This is because June 30 happens to be the last working day of the accounting year 2004-05, he added.

UBS Securities moves securities tribunal against Sebi ban
Mumbai: On Monday, UBS Securities Asia, a registered foreign institutional investor (FII), moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) against the one-year ban imposed on it by Sebi on May 17, for failing to make appropriate disclosures about one of its clients which had sold heavily on Black Monday, May 17, 2004.

So far, UBS Asia is the only market participant to be pulled up by Sebi for the Black Monday market crash on May 17, 2004. Although UBS was not penalised for heavy selling on that day, it was banned for not disclosing sufficient details about one of its clients, who had sold on that day using the participatory note route.

Participatory notes are offshore derivative instruments used by foreign investors unwilling to invest in India directly.

28 June 2005

Rupee moves up - bonds decline
Mumbai: The rupee strengthened against the dollar on Monday, ending trade at 43.4950/50, higher than Friday's close of 43.53/54.

Forwards market: The 12-month premium closed at 1.34 per cent (1.25 per cent) and the 6-month premium at 1.52 per cent (1.35 per cent).

Call rates: The inter bank rates were between 5.10 and 5.50 per cent (5.10-5.15 per cent). It was dealt at the level of 6-6.15 per cent during the day.

G-Secs: The 8.07 per cent 12-year 2017 bond ended trade at Rs108.35 (7 per cent YTM), against Friday's close of Rs109.02 (6.92 per cent YTM). The 7.38 per cent 10-year 2015 benchmark paper was dealt at Rs103 (6.96 per cent YTM) against the earlier level of Rs103.75 (6.86 per cent YTM).

CBLO market: 240 trades, put through in the rate range of 4.95-6.15 per cent, aggregating Rs7169.6 crore, were realised.

Centre asks States to act quickly on the Pension Bill
New Delhi: The Centre on Monday has asked the States to recognise the need to set up the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) quickly, so that the bill could act as a backbone for all pension-related reforms.

The Bill to set up the PFRDA, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March this year and is currently with the standing committee on finance, needs to be passed quickly, the State Governments were informed at the 51st meeting of the National Development Council (NDC) here.

According to the finance Ministry projections the average annual increase in expenditure on pension was as high as 30 per cent between 1996 and 2001, making it the fastest growing expenditure in the Central and State Budgets. Pension liability has also grown faster than normal GDP and in the last 17 years, while nominal GDP grew by a compounded annual rate of 14.5 per cent, the Centre's outgo on pension increased at a compounded annual rate of 17.8 per cent.

For the State Governments, the pension payments in 1987 stood at Rs 1,391 crore which went up to Rs 35,585 crore in 2004-05, the projection has said.

To bring down the Government liability in pension payment, the New Pension Scheme that has come to effect from January 1, 2004, is based on individual contribution and already nine States have joined it for their own employees.

The Centre has called upon other States to follow suit as that alone can make use of the demographic advantage of having a very large population in the working age.