Punjab National Bank (PNB) has entered into an agreement with Mother Dairy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board, to benefit the milk producers in Uttar Pradesh. 

According to the sources, the tie-up would ensure better prices for their produce and time-bound payment through smart cards, to be distributed by the bank.

PNB stated in a release that, a pilot project has already been launched in Bulandshahr district in western UP. 

Public Sector lender Allahabad Bank is targeting a growth of 20 percent in its loan portfolio and 17 per cent in deposits this fiscal.

According to the bank, the loan growth will be mainly from small and medium enterprises, steel, cement and commercial real estate sectors.

Apart from this, the bank is targeting a premium income of Rs 400 crore annually from general insurance business, which would be set up in partnership with other banks and financial institutions by year 2011.

The bank also intends to maintain the net interest margin at 2.75 % and the capital adequacy ratio at 11% during the current financial year.

Navratna PSU Bharat Electronics Limited has secured an Rs 100 crore order to manufacture and supply 102,000 electronic voting machines for the forthcoming assembly elections in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Sikkim and Parliament elections in 2009.

BEL has dispatched the first batch of 5,000 EVM yesterday, while the rest order is scheduled to be supplied in the next two months