Government increased the import duty on natural rubber to up to Rs 30 per kg in order to control the sharp fall in domestic prices and protect interest of about 12 lakh farmers. “In recent months, prices of rubber in the domestic markets have fallen considerably. The fall in prices is stated to be due to increased imports,” the Finance Ministry said. The basic customs duty on natural rubber has been increased to Rs 30 per kg or 20 percent, whichever is lower, from Rs 20 a kg or 20 percent whichever was lower.

“A robust corporate bond market is imperative to meet the funding needs of the emerging Indian economy. Concerted policy and regulatory reforms in CBM holds the key for the private sector to meet its target share of 47 percent in the total infrastructure investment during the 12th Plan,” CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

The year 2013 has been a topsy-turvy year for equities, but going ahead equity is likely to outperform all other asset classes , believes Anup Maheshwari, Executive Vice President & Head of equities, DSP BlackRock Investment Managers.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18 he said equities may turn out to be the best asset class over next three years. Continuing his bullish tone, he said rupee depreciation is positive for exporters and related stocks will continue to do well. He also expects India Inc’s financial performance to improve going ahead.

Speaking about his best bets, Maheshwari highlighted that 25 percent of top 500 stocks are still trading under book value. He sees general positive momentum in capital goods and infrastructure sector. From the banking space, he continues to prefer private sector banks over public sector lenders. One can hold both pharma and IT in portfolio from a mid to long-term perspective, he recommended.

The market maintains upmove as the Sensex is up 97.15 points at 21176.87, and the Nifty is up 30.05 points at 6304.30. About 1224 shares have advanced, 556 shares declined, and 94 shares are unchanged.

The market maintains upmove as the Sensex is up 97.15 points at 21176.87, and the Nifty is up 30.05 points at 6304.30. About 1224 shares have advanced, 556 shares declined, and 94 shares are unchanged. Hindalco , BHEL , Axis Bank , Hero Motocorp and Tata Steel are top gainers in the Sensex. On the losing side are Infosys , Bharti Airtel , Coal India , Tata Power and HDFC .

The rupee rises against the US dollar as foreign banks have been selling dollars and on improved sentiment on the back of gains in the equity markets. Government bond prices rise tracking the fall in US treasury yields and on strength in the rupee. In currencies, dollar index holds steady at 80.5 levels while the euro is flat at 1.36 per dollar levels and the yen remains elevated at 104/ dollar.