The Bank for International Settlement (BIS), Basel, Switzerland, conducts a survey on foreign exchange and derivatives market activity. The survey is conducted every three years with the help of the central bank of the participating countries. The first such survey was conducted in 1998. India participates in the survey through the Reserve Bank of India.

For the survey conducted in 2001, the Reserve Bank of India collected information of these activities for the month of April 2001 from 23 major banks in India with coverage of 78 per cent of the total foreign exchange turnover and provided the data in the prescribed format to the BIS.

The findings of the global and India surveys are posted on the RBI website /en/web/rbi and BIS website www.bis.org .

The Reserve Bank of India today announced a revision in the maximum rate of interest which the non-banking financial companies can offer on their public deposits. Taking into account the market conditions and changes in other interest rates in the system, the maximum rate of interest that NBFCs can pay on their public deposits has been reduced, effective from November 1, 2001 from 14 per cent to 12.5 per cent per annum. Other stipulations regarding the interest rate remain unchanged.

The new ceiling of 12.5 per cent per annum on interest rate has also been extended to miscellaneous non-banking companies (chit fund companies) and nidhi companies as applicable to the deposits accepted by them as per the directions prescribed by RBI.

The new rates will be applicable only to fresh deposits and renewal of existing deposits on and from November 1, 2001 by the NBFCs.