Provident fund worth Rs.3,837 crore lying unclaimed

October 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Lost your luggage at the airport? Don't fret. In a "first of a kind" initiative that will come as a relief to all such harried travellers, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Monday launched a 'lost and found' section on its website that will help one trace missing baggage.

October 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has urged the central government to allow the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to invest at least 5 percent of its funds in equities. "The EPFO can also be a beneficiary of such emerging capital markets, provided it is permitted to invest a part of its corpus in index-based equity market - which is safer, reliable and remunerative," Assocham said in a report.

August 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Tuesday cleared 10 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs.1,123 crore ($230.5 billion), including one by DishTV to raise Rs.750 crore through convertible bonds. Vijay Mallya-promoted United Breweries' proposal to issue convertible warrants worth Rs.219 crore also got the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's (FIPB) approval.

August 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited's (MTNL) net profit nose-dived 63 percent in 2008-09 to Rs.211.7 crore from Rs.586.8 crore the previous fiscal. The public sector undertaking's turnover also fell 1.4 percent to Rs.5,250 crore in the period under review from Rs.5,329.9 crore the year before.

July 13th, 2009 Friends Provident rejects takeover offerLONDON — British insurance and pensions provider Friends Provident PLC said Monday that it had rejected a 1.7 billion pound ($2.7 billion) takeover offer from buyout company Resolution Ltd. Friends Provident said the proposed offer of 0.8 new Resolution shares for every Friends Provident share was "wholly inadequate." It also said Resolution's governance structure would offer "less transparency" than its shareholders were used to "and a structure significantly different from recognized public company best practice." Resolution said it was considering making another offer.

July 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is meeting today to discuss the rate of interest for provident fund for the current financial year. Labour Minster Mallikarjun Kharge will chair the meeting.

July 2nd, 2009 KOLKATA - State-owned West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) is planning to raise Rs.5,000 crore in the next three years to fund rural and urban electrification, a top company official said here Thursday. "Around Rs.3,000 crore will be invested for rural electrification, Rs.1,000 crore for enhancement of urban facilities and another Rs.1,000 crore for customer service automation," Malay K.

July 1st, 2009 MUMBAI - Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has bagged orders aggregating Rs.651 crore (Rs.6.51 billion/$135 million) for two hydrocarbon projects. It has won a Rs.440-crore contract from HPCL-Mittal Energy to build a greenfield refinery at Bathinda, the company said in a regulatory statement Wednesday.

June 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Western India remained the most favoured investment destination for corporates in 2008-09, according to an industry lobby report. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said in its report, "Investment Prospects in Indian Economy in 2008-09", that the western region comprising Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Daman and Diu attracted planned investments worth Rs.305,057 crore last year.

June 11th, 2009 CHENNAI - City Union Bank, an old generation private lender based in Tamil Nadu, Thursday said it will raise Rs.250 crore over the next two years to fund its expansion plans. "Our target is to have a net worth of Rs.1,000 crore in two years time.

May 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Rajasthan attracted investments worth Rs.69,052 crore, the highest among northern states, during 2008-09, a business chamber report released here Wednesday said. The report, 'Investment Prospects in Indian Economy 2008-09' by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), said Haryana, which attracted investments worth Rs.52,852 crore, came second, followed by Uttarakhand with Rs.36,059 crore.

February 24th, 2009 MUMBAI - Private equity firm ICICI Ventures, the second largest shareholder of the retail chain Subhiksha, Monday said there was 'complete' operational failure at the retail firm, and that it had a fiduciary responsibility towards its own investors. ICICI Ventures had filed a complaint against Subhiksha Trading Services with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in Chennai a few days back.

February 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The interest rate on provident fund investments will be maintained at 8.5 percent for 2008-09, the central board of trustees of employee provident fund (EPF) decided Sunday. The decision was taken at the fourth regular meeting of the newly-constituted board, held under the chairmanship of Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes.

February 18th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Kerala's 2006 per capita debt stood at over Rs.14,300 - the highest among states in south India - against the national average of around Rs.9,000. This was stated in the Economic Review 2008 tabled in the Kerala Assembly Thursday.

December 23rd, 2008 NEW DELHI - K. Chandramouli, a 1975 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been named the next central provident fund Commissioner, it was announced Wednesday.