RBI cuts rates

In a major move to inject an additional estimated Rs. 85,000 crore into the system, the Reserve Bank of India on Saturday cut key deposit requirements for banks by one percentage point and its short-term lending rate by 0.5 percentage point,  a decision that may help soften general interest rates. The decisions to cut the cash Reserve Ratio by 100 basis points each and the repo rate by 50 basis points come a week after the busy season credit policy review by the RBI, in which it had given an assurance of more measures to boost economic growth. The RBI would continue to closely monitor development in global and domestic financial markets and take swift and effective action as appropriate. With the latest measures,  the RBI has pumped about Rs. 2.70 lakh crore into the system since October but industry leaders and bankers feel more is needed to effectively bring down the commercial lending rates.

"Tell a Friend" Widget

As Advertisers and marketing people know their best efforts are nothing compared to satisfied customers spreading the message by word of mouth, about something they like. Pramati Technologies, a Hyderabad - based Internet application developer, had created a website, Social Twist, adding a Twist to the way we use Internet sites. And to fuel this site, they are offering a free widget ( that is a small graphical interface users can manipulate) called "Tell a Friend". So often we come across interesting web pages or offers that we would like to share with people on our email list. These may be in different email services - or a part of our network of friends on Orkut or other social sites. It is a huge hassle to copy a page or link to friends who are thus dispersed - and this is what "Tell a friend" lets you do across instant email, email or social nets without straying away from your chosen site. It sounds complicated, but is really simple. The widget can be downloaded from Tell a Friend. A video clip explains how it works.

Kalam on Chandrayaan

Byalalu village near Bangalore had a high profile visitor on Saturday. The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, visited the Indian Deep Space Network and the giant antenna here and expressed his desire to see an Indian scientist land on the moon by 2021. "I would be 90 years old then, "he told a gathering of senior scientists. G.Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) presented Mr. Kalam with a picture of the Earth taken by the Terrain Mapping Camera on board Chandrayaan - I from an altitude of 70,000 Km. Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters after launching an emergency response service in the city, Mr. Kalam said he believed that every Indian should be proud of the Chandrayaan-I, the country's first moon mission program taken up by ISRO. The images captured by the spacecraft were of high resolution and quality and therefore "an indicator of what it holds for the future ", he added. On November 8, when Chandrayaan leaves the Earth's gravity and enters the Moon's orbit, will be the next milestone for the mission, Mr. Kalam said.

National Cancer Institute in Chennai

An Rs.800 - crore National Cancer Institute will be setup in or around Chennai, Union Minister for Health and Family welfare Anbumani Ramadoss announced on Saturday. The State Government has been asked to provide 50 acres, he said. Research, education and treatment would be the thrust areas of the Institute.

7.5 - tone pair of jeans

Peruvian seamstresses hoping to snag a Guinness World Record for sewing the largest pair of blue jeans celebrated on Friday, one day after cranes buckled while trying to lift the giant 7.5 tone pants. Workers laid the pair on the ground and put big balloons inside the legs to show off the size of the jeans, which are 43 meters long and 30 m wide. They have pockets, red buttons and a brown belt.

Suzuki targets TATA

As all we know about Tata’s Rs 1 lakh car here is new information. Suzuki Motor Corporation, 54% owner of India’s largest carmaker Maruti Udyog, is developing a 660cc engine and a new low-cost small car platform from scratch to counter the Tata Motors Rs 1 lakh car. With it, Suzuki hopes to provide the most formidable competition to date to Ratan Tata’s dream project. Being developed under a blanket of secrecy at its headquarters in Hamamatsu in Japan, the car will roll out of Maruti’s Gurgaon plant by the end of 2008—around the same time that Tata Motors plans to launch its new small car. “We are working on a mini car which would be lower than 800cc in engine capacity,” Maruti’s director, sales & marketing Shuji Oishi confirmed to FE. Suzuki believes it will be able to price the car in the same bracket as the Tata small car. Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant has admitted that his company’s car may be priced higher than the Rs 1 lakh target due to increasing raw material costs. “The Tata car would be higher than Rs 1.25 lakh. Our car would be priced competitively but the price won’t be Rs 1 lakh,” Oishi said. The Suzuki and the Tata cars will be the first sub-800cc cars in the Indian market. The Suzuki car will offer over 50 bhp power with a 660cc petrol engine. In comparison, the Tata small car is expected to offer 30 bhp with a 700cc petrol engine. The 796cc Maruti 800 offers 37 bhp, while the Alto 800 offers 47 bhp.Also fdaware.com.