RBI wants ideas on savings rate freeing

Reserve Bank of India governor D Subbarao today said the central bank was unsure about the impact if savings rates were deregulated and if it would make interest rates unstable. We will bring out a discussion paper soon on the (subject) and want banks to give suggestions on it,” he said. The central bank’s mid-term policy review had said the discussion paper would delineate the pros and cons of deregulating the savings deposit rates, which had remained unchanged at 3.5 per cent per annum since March 1, 2003. “There is a chance that once it comes, banks will abandon low-income household services. If interest rates go down, it will affect small savers and if it goes up, it may impact the costs of banks. We are not clear about its outcome,” Subbarao said. Adding: “If we talk about the positives, it may give additional flexibility for banks; they can come up with innovative products. Moreover, if interest rates go up, it will attract more savings and the apex bank will have a better idea of monetary policy transmission.”

INFLATION STILL ABOVE RBI’s COMFORT ZONE: SUBBARAO

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvuri Subbarao today said inflation was still above the central bank’s tolerance level and it would revisit the gross domestic product (GDP) growth numbers in its quarterly policy in January.  RBI had earlier projected that the economy would grow 8.5 per cent in the financial year ending March 2011. “Inflation is coming down, but is still above RBI’s tolerance level. On the other hand, the growth is encouraging. RBI will revisit the growth numbers in its third quarter review,” Subbarao told reporters after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

Inflation expected to reduce

The central bank’s deputy governor, Subir Gokarn, today said inflation was expected to reduce in the coming months. And, that liquidity was a concern. “Though a crisis still prevails internationally, in the domestic front things are hopeful, as the GDP and IIP numbers were good in the second quarter. The most important thing is that overall inflation is showing signs of decline. Though some food items are still under pressure, even food inflation is expected to be down,” he said.

Microsoft introduces tracking protection on Internet Explorer

As the debate continues about a potential privacy system that would allow con- sumers to opt out of having their data collected online, Mi- crosoft Corp. on Tuesday an nounced a feature for the new- est version of Internet Explorer that would permit users to stop certain websites from tracking them. The feature, which will exist in Internet Explorer 9, avail- able next year, will let users limit the ability of third-party companies to track them on- line. The announcement comes less than a week after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advocated a “do not track“ mechanism that could be built into a browser and alert websites that a user did not want to be monitored.

Diesel, petrol price hike looming

With inflation worries easing, the minsterial panel on fuels could raise diesel prices by Rs 1-2 a litre next week in a bid to reduce losses of state-run oilmarketers and boost investor confidence ahead of a follow-on public offer from market leader IndianOil.