Current account surplus likely
India might close the current financial year with a small surplus in the current account. Stating this at a conference organised by Euromoney, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Dr. C. Rangarajan, said that 1993-94 has seen a distinct improvement in India's balance of payments. He said that appropriate modalities for attaining Article V status of the International Monetary Fund regarding convertibility of the rupee on current account were now being worked out.
Outright sale of PSUs ruled out
The Finance Secretary, Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, today ruled out any outright privatisation of public sector units. He said the Government was only disinvesting equity held by it to raise resources and improve the performance of the units… he also ruled out a suggestion entailing the Government's restructuring a public sector company, turning it around and then selling it to a prospective customer.
Payment crisis haunts BSE
A payment crisis haunted the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) yet again. The leading brokers, Mr. S. M. Damani and Mr. Ramesh Biyani, were unable to take delivery from the BSE clearing house. The former had to take delivery in Reliance up to 1.75 lakh shares. Finally, the company management and UTI moved in to take delivery on behalf of the broker. On the other hand, Mr. Biyani had to take delivery in Tata Steel which was also placed with UTI. The shoring up prevented the market from caving in though it led to investor nervousness. Both the pivotals lost value.