Finance minister urged to liberalise oilseed imports
Representatives of oil and oilseeds industry has urged Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha to liberalise imports of oilseeds instead of concentrating only on edible oil import as this would enable foreign exchange savings to the tune of Rs 200 crore per annum.
New turnover limit likely for excise duty concessions to SSIs
Union industry minister Sikander Bakht has said that the turnover limit for concessions in excise duty for the small-scale industry needs to be revised. Speaking at the third small-scale industry summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Bakht said that the duty free slab of turnover has remained stagnant at Rs 30 lakh over the last 12 years even though the cost inputs have increased sharply.
Bankers await an expansionary credit policy
Bankers are expecting an expansionary credit policy this year which will give a boost to sectors like infrastructure which in turn will help generate demand for cement and steel -- the two industries now facing a slowdown. Any liquidity overhand is expected to be absorbed by the huge cash needs of the core sector.
Credit, deposits up 1.4% in first fortnight of '98-99
Growth in the aggregate deposits and credit continued unabated into the new fiscal year. Credit as well as deposits increased by 1.4% during the first fortnight of financial year 1998-99.
Sidbi signs pact with IL&FS, Tidco to float venture capital fund
Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) has signed an agreement with Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Company (IL&FS) and Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco) to float a venture capital fund dedicated to investments in software companies. The agreement was signed in the first week of April. The fund which is specific to Tamil Nadu with an initial corpus of Rs 30 crore will be registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) soon.
Nabard suggests 8% capital adequacy for regional banks
The expert committee, set up by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) to review its supervisory role, has recommended eight per cent capital adequacy norms for cooperative banks and regional rural banks. It has also called for setting up of an autonomous board of supervision for cooperative banks and regional rural banks (RRBs).
