Commonwealth Games off to colourful start

Pratibha Patil declares Games open; Prince Charles reads out a message from the Queen
India switched on its spotlights on Sunday evening to display its new vibrant, energetic and progressive avatar providing its guests from the Commonwealth nations a glimpse of its art and culture at the opening ceremony of the Games.
For precisely three hours, all the unsavoury episodes in the days leading to this spectacular event were forgotten and the audience of around 60,000 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here carried home memories of a gala evening that presented a fine mix of the country's glorious past, a dynamic present and a promising future.
Against low expectations and mounting criticism of India's capabilities to hold the Games in keeping with its growing reputation of a developing economy, the show did more than just entertain those present. It left the audience upbeat and restored the country's pride that had been so badly bruised in the weeks gone by.
There were several moments that brought the roars from an enthusiastic Delhi crowd. Among those, the one that stood out — soon after Prince Charles read out a message from the Queen — was when President Pratibha Patil declared the Games open, with the words, “Let the Games begin.”
A little earlier, Olympic bronze medallist Sushil Kumar handed over the much-travelled Queen's Baton to Prince Charles. Boxer Vijender Singh carried the baton into the stadium, passed it to five-time world women's boxing champion Mary Kom before it reached shooter Samaresh Jung and Sushil.
The sombre spirit was lifted with the rising of the aerostat — the much-talked about helium balloon costing over Rs. 40-crore — that spectacularly displayed the magnified images of the happenings on the ground below.
The ‘Rhythms of India,' a vibrating five-minute show comprising 800 drummers set the tempo. Thereafter, 1,050 school children from the capital performed choreography of Namaste, an acknowledged sign of welcome and respect to the guests.
The song, Swagatam, smartly incorporated nuances of Hindustani, Carnatic and Qawwali forms of music, with the credit for this fine fusion going to noted singer Hariharan. The customary athletes' parade was headed by Australia, the superpower in Commonwealth sports. India, led by Olympic champion shooter Abhinav Bindra, brought up the rear to thunderous ovation. Never before would an Indian contingent have turned out so smartly for any Games.
Bindra later took the athletes' oath and among various presentations that followed, the “Great Indian Journey” encapsulated 5,000 years of Indian culture, after an eye-catching presentation by the Indian Railways.
The grand finale featuring music composer A.R. Rahman was a fitting one, with his Jai Ho turning out to be more popular than the theme song, Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto.
Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi was booed by a section of the crowd.

FINANCE NEWS

AIG World Gold Fund tops MF schemes last week
Bangalore: The open ended scheme, AIG World Gold Fund tops mutual fund topped the MF charts last week after seeing a growth rate of 5.6902 percent. As of April 29, 2010, the net asset value (NAV) of the scheme was Rs. 12.42.
The primary investment objective of the scheme is to provide long term capital appreciation by investing predominantly in units of AIG PB Equity Fund Gold, according to Mutualfundsindia.com. The scheme may, at the discretion of the Investment Manager, also invest in the units of other similar overseas mutual fund schemes. The Scheme may also invest a certain portion of its corpus in debt and money market securities and/or units of debt/liquid schemes of MFs, in order to meet liquidity requirements from time to time.
As on March 30, 2010, the fund size of AIG World Gold Fund was Rs. 202.67 crore and the Fund Manager is Ruchir Parekh. Other top MFs in the list include Birla Sun Life Commodity Equities Fund - Gbl Pre Metals, Reliance Banking Fund, DSP BlackRock World Gold Fund and DSP BlackRock World Gold Fund.

FINANCE NEWS

Buy Cummins India, target of Rs. 560: India Infoline
Mumbai: India Infoline is bullish on Cummins India and has recommended buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs. 560. According to the brokerage, on Wednesday, Cummins India surged sharply on impressive volumes above its 20-day DMA. It now faces a resistance at Rs 560 levels and should have a minimum upside till that level.
Cummins India is an India-based company operating in two segments: engines business and others. The engines business segment is engaged in the manufacture of internal combustion engines, gensets and parts thereof used for various applications, such as power generation, construction, compressor, mining, marine, locomotive and fire-fighting. Others segment includes sale and leasing of diesel power generating sets and allied equipment, including operation and maintenance facilities of these equipments. The company has 50 percent interest in joint ventures, such as Cummins Exhaust, Cummins Research and Technology and Valvoline Cummins.
India Infoline says, the stock has rallied smartly from a low of Rs. 437 in February 2010 to the present levels. Despite the ongoing volatility in the market, the stock has managed to hold on to the support of its 50-day DMA. The daily RSI is already in strong buy mode, indicating that the prices are set to rally from the current levels. With the recommended target price of Rs. 560, if the stock is bought at Thursday's closing price of Rs. 578.85, the percentage of gain would be 3.25 percent.

