Internet telephony guidelines issued
New Delhi: Only Internet Service Provider (ISP) licencees would be allowed to offer net telephony services, scheduled to be opened from 1 April 2002.

As part of guidelines issued for Internet telephony services, the department of telecom said that ISPs wanting to offer the services would be required to sign an amendment to their original licence agreement.

TRAI has forborne and not levied tariff for internet telephony offered by ISPs over public internet, however, TRAI may review and fix a tariff at any time during the validity of ISP licence which shall be binding on the licencees, an official release said here.

The scope of services would be computer to computer both within and outside India, PC to telephone and IP based H.323/SIP terminals in India to similar terminals both in India and abroad.
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RBI moots gold exchange
New Delhi: Reserve Bank has mooted a Gold Exchange for trading in gold and a self-regulatory agency as part of efforts to develop a market for the precious metal and integrate it with the financial market.

Establishment of a gold exchange would help in efficient price discovery and emergence of healthy and transparent practices in the market, RBI's deputy governor Y V Reddy said at a conference organised by the World Gold Council here.

He said a formal move towards gold exchange would be made once banks start trading among themselves along with MMTC, STC and other big traders in accordance to the demand-supply dynamics.
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Video linked board meeting in offing
Kolkata: The department of company affairs has asked the Institute of Company Secretaries of India to examine the prospects of holding board meetings through video conferencing.

ISCI bosses are working in close coordination with DCA officials on how to implement this. A couple of meetings have been held with some of the leading Indian companies and multinationals. Some of the critical issues that came up for discussion included aspects like the legal framework, management as well as problems of technical security. Already a draft report has been made and placed before DCA.

Advancement in information technology has made video conferencing possible thus enabling people sitting at a distance to effectively communicate or interact with each other. It is now possible to think about holding board meetings using this tool of information technology which would not only save time but also costs.
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Malaysia keen on JV for core projects
Mumbai: The Malaysian government is keen on technical tie-ups with state governments here to participate in infrastructure projects.

It has already tied up with the Tamil Nadu government to implement a Rs 2,700-crore project to set up a container port in Kolachal near Kanyakumari. It also plans to set up an 11-km-long elevated highway connecting Chennai port with Meenambakkam airport.

Malaysia is talking to the Maharashtra government for a similar technical tie-up.
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Govt, Suzuki pact on Maruti rights issue
New Delhi: Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) of Japan and the government have finalised the pricing of the shares for the proposed rights issue in their joint venture Maruti Udyog as part of the exercise to privatise the car company.

The government has decided to offload its equity in the 50:50 JV, beginning with a rights issue of Rs 400 crore where the Indian partner would abstain for consideration of a renunciation premium.

The cabinet committee on disinvestment had earlier cleared a proposal to dilute equity in the company through a rights issue to be followed by a public offering.
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57 FDI proposals worth Rs 1,113 crore cleared
New Delhi: A Rs 356-crore proposal of Winny Electron Enterprise, a Taiwanese company, for acquiring 100 per cent equity in New Delhi-based AVN Winfotech Ltd was among the 57 Foreign Direct Investment cases worth Rs 1,113 crore approved by the government.

The proposals were cleared by the Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran on the basis of the recommendations made by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, an official release said here today.

A Rs 235 crore proposal of a French company, Hoechst Schering Agroevo, to increase its equity from 51 per cent to 74 per cent in Gujarat-based company, Bilag Industries, was also cleared.

Japanese company, Toyota Motor Corporation's, proposal to hike equity in its Indian arm from 88.88 per cent to 99 per cent with the infusion of Rs 106.5 crore was also approved.
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Maharashtra transport strike called off
Mumbai: The five-day-long strike by transporters in Maharashtra was withdrawan on 21 March following talks between Maharashtra Truck Tempo Vahatuk Mahasangh and chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh here.

The government would file an affidavit in the court within two weeks explaining its difficulties for providing facilities for conversion of 15-year-old vehicles to CNG or LPG mode.

Similarly, the government would consider some of their other demands including granting luxury contract carriage permits to private buses plying within the state, which were earlier plying on all India tourist permits and were put under non-use since 10 January 2002 following policies adopted by regional transport and police departments.
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Investment limit in RBI relief bonds lifted
New Delhi: The government has lifted the Rs two lakh investment limit for investing in RBI relief bonds but kept the interest rate on the bonds at a lower 8 per cent.

The move is part of government's effort to provide some relief to small investors and retired persons in earning high returns on their savings even after the 0.5 per cent cut in small savings rates.

The ceiling of Rs two lakh per investor will not apply to relief bonds, which were purchased prior to 1 March 2002 but are yet to mature.
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IOC to expand Panipat refinery
New Delhi: Indian Oil plans to double the capacity of its Panipat refinery to 240,000 barrels per day.

IOC plans to import additional crude oil and pump it 1,500 km across using a pipeline that currently transports petroleum products.

The pipeline links Kandla to Bhatinda. It will be connected with the refinery at Panipat by extending the pipeline by another 200 km.
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