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Foreign
currency reserves MUMBAI, Feb 3: India’s foreign currency reserves maintained their upswing with a further rise of US dollar 458 million,....more Kerala to give boost to THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Feb 3: Kerala information technology mission is setting up an e-tower for housing IT-enabled .....more
Addl kerosene for NEW DELHI, Feb 3: Additional 450 lakh litres of kerosene has been approved for distribution..more
Gold prices decline NEW DELHI, Feb 3: Gold prices drifted on the local bullion market today owing to .....more |
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ONGC Videsh puts off MOSCOW, Feb 2: ONGC Videsh Ltd has postponed the signing of USD 1.7 billion ‘Sakhalin-1’ deal with Russia’s state owned ‘Rosneft’ till February 10, sources here said without giving any reason...more Film
financing MUMBAI, Feb 2: Noted film-maker Subhash Ghai has appealed to various film financial institutions to maintain transparency and "a proper system" to make the entertainment industry a major contributor to the national economy. Speaking at a symposium here organised by Mukta Arts and IDBI on.....more NEW DELHI, Feb 2: As part of measures to attract investment in agro-based industries in Uttar Pradesh and enhance its export potential in fruits and vegetables, an ‘Agri Expo’ is being organised in Lucknow from February 17. "Our idea is to present Uttar Pradesh to industrialists for attracting investment mainly in the food ..more ‘Resources
will not be NEW DELHI, Feb 2: Resources would not be allowed to become a constraint for Self Help Groups (SHG) and micro-credit finance .......more |
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Foreign currency reserves up USD 458 mn at 40,927 MUMBAI, Feb 3: India’s foreign currency reserves maintained their upswing with a further rise of US dollar 458 million, nearly touching USD 41 billion mark for the week ended January 26. The upsurge continued as the foreign currency reserves rose to USD 40,927 million for the week ended January 26 compared to USD 40,469 million in the previous week, Reserve Bank of India said in its weekly statistical supplement issued here today. The increase was solely due to Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) rising by USD 458 million at USD 38,108 million compared to USD 37,650 million in the previous week. Over the past twelve weeks, the reserves rose from USD 34,734 million on November 11, 2000, to the present level of USD 40,927 million. The FCA expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation/depreciation of non-US currencies such as yen, euro and sterling held in reserves. Gold and special drawing rights remained static at USD 2,811 million and USD eight million respectively. Loans and advances to the Central Government stood at a nil balance for the week ended January 26, while that to states declined by Rs 1,546 crore to Rs 4,288 crore. (PTI) |
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Kerala to give boost to IT-enabled services THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Feb 3: Kerala information technology mission is setting up an e-tower for housing IT-enabled services habitats in Kochi in the next two months. The project is intended to create a superior environment for development of hi-tech, non polluting, export-oriented industries in Kerala by providing infrastructure support not only for the established units but also to incubate new ventures, according to IT Secretary Aruna Sundararajan. The tower would be provided with advanced broadband connectivity, good ambience and partitioned modules for IT enabled companies to commence their operations. She said about 30,000 sq ft of area in the GCDA International Stadium at Kochi would be developed as an e-tower. During the current year, 10,000 sq ft would be developed as the IT-enabled services habitat. The project is being implemented with the cooperation of KITCO and Software Technology Parks of India. Mrs Aruna said IT-enabled services being an area where comparatively only lower skill levels were required, it would be suited for Kerala. The IT-enabled services market was expected to grow to 142 billion US dollars by 2008, from the 1998 level of 10 billion dollars. Ms Aruna said Kochi was selected for the purpose because it was a landing point of sea-me-we 3, the world’s largest submarine cable network at nearly 40,000 km with an aggregate capacity of the 40 GBPS. Similarly, safe, another major submarine optical cable network also has its landing point in Kochi. Kochi is the only landing point in India, from where such a high level of connectivity is readily available. The IT-enabled services market included established opportunities like customer interaction services, translation, transcription and localisation, animation, engineering and design and rapidly evolving opportunities like network consulting and management, data search, integration and analysis, market research service, web site services, remote education as well as latent opportunities like logistics, management, consulting services, monitoring services, legal advice, medical advice, distributed product development and secretarial services. Mrs Aruna said the proposal to set up an IT incubation centre and IT training and facilitation centre at Kochi would be implemented within two months. While the incubation centre would provide basic common facilities for entrepreneurs, the training centre would impart training to the general public in specialised areas and in the computerised Government transactions. (UNI) |
