Chandigarh, July 30, 2013: The Punjab Government has decided to conduct a special test for filling the left out NRI quota seats in Medical and Dental Colleges of the state for the session 2013-14.

This was disclosed by Chunni Lal Bhagat, Minister for Medical Education and Research, Punjab.

The Minister said that instructions in this regard have been issued to the Baba Farid University for Health Sciences, Faridkot to proceed further in this direction. He said that the NRI quota seats for the courses of MBBS, BDS, MD, MS and MDS in Medical and Dental colleges of the state would be filled strictly on the basis of merit of special test.

Jalandhar, July 30, 2013: Four times Congress municipal councillor Sarwan Grover today passed away.

He was popular among the party men.

Mayor Sunil Jyoti , CPS KD Bhandari , BJP National Executive Member Manoranjan Kalia MLA , Former Minister Punjab Avtar Hennery, Former Ministers Punjab Ch. Jagjit Singh and Ch. Santok Singh , Congress leader Namisha Mehta , Councilor Uma Beri , BJP leader Vipan Sharma , Satish Kapur and many others have expressed deep shock and grief over the death of Grover .

The deceased was cremated today. The cremation ceremony was attended largely by people from all walks of the society.

Chandigarh, July 30, 2013: A delegation of Youth Akali Dal (YAD) led by its President and Revenue and Public Relations Minister, Bikram Singh Majithia today called on the Chief Patron of Shiromani Akali Dal and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to hand over a cheque of Rs 21 lakh as financial assistance towards Chief Minister's Relief Fund for the flood victims of Uttarakhand.

Lauding the initiative of YAD for making contribution towards the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, Badal said that the Youth wing of Akali Dal had always taken the call from forefront to help the needy in the hour of distress. He also appreciated the zeal of Punjabis to help their brethren especially at the time of grief and crisis, thereby displaying their indomitable spirit of charity as preached by our great Gurus, Saints and Seers. The Chief Minister called upon Majithia to further mobilise the rank and file of the party to intensify their efforts for providing succour to the flood hit victims besides helping the hill state in its process of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

Recalling his meeting with the Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Badal said that the former had already appreciated the stupendous relief efforts made by Punjab government in the relief and rehabilitation process in the flood ravaged state. Reiterating his commitment to provide all possible help for rebuilding the damaged infra structure and installations in Uttarakhand, the Chief Minister said he had already entrusted this task to the PWD (B&R) department for the construction of dwelling units in villages, which had been completely devastated in the recent flash floods there. Likewise he also impressed upon the Youth that they should also help the state in their own modest way by mitigating the sufferings of the flood victims.

Speaking on the occasion, Majithia thanked the Chief Minister for sparing valuable time from his busy schedule to pat the YAD workers who had donated generously for this noble cause. He further said that the tragic saga of flood victims was beyond anybody's description as thousands of people have been rendered homeless and infrastructure worth Rupees thousands of crore had been vanished due to the flash floods. He said that the YAD workers had once again upheld the glorious tradition of Punjab's heritage of helping the poor and destitute in turbulent times.  

Expressing his solidarity with the people of Uttarakhand, Majithia appreciated the concern of Chief Minister for adopting a unanimous resolution describing devastating floods as a 'National Tragedy', in a specially convened Cabinet meeting besides giving a grant of Rs 10 crore to it. He appealed to the public for making generous donations to support this noble cause to bail out the people of hill state in the process of reconstruction. He urged the YAD leaders to motivate people all over the state to further extend their unstinted support to the flood victims in every possible manner. 

Prominent amongst other present on the occasion included MLA Harpreet Singh Kot Bhai, YAD leaders Bunty Romana, Ravi Sidhu, HS Dhindsa besides several leaders and workers of YAD from across the state. 

Ludhiana, July 30, 2013: A one- day workshop on “Whitefly as a Vector of Begomoviruses: An Emerging Threat to Vegetable Crops and Cotton,” was jointly organized by the Department of Vegetable Science, and the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics (PBG) of the Punjab Agricultural University.

