Numbers could be classified further into (140) marketing and (160 or 161) for service calls to easily identify the purpose of the call in the future.
Government has issued a formal notification for raising foreign direct investment limit in public sector refineries to 49 per cent. The FDI would require prior approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board. The condition of compulsory divestment of up to 26 per cent by foreign companies commencing trading and marketing of petroleum products has been deleted. Government had allowed 100% FDI in actual trading and marketing of petroleum products, with 26% divestment condition.
In 2011-12, FDI rose 34.4 per cent to $46.84 billion, compared with $34.84 billion in 2010-11 and $37.74 billion in 2009-10, according to data from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
In October 2011, the country had attracted FDI worth $1.16 billion.
International coffee chain Starbucks will send a revised application to the department of industrial policy and promotion for an entry into the Indian market.
The government has authorised economic think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) to collect data to be used for compilation of the new series of Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Amid a debate within the government on allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, the nodal consumer affairs ministry is insisting on a foreign direct investment cap of 49 per cent in the sensitive sector, sources said.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India declined by about 15 per cent to $12.6 billion (Rs 74,971 crore) during April-October this year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
The decision to increase FDI in single brand retail was taken by the Cabinet on November 24 along with opening the gates for overseas investment in the multi-brand retail.
The Cabinet has agreed to the suggestion of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion or DIPP to allow companies like Walmart and Tesco to set up shop in the country.
Most states have urged the Union consumer affairs ministry to set up a retail regulatory authority before opening up the sector for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). These views form part of the report, prepared by the ministry after seeking the views of states.
The two groups have another JV, Wadia BSN, set up in 1996 to launch Groupe Danone's products from its global portfolio. However, nothing has been launched through the JV till date and Danone is in negotiations with the Wadias to dissolve the JV.
The department of industrial policy and promotion has been engaged in the annual exercise of review of the FDI policy for several months and has received quite a feedback from number of ministries like petroleum, food processing and finance.
The economy clocked a robust 7.9 per cent growth in the second quarter, catapulted by a stimulus packages-powered strong industrial growth. And, manufacturing grew by 9.2 per cent against 5.1 per cent in the year-ago quarter.
Scheduled meetings of various Groups of Ministers have been postponed for the foreseeable future as key ministers in the United Progressive Alliance government turn their attention to political assignments for the Assembly polls in six states.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has asked India Inc to incorporate data of SC/STs recruited from January 1, 2007 onwards in their annual reports for the financial year ending March 2007.
To further simplify the foreign investment regime, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion proposes to ease investment norms for foreign companies that have existing joint ventures or technical collaborations in India.
The sector attracted foreign investments to the tune of $1,252 million during the year, a 12.8 per cent decline compared to $1,437 million registered in the previous year, according to latest data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (see table).
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion secretary Ajay Shankar told PTI, "India is emerging as a globally competitive manufacturing hub for small fuel efficient cars." Shankar, who was in London to interact with the UK-India Business Council and the India Business Forum, said, though, export-oriented small and medium enterprises have been severely hit, 'fortunately the auto-sector in India has revived.'
India has emerged as the second largest manufacturer of cement in the world, according to a latest report released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Foreign direct investment in the multi-brand retail may be allowed subject to a stiff condition that global retailers will have to invest heavily in the back-end infrastructure like warehousing and cold storage.
The government on Friday said it has started implementing liberal FDI rules under which proposals up to Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) foreign equity would be cleared by the Finance Minister without seeking approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
Foreign investment cannot enter India through a circuitous route in sectors like multi-brand retail, atomic energy and the lottery business and will need to operate within the sectoral caps, according to new guidelines.
Undeterred by global credit freeze, India maintains a bullish outlook on attracting foreign direct investment which may be governed by easier rules, a top government official said.
Move to make investing in sectors with FDI cap easier.
The relaxation will apply to those sectors that have composite caps (foreign direct investment or FDI plus FII). "The move will not impact sectors like banking and insurance which are governed by Acts of Parliament. However, sectors with composite caps which see administrative control like telecommunication services, broadcast services like direct-to-home and FM radio will benefit," a Delhi based FDI policy expert told Business Standard.
ICICI Bank has asked the government not to take into account overseas securities like ADR and GDR when deciding on whether a bank is Indian or foreign.
Four states - Karantaka, Kerala, Odisha and Rajasthan - were in the top performers' category.
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.
Cement makers have agreed to hold prices for a year, but refused to roll back the recent price hike, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on Friday.
Road ministry identified bike-sharing, carpooling and e-rickshaws as ways to deal with rising pollution in major cities.
The central bank may classify them as foreign-owned Indian banks.
While the new norms are part of the draft policy's guidelines to fight counterfeit and fake products on platforms, they might end up helping brands and e-commerce firms sign exclusive sale deals.
India is estimated to have received FDI of $27.5 billion in 2008-09, up from $24.57 billion in the previous year. Though the cumulative increase for 2008-09 is small, it is considered a positive development, given the fact that the global financial crisis is the worst.
The inflation rate has been falling at a steady pace, after peaking at 12.83 per cent for the week ended August 16, 2008, mainly due to declining commodity prices. However, on a week-on-week basis, the WPI rose marginally by 0.04 per cent, due to increase in prices of certain articles, including food products like fruit and vegetables, condiments and spices as well as some processed food items.
This was part of a set of clarifications issued by DIPP on the norms to be used to treat downstream investments by Indian companies which have foreign equity, termed Press Note 4. Investing company means an Indian one holding only investments in other Indian companies. Foreign owned or controlled means either having foreign ownership in excess of 50 per cent or non-residents having powers to appoint a majority of board members.
Foreign direct investment limit in insurance sector is likely to be hiked to 49 per cent only after the Lok Sabha elections.
