The capital and areas around may fall short of venues to welcome the new year as hotels and pubs that have not paid music licence fees will not be allowed play music at their year-end bashes.

Third party logistics outsourcing business in India will grow to $90 million from the present $58 million by 2012, according to a study released Monday.

In what should worry India's telecom industry, the country recorded a 1.06 percent dip in new telephone connections in November, according to official data released here Monday.

The flood-hit victims of Bihar Monday blocked roads and railway lines to protest against the inadequate assistance provided by the state government to them.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) Monday reduced its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 50 basis points from 12.5 percent annually to 12 percent from Jan 1. Bank of Baroda too reduced its BPLR by 75 basis points from existing 13.25 percent to 12.5 percent, also from Jan 1.

Turbulence in the civil aviation sector has forced the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to put on hold plans to build an aerospace MRO (maintenance, repair and overhauling) facility at its airport here.

Thick fog enveloped most parts of Punjab and Haryana Monday morning, reducing visibility on roads and affecting air and rail traffic.

While five flights were cancelled or diverted, over 34 including 10 international flights to and from Delhi were delayed for at least four hours as heavy fog enveloped the national capital Monday morning and lingered till noon. Train services were hit too, while motorists had a tough time.

Indian equities markets made a disappointing start to the week as a key index fell more than 140 points by around noon Monday.

Indian equities markets fell soon after the opening bell Monday with a key index falling about 1.09 percent from its previous close within about 15 minutes into trade.

Beleaguered Satyam Computer Services postponed its board meeting, convened Monday (Dec 29) to discuss a proposal for buy-back of shares by promoters, to Jan 10, the IT bellwether said Sunday.

Financial services, information technology, consumer goods, retail and real estate sectors have witnessed the maximum decline in the creation of new jobs because of the economic slowdown, a leading business chamber has said.

Natural drugs, especially of plant origin, are expected to play a major role in the healthcare programme in the 21st Century, a leading scientist has said.

With the demand for renewable energy solutions going up in the industrial world, Luminous Teleinfra, engaged in manufacturing packaged electrical power and power conditioning products, is offering green solutions for telecom base stations that promises to help operators reduce pollution as well as operating expenses.

Very few passengers from India are boarding the bus service from here to Lahore and Nankana Sahib in Pakistan and the numbers are likely to go down further with the Ministry of External Affairs issuing a travel advisory asking Indians not to travel to Pakistan.