'During his stint as prime minister, he got 270 million people out of poverty.' 'This, according to the World Bank, is the fastest compression of poverty anywhere in the world.' Arvind Mayaram, the former finance secretary, recalls his encounters with Dr Manmohan Singh.
The CBI, in its FIR, alleged that Mayaram, the UK-based company De La Rue International Ltd and unidentified officials of the finance ministry and RBI hatched a criminal conspiracy to extend undue favour to the firm.
Union Tourism Minister Shripad Naik on Friday said that having Arvind Mayaram as the new secretary in the ministry would be of great help.
JV will set up a full-service carrier based out of New Delhi.
Moves follow government's reforms to contain fiscal deficit and promote growth.
WPI inflation rose to a 14-month high of 7.52 per cent, while the retail inflation was in double digits at 11.24 per cent in November.
DEA Secretary Arvind Mayaram is also expected to attend the event.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on Monday cleared Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airlines buying 26 per cent stake in Jet Airways for Rs 2,058 crore (Rs 20.58 billion) with some conditions.
Gold imports in 2011-12 amounted to $56.5 billion and in the current financial year, till December, they are estimated at $38 billion.
The sluggish market situation notwithstanding, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday clarified to ministry officials he wouldn't accept any slippage in the government's Budget divestment target of Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion) for this financial year.
Gold and silver imports during April, 2013 jumped by 138 per cent to $7.5 billion against $3.1 billion in the year-ago period.
Mayaram said the concerns over the pace of implementing economic reforms were "overstated".
In less than five months of resuming charge of the finance ministry, Palaniappan Chidambaram has put in place virtually a new team to take charge of the government's fiscal policy management in the remaining months of its tenure. Will the celebrated economists and IAS officers share the required equation remains to be seen.
East European countries have better rating than India though their economies are not as stable as the latter.
A high-level meeting will be convened soon to decide on probing the India operations of Chinese Telecom companies -- 'Huawei' and 'ZTE' -- against the backdrop of the US calling the two firms a threat to American national security.
The group proposes to invest Rs 10,500 crore in single-brand retail trading in India through a 100 per cent subsidiary.
Mayaram also said as of now, a shutdown of the US government is not likely to have a major impact on the Indian economy.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, also cleared the proposal of Decathlon Sports India's proposal for induction of foreign equity worth Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion) to engage in single brand retail.
A record current account deficit on back of high gold imports too was pressuring the rupee value.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board, headed by DEA Secretary Arvind Mayaram, approved the proposal at its meeting in New Delhi.
With rupee plunging to life-time low of 57.54 verus dollar, the Finance Ministry on Monday said there is an unwarranted panic in the market and hoped it will settle down in a some time.
The Department of Disinvestment proposes to begin the stake sale process in September.
Rajan has shifted from the conventional ground floor room occupied by CEAs to a room on the first floor, adjacent to Chidambaram's office.
Industry is demanding a cut in repo rate to help revive India's sagging GDP growth that hit decade's low of 4.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2012-13.
Asked if the RBI will cut rates in its upcoming policy review, he said the central bank will definitely factor into account various developments and make an assessment of the macro economic conditions.
The rupee has lost over 2.5 per cent in the two trading days of this week and nearly 10 per cent in the past six weeks on concerns of scaling down of stimulus packages by the US.
Claiming that the fundamentals of the economy are 'very strong', the newly-appointed economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram said, 'we already have a roadmap to be followed for fiscal consolidation.
The call for rate cut comes ahead of the annual monetary policy announcement scheduled for Friday, wherein it is widely expected that the apex bank will cut lending rates by 0.25 per cent as inflationary pressures have eased much more than its projected levels.
The Finance Ministry on Saturday said there is no dilution of the permission granted to the Swedish furniture major Ikea to set up its business in India, as the Rs 10,500 crore (Rs 105 billion) investment proposal is limited to only single brand retailing.
Even as the rupee plunged to a 10-week low against US dollar on Friday erasing almost the entire gains it made since the recent reform waves, the Finance Ministry on Saturday expressed optimism of a recovery before the fiscal-end and ruled out any intervention by RBI.
The government is committed to restricting fiscal deficit at 5.3 per cent of GDP this financial year and has no immediate plans to go for additional market borrowings, a senior government official said.
The finance ministry has already raised the fiscal deficit target to a more acceptable level of 5.3 per cent.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared setting up of Cabinet Committee on Investment for providing expeditious clearances to major projects worth over Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion).
Although it has not been able to sell stake in any PSU so far this fiscal, the government will be able to meet the Rs 30,000 crore disinvestment target set for 2012-13, according to Department of Economic Affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram.
"I dont think we will be able to contain fiscal deficit to our Budget plan of 5.1 per cent (of GDP). It could be 5.2 to 5.3 per cent, which is doable," Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram told reporters in New Delhi.
The foreign investment regulator cleared a decision on Vodafone Group Plc's $1.6 billion plan to take full ownership of its local unit.
Indian government has hiked the import duty on refined gold three times since January 1 and it now is at a record 10 per cent.
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Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram said India had brought its fiscal deficit down more sharply and quickly than any other country, but managing the current account deficit was more complicated because the government had less control of it.
His nomination is effective from November 11, 2014, RBI said on Monday.
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