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Rs 1,000 notes to be in circulation by July

The new Rs 1,000-note is likely to be put into circulation by the end of July this year, Minister of State for Finance Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil told the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of Parliament) during question hour today.

Preparations for printing of the Rs 1,000 notes are in an advanced stage, Patil said in a written reply.

In the light of complaints of counterfeiting of Rs 500 notes predominantly in the old design (1987 series), the Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, has issued instructions to its offices and other public sector bank branches not to issue or re-issue the old design notes but send them to RBI offices.

The phasing out measure is purely administrative in nature and these notes continue to be legal tender, the minister clarified.

IOC: The Calcutta Customs House has issued a show-cause notice to the Indian Oil Corporation, or IOC, to pay more than Rs 20 billion for alleged customs duty evasion on import of petroleum products.

The notice has also been adjudicated and the customs duty demand has been confirmed, Minister of State for Finance V Dhanjaya Kumar said.

LIC: More than 50 per cent of new business of Life Information Corporation, or LIC, today comes from rural areas, Patil said in a reply.

US: The development assistance provided by the United States to India has been declining in the last three years -- $ 36.789 million in 1997-98, $ 28.743 million in 1998-99 and $ 26.236 million in 1999-2000.

Security: The RBI's in-house working group on asset securitisation has recommended that as a long-term measure the government consider an umbrella legislation covering all aspects of securitisation.

For medium and short terms, the group has recommended amendments of provisions in different statutes -- Companies Act, Indian Stamp Act, Transfer of Property Act, and Income Tax Act.

Exim: The US Exim Bank has announced a rupee loan guarantee scheme for Indian companies which would enable them to hedge foreign exchange risk and raise resources domestically.

Bank: The Hatton National Bank of Sri Lanka has sought permission to open a branch in India which is pending for production of the home country regulators permission.

Even other applications are pending for setting up of new banks in the private sector. These are from, among others, Reliance Industries, Ispat Finance, Caparo Group, London, Birla Growth Fund and Apple Industries Limited.

UNI

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