Sudhir Jalan to be new Ficci president: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry has designated its senior vice-president and chairman-cum-managing director of the Calcutta-based Bell Controls Sudhir Jalan as president-elect. He will take over as the chamber's president at the conclusion of its 71st annual session on October 24.

Ordinance likely to check plantation firms: In another attempt to check errant plantation companies, the centre is consideringissuing an ordinance to enable stricter regulation of their mobilisations. The ordinance will seek to empower the regulator to freeze the assets of a plantation firm and have the nominees on its board to facilitate recovery of deposits if there is a default.

Sebi verdict on Sri Vishnu Cement on Friday: Markets regulator Sebi will give its verdict on whether or not BV Raju can go ahead with his open offer for acquiring another 20 per cent in Shree Vishnu Cements by September 7. The offer is scheduled to open on September 23.

HM, auditor differ on deferred revenue: Differences have arisen between Hindustan Motors and its auditor SR Batliboi & Co over the treatment of deferred revenue expenditure in the accounting policy for the year ended March 31, 1998, during which period, the company posted a PAT of Rs 39.36 crore. The auditor has noted that it is unable to ascertain the expenditure's impact.

L&T Information sees volumes surge: Engineering and construction major L&T's wholly-ownedsubsidiary L&T Information Technology hopes to see a surge in its business volumes after the company's tie-up with the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi. Chief executive AS Godbole said in Chennai on Tuesday that the newly set up dedicated offshore development centre in the city will have a team of 100 software professionals serving Hitachi's networking-management needs.

Air India's divestment in Hotel Corp: Air India is set to invite bids from consultancy firms, investment bankers and financial institutions for advise on its proposed divestment in the national carrier's wholly-owned subsidiary, the Hotel Corporation of India. The proceeds would help service the airline's working-capital needs and shore up its bleeding balance sheet.

Godrej Pillsbury's Pillsbury Chakki Fresh Atta stands second: Godrej Pillsbury's wheat-flour brand, Pillsbury Chakki Fresh Atta, is now second only to Hidustan Lever's Annapurna in the south, having displaced DCW's Captain Cook with a 13 per cent market share.According to industry estimates, while Annapurna has increased its share to around 31 per cent in July from 28.8 per cent in May, the Pillsbury brand has risen to its current position from 9.5 per cent in May.

Sensex fall 71 points: A massive overnight fall of 512 points in the Dow and the crisis-ridden global financial markets took their toll on the 30-share BSE Sensitive Index as it fell by 71 points, to finish its Tuesday innings at 2,862.52, against Monday's close of 2,933.85. On the NSE, the S&P CNX Nifty was down 18.25 points from its previous close of 852.80.

SBI plans to opt for `bancassurance': State Bank plans to lauch itself in the insurance sector by adopting the `bancassurance' model to sell life-insurance products across the counter at its branches as and when the industry formally opens up. The model, popular in Europe and Latin America, will enable products' prices to come down for clients, as there is no agent commission involved and the branches turn out to be a one-stopshop for financial products.

NTPC sets deadline for Bengal to clear dues: The National Thermal Power Corporation on Tuesday said it will "regulate" power supply to West Bengal from September 7, unless the state electricity board clears a reasonable part of its huge outstandings. The board owes NTPC Rs 657.76 crore as on July 31, 1998. In terms of months, it ranks third among the eastern region's three SEBs with its dues equalling 11.8 months' supplies.

Panel to work out security cover for power dues: The union power ministry will constitute a inter-ministerial committee to work out a mechanism for providing security cover to ensure timely tariff payments by state electricity boards for power purchased from the mega power projects. The move is aimed at expediting the setting up of the Power Trading Corporation. The committee will comprise top brass from the leading financial institutions, power experts and senior power-ministry officials.

Centre may recast appellate authority: Thecentre plans to recast the appellate authority in the finance ministry, which reviews appeals against Sebi's decisions. This follows the shifting of Montek Singh Ahluwalia--who was a member of the authority--to the Planning Commission.

Pakistan's parliament debates CTBT: Pakistan's government on Monday sought parliament's advice on whether it should sign a global nuclear test-ban treaty. Deputy minister for foreign affairs Mohammad Siddique Khan Kanju told parliament's lower house, the national assembly, that the government would welcome members' opinions on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Pakistan, which voted in favour of the CTBT in the UN general assembly in 1996, later refused to sign it because India would not sign the document.

`Broadcasting bill in next session': The broadcasting bill providing compulsory uplinking of satellite television in the country would be introduced in parliament's next session, I&B minister Sushma Sawaraj said in the capital on Tuesday. The legislation, ifapproved by parliament, would help the country save foreign exchange and monitor programme contents of these channels, she said.

Gill files case against his ouster: Former chief executive officer of the Prasar Bharati board SS Gill on Tuesday filed a petition in the Delhi high court challenging his ouster from the post. He has termed the Prasar Bharati ordinance unconstitutional, which terminated his service by reducing his tenure.

Centre mulls foreign stake in insurance ventures: The centre is considering a proposal to allow foreign equity participation of up to 26 per cent in joint-venture insurance companies, senior finance ministry officials said in the capital on Tuesday. The issue of foreign equity is being considered by a ministerial group headed by finance minister Yashwant Sinha, which will decide on it after working out the modalities of private-sector participation in insurance, people in the know of the matter said.