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Addl kerosene for quake affected areas NEW DELHI, Feb 3: Additional 450 lakh litres of kerosene has been approved for distribution in the quake affected areas of Gujarat, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Ram Naik said today. "This quota is over and above the normal monthly allocation to gujarat," Mr Naik told UNI. Between January 27 and February first 20.47 lakh litres of diesel and 8.62 lakh litres of kerosene was made available in the affected areas, he said. Direct supplies of kerosene started in the affected areas from january 28 and of the 60 retail outlets in Kutch, 56 are operating now, the minister said. "All the 13 LPG distributors in Kutch are operating. Sufficient number of loaded trucks are ready at Kandla for dispatch." Mr Naik said the oil PSUs have contributed Rs 40 crore to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and have appealed to their employees, dealers and distributors to chip in with more funds. Five villages are being adopted by five navratna oil PSUs, ONGC, IOCL, GAIL, BPCL and HPCL. He said oil industry’s three units of territorial army have been deployed for relief and restoration work and 271 volunteers/medical assistants have been mobilised. (UNI) |
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Gold prices decline on poor demand NEW DELHI, Feb 3: Gold prices drifted on the local bullion market today owing to lack of necessary follow-up support at prevailing higher levels and surrendered sizeable grounds. Silver prices, however, finished on a somewhat better note on speculative activity. The volume of business was small. Traders said slowdown in buying by local parties in the face of stockists selling, contributed to fall in gold prices. They said, however, activity remained negligible in view of prevailing tight money market conditions. Standard gold and ornaments prices declined by Rs 20 each to close at Rs 4450 and Rs 4300 per ten grams respectively for want of support. Sovereign, however, remained steady at Rs 3750 per 8 grams on little doing. Silver. 999 ready in thin trading, managed to close Rs 10 higher at Rs 7790 per kilo while silver delivery remained unchanged at Rs 7785 per kilo. Following were today’s quotations: Silver .999 ready 7790 and silver delivery 7785. Silver coins buyer 11,000 and seller 11,200. Standard gold 4450, ornaments 4300 and sovereign 3750. (PTI) |
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ONGC Videsh puts off ‘Sakhalin-1’ oil deal MOSCOW, Feb 2: ONGC Videsh Ltd has postponed the signing of USD 1.7 billion ‘Sakhalin-1’ deal with Russia’s state owned ‘Rosneft’ till February 10, sources here said without giving any reason. The deal for the acquisition of 20 per cent equity in ‘Sakahlin-1’ offshore project by ONGC Videsh Ltd was to have been inked today. It is understood that the signing was put off due to Government’s preoccupation with relief efforts in earthquake-hit Gujarat. However, ‘Rosneft’ company has expressed confidence that in spite of the devastating quake and India seeking USD 1.5 billion loans from the World Bank and Asian Bank, ONGC Videsh Ltd will not back out from the deal. "The recent tragedy in india would hardly jeopardise the implementation of this project," a ‘rosneft’ spokesman told `Vremyanovostyei’ daily. India has already made the initial payment of USD 225 million to ‘Rosneft’. Under the deal ONGC Videsh Ltd would be investing USD 1.7 billion in ‘Sakhalin-1’ for 20 per cent equity which will give India around 2 million tons of oil and 5 to 8 million cubic metre of natural gas annually beginning from year 2005 when this project is expected to go into production. (PTI) |
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Film financing institutions urged to maintain transparency MUMBAI, Feb 2: Noted film-maker Subhash Ghai has appealed to various film financial institutions to maintain transparency and "a proper system" to make the entertainment industry a major contributor to the national economy. Speaking at a symposium here organised by Mukta Arts and IDBI on ‘financing of the entertainment industry - including films’ earlier this week, Mr Ghai thanked the Government for according industry status to the 90-year-old film industry and emphasised the need to start a dialogue between financial institutions and the entertainment industry. This was the first dialogue between the film industry and the financial institutions to discuss the issue of film financing after Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Finance Ministry had asked IDBI to introduce a single window system to deal with financing for entertainment industry and formulate policies for lending of institutional finances. "The Indian entertainment industry has come a long way since its early beginnings and is steadily moving towards its corporation, especially now with the trend of getting films insured such as Taal, Mohabbatein, among others," Mr Ghai said. A detailed briefing by various industry leaders was given to the FIIs on the working of the film industry that included production, exhibition and distribution. This was followed by a presentation on the Indian entertainment industry and its growth potential by Mr Vijay Choraria, Director, Mukta Arts Ltd., Various sectors of the entertainment industry including music, films, television and its potential in the coming years were also discussed. Talking on behalf of the financial institutions, Mr Chakrabarti, Deputy Managing Director (DMD), IDBI, pointed out that difficulties they faced towards the film industry were not due to any misconceptions but primarily due to lack of understanding of basic functioning of the industry, with reference to production, distribution, exhibition. He too insisted on the need for corporatisation of the entertainment industry and to provide all financial facilities to the film industry. The forum also recognized the importance to form a committee that understood the business of film financing and worked together as an advisory for the institutions and the entertainment industry. Another criteria for film financing could be the credibility of the production house and its past record. Mr Kamal Barjatya from the Rajshree Films laid stress to simplify paperwork in order to speed up operations and reduce the hoards of paperwork. Mr Ghai also pointed out the need for various schemes to fund studios and institutes apart from production, distribution and exhibition. The meet was attended by leading luminaries from film industry including Mr Manmohan Shetty, Managing Director, Adlabs, Mr Pahlaj Niahalani, Producer, President - Impaa, Mr Yash Chopra, Producer, Yashraj Films, Mr Kumar Taurani - Tips, Mr Vashu Bagnani, Producer, Kamal and Raj Barjatya, Producer, Director, Rajshree Films, Rakesh Roshan - Actor, Producer, Ashok Thakeria, Producer and Tolu Bajaj, Distributor. The banking sector was represented, among others, by Mr S K Chakrabarti, DMD, IDBI, Mr S K Kapur, Mr R S Agarwal, Mr R Jayaraman Iyer, Executive Directors, IDBI, and Mr S Suryanarayanan, CGM, IDBI. There were several representatives from other leading institutions. (UNI) |
