'The government wants foreign companies to capture the insurance market.'
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Kerala have been ranked as the top five states in innovation in Niti Aayog's second Innovation Index released on Wednesday. The index, released by Niti Aayog's vice chairman Rajiv Kumar and CEO Amitabh Kant, has been developed on the lines of the Global Innovation Index. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar have been ranked at the bottom of the index. Karnataka topped the index for the second year in a row.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is 'not an economic fundamentalist', senior Sangh leader Ram Madhav said on Thursday making it clear that the Narendra Modi government is free to take decisions for the good of the country including on foreign direct investment.
.jpg)
For India to invoke "sovereign" or "state" immunity to safeguard its foreign assets, which are under threat of getting seized in the intensifying legal battle with Cairn Energy, may come with several riders. Experts point out that the Indian government has to first satisfy the French court that the properties or assets that are under consideration are being used to dispense the state's sovereign functions.
The central government is on track to meet its fiscal deficit target of 6.4 per cent of the GDP for 2022-23 on the back of strong growth in revenue collections, the World Bank said in its India Development Update on Tuesday. High nominal GDP growth in the first quarter supported strong growth in revenue collection, especially Goods and Services Tax (GST), despite tax cuts on fuel. Notwithstanding an increase in spending due to expanded fertilizer subsidies and food subsidies for vulnerable households in response to the commodity price shock, the government is on track to meet its FY22/23 fiscal deficit target of 6.4 per cent of GDP and the general government deficit is projected to decline to 9.6 per cent from 10.3 per cent in FY21/22 and 13.3 per cent in FY20/21.
The probe is being conducted under various sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after the central probe agency recently received a communication from the commerce ministry seeking "necessary action" against e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart pertaining to certain multi-brand retail businesses and an observation made by the Delhi High Court in relation to Amazon.
Foreign direct investment in India has increased by about 35 per cent to $13.6 billion during the first half of 2013 with merger and acquisitions accounting for the bulk of inflows, says an UNCTAD report.
India's rank was further amplified by the collapse of the South American and Russian economies.
A few days after the government made the crucial policy announcement, Tony Fernandes, chief executive officer of Air Asia, the largest low-cost carrier in Southeast Asia, said he would visit India this month.
'Air India's privatisation is acceptable as long as its control does not pass on to a foreign entity,' says A K Bhattacharya.
India may outshine China in receiving foreign investments because of its better corporate disclosure, stronger property rights and a more investor-friendly legal system.
The Rs 63,000-cr Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor and Rs 14,000-cr CSTM-Panvel suburban corridor are two of the largest projects.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma along with officials from his ministry were in the Nordic country for a two-day visit. They were accompanied by Indian industrialists led by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
The race for space has got real, and it is attracting funding like never before. In 2022 so far, funding to private players in the space sector has jumped a whopping 61.5 per cent - soaring to $108.52 million compared to $67.2 million in 2021. Propelling it is the government's decision to open up the space sector to private players and the work done by companies like Skyroot Aerospace, the Hyderabad-based start-up behind the launch of India's first privately developed rocket on November 18.
While smart boys like the Ruias of Essar, Ajay Piramal, Max India promoter Analjit Singh laughed all the way to the bank, the Tatas, Anil Ambani, Malaysian tycoon T Ananda Krishna of Maxis (which invested in Aircel), Sistema, and Norway's Telenor burnt their fingers, notes Surajeet Das Gupta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hard sold his government's reforms spanning from manufacturing to taxation to labour, saying they have changed the world perception about the country from 'why India' to 'why not India' and went on to quote record foreign investment during the pandemic as a testimony to that. Speaking at industry association Assocham's Foundation Week event, Modi also said agriculture reforms brought by his government six months back have started benefiting farmers. The reforms in the last six years have influenced in changing the sentiment of the industry from 'why India' to 'why not India' in investing.
UK's largest retailer Tesco, Singapore Airlines and Etihad queued up to invest in India as a persistent UPA threw open more sectors to foreign investments with indications of more big ticket deals to be announced in the new year.
Shah said India's goal is to become a $ 5 trillion economy in the next five years and without contribution from the energy and petroleum sector, this goal can't be achieved.
The government will press ahead with the sale of public sector companies that have been approved by the Cabinet, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. Highlighting that FDI flow into India is much higher compared to other emerging economies, she said India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals, ability to do reforms and a stable government help attract long-term foreign funds into Indian businesses.
India's economic growth slipped to 6.7 per cent in '09, mainly on account of the impact of the global financial meltdown that started in the US in 2008.
The new government's challenge would be to reverse the tide in FDI, boost manufacturing and come up with an e-commerce policy that is fair to all investors.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted raids at over a dozen locations in Chhattisgarh including at premises linked to state Congress leaders as part of an ongoing probe into the alleged coal levy scam, officials said.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved revision in guidelines for providing direct to home (DTH) services in the country under which licenses would be issued for 20 years, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said. The Union Cabinet has also approved 100 per cent FDI in the DTH broadcasting services sector, Javadekar said, adding that while the commerce ministry had spoken of 100 per cent FDI in the DTH sector, the guidelines of the information and broadcasting ministry needed to be changed.
Fitch Ratings on Thursday said the resurgence of COVID-19 infections may delay India's economic recovery, but won't derail it, as it kept the sovereign rating unchanged at 'BBB-' with a negative outlook. It projected a 12.8 per cent recovery in GDP in the fiscal year ending March 2022 (FY22), moderating to 5.8 per cent in FY23, from an estimated contraction of 7.5 per cent in 2020-21. Fitch had in June last year revised outlook for India to 'negative' from 'stable' on grounds that the coronavirus pandemic had significantly weakened the country's growth outlook and exposed the challenges associated with a high public debt burden.
Walmart had entered into a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises.
The drop was the result of the change in FDI rules, which was amplified by the border standoff between India and China.
'One of the biggest employment generators, the MSMEs, have not got much from the government.'
Industry bodies said the decisions will help attract much-needed capital, create jobs, encourage collaboration and benefit cash-starved small and medium enterprises.
'For our traditional membership base, it would be an access to disruptive ideas,' FICCI President Subhrakant Panda tells Asit Mishra/Business Standard.
Foreign direct investments into the country is on the rise, jumping to $12.1 billion in May this year, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. He also said the government is working on a mission mode to achieve exports target of $400 billion in 2021-22. "India has received the highest ever FDI inflow in 2020-21. "It surged by 10 per cent to $81.72 billion and FDI during May 2021 is $12.1 billion, i.e. 203 per cent higher than May 2020," he said while addressing a meeting of different industry associations on promoting exports.
India may hold the promise of a big market for China, but that promise is yet to be fulfilled
Mukesh Ambani, who took over the reins of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) after the sudden demise of his legendary industrialist father Dhirubhai Ambani, completes 20 years at the helm during which the company saw a 17-fold jump in revenues, 20-times surge in profit and has become a global conglomerate.
If we work together with dedication, concentration and effort, we should be able to achieve our aspirational growth target of double-digits for a very long period of time, suggests K V Kamath.
Paving way for iPhone maker Apple to open its own stores India, the government on Monday relaxed FDI norms by giving a three-year exemption from local sourcing to foreign players in single-brand retail and a further five-year relaxation for 'state-of-art' and 'cutting-edge' technology.
Bureaucratic procedural hassles in India are still a "stumbling block" to Italian investment in the country, said Italian Trade Commissioner Vittorio Mecozzi.
'I think we will be able able to inspire confidence in the minds of prospective investors,' says Mukherjee.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances