New Delhi [India], Mar. 30 : SBI Card, one of India's leading credit card issuers announced the launch of a credit card, 'SBI Card Unnati', targeted at all State Bank of India (SBI) customers, including Jan Dhan account holders, throughout the country.

The card, launched at an event by Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines in the Government of India, will place the power of card transactions in the hands of first time credit card users, including those who do not have a credit history.

New Delhi [India], Mar. 30 : Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Limited (MSEI), the third national level stock exchange is all set to conduct a mock trading session in equity, equity derivatives and currency derivatives segments on April 1, 2017.

As per Securities and Exchange Board of India's ( SEBI's) requirements, mock trading is conducted on a monthly basis by all the stock exchanges-MSEI, BSE and NSE to test trading and risk management-related systems and applications.

All MSEI members are encouraged to participate in the mock trading to test the system's performance. Trading members, using in-house or empanelled vendor's algorithms, are required to take part in the session with their user-ids.

New Delhi [India], Mar. 30 : In an attempt to assist Bengali speakers discover new information quickly, Google on Wednesday announced the introduction of Knowledge Graph in Bengali language on Google Search.

Google Search will now also support spell correction for Bengali queries improving the Search experience for the millions of Bengali speakers around the world.

The Knowledge Graph enables users to search for things, people or places that Google knows about-landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more. The feature allows users to get straight to the answer and displays other relevant information.

Washington D.C. [USA], Mar. 30 : A team of researchers has shed some light on how flying birds communicate with each other.

Zebra finches are social songbirds that use distance calls to establish contact with one another, similar to the way humans use speech to communicate.

Although it has been demonstrated that these birds can determine the identity of a caller as far away as 256 meters (or about 830 feet), it is not clear how their brain extracts this information from the call, which becomes degraded and loses intensity relative to the background noise as it travels through the environment.

Washington D.C. [USA], Mar. 30 : Astronauts may soon be able to communicate faster to and from space as NASA's advanced laser communications system called LEMNOS has brought speedy connections closer to the reality.

Imagine being able to watch 4K ultra-high-definition (UHD) video as humans take their first steps on another planet. Or imagine astronauts picking up a cell phone and video-conferencing their family and friends from 34 million miles away, just the same as they might on Earth. LEMNOS, Laser-Enhanced Mission and Navigation Operational Services, may make these capabilities and more a reality in the near future.

Washington D.C. [USA], Mar. 30 : A new class of carbon nanotubes may soon become the next-generation clean-up crew for toxic sludge and contaminated water, a new study suggested.

Enhanced single-walled carbon nanotubes offer a more effective and sustainable approach to water treatment and remediation than the standard industry materials, silicon gels and activated carbon, according to researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Authors John-David Rocha and Reginald Rogers demonstrated the potential of this emerging technology to clean polluted water. Their work applies carbon nanotubes to environmental problems in a specific new way that builds on a nearly two decades of nanomaterial research. Nanotubes are more commonly associated with fuel-cell research.

Cotton on MCX settled down -0.65% at 21310 as traders are avoiding major buying as cotton price that was increasing steeply until the end of February, has become firm during the last 20 days. As the gap in the international and domestic prices has narrowed down, now imported cotton appears to be attractive due to better yarn realisation, productivity and quality. Also traders are eyeing on muted speculative activity ahead of a federal acreage report due next week. From International side Cotton closed higher after holding Support above $76 as market was anticipating another strong week of export demand. Cotton remains mostly a demand story as US export demand has been stronger than any trade expectations so far this year.

Soyabean on NCDEX settled up by 0.1% at 2879 tracking firmness in spot demand on lower arrivals in local mandis. Large South American production this season has stoked expectations of ample global supply, while US farmers are expected to sow larger amounts of the oilseed next season. The pressure on soyabean prices has deepened after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently raised its global production forecast for the 2016-17 fiscal, driven by higher output estimate for Brazil. In India too, production is set to rise sharply, after two years of drought. Over the past year, soyabean has lost about 24 per cent, after peaking at Rs. 4,200/per quintal at the beginning of the year.

Mentha oil on MCX settled up by 0.53% at 983.5 on some buying after prices remained under pressure amid of reports that carryover stocks are huge against the current consumption level, while the stocks is also been sufficient. Short term outlook remain weak as first of all prices are trading below 1000 level mark while the huge carryover stock of mentha oil and also prices trading with weakness leading to a glut with synthetic mint oil garnering larger share of the market. Sentimental weakness will continious for mentha demand as the key consumption sector (Tobacco procusts)is witnesing slow down in demand.

Cardamom on MCX settled down by -0.71% at 1379.6 amid subdued physical demand for cardamom in the domestic spot market. Further, sufficient supplies on higher physical arrivals from the major cardamom producing regions too fuelled the downtrend. Upcountry dealers as well as exporters were covering as it has become clear that no arrival of fresh cardamom will take place till the next season picking begins, by mid-June. This sentiment has prompted all stakeholders to become active in the market. Quality of the capsules arriving were not up to the mark and there was a shrinkage in supply. Arrivals last week stood at 295 tonnes as against 390 tonnes the previous week. The auction average moved up, vacillating between Rs. 1,192 and Rs. 1,280 a kg.

Aluminium on MCX settled up 0.76% at 126.05 buoyed by brighter data from the United States, and expectations of seasonally improving second-quarter demand. Sentiment was also boosted by secondary economic data in China that showed March activity was strong. The China Satellite Manufacturing Index rose to 51.8, its strongest level in five years, while a measure of sales manager activity also rose strongly. U.S. consumer confidence surged to a more than 16-year high in March amid growing labor market optimism while the goods trade deficit narrowed sharply in February, indicating the economy was regaining momentum after faltering at the start of the year.

