The country's forex reserves, which include gold and special drawing rights, fell by $99 million to $33.43 billion during the week ended June 4, RBI's weekly statistical statement said on Saturday. The Government's borrowings under the ways and means advances account rose to Rs 45.06 billion for the week ended May 28, which indicates that the Centre's borrowing was within its limit of Rs 82.50 billion.

Decision on Mahindra project soon

A firm decision on the multi-crore integrated design and manufacturing project of the utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra would be taken within a week, Maharashtra minister of state for home Bala Nandgaonkar said on Saturday. The minister's announcement comes in the wake of Andhra Pradesh government's offer of free land for the project. M&M has demanded sales-tax concessions from the state government for setting up the facility.

Skindia GDR Index up 1.10%

Expectations of removal of sanctions by the US andother countries on one hand and tensions at the Kargil front on the other played the balancing act in the GDR market during the week ended June 10. During the week under review, the Skindia GDR Index gained a modest 8.39 points to close at 769.83 points against the June 3 close of 761.44 points-a gain of 1.10 per cent.

Ind Auto plans

Ind Auto, Fiat's subsidiary in India and makers of Uno and Siena models, plan to step up exports from the country over the next few months. The company is also contemplating whether to precede the launch of Palio by its station wagon model later this year. The company has also bagged an order for exporting 100 Uno models to Malaysia, managing director G Ravina said on Saturday.

World Cup led to high IIP growth

Economists feel that it is too early to draw any conclusions from the IIP for April which registered an impressive 6.8 per cent growth over April 1998. But the spurt in the consumer durables segment, with 18.4 per cent growth, can be attributed to theCricket World Cup, they say. BB Bhattacharya, professor at the Institute of Economic Growth said, "All companies in this sector are aggressively marketing their products."

Auto makers plea to Centre

Automobile manufacturers on Saturday made a plea to the Government to chalk out a blueprint for meeting emission norms. Auto firms also said that the Centre should stick to specifying emission norms and leave industry to decide on technology options. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers president Venu Srinivasan, a reasonable lead time is a must for manufacturers to deliver quality products.

Fedders to set up manufacturing unit

Fedders Corporation, one of the largest manufacturers of room air-conditioners in North America, is setting up a wholly-owned facility in India for manufacturing state-of-the-art machines. It has received FIPB nod to set up the facility. The plant will be set up in Silvasa with an initial investment which will be under $10 million.

Strategicpartnership is key

Philips India, which is banking on strategic alliance to achieve high-end technological advancement, has embarked on a partner identification exercise. Philips has key alliances with Sony and Microsoft. Philips Electronics NV chief technology officer Roel Kramer said that software-based new generation products would be the future.

Economy in peril: Assocham

Mid-term polls and the conflict in Kargil may push upwards inflation rate and fiscal deficit thus forcing the economy back into the red, Assocham said on Saturday. "The impending financial disequilibrium would need to be stabilised, if the negative fallout in term of inflationary pressures, high interest rates and crowding out of private investment is to be kept at bay," president KP Singh said in a statement.

New IndusInd Bank chairman

IndusInd Bank has promoted Arjun G Asrani to succeed Solomon Raj as the bank's chairman for three years. Raj's term ended in April and has since joined the IndusInd federationas its chairman. Asrani has been on the board as a founder director since the bank's inception in 1994.

Three-day fixed rate repos

The RBI has announced a 3-day fixed-rate repos in government securities on June 14 for parties holding SGL account and current account with it at Mumbai. The repo rate is 6.00 per cent per annum. Applications should be addressed to the chief GM, internal debt management cell, central office, Mumbai and submitted before 1330 hrs on June 14.

Advani claims BJP will win 300 seats

The home minister LK Advani on Saturday claimed that the BJP would win 300 seats in the ensuing polls and asked the party workers to prepare for it. Addressing a convention, Advani said that political uncertainty created by the Congress led to the fall of successive coalition governments would help improve his party's prospects.

FD investors shift from NBFCs

The changes in RBI guidelines for non-banking finance companies is causing a lot of hardship to NBFCs. With severalNBFCs having defaulted in paying back investors' money, people are now extremely wary of investing in them.

Visa takes off on consumer awareness

Taking note of customer needs, Visa International is all set to launch a guide incorporating all the dos and don'ts of cards. Visa country manager, south Asia, Rahul Khosla, says, "This guide focuses on how you can use your credit card to your advantage."

Intel takes multimedia to rural India

Intel seeks to broadbase the learning systems in rural India through a highly innovating programme called `Computers for You'.

Fewer cows cannot produce more milk

The milch cow population in the country has gone down from 54 million in 1961 to 27 million in 1995. Over the same period, milk production has risen from 10 million tonnes to 30 million tonnes.

Niche TV network on anvil

The cable universe today reaches 67 million homes. ESPN's revenues are over $1 billion, and nobody could possibly call it narrow. `Narrow' or `niche network'now means an all-golf channel or all-anthropolgy channel.