India and the United Kingdom have agreed on the text of a landmark civil nuclear agreement and a formal pact may be signed within a week, Britain's Business Secretary Lord Peter Mandelson announced on Thursday. "The civil nuclear deal text has been agreed to and it will be signed soon, may be within a week after ministerial approvals," Lord Mandelson told a joint press conference with Commerce Minister Anand Sharma.
On his maiden visit to New Delhi to attend the two-day informal ministerial meet on Doha round, Kirk told reporters in a teleconference that he would be back to New Delhi in just over a month for 'continued talks' relative to the Trade Policy Forum.
India is the world's largest diamond cutting centre.
India on Thursday extended tax holiday and duty refund for exporters, while allowing duty free capital goods import under its Foreign Trade Policy to insulate them from protectionism induced by recession abroad. Unveiling the five-year policy, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma set a target of $200 billion worth exports for next fiscal, a feat that India failed to achieve in 2008-09 due to a slump in global demand in the face of financial crisis.
It appears that the focus of commerce minister Anand Sharma, when he unveils the new foreign trade policy, will be to eliminate unnecessary paperwork and thereby help reduce transaction costs for exporters, while retaining the basic framework of the present FTP.
After six years of painstaking talks, the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement will be signed which will eliminate duties on 80 per cent of goods traded between the two over the next eight years. Commerce minister Anand Sharma, who is in Bangkok to sign the pact, said the agreement is well balanced and is in harmony with the India's Look East Policy.
At present, there is no direct air connectivity between India and Myanmar.
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.
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Exports picked up to post a growth of nearly 13 per cent.
Sharma, who has been regularly reviewing the situation with senior officials, has expressed concern over the drop in industrial performance in the recent months, the statement said.
Industry is of the view that rising interest rates is increasing the input cost as loans are getting costlier.
India's commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said that from 2012 the country would be able to attract 50 billion dollars annually.
Data exclusivity provides protection to the technical data generated by innovator companies to prove the merit of usefulness of their products.
Contrary to Modi's claim of the state being the largest beneficiary of Foreign Direct Investment, Gujarat has received only $8 billion of foreign investment during the 13-year period beginning 2000, according to the Union Minister.
India and Saudi Arabia on Friday, agreed to increase investments in each other's country through joint ventures to enhance economic cooperation. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Saudi Arabian Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah bin Ahmed Zainal Alireza, agreed to regular exchange of business delegations to sensitise the businesspersons in both the countries.
The BJP maintained that stability in economic growth and economic policies of the government along with strong currency attracts foreign investment.
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.
In a meeting with the commerce minister, India Inc hammered Sharma on the collapse of investments, structural nature of the current account deficit and stagnant growth in agriculture.
Leveraging the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, India wants to double its commerce with Myanmar and diversify the bilateral engagement to agro-research and natural gas exploration.
India will intensify its global economic engagement in sync with the country's profile and the government will take 'every possible step' to give a filip to the industry, new commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said on Friday. Sharma is taking charge of the trade ministry at a time when India's exports have suffered a severe setback due to the global downturn.
Sharma proposes to pass on the 'handover note' to his successor, which as per the poll projections is likely to be from Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
Worried over continuous decline in exports, the Commerce Ministry has stepped up its pressure on Finance Ministry to expeditiously notify a scheme which was announced in June to boost the overseas shipments.
The government had imposed Minimum Alternative Tax and Dividend Distribution Tax on SEZs in 2010-11, which were earlier exempted from almost all levies.
In a major policy reversal, the AAP government wrote to the Centre to withdraw approval given by previous Congress government for FDI in multi-brand retailing in Delhi, saying the entry of global chains such as Walmart and Tesco in India would result in large-scale job losses.
The longer India delays in creating a manufacturing-based middle class, the more difficult it may be to create one.
On Monday, the EU had temporarily banned imports of Alphonso mangoes, the king of fruits, and four vegetables from India from May 1.
In the latest changes made by the Congress before the Chintan Shivir, former Karnataka Chief Minister and former Foreign Minister S M Krishna has been dropped as the chairman of the sub-group on foreign policy titled India and the world and instead Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has been put in his place.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and the US Trade Representative Ron Kirk would sign the India-US Trade Policy Forum Framework for cooperation on trade and investment in Washington on March 17.
The government will unveil measures in the Budget for helping exporters who are hit hard by recession in the developed economies, new Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on Friday.
During the talks, both sides failed to reach on a conclusion and has agreed to meet again in June.
In a major policy reversal, the AAP government wrote to the Centre to withdraw the approval given by the previous Sheila Dikshit government for FDI in multi-brand retailing in Delhi, saying the entry of global chains such as Walmart and Tesco in India would result in large-scale job losses.
Talks for an India-European Union free trade agreement started in 2007 and the eighth round of negotiations was completed in New Delhi last month.
Commerce and Industrial Promotion minister Anand Sharma's rise in government has been dizzying, which is why his current setback is also precipitous. Ahead of the cabinet meeting that took place after Sharma's project -- to ensure the approval of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail -- was given the thumbs down, his colleagues are asking some searching questions and seeking some hard answers.
Asks India Inc for a list of concerns in 4 weeks, to coordinate policy response within 60 days; FM says prevailing cynicism based on perception, not facts.
Describing Supreme Court's direction asking Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee to appear before a Ghaziabad court in a cheating case an "extreme step", Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Friday said it would adversely impact investment and business climate.
Believes companies would come to India eventually.
To involve local craftsmen in designing the outlets.
While winding up his speech against foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member of Rajya Sabha V Maitreyan thanked all those who supported his stand and said the government had committed a blunder.
Russia on Tuesday invited Indian pharmaceutical companies to set up joint ventures in the country. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin during his meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said Russian pharma firms were keen to increase their engagements with Indian companies including setting up joint ventures.
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