With chief executive Satya Nadella stressing a productivity-and-platform agenda for software company Microsoft, a segment in which the firm wants to lead is cloud computing, with offerings under Microsoft Azure.

Independent analysts say though Microsoft in India is yet to catch up with Amazon Web Services, the aggression shown by the company in gaining market share recently is evident. For Microsoft, Azure is a $20-billion revenue business and emerging markets such as India seem growth drivers.

ITC is trading higher by nearly 1% at Rs 394, extending its an over 5% rally in past two days on NSE, after the company has acquired the trademarks for 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower' in India from Johnson & Johnson for an undisclosed amount.

The stock opened at Rs 386 and touched a record high of Rs 402 on NSE. The trading volumes on the counter almost doubled with a combined 7.37 million shares changed hands till 1250 hours on NSE and BSE.

Benchmark indices have continued to trade firm led primarily by the gains in financials and select index heavyweight and IT stocks like ITC and TCS.

At 2:12PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 218 points at 29,345 and the 50-share Nifty was up 62 points at 8,871.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services provider today announced that it has partnered with Startupbootcamp FinTech, a leading accelerator focused on financial innovation, to host the Pitch Days in India.

The Pitch days will be held in the TCS campuses on February 24 in Mumbai and February 26 in Bangalore.

Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest passenger car company, was the most sought stock for mutual fund managers last month.

Equity fund managers pumped Rs 550 crore in the stock, even as it was ruling at all-time high levels. The shares moved in a range between Rs 3,341 and Rs 3,730, a record high on a closing basis.

The elephant might not be dancing but it’s surely trying to keep its flab under check. State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, which controls 17 per cent of India’s loan market, has gone off the beaten track by slowing its pace of growth, a decision in tune with the macroeconomic environment.

On a year-on-year basis, SBI’s loan growth was 6.9 per cent till December-end, compared with the sector’s growth of 9.1 per cent.

Tata Motors on Tuesday reported a marginal increase in global sales, including Jaguar Land Rover, at 80,499 units in January.

The company had sold 80,163 units in the same month last year. In the passenger vehicles category, the global sales last month were at 49,821 units as against 50,042 units in January 2014, Tata Motors said in a statement.

To fund expansion, state-run telecom player Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) plans to raise Rs 3,000 crore this year through a short-term loan. For the loan, a 12-month one, the company had invited bids from banks — both public sector and private lenders, a senior company official told Business Standard.

It has also invited proposals for launching mobile-based wallet services, in partnership with a bank and other agencies. Through this, a mobile user can pay for various services such as recharge of prepaid cards and mobile/utility bills, booking film tickets and shopping online, too. One can also transfer money.

Private sector lender Yes Bank today said it will be raising Rs 500 crore through issuance of "green infrastructure bonds", which will be deployed to fund renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

The bank claimed it is the first such issue in the country and the money will be used to fund solar power, wind power, biomass, and small hydel projects.

Apollo Hospitals Group has inked an MoU with the Ministry of Health, Republic of Ghana, for developing tertiary health care services in the African country, the company said today.

The agreement was signed by Victor Asare Bampoe, Deputy Health Minister, Ghana, and Hari Prasad, CEO, Central Region, Apollo Hospitals, a press release from Apollo said.

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