Farm experts from USA, and various departments of the University participated in the workshop.

In his presidential remarks, the Director of Research of PAU, Dr S. S. Gosal highlighted the research achievements of the PAU. Observing that climate change, depleting water resources, and farm sustainability are the major concerns, he said that the PAU is open to collaboration that is aimed at sustainable and enhanced crop production.

Dr J. K. Brown, a farm expert from USA, stated that the Indian cropping pattern can contribute to the emergence of new virus strains as their study suggested seven isolates of cotton leaf curl virus in Asia compared to single one existing in the USA. Dr Brown also dwelt upon the high end bioinformatics and biotechnological tools that can be employed for studying the diversity in the viruses and its vector.

Another agriculture expert from USA, Dr Kater Hake presented his exhaustive talk on the cotton and possibilities of collaboration. He emphasized on the production of Gossypol free cotton seed through RNAi for making it suitable for cattle and poultry feed.

Dr Brown and Dr Hake evinced keen interest in entering into joint venture with PAU in the field of geminiviruses and its vector studies.

Earlier, welcoming the dignitaries, delegates and the participants, Dr R K Gumber, Head, PBG, highlighted the achievements of the PAU in cotton research and shared the current research priorities.

Dr M.S. Dhaliwal, Head, Vegetable Science, told about the salient achievements in vegetable resistance breeding, especially, with respect to the whitefly transmitted viruses. The presentations were followed by keen discussion amongst the participants.

Dr D.S. Brar, Adjunct Professor at PAU School of Agricultural Biotechnology, motivated the scientists to formulate strategies for managing both vector and viruses. He proposed the vote of thanks.  

KHAIRA MISLEADING THE PEOPLE

Chandigarh, July 30, 2013: Reacting sharply on frivolous statement issued by former congress MLA from Bholath Sukhpal Singh Khaira regarding Adarsh Schools, the Punjab Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka termed it as a bundle of lies.

in a statement issued here today, Maluka said that it as per Congress led UPA government reports Punjab today leads the nation in the field of education as due to the efforts of SAD- BJP Government  the position of state as improved from 13th to 1st.

He said Khaira was misleading the people by claiming that 7 seven Adarsh schools have been closed where as the reality was that 41 Adarsh Schools were running successfully and the management of 7 Adarsh Schools have been changed due to administrative reasons.

Chandigarh, July 30, 2013: The Punjab Government today issued the transfer and posting orders of four PCS officers in the state.

Disclosing this here today a spokesman of the Punjab government said that Gurdev Singh Ghuman PCS L.A.C Department of Industries & Commerce, in addition Dir (Admn.) O/o Director Industries and in addition Secretary Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Traning will also hold the additional charge of Additional Secretary Higher Education & Languages and in addition DPI (Colleges).

Likewise, Karnail Singh PCS has been posted as SDM Hoshiarpur, Ravinder Singh-II PCS posted as SDM Lehra and Sukhvinder Pal Singh  PCS (retd.) posted  as Additional secretary Education (Schools).

Ludhiana, July 30, 2013: For the development of Auto Parts Manufacturing Association sector in Punjab Auto Parts Manufacturers Association India in collaboration of MSME and NSIC is going to organise a `MACHAUTO EXPO-2014’ at GLADA Ground – Ludhiana on February 14– 17 next in which about 250-300 manufacturers of different items will be participation from India and abroad.

It will be a unique expo and exhibition will be a showcasing the innovation in the field of  auto components, machinery and engineering and allied industries and advance of technology used to carry on different faces of production. It will prominently attract the exhibition from industries like auto parts, machinery, and engineering goods.

While releasing a press note, Gurpargat Singh Kahlon and Ranjodh Singh, President and General Secretary, respectively, of Auto Parts Manufacturers Association added the association has been organising the auto show for the last three years very successfully and hoped this time, `Machauto Expo- 2014’ will also be a grand show and much beneficial for micro and small scale industrial sector.