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NEW DELHI, Feb 2: As part of measures to attract investment in agro-based industries in Uttar Pradesh and enhance its export potential in fruits and vegetables, an ‘Agri Expo’ is being organised in Lucknow from February 17. "Our idea is to present Uttar Pradesh to industrialists for attracting investment mainly in the food processing sector besides showcasing latest technologies before farmers of the state", State’s Agriculture and Agro Export Minister Diwakar Vikram Singh said here. Billed as one of the largest events of its kind in the country, the four-day exhibition would be of immense help to farmers of the state, which is a leading producer of rice, fruits, vegetables, sugar, dairy products and meat, besides having made strides in fisheries and bio-technology, he said. "Uttar Pradesh will soon emerge as an exporter of vegetables, flowers, fruits and a host of other products to the middle east and other parts of the world", he said referring to international cargo flights operating from Lucknow. Agri Expo-2001, being organised by the Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with FICCI and Uttar Pradesh Government, would tell farmers, industries and investors about the challenges of WTO regime, Singh said. About 200 industries and one lakh individual participants including over 60,000 progressive farmers are likely to take part in the event, which would create awareness about agricultural potential of the state and its business opportunities and scope for investment. (PTI) |
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‘Resources will not be
allowed to become NEW DELHI, Feb 2: Resources would not be allowed to become a constraint for Self Help Groups (SHG) and micro-credit finance required by the poor households, especially women, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha today said. Inaugurating the four-day Asia-Pacific Regional Micro-Credit Summit here, Sinha said finances from NABARD, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the banking sector would be geared up to promote self-help groups. The time has come when this social safety net needs to be taken to smaller towns and cities, he added. The minister said he was looking forward to the recommendations of experts at the summit, for incorporation in the coming budget. To strengthen micro-finance institutions, Sinha said he had announced the setting up of a micro-finance development fund in the current year’s budget. Accordingly, NABARD has set up such a fund with an initial contribution of Rs 400 million. The RBI has chipped with a similar amount. "We have a mission of reaching out to millions of rural poor before the end of this decade, through this time-tested, cost-effective self help group mode and we will achieve it through the efforts of NABARD, RBI and banks in the country," Sinha said. Putting forward two suggestions for the development of SHGs, he said. Firstly, it was important to develop their skills, especially those of women, in both traditional and modern areas. Secondly, it was important to get the best possible return for labour by better marketing. Organised by the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC), Microcredit Summit Campaign, Washington and the Asian Development Bank, the theme of the summit is "building self-sufficient institutions while maintaining a commitment to reaching the poorest of the poor". More than 600 delegates from 30 countries in the Asia Pacific region are participating. Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit released the summit meet brochure on the occasion. In order to give a further boost to the microfinance sector, a task force on the subject had been set up by NABARD, he said, adding that its recommendations weare being examined by the Government and RBI. The RBI, on its part, has completely deregulated the interest on loans given by banks to intermediate microfinance institutions, he said. The task force had estimated that the micro-crdit business alone was of the size of Rs 30,000 crore. As more and more members accessed this micro-credit, many would graduate to a higher level of enterprise with increased credit needs. The Finance Minister said the provision for microcredit initiatives in the current year’s budget came when he was reflecting on the election campaign in his home town. "In 1998 only men came to listen to me, but in 1999 women surrounded me asking what I was doing for them." It was then that I thought the best way to help them was through SHG’s, he said. Mr Sinha said women have proved to be better at repayment than men. Therefore, credit programmes which target women are expected to have better performance records than those aimed at men. The Finance Minister said he had encouraged NABARD and the bankers to increase the linkage of SHG’s with banks. It took almost seven years to increase the financing of SHG’s from a modest 225 in 1992-93 to about 33,000 by March 1999. "I understand that the experience of banks in financing SHG’s has generally been very good. In a situation where a number of banks are reporting high rates of NPA’s of above 20 per cent, these micro-loans have a repayment performance of almost 100 per cent", Mr Sinha said. Sinha said the Bangladesh experiment with Gramin Banks and microcredit was a model not only for India, but for other developing countries too. The Finance Minister said a growing number of programmes on micro-credit had targeted low-income women. The success of these programmes proved that women living in poverty were not only are credit worthy but also are engaged in a variety of economic activities, critical to the livelihoods of their families. (UNI) |
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