Kolkata, Feb 11 - State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) is expecting total business growth of about 24 percent over last year at the end of March 2012.

"We plan to achieve a total business of more than Rs. 6,50,000 crore at the end of March (2012). We are expecting a total business growth of about 24 percent year-on-year basis," Bank of Baroda chairman M. D. Mallya told reporters on the sidelines of "SME(small marginal enterprise) Festival 2012" here Friday evening.

Mallya said the bank will gain a domestic credit growth of 20 percent at the end of the current financial year.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) will soon discuss a Rs 8,750-crore bailout package meant to assists the financially troubled state of West Bengal led by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

The funds will come in the form of the backward regions grant fund (BRGF) for the state, which has been under the communist rule since decades. The central government had recently increased the borrowing limit for the state by another Rs 2,000 crore.

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal and the leader of Trinamool Congress has asked its partner Congress party to decide if it wants to stay in alliance or not, after Youth Congress protested against alleged attacks by activists linked to Trinamool.

She said that the Congress party should reconsider if it wants to continue the alliance in the centre and state level. She also affirmed that her government in the sate is not dependent on the support from the Sonia Gandhi led Congress Party.

Birbhum (WB), Oct 5 : Reacting to the Bharatiya Janata Party''s (BJP) claim of forming the next government in 2014, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said anybody can dream of becoming prime minister in a democracy.

"Anybody can dream of becoming prime minister, so there is nothing wrong in it. Anybody can become a prime minister in a democracy. Any party who gets the majority, its leader will become prime minister," Mukherjee told the media here.

Kolkata, Sep 28 : Hailing the Singur verdict, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday called it "a victory of the people" that would pave the way for return of land to farmers.

"It is a historic event not only for Singur or the country but for the whole world. The Singur movement will forever be an example of struggle and victory for the world," Banerjee said.

Earlier, the Calcutta High Court ruled the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act passed by the government was valid and constitutional.

Kolkata, Sep 20 : Economists have started to question the hawkish stance of India's central bank that has seen as many as 12 rate hikes in the past 20 months, and some feel the steps have hampered the growth of sectors that have not contributed to inflation.

But others see no long-term link between inflation and growth and back the rate hikes.

Kolkata, Sep 20 - Eden Gardens is set to lose all its three Champions League Twenty20 matches with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) favouring shift of the matches due to monsoon rains lashing the city almost daily.

"When the conditions are such, how can we host the matches? We need time to prepare the track. Who will gain if we organise the matches and not a ball can be bowled?" said a CAB official.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), however, left the decision to the CAB.

Kolkata, Sep 16 - The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is working with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to set up a separate exchange for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which will be launched shortly.

"It will be a separate exchange within the NSE. It is likely to be operational in this financial year... may be another two months or three," SIDBI Chairman and Managing Director S. Muhnot told reporters here Thursday.

The SMEs would be able to raise equity from the market through the exchange and develop their business, he added.

Jhargram (West Bengal), Sep. 12 : Kolkata Knight Riders coach Dav Whatmore and National Cricket Academy Director Sandeep Patil, opened a residential coaching camp in West Bengal''s Maoist-affected Jhargram district on Sunday.

The camp was opened with the aim at finding cricketing talent in the troubled districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia.

Kolkata, Sep 5 - Magma Fincorp Limited, one of the largest asset financing non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in India, is focusing on western and southern parts of the country to achieve 50 percent business growth.

"We are aiming at substantial growth in western and southern India this fiscal. We will be focusing on states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The company will be working on expanding networks in these regions," Magma Fincorp vice-president Sumit Mukherjee told IANS.

Burdwan, Sep 2 : The Shyam Steel Industries Limited is moving to complete the first phase of its expansion in West Bengal by 2013 but concerns remain over the shortage of coal.

The company is setting up an integrated 1.1 million tonnes per annum steel plant at Jamuria in Burdwan district along with a 1,000 MW captive power plant. The Rs. 9,900-crore project is scheduled to become operational in phases, the first phase involving an investment of Rs. 1,500 crore.

Kolkata, Sep 1 - From spaghetti to pasta, pork to beef - the Argentine soccer team led by football magician Lionel Messi will be spoilt for choice. The Hyatt Regency hotel here in West Bengal where the team is staying, has laid out a varied spread appealing to the taste buds of the Latin American side, an official said Thursday.

The team's chef Diego Iacovone, who landed in the city in the last week of August, is strictly monitoring the food quality and instructing the hotel cooks on preparing Spanish, particularly Argentine dishes.

Kolkata, Aug 31 - New Argentine soccer coach Alejandro Sabella Wednesday said the country's campaign for the 2014 World Cup will start with the Sep 2 FIFA official international friendly match here with Venezuela.

"Yes, this is my first game in command of the Argentinean national side. Yes, it is the beginning of our journey," Sabella said, when asked if the much-anticipated match can be called the starting point of Argentina's World cup campaign.

Kolkata, Aug 26: The state could soon get a new name, teachers receive salaries on the first of every month, Darjeeling is quiet after a tripartite pact and the Singur Act has been passed -- the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal has set a hectic pace as it completes 100 days in office Saturday.

Kolkata, Aug 25 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday announced a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh for the families of civilians killed in Maoist violence in the state. The central government will give another Rs. 3 lakh.

"The families of the civilians who are killed by Maoists will be given Rs. 2 lakh by the state government. They will get another Rs. 3 lakh from the central government as compensation," Banerjee said at the state secretariat Writers' Buildings.

Kolkata, Aug 9 - TIL Limited, a leading provider of a wide range of construction, mining and power systems based here, will invest Rs. 700 crore in its Kharagpur factory to make mining equipment and cranes with American and Japanese technology.

"The first phase of the plant, for which Rs. 250 crore is being invested, will conclude by October-November. Alreadyn Rs. 90 crore has been invested," Aloke Banerjee, president and chief financial officer of what was earlier called Tractors India, told IANS.

Kolkata, Aug 4 : General Motors expects its India operations to grow by 20-25 percent this financial year despite high auto interest rates and inflation that have slowed the country's automobile sales, the company's managing director said Thursday.

"Last year, with a sales figure of 110,000 units we registered a 60 percent growth. This year we hope to achieve a growth rate double the industry rate of 10-12 percent," said Karl Slym, president and managing director of GM India.

Kolkata, June 7 : Renowned Bengali actor Rudranil Ghosh was Tuesday hospitalised with a head injury after he was hit by a speeding car here. His condition is stable.

Ghosh, in his 30s, was hit by a speeding car early Tuesday at Golf Green in the southern part of the city. He was immediately admitted to a private hospital for treatment of the injuries which needed several stitches.

"He had a few stitches on his head. Right now his condition is stable. But an MRI would be conducted very soon," said Kanchan, a friend.

Kolkata, May 1 - After Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clinched a handsome victory over Kings XI Punjab, KKR owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan Saturday said former KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly who came to see the match at Eden Gardens had brought luck for the team.

"Sourav had brought luck for the team. Sourav was sitting at a place far away from me so we could not talk today. But definitely I will talk to him soon," said Shah Rukh Khan. Shah Rukh also expressed his happiness for his team playing well as team.

Kolkata, April 8 : Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu has forecast a below seven percent overall inflation for India in April and said the figure will go down to five percent over the next couple of months if food prices do not rise sharply.

"In the month of February, inflation was 8.3 percent. I think it was hovering around 8 percent in March," Basu said at a programme at the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here Thursday evening.