Kahlon, the President said that a seminar for manual for mutual understanding and business links during the period will also be organised on February 14, 2014 on the very first day of inauguration of the show. Moreover, the Ambassador of different countries and the entrepreneurs from their respective countries will also grace the event with their presence.

Chandigarh, July 30, 2013: The SAD today hit back at the Congress , ridiculing the PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa for categorically  conceding  that  Congress vice president, Rahul Gandhi was the only “safe” candidate against SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

“But why has he himself chickened   out of contest, showed lack of courage even to draw  their Prime Ministerial candidate out of his (Rahul’s) home constituency.”

“Of course, we are amused that Bajwa has himself refused to counter-challenge Harsimrat for a fight in Punjab against him and has instead   thrown his party’s biggest leader in the ring to face Harsimrat Badal.”

“And by insisting that Rahul Gandhi can contest only from Amethi, the PPCC president has further admitted that their Prime ministerial candidate lacks  national or even a state-wide appeal,” said Harcharan Bains, Advisor to Chief Minister on National Affairs and Media.   Bains, who also handles the party’s media, said that by refusing to counter challenge Badal, “Bajwa has betrayed his panic and conceded that he himself had neither  the capacity nor the nerve even to counter-challenge Badal for  fight in Punjab.”

Bains further said , “By asking Badal to travel to UP to contest from Rahul’s home constituency, Bajwa has conceded that Badal is totally invincible in Punjab and even Rahul had no chance against her here. That is why Bajwa, who not only belongs to Punjab but is also the president of his party’s state unit, has not shown the courage to challenged   Badal to a fight on any  constituency in Punjab and had insisted on her travelling to UP, and that to only to Amethi , clearly conceding that even in UP, Rahul was not confident on any seat other than Amethi. “

He said that Bajwa’s statement was a welcome sign that the Congress has finally swallowed the bitter pill of political ground reality about utter helplessness across the country.  “But I am not sure how Rahul Gandhi is going to take to Bajwa’s admission that only Rahul Gandhi could take on Harsimrat Kaur, and that for that too, Rahul would need the security and protection of his home constituency.

“Rahul Gandhi after all is being projected as the Congress’ national leader and yet even Bajwa lacks courage and faith in

Rahul putting up a fight against Badal from anywhere in the country except his own home. If Bajwa had been confident about the stature of his leader, he would have dared Badal to contest against their PM candidate from “any constituency in the country. After all, a Prime Ministerial candidate must enjoy the trust and confidence of the entire country and is supposed to have following even outside his home base.

“But we have always said that he is tied to some apron strings and dare not venture out of home for fear of being thrashed. Bajwa has just admitted this much. And they are talking about pitching him against stalwart like Narendar Modi!” said Bains

Bains said that somebody should have told Bajwa and Rahul Gandhi that even India Gandhi had once showed courage to leave Rai Barelly and Amethi and had  gone on to contest from Chicmagaloor in Karnataka. But clearly, Bajwas knows that times have changed for the Congress.”

Jalandhar, July 30, 2013: Tiny tots wearing colourful dresses participated in Teej celebrations at St. Soldier Divine Public School, Model House branch here on Tuesday.

All the participants were seen enthused a lot. Joy and happiness of celebrations was visible on their faces. They also enjoyed swings as a mark of the celebrations.

The school faculty apprised them about importance of Teej.

It was really a memorable moment for the tiny tots. Tiny tots learnt a lot from celebrations and gained life-time experience at the early stage of their life.

The enthused participants were seen cheerful when they were asked to pose for a group photograph during celebrations.

Ludhiana, July 31, 2013: Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal (PPBM) has strongly condemned the statement issued by Minister for Industry and Technical Education, Punjab Anil Joshi against it yesterday.

Joshi on Tuesday had addressed functions here, in which he had asked the traders not to come into the trap of organisations like Beopar Mandal because these orgaisations’ motive was to puzzle the issues and not to resolve them. He had alleged that Beopar Mandals had their vested interests. further, he had stated that the issue of e-TRIP could be sorted out by sitting amicably and not by coming on roads to protest.

