The government is expected to take a decision tomorrow on the issue of allowing foreign airlines to buy up to 49 per cent stake in cash-starved Indian carriers.
The group is also reported to be seeking the ouster of some Rahul Gandhi loyalists from key AICC positions and top on their target are AICC general secretary Organisation K C Venugopal, chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and general secretary Ajay Maken.
Without making big-ticket changes in the economic ministries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday shifted Law Minister M Veerappa Moily to the ministry of corporate affairs and inducted young Milind Deora in his council of ministers.
The issue was taken up at a meeting in New Delhi between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and visiting Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan may touch USD 10 billion by 2015, if trade and investment barriers are removed, CII said.
Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, speaking on the sidelines of a defence exhibition in the UAE capital, said officials would meet Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharma to discuss the deal.
Meeting on Tuesday to decide on letting foreign airlines buy into domestic ones.
The highest polling of 72.35 per cent was recorded in Sirmour district followed by 68.48 per cent in Solan and 67.67 per cent in Una and 67.5 per cent in Lahaul and Spiti. The high-altitude district of Lahaul and Spiti had recorded 21.95 per cent, the lowest, till 1 pm, but polling was brisk as the sun came out.
India and many other countries are unlikely to achieve the UN Millennium Development goals of halving poverty and education for all children by 2015, said India's Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma.
"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.
The manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, declined by 2 per cent in October as against a growth of 9.9 per cent a year ago.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma will meet new US Trade Representative Ron Kirk at Bali in Indonesia on June 6-7, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Cairns Group of farm product-exporting countries. The two countries have serious differences on the level of protection that can be given to farmers as and when the global market for farm products is opened up. India has argued all along that it cannot compromise on food security and livelihood concerns.
Anand Sharma, who took charge of the nodal ministry for FDI on May 29, said there is no need for a relook at the policy amended in February by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. While the policy does not allow overseas inflow into this sector, the changes in February were perceived to be opening the sector to FDI up to 49 per cent in an Indian firm that has a downstream subsidiary firm in retailing.
The TERC, which comprises, among others Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, will also review the state of play in the Doha Round of talks for a multilateral trade agreement under the aegis of World Trade Organization, sources said.
There was, however, no common ground between the government and the traders delegation as Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma made it clear to them that there was no question of rollback of the decision to open the multi-brand retail to foreign investment.
The guidelines regarding the decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in the multi-brand retail will be issued by next week.
Efforts are on to convince West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to support FDI in multi-brand retail which is coming up for consideration of the Union Cabinet on Thursday evening.
Commerce ministers of the three countries, who met in Pretoria on Tuesday, also decided to hold formal annual trilateral talks to boost intra-IBSA trade.
"We are seriously considering raising the bar further- that means to allow increased FDI," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said at a CII event on Indian luxury market.
The far-reaching Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement serves a number of national interests on both sides.
India and Malaysia on Friday signed a landmark pact that paves the way for freer flow of trade in goods and services, besides enhanced investment and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Former Central Bureau of Investigation joint director Amit Kumar, who is now posted as Chhattisgarh police ADG, led the probe into the coal scam that resulted in convictions in a number of cases.
India will sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) with Japan on Wednesday, setting the stage for free bilateral trade of goods and services.
The sops, to be given under different schemes like 'Focus Market' and 'Focus Products' from January to December 2011, were unveiled here by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
The commerce ministry has sought a review of foreign direct investment policy in the pharmaceutical sector, in the light of recent takeovers of domestic companies by multinationals.
When India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma met his counterpart in Beijing last year, he spoke mainly about India's yawning trade deficit and China agreed that this was a problem that needed fixing.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday asked party leaders from Himachal Pradesh to put up a united front and help the party regain power in the state.
The Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry comprising top industrialists and bankers met on Wednesday and reviewed the economic situation, particularly in the wake of the European financial crisis.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday said the government will soon announce incentives for labour intensive export sectors, notwithstanding high growth in the shipments during December.
Wen said, China is ready to work with India to increase the scale, and expand the scope of bilateral business cooperation.
The document consolidating all the aspects of foreign direct investment policy and framework will be released by commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma, an official said.
Keen on expanding oil and gas explorations in Vietnam's East Sea, energy-hungry India today said it will be a "win-win" situation for both the economies.
Noting that SMEs in India account of substantial part of domestic production and that 40 per cent of the manufacturing and exports come out of SMEs, the minister said that SMEs, particularly the medium enterprises, are great incubators of technologies and that such an initiative would make the bilateral trade and commerce more meaningful.
The government plans to put in place a system for issuing biometric passports or e-passports by the end of this year and citizens can get them by 2008, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said on Friday.
Enthused by the success of US President Barack Obama's visit, India said on Tuesday it is time to 'seriously consider' a trade-opening agreement with America, similar to the ones entered with the ASEAN and South Korea.
An interview with Anand Sharma, co-founder of TBM Consulting Group. Sharma is also the company's president and CEO. Recently he has co-authored the book The Antidote -- How to Transform Your Business for the Extreme Challenges of the 21st Century with Gary Hourselt, who is the TBM execeutive vice president.
On Thursday, 4 buffaloes were killed after being hit by the train.
Of late, Indian businessmen have been complaining about difficulties in obtaining German visas.
The chief minister said that he had received Sharma's letter regarding the union cabinet's decision for liberalisation of the Foreign Direct investment policy in multi brand retail.
India and Australia have expressed a keen interest to work together to boost two-way trade following talks in Canberra during the visit of Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, its Trade Minister has said.
