Loss-making state-owned telecom service providers, Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and MTNL will not be privatised; instead they will be turned around, telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said.

For the private sector players, the minister’s message is that he’s willing to take a re-look at the merger and acquisition guidelines finalised by the UPA government, if they feel that it is not workable. Also that sufficient spectrum to operators and its optimum utilisation by them will be ensured by him.

After a brief opening in red, benchmark indices edged higher on account of gains in IT and pharma names. At 0940 hrs, the Sensex was up 62 points at 26,688 and the Nifty edged higher up 13 points to trade at 7,981.

In line with weak Asian cues, the benchmark indices started on a flat note with a negative bias. The one weighing on the indices were ICICI Bank, L&T, ITC and ONGC in opening deals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the three-million-strong Indian community in the US by storm, straddling generations, ethnicities and educational attainments. Speaking at the Madison Square Garden and earlier at a concert at the Central Park, he flagged a range of issues, addressing not just the followers of yoga but also those who are more familiar with Yoda, a prominent character in the Star Wars series, when he told young people listening to him at the music concert: "May the Force be with you," evoking loud cheers.

The GMR group, which operates the Hyderabad International Airport, intends to build an exhibition-cum-convention centre at a cost of Rs 750 crore. The centre will be a part of the proposed airport city, which is expected to create 15,000 to 20,000 jobs.

According to an official press release, group chairman, GM Rao, made this proposal when he called on Telangana chief minister, K Chandrashekar Rao, on Friday.

BSE Ltd and Bank of New York Mellon have signed an agreement enabling foreign investors to provide AAA rated sovereign bonds traded outside of India as collateral for trades done on the domestic exchange, the two parties said in a joint statement released late on Friday.

The two parties said with the signing of this agreement they "aim to enhance the trading experience for foreign institutional and retail investors and bring Indian practices in line with the best in the world".

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday firmed up regulations that will govern real estate investment trusts, or REITs, and so-called infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) that the market regulator decided to allow last month. Following a board meeting in August, Sebi had cleared a long-pending proposal to allow Indian firms to launch REITs —a move that will enable easier access to funds for cash-strapped developers and create a new investment avenue for institutions and high net worth individuals, and ultimately ordinary investors. All REIT schemes, to start-off with, will be close-ended real estate investment schemes that will invest in property with the aim of providing returns to unit holders. The returns will be derived mainly from rental income or capital gains from real estate. REITs, Sebi said, will be allowed to invest in commercial real estate assets, either directly or through special purpose vehicles (SPVs).

MUMBAI: Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan has tendered his resignation to state Governor Vidyasagar Rao. The CM met the Governor on Friday and announced that he is stepping down. This is an indication that Maharashtra is headed for President's rule. The state is going to polls on October 15 and results will be out on 19th. This process will happen now under President's rule. These developments happened after NCP which shared power with the Congress withdrew its support to the Congress led government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in US for a five-day visit, said that he was 'deeply touched' by the warm welcome accorded to him.

"A big thank you for the warm welcome in New York! Deeply touched. Looking forward to a great trip ahead," Modi said in a tweet.

Global ratings agency Standard & Poor’s on Friday upped its outlook for Reliance Industries (RIL), Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and seven other Indian firms from negative to stable following similar action on India’s sovereign credit rating.

The rating agency — which revised its outlook on India from negative to stable — has revised the outlook for Reliance Industries to stable from negative while affirming the company's rating as BBB+, two notches higher than India's sovereign rating of BBB-.

Cuba will send nearly 300 more doctors and nurses to West Africa to help combat the Ebola virus, raising to 461 the number of its medical professionals joining world efforts to contain an outbreak that has killed more than 3,000 people.

A group of 165 healthcare workers is due to arrive in Sierra Leone in early October. The 62 doctors and 103 nurses have been training for their mission with international experts at a Havana hospital specializing in tropical diseases.

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