The average asset under management (AUM) of country's mutual fund industry increased 8.68% from Rs 4,609,489.97 million to Rs 5,009,733.79 million for the month ended Feb 28, 2009.

The data about 35 fund houses published by Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) shows that twenty three fund houses reported growth while 12 reported fall in their assets during the reporting period.

The three-way battle to control Orissa Sponge Iron and Steel Ltd has taken a new turn with Bhushan Energy Ltd's decision to offer 330 rupees per share for 20 percent stake in OSLS against Monnet Ispat's offer of Rs 310.

Other players including BNS Steel Trading Pvt. Ltd, BBN Transportation Pvt. Ltd, BNR Infotech Pvt. Ltd and BNR Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd are also in the race to acquire stake in the firm.

The Bhubaneshwar-based Orissa Sponge holds captive iron ore and coal mines. The company is witnessing battle between Bhushan Power, Monnet Ispat and Bhushan Steel in the past one week. The final winner would be declared on May 13 for the offer opening on April 24, according to information available from Bombay Stock Exchange.

To provide better quality of services (QoS) standards in India, telecom regulator TRAI has asked for measures to make sure that there is a limit put to set total number of subscribers under a single bandwidth unit.

In a declaration, the regulator said, “There have been complaints from the subscribers regarding inadequate broadband speed being provided by the Internet Service Providers. Most of the complaints allege that the available broadband speed is lower than the subscribed speed.”

The Indian Luxury market is stable and growing, says OLIVER GOESSLER of Montblanc, in an interview with Rashmi Hemrajani

With recession stalking the United States and Europe — India's major trading partners — exports are on a slow track.

For the fourth consecutive month in January 2009, the value of exports in dollar terms declined by 15.9%, with the fall steeper than what was recorded in October last (-12.1%). A year ago, the growth rate in exports was impressive at 20.5%.

However, an unusual development in our foreign trade was that imports too posted a negative growth in January, with the import bill down by 18.2%, thanks to a plunge in the value of oil purchases from abroad and a fractional dip in non-oil imports.

Diversified business conglomerate Sahara, in a bid to become a national player in the domestic healthcare sector, has revealed its investment plan worth Rs 4,000 crore over the next 10 years for setting up a chain of 217 secondary hospitals across the country.

Through Sahara Hospital Chain, the company intends to set up a benchmark of excellence in advanced, hi-tech and multi-disciplinary medical services in Asia.