The ongoing BCCI-Sony controversy, over sponsorship deals for IPL matches, paves a way for resignation of Sony Entertainment CEO, Kunal Dasgupta. BCCI, while tightening noose around Sony, also threatened to terminate the broadcaster's IPL rights if its losses are not met by the broadcaster. BCCI believes that deal of Airtel with Sony is the main reason for walked out of Reliance-ADAG, leading large scale revenue loss to the cricket control body.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has got complaints of insider trading by Reliance Petroleum (RPL) and 18 other companies during the last 3 years.

Without disclosing the companies’ names, Mr. Pranab said that the market regulator (SEBI) received complaints of alleged insider trading in the shares of nine companies.

KEC International, a leader in the power transmission and distribution EPC business, announced that it has bagged orders worth Rs 365-crore from various government bodies for electrification of villages in West Bengal and Bihar.

The firm received the first order worth Rs 2.55 billion from West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company for electrification of 3,340 villages that is scheduled to be completed by August 2010.

The second order valued at Rs 670 million was from Power Grid Corp Ltd in Bihar. The project is scheduled to be completed by July 2010.

DTH operators can now hope to breathe easy.

The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has indicated that it would cut the annual license fee for direct-to-home (DTH) operators from the existing 10% to 6% of their revenues.

Officiating finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's Interim Budget for 2009-10 has provided for a six-month extension of the interest subsidy scheme, for exporters' loans taken in the labor-intensive sectors.

The announced extension of the 2 percent interest subsidy scheme - for small and medium enterprises as well as long-established export areas, like leather, textiles, marine products, gems and jewellery - will be costing the exchequer nearly Rs 500 crore in 2009-10.

India emerged as best investment destination for investors despite global financial crisis and recessionary waves across the world, recording 45 per cent increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the period between April and December 2008 against the same period last year.

Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, while addressing parliament during presentation of interim budget, said that the country have strong economic fundamentals and it GDP growth rate of 7.1 percent, for the current financial year, makes it as the second fastest growing economy of the world.