FINANCE NEWS

RBI approves Nokia mobile money transfer

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has permitted YES Bank to provide mobile money services in association with Nokia. The pilot in Pune will end in a couple of months, the result of which will presumably be inputs for the RBI to regulate the roll-out of the services in India, reports M. Ramesh of BusinessLine.

For a customer to start using this service, he has to first go to any of the Nokia retail outlets and fill a form which makes you an account holder with YES Bank. Nokia promises that the process will not take more than 15 minutes. Then he can deposit an amount at the Nokia outlet and in minutes the 'credit' appears on the mobile phone. After this, he can make payments at shops, pay electricity and water bills and even transfer funds to another person.

Obopay, a California-based company, in which Nokia has a stake, offers the technology back-up for YES Bank. Obopay charges two percent of the value of payments as commission, except for utility bills, where the payment would be between Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 a transaction.

Currently, only YES Bank is offering such a service, but soon other banks could follow suit. Nokia has initiated discussions with a few other banks, but since it is up to the banks to apply for permission to the RBI, Nokia does not want to disclose their names or suggest a timeline for the launch of the service.

Reliance plans to sell gas in U.S. market - report

MUMBAI - Reliance Industries Ltd plans to sell gas to retail consumers in the United States, the Economic Times reported on Friday, giving the Indian energy major a foothold in the world's biggest market.
Reliance, which had formed a joint venture this month with Atlas Energy at a promising natural gas deposit, aims to use the U.S. firm's pipeline to supply gas, the newspaper said.

The company, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, will initially supply gas to consumers in New York and Virginia, and use the Atlas partnership to build a brand, it said.

A Reliance spokesman declined comment on the report.

Reliance has picked up a 40 percent stake in Atlas's operations in the booming Marcellus Shale -- a gas project that spans parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York in the United States and which, according to some geologists, could hold enough natural gas to satisfy U.S. demand for a decade.

The gas retail market in the United States is dominated by global majors such as Exxon Mobil and BP who have spent decades building a network and pipelines, the paper said.

The largest listed Indian company owns the world's single biggest refining complex in Gujarat and exports a bulk of its petroleum products to the United States. It began pumping natural gas from a large field off India's east coast last year.

Reliance is looking at increasing revenues from its offshore assets in coming years and aims to invest heavily in these markets, the paper quoted an unnamed Reliance official as saying.

New way to guide a car: With your eyes, not hands

BERLIN - Tired of spinning that steering wheel? Try this: German researchers have developed a new technology that lets drivers steer cars using only their eyes.

Raul Rojas, an artificial intelligence researcher at Berlin's Free University, said Friday that the technology tracks a driver's eye movement and, in turn, steers the car in whatever direction they're looking.

Rojas and his team presented the technology-packed prototype under a clear blue sky at an airport in the German capital.

The Dodge Caravan crisscrossed the tarmac at the abandoned Tempelhof Airport, its driver using his line of sight to control the car. The car's steering wheel was turning as if guided by ghostly hands.

The technology called eyeDriver lets the car drive up to 31 mph (50 kph).

"The next step will be to get it to drive 60 miles per hour," Rojas said.

Ultimately, however, the Mexican-born researcher is aiming for even more: "The biggest challenge is of course to drive in a city with pedestrians and lots of obstacles."

For now, exercises remain relatively simple. The Dodge chases a pedestrian or another car across the tarmac and shows his agility and even drives backward - the driver only has to look into the rear mirror to guide the car.

However, it remains unclear when - or if - the technology will be commercialized as questions about safety and practicability abound: What about looking at a cute girl next to the road for a few seconds? Not to mention taking phone calls or typing a text while driving.

But the researchers have an answer to distracted drivers: "The Spirit of Berlin" is also an autonomous car equipped with GPS navigation, scores of cameras, lasers and scanners that enable it to drive by itself.

