Clinton talks highly of India’s reforms

The U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, has said that “occasional political differences’ between the U.S. and India “should not overshadow the real record of cooperation between our two democracies”. Mr. Clinton, in a letter dated April 11, 1994 to Congressman James A. McDermott, made this observation in response to Mr. McDermott and 28 other members of the House of Representatives who had welcomed the Under Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Jeffrey Garten’s identification of India as one of the big emerging markets, welcoming the Prime Minister, Mr. Narasimha Rao’s economic reforms and urging Mr. Clinton to pay personal attention to India with a view to improving Indo-U.S. business and commercial relations.

Stanchart offers VRS

Standard Chartered Bank on Saturday announced the introduction of a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for some of its staff in India. The introduction of a golden handshake scheme to prune the staff strength stemmed from the need to improve cost-efficiency, besides changing work processes and increasing competition, according to the Stanchart management.

Panchayati Raj Act becomes operational

The Panchayati Raj Act, aimed at transfer ring power to the people, became operational on Saturday, with a majority of the States and Union Territories amending their respective legislations in conformity with the Constitution (73rd Amendment Act). The Prime Minister, Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao, in a message, said the Act would establish the Panchayati Raj institutions on a firm footing and hasten the process of development.

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