BackRBI proposes 3 modes of electronic payments
RBI proposes 3 modes of electronic payments
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Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, has proposed that with effect from 1 April, all payment transactions of Rs1 crore and above between RBI regulated entities may be mandated to be undertaken through electronic mode only to ensure safety, security of the payment systems.
In an approach paper put on its website, RBI has proposed three modes of electronic payments— Real time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System, National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) System and Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) for these transactions between banks, primary dealers and non banking finance companies (NBFCs) as well as in RBI regulated markets as money market, government securities market and foreign exchange market.
It also plans to chalk out rules for companies in the credit card business and plans to make it mandatory for all players to register themselves.
—Anup Roy
Ranbaxy Labs to finalize details of hived-off arm
New Delhi: India’s largest drug maker by sales Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd will finalize details and exact structure of its hived off research unit on Tuesday after seeking the approval of its board. In line with what Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Nicholas Piramal India Pvt Ltd have done, the pharmaceutical company will transfer all its new drug research activities to the new entity and list it on the stock exchanges.
Ranbaxy shareholders are likely to get a certain number of shares in the new unit. Chief executive Malvinder M. Singh had told Mint in November that the new company would look at a listing overseas in exchanges such as Singapore, the US or the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market.
—Bhuma Shrivastava
DoT to hold meet for allocating airwaves
New Delhi: The department of telecommunications, or DoT will be holding another round of discussions with the country’s defence authorities on Wednesday, as the department seeks vacation of additional radio spectrum by the defence in order to allocate airwaves to new entrants such as Unitech Ltd and Chennai-based S Tel Ltd.
As many as nine new applicants were issued letters of intent, or LoIs, with all of them still waiting for spectrum.
“We need to find out if the defence authorities are looking to vacate spectrum in phases, or in one go, depending on which of these applicants could be accommodated," said a senior DoT official who did not wish to be identified.
—Pankaj Mishra
Govt issues second lot of fertilizer bonds
New Delhi: The government on Monday issued the second and final tranche of fertilizer bonds to 23 fertilizer companies. The bonds worth Rs3,610 crore, out of the total Rs7,500 crore promised in the first supplementary budget, will have a tenure of 18 years and yield a return of 7.95%.
These bonds will be transferable but not eligibile as investment in securities by banks and insurance companies for their statutory requirements. The first tranche of Rs3,890 crore, which was issued on 7 December had a 16 year term and a yield of 8.3%. “The terms and conditions are much worse than last time," said R. C. Gupta, deputy director general of the Fertilizer Association of India.
—Udit Misra
PM assures Mayawati of additional assistance
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Monday the state would get Central assistance worth over Rs80,000 crore in the 11th Plan and that the total resources available to the state in the five-year period would be Rs2,80,000 crore. That’s a jump of three -and-a- half times compared with the 10th Plan period.
Following her meeting, Mayawati said she had pressed for fast-tracking Central sanction to the Taj International Airport project, special package of Rs80,000 crore for the development of Bundelkhand and Purvanchal areas of the state and Central assistance for power projects and other schemes.
She said she had decided to meet the Prime Minister before taking a final decision on her threat to withdraw support to the UPA government at the Centre for ignoring her demands for the development of the state. In a press release, the prime minister’s office said Singh assured her that a special package for Bundelkhand would be prepared and that a group of ministers was looking into the airport project.
—Ashish Sharma
M&M ties up with Italian co for defence systems
New Delhi: India’s largest maker of utility vehicles Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd said on Monday it will set up a joint venture with a unit of Italy’s largest defence company Finmeccanica SpA to make underwater defence systems. The unit called Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (Wass) will hold a 26% equity stake and Mahindra the rest, said Khutub A. Hai, the chief executive of Mahindra’s defence systems unit. The two companies will invest Rs50 crore in the new venture which will target a potential market worth $500 million. Mahindra currently supplies vehicles to the Army and earns Rs100 crore from this business.
Staff Writer
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