"The car can do everything. It can drive autonomously or it can be guided by a driver's eyes," Rojas said. The compromise is a mode that has the car driving on its own, basing its decisions on input from scanners and cameras, and only requires the driver to give guidance at crossroads.

"The car stops at intersections and asks the driver for guidance on which road to take," the researchers say. A few seconds of attention with the driver looking in his desired direction get the car flowing again.

To demonstrate the car's autonomy, Rojas at one point jumped in front of the car - which was at that moment driving at perhaps 10 miles per hour - and the Dodge was immediately stopped by the cameras that had detected the obstacle.

"I was lucky this time," Rojas said jokingly.

While Rojas escaped, driver David Latotzky sat calmly on the passenger seat, wearing a bicycle helmet that is key to the functioning of the EyeDriver: One camera mounted on top of it monitors the street, a second one constantly keeps track of the driver's eyes' movements.

"We chose a bicycle helmet because they're the most ergonomic ones," Rojas said. Selling that technology to customers, however, might be a tough call - it the driver look like he or she came straight out of a Star Wars movie.

But if using your eyes for steering seems to tricky anyway, the researchers already have an alternative: Use your iPhone instead. In fall last year they presented a technology that allows to use Apple's smart phone as remote control for the car.

FINANCE NEWS

Buy an insurance policy even with a pre-existing illness
While awareness regarding the importance of an individual health insurance policy is now quite widespread, many first-time buyers — particularly older buyers — face a hurdle in the form of pre-existing illness exclusion clause. Health insurers define a pre-existing illness as: ‘Any condition, ailment, injury or related conditions for which the insured had symptoms and/or was diagnosed and/or received medical advice or treatment within 48 months prior to the health policy with the company.’ This article is for those who feel discouraged from buying health insurance because of this clause.

Health policy is a must

Even if certain ailments are not covered, a health cover is a must. Also, pre-existing illness does not always preclude you from buying health insurance. “If an insurance seeker was suffering from an ailment four years before signing up for the policy, and it is not chronic in nature — for instance, if he had injured his leg or had his gall stones removed, there is no cause for concern.

However, if it happens to be an illness that he contracted more than 48 months ago and it has persisted, then he should declare the same,” explains Sanjay Datta, head, health insurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance. Thereon, the decision of providing the cover, the extent of coverage and the premium to be charged is at the insurance company’s discretion. For instance, a patient suffering from a kidney failure is unlikely to obtain a health cover, but in case of diabetes and hypertension, the insurance company may take a call on the basis of the degree or type of illness.

Supplementing group mediclaim

Since group mediclaim policies typically cover pre-existing illnesses as well, employees may feel tempted to avoid buying an individual cover due to insurance premium. However, it may not be a wise decision. The employer group mediclaim ceases to exist once the individual switches jobs or retires. The former may bank on the group cover offered by new employers, but retirees have no such luxury. Worse still, it would be difficult to obtain an individual cover at that age. Instead, it’s better to buy an individual policy. While group insurance would cover any pre-existing illness, the individual policy will come in handy once the waiting period comes to an end or post-retirement, thus ensuring continuous coverage for the insured. If a separate policy seems unaffordable, you could opt for a top-up plan, which gets triggered only after the basic policy’s (say the group policy) sum insured is exhausted.

Compare the waiting period

Individual mediclaim policies bring pre-existing diseases into the ambit of coverage, post the completion of waiting period. Therefore, apart from the insurance premium being charged by various insurers, you also need to compare the waiting periods stipulated in the policies for covering pre-existing ailments. Some policies specify a waiting period of two years, while in case of some, it could extend to four years. Also, check if certain conditions can be covered upon the payment of an additional premium. For instance, though New India Assurance Company’s individual mediclaim prescribes a waiting period of four years, it offers to cover diabetes and hypertension after two years, if the insured shells out extra premium.

Avoid switching insurers

With an eye on low premium or better terms of coverage, several policyholders look to switch over a different insurer when their policies come up for renewal. However, this could prove to be counter-productive if you are suffering from an illness. “Such policyholders should think twice before looking to move to a different health insurer. It is possible that the new insurance company could start the waiting period all over again,” says Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company. Lack of coverage for a prolonged period could defeat the very purpose of taking a mediclaim policy.

