BANGALORE: The hunt is on at two of India's biggest software companies — Infosys2.28 % and Wipro 0.89 % — for tech visionaries and corporate leaders who can join their boards and reinvigorate them after the exit of several old-timers and co-founders later this year.

While the board of Bangalore-based Infosys will be made up of non-founders for the first time in history, cross-town rival Wipro too is looking to replace at least three of its directors who are set to retire in a few months.

Aggressive attempts by GMR Infrastructure Ltd to trim debt, lower the debt-to-equity ratio and boost cash flows from the business are sustaining investor interest in the stock.

Last week, the private sector infrastructure company raised about $200 million through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) and $100 million of preferential warrants to promoters. Some brokerages say that the move will help prune corporate debt by around Rs.3,500 crore.

A day after 46 nurses returned from Iraq, another 200 Indians arrived here on Sunday from Najaf. Another 117 Indians are expected to arrive in New Delhi by an Iraqi Airways plane on Monday morning, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday.

“Approximately 2,200 Indian nationals have indicated their desire to leave. Of them, 600 have been provided tickets by their companies, while 1,600 are being provided tickets by the Government of India,” MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.

The issue of price rise is likely to generate heat in the Budget Session of Parliament that begins today. The members of the Opposition parties are gearing up to make a strong pitch for a discussion over it in both Houses.

Thursday’s maiden Budget by the Narendra Modi government would be the highlight of the Parliament session, which ends on August 14, but other legislative agenda for the month-long session doesn't look very promising.

National carrier Air India has called a meeting of its two pilot unions in New Delhi on Monday to discuss various issues, including integration of unions and salaries, sources said on Sunday.

The meeting assumes significance as it comes days before Air India formally gets inducted as the 27th member of the global airlines' club, Star Alliance, later this week.

Tata Motors' domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) volumes in June-14 at 9,620 units (-13.6% y-o-y) remained weak after declining by 23% in FY14. Our channel checks reflect some moderation in discounting, however, it continues to be at significantly high levels (10%+ on the headline ASP—average selling price—for key models) reflecting persistence of weak demand environment. We expect MHCV industry demand to revive over FY15-17 (18% p.a.).Tata Motors' domestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) volumes in June-14 at 9,620 units (-13.6% y-o-y) remained weak after declining by 23% in FY14. Our channel checks reflect some moderation in discounting, however, it continues to be at significantly high levels (10%+ on the headline ASP—average selling price—for key models) reflecting persistence of weak demand environment. We expect MHCV industry demand to revive over FY15-17 (18% p.a.).

Brokerage firms have projected a modest 2-3% sequential growth in Infosys’ Q1FY15 revenue, saying the company may have to absorb the impact of salary hikes, an appreciating rupee and fresh visa costs. Infosys will announce its first quarter earnings on July 11.

At the Q4FY14 results call, Infosys CFO Rajiv Bansal had said, “The increase in salaries, promotions and investments in new visas will impact first quarter margins by approximately 250-300 basis points (bps).” Operating profit margin (OPM) at the end of fourth quarter stood at 25.5%. It will be interesting to note where Infosys stands with regard to OPM in Q1.

Markets have started the trading session on a firm note with the Indices hitting lifetime high. The first Budget session of the 16th Lok Sabha begins today.

Indices continue to scale fresh highs on account of strong foreign inflows and budget optimism.

The government will seek to raise up to a record $11.7 billion in asset sales in its maiden Budget on Thursday, a senior government source said, bolstering state finances and buying time for structural reforms to revive a weak economy.

The privatisation target could reach Rs 70,000 crore, almost equal to all proceeds over the last four years, in a Budget Prime Minister Narendra Modi hopes will launch the growth and jobs agenda that in May won him India's biggest election mandate in three decades. The Budget is due on Thursday.

A new panel has found that 29.5 per cent of India's population was poor in 2011-12 against just 21.9 per cent estimated under the previous methodology which had drawn sharp criticism from various quarters. In absolute terms, 363 million people were below the poverty line that year, higher by about 93 million over 269.8 million estimated earlier.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.