Addressing a meeting of the district unit of the Mandal, the PPBM state general secretary Sunil Mehra and state secretary Mohinder Aggarwal said that the minister had even tried to prove as if Beopar Mandal leaders were agents of the Congress party. They said they could not expect such a statement from an “educated” person like Joshi.

Both the Beopar Mandal leaders said at the time of elections Joshi alongwith BJP’s senior leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, MP, had visited Beopar Mandal leaders asking for votes. They said Beopar Mandal was matured enough as it was much “elder” than Joshi, adding the former was 75 years old where Joshi was 47 years old. They said Beopar Mandal was a non-political organisation, which had always struggled for cause of the traders’ community.

Further, Mehra and Aggarwal said even BJP state unit’s trade cell and state BJP’s core committee too had opposed the implementation of e-TRIP. They asked whether these two bodies too were also agents of the Congress party. They feared Joshi was following the footsteps of the Congress leader Digvijay Singh who had been rendering loss to the Congress party by issuing statements in the media. Likewise, Joshi had been damaging BJP with his statements in Punjab, they said. They said they would pray to God to give intelligence of Joshi, so that he could understand difference between correct and incorrect.

The PPBM leaders warned that they had decided to support candidates of those political parties only in next parliamentary elections which would be supportive for cause of the traders’ community. They said they would not even hesitate to oppose and work for defeat of the candidates who would be found working against the interests of traders’ community.

They further said Joshi had making "unwanted" statements against Beopar Mandal whereas he himself had been failing in providing any concrete policy for the trade and industry in the state. They said due to the faulty industrial policy of the state, around 50 induction furnace units had already been closed in Punjab, even all the major industrial units were preferring expansion of its units in other states such as Bihar, MP and Gujarat.

Ludhiana, July 31, 2013: Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertakings (CICU), Ludhiana is striving hard for Business Excellence in Industries, but there is a huge gap between the Level of Education being taught by Colleges/Universities & the Level of Skill; required by the Industries. Thus, the Industry is suffering. The Objective of CICU is to Build-up Made in Ludhiana and strengthen the Industry by World Class Practices.

Avtar Singh, General Secretary, mentioned that the Industry is passing through very crucial time. On the one side there is tough competition from China and many other countries as the Government has signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with neighbouring countries, and so, they are flowing their products in Indian market as they are more competitive and have better infrastructure & better education.

Upkar Singh Ahuja, Joint Secretary, narrated that the admissions have started and the colleges are giving lucrative advertisements to lure the students for admissions, whereas, Industries feel that there is a huge gap between the required skill in the Industries and the skill being developed in the Academies/Colleges/Universities. The students, who come out from the these Educational Institutions, are not competent enough to absorb as per the requirement of the Industries, and the Industries have to give them further training for one year or so to make them employable. The practical training given in the Educational Institutions is negligible. The students found to have been gone through theoretical education only and thus, observed to be lacking of self-confidence in practical work, exposure and even the communication skill is missing in the college out students.

The CICU leader said:

 CICU urges the State government to take appropriate measures to upgrade the level of education and skill in Educational Institutions. Colleges are taking huge fee from the students for their training semesters whereas nothing seems to have been taught to them by the colleges. CICU suggests that that Training Fee should be given to the Industries from where the students are getting trainings as the Industries pay huge cost to give them training.

 Colleges should tie-up with Industries for finishing school or similar activities. Students should be given proper exposure like visiting exhibitions, to participate in exhibition to have better communication skill, Industrial visits, and even visiting to domestic & international exhibitions.

 Training Workshops in colleges are not up to the mark. Colleges should have Excellent Workshops with latest modules and parameters to upgrade the level of students with new techniques like CNC and Robotics.

 Colleges should also tie-up with the Industries and make a mechanism to give better training to the students.

 Govt. should give Special Incentive to Industries for setting up Institutions as there are many successful examples like Thapar University & Birla Institute etc.

