Insurance scheme for overseas workers

A new insurance scheme for skilled and semi-skilled expatriate Indian workers will be introduced by the centre in three months, a senior finance ministry official said. "The scheme with a low one-time premium of Rs 100 will provide a cover up to Rs 50,000 towards repatriation of workers and return of body in case of death," Dhirendra Swaroop, joint secretary, finance ministry said.

The premium can be paid while affixing the `emigration check not required,'stamp on the passport, he said. The scheme will be applicable to Indian labourers working overseas.

RBI repo rate at 4.22 per cent: The Reserve Bank of India on Monday slashed the rate at the three-day repo auction of government bonds to 4.22 per cent from 4.75 per cent awarded on Friday. Of the 19 bids worth Rs 5,625 crore received, only two bids totalling Rs 3,000 crore were accepted at the cut-off repo rate. The repo deals will be reversed on Friday.

Morgan Stanley merger

Morgan Stanley merger: Discover and Morgan Stanley group announced the completion of their merger on Monday. The new company is christened Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. Its stock will be traded from Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the `MWD' symbol. The merger was approved by shareholders of the two companies on May 28. The merger creates the pre-eminent global financial services firm with a market capitalisation of $21 billion and leads in the primary businesses of securities, asset managment and credit services.

BOI to restructure network: Bank of India (BOI) has embarked on a programme to reorganise and restructure its offices. It announced that it was opening a regional office, headquartered in Hyderabad with 36 branches under its wing. The recast is in accordance with the recommendations of a management consultant appointed by the bank, a BOI release said. The changes will ``usher in'' administrative control and faster decision making resulting in better customer service+, the release said.

Dena Bank appoints consultant: Dena Bank has appointed KPMG Peat Marwick, the international consultant firm to assist the bank on a major restructuring exercise. KPMG will assist the bank in all areas of management restructuring, including business strategy, organisational restructuring and process redesigning. The bank's restructuring programme is being assisted by the World Bank.

IDBI announces NAVs: Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has declared the net asset values for its schemes. As on May 28, 1997, the NAV for the D-NIT 95 scheme has been declared at Rs 9.28, while the G-NIT 95 has been declared at Rs 8.63.

The NAV of IDBI's Tax Init-96 has ben declared at Rs 9.39. The valuations are based on the closing prices. DSJ Fin slashes FD rates: DSJ Finance has reduced the interest rates on its fixed deposit schemes by 2 percentage points. For the cumulative interest schemes of one year maturity, the rates have been reduced to 17.5 per cent from 19.5 per cent. Depositsd for two years under the cumulative scheme will now be 17.75 per cent from 20. The deposit rates for the quarterly interest scheme have been lowered to 17.25 per cent from 19 per cent for one year deposits and to 17.50 per cent (from 19.5) on two year deposits. DRI seizes foreign currency: Directorate of Revenue Intelligence seized foreign currency notes totalling Rs 1.44 crore from a country craft `YA Hajipur' sailing from Mumbai to Dubai. Two of the crew members were arrested in this connection. In follow-up actions taken, the officers recovered travellers cheques valued at around Rs 22 lakh.

White paper on infrastructure: The Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry has brought out a white paper on infrastructure development covering power, telecom, roads, ports and urban infrastructure. The white paper has been prepared under the direction of a high level core group constituted by the chamber under the chairmanship of Mr SD Kulkarni, CEO and managing director of Larsen & Toubro Ltd. The chamber plans to release the document on 4 June.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.