Nation & States

Phone calls become cheaper
by up to 59 per cent 

What is India News Service, August 28, 2004, 2000 hrs IST

The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and private player Hutch announced huge tariff cuts for telephone users. 

BSNL announced the lowest-ever tariff for both mobile and fixed-line subscribers, adding a new chapter to the price war kicked off by Reliance Infocomm, Bharti and Hutch. 

\93We expect a 35-40 per cent growth in our subscriber base and about a 7 per cent increase in our revenue in 2004-2005, compared with the previous financial year,\94 VP Sinha, chairman and managing director, BSNL, told reporters. 

Price stability will be ensured, says RBI: Allaying apprehensions on the rising inflationary expectations and volatility in the domestic economy, the Reserve Bank of India Governor, Dr Y.V. Reddy, expressed confidence that price stability would come about soon.

Forex reserves fall a tad to $118.89 bn: India's foreign exchange reserves fell to $118.89 bn on August 20 from $119.32 bn a week earlier, the Reserve Bank of India said. 

Chinese growth bound tightly to private sector: Beijing reveals that expansion is reliant on non-governmental enterprises. 

LIC may hold 10% in UTI holding firm: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) may hold up to 10 per cent in the holding company proposed by UTI Mutual Fund chief M Damodaran. Another 40 per cent is proposed to be offered to a clutch of banks, including three state-owned banks and two private banks, each holding 8 per cent. 

Ex-Enron chief Lay launches website to update public: Enron's ex-chairman Kenneth Lay has launched a website to provide public with latest information and updates about his criminal case.

Siemens VDO mulls merger with parent company: Siemens VDO Automotive Ltd is mulling a merger with German engineering giant Siemens, which holds over 86 per cent stake in the auto component company. 

Bankers see stable rates in near term: Indian bankers said they did not expect local interest rates to rise in near term since there was enough liquidity in the system. 

Microsoft to launch next Windows version in 2006: MS, however, scaled back plans to include a new system for finding and storing information in its flagship operating system.

TRAI seeks fresh World Bank loan: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has applied for a fresh loan of $3 million (around Rs 14 crore) from the World Bank for undertaking consultative studies on regulatory issues and training its staff.

California city, counties sue MS for antitrust: Several California cities and counties have sued Microsoft, accusing it of illegally charging inflated prices for its products.

Microsoft, HP enter digital music fray: Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard (HP) are to crank up the volume in the digital music business, bringing a new degree of competition to a market that has been dominated by Apple Computer. 



Overall:

Phone rates crashed: BSNL responded to Reliance in a price war that has turned into a windfall for phone users.

RBI reassured India on inflation:  Its governor said inflation would be reined in. 

HP decided to do its own i-Pod: The digital music business is all set to see more action.