Cii, Nepal Chamber Demand Full Convertibility

The Confederation of Indian Industry and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry have jointly asked for full convertibility, including on the capital account, between Indian and Nepalese rupees.

The Tarapore Committee has spoken of full capital account convertibility for the Indian rupee by year 2000, so why not start with this as the first step, said CII president N Kumar, reading out this portion of the memorandum at a luncheon reception for Gujral yesterday.

The two federations have set up a joint economic council to make recommendations on India-Nepal economic ties. To facilitate trade in power, perhaps the foremost thrust area at present, they have set up a sub-committee on hydro-electricity. It will be headed jointly by ABB Chief Alok Mukherjee and Prabhakar Rana of the Soaltee group.

 

Mechanisms to guarantee payments to multinational and other producers will be high on their agenda. The Indian government is averse to signing PPAs to underwrite power distribution boards in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the primary potential purchasers.