A week ahead of the RBI reviewing the monetary policy with expectations of a policy rate hike, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has cautioned that raising cost of borrowing "may not be suitable" tool to rein in inflation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will review the proposed bilateral trade and investment agreement between India and the EU at the meeting of the Trade and Economic Relations Committee (TERC) on May 29.
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.
"Indian foreign direct investment in the US is more than America's FDI in India."
The government has announced several incentives for exporters to explore new destinations under focus market and focus product scheme.
The Commerce Ministry wants the Reserve Bank to reduce interest rate for dollar credit in its forthcoming monetary policy to help sustain the fledgling recovery in the exports sector.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said he had strongly brought up India's concern over the denial of professional visas for its workers, in his meetings with senior Obama Administration officials.
India will unveil a single policy for foreign direct investment, including in sectors such as financial services, insurance and banking by March 31, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has disclosed.
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.
The government in December had announced incentives for exporters that include extension of two per cent interest subsidy for an additional one year ending March, 2014.
India Inc is ready to invest in Russia's pharmaceutical sector and the two governments are working on a joint document to this effect, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said.
Before leaving on a 10-day foreign visit starting Monday, Sharma said he would address concerns of foreign retail sector investors and ensure help in setting up stores.
Officials in the government, however, said India could only lodge a protest and not take legal action against the US.
The working group members have been selected from the board of trade, which met here under the chairmanship of Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
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.
Sharma was speaking to journalists while returning with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from Cambodia last night on special aircraft after attending the ASEAN and East Asia Summits.
At present, global retail firms can invest up to 51 per cent in India and need a local joint venture partner.
Four new retailers from US, two from Germany may have shown interest in setting up shop in India.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has warned countries trying to introduce protectionist measures that this would not only be counter-productive, but also deepen the recession and delay recovery.
"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.
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.
The issue on Monday figured in a bilateral meeting held in Agra between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and visiting South Korean Minister of Knowledge Economy Sukwoo Hong, in which the Korean side raised the issue of delays in Posco project clearance, an official statement said.
The far-reaching Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement serves a number of national interests on both sides.
India will sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) with Japan on Wednesday, setting the stage for free bilateral trade of goods and services.
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.
The country's economic growth slipped to a decade-low of 4.5 per cent in 2012-13 and is estimated at 4.9 per cent in the current financial year.
Officials from India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations would resume their talks to widen of the scope of a Free Trade Agreement with the 10-nation trading bloc to cover services and investment.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht concluded another round of talks on Monday at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, which the Commission said 'provided a renewed momentum to bring the negotiations forward'.
India clearly told the EU it would 'not accept' any further concession, as far as the automobile sector was concerned.
For the third month in a row, exports rose in January, reporting 11.5 per cent growth to $14.34 billion, against $12.9 billion in the year-ago period, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said.
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.
Of late, Indian businessmen have been complaining about difficulties in obtaining German visas.
The meeting, which would have representation from the ministries of finance, external affairs and micro and small and medium enterprises, would suggest steps to prepare the way for the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy (2009-2014), expected to be unveiled in April.
India's exports, after declining for over a year, are expected to improve in the coming months even as global slowdown continues, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on Wednesday.
Days ahead of India-EU annual summit, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday said a few ends are yet to be stitched for concluding the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two sides.
The minister, at a packed press conference, made it clear that New Delhi was not prepared for any compromise on the food security issue, adding the deal at Bali has to be fair and balanced as 'it is better to have no agreement than a bad Agreement'.
When IKEA's CEO & India's industry minister sealed a deal in-principle last year, foreign investors took note.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma is expected to visit Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur between February 14 and 18 for signing the pacts -- Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan and Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Malaysia, an official told PTI.
"... An early conclusion of Doha Round is important; India is willing to take part in negotiations at the WTO provided the core concerns of the Round, namely development concerns of developing nations are addressed," commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma told Rajya Sabha.
The country feels that the talks are necessary to revive the global economy.
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