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	Figo drives into India with a tag of Rs 3.49 L
	FORD India has entered the small-car race with Figo, pitting itself against existing models of market leader Maruti Suzuki, General Motors, Volkswagen and Hyundai. Two more global auto giants, Nissan and Toyota, have announced their plans to launch cars in India priced in the Rs 4- lakh range. Figo’s petrol variant starts from Rs 3.49 lakh (exshowroom) and goes up to Rs 4.42 lakh while the diesel models would be in the Rs 4.47- 5.29 lakh range. 'Figo' will be available with a 1.2 litre petrol and a 1.4 litre diesel engines. The company claimed that the car will give a mileage of 15.6 kilometre and 20 kilometre in every litre in the petrol and diesel versions, respectively. Ford India president & managing director Michael Boneham, said the company would launch more products to compete in a small car segment that constitutes over 70% of the domestic market.
	Daimler exits Tata Motors, sells 5.34% for Rs 1,863 cr
	LUXURY-carmaker Daimler on Tuesday said it has sold its 5.34% stake in Tata Motors for nearly € 300 mil lion (Rs 1,863 crore) to its biggest shareholder Tata Sons, and other investors including Citigroup, as it is confident of building the local business on its own. Mercedes Benz is in an “excellent position” to capitalise on the growth potential of the Indian passenger and commercial vehicle markets without the help of Tatas, Daimler said in a statement. “An equity participation of Daimler in Tatas is, therefore, no longer necessary. This (the sale) has been done in full consultation with Tatas. Relations between the two companies are excellent and will not be adversely affected by this sale,” the company said.
	M&M recalls brass from Renault JV
	MAHINDRA & Mahindra (M&M) — the maker of tractors and utility vehicles, whose foray into the car market in a joint venture with Renault has been marred by public spats over management control — has started calling back some of its top executives in the JV, a clear indication that the agreement with the French company could be nearing an end. In the recent past, three M&M executives have left the joint venture as the two partners appear to be on the verge of separating. Nalin Mehta, the CEO of Mahindra Renault who has been appointed the new chief operating officer of Mahindra Navistar — the JV with the US company which will roll out heavy trucks — is the most recent and high-profile executive to return to the parent group.
	Rupee depreciates from 2-month high to 45.64/$
	THE rupee depreciated, after six days of gains, on speculation that importers will purchase dollars to pay for shipments, taking advantage of the local currency’s advance to a two-month high this week. The rupee appreciated in each of the last four weeks and touched its strongest level since January 12 on Monday as the South Asian nation’s economic recovery spurred a stock rally and attracted foreign capital. Gains were also limited after the dollar index, used by the ICE to track the greenback against the currencies of six major US trading partners, climbed 3.7% this year. “Greater demand for dollars is likely to emerge from importers following the rupee’s rally in recent weeks,” said RVS Sridhar, senior vicepresident at Axis Bank in Mumbai. “From a technical perspective, the rupee may not have much room left to strengthen for now since the dollar has been rising against major currencies such as euro and the pound.”
	Rupee Spot
	The Indian rupee weakened on Tuesday as a fall in local shares and dollar strength overseasunderpinned sentiment. It ended at 45.6250/6350 per dollar, about 0.2 percent weaker than its 45.53/54 close on Monday. It had hit a high of 45.38 intra-day on Monday, its strongest since Jan. 12. The benchmark BSE share index fell 0.3 percent on Tuesday, mirroring weak global markets Dollar demand from refiners also pulled the Rupee lower. Oil is India's biggest import and refiners are the largest buyers of dollars in the domestic currency market.
	A leap by elders,a small step for womankind
	ADAY after the Manmohan Singh government pushed different buttons and sent out mixed signals, a determined Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday got the regime to shed its diffidence and give an aggressive push to the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The government, which carried out Ms Gandhi’s stern “walk-the-talk-on-the-Bill” diktat, threw out obstructionists from the House and ensured its passage with the help of the BJP and Left parties. As far as political messaging goes, the Congress has lot to cheer for. It has, to a large extent, appropriated the credit for ensuring gender justice. But the development ended the Congress’ association with the “social justice” parties. “We will meet the President on Wednesday and inform her about our decision to withdraw support to the government,” Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav told reporters.
	Cities on power trip, others to sweat it out
	IN A development that may create more bad blood between city centres and their rural counterparts in the state, Maha Vitaran, the staterun power utility, has proposed to exempt district headquarters from planned power cuts or load shedding. Maharashtra state electricity distribution company, MSEDCL, or Maha Vitaran, has filed a petition before the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc) seeking its nod for the proposal. The regulator has scheduled the hearing on March 25. MSEDCL is already implementing the zero load-shedding model at all revenue headquarters, besides Mumbai and Thane, across the state. Subject to the Merc approval, this model will be extended to district headquarters, too. Initially, MSEDCL had proposed to implement zero load shedding at district headquarters falling in A to D categories where the distribution and commercial losses (DCL) are well below 42%. As per the principle and the protocol approved by Merc, MSEDCL divisions across the state have been categorised on the basis of their percentage of DCL losses.