President sets reforms agenda
New Delhi: Setting an agenda for reforms to achieve 8 per cent growth, President K.R. Narayanan on 25 February said agriculture will be freed from the shackles of the past by modifying the essential commodities act and allowing inter-state movement of farm products.

Starting the budget session by his address to the parliament, Narayanan said the government will take steps to strengthen rural credit co-operatives to provide critical input to farmers at their doorsteps and formulate a comprehensive strategy to check post-harvest losses totalling Rs 70,000 crore every year.

Narayanan said reforms in the power sector would be hastened. He said the new electricity bill will make power reforms mandatory for all states.

Narayanan said the government will soon announce new policy initiatives to encourage Indian-owned shipping companies to compete globally.
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Airlines to slash agents commission
Mumbai:  Jet Airways and Indian Airlines have decided to cut back on commissions to travel agents from 1 March.

The cut, which has been initiated by Jet Airways, will be from 9 per cent to 7 per cent in the US dollar fares and from 6.9 per cent to 5 per cent on Indian rupee fares.

Indian Airlines too has intimated travel agents that it had been badly hit by the fall in domestic and inbound traffic and is, therefore, reducing the commission.
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RBI detects 1,000 cases of fund diversions
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has detected over 1,000 cases of fund diversion by corporate bodies.

Banks with highest number of fund diversion cases include Oriental Bank of Commerce (125 cases), Andhra Bank (69), Indian Bank (63), State Bank of India (41), State Bank of Hyderabad (38), Canara Bank (69), Punjab National Bank (25) and Syndicate Bank (28).

Prominent companies found to have indulged in fund diversion include Modern Woollens, PantherFincap & Management Services, Parasampuria Synthetic, Unicorp Industries, IFB Industries, Real Value Appliances, MS Shoes (East), Ganapathy Exports, Krishna Filaments, Lloyds Finance, Core Health Care, Mid-east Integrated Steel, VHEL, ATV Projects, JK Synthetics, JCT and group companies Mukund group, Sanghi Polyesters, and SPIC.

Others include Ramco Industries, Kuber group, Bestavision Electronics, Western India group, Rajinder Steels, Rajasthan Breweries, Dalmia Industries, Montari Industries, Dunlop India, DCM Hyundai, Apple Finance, Enkay Foods and Steel Strips. Banks have initiated legal and recovery proceedings against most of these companies.
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Interest rates on housing loans reduced
Bangalore: Syndicate Bank has revised downwards its interest rate on housing loans, effective 1 March.

The revised interest rates on loans up to Rs 10 lakh would attract interest at 11.25 per cent, while that above Rs 10 lakh would be at 11.75 per cent.

A rebate of 0.5 per cent was admissible on loan with prompt repayment of instalments. With this rebate, the effective rate of interest for loans of Rs 10 lakh would be 10.75 per cent, the lowest in the industry.
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Mittal richest Asian in UK
London: As many as eight people of Indian origin figure among Britain's top 300 millionaires while steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal is the richest Asian, followed by NRI businessmen Hinduja brothers, according to Rich Report, 2002.

Lord Swraj Paul, chairman of the Caparo Group, is the seventh richest Asian with a fortune worth 160 million pounds, next only to hotelier Jasminder Singh (268 million pounds), pharmacy bosses Vijay and Bhikhu Patel (230 million pounds) and fashion boss Tom Singh (213 million pounds).

With an estimated one billion pound worth, Mittal, one of world's biggest steel barons, remains a billionaire even though his fortune has taken a battering in the past year.

Hinduja Brothers, whose business empire spans media, oil, banking and films, are the second richest Asians in Britain with a fortune worth 650 million pounds.
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