The Finance Ministry is likely to extend to other sectors the concession granted to the power sector to use external commercial borrowing (ECB) for sourcing capital goods from domestic companies. Till the modified ECB guidelines were announced recently, these funds were used to source capital goods from overseas suppliers. “We may consider granting similar concessions to other sectors provided the scheme works well for the power sector, ” says a senior official.

Torrent takes over Pfizer Kalyani unit

Torrent Pharmaceuticals, the flagship of the Rs. 3 50-crore Torrent Group, has taken over Pfizer Ltd’s basic drugs plant at Kalyani, West Bengal. According to top Torrent sources, the unit was bought for Rs. 10 crores and the union problem which had been holding up the deal has now been resolved. Asked about the fate of Pfizer’s workers at the unit, sources said that “the workers service conditions would be protected.” The unit employs about 85 workers. Pfizer has three manufacturing facilities (excluding the Kalyani unit) in India — a fermentation plant at Chandigarh, a new plant at Ankleshwar in Gujarat, and a manufacturing, quality control and research and development unit at Thane, Maharashtra.

GIG financial adviser backs KPMG

The financial adviser of the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) has denied allegations that there were irregularities in the appointment of KPMG Peat Marwick to go into the accounts and auditing functions of GIC and its subsidiaries. The allegations were made by the All India Insurance Employees Association (AFIEA) in a press release distributed on June 9, 1995.

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