Insurance FDI cap at 49% soon
New Delhi: The Indian ministry of finance has given its go-ahead to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to process papers to hike the foreign direct investment cap for the entire insurance sector from the existing 26 per cent to 49 per cent. The decision to go in for a blanket hike to 49 per cent across all segments including life insurance, non-life insurance and the reinsurance companies come after the government had at one point considered a proposal to limit the hike only for reinsurance companies.

Top finance ministry officials told a newspaper that the move is a follow-up of the N K Singh Committee report on FDI that had suggested hiking insurance cap to 49 per cent. "We have agreed with the recommendation of the N K Singh Committee. We have sent our comments to the DIPP which will now take the proposal further," officials said. The department is the nodal body for processing proposals for alterations in sectoral FDI caps.
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Syndicate Bank eyes Rs 60,000-crore business
Mangalore: Syndicate Bank is targeting Rs 60,000-crore business by March-end, general manager (personnel) Allen C A Pereira said. He the total business of the bank is likely to touch around Rs 54,000 crore at the end of the third quarter. He also said that the the projected profit for the third quarter is Rs 216.45 crore compared to Rs 143 crore during the corresponding period in the previous financial year.

He said the domestic deposits increased by 24 per cent and advances by 21 per cent during the third quarter. Enthused with the performance of distribution of life insurance products, in association with Allianz Bajaj, the bank is planning to take up the distribution of non-life products also, he said. The bank is finalising the details of the "Special Leave Scheme", and would likely announce it in a week's time.
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Tech EOUs allowed to park full earnings in EEFC account
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted export-oriented units (EOUs) in software technology parks and electronic hardware technology parks to credit up to 100 per cent of their export earnings in the exchange earners' foreign currency (EEFC) account, says a news report.

Till now such units were allowed to credit up to 70 per cent of their export earnings to the EEFC account. The new norm, sources were quoted as saying, has come into effect from January 7 and suitable amendment to this effect has been made to the FEMA Regulations by the central bank.
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