Chidambaram differs with Montek on global standards

Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday differed with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on aligning Indian laws and practices with global standards,saying what was needed was fair and non-discriminatory norms.

Montek said that we should align our laws and align our practices to global standards. I am not sure that global standards are necessarily the best standards. Not all global standards are the best, he said and added,For example in terms of banking regulation,we found that the Indian standards were far better than the US standards and we discovered it to our surprise and pleasure and to their dismay in 2008, he said.

Chidambaram said it should be recognised that countries were at different stages of development in this otherwise unequal world.

SBI cuts BPLR by 0.25

State Bank of India on Saturday announced a reduction in lending rates by 0.25 per cent for borrowers who availed loans before July 2010.

The banks new benchmark prime lending rate BPLR has been set at 14.50 per cent. The new rate will be effective from September 27.

The base rate mechanism came into effect in July 2010 as a new transparent alternative to the earlier benchmark prime lending rate. The remaining loans are on the base rate regime.