Saturday, August 27 2005 15:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Prince of Arcot, Mohammed Abdul Ali, today (August 27, 2005) lauded the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government asking the RBI to explore the possibility of bringing 'Islamic banking' into India.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, the Prince welcomed the 'historic and momentous' decision saying it was a 'positive step towards economic reforms with a human face' as mentioned in the Common Minimum Programme of the UPA Government.

'Interest-free Islamic banking will help the poor and the marginalised segments of society,' he said, adding, interest-free banking products which complied with Islamic laws were becoming increasingly popular, not only in Gulf countries, but in eastern states like Malaysia and other developed markets like United Kingdom (UK).

"There is a huge potential market in India for Islamic banking products as well," he pointed out.