India's industrial production has risen at its fastest pace in more than a decade, providing further evidence of the country's strong economic recovery.
Factory output rose by 16.8% in December compared with a year earlier, much faster than analysts had expected.
Subdued growth last year as a result of the global economic downturn helped to boost this year's figure in comparison.
The strong growth will strengthen the case for the government to withdraw its stimulus measures, analysts said.
"We are going to see some rollback of fiscal stimulus in the 26 February federal budget," said Rahul Bajoria at Barclays Capital.
"The need to support the manufacturing sector through duty cuts is no longer there."
Rising prices
India's economy is recovering faster than expected - it grew at an annual pace of 7.9% in the three months to the end ...
Shareholders in UK companies saw their dividend payments cut by £10bn last year, according to a report.
UK companies paid out £56.9bn to investors in 2009, 15% less than in 2008, said Capita Registrars.
Investors in the banking sector were the worst hit, said the report, after the industry cut payouts by £6bn from 2008 levels.
It predicted dividends would grow this year but only by 5%, because of a sluggish economic recovery.
Dividends underpin the valuation of shares by stock market investors and are crucial to the financial well-being of millions of people through the investments held by their pension funds.
Pension schemes typically invest in a wide range of assets, some of which are bought primarily in anticipation of their value going up - "capital growth" in the stock market's jargon.
But dividends are vital to ...
