Petrol prices on Tuesday breached the psychological barrier of Rs 90 and touched a scorching Rs 90.11 in Maharashtra’s Parbhani – a new record in India, an official said.

Parbhani District Petrol Dealers Association (PDPDA) President Sanjay Deshmukh told IANS that diesel prices also increased from Rs 77.92 to Rs 78.06 on Tuesday.

On Monday, the petrol price was Rs 89.97 and diesel stood at Rs 77.92 in the town with a population of around 3,10,000, around 500 kms east of Mumbai in Marathwada region.

On the 15th day of consecutive hikes, petrol prices increased on Tuesday by Rs 0.14 and diesel by Rs 0.15, from 6 a.m, barely two days before the state’s biggest 10-day Ganeshotsav festival begins.

The other highest centres include Nanded where petrol was retailing at Rs 89.93 per litre and diesel Rs 77.90, and Amravati Rs 89.93 and Rs 78.84.

Elsewhere in Maharashtra, in Thane petrol retailed at Rs 88.43 and diesel Rs 77.64, Mumbai was Rs 88.35 and diesel at Rs 77.56.

On Monday, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party termed the hike in petroleum products as a ‘momentary difficulty’ owing to an international crisis after the Opposition parties in the country observed a Bharat Bandh, to protest the skyrocketing fuel prices.

(IANS)

Broadly negative global cues subdued the key Indian equity indices during the pre-noon trade session on Tuesday.

According to analysts, investors feared that high petrol and diesel prices and a weak rupee would pump up the retail and wholesale inflation rates, thereby mitigating chances of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India in the near term.

Heavy selling pressure was witnessed in the consumer durable, FMCG, telecom and capital goods stocks.

On the currency front, the rupee traded over 72.30 against the US dollar around 11.35 a.m. at the Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market.

At 11.35 a.m., the wider Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange, traded at 11,451.70 points, lower by 22.40 points or 0.20 per cent from its previous close.

The S&P BSE Sensex, which had opened at 38,017.49 points, traded at 37,846.75 points, lower by 75.42 points or 0.20 per cent than the previous close of 37,922.17 points.

So far, it has touched an intra-day high of 38,043.27 points and a low of 37,838.30 points.

On Monday, the Indian equity indices recorded their steepest fall in the last six months as expectations of a rise in inflationary pressure dented the risk-taking appetite of investors.

The NSE Nifty50 closed at 11,438.10 points, lower by 151 points or 1.30 per cent from its previous close of 11,589.10 points.

The S&P BSE Sensex, which had opened at 38,348.39 points, closed at 37,922.17 points, lower by 467.65 points or 1.22 per cent from the previous close of 38,389.82 points.

(IANS)

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi’s plea challenging the Income Tax notice seeking tax reassessment for the financial year 2011-2012.

A bench of Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice A.K. Chawla said the petitions filed by the Gandhis have “failed.”

However, the court clarified that the Gandhis could use their rights as the assessee and take up their grievance with the Income Tax authorities.

The order of a bench came while it was hearing the plea of Rahul, Sonia Gandhi and her party colleague Oscar Fernandes against teh March I-T notice seeking tax reassessment. They have allegedly not disclosed their income earned through Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) for the year 2011-2012.

The I-T department has told the court that they have concealed facts for evading tax.

Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are major stakeholders in Young Indian which has acquired Associated Journals Limited (AJL). National Herald newspaper was published by AJL.

“The reference to the monetary nature of the transaction i.e. fair market value, certified by the auditor, means that the promoters and shareholders of the company visualize that the shares of YI, a not-for-profit company, can increase, depending on its activities and income derived by it,” the court said.

“This court is of opinion that the assessees’ argument about nondisclosure of their interest upon acquiring the shares is unpersuasive,” said the bench.

The court also rejected the Sonia Gandhi’s submission that Income Tax department had mala fide intention in sending the reassessment notice.

Earlier in March, Young Indian requested the court to stay the recovery of tax and interest of Rs 249.15 crore raised in pursuance to a December 27, 2017 notice issued under section 156 of the IT Act for the assessment year 2011-12.