 Colleges/Universities to be made accountable. For example; if a college/university has 100 seats, but only 50 students are employed, number of seats should be reduced to 50 for thenext year. And also; if 40% of the students do not get employment because of poor level of education/skill, the concerned college/university, should provide those students free education along the expenses of their lodging and boarding; for one year; to improve their level of skill for employment.

New Delhi/Jalandhar, July 31, 2013: Haryana will soon get two new airports. Having been okayed in principle by the Central Government, these will be set up in Karnal and Hisar in Haryana. The Central Government has given in principal approval for these airports for which a memorandum of understanding would soon be signed,  Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda said.

Hooda expressed his gratitude to the Central Government and the Civil Aviation Ministry for giving approval for setting up of  two new airports in Haryana. He said that the state government had applied for five airports for Hisar, Bhiwani, Narnaul, Karnal and Pinjore out of which approval has been obtained for Hisar and Karnal.

These airports would give connectivity a leg-up and boost industry and tourism.  Hooda said that talks were in progress with the Government of India for setting up of an international cargo airport in the state.

New Delhi, July 31, 2013: There is an unprecedented surge in number of returns being e-filed during this year. 92.03 lakh returns have been e-filed up to 30th July, 2013 which is 46.8 % higher than the returns e-filed during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

Due to large number of taxpayers accessing e-filing website on due date of filing, some cases of taxpayers not being able to access the e-filing portal have been reported. These problems are primarily due to network constrains of the local internet service providers (ISPs).

However, as a measure of taxpayers convenience, it has been decided to extend the due date of filing of returns from July 31, 2013 to August 5, 2013.

Taxpayers are requested to avail of this extension of time and file their returns after paying due taxes.

New Delhi, July 31, 2013: The Union Ministry of Steel has become the first Central Ministry to be awarded ISO 9001:2008, Quality Management System certification.

As per the available information, the Bureau of Indian Standards has conferred the Ministry with the certification for three years, with effect from June 25, 2013 to June 24, 2016.

Sunil Soni, DG-BIS (Directorate General, Bureau of Indian Standards) presented the certificate to the Union Steel Minister, Beni Prasad Verma here today.

The certificate was handed over in the presence of the Secretary, Ministry of Steel DRS Chaudhary and other officials of the ministry.

The Minister lauded the efforts of the officials of the Ministry of Steel in accomplishing the feat and expressed happiness over the Ministry being the first amongst Central Government Ministries to have received the certificate.

The Ministry of Steel has been conferred with the coveted certification under the able leadership of Minister of Steel, Beni Prasad Verma. The Minister has been laying emphasis on streamlining systems and procedures in the Ministry to improve its working and bring about transparency. Verma has been the guiding force behind the effort and has taken special interest in the matter.

ISO 9001 is quality management system which codifies quality standards in every area of organization’s functioning. Many Governments around the World have made ISO 9001 a mandatory requirement. Even developing countries, like Malaysia and Kenya have made it a mandatory requirement in their government organizations. In India, Ministry of Steel being first to get the certification has covered all its sections under ISO 9001:2008. The certification will help in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and will aid in streamlining and improving the quality of services provided by the Ministry. It will help in benchmarking of SOPs and improve quality consciousness by focusing on strategic issues and bring about transparency.

The certification involves laying down the work processes, manage and control them with the aim of continuous improvement. ISO certification will result in transparent performance of the Ministry and quick delivery of results to the beneficiaries.

Jalandhar/Ludhiana, July 31, 2013: BJP national executive member Manoranjan Kalia has strongly condemned the recent hike in petrol price by 70 paisa per litre and diesel by 50 paisa per litre from midnight tonight. This will be the fifth increase in rates of petrol in the last two months. The new rates are excluding local sales tax or VAT.
In a statement here today, Kalia feared that the hike will boost further inflation and common man will be the most affected one. He said people have witnessed hike in the price of petrol by Rs 6/82 paisa per liter and taxes extra.
Kalia also consoled the death of innocent bus passengers travelling in an ill-fated PUNBUS from Delhi to Amritsar, which plunged into the Bhakra Main Canal near Sarhind in Fathegarh Sahib. He termed the incident as “unfortunate”.

