Friday, December 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Ketan Parekh blamed for securities scam
US-64 fiasco: JPC indicts ex-Finance Secy, UTI ex-chief

New Delhi, December 19 In a clear and stern indictment of the Union Finance Ministry and key currency administrators, the Joint Parliamentary Committee probing the securities scam has held the then Finance Secretary Ajit Kumar, former UTI Chairman P.S. Subramanyam, and principal contributor IDBI squarely responsible for the collapse of US-64, the beleaguered scheme of the country’s largest mutual fund, the UTI.

Factfile Then Finance Secretary Ajit Kumar dealt with the issues related to the UTI in a routine and casual manner. Ministry of Finance should have been more proactive and vigilant in recognising that liberalisation requires strong and effective regulation. SEBI should have been able to regulate the liberalised market share more efficiently. Wrongdoing by banks has also contributed significantly towards the scam and private-sector banks need to be closely watched.

• Ketan Parekh ‘key player’

TRIBUNE SPECIALS 50 years of Independence Tercentenary celebrations Tehelka expose Maharaja Ranjit Singh: special features & photos

THE TRIBUNE MAGAZINES

On alternate Mondays

On Sundays

On Saturdays

Punjab ministers’ conduct being probed
Ahmedabad, December 19
The Gujarat police is inquiring into the veracity of reports about the alleged immoral conduct of some Punjab ministers during their stay here during the run-up to the Assembly elections. The ministers, who stayed in a posh hotel, were here to canvass for the Congress candidates.

• Punjab page: Send plea to Gujarat for probe: BJP

• Birdevinder’s denial

Justice Khare new CJI

New Delhi, December 19 Mr Justice Visheshwar Nath Khare, the senior-most Judge of the Supreme Court, was today sworn in as the Chief Justice of India. In video (28k, 56k) President APJ Abdul Kalam congratulates the new Chief Justice of India Visheshwar Nath Khare after the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday. — PTI photo

Sugarcane SMP up by Rs 5
New Delhi, December 19
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today announced a Rs 5 per quintal increase in the statutory minimum price of sugarcane linked with the recovery of 8.5 per cent in view of the problems being faced by sugarcane farmers. The SMP of sugarcane now becomes Rs 69.50 per quintal.

5 most wanted ultras spotted in Pak Amritsar, December 19 Five militants, who have not been exposed to the media ever since their names figured among the list of India’s 20 most wanted persons, have resurfaced in Pakistan after the first anniversary of the attack on Indian Parliament House by ISI-sponsored terrorists on December 13.