Noted

Issued: By the government, oil bonds worth Rs 11,257 crore to IOC, HPCL and BPCL to compensate them for under-recoveries arising out of the mismatch between rising global crude oil prices and stagnant domestic retail prices. Earlier, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said “If we have to raise fuel prices, it will be minimal.”

Appointed: As the new adviser to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Shubhashis Gangopadhyay, in place of Parthasarathi Shome who resigned recently. Gangopadhyay, a PhD in Economics from Cornell University, was the youngest full-tenure professor at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.

Surged: To 43.29 million, the number of people who took to the Indian skies in 2007, compared to 32.67 million in 2006, a growth of 32.51 per cent. All airlines, except Jet Airways (-3.52 per cent), registered growth rates ranging from 11-686 per cent during the year. According to DGCA figures, IndiGo recorded highest growth during the year.

Launched: By Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and Dharma Investments, a leading private investment firm pioneering the development of faith-based investment, the Dow Jones Dharma Index. The new index measures the performance of companies selected according to the value systems and principles of dharmic religions like Hinduism and Buddhism.

Crossed: The $280-billion mark, Indian foreign exchange reserves, which rose $5.5 billion during the week ended January 11. Substantial inflows during the week are believed to have come in to fund a slew of IPOs that are set to hit the market. According to RBI data, forex reserves, including gold and SDR, rose $5,474 million during the week to touch $281.73 billion.

Announced: By Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, reservations in publicprivate partnership projects in the state. Companies that offer services to the UP government and semi-government departments and agencies will have to implement reservations.