Corporate News Headline
•    HCL Technologies signed a seven-year total IT outsourcing services engagement with Readers Digest Association worth USD 350 mn. (BS)
•    ONGC has agreed to sell 19% stake in ONGC Petro-additions Ltd to GAIL for Rs. 124.4 bn. (BS)
•    Essar Oil has deferred expansion of its Vadinar refinery in Gujarat by a year but will add the new unit at USD 400 mn less cost than previously projected. (BS)
Economic and Political Headline
•    The Central government is planning to launch a special purpose vehicle, International Coal Venture, with an initial investment of Rs. 35 bn for exploring coal in foreign countries. (BS)
•    The US industrial production fell 1.4% in February from last month and fell 11% since a year ago, driven by declines in computers and machinery that point to a deepening slump in global business investment. (Bloomberg)
•    Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged banks to “go the extra mile” and keep credit flowing to the US businesses, saying that refusing to make loans will worsen the faltering economy. (Bloomberg)