Amid searing heat, a possibly deficient monsoon and serious financial challenges, including the problem of how to tackle the retrospective taxation issue, President Pranab Mukherjee's address to a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament on Monday is likely to spell out the road map of the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

The government in its forthcoming Budget is set to encourage health insurance by giving policy holders increased deductions for tax purposes.

In addition, the government is also considering additional deductions for investment in long-term infrastructure bonds with an objective to channelise public savings into the financing of infrastructure, said an official privy to the development.

Gautam Buddh Nagar was locked down on Sunday after the killing of BJP leader Vijay Pandit in Dadri late on Saturday triggered widespread violence in the area. Police also issued prohibitory orders and detained four persons.

Meanwhile, demanding a CBI enquiry into the killing, Pandit’s wife and chairman of Dadri Municipal Corporation Nagar, Geeta Pandit, claimed her husband’s death was linked to political rivalry between him and local Samajwadi Party leader Narender Bhati. Bhati, however denied the allegations and said he had “no reason to kill Vijay Pandit”.

Mumbai: Indian firms are expected to sell shares worth at least $5 billion (around Rs.29,600 crore) to institutional investors in the next two months, riding on improved sentiment and liquidity in the equity market and hopes that the new government will revive the economy through reforms.

Companies from the infrastructure and finance sectors are among those who are likely to tap the markets, many of whom have begun discussions with bankers and potential investors, investment bankers said.

MUMBAI: The rupee strengthened by 19 paise to 58.98 against the US dollar in early trade today on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on selling of the American currency by banks and exporters amidst strong local equities.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki India rallied 1 percent intraday on Monday. The car manufacturer which agreed to let parent Suzuki Motor Corporation own an upcoming plant in Gujarat, expects to save about Rs 10,500 crore in the first 15 years by not investing in the facility.

In a presentation filed to the BSE related to the contentious Gujarat plant, the company said it proposes to enter into a contract manufacturing agreement (CMA) with Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG), a fully owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC).

MUMBAI: Automobile makers in India have lined up more than Rs 10,000 crore of investment to develop new passenger vehicles and soup up existing ones despite a slowdown in sales, as they strive to meet changing customer demands in a market where products become outdated fast, according to industry executives.

Companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Maruti SuzukiBSE 0.56 % as well as the local units of Hyundai Motor, Renault and Nissan Motor are working on all-new platforms to bring out new products.

NEW DELHI: Cash-strapped Air India will seek an additional Rs 1,600 crore as equity in 2014-15, asking for Rs 7,100 crore instead of Rs 5,500 crore as per the original financial restructuring plan (FRP) approved by UPA.

The additional funds in the coming Budget are being sought on three grounds — shortfall of Rs 500 crore in the government's equity infusion last fiscal, interest cost incurred by the airline to raise this amount as loan from banks and finally the fluctuation in $-re exchange rate last year from the assumed value of Rs 40-45 when the FRP was approved.

NEW DELHI: With addition of over 10,000 jobs last fiscal, ICICI Bank has overtaken rival HDFC Bank as the biggest employer in the private banking space with more than 72,000 employees.

Incidentally, HDFC Bank saw its employee headcount decline by 900 during the fiscal ended March 31, 2014, while at least five other major private sector banks saw their workforces grow during the year.

New Delhi: Country’s largest power producer NTPC Ltd has invited bids for construction of the 1,320-MW Khargone thermal project, estimated to cost Rs.7,000 crore.

Bids have been sought for EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) package for the Khargone super thermal power plant coming up in Madhya Pradesh. The plant would have two units, each having a generation capacity of 660 MW.

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