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Politics Business Expressions General Sports Leisure States Wednesday, March 25, 1998   RBI mops up Rs 1,900 crore The Reserve Bank of India's "operation rollback" triggered frenzied activities in money, forex markets on Tuesday with banks rushing to buy government securities (gilts) from the RBI sale window. The forward premium on dollar also continued to move southwards. The RBI mopped up Rs 1,900 crore through the sale window.   ANZ Grindlays cuts PLR, others to follow Foreign banks have started slashing their prime lending rates (PLR) following the reduction in bank rate and cash reserve ratio (CRR). ANZ Grindlays Bank cut its prime lending rate (PLR) by 100 basis points to 17% yesterday. ANZ Grindlays is the first foreign bank to cut its PLR following the RBI's decision to slash the CRR to 10%. FIPB proposes duty relief to foreign cos The core group of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board has recommended duty relief to foreign firms which suffer losses due to sudden changes in policy or court decisions having a direct implication on their business activities. The group is of the view that representation of foreign investors in such cases should be considered with understanding. BSE to invest Rs 30 cr in depository The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has decided to pump in a minimum equity of Rs 30 crore in Central Depository Services (India) Ltd. The BSE is currently targeting its member-brokers to pick up an equity stake in the venture. The BSE has already received commitments to raise 75% of the capital from eligible promoters.   M&M core team to make new products The utility vehicle maker, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has set up a core team of research and development professionals to work on a new utility vehicle for the Indian market. The Integrated Design and Manufacture (IDAM) team will reportedly build a range of new generation of utility vehicles to take on the world majors. Three TVS group NBFCs plan merger Two Chennai-based non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) of the TVS group are set to merge. Harita Srinivasa Finance (P) Ltd, a newly incorporated company, is also to be merged. The merged entity will ultimately have a new name that is yet to be decided. The effective date of the merger has been fixed as April 1, 1998.     Microsoft to set up SDC in Hyderabad   Port strike hits container traffic   Few takers for ELSS of mutual funds   TVS Suzuki posts over Rs 1,000 cr turnover   EIL pegs cost of Spic project at Rs 4800 cr   Bull rally runs out of steam   Bizbits