Cabinet approves 3 important bills
New Delhi: The Union cabinet cleared three important bills which will amend existing law. These relate to opening up the markets for derviatives trading; the prevention of money laundering  and the Foreign Exchange Management Act. The cabinet also ratified the controversial telecom policy, enabling private telecom operators to migrate from the fixed licence fee regime to a revenue sharing arrangement.

The cabinet also decided to set up an autonomous Securities Appellate Authority and entrust it with the appellate functions now being handled by the finance ministry. A decision on the draft information technology bill covering digital signature, data protection and computer offences was deferred for want of time.

The Fema and money laundering bills provide the foundation for regulating foreign exchange transactions until full convertibility is introduced. The Securities and Contract Regulations Act will clear the way for index-based trading.
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Insurance licences to take some time
New Delhi: Private players intending to enter the insurance sector in India will have to wait at least for some more time after the insurance bill is passed to get their licences. Insurance Regulatory Authority chairman N. Rangachary says the IRA will take some nine to 12 months to process the applications and issue the licences.

Addressing a seminar on Indo-US economic partnership organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. Mr Rangachary said there will be no limits on the number of players that will be allowed to enter the sector. The IRA will carefully consider the financial strength of each of the players before licences are issued.
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Bonds for police welfare corporation
Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation is raising Rs 107-crore through a state government guaranteed bond issue. The proceeds of the issue will be used to repay the corporation's high cost borrowings from financial institutions.

The organisation plans to issue 10-year bonds on a private placement basis with a coupon rate of 13.20 per cent per annum payable semi-annually. The bonds will be redeemed in eight equal installments starting from the end of the third year. The effective yield on the bond works out to13.64 per cent.
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Centre places security paper with RBI
Mumbai: The government has privately placed Rs 3,500 crore of the 12.29 per cent 2010 security with the Reserve Bank of India at a price of Rs 103.75 crore. With this, the government has raised Rs 72,130 crore in the current financial year, thereby completing 86 per cent of its targeted gross market borrowing for 1999-2000.

Meanwhile, the RBI has discontinued purchase of 17 outstanding issues of 364-day treasury bills from the market. The central bank had indicated an offer to purchase these bills on its purchase window since October 16.
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J&K Bank to enter insurance sector
New Delhi: Jammu & Kashmir Bank will enter the insurance sector in association with a foreign partner. Bank chairman M.Y. Khan said the details are being finalised and the Reserve Bank of India has already given in-principle clearance for the proposed venture. The bank is in talks with two prospective partners and it will deal in life as well as non-life insurance products.

The proposal gets a boost as the government has cleared the insurance sector privatisation bill.
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RBI guidelines to banks on credit risk
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to evaluate both balance sheet and off-balance sheet credit exposures on a daily basis and has sought the creation of board-level credit committees as part of its final guidelines on risk management.

The RBI has asked the banks to take up these guidelines for discussion at their next board meetings and review the progress in its implementation at half-yearly intervals. The guidelines specify credit risk as the top priority.
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Foreign banks seek permissions for V-SATs
Mumbai: Foreign banks including Citibank, American Express Bank, Bank of America and Chase Manhattan Bank have sought the department of telecommunications' permission to set up V-SAT systems as a second line of defence in case the normal telecom set-up malfunctions as a result of the Y2K glitch. The banks have sought a single window clearance for these systems.

Some of these banks have already received DoT permission to set up V-Sat systems under the supervision of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. They want single window clearance in order to speed up approvals from the Wireless Planning Commission and Special Advisory Committee for Frequency Allocation, whose permissions are required for setting up V-SATs.
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Truckers strike
New Delhi: Truck operators all over the country went on an indefinite strike, demanding a rollback of the increased prices of diesel. The government, however, was firm in its stand, saying the issue was not negotiable.

The All-India Motor Transport Congress, which is spearheading the strike, said about 5 lakh vehicles have gone off the road. The government refuted the claim and said trucks are plying in states and essential commodities are still moving.

It is learnt that truckers in West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Assam have expressed their reluctance to participate in the strike.
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