Asian crisis set to hit Indian money market
The currency crisis in south-east Asia will have a more immediate impact on the Indian money market than the US sanctions following the Pokhran nuclear tests. The immediate impact (of US sanctions) is more psychological. The international banks have remained neutral and some have shown interest in entering areas left empty by the sanctions.

RBI set to reopen ECD at Srinagar
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to reopen its exchange control department (ECD) in Srinagar, which had been closed in the wake of militancy in Kashmir. The RBI would also be sending a team of senior officers to Srinagar to look into the problems of the horticulture sector in Kashmir.

CBEC mulls new rule to recover service tax
The Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) is contemplating introducing a new Service Tax Act for administration and recovery of this tax, hitherto being administered as per the provisions of the Central Excise And Salt Act, 1944. This was disclosed by senior CBEC officials at a open-house seminar on service tax held in Mumbai on Friday.

  Executive Briefing
  Moody's downgrades India to Ba2
  US companies forced to head for Europe
  Industrial growth, tax receipts will not suffer after sanctions
  Cyclone losses for Gujarat ports put at Rs 100 cr
  External borrowings as good as dead
  RBI discounts downgrade
  Country will explore alternative sources of funding, says Sinha
  Rupee loans now the only viable source of project finance -- corporate analysts
  Asia pauses for breath as profit-takers jump in
  Make donations that can reap tax benefits
  World Briefing
  Thai government leadership vital for recovery, says World Bank
  Japan mulls merger of LTCB with NCB
  Lithuania says telecom sell-off as scheduled
  Spain telecom heads for liberalisation
  Indonesia to remain a rice importer
  Closed-end bargains from the UTI stable