Ferozepur, August 1, 2013: In the fields owned by Jagir Singh in Sahan Ke Hitar village, an old live bomb was found, while he was digging a piece of the land for irrigation purposes.

Immediately on getting this information, a police team rushed to the village and cordoned off and Army officials were asked to send a bomb disposal squad to defuse it.

While working in the field, Jagir Singh stumbled across a hard bomb like object and informed the village Sarpanch KirshanLal Narang.

SHO Gurbinder Singh said the bomb might be lying underneath the fields since the two Indo-Pak wars in 1965 and 1971 as the firing pin and the outer shell of the bomb was affected with rust.  However, only the ballistic experts would be able to reveal about the technical specifications of the bomb.

In the past also on a number of occasions earlier, such bombs have been found in the villages along the Indo-Pakistan Border.

Ludhiana, August 1, 2013: SK Bikes has won PAIW Corporate Cricket League 2013 played here. It won final match in 8 overs with the help of 32 runs scored by Prince.

Monte Carlo had played against SK Bikes.

Monte Carlo won the toss and elected to bat first and scored 67 runs in 10 overs with the help of 19 runs scored by Parveen. Bating second SK Bikes won the final in 8 overs with the help of 32 runs scored by Prince.

Man of the Match: Prince ( SK Bikes), Man of the Series: Praveen ( Monte Carlo), Best Batsman: Praveen ( Monte Carlo) and Best Bowler: Manish ( SK Bikes).

~ A unique initiative that allows viewers an exclusive peek into iconic SAB TV shows ~

It's everyone's dream to watch their favorite stars perform LIVE...get to watch them prepare for a shot or a chance to shake a leg with them... To make your dreams come true, SAB TV has partnered with Bollywood Tourism to launch ‘SAB Ki Sawaari', a unique initiative that brings fans closer to their favorite stars.

For the first time viewers who have loved Chandramukhi for her dabang policegiri, Gadha for his Ishtyle, Balveer for his superhero stunts will get a chance to see the stars live in action &a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch shoots, rehearsals, to pose with their favourite stars! SAB Ki Sawaari takes the viewers from Goregaon to various SAB TV sets on weekends.

Announcing this initiative, Anooj Kapoor, EVP & Business Head, SAB TV stated, “We at SAB TV constantly endeavor to create interesting and entertaining content for the viewers and through this initiative we will take this experience off screen too. This is a unique way to provide an opportunity to consumers to engage with the brand and its popular characters. We are glad to partner with Bollywood Tourism &I’m sure this experience will create lasting memories in the minds of our consumers“

Talking about the launch, Manoj Gursahani, MD, Bollywood Tourism said, “We at Bollywood Tourism are delighted to be associated with SAB TV for the launch of the unique offering SAB Ki Sawaari. We are confident this will provide a unique and unforgettable experience to all our guests”

 This unique experience is sure to carve splendid memories and once again bring smiles and cheer to families across India.Priced atRs. 2,250/- perperson, the tickets are available just a click away at https://www.bollywoodtourism.com/sab-ki-sawari.Beginning at Oberoi Mall, Goregaon, (E) SAB Ki Sawaari goes on to tour the sets of SAB TV’s iconic shows!

Starting from 29th July hop onto ‘SAB Ki Sawaari’

Anooj Kapoor, EVP & Business Head, SAB TV with Manoj Gursahani, MD, Bollywood Tourism alongwith Gopi Bhalla, Rajendra Gupta, Debina, Dev Joshi, Navina, Bhavya Gandhi, Goli,Sonu, Samay and Azar at launch of SAB Ki Sawaari.

Mumbai, August 1, 2013: India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) says, in a new report, that 225 of its 290 credit ratings on investment-grade corporates are unlikely to be impacted if the rupee sustains in the range of INR60/USD to INR65/USD. Another 65 investment-grade issuers may face negative rating actions, such as an Outlook revision or a rating downgrade, if the rupee remains in this range. However, Ind-Ra does not expect any of these issuers to default.