FINANCE NEWS

Buy an insurance policy even with a pre-existing illness
While awareness regarding the importance of an individual health insurance policy is now quite widespread, many first-time buyers — particularly older buyers — face a hurdle in the form of pre-existing illness exclusion clause. Health insurers define a pre-existing illness as: ‘Any condition, ailment, injury or related conditions for which the insured had symptoms and/or was diagnosed and/or received medical advice or treatment within 48 months prior to the health policy with the company.’ This article is for those who feel discouraged from buying health insurance because of this clause.

Health policy is a must

Even if certain ailments are not covered, a health cover is a must. Also, pre-existing illness does not always preclude you from buying health insurance. “If an insurance seeker was suffering from an ailment four years before signing up for the policy, and it is not chronic in nature — for instance, if he had injured his leg or had his gall stones removed, there is no cause for concern.

However, if it happens to be an illness that he contracted more than 48 months ago and it has persisted, then he should declare the same,” explains Sanjay Datta, head, health insurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance. Thereon, the decision of providing the cover, the extent of coverage and the premium to be charged is at the insurance company’s discretion. For instance, a patient suffering from a kidney failure is unlikely to obtain a health cover, but in case of diabetes and hypertension, the insurance company may take a call on the basis of the degree or type of illness.

Supplementing group mediclaim

Since group mediclaim policies typically cover pre-existing illnesses as well, employees may feel tempted to avoid buying an individual cover due to insurance premium. However, it may not be a wise decision. The employer group mediclaim ceases to exist once the individual switches jobs or retires. The former may bank on the group cover offered by new employers, but retirees have no such luxury. Worse still, it would be difficult to obtain an individual cover at that age. Instead, it’s better to buy an individual policy. While group insurance would cover any pre-existing illness, the individual policy will come in handy once the waiting period comes to an end or post-retirement, thus ensuring continuous coverage for the insured. If a separate policy seems unaffordable, you could opt for a top-up plan, which gets triggered only after the basic policy’s (say the group policy) sum insured is exhausted.

Compare the waiting period

Individual mediclaim policies bring pre-existing diseases into the ambit of coverage, post the completion of waiting period. Therefore, apart from the insurance premium being charged by various insurers, you also need to compare the waiting periods stipulated in the policies for covering pre-existing ailments. Some policies specify a waiting period of two years, while in case of some, it could extend to four years. Also, check if certain conditions can be covered upon the payment of an additional premium. For instance, though New India Assurance Company’s individual mediclaim prescribes a waiting period of four years, it offers to cover diabetes and hypertension after two years, if the insured shells out extra premium.

Avoid switching insurers

With an eye on low premium or better terms of coverage, several policyholders look to switch over a different insurer when their policies come up for renewal. However, this could prove to be counter-productive if you are suffering from an illness. “Such policyholders should think twice before looking to move to a different health insurer. It is possible that the new insurance company could start the waiting period all over again,” says Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company. Lack of coverage for a prolonged period could defeat the very purpose of taking a mediclaim policy.

White House releases open source code

Washington: As an effort to have their website on an open platform, White House has released an open source code.

"This code is available for anyone to review, use, or modify. We're excited to see how developers across the world put our work to good use in their own applications," said the White House sources.

The code is part of the Drupal project, which is an open source content management system. The White House said that its coders have added to Drupal functionality in three ways.

The development team has released a scalability module called "Context HTTP Headers", which allows site builders to add metadata content. A second module that addresses scalability is "Akamai" and it allows website to integrate with Content Delivery Network, Akamai.

White House website development team has opened the website to make it more accessible as possible and is committed to meet government accessibility standard, Section 508. As part of that compliance they have developed "Node Embed", which is a management system that embeds the right metadata for images and videos.

BenQ introduces world's slimmest LED monitors in India

Mumbai: BenQ, the LED monitor vendor has come up with the world's three slimmest LED monitors - BenQ V2220, V2420 and V920 LED in India.

"With the launch of the three new V series models spanning HD to full HD, 18.5" wide to 24", the company has lined-up 8 models in the India market," BenQ India's Vice-President (Sales and Product Management), Rajeev Singh, told PTI. "BenQ V series is energy efficient and consumes 44 percent less energy than other LED monitors," Singh said. BenQ V series will be now available pan-India at Rs. 8,999 (V920), Rs. 14,999 (V2220) and Rs. 18,900 for V2420 model.