The company has submitted that it is a charitable firm and does not have any income and that Income Tax authorities have wrongly raised a demand of Rs 249 crore for the assessment year 2011-12.

On March 19, the Delhi High Court directed Young Indian to deposit Rs 10 crore in the Rs 249.15 crore income tax proceedings against the firm.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy had filed a complaint of “cheating” in the acquisition of AJL.

Swamy had accused them of allegedly conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, by which Young Indian Pvt Ltd obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore which AJL owed to the Congress.

The other accused in the case are Motilal Vora, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Young Indian.

(IANS)

Mumbai, Broadly negative global cues subdued the key Indian equity indices during the morning traded session on Tuesday.

According to analysts, heavy selling pressure was witnessed in the FMCG, consumer durable and metal stocks

At 9.45 a.m., the wider Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange, traded at 11,451.75 points, higher by just 13.65 points or 0.12 per cent from its previous close.

The S&P BSE Sensex, which had opened at 38,017.49 points, traded at 37,956.77 points, up by only 34.60 points or 0.09 per cent than the previous close of 37,922.17 points.

So far, it has touched an intra-day high of 38,043.27 points and a low of 37,848.64 points.

(IANS)

By: Vani B T & Shaheen Raaj

Audio Lounge Opens 2nd Luxury Retail Store

Audio Lounge, retailers of world’s most technically perfect & high-end audio equipment, opened a new store offering pure listening pleasure for discerning music lovers in & around Bangalore. The store, located at Taj West End, will range some of the most desirable audio brands available including Avantgarde, Bel Canto, Boulder, Crystal Cable, Nagra, Ortofon, Sennheiser, Siltech, SME, Spendor & YG.
On live demonstration, both unique & elegant, Avantgarde high-end 2 channel horn loudspeakers was also unveiled for the 1st time ever in India. A stunning visual appearance is matched with a convincing sound performance that will radiate effortlessly into a room, handcrafted in the best German tradition. It is sheer magic to the ears. Purists are invited to come exclusively to Audio Lounge to experience this phenomenon for themselves!

Experienced experts will always be on hand at Audio Lounge to tailor bespoke exquisite audio systems for the home to suit every budget & lifestyle, so music enthusiasts can immerse themselves in the most beautiful sound they have ever heard, in the manner they choose. Which will be akin to “Pure Listening Pleasure”.

Audio Lounge is part of the Cadence Audio Group backed by Ajay Shirke, who pioneered the manufacture of high-end audio equipment since the year 1995. After developing tube amplifiers & electro-static loudspeakers under the Cadence name in India,

Cadence acquired major stake-holdings in 2 European award-winning companies to create an international group of specialists in audio engineering. British manufacturer Spendor Audio Systems, which was founded in 1960’s, grew out of expertise from BBC’s sound engineering department & adapted its technology for a consumer market. Siltech & Crystal Cable, based in Netherlands, known for their industry leading cable technology & highly acclaimed speakers & amplifiers.

Cadence acquired ownership of British tone arm & turntable specialist manufacturer, SME Limited, based in Steyning. The group also acquired the iconic Garrard turntable brand from IGB Gradiente SA in Brazil earlier this year, with plans to re-launch the legendary Garrard transcription turntables.

Obsessed by perfect sound, German based manufacturer Avantgarde has been engineering & producing prime quality horn loudspeakers for nearly 3 decades to global acclaim. Horn loudspeakers are the oldest & have the most natural physical principle for rendering sound. On demonstration will also be the widely respected compact Uno, this unique speaker simply transcends such technical aspects as frequency response, phase response & dispersion, allowing it to create a highly effective impression of music being played live.

As part of India’s reachout to Africa, the External Affairs Ministry on Monday signed an agreement with the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. (TCIL) to establish a pan-African e-network between the two nations.

“This project, called the e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati Network Project, will serve as yet another bridge – a digital bridge – between our countries, shrinking the distance between India and Africa even more,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said at the signing ceremony.

She said that the the Project “is a clear effort by India to reach out to Africa in the critical areas of education and health”.

