India

INDIA - India's expenditure on civil service pension schemes risks spiralling out of control, according to the World Bank.

INDIA - Nikko Asset Management and Indian financial services group Ambit RSM Private Limited have announced plans to establish a joint asset management venture in India.

INDIA - Pension funds are not yet ready to invest in Indian infrastructure despite the "fantastic" opportunities available, said Sam Mahtani, manager of F&C's emerging markets fund.

INDIA - India's finance ministry is pushing public sector banks to adopt a new defined contribution pension scheme, known as the NPS, for fresh recruits which could potentially prove rich pickings for fund managers.

INDIA - The pension of former servicemen will by raised by R400 to R500 per month, the government announced in answer to calls for "one rank, one pension" for the armed forces.

INDIA - India's booming real estate market is becoming a hot investment spot for cash-rich international pension funds and hedge funds, according to fund managers.

INDIA - The Employees Provident Fund, the main government-operated savings plan in India has announced it will cut interest rates to 8.5% for the financial year 2005-2006 to its 40 million participants, according to Watson Wyatt.

INDIA - The Indian government is reportedly planning to establish a regulator for the pension fund industry at the start of the new year.

INDIA - BNP Paribas Asset Management will buy a 49.9% stake in Sundaram Asset Management Company Limited, it was announced today.

INDIA - The systematic reform of India's pension system represents the "most ambitious" effort in the South Asian region to date, according to the World Bank.