Indian corporates are currently more vulnerable to currency shocks than any time in recent history (refer: Balance Sheet Strength of BSE 500 corporates, dated 17 July 2013), given the current bout of sharp rupee depreciation and historically high currency volatility. The agency expects the next 12-18 months to be most challenging for Indian corporates.

“Issuers with investment-grade ratings are expected to timely service their debt even during a cyclical downturn as opposed to sub-investment grade issuers. The way the overwhelming majority of the agency’s investment-grade issuers are continuing to maintain their credit profile reflects Ind-Ra’s through-the-cycle credit rating methodology and global best practices”, says Rakesh Valecha, Senior Director & Head, Corporate Ratings. “Typically, investment grades companies should not experience significant payment difficulties and sharp deterioration in credit profile at the onset of a stressful economic situation. On the contrary, debt servicing problem during a downturn is a characteristic of sub-investment grade issuers”.

Foreign currency debt residing within the agency’s investment grade issuers is also in safe hands. 73 issuers have foreign currency debt. 81% of the foreign currency debt belongs to 45 corporates which have sufficient-to-comfortable rating headroom. However, 28 corporates (19% of foreign currency debt) may face an Outlook revision (to Negative) or negative rating pressure.

The benefits of a weak rupee to the operating margin of export-oriented segments, including IT, pharmaceuticals and textiles, are more limited than may normally be expected. The report provides empirical analysis on publicly listed corporates in support of this argument. The benefits are usually restricted since customers enter into price renegotiations. Additionally, hedging transactions entered into by established players limit the potential upsides (as well as downside) in case of rupee depreciation (or appreciation).

Sectors such as chemicals, paper, auto ancillaries, power and steel are most affected from rupee depreciation. Among these sectors, mid-sized companies with exposure to forex risk but limited expertise or intention to hedge may be most adversely affected.

A full report ‘Impact of Falling Rupee on Investment-grade Corporates: 2013-14’, is available here. The report presents a detailed analysis of impact of rupee depreciation on 223 Ind-Ra rated investment-grade corporates with direct exposure to forex risk, spread out over 11 core sectors. The analysis also considers the impact of hedging on the credit profile of these corporates.

(Source: Manager – Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, India Ratings & Research  A Fitch Group Company.)

Kratika makes a comeback while Eijaz enters Punarvivaah

Come this Saturday (August 3) and Kratika Sengar who was a part of Zee TV’s Punarvivaah…Ek Nayi Umeed will be making an appearance on the show’s maha episode to bring in Eijaz Khan as  the third angle in Raaj and Sarita’s relationship. The actress will be back as her character Aarti who is a good friend of Sarita (played by Shrishty Rode).

Aarti will persuade Sarita and Raaj to enter a couple’s competition which they will eventually win. However while going through the various levels in the competition, they are made to confront their feelings for each other. Though they don’t realize it, their chemistry is apparent to everyone around them, especially Aarti who urges Sarita to hold on to the relationship for a little longer. At the end of the contest, Aarti calls upon her friend and industrialist Vikrant Suryavanshi who is none other than Eijaz Khan!

Enter Eijaz and you get the feeling that maybe all will not be well in the lives of Raaj and Sarita afterall; that maybe there is some amount of turmoil yet to come.

“Yes I am playing the role of Vikrant Suryavanshi who is the business man incharge of organizing the contest. As a widower, my character will be on the lookout for a mother for my child. I don’t yet know if Sarita is the one who will fill the void in my life but I am sure that those questions and more will be answered once my character enters the show. So all will just have to wait and watch. As for making an entry with Kratika, which sane man can ever complain about having to share the screen with a beautiful actress? ” says Eijaz about his role.

Watch Kratika and Eijaz in the Punarvivaah Mahaepisode which promises to throw up some interesting questions on Saturday, August 3, 2013 at 8 PM only on Zee TV.