till 2011.

Settling its ten-month-old dispute, Jet Airways has agreed to buy out Air Sahara for Rs 1,450 crore. The three-member tribunal headed by British judge Lord Stein today approved the proposal by the two airlines.

The terms of the deal, signed at 1.20 pm today, were announced at two separate press conferences in Mumbai and New Delhi by Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways and Alok Sharma, president of Air Sahara, respectively.

Jet Airways has already paid Rs 500 crore as a deposit to Air Sahara which, in turn, has accepted a generously staggered payment schedule stretching till 2011. Jet will pay only Rs 400 crore on or before April 20. The remaining Rs 550 crore will be paid in interest-free equal instalments (Rs 137.50 crore each) from March 30, 2008, to 2011.

Taking the savings on interest (at existing rates), the net present value of what Jet will pay is Rs 1,200 crore. After the deal was signed, Naresh Goyal, chairman of Jet, said, “We have got the airline for 40 per cent less than the original price offered in January 2006.” Read more at Business Standard

BCCL acquires 17% stake in Bangalore firm LLIS

BANGALORE: Bennet Coleman & Co Limited (BCCL) has acquired close to 17% stake in Bangalore-based Leisure & Lifestyle Information Services (LLIS), which owns the travel community portal — Holiday IQ.

The investments by BCCL will constitute both equity and convertibles. This will be the second round of institutional funding for Holiday IQ as it has earlier received investments from Erasmic Ventures and Vireet Investments.

According to Holiday IQ CEO Hari Nair, the portal serves as a neutral and independent information provider on various tourist destinations. The portal was set up to fill the multiple gaps in sourcing good quality information in the leisure travel sector, Mr Nair added.

Read more at Economic Times

Spice sells 48% stake in SSL to McorpGlobal

MUMBAI: Spice Ltd has sold its 48.22 per cent stake in Spice Systems Ltd (SSL) to B K Modi controlled MCorpGlobal.

The move would give MCorpGlobal 96.27 per cent control in SSL, engaged in office automation.

McorpGlobal acquired 81.50 lakh shares of Spice Systems through 'inter-se transfer' on March 31, a regulatory filing on the BSE shows.

Spice Ltd (formerly known as Spice Net) manufactures servers, PCs and other equipments.

McorpGlobal's focus and strategy is on expanding the scope of its operations to various businesses like real estate, health care, telecom & IT, finance & asset management,

Earlier on April 2, Spice Ltd in a meeting had said that its Board of Directors has approved the sale of 81.50 lakh shares, constituting 48.22 per cent holding in SSL at Rs 13 per share.

Infy investors to make moolah with 130% dividend

BANGALORE: IT bellwether Infosys Technologies Ltd Friday declared a final dividend of Rs 6.50 per share, 130 percent on par value of Rs 5 per share for fiscal 2006-07, amounting to Rs 3.71 billion ($86 million).

In a notification to the stock exchanges here, the company said with an interim dividend of Rs 5 per share (100 percent of Rs 5 per share), amounting to Rs 2.78 billion, the total dividend for the entire fiscal (FY 2007) would be Rs.11.50 per share. This would be 230 per cent on par value of Rs 5 per share, with a payout of Rs 6.49 billion.

The decision to reward its shareholders handsomely was taken by the company's board of directors, which met here to approve the financial results for the fiscal under review.

For the previous fiscal (FY 2006), the blue-chip firm rewarded its investors with a silver jubilee dividend of 600 percent and a 1:1 bonus issue.