NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary committee has sought severe punishment for those guilty in the Indian Bank case that saw the institution accumulate operating losses of Rs 1.336 crore in a single year during 1995-96 due to imprudent lending policies.

"The committee desires that the cases against the ex-CMD of the Indian Bank and other top executives should be pursued vigorously for meting out severe punishment to the guilty," says the committee on estimates (1998-99) of the finance ministry presented in Lok Sabha recently.

NRI approvals

NEW DELHI: More than 90 per cent of foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals accorded to non-resident indians (NRIs) since the initiation of economic reforms in 1991 have translated into actual investments. As against approvals worth Rs 8163.09 crore given by the government between 1991 and 1998 (October) for FDI investments from NRIs, as much as Rs 7399.11 crore have flown into the country from this channel till now, official figuresreveal.

As against Rs 1817.17 crore worth of FDI approvals for NRIs during 1997, approvals worth only Rs 738.41 crore were accorded till October 1998. The year 1996 saw the highest approvals in value terms when proposals worth Rs 2190 crore were sanctioned in the form of FDI from NRIs.

Under the new policy, NRIs can avail themselves of the general policy and facilities for FDI that are made available to foreign companies. In addition, the government has extended some concessions specially for NRIs and overseas corporate bodies (OCBs), predominantly owned by NRIs.

PHD on ports

NEW DELHI: The 1999-2000 budget should increase plan expenditure in power, roads and ports while controlling revenue expenditure, an industry chamber has said.

In its pre-budget memorandum to the government, the PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry said the government should raise its investment in core sector.