Coup in Pakistan, army in control
New Delhi: The army moved in on 12 October to take control in Pakistan, virtually imprisoning prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his cabinet colleagues in their homes. Pakistani Television announced in the night that the Nawaz Sharif government has been dismissed and the army is in control of airports and other key installations. Residences of governors in Karachi and Peshawar have also been taken over by the army, reports from Pakistan said.

The move was prompted by the dismissal of army chief General Parvez Musharraf by Mr Sharif earlier in the day and his replacement by Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Khawaja Ziauddin. General Musharraf was in Sri Lanka when the announcement of his replacement was made. The coup took place on his return to Pakistan in the afternoon.

The United States reacted to the news saying a coup will make it difficult for the US to conduct business as usual with Pakistan.
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Reforms to go on: Sinha
New Delhi: With the new government set to assume office, the finance ministry has assured heads of banks and financial institutions that reforms in the sector will continue to be on top of the government's agenda.

Finance minister Yashwant Sinha said a new finance minister will take the final decisions, but there need not be any doubt about the reforms. He said the ministry will open up the insurance sector as promised and steps will be taken towards revamping the banking and legal systems.

Prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is giving the final touches to his cabinet formation. The prime minister held several rounds of consultations with senior Bharatiya Janata Party colleagues and with alliance partners. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has decided to participate in the government.
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IIP moves up in August 1999
New Delhi: In August 1999, the index of industrial production rose 6.3 per cent compared to the 4.4 per cent in August 1998. This is mainly due to the performance of the consumer durables and capital goods sectors. Mining, manufacturing and electricity grew 1.9 per cent, 6.1 per cent and 10.9 per cent in August 1999, compared to the 0.6 per cent, 4.5 per cent and 6.8 per cent in August 1998 respectively.
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Rupee may be kept stable
Mumbai: Foreign exchange dealers expect the Reserve Bank of India to help stabilise the rupee at the current level, in case there is selling pressure as a result of the instability in Pakistan, where the army has taken over. On 12 October 1999, the rupee lost seven paise to close at 43.4350 vis--vis the dollar.
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Some banks may not be able to meet CRR norms
Mumbai: Some Indian banks may be unable to meet the cash reserve ratio requirements by 31 December 1999. They feel that depositors will go in for huge cash withdrawals fearing a system crash owing to any Y2K bug. Banks are asking the Reserve Bank of India to relax the CRR levels on 31 December 1999, which happens to be the reporting Friday, or remove the reporting requirement on that day.

The RBI, in turn, has planned to introduce greater liquidity into the system at year-end so as to marginalise any Y2K-related cash crunch in the financial system.
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ARCs to help banking sector
New Delhi: Reforms in the banking industry are likely to start with the formation of an asset reconstruction company, in which the government will most likely hold a 51 per cent stake. The M S Verma Committee has suggested the formation of an ARC with a life of seven years, and with a government holding of 49 per cent in an equity of Rs.1,000 crore.
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IDBI Bank likely to introduce novel card
Calcutta: IDBI Bank and a state transport corporation may jointly launch a ‘smart card’ that will allow passengers to gain entry into buses by swiping such as card in machines that will be installed in buses. The bank and the state government agency may jointly invest in the venture, which may take the form of a new company.

According to Deepak Mukerjee, mamaging director, IDBI Bank, the feasibility of the venture is currently being studied. Even a person who does not hold an account with the bank will be able to place a deposit with the bank, which will be adjusted depending on the extent of usage of the bus service.
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HC: Licences are under the purview of Govt., DoT
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has ruled that licence-related matters come under the control of the government and the department of telecommunications. In another judgement, the court has issued a stay on the show cause notice that Trai has issued to S Rajagopalan, chairman and managing director, MTNL, chargin him with violating tariff rules when MTNL launched its mobile services.

Meanwhile, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. has made the necessary changes in its memorandum of association to enable it to enter domestic telecom services, including long distance telephony. VSNL has got permission from DoT to enter the long distance telephony market.

MTNL is also expected to make similar amendments to its memorandum of association.
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BPL Mobile proposes CPP system
Pune: BPL Mobile plans to introduce the calling-party-pays system of payment for incoming calls, which will make cellular services cheaper.
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