Lakshmi Vilas Bank hikes interest rates on NRE term deposits

Private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank has hiked interest rate on Non-Resident External (NRE) term deposits with immediate effect.

The hike in interest rates on NRE term deposits was based on the deregulation of interest rates by the Reserve Bank, LVB said in a statement.

According to the revised structure, the interest rates for deposits with a period of one year and above but less than two years has been revised to 10 per cent from the existing 3.82 per cent.

For term period of two years and above, but less than three years, it has been increased to 8 per cent from 3.51 per cent (existing).

For those deposits that are up to three years and above, the interest rates has been hiked to 7 per cent from 3.64 per cent, it added.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank currently serves 1.81 million customers. It has 274 branches and 381 ATM networks across the country, the statement added.

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Bank not at fault if ATM card misused'

A person cannot claim damages from bank if he fails to immediately block his lost ATM card and money is unauthorisedly withdrawn by using the card, a district consumer forum has said.

It said the bank would have been liable if the transaction of withdrawal of money took place after blockage of the card.

A bench of Central Delhi District Consumer forum passed the order while dismissing a complaint filed by a Faridabad resident Deepa Singh alleging that bank is liable for the compensation as it allowed illegal withdrawal of money from her account after she lost her ATM.

"Singh was having the PIN number and without that PIN number, the ATM card could not have been used. First the money was withdrawn and only thereafter the bank was informed to block the card.

"The bank complied the instructions of the complainant. The bank would have been liable if transaction of withdrawal of the amount would have taken after the blockage of the card by it," the forum said.

The forum presided by its president B B Chaudhary also refused to pass any order against the bank for its failure to provide her video footage of the person who had used her ATM.

"The bank cannot be held liable merely because it could not provide the CCTV footage of the relevant time of the withdrawal of money. The CCTV is a machine and it may not function at a particular time," it said.

The forum further said that the PIN number of the ATM card was only with Singh and without it money could not have been withdrawn and the bank was told to block the card only after the amount was withdrawn.

Singh had submitted that at the time of issuance of card, the bank had assured her that if somebody would withdraw money from her account without her knowledge, it would provide her video clipping but in July 2010, the bank informed her that the camera was not working at the relevant time and video clippings could not be provided.

But the forum was not satisfied and dismissed her plea saying, "only card holder can be held responsible if the ATM card/Debit card is misused fraudulently."

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CLSA cuts India's growth f'cast to 6.7%

Brokerage CLSA cut its forecast for Indian gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 6.7 percent for the current fiscal year ending March from its earlier projection of 7.3 percent, citing cyclical deceleration caused by high interest rates, policy inertia and the adverse impact of global headwinds.

On Thursday, the Reserve Bank of India governor said the economy is poised to miss the central bank's growth forecast of 7.6 percent for 2011/12 and the inflation outlook is uncertain.

The government said in a mid-year review this month that it expected the economy to grow by 7.25 to 7.75 percent in 2011/12, down sharply from an estimate of 9 percent issued in February.

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US venture-funded firms: Indians on top

Nearly half of America's top 50 venture-funded companies were started by immigrants and the most common country of origin for these founders was India, reveals a study by US National Foundation for American Policy (USNFAP).

The research by USNFAP, a non-profit, public policy research organisation, finds that 48 per cent, or 24 out of 50, of the US' top venture-funded companies had at least one immigrant founder and the most common country of origin for these immigrant founders was India, followed by Israel, Canada, Iran and New Zealand.

Other founders and co-founders were born in Italy, South Africa, Greece, Norway, Germany, the UK, Singapore, Switzerland and France.

The report further notes foreign-born and native-born talent creates a win-win situation that creates jobs and important innovations in America.

As per the report, immigrant founders have created an average of 150 jobs per company in the United States.

The research also found that 38 of the top 50 companies, or 76 per cent, employed one or more immigrants in a key management or product development position, demonstrating the important role played by foreign-born personnel in these firms.

Among Indian founders whose names were mentioned in the report include Mayank Bawa of Aster Data Systems Inc, Aayush Phumbhra (Chegg), Samir Arora and Raj Narayan of Glam Media, Umesh Maheshwari and Varun Mehta (Nimble Storage Inc), Ajeet Rohatgi (Suniva Inc), Satish Palvai (Xactly Corp), R K Anand, Ashok Krishnamurthi and S K Vinod of Xsigo Systems Inc.

"Today's breakthrough companies are often founded by immigrants or at least employ a foreign-born scientist, engineer or CEO crucial to business growth and product development. Executives say access to talent from around the world is even more important to companies in their emerging growth phase," the report said.

The top 50 venture-funded companies, were selected and ranked in March 2011 by the research firm VentureSource and the rankings were based on factors such as company growth, successful track record of CEOs, founders and investors, and capital raised.

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Ravi Ruia steps down as Chairman of Essar Energy

Essar Energy Chairman Ravi Ruia today announced his decision to step down from the post amid CBI claiming that Essar group suppressed facts related to its equity holding in Loop Telecom, an allegation denied by the conglomerate.

Essar Group is surprised and disappointed by the stand taken by the CBI, Essar Energy said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Ravi Ruia has voluntarily decided to temporarily step aside as Chairman but would continue as a director of Essar Energy. Prashant Ruia, presently the Vice Chairman, would take over as interim Chairman.

“This decision follows allegations by India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that Ruia, certain other executives of the Essar Group and Essar Teleholdings Ltd – an Indian company belonging to the Essar Group, had suppressed facts relating to the extent of equity holding of Essar Group in Loop Telecom Ltd (Loop)," the statement said.

Essar Energy noted that "there are no charges of bribery or corruption or collusion with public servants (as compared to the other prosecutions being pursued in the 2G spectrum scam)".

Ravi Ruia said he believed that as a good corporate governance measure, he should step aside at this time.

“Essar Group has always been open, transparent and law abiding, and I am confident that these charges will be dismissed by the courts in India. I expect that I would resume the office of Chairman at an appropriate time," he noted.

According to Essar Energy, Ravi Ruia and Essar Group deny all charges and intend to take legal recourse to defend their position.

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