Markets opened marginally higher with infrastructure stocks leading the gains after the government paved the way for easing the land acquisition Act for public-private partnership and rural infrastructure projects.

At 9:35AM, the 30-share Sensex was down 23 points at 27,372 and the 50-share Nifty was trading 6 points lower at 8,240.

Even as the deadlock on government formation continues in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of a fractured mandate, top sources here indicated possibility of the People's Democratic Party (PDP)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance becoming a reality. It is believed that prime minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah, who have deliberated on the tough conditions set by the PDP, were positively inclined to discuss them further, to give a face-saver to the Kashmir-centric regional party.

The PDP has said amongst its conditions two -- a status quo on the Article 370 and a time-frame for the revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA -- were non-negotiable. At a public meeting in Srinagar, the prime minister had reminded the people early December that it was under him that the first time soldiers responsible for killing of two youths were identified and punished in such a short time, referring to nine soldiers who have been indicted for killing two youths in Budgam district on November 3. Also, it was only when he took over that the army sentenced two officers and three soldiers to life imprisonment for gunning down three unemployed Kashmiri youths and then trying to pass them off as "Pakistani militants". The case was pending since 2010.

The AirAsia plane that went missing on Sunday with 162 people on board is likely at the bottom of the sea, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency chief said Monday.

"Based on the coordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea, the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea," Bambang Soelistyo told a press conference.

If you tried to log into Twitter either via your mobile or a desktop, you would have likely received this message Some users are currently having trouble signing in to twitter...Our engineers are currently working to resolve this.

Users initially faced log in issues on their Android phones, while iOS users could use the service. Furthermore, the computer application, TweetDeck, was displaying tweets which were a year old.

The markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has sought help from various investigative agencies under the finance ministry to tackle the alleged money laundering in listed companies.

Sources with direct knowledge of the matter said that Sebi recently wrote to the finance ministry, highlighting the modus operandi used by certain low value companies to evade taxes.

Shares in Larsen and Toubro (L&T) were trading higher by nearly 1% at Rs 1,502 on NSE after the company said it has bagged an offshore contract valued at Rs 894 crore from the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a fully owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, has bagged an offshore contract valued at Rs 894 crore from the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for additional development of the Vasai East project, L&T said in a press release.

Legal loopholes in the Mumbai terror attack case led to the granting of bail to its alleged mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) stated here in a written order.

The order added that weak evidence, registration of the FIR invoking irrelevant sections against the suspect, the "never-ending" trial and hearsay evidence went in favour of the accused, the Dawn reported Saturday.

Government has set an investment target of Rs. 42,512 crore from the private sector under Swachh Bharat Mission in urban areas.

According to an official release, out of the total project cost of Rs. 62,009 crore, the central assistance would be Rs. 14,623 crore while the states and Union territories would be required to contribute Rs. 4,874 crore.

Politics is making strange bed fellows in Jammu and Kashmir, as contours of the next government in the state remained hazy. The BJP's bid for a Hindu chief minister seems to have pushed the Kashmir-based party National Conference to offer unconditional support to its arch rival, PDP.

The PDP with 28 seats and NC with 15 would run short by just one seat for the required 44 in the 87-member assembly. A PDP-NC alliance would upset the BJP's calculations of having a stake in government in Srinagar.

Market regulator Sebi today ordered immediate closure of unauthorised investment schemes run by Ecogreen Realestate India and directed the firm to refund investors' money alongwith returns within 3 months.

Besides, the company and its directors have been barred from raising money from the public as well as capital markets.

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