Opposing a government-panel proposal to hike FDI limit in multi-brand retail, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Wednesday said such a move will hurt interest of small traders and mostly benefit large corporates.
The Finance Ministry on Monday sought to assure the investors that the country's fundamentals are "very strong" even as the rupee slipped to below 63 to a US dollar and the BSE Sensex plunged by over 426 points on global cues, following currency crisis in Argentina.
Seeking to spur foreign investments, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said the Union Cabinet will decide on raising FDI caps in different sectors in the third week of this month.
To check rising current account deficit, the government has raised import duties and the Reserve Bank of India had imposed curbs on import of the yellow metal and also laid down various pre-conditions for inward shipments of the precious metal.
The capital markets watchdog had set up an expert panel in March to suggest new measures to regulate insider trading.
In order to contain current account deficit, the Reserve Bank last month imposed restrictions on gold imports by banks and other authorised agencies.
The FIPB, headed by Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, discussed 30 foreign direct investment proposals, including 10 from pharma sector.
The government has approved 16 projects envisaging foreign investment worth Rs 1,647 crore (Rs 16.47 billion), while deferring Punj Lloyd's proposals for lack of security clearance.
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The economy grew at a four year low of 4.4 per cent in the April-June quarter of current year.
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday surprised the markets by saying it will continue with its monthly $85-billion bond buying programme and wait for more evidence of growth recovery.
Country's fiscal deficit touched Rs 516,390 crore or 95.2 per cent of the annual target during April-December, the Controller General of Accounts said.
The long-pending Jet-Etihad deal envisaging foreign investment of Rs 2,058 crore will come up before Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for approval on July 29.
Eight FDI proposals worth Rs 1,311.54 crore (Rs 13.11 billion), including that of Norwegian telecom firm Telenor, have been cleared by the government on the basis of FIPB approvals.
No reason was cited for rescheduling of the meeting.
In response the BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - have taken steps to strengthen cooperation such as setting up a joint development bank
The setting is expected to be less structured than the prime minister's introductory mega meeting with top bureaucrats soon after taking charge as PM
The G20 in 2013 had unanimously agreed to a 15 point action plan to check BEPS
India's economic growth had slumped to a decade's low of five per cent in 2012-13.
SSTL is the second operator after Vodafone that has approached FIPB for raising FDI limit.
Worried over excessive outflow of foreign exchange as royalty and fees for technology transfer and use of brand names, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma wrote to Finance Minister P Chidambram on the matter.
The Singapore subsidiary of the UK-based GlaxoSmithKline plans to buy 24.33 per cent stake or 2.06 crore equity shares in GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd through an open offer.
India's current account deficit, which is the excess of foreign exchange outflows over inflows, touched a historic high of 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2012-13, mainly due to rising imports of gold and petroleum products.
Following his resignation, the Finance Ministry has appointed Joint Secretary Anup Wadhawan as Chairman of the PFRDA.
The rupee was also pressured as the euro fell for a second day on Friday, hurt by the European Central Bank's surprise interest rate cut and a downgrade to France's credit rating, while the dollar inched up before a key US jobs report.
The local currency opened higher at 61.20 a dollar from the previous close of 61.30 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market.
RBI is scheduled to announce mid-quarter review of monetary policy for 2013-14 on June 17.
The country last raised the amount of government debt that foreign investors can buy by $5 billion in June last year.
It came down from $1.94 billion in 2009-10 to $1.17 billion the next year and to $1.11 billion in 2011-12.
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The proposal of Tatas and Singapore Airlines for a new joint venture, entailing foreign investment of $49 million, is likely to come up before the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for approval on October 18.
Following the meeting, Subbarao said the central bank will look into the latest inflation numbers before coming out with the monetary policy review.
The bond, which the Reserve Bank of India started issuing on behalf of the Union government in 2003, was considered one of the safest savings instruments for retail investors.
A panel headed by Economic Affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram had suggested FDI limit be raised to 49 per cent in almost all sectors through the automatic route.
Some experts had said the Budget did not have much in terms of big ideas.
Lower crude prices mean less government outlay for India,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Berlin for an overnight stopover on his way to Brazil for the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Summit meeting that will address regional crises and security threats to restore a climate of peace while advancing global economic stability.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Brazil on Sunday for attending the five-nation summit of BRICS nations on July 14 and 15 which is expected to finalise the setting up of a development bank and seek reforms of the United Nations and international financial organisations.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and did not rule out the support of her party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to his government in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling National Democratic Alliance is in a minority.
The Department of Telecom, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and the Department of Economic Affairs had to give their comments on the proposal, sources said.
They expressed concern on taxation issues, the high fiscal and current account deficits, and sought removal of capital gains tax.
Approval comes 6 months after Swedish clothing giant applied for India entry; FIPB now to consider on Oct 18.
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