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.
Ten states and Union Territories had endorsed FDI in the sector by August 13.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has written to chief ministers of Odisha, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, stating opening the multi-brand sector to the foreign direct investment would 'bring in investments, technologies and efficiencies to unlock the true potential of the agricultural value chain'.
Expressing concern over its widening trade deficit with China, New Delhi on Monday asked the neighbouring country to provide more access to Indian goods and services to bridge the gap.
A trade agreement between the two nations would have to factor in US' concerns about IPRs and India's anxiety about market access.
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.
According to the minister, India needs to expand its manufacturing sector to boost exports and ensure sustainability.
Terming an American proposal to increase visa fees as discriminatory, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Tuesday said the increase would cost Indian firms $200 million extra a year and make them less competitive.
India on Thursday said it will support a candidate from a developing country for the top post of the the World Trade Organization (WTO) that is to be decided by the end of May.
Wen said, China is ready to work with India to increase the scale, and expand the scope of bilateral business cooperation.
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.
A meeting of the Board of Trade, an advisory body to the Commerce Ministry, is likely to be held on October 11, a ministry official said.
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.
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 Bill, which also seeks to empower the government to impose quantitative restrictions on import to protect the interest of domestic industry, was approved by the Rajya Sabha earlier.
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.
"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 issue was taken up at a meeting in New Delhi between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and visiting Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
With large FDIs moving to Africa, India should focus on more than just development aid to build sustainable ties with the continent. The African continent has been clearly recognised as the next big market for trade and investment globally.
At present, global retail firms can invest up to 51 per cent in India and need a local joint venture partner.
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.
Of late, Indian businessmen have been complaining about difficulties in obtaining German visas.
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.
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.
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'.
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.
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.
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'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.
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