A Priority Foreign Country is a status reserved for those nations that are the most egregious violators of intellectual property rights and have the most negative impact on US competitiveness abroad.
The Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the apex body set up by the Union ministry of commerce to monitor the jewellery business overseas, says it might call for pulling out of the diamond cutting and polishing business in China.
The Board of approval in the commerce ministry took these decisions along with approving two fresh proposals of Shyam Steel Industries and Limitless Properties in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, respectively. The BoA also ratified extension of time to 23 developers, including Satyam Computer Services, for implementing tax-free enclaves in the wake of economic slowdown.
The country's textile industry is concentrated in a few pockets of Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west and Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the south.
In the run up to three years of the National Democratic Alliance government, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge) Nirmala Sitharaman says it is time to consolidate some of the major initiatives as well as take new steps.
The government is working towards setting up an international diamond trading centre in the country and is keen to encourage investment by Indians in diamond mines abroad, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath said on Tuesday.
Although the country's leading gems and jewellery traders, dealers and exporters are ready to grab a significant portion of the $25-billion market, key changes are required in the country's Income Tax Act and Customs Act.
Lakhs of jobs are at stake.
The product was banned for export earlier, but has now been moved to the restricted category, under which an exporter would have to seek a licence from the government for shipments.
The government on Thursday launched a Grievances Redress Cell for exporters and importers in a bid to improve the of the directorate general of foreign trade.
A high-level inter-ministerial task force wants the business of narcotics to be simplified, something which, it said, would be an opportunity for the over $17-billion Indian pharmaceutical industry.
The new Special Economic Zones, including the Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery, would help increase India's SEZ exports by 40 per cent this fiscal, righting partially the dismal picture of the country's total exports, according to government estimates.
Total outflow and inflow of foreign investment in general for 2014-15 fiscal was $6.42 bn and $75.71 bn, respectively
A limited number of activities will remain prohibited across the country, irrespective of the zone, including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/coaching institutions.
The Doha negotiations has been virtually stalled since July 2008.
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.
Financial details of the project, awarded by the department of industrial policy and promotion, were not disclosed. The eBiz Project announced on Tuesday is among the 27 central, state and integrated mission mode projects under the National e-Governance Plan of the Department of Information Technology. Under it, Infosys will also do training, workshops, promotion and awareness campaigns.
According to initial estimates available with the commerce ministry, these sectors, which constitute a third of India's export basket, have posted a dip of 18-54 per cent in December 2008. Exporters claim they do not have orders beyond January 2009, adding that the situation could lead to 10 million job losses if things did not improve.
In a pre-budget meeting with revenue secretary P V Bhide, a Ficci delegation asked the finance ministry to tread with caution on rolling back the stimulus measures taken to spur growth.
The Board of approval had given more time for Raheja's to develop their project in the state. The project is one amongst the three SEZs recommended to be denotified by the state government. Goa's Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik said he would meet new Union Commerce ministry Anand Sharma and brief him on the issue.
The Mumbai SEZ had sought the stay on the grounds that if the acquisition is not completed by June 8, the entire process will lapse under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
With pricing power of producers unlikely to strengthen and commodities ex-crude oil likely to remain sluggish in the immediate term, the core-WPI inflation may remain sub-zero in the rest of this calendar year.
Developers will now be able to get their land classified as an SEZ at the initial stage of approval by submitting legal documents that prove land ownership. With exports falling sharply in the last six months, faster development of SEZs is seen as one way of increasing overseas sales of Indian goods and services, an official said.
Narendra Modi's victory does not represent a victory of 'the Indian nation', but only an elite-driven polarising phenomenon. The sooner we -- and the BJP -- recognise this, the better, says Praful Bidwai.
Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) are likely to touch Rs 2 lakh crore in 2009-10, a 100 per cent jump from the year-ago period, with Reliance Industries' Jamnagar special economic zone expected to contribute the most to the kitty.
The Budget emphasises on capacity building and empowerment of marginalised sections of society including farmers.
The issues around trade gaps, especially around steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by the US, will be addressed separately.
Centre could experiment in setting up education parks in the country like in IT sector and workout to provide special incentives to those setting up the parks, National Knowledge Commission chairman Sam G Pitroda said. He said government could experiment in establishing education parks so that it can work out strategies to enhance quality of education.
The Centre, in a stimulus package on December 7, provided an interest subvention of two per cent up to March 2009 for pre and post-shipment export credit for labour-intensive exports (textiles, leather, marine products) and SME sector.
The Directorate General of Foreign trade on Friday issued an order banning toy imports from China, which is India's biggest trade partner, for six months. The notification, however, gave no reason for the ban.
Watal a 1978-batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS officer.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday held discussions with Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath and is believed to have reviewed the Satyam issue, a day after the minister came out in support of extending financial help to the beleaguered IT firm.
There are indications or signs of the economy picking up -- collection of GST and consumption of electricity, said former RBI governor, C Rangarajan.
