SC grants bail to Bharat Shah
New Delhi: Film financier and diamond merchant Bharat Shah got bail from the supreme court 15 months after he was arrested for his alleged links with Chota Shakeel gang to extort money from film actors and producers.

Observing that the prosecution has not established any cogent evidence linking Shah to the extortion racket allegedly operated by the Dawood Ibrahim gang, of which Shakeel is a key member, a bench comprising Justice M B Shah and Justice B P Singh ordered release of Shah from judicial custody forthwith.

The Court asked Shah to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties of the like amount and directed him to surrender his mobile phone to the investigating agency.

He was in judicial custody after the arrest under the Maharashtra control of organised crime act.
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Housing loans become cheaper
New Delhi: A number of banks, including SBI, Corporation Bank and Indian Overseas Bank, have cut the interest rate on housing loan by half a percentage point to 11 per cent from 1 April 2002.

Other leading institutions like ICICI and HDFC, Punjab National Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce are planning to follow suit.

ICICIs review committee would meet next week to take a final view on the issue. At present, ICICI is charging a floating interest rate of 11.5 per cent on housing loan, repayable in 15 years on a monthly reducing balance.
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Tata Energy awards for corporates
New Delhi: The Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) has recognised corporate initiatives in environmental management with its first set of awards.

A panel chaired by NHRC chief J S Verma screened 89 case studies from diverse industry sectors to select three winners. Shriram Alkali and Chemicals, Jhagadia unit, wins in the category of companies with a turnover of less than Rs 100 crore a year.

Seshasayee Paper and Boards, Erode, wins the race for category II - companies with a turnover between Rs 100 crore and Rs 500 crore a year. And, in the category of companies with a turnover of more than Rs 500 crore a year, the winner is Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperatives Phulpur unit.
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RBI moots advisory board
New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India has asked the government to explore possibilities of setting up an adivsory board for evolving best practices in the discharge of its duties as banker to both central and state governments.

The RBI may also have to consider shedding retail banking business to maintain only government's accounts, RBI deputy governor Y B Reddy said at a seminar here.
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IPCL sell-off likely this month
New Delhi: Decks have been cleared for inviting price bids for the government equity in Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (IPCL) with formulation of a formula for pricing of the feedstock supplied by ONGC to the petrochemical PSU.

Pricing of feedstock was holding invitation of price bids for the 26 per cent government equity in IPCL, for which Indian Oil and Reliance Industries are in race.

According to the formula, ONGC will supply C-2 (Ethane) to IPCL's Gandhar plant in Gujarat at the price at which domestic natural gas is priced.

Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL), which supplies natural gas to IPCL's Nagathone plant in Maharashtra, would continue to price it at the government-determined cap price of Rs 2,850 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas.
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India to build rail line, port in Indonesia
New Delhi: India will build a railway line and a port terminal worth $260 million in South Sumatra province in exchange for coal, timber and crude oil.

The Indian Railway Construction Co (IRCON) will undertake the construction.

The agreement, signed during the visit of Indonesia's president Megawati Sukarnoputri to New Delhi, was one of nine agreements signed between companies of the two countries.
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