With her latest masterstroke, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has made Congress lose its credibility in the eye of the aam admi, says Sheela Bhatt
India can become a $6.7 trillion economy by 2031, from $3.4 trillion currently, if the country clocks an average growth of 6.7 per cent for 7 years, an S&P Global report said on Thursday. India had clocked a 7.2 per cent GDP growth in 2022-23 fiscal. But a global slowdown and lagged effect of a policy rate hike by RBI could slow down growth to 6 per cent in the current fiscal, S&P Global said in a report titled 'Look Forward: India's Money'.
Finance ministry officials are of the view that current restrictions that prohibit FDI in multi-brand retail cannot be extended to franchise agreements between an Indian company and an overseas partner.
He said policy could not be rigid, while declining to say by when FDI in multi-brand retail would be allowed.
In the wake of reforms announced by the government in insurance and pension sectors, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said that while it is not opposed to more Foreign Direct Investment in these areas, certain caveats and conditions should be met to "safeguard the interest of the people".
India's Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath has been honoured as global 'FDI Personality of the Year 2007' by a Financial Times Group publication.
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh on Wednesday cleared 30 foreign direct investment proposals worth Rs 130.25 crore.
Government assured the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that security interests of the country would never be compromised while permitting larger foreign investments.
While the Congress will firm up its strategy once the ruling alliance tables the Bill, initial comments by its leaders have been encouraging.
As Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives in New Delhi, India made it clear on Monday that the proposed regulations on security aspects of foreign direct exchange would not be loaded against any specific country, including China.
The government is considering a proposal to examine foreign direct investment applications on a sector-wise, rather than country-wise, basis to assess their threat to national security.
The minister is on a two-day visit to Russia for India-Russia Business Dialogue, held under the umbrella of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2012.
The Samajwadi Party on Thursday said it will vote against the decision to introduce Foreign Direct Investment in retail sector in the Rajya Sabha, where the United Progressive Alliance does not have majority on its own. "We will vote against FDI in Rajya Sabha if the government brings it there," said SP's leader in the Upper House Ramgopal Yadav.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in its draft Cabinet has proposed to further tighten the rules for foreign direct investment in brownfield pharmaceutical sector.
The Department of Telecom on Monday said it would hold consultations with various operators on the issue of foreign direct investment but denied that the FDI issue was in any way linked to unified licencing regime.
Wiser from the Hutch-Vodafone experience, the government is now thinking of clubbing both direct and indirect overseas investment to determine the extent of foreign direct investment in a company.
During Abe's tenure, Japan had announced support for a number of major projects. These included the bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, besides allocations for a freight corridor between Mumbai and New Delhi.
The government proposes to treat the investments by foreign institutional investors in pre initial public offers (IPOs) of real estate companies at par with foreign direct investment.
In a major decision to liberalise the broadcast sector, the government on Friday decided to raise FDI cap to 74 per cent in various services of the sector, except the TV news channels and FM radio where the cap of 26 per cent will apply.
White labeled ATMs are set up by private non-bank companies that own and operate their own brand of ATMs.
The government on Friday said it is looking at having a uniform foreign direct investment cap in different business segments within a sector as part of the review to streamline foreign investment regulations.
The Union Cabinet is expected to soon consider a proposal to increase foreign direct investment cap in broadcasting services like Direct-to-Home and cable TV networks to a uniform 74 per cent.
FDI inflows, in August last year, stood at $2.32 billion, the Reserve Bank said in its bulletin.
The Centre has finalised sweeping changes to the country's foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to account for increasing concerns voiced by security agencies.
US foreign direct investment inflows into India will increase to $1 billion annually by 2010, according to Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.
While FDI equity flows were $5.5 billion in 2005-06, it increased almost three times to $15.7 billion in 2006-07. We have set a target of $30 billion in 2007-08, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath said on Tuesday.
Well aware that the government cannot control inflation through RBI's monetary tools only, the Centre tried to inbuilt a supply-augmenting mechanism in the economy by opening multi-brand retail to 51 per cent FDI, but vehement opposition from the Opposition and even some of the United Progressive Alliance allies forced it to hold back the decision.
The industry ministry on Monday proposed foreign direct investment up to 74 per cent in the defence sector from the present 26 per cent, stating urgent upgrade of equipment in the armed forces was needed as a bulk of them suffered from obsolescence.
The winter session of Parliament has already witnessed several disruptions and adjