The Reserve Bank of India has asked the Government to make January 1, 2000, a bank holiday to remove pressure from public transactions on banks during the millennium changeover, an official at the central bank said on Thursday."The staff of all banks and FIs will be expected to attend to their responsibilities on January 1 as well as January 2, 2000 and test and put through internal transactions in a live Year 2000 environment," he said.

BGFL Q2 net rises to Rs 21.8 cr

Birla Global Finance Ltd has registered a jump in its net profit to Rs 21.8 crore for the second quarter of the current fiscal. The gross revenue in the quarter increased to Rs 208.9 crore. The NBFC has introduced a new product through which it will provide loans to investors for making applications in selected IPOs by reputed and profitable companies, according to a company release.

Icra reaffirms HSCIL debt rating

The credit rating agency Icra has reaffirmed `a1+' rating for the Rs 25-crore commercial paper programme of Honda Siel Cars India."The rating indicates highest safety and best prospect of timely payment of debt obligation. It also takes into account the support of a strong parent company Honda Motor which holds 95 per cent of the equity of HSCIL, comfortable liquidity position and high asset cover.

NOIW plans stir

National Organisation of Insurance Workers has called upon insurance employees to stage demonstrations and be ready for a nation-wide strike on the day following introduction of the Insurance Regulatory Authority bill in parliament. A statement issued by the organisation in Mumbai said "it has sent a `strongly worded' fax to the prime minister protesting the government's decision.

RBI removes T-bills from list

The Reserve Bank on Thursday evening removed treasury bills which featured in its open market operations from its purchase list. "The current list of treasury bills for repurchase has been withdrawn," a RBI spokesperson said.

HC admits petition

The Mumbai high court has admitted a petition filed by foreign exchange dealers questioning the tender bids invited by the Airports Authority of India from global companies for operating counters at five airports of international standards in the country.