Cabinet caps foreign stake in insurance at 26%
The Union cabinet has decided to to limit foreign participation at 26% from the level of 40% mentioned in the Insurance Regulatory Authority Bill.

FIs, banks may convert part of steel loans into bonds
Financial institutions and banks are chalking out a strategy to recast their exposure in the "politically sensitive" steel sector.

Centre eases new drug molecules export norms
The commerce and chemicals ministries are believed to have convinced the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) to roll back several of the conditions laid down for the export of new drug molecules.

  Executive Briefing
  Maintain HR floor price, urge producers
  Bhagwat issue rocks Lok Sabha
  Opposition demands withdrawal of diesel surcharge
  `VOIP may be offered free by ISPs within five years'
  Nact campaign to check software piracy well received
  Home PC segment cool to finance schemes
  E-mail queries wake up jute firms to Net business
  Poor transmission may hit DVB's move to absorb additional power
  No scope for changes in budget proposals
  CBDT chief calls for changing mindset of tax payers
  KPCL finance team recast for better debt management
  Mumbai-Pune Expressway to catch up on lost time
  Falling euro forces corporates to shelve bond programmes
  Financial briefing
  In Brief
  `Risk management is not about counting losses'
  CII seeks core status for healthcare sector
  KSEB order puts NTPC in a fix
  Revenue receipts inadequate to meet debt payments -- Iris
  I-Sec sees Rs 115,000 crore deposit accretion in '98-99
  Zero-duty export scheme extended to tourism sector
  Sickness dogs small-scale engineering units
  Market Briefing
  Challenge IPR on genetic resources -- Experts
  `Indo-Pak trade body to prepare negative list'
  Robusta likely to make up for fall in arabica output
  Textile mills urge Sinha to revoke excise duty relief
  Women throng textile sector in larger numbers, says study
  China firms may be unable to repay debt, says Moody's
  Indonesian banks need extra recapitalisation dose -- S&P