Engineering and construction major, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) announced that its newly formed Building & Factories Operating company, a part of its construction division, has pocketed Rs 1,450-crore worth orders during the third quarter of 2008-2009.
The scope of orders includes the construction of IT and office space building including add on orders from on going work at its airport projects.
The company said that it has received the fresh orders from major players including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Godrej Developers.
State owned air carrier, Air India has decided to slash the fuel surcharge by Rs 400 for all routes. This would pave the way for cheaper air travel and tariff revision by the private carriers. Currently, domestic carriers are charging a fuel surcharge of Rs 2,350 per passenger for distance up to 750 km and Rs 3,100 for above 750 km. Surcharge was increased following the significant increase in the crude oil price in the international market, around three months ago. The fuel surcharge for the short flights now would be Rs 1,950 as compared to Rs 2,350. 
The private equity major Blackstone Group formed a new venture by acquiring 55 per cent stakes in IT infrastructure management and outsourcing unit of Mumbai-based CMS Computers. It would deal in card solutions, transaction printing solutions and ATM cash management. The company is believed to be valued at Rs 500-550 crore. CMS is among the top 5 IT infrastructure management companies in India which was founded in 1976 by Ramesh Grover, Varun Prasad and S Ramadorai.
India's manufacturing segment has stared to be impacted by global slowdown. It was insulated from meltdown till October and expanded despite unfavorable financial conditions. The ABN Amro's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for India slipped to 45.8 following low demand. PMI is considered as a scale to determine the performance of manufacturing sector. It was started in 2005 and registered decline in manufacturing segment for first time.
The six month ban on futures trading in four commodities namely soya oil, potato, rubber and chickpeas lapsed on November 30. The ban on these four agricultural commodities was imposed in order to control inflation. It was due to lapse on September 30 but was extended owing to the high inflation rate in that period. Inflation rate currently stands at 8.84%, from the 16-year high of 12.9% in August. 
At the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAS) ceremony, Slumdog Millionaire, an English movie based on the award-winning novel of Indian Diplomat Vikas Swarup, won the award in three different categories including best film, best director and best newcomer (for its British lead actor).
