Live: India, business as it unfolds

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India's in sharp focus these days be it for its inflation, corruption at highest business levels, or it's changing foreign investment policies that welcome business houses to invest in the country. This being the earnings season, global giants are specially keeping an keen eye on the IT sector. Here's a round up of what's happening in the business world today.

1:25 pm: Betting big on the Indian market, foreign fund houses invested USD 1.61 billion (about Rs 7,213 crore) in Indian equities in the month of April. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were gross buyers of shares worth Rs 54,174.40 crore, while they sold equities amounting to Rs 46,961.10 crore, translating into a net investment of Rs 7,213.30 crore, or USD 1.61 billion, as per data available with capital markets regulator Sebi.

1:19 pm: The much-awaited meeting of a Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukhejree on London-listed mining group Vedanta Resources' USD 9.6 billion acquisition of Cairn India has been postponed. "The meeting was scheduled for 1930 hours today, but it has now been postponed," a senior government official said. No reasons were given for the postponement.

1:14 pm: Bharti Airtel Ltd , India's top mobile carrier, has mandated at least five banks to raise up to $1 billion via a dollar bond issue to retire its Africa debt, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters on Monday. The investor meeting for the issue will start next week, they said, adding the joint book runners include Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Standard Chartered and UBS.

12:30 pm: Indian-American billionaire Amar Bose, founder of the iconic Bose Corporation, has given his alma mater MIT a majority of the stock of his audio equipment maker company, a gift that fulfills his "long-held desire" to support education at the prestigious institute.

12:25 pm: India's exports surged to record high growth of 37.6 percent in the fiscal year 2010/11, the government said in a statement on Monday, as demand soared for engineering goods, oil products and gems manufactured in Asia's third-largest economy.

12:00 pm: Is India the only one that underestimates its own potential? Maybe it is time for India to recognize it as well and leave its insecurities behind. The India that meets the world should be one that understands its power and influence and has the confidence and strength to promote its values and interests; with neither diffidence nor brashness, neither silence nor arrogance, but with strength and respect.

11.00 am: India's on high alert post Osama's death. Home Minister, P Chidambaram said this news confirms that Pakistan is a harbour for terror. Meanwhile, the US has issued a worldwide travel alert, fearing an attack from Al Qaeda in retaliation.

10:00 am: Oil prices fell by more than a dollar on Monday on reports that al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is dead

9:15 am: The Indian markets have been trading in the red despite positive global cues. News of Al Qaeda leader, Osama being killed may not be as much a positive news for India as developed markets. Confidence seems to have returned in these markets.

9:00 am: Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead, and the U.S. has his body in its possession, U.S. officials said late Sunday. Barack Obama made an official announcement this morning (IST). Obama said, this was a historic day for the world. Obama was killed deep inside Pakistan and not Afghanistan, he informed. Osama was killed after a firefight near Islamabad. Obama signed off saying "Justice has been done."

8.51am: Japan's Nikkei stock average climbed 1% on Monday and may touch 10,000 for the first time since mid-March, encouraged by gains on Wall Street, says a Reuters report. The mood of the Indian markets will be largely decided by the RBI policy due on May 3. But analysts believe markets will remain largely volatile this week. The stock market may undergo a phase of consolidation this week in light of the RBI's policy meet on Tuesday and the announcement of the quarterly results of various companies, including Hero Motors and Bharti Airtel.

8.45am: It's not the kind of Monday morning India's businessworld would like to wake up to. Air India impasse has entered its fifth day and nearly 90% of its flights were cancelled yesterday.

The question everyone is still asking is How will KV Kamath steer the Infosys ship? He, a risk taker and Infosys, which likes to be risk-averse. But as Kamath said at the press conference on Saturday, some amount of positive aggression is good both for him as a person and for Infosys, the company.