& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æ·Ԥ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæ⠥样¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð Govt to cut re-lending rates for public agencies By Inam Ahmed

The government will substantially lower its re-lending rates to the public agencies during this fiscal year.

According to a highly placed Financed Ministry source, the rates will be lowered by two to three per cent.

The government re-lends the foreign assistance It gets from the donors to the agencies for different projects and the interest rates are fixed depending on the domestic Inflation rate and sometimes, the conditionalities set by the donors

, Sources said the public njjcndcs showing encouraging signs of performance

and viability would get loans at a minimum repayment rate.

In previous years, the re-

lending rates varied between 11.5 per cent and 12.5 per cent, but for some agencies, it was even as high as 18 per cent.

Sources said with the cuts In re-lending rates, the government would be able to reduce the losses In the public sector.

The World Bank, in the last Paris Consortium meeting, had asked the government to lower the losses In the public sector from the staggering Taka 1500 crore to 1200 crore.

Other than cutting down interest rales, the governm-nt has also asked the public agencies to reduce their costs by at least 20 per cent through different administrative measurcs*

With the cuts in rates, the future projects of the public agencies would have to change to operate profitably as they will be having less debt llabili-, ties. 'W

Sources said a reduction in the rates this year would be possible because of a low inflation rate, quoted at about three per cent.

■ The macro-economic management in the past years has already started yielding its good results," another source added. ” And if losses could be lowered, the country would see another better year of management."

The government in 1992-93 had received an estimated 1008.4 million US dollar as loans from donors, which included 809.6 million dollar in project loans.

The government gets the loans on soft term basis at an average Interest rate of 1.5 per cent.

The total aid pledged by the donors at the Pairs Club meeting last April was 2.15 billion US dollar.