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.
India's exports, which saw the steepest fall of 39.2 per cent in May at the height of the global financial crisis, stands arrested at 6.6 per cent in October, and the government said it would provide more support to select segments in December.
India has sought consular access for those detained, he said.
India on Wednesday asked its South Asian neighbours to increase intra-regional trade as a cushion against slowdown in exports to the US and European markets.
Finance Minister has proposed to levy MAT of 18.5 per cent on the book profits of Special Economic Zone developers and units.
The US controls exports of sensitive equipments, software and technology.
If economic pundits and analysts are to believe, India's growth story presents a rosy picture and it is destined to be a significant economic power soon.
India has assured global investors of a stable policy regime, stating no government initiative has ever been reversed or questioned in the past two decades.
The issue, which has an impact on the Indian IT industry, came up for discussion between visiting US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma in New Delhi.
Talks had collapsed in Geneva in July last year after India, among others, opposed agriculture subsidies offered by rich nations to their farmers on the grounds that this distorts trade by making produce of developing countries costly. The negotiators will meet for a week beginning September 14.
The Obama administration has not received any specific assurances from India that it will help carry the developing countries with it to help successfully complete the stalled Doha Development Agenda, but the fact that New Delhi is hosting the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting exudes optimism in this regard, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk has acknowledged
Ahead of unveiling the Foreign Trade Policy, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday said the government was looking at cooperating with states to bring down transaction costs to make exports more competitive. India's exports have been on a downslide since October 2008.
This accord marks the success of India's Look East Policy and is the first with a trading bloc.
This accord marks the success of India's Look East Policy and is the first with a trading bloc.
The meeting of the Congress' top decision-making body has been convened after demands from some quarters within the party to discuss important issues, including some defections in the recent past.
Considering the challenges, he was seen as a lightweight. One year later, his report card shows few breakthrough achievements but hardly any mess-ups.
The Forum will host a special session on 'The reality of terrorism', to be initiated by Union home minister P Chidambaram. The deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma will be part of the Indian delegation.
"In the next five years, we are aiming to have $ 250 billion FDI coming into India," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said at a CII function in New Delhi.
Commerce minister Anand Sharma had taken up the treaty when he was in the US in June. The two are also trying to bridge differences on the investment protection treaty.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Executive Director Anand Sinha is set to replace Usha Thorat as deputy governor. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has recommended Sinha's candidature to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
The Congress party's consistent foreign policy has made India expand and diversify its commerce base and, as a result, it is poised to figure among the top three economies of the world by 2030, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on Monday.
'I think pollution levels have been rising in Delhi for the past 10-12 days. We can feel it in our eyes today. The smog is dense'
A senior European Union representative said here on Tuesday that the body would soon change its Customs laws to address the issue of seizures of Indian generic drug shipments while en route for export to other countries.
The government on Tuesday indicated that it was open to changing FDI norms for multi-brand retail sector, saying policies 'are not cast in stone'.
According to the Press Notes 2, 3 and 4 of the department of industrial policy and promotion, for a company or entity to be treated as Indian, foreign investment, including American and global depository receipts, foreign currency convertible bonds, convertible preference shares and from non-resident Indians, in it should be less than 50 per cent.
"Our government is fully committed to an early breakthrough in the Doha agreement based on the December 2008 draft texts in agriculture and industrial goods. It must be a balanced agreement that addresses the legitimate concerns of developing countries," Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has issued several signals about his government's commitment to conclude the Doha talks, saying it is a priority issue for New Delhi. While many industrialised countries, including some developing nations, praised Sharma for adopting a conciliatory stance to break the 'impasse,' other members in the developing world are apprehensive about New Delhi's stance, especially its discussions with the US trade representative, trade envoys said.
At present, there is no direct air connectivity between India and Myanmar.
The recession hit US today said it wants to enhance dialogue with India on key trade policy issues, including the bilateral investment treaty under negotiation.
Earlier this week, commerce secretary Rahul Khullar met EU director-general for trade David O'Sullivan to review the progress so far. Several differences mired the process over EU's insistence on including social issues such as human rights, labour policies and climate change within the FTA purview.
Over the past five years, US-India trade has more than doubled and the US continues to be India's largest trading partner -- if goods and services are counted -- a total bilateral trade standing at $65.9 billion in 2009.
Helped by an impressive 46.4 per cent rise in June, exports grew by a hefty 45.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal despite uncertainties in the US and European markets.
Faced with slump in demand in key markets such as the US and Europe, India's exports plunged by 30 per cent in May as per the quick estimates, given by commerce secretary G K Pillai. The final figures will be released on July 1. Exports fell the most in 14 years by 33.2 per cent in April to $10.74 billion in April 2009-10, from $16.08 billion a year ago.
The $31-billion company, which sources around 30 per cent of its global consumption from India, had also criticised the Indian government for not opening foreign direct investment in single brand retailing.
'Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal are the two people who have been marked and punished'
Along with rising exports, the imports too went up by 54.1 at $40.9 billion during the month, pushing up the trade deficit to $15 billion during May. Imports grew highest in the last four years.
India will make yet another effort at the ministerial level to give a push to Doha Round of WTO trade talks before leaders of the G-20 meet in Seoul next month.
