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India's
Main Battle Tank Arjun rolls out
Chennai: The indigenously designed and built, main
battle tank (MBT) 'Arjun' rolled out of the Heavy Vehicle
Factory at Avadi on Saturday. This marks a milestone in
India's self-reliance in defence equipment, according
to officials. The Defence Minister, Pranab Mukherjee,
formally handed over five Arjuns to the Chief of Army
Staff, Gen. N.C. Vij. Gen. Vij said that the five MBTs
would now be put through their paces, and once cleared,
the HVF at Avadi would get further orders.
The 58-tonne Arjun is clad in newly developed lightweight
composite Kanchan armour, and its primary armament is
a 120-mm rifled gun. The fire control systems are computer
controlled and the tank is capable of operating at night
too. It is also equipped with 7.62-mm machine gun and
a 12.7-mm anti-aircraft machine gun. The army has placed
orders for about 120 MBT Arjuns.
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LIC
extends Rs.2, 000 crore loan to the REC
Mumbai: The Life Insurance Corporation of India
(LIC) has agreed to extend a loan of Rs.2, 000 crore to
the Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd (REC). REC,
which is a triple-A-rated company, has a massive programme
of rural electrification, system improvement, capacity
addition in power generation, and will utilise the loan
for financing different power sector projects, said a
press release. The company intends to disburse more than
Rs.8, 000 crore during the fiscal 2004-05. It will also
tap the capital market for priority sector bonds, for
which there is a very encouraging response.
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Provident
Fund trustees to decide on rate today
Kolkata: The Central Provident Fund Authority is
willing to consider 8.5 per cent as the new rate for the
current fiscal despite strong representation from certain
quarters to hike the rate by a critical margin. The proposed
rate is scheduled for consideration by the trustees at
their meeting on Monday.
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PF
body to appoint cosultant
Kolkata: The Central Provident Fund authority is
set to appoint Mercer Consulting as its investment consultant.
A formal agreement will be signed shortly, after which
Mercer will be given about four months to submit its report
to the board of trustees. Mercer will help in creating
both short and long-term investment strategies for the
PF organisation with a view to improve the performance
of the fund. It will have to adhere to the overall investment
framework that is now in place.
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ITES
and software exports up to $9 billion in 2003-04
New Delhi: The export of computer software and
services and IT Enabled Services (ITES) has registered
a growth of 31.24 per cent in dollar terms in 2003-04,
according to estimates by IT export promotion council,
ESC. The export of computer software and services recorded
a growth of 15.28 per cent (21.29 per cent in dollar terms)
in 2003-04 compared to the previous year. In absolute
terms, the export of computer software and services raked
in Rs.41, 500 crore ($9,022 million) during the year.
The
export of computer software and services for the year
2002-03 was about Rs.36, 000 crore ($7,438 million). ITES
export went up by 57.14 per cent (65.34 per cent in dollar
terms), compared to the previous year. Its performance
in the overall IT export basket stood second only to computer
hardware, which has registered a growth of 162 per cent.
In value terms, ITES exports for 2003-04 stood at Rs.16,500
crore ($3,587 million), from Rs.10,500 crore ($2,169 million)
in the previous year.
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