Pakistan on Friday pitched for liberalising visa regime with India and expressed willingness to accord non-discriminatory market access (NDMA) to New Delhi soon to boost bilateral trade.
UK's largest retailer Tesco, Singapore Airlines and Etihad queued up to invest in India as a persistent UPA threw open more sectors to foreign investments with indications of more big ticket deals to be announced in the new year.
India and other developing nations, on the other hand, want the peace clause until a permanent solution is found on the matter for smooth implementation of the food security programme.
When asked about the possibility of talks getting extended for another day, World Trade Organization spokesperson Keith Rockwell said: "The concept of time is flexible in WTO."
The minister, at a packed press conference, made it clear that New Delhi was not prepared for any compromise on the food security issue, adding the deal at Bali has to be fair and balanced as 'it is better to have no agreement than a bad Agreement'.
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Trade ministers and diplomats from around 130 countries are participating in the four-day meeting that started on Tuesday.
India's Food Security Act entitles 82 crore people to 5 kg of foodgrains per person a month at Rs 1-3 per kg.
Refusing to budge from its tough stand on food security issues, India pressed for a fair and balanced outcome of the WTO ministerial meeting in Bali.
Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, Chair of the Ninth Ministerial Conference, and the three Vice Chairs, in a joint statement, urged 'all WTO members to come together over the next few days to make the necessary breakthroughs, working closely with WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo.'
As hard bargains continue for the next four days at the picturesque tourist resort of Indonesia, the ministers., including from the influential developed countries will try and reach agreements on providing windows to the developing nations for their food security programmes and a pact to free the global trade from the procedural hassles at the customs.
The telecom to look at opportunities to acquire another firm in India.
The government liberalised FDI policy in sectors, including multi-brand retail, single-brand retail, commodity exchanges, power exchanges, broadcasting, non-banking financial institutions and asset reconstruction companies.
Indian exports, which was hit by global slowdown last year, are likely to remain sluggish during 2013 as well due to challenging economic conditions in western economies, though policymakers have drawn a strategy to diversify exports.
The government had imposed Minimum Alternative Tax and Dividend Distribution Tax on SEZs in 2010-11, which were earlier exempted from almost all levies.
Extending airport-like facilities for cross-border passengers and cargo movement, India on Friday said it has approved a liberal visa regime for people of Pakistan, as New Delhi seeks peace and harmony with Islamabad with the help of trade free of all barriers.
"It was agreed that the first meeting for this purpose (starting of negotiations for comprehensive economic cooperation agreement) would be scheduled by June or July," India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told reporters at a joint press conference with Australian Trade Minister Craig Emerson in Canberra, Australia.
Job-oriented sectors such as tea, cashew, apparel, carpets, leather, textiles and handicrafts continue to face weak demand in traditional markets such as Europe and the US.
Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma met his counterparts from the ten Asean-member nations to review the progress of negotiations at Da Nang.
Rentals for commercial complexes fell sharply and the land, developers felt, could be employed for other purposes.
Exporters bled all through the year, with heir woes peaking in May when consignments dropped 40 per cent, the most in 13 years, but hope appeared by way of 18.3 per cent growth in exports in November.
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