Currently, the company has a marketshare of 10-12 percent in India in the monitor segment and plans to increase it to 15 percent with the launch these models by this year-end. "Our product is very unique and we expect at least 15 percent market share by end of this year," Singh said.

BenQ India, is a part of the BenQ Corporation. The Taiwan-based company offers products and integrated technologies across platforms.

FINANCE NEWS

HDFC Bank at all-time high after Q4 results
MUMBAI: Shares in HDFC Bank, India's No.2 private-sector lender, rose as much as 2.6 percent to a record high of 1,995 rupees after it reported on Saturday quarterly profit rose by a third, beating estimates, bolstered by a pick-up in credit demand.

At 9:17 a.m. (0347 GMT), HDFC Bank was up 2.42 percent at 1,991.50 rupees, while the main stock index was up 0.5 percent.

FINANCE NEWS

FINANCE NEWS
Mandhana Industries' IPO opens on April 27
Mumbai: Mandhana Industries will enter the capital market with an initial public offering (IPO) of 83 lakh equity shares of Rs. 10 each. The issue opens on April 27 and closes on April 29. The company's major business segments include textiles and garments.

Mandhana Industries produces fabrics for the domestic market and garments largely for exports. It has fabric weaving capacity of 18 million meters and fabric processing capacity of 20.4 million meters, at its plants in Tarapur. The company has garment capacity of 3.9 million pieces. The company's revenue growth is at a CAGR of 47 percent driven by increased weaving, dyeing and garment capacities over the past three years.

The price band has been fixed at Rs. 120-130 a share. The company plans to raise up to Rs. 108 crore at the upper end of the price band. The issue will constitute 25.06 percent of the fully diluted post issue paid-up capital of the company. The qualified institutional buyers have been allotted 50 percent of the shares, the high net worth individuals got 15 percent and the retail investors were allotted 35 percent. The issue is open to anchor investors and they will be allotted 12.45 lakh shares.

The issue proceeds will be used to set up a new garment manufacturing facility and also for the expansion of its yarn dyeing and weaving facility at MIDC, Tarapur, Maharashtra. The funds will also be utilized for margin money for its working capital needs and also for general corporate purposes. Edelweiss Capital and Axis Bank are the Book Running Lead Managers to the issue. demand.

3G to reform healthcare sector: Vishal Bali

Bangalore: The deployment of the 3G technology will change the face of healthcare sector in the country, opined Vishal Bali, CEO, Fortis Hospital. The third generation technology will enable video broadcast and data-intensive services telemedicine through wireless communications which will help the doctors to monitor faraway patients.

"3G's high-end applications will take healthcare industry to the next level. Its features like high-speed internet, conferencing, content download, data sharing and transfer will help the industry to combat the slow transfer of big files," said Bali while delivering the keynote address at the seminar on 'Healthcare and Emerging Technologies' organized by Banalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Enabling third generation services will help to implement electronic healthcare records and hospital information systems at a faster pace. This technology is set to substantially change the face of healthcare delivery, Bali said.

According to Bali, IT plays a big in ensuring that medical errors are preventable. It is also the core of minimal invasive surgeries. Hospitals are creating large networks and IT is indispensable facet for connectivity as these medical centers cannot work in isolation.

It is IT which has given place for India on the global map. Our software development capability has been recognized globally and now IT industry should look at the opportunities to increase the efficiency of Indian healthcare targeting hospitals of all sizes to provide innovative and affordable solutions for India from India, said Bali.

Indian American Vinod Khosla tops Forbes 10 greenest billionaires

Washington: Indian American Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla tops the list of 10 greenest billionaires chosen by Forbes "who are most active in green, sustainable causes and who are working to have the greatest impact."

The leading US business magazine said it found the top ten "are altruistic, yes, but most of them are also very much aiming to turn a profit" and they hail not just from the US but also from Israel, Germany and Canada.

"Khosla-a cofounder of Sun Microsystems and a longtime partner at venture capital powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers-has, with fellow billionaire and green business supporter John Doerr, been pouring millions of dollars into green tech companies," Forbes noted.