“This e-network aims at providing quality tele-education and tele-medicine facility by linking select Indian Universities, Institutions and Super Specialty Hospitals to African educational institutions and hospitals,” the Minister said.

Stating that the earlier avatar of this project was operated on satellite-based technology and covered 48 African countries, Sushma Swaraj said that it has now been decided to establish two separate web-based portals – one each for tele-education and tele-medicine.

“This would significantly increase the ease of access for students, doctors etc. who are the intended beneficiaries of this project,” she said.

Reiterating the importance of Africa in India’s foreign policy priorities, the External Affairs Minister pointed out that in the last four years, there have been 26 visits to African countries at the level of President, Vice President and Prime Minister apart from several other Ministerial visits.

“It has been decided to significantly enhance our diplomatic presence in Africa with the opening of 18 new resident missions over the coming four years,” she said.

She also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 10 guiding principles of India’s engagement with Africa during his address to the Ugandan parliament in July and said: “Our development partnership will be guided by African priorities, so that it liberates African potential and not constrain their future.

“We will rely on African talent and skills and build local capacity and create local opportunities. We will keep our markets open and make it attractive to trade with India.”

Sushma Swaraj also said that the Indian industry will be supported for investing in Africa.

India is also a leading development aid partner of African countries and this includes implementation of 180 lines of credit worth about $11 billion in over 40 African countries.

(IANS)

Tech major Infosys on Monday announced a strategic three-year partnership with the Australian Open to enhance digital experience of the tennis tournament.

As the Official Digital Innovation Partner of the Australian Open, Infosys will leverage its expertise in emerging technologies like Big Data and analytics, artificial intelligence as well as virtual and augmented reality, to provide unique, innovative and engaging experiences for fans.

“We have long understood the importance of using data and insights to improve connections with our fans, players, coaches and the rest of the tennis community and we look forward to working with Infosys to change the way we all experience our great sport in the future,” Craig Tiley, Tournament Director, Australian Open, said in a statement.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity to showcase how digital technologies can enhance the boundaries of this tournament, to change the way the Australian Open is watched, analysed and played,” added Salil Parekh, CEO and Managing Director at Infosys.

The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually in January in Melbourne. Tickets for the tournament will go on sale on October 9.

Infosys is also the technology partner to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) till 2020.

(IANS)

The key Indian equity indices opened in the negative territory on Monday, tracking broadly negative cues in the global markets and also due to a weakening rupee.

The rupee opened at a fresh low of 72.18 against the US dollar on Monday, which dampened the domestic investor sentiment.

At 9.35 a.m., the wider Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange, traded at 11,546.65 points, lower by 42.45 points or 0.37 per cent from its previous close.

The S&P BSE Sensex, which had opened at 38,348.39 points, traded at 38,213.84 points, lower by 175.98 points or 0.46 per cent than the previous close of 38,389.82 points.

So far, it has touched an intra-day high of 38,354.52 points and a low of 38,242.37 points.

(IANS)

San Francisco In a push to enter the film and TV market, Apple has acquired global rights to two feature films — Victoria Stone and Mark Deebles documentary “The Elephant Queen” and an animated film “The Wolfwakers”.

According to a report in Deadline.com on Sunday, Apple’s worldwide video division led by Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht acquired “The Elephant Queen” that made its debut at the Toronto Film Festival last weekend.

The documentary follows an elephant named Athena as she leads her herd away from a drought.

“The Wolfwalkers” is two-time Oscar-nominee Tomm Moore’s animated film which follows a young apprentice hunter who travels to Ireland with her father to hunt wolves.

There have been reports that Apple is set to produce its own content and start its own streaming service in order to share a pie of the growing video streaming industry dominated by Netflix and Hulu, among others.

(IANS)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore each on three public sector banks for non-compliance with its directions on “Fraud – Classification and Reporting”.

According to the RBI, the penalty was imposed individually on all the three banks — Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India, Union Bank of India — on August 30, 2018.

The apex bank took into account the delay on the part of these banks in reporting fraud in certain accounts.

(IANS)