The number of people working in central public sector enterprises declined further in 2013-14, while state-run oil explorer ONGC was the most profitable PSU in the fiscal, a government survey said.

As on March 31, 2014, 290 CPSEs employed over 13.51 lakh people (excluding contract workers), compared to 14.02 lakh in 2012-13.

Ahead of the Union Budget on Saturday, FM Arun Jaitley tables Economic Survey 2015 report; economic growth in India seen at 8.5 pct in 2015-16 – indicating scope for big bang reforms.

As per the Economic Survey 2015 tabled in Parliament today, India must adhere to medium-term fiscal deficit target of 3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

PDP patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed will head a 25-member cabinet, half of it from BJP, in Jammu and Kashmir and the swearing-in ceremony on Sunday in Jammu will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With the PDP-BJP deal sealed after ironing out differences over contentions issues like Article 370 and AFSPA, 79-year- old Sayeed, who will be sworn in as Chief Minister, met the Prime Minister today, capping two-month long hard negotiations between the two parties on government formation.

Shares of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Tata Power Company are trading higher between 3-4% on BSE after these companies were shortlisted for Battlefield Management System by Ministry of Defence.

At 1005 hours, Tata Power Company has surged 4% to Rs 86, while L&T up 3% at Rs 1,728 on BSE.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has imposed a total penalty of Rs 86 crore on real estate major DLF and 40 related entities, including subsidiaries and key officials. The matter relates to disclosures made at the time of its Initial Public Offer (IPO) in 2007.

The regulator imposed penalties through two separate orders. One is for a sum of Rs 52 crore on DLF and seven officials. The second order is for Rs 34 crore on Sudipti Estates Ltd and 34 other related entities.

The country’s biggest bourse, the National Stock Exchange (NSE), plans an international exchange at Gujarat’s ‘GIFT City’, the country's first proposed international financial services centre.

The exchange signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday with the GIFT City project developers in Ahmedabad, in the presence of Gujarat’s finance minister, Saurabh Patel. NSE’s rival, BSE Ltd, had signed a similar undertaking with the Gujarat government last month.

NTPC Ltd has informed the BSE about the commencement of commercial operations of Unit-III 500-Mw Vallur thermal power project.

The Unit III power project located in Tiruvallur district has been set up by NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Co Ltd (NTECL), which is a JV between NTPC and the state distribution company Tangedco.

Ratan Tata, former chairman of Tata Sons, has confirmed Jaguar Land Rover, luxury vehicle arm of Tata Motors, is looking for a factory site in North America.

He said so to Automotive News, while a guest at the South Carolina Automotive Summit. Earlier this month, JLR executives met the governor of Georgia in the US to discuss setting up a new factory in the state, a local newspaper had reported.

Shares of Bajaj Auto have dipped 2.4% at Rs 2,128, its lowest level since August 2014 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The stock of the country’s third largest two-wheeler maker has underperformed the market by falling 13% in past one month after reporting lower-than-expected vehicle sales for the month of January 2015. The CNX Nifty has declined about 1% during the period.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday spared passengers from any hike in fares but made changes in freight rates to rake in more money while ruling out privatisation.

Presenting the first full-fledged Rail Budget of the Modi government for 2015-16, he made adjustments in freight rates that exempted salt but would hike rates on carriage of cement, coal and coke, iron or steel and petroleum products.

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