Rajasthan governor Darbara Singh died on Sunday evening at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences following a massive heart attack. He was 71. He was admitted to the hospital on Friday evening after he complained of chest pain. He suffered a cardiac arrest this morning and efforts to resuscitate him proved futile, a hospital spokesman said.

Europe to snub US over sanctions: The United States' calls for sanctions over New Delhi's nuclear tests will be snubbed by the European Union on Monday, despite growing concerns about the threat they pose to the security and stability of the sub-continent. European Union's foreign ministers are expected to condemn the tests and urge prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to sign the CTBT.

US Banks lobby US administration:

US bankers are waging a vigorous lobbying campaign to persuade the Clinton administration to go easy in imposing economic sanctions on New Delhi for conducting five nuclear tests. ChaseManhattan, Citicorp, BankAmerica and American Express are worried that if the sanctions are strictly enforced they might have to close down their operations in India. At the least, the sanctions could drive them out of lucrative business of lending to state-owned domestic firms, experts say.

PFC ECB may sail through:

State-run Power Finance Corporation is sanguine that its $100-million external commercial borrowings will be fully subscribed. Standard & Poor's decision to change the country's outlook from stable to negative will have no impact on the float, senior officials say.

Modest hike in upper-class rail fare likely:

A modest hike in upper-class fares, minor adjustments in sleeper class and suburban rates and rationalisation of the freight structure are likely to figure in this year's railway budget. Those in the know say railway minister Nitish Kumar will spare second-class passengers from the spectre of a stiff hike in fares in his first budget on May 29.

Pfizermove:

Pfizer Ltd is believed to have approached the ministry of commerce for detailing the implications of widespread domestic interests in sildenafil citrate, the bulk active that goes into the making of the anti-impotency drug Viagra. The move follows its American parent's recent outlining of guidelines for "appropriate" and "inappropriate" use, where it has stressed that patients taking nitrates, including nitroglycerin and long-acting nitrates commonly used for chest pain, should refrain from using the drug.

BPL Mobile, Hutchison Max to charge licence fee:

Stung by low air-time usage and shrinking billings, BPL Mobile and Hutchison Max say they will pass on the DoT-imposed annual wireless licence fee to their subscribers. The two city-based cellular operators were subsidising the fee -- Rs 100 a subscriber -- for the past two and a half years.

Unilever plan to hive off non-core business may come true:

Unilever's plan to hive off its speciality chemicals business in thecountry is expected to get a boost from the merger of Pond's India with Hindustan Lever. Unilever had sold its worldwide non-core speciality chemicals business to ICI Plc a year ago. Analysts say Unilever's plan may come true now that Quest, the speciality chemicals' division of Pond's which contributes nearly 25 per cent to its net profit, has merged into Hindustan Lever.

SAIL chief calls for 7% hike in steel price:

SAIL chief executive Arvind Pande has called for a 7 per cent hike in steel prices to offset the rise in input costs. The public-sector steel behemoth has to shell out an additional Rs 1,600 crore to meet the costs. Pande has also asked the centre to set up its direct and indirect support that will help SAIL to attain its targeted Rs 300-crore net profit in 1998-99.

Inflation touches 6.14 per cent:

The inflation rate ruled above 6 per cent for the second successive week, inching up to 6.14 per cent for the week ended May 9, compared with last week's 6.05 per cent. A steeprise in tea, coffee, sugar, vegetables and beer prices pushed up the Wholesale Price Index by 0.1 per cent during the week.

Suburban railway corporation:

Minister of state for railways Ram Naik on Sunday announced that a separate corporation for suburban railway in Mumbai will be set up on May 26 after the railways and the Maharashtra government sign an agreement on this score. He said a new train service from Mumbai to Mangalore would be introduced from May 31 on the Konkan railway section.

DoT to be made into a corporation soon:

The department of telecommunications (DoT) will soon be made into a corporation, information broadcasting and communications minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday. She said the centre was committed to the move as it featured on the BJP-led government's national agenda.

Equities set for pre-budget rally:

Punters are betting on a rally on Monday if badla rates are fixed at around 12-15 per cent at the turn of the new settlement. They are optimisticthat the Sensex will scale 4200 points before finance minister Yashwant Sinha unveils his first union budget in the Lok Sabha on June 1.

LIC plans to create additional MD posts:

LIC plans to create three additional managing directors' posts to look after pension and provident business, international operations and real estate in the current fiscal in its bid to become more market-savvy. LIC's executive directors currently manage its pension, provident business and international operations, while the real-estate wing is nurtured by one of the two managing directors. The move has to be ratified by the LIC board and the ministry of finance.

Pakistan policy based on consensus, says Vajpayee:

Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has told a German newspaper that New Delhi's policy on Pakistan is firmly rooted in national consensus. He said the country wants "good relations" with China and dismissed suggestions that domestic political compulsions forced him to conduct the five nuclear tests.