The magazine put Khosla's net worth at $1.1 billion and Doerr's at $1.7 billion, noting in 2004 Khosla began, though his Khosla Ventures, to fund dozens of innovative companies involved in areas such as sustainable building materials, solar power and advanced biofuels.

Some of these investments Khosla has described as "science experiments" that may or may not succeed, it said.

"I like Vinod's strategy because traditionally VCs don't buy into companies at their early stage. He does, and the science experiment that survives that germ-of-an-idea stage has a good chance it'll be mainstream some day," Forbes quoted Michael Kanellos of Greentech Media as saying.

Ausra, a solar thermal power company backed by Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins, had trouble getting financing and permits for planned solar plants and in 2009 switched its focus to selling equipment for customers that included coal-fired plants.

Now the company is out of Khosla's purview as in February French nuclear giant Areva bought Ausra for an undisclosed sum.

But Khosla has plenty of other green tech bets, including Calera, a company that is developing technology to trap carbon dioxide and capture it in cement, Forbes.

Among others making Forbes greenest billionaires list were Israeli Carnival Cruises heiress Shari Arison, Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and German billionaires Aloys Wobben and Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis.

Nearly everyone wants to be green these days, or so it seems, said Forbes noting more than $200 billion globally will be invested this year in sustainable businesses-a 40 percent increase from 2009.

U.S. hopes to learn from India's job creation schemes

Washington: U.S. Labour Secretary Hilda Solis has lauded India's achievement in reaching out to the masses in remote geographical areas through two "innovative and dynamic" programmes to generate employment and said the US hoped to learn from them.

Praise from Solis came as labour ministers from the world's 20 leading economies, concluded a two-day meeting here Wednesday with a mandate to help create jobs as most industrial nations are grappling with high unemployment rates, even as their economies emerge from a two-year recession.

The G-20 ministers recommended a five-point programme with acceleration to job creation to ensure a sustained recovery and future growth at the top.

The ministers, including Indian Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge later presented their recommendations to President Barack Obama at a meeting at the White House.

Earlier at the conference, Kharge made a detailed presentation on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which guarantees 100 days employment to a member of rural poor family, and the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, a health insurance for very poor families.

Kharge's presentation generated discussion among the labour ministers who wanted to learn more about these two schemes, which had touched the lives of such a large number of beneficiaries, Indian officials said.

They were also interested in learning about how technology was used to reach the rural masses in remote areas. The labour ministers from other countries sought various details about the achievements under these schemes.

Brazilian Labour Minister Carlos Lupi praised India's achievements through such schemes and stated that these initiatives are specially worth replicating for large countries with diverse populations.

Summing up the discussion, US Labour Secretary Solis said the achievement of India is laudable as these schemes had succeeded in reaching the masses in remote geographical areas. The US hoped to learn from these innovative and dynamic programmes in India, he said.

"The G20 leaders asked us ... to help them build the foundation for strong, sustainable, balanced economies that create good jobs for all those who seek to work. They told us to look at the quality of jobs as well as the quantity of jobs."

"At the end of the day, recovering from the crisis and restoring sustained and balanced growth that creates enough good jobs for our people are goals that we cannot accomplish alone in our own countries. In an integrated global economy, we have to work together."

RBI eases accounting rules on infra bonds

MUMBAI - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday took measures to encourage investment by local banks in bonds sold by local infrastructure firms and boost demand for debt to fund new projects.

The RBI said any investment by banks in long-maturity bonds sold by infrastructure companies and within a minimum residual maturity of seven years can be classified under the held-to-maturity category (HTM) category.

Banks are allowed to include up to 25 percent of their investments in the HTM category, exempting them from being marked to market - meaning losses on them do no need to be booked at the end of the financial year.

Last month finance minister Pranab Mukherjee urged a doubling of infrastructure spending to $1 trillion in the five years to 2016/17.

In a separate notification, the central bank removed ceilings on interest rates on rupee export credits, in a move to deregulate banks' interest rates and align them with a new base rate effective from July 1.

It removed the ceilings on interest rates on pre-shipment rupee export credit of up to 270 days and post-shipment rupee export credit of up to 180 days.

The RBI also made it easier for banks to invest in corporate bonds, which are not listed on stock exchanges at the time of their sale.

The central bank said investment of banks in bonds that are due to be listed would be considered the same as investing in a listed security.