Nickel on MCX settled up 1.73% at 648.1 on short covering tracking LME prices gained by 2.3 percent after prices dropped amid receding worries about supply shortages. The Philippines said it would allow miners who had been ordered shut on environmental concerns to export stockpiled material. The permission is aimed at limiting the potential build up of silt in nearby waters, an official with knowledge of the order said, rather than the government toning down its campaign, according to the report. The volume of nickel ore stocks from the mines may well exceed 1 million tonnes, or about a month's worth of consumption by top buyer China, said the official, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Maize on NCDEX settled up by 0.36% at 1409 on short covering after prices dropped amid overseas prices on pressure from record South American supplies. Argentine corn should benefit this season from high yields brought by good weather, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said, adding that it may increase its harvest estimate above the current 54.8 million tonnes. The U. S. Department of Agriculture reported weekly export sales of old-crop U. S. corn at 1.255 million tonnes, above a range of trade expectations and the most in seven weeks. The U. S. Department of Agriculture reported export inspections of U. S. corn in the latest week at 1,547,022 tonnes, at the high end of a range of trade expectations. Private analytics firm Informa Economics raised its projection of U. S.

Zinc on MCX settled up 1.78% at 182.8 as prices regains to end with gains as some investors refocused on Trump's promised tax reforms and strong economic data. China's central bank said it would provide financial support to help manufacturers upgrade and modernize, including measures to increase the scope for insurance companies to invest in the manufacturing sector. The market focus is on New Orleans, warehouses' on-warrant stocks have dropped to 183,800 tonnes after a further 21,300 tonnes of cancellations or metal earmarked for delivery. On-warrant zinc stocks -- metal available to the market -- have fallen 42 percent this year to the lowest levels since November 2008.

Copper on MCX settled up 1.64% at 385.15 on U.S-led buying after data showed a surge in U.S. consumer confidence to a 16-year high. China's central bank said it would provide financial support to help manufacturers upgrade and modernize, including measures to increase the scope for insurance companies to invest in the manufacturing sector. Speculative long positions in copper were 6.6 percent of market open interest on Friday, down from a peak of 38 percent in mid-January. Workers are returning to work this week at the world's biggest copper mine in Chile after a strike that began on Feb. 9. Lost output from the strike and a long-drawn-out production restart at Escondida could amount to 230,000 tonnes, helping keep prices around $5,950 a tonne in the second quarter.

Jeera on NCDEX settled up by 3.98% at 17905 on rising domestic as well as exports demand at the spot market. Further, reports of lower production estimates in the producing belts of Gujarat too fuelled the uptrend. Reports showed that production of Jeera in Gujarat will be 2.21 lt, down almost 11% compared to last year production of 2.38 lt. Lower carryover stock coupled with higher export demand may push up jeera prices, as traders fear tight supply conditions in the coming months. The carryover stock has dipped to about 2 lakh bags (each of 55 kg) as against the normal 20-25 lakh bags, thereby reducing the availability even as the demand for exports and domestic consumption remains firm, trader sources said.

Naturalgas on MCX settled up 0.93% at 207 regaining strength as traders monitored shifting weather forecasts to assess the outlook for early-spring demand and supply levels. Weather systems will track across the country the next several days with rain, snow, and thunderstorms, but with limited cold air as they play out spring-like, according to forecasters at NatGasWeather.com. Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting forecasts on early-spring demand. The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption. Nearly 50% of all U.S. households use gas for heating.

Turmeric on NCDEX settled up by 2.94% at 6444 on rising exports demand at the spot market. On the export front, country exported about 82,115 tons during April-December period, up by 28% compared to last year exports of 64,105 tons. Though, some gains were capped as the turmeric arrivals in the country are higher at 115,205 tons during March 1-20 compared to 30,945 tons during previous month. Production in the ongoing season is expected to increase mainly on higher sowing area and favourable weather conditions in Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh etc. According to trade sources turmeric output is expected to be around 7.5-8 million bags. India's Apr-Sept turmeric export stood at 59,000 ton up 47% on year, according to Spices Board data. Demand for new turmeric increased.

Crudeoil on MCX settled up 1.77% at 3167 after a severe disruption to Libyan oil supplies supported a rebound in oil prices while comments from officials suggesting OPEC could extend its current deal beyond June lifted sentiment. Armed factions have blocked production at the western Libyan oilfields of Sharara and Wafa, reducing output by 252,000bpd, about a third , said a source at the National Oil Corp (NOC). NOC has declared force majeure on crude loadings from those oilfields. Meanwhile Hedge funds haven’t been so sceptical on rising WTI crude oil prices since 29 November, the day before the OPEC agreed to cut output, according to US CFTC data.

Mustard Seed on NCDEX settled up by 1.34% at 4008 on supply worries following reports of unfavourable weather. Fear of return of el-nino weather phenomena is firming up market sentiments. India is expected to produce around 6.5-7 million tonnes (mt) of rape mustard seeds in 2016-17 as compared to 5.8 mt produced in 2015-16 due to higher acreage and improving productivity. The carry-forward stock from the previous season was around 0.15 mt. The Ministry of Agriculture expects 8.5 mt of mustard seeds to be produced in the current rabi season against 6.8 mt a year ago, as per its 4th advanced estimates. Higher price levels seen before sowing, favourable weather and a hike of over 10.4 per cent in MSP to Rs. 3,700/Q (including Rs.