IFC pulls out of venture capital project with SIDBI
New Delhi: The venture capital project being planned by SIDBI and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), specifically aimed at IT projects that have plans to enter markets abroad, is in danger of not taking off.

The IFC has indicated to SIDBI its inability to take part in the fund, apparently on some minor technical problem. Officials of SIDBI said the IFC had pointed out that being the private sector lending arm of the World Bank, it would be unable to contribute to the corpus of the VCF since SIDBI did not fall within its definition of `private sector'.

To avail of IFC assistance, more than 51 per cent holding in the institution should be privately held, they said. However, though SIDBI had recently been delinked from Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), the enabling legislation had proposed that at no point of time should Government-controlled institutions, including the erstwhile parent DFI, hold less than 51 per cent of SIDBI equity.

Faced with the prospect of the IFC turning down the offer, SIDBI had begun scouting for other possible alliances to float the fund. SIDBI officials said the bank was looking for an international partner having in-depth knowledge of the US market for the VCF, since most of the efforts by small Indian IT companies to spread their wings abroad would be aimed at establishing a foothold in that market.
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Cabinet to consider new aviation policy soon
New Delhi: The new civil aviation policy, which seeks to give a major thrust to the operation of small aircraft and expansion of air services in the country, is to be sent for Cabinet approval during the week, senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation have said. The policy will focus on making domestic aviation ``less elitist and expand the reach of the sector to the far corners of the country.''
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Allahabad Bank to rope in HDFC for marketing home loans
Calcutta: Allahabad Bank, one of the country’s oldest banks, has roped in Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) to guide it in marketing its home loan schemes. The bank has decided to open 100 specialised cells, which will cater exclusively to the housing loan borrowers.

HDFC will guide Allahabad Bank to quicken the process of loan sanctioning and other important aspects of housing loan appraisals upto Rs 10 lakh. The country's largest housing finance company will also provide its technical guidance to the bank in handling legal formalities relating to housing loan schemes.

HDFC will train the senior officials of the bank, who will be put in charge of these cells. The bank is formulating a model plan, where the detailed procedure from processing to sanctioning is given with the aim of sanctioning loans within 24 hours and borrowers will not have to move from counter to counter.
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