Allahabad Bank, SBBJ, Yes Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank cut base rate
Two public and two private sector lenders -- Allahabad Bank, SBBJ, Yes Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank -- today announced a cut in base rate by up to 0.25 per cent that will bring down the cost of various kinds of loans. This comes soon after a substantial 0.50 per cent cut in repo rate by the Reserve Bank on Tuesday. The banks who have cut rates so far include SBI, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Andhra Bank, IDBI Bank, Axis Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce.

11 different themes till March for Swachh Bharat Mission
As the Government completes one year of the Swachh Bharat Mission, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that the success of the mission can't be immediately quantified. "We are a country of 120 crore people. While there has been some behavioural change, this Mission needs to be further reinforced for which the Government has launched an intensive campaign on September 25. There will be campaign on 11 different themes till March," Naidu said.

Jet fuel prices up 5.5%, non-subsidized LPG to be cheaper by Rs42
Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) or jet fuel prices were Thursday raised by 5.5% on global trends, while rates of non-subsidized cooking LPG were cut by Rs.42 per cylinder. Also, rates of non-subsidized kerosene were increased by 54 paisa to Rs.43.18 per litre. Rates vary at different airports because of differential local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT). Jet fuel constitutes over 40% of an airline’s operating costs and the price increase will raise the financial burden on cash-strapped carriers.State-run fossil fuel retailers have slashed prices of non-subsidised cooking gas by up to 7.5 per cent following a decline in the international prices of gas. Companies review prices of LPG and jet fuel every month, while prices of petrol and diesel are considered for revision every fortnight.

Proposal on compensating users for call drops by October 15
Telecom sector regulator TRAI will come out with recommendations on compensating consumers for call drops by October 15 while it will also release a service paper in the next few days listing reasons behind the menace. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today conducted an open house discussion on the issue wherein all the stakeholders including mobile operators and consumer groups expressed their views.

Deadline for e-filing audit reports of some taxpayers extended
Government today extended the deadline for e-filing of income returns and audit reports for a special category of taxpayers, assessed under section 44AB of the Income Tax Act, by a month to October 31. The earlier deadline was September 30.
A senior official said the decision to extend the deadline was taken as in a specific case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, had ruled against the tax department in this matter on September 28 and had asked the CBDT to extend the deadline to October 31, 2015.

Insulin-producing cells that may treat diabetes created
Researchers have developed a new technique to produce cells with insulin-secretion capabilities that may help treat patients with type 1 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys beta cells in the pancreas. These unique cells are responsible in producing, storing and secreting insulin - the hormone that regulates levels of glucose in the blood.

Babus told to perform or take VRS, don't sit on files: Gadkari
In a stern 'perform or take VRS' warning to officials sitting on files, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday asked them not to become obstacles in the way of India achieving world class infrastructure. Setting a goal of 100 kms of road construction a day, the Road Transport and Highways Minister said bureaucratic dragnet and red-tapism would no longer be tolerated and such officials would be thrown out to cleanse the system.

Society, govt ill-equipped to take care of elderly: Ansari
Vice President Hamid Ansari on Thursday said that the society and government are ill-equipped to take care of elderly who are fast growing in number and will shoot up to 32.3 crore by 2050."We have a large number of growing and vulnerable segment of elderly which the government and the society seem awfully ill-equipped to manage," he said while speaking at 'International Day of Older Persons' organized by HelpAge India."There is a lack of infrastructure to provide specialised attention to growing numbers of elderly. Very few government hospitals in India have specialized geriatrics facility. The off-take from government schemes like the National Programme for Healthcare of the Elderly has also been poor," he said.

Govt receives 638 black money disclosures worth Rs3,770 crore
The government today said it received Rs 3,770 crore from 638 declarations under the one-time black money compliance window that closed yesterday.

"638 declarations have been received under the compliance window declaring undisclosed foreign assets amounting to Rs 3,770 crore. These figures are subject to final reconciliation," the Finance Ministry said in a statement based on figures provided by the CBDT. It said the officer designated to receive declarations worked till midnight even as the e-filing portal was also open till midnight to receive the declarations.

Sensex closes 66 points higher, Nifty above 7,950
The BSE Sensex pared some of their initial gains on Thursday and closed 66.12 points up at 26,220.95. On the similar lines, NSE Nifty closed 2 points up at 7,590.90. Meanwhile, India’s manufacturing sector output slipped to a seven-month low of 51.2 in September, as order flow turned sluggish amid “difficult economic climate”, a Nikkei survey said on Thursday. Domestic equity markets will remain closed on Friday on account of Gandhi Jayanti.