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Business & Economy
FM radio: Ministry for
20 per cent FDI
What is India News Service, Wednesday,
13 April 2005,
1500 hrs IST
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has proposed
permissions for 20
per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the private FM (frequency
modulation) radio sector but its position remains unchanged so far as the ban on
airing of news and current affairs programmes by this sector is concerned.
At present, only foreign institutional investors (FII)
investment up to 20 per cent of the equity capital is allowed in any private FM
radio company, while FDI is not permitted.
"We have formalised the policy package for private FM
radio and sent it to various ministries for obtaining their views, before taking
it to the Cabinet," the Information and Broadcasting Minister, S. Jaipal
Reddy, said today while talking to media persons on the sidelines of a
conference organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
He said that his ministry had decided to restrict the FDI
level at the existing FII cap. He, however, made it clear that the Government
was not open to the idea of allowing news and current affairs on private FM
radio. "There are certain reservations, especially on the front on
cross-media ownership," he said.
The broadcast regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI), had also earlier favoured allowing FDI in private FM radio while
making its recommendations on "Licensing Issues Relating to II Phase of
Private FM Radio Broadcasting". It had pointed out that 20 per cent FDI is
allowed in DTH (direct-to-home) and 49 per cent in the cable television industry
and suggested review of the policy in a holistic manner and bringing about
greater consistency in the rules for various segments.
Meanwhile, the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, indicated in
his address at the conference that China was poised to become India's largest
trading partner in two or three years if the rapid growth in bilateral trade
seen lately is maintained.
Boeing
offers new planes to Air-India:
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing
today said it had offered a \93comprehensive competitive pricing\94 to the
public sector carrier the decision of which to purchase 50 aircraft of different
makes was yet to get the government nod.
RBI
draft guidelines \97 Credit risk on banks purchasing NPAs:
Banks will be allowed to buy or sell non-performing financial assets from or to
other banks only on a `without recourse' basis, according to the Reserve Bank of
India's draft guidelines on the purchase or sale of non-performing assets (NPAs).
VSNL,
Tyco get US nod on $130 mn cable unit deal: After
security fears were raised in US, VSNL has finally got approval to acquire a
Tyco International Ltd. fiber-optic cable unit, the companies said on Tuesday.
PNB
Chairman for more advances to SSI sector:
Mr S.S Kohli, Chairman and Managing
Director of Punjab National Bank ( PNB) said the new Congress government in
Haryana should make more advances available to the small-scale industries (SSIs)
so that more such industries and their ancillary units could come up in the
state.
Basel
unveils new proposals: The Basel Committee of banking regulators on Monday
unveiled a list of proposals that will complete unfinished business left over
from last year's landmark rewrite of capital safety rules.
World
Bank favours FDI in retailing: The World Bank today expressed itself in
favour of opening up of the retail sector to foreign direct investment to help
India integrate with the global economy.
Canon
launches digital cameras:
Canon India today launched 28 new products in the domestic market, including 8
DV camcorders, 4 digital cameras, 1 TV printer, 1 portable photo printer, 4
all-in ones, 2 scanners, 2 home cinema projectors, 1 monitoring camera and 1
digital SLR, taking it total product offerings in the country to 110.
End
to Monsanto's Bt cotton monopoly?: This is seemingly good news for domestic
cotton growers, who are now wholly dependent on Monsanto for transgenic Bt
technology to combat the dreaded American bollworm insect pest. The US life
sciences giant's monopoly is set to be broken.
Open
offers fail to click as market prices rule higher: The recent buoyancy in
the stock markets does not seem to augur well for open offers.
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