The present telecom licence structure will be done away with in favour of ``more fundamental and durable solutions'' to impart a major boost to the growth of the sector, prime minister AB Vajpayee indicated in Delhi on Friday. Addressing the 78th annual meeting of Assocham, he said present problems of the telecom sector had been inherited by his government and could not be resolved within the faulty framework of present licence conditions.

IDBI to scale down disbursements target:

IDBI is planning to revise downward its disbursement target for the current financial year. IDBI executive director SK Chakrabarti said the plan is to review the situation in December-end and then announce the new targets. According to him, the disbursement target for fiscal 1998-99 at Rs 23,000 crore is not likely to be achieved because of the continued slowdown in the economy. A more realistic figure would be around Rs 18,000-19,000 crore, a growth of 20-25 per cent over last year's disbursement of Rs 15,000 crore.

Montek favours cess on diesel:

Planning Commission member Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Friday expressed his support for levying a cess on diesel to fund road projects. He said a one rupee cess on diesel can generate Rs 4,000 crore. And a 50 paise cess can yield Rs 2,000 crore. This is the perfect way to finance road projects, he added.

Seagram completes PolyGram takeover:

Seagram Co Ltd has become the world's biggest music company as it completed its takeover of PolyGram NV, and announced a restructuring expected to lead to thousands of job cuts and the departure of well-known executives and artists. Universal Music Group chairman and chief executive officer Doug Morris told Reuters the whole thing's been well thought out and it's going to be done in a way that will create a very artistic and profitable company.

Raju claims another win over India Cements:

Sri Vishnu Cement CMD BV Raju claims to have won another round of battle with the Chennai-based India Cements. In a statement issued in Hyderabad on Friday, Raju said that a single-judge bench of the Delhi high court had--in a order pronounced on Thursday--refused to grant a stay on the public offer made by him, Kalahastheeswara Finance and others to acquire shares of Sri Vishnu Cement.

Curbs on drug prices should go, says Parvinder Singh:

Prices of pharmaceutical products should be allowed to be determined on the basis of competitive market forces rather than externally enforced restrictions, Ranbaxy CMD Parvinder Singh said. Any step in the direction of encouraging industry to invest greater resources in research will have to begin with allowing market forces to operate in the area of drug pricing, Singh said at a two-day World Intellectual Property Organisation seminar on Patent Co-operation Treaty in Mumbai on Thursday.

Sterlite agrees to abide by Neeri conditions:

Sterlite Industries Ltd on Friday agreed to abide by almost all the pre-conditions set out by National Environmental Engineering Institute for reopening its copper smelter plant at Tuticorin. The counsel for the company informed the two-judge green bench of the Madras high court that steps to prevent condensation of moist gas, cleaning of the vented gas through a cleaning system and discontinuation of the by-pass for converter gas would be implemented within 24 hours.

Hindujas, MCM to float new music channel:

Beginning next year, there will be more western music in the air. IndusInd Communications and MCM International have entered a joint venture for starting a 24-hour western music channel for the Indian sub-continent. The 50:50 joint venture seeks to fill the niche market for a dedicated western music service in the region.

Pepsi hires Manisha to endorse brands:

Pepsi Foods has signed up film actress Manisha Koirala to endorse its brands. Manisha joins other Pepsi endorsers such as Shahrukh Khan, Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja, Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar. She will feature in Pepsi advertisements and commercials and will add fizz to the brands through various promotions. Signing up with Pepsi, she said, "Pepsi Chahati Hun Dil Se!"

Banking and Finance

RBI to connect units to help funds flow:

RBI will be linking up three of its departments--the public debt office, the deposit accounts department and the public accounts department--at all its regional centres in a phased manner. This will speed up transmission of funds from government accounts to bank accounts (and vice versa) from all over the country.

Financial sector garners 76% of funds in '98:

Financial services industry accounted for 76 per cent of the total funds mobilised by various sectors through the private placement route in fiscal 1998. This was substantially higher than the 61 per cent share of financial services in the previous year. The funds mobilised by different industries during 1997-98 stood at Rs 30,500 crore.

Software firms gearing up for euro:

It could be a bonanza for Indian software companies. As the time for the launch of the European Union's common currency is approaching fast, Indian software companies are readying themselves to grab a chunk of the big money that will be spent on techonology upgradation from conversion of 11 legacy curries into euro. The Indian software companies are expected to get $1-4 million worth of business from the euro market which is estimated to be in the region of anywhere between $20 billion and $80 billion.

Centre to modify labour laws:

The government is in the process of formulating a set of amendments to certain labour legislations in order to remove irritants and make them industry-friendly. Stating this at a seminar on `Labour legislation for the New Millennium', LD Mishra, secretary, ministry of labour said that the Trade Union Act, 1926 and the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, would undergo major changes both in letter and nomenclature.

Fabric units to gain from new excise scheme:

Roughly 3,000 to 4,000 textile fabric processing houses, 90 per cent of which are in the medium and small scale sector, will benefit from the simplified excise levy scheme notified by the government on Friday. The new scheme is expected to net around Rs 675 crore during 1998-99 against Rs 604 crore during the preceding year.

Plan to revive sick NTC mills:

The textiles ministry is considering a three-pronged strategy to revive NTC's ailing mills. Textiles minister Kashiram Rana said on Friday that out of 119 sick mills under NTC, nearly 50 per cent were now fully or partially closed.