Budget to yield quick returns: Jaswant 
Inflation will come down, avers Jalan  
NEW DELHI: Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan today said inflation will come down further once Iraqi crisis is over and the monsoon is normal....

Rural Industry Fund mooted
Banks told to reorient  policies for rural uplift 
NEW DELHI: Planning Commission today asked banks to reorient their policies to ensure more lending to the rural industries......

Telco sets sight on Saudi Arabia 
DUBAI:  After inking alliances in Britain, India’s largest truck and bus manufacturer Telco's next stop is Saudi Arabia where it plans to launch its commercial vehicles before the year is out and later introduce passenger cars...

FE reserves up by $863 million  
MUMBAI:  The country’s foreign exchange (FE) reserves, after a brief dip, continued to soar again and grew up by US$863 million at US$73,740 million during the week ended March 7........

War to drag half of Asia into recession
SINGAPORE: Half of Asia, including South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore could plunge into recession and high inflation if US-led war against Iraq dragged on for months.........

 
Indian Finance Minister Jaswant Singh (R) sits with Indian central bank governor, Bimal Jalan (2nd R) during a meeting of the board of directors of the central bank in New Delhi, on Saturday. Jalan said on Saturday the country's fiscal deficit remained a difficult problem but overall macro-economic conditions were favourable for accelerating growth. Reuters

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