No proposal to close down Multi Commodity Exchange : Minister

New Delhi, Dec 19 (UNI) The Government today said that it has no proposal to close down the Multi-Commodity Exchange of India, which provide a trading platform for future trading in commodities.

Minister of State for Finance S Palanimanickam said, in a written reply, that the Exhchange by providing the trading platform helps price discovery and price risk managment by various stake holders -- farmers, producers, exporters and agro-processors. The prices were determined by demand and supply scenario of commodity and the Exchange has no role in price movement of a commodity. On the part of government, it earned a revenue in the form of various taxes paid by the Exchange by way of taxes on income, service and fringe benefits.

The minister denied that the Punjab National Bank had advanced over Rs 2,500 crore to corporate borrowers in Mumbai at seven per cent, below the cost of funds during 2005-06. He said the bank had released a total loans of Rs 424 crore to four companies at seven per cent interest as against the cost of funds of the bank during the period ranged between 3.70 to 3.73 per cent.

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