Sensex, Nifty scrips on electronic mode: Markets regulator SEBI will bring trading in scrips which make up the popular Sensex and S&P CNX Nifty in the electronic mode from April 5 next year. At a meeting of the working group on depositories on Thursday, it was decided that 29 scrips would be added to the list of 31 securities in which mandatory dematerialised trading has been announced from two specified dates. This will take the number ofscrips to be traded in dematerialised form to 60.

Monsanto rules out terminator gene use: Monsanto Enterprises director and head of South Asia Terry J Bunn said on Thursday the controversy revolving around the so-called `terminator gene' technology is not a reality. On Wednesday, some 200 farmers of Urugonda village, Andhra Pradesh uprooted and burnt cotton crop as they feared it contained the terminator gene.

Same-day Kar Vivad Samadhan from Friday: The central excise commissionerate Delhi-I has decided to give the `samadhan' on the same day from Friday to perk up collections under the kar vivad samadhan scheme. All declarations received by the commissionerate till 12 noon in the KVSS cell will be issued a certificate determining the amount to be paid by the assessee the same day. The assessee will, however, be at liberty to pay the amount so determined within 30 days and collect the final settlement certificate on the day of payment.

India seventh on FDI Confidence Index: Indiahas slipped two places to the seventh position in the latest FDI Confidence Index prepared by global consultancy firm AT Kearney on the basis of a survey of Fortune 1000 companies. India occupied fifth position in the FDI Confidence Index behind the US, Brazil, China and UK in the last survey conducted in spring season this year. The December survey reveals Germany and Poland have moved ahead of India over the last six months.

Jindal Vijayanagar to trim Praxair stake: Jindal Vijayanagar Steel Ltd, which is setting up a Rs 4,800-crore integrated steel plant at Bellary, has decided to shed its stake in Jindal Praxair Oxygen Company Ltd by 24 per cent to 26 per cent. Jindal Praxair Oxygen, which primarily supplies oxygen to JVSL's steel plant at Bellary, is a 50:50 joint venture between JVSL and the $4.7-billion Praxair Inc of the US.

Mafatlal sells Nocil rubber unit for Rs 55 cr: Mafatlal Industries has sold 42 per cent stake in the rubber-chemical division of associate company Nocil to theOnkar S Kanwar group for Rs 55 crore. An agreement to this effect was signed on Thursday. The division will be transferred to a new company, Polyolefins Rubber Chemicals, in conformity with Nocil's three-way demerger scheme, but only after approval from the Mumbai high court, said a joint press release.

ICICI, UTI may take over DCM's part property: ICICI and UTI are mulling over the possibility of taking over a part of the Bara Hindu Rao property of DCM Estates & Infrastructure in lieu of the huge outstandings of group flagship DCM Ltd, which has unpaid debt of around Rs 190 crore with the two institutions. Institutional sources, confirming the move, said they were "close to a decision on taking part-possession of the Bara Hindu Rao property".

Bajaj Auto's `Spirit' set for launch: Bajaj Auto's 60cc gearless and two-speed auto transmission scooterette Spirit is all set to hit the roads early next month. Apart from this, a new-look Chetak '99 will also hit the roads. The new launches are partof the company's aggressive drive for the two-wheeler market where it had launched two new models Kawasaki Caliber and Legend recently, while two more are slated for later launch.

GE gets most respected company name: The Financial Times has named General Electric as the most respected company in the world. The newspaper said that in its first worldwide survey of corporate reputations, GE received twice the vote than any other company in the survey. The survey notes that it is the management strengths that lie behind this sustained performance. Despite the wide diversity of its activities, the group is praised for its `clear vision' and `uniform system of corporate values'.

BoI plans realty deal to cut NPAs: BoI is in the process of working out a unique deal with real estate developers which will help stalled projects take off and, at the same time, pare the non-performing assets of the bank. The scheme, approved at BoI's board meeting held in Jaipur last month, enjoys the support ofmost of its existing real estate clients.

`SBI long-term performance may go down': International credit rating agency Standard & Poor's on Thursday said SBI may not be able to sustain its fiscal 1998 performance over the long-term. The global rating agency expressed concerns about the "poor asset quality" of the bank and said SBI's capital adequacy ratio -- although adequate at 14.58 per cent -- is not strictly in accordance with the Bank of International Settlement Standards.

Deutsche Bank wants more acquisition: Deutsche Bank wants to acquire a French Bank or insurance company to provide a distribution network for its products, said the bank's chairman Rolf Breuer. In three weeks, Germany's largest bank has struck three deals on three different continents. Analysts believe more acquisitions will follow as the bank intensifies efforts to become a global player.

Matheson sells stake in Jardine Fleming: Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd, the south-east Asian trading house, said onThursday it was selling its 50 per cent stake in investment bank Jardine Fleming to partner Robert Fleming for 40 million pounds ($66.86 million) and shares in Robert Fleming. The deal ends a 28-year partnership between British investment bank Robert Fleming and Jardine Matheson, who had jointly developed Jardine Fleming into one of Asia's leading investment banks.

A clarification: Siemens has clarified that it has no intention to close down its switchgear unit at Kalwa near Mumbai as had been inadvertently mentioned in the report titled, `Nashik unit hived off to arm' (November 28, 1998). The Financial Express stands corrected.