Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Y V Reddy says he doesn't see much scope for lowering interest rates through a bank rate cut. He also made it clear that the RBI has done whatever is possible, with the current environment, to revive demand.
Media reports suggest that the finance ministry is likely to ask a consortium of banks and financial institutions led by Life Insurance Corporation to bail out the troubled US-64 scheme. The package could be in the form of an interest-free or soft loan to UTI to be paid back over a period of 10-15 years.
Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said that he expected the economy to turnaround by the end of this year, though refused to hazard a guess on the GDP growth rate. He said with sustained efforts, tax collection could improve in the current fiscal.
The Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan said he expected the economy to grow by around 6-6.3 per cent in 2001-02. He said the monsoons would have a favourable impact on agriculture -- on which two-third's of the country's population depends- and consequently, on overall economic growth.
VSNL has recommended a 500 per cent dividend - Rs 50 for every Rs 10 share for the year ended March 31, 2000. This includes a normal dividend of Rs 10 per share and a special one-time dividend of Rs 40 per share.
