Loopholes in counterguarantee options
Foreign consulting agencies to independent power producers have identified major loopholes in seven out of the eight schemes proposed as alternatives to the Centre's counterguarantee for assured payment to project promoters under the private power development policy. The only attractive alternative, from the developer's point of view, is the one involving World Bank guarantee. Under this scheme, the multilateral institution, it is understood, would solely cover the commercial borrowings of the IPPs and the Centre would have to counter-indemnify the Bank for any payment required to be made.
The Janata Dal and its Left allies today secured a majority in Bihar by winning 162 seats in the 324-member Assembly. The Janata Dal, which had secured 121 seats in the last elections, improved its tally by winning 133 seats while the CPI bagged 21 seats, CPI (M) six, and the Marxist Coordination Committee two, making a combined tally of 162. Results of 42 constituencies were yet to come. Meanwhile, a meeting of the newly elected members of the Janata Dal has been scheduled for tomorrow where re-election of Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav as their leader will be a mere formality. The Congress (I), with a tally of 26 seats so far, has been pushed to the third place.
IA bid to sell old Boeings
Indian Airlines floated a global tender for selling five of its Boeing 737-200 aircraft and one Fokker 27 aircraft of Vayudoot. The aircraft are being disposed of to facilitate phasing out of the Boeing 737 from its fleet of 58 aircraft. The airline had envisaged total phase-out of the Boeings by 1996-97, and utilisation of only the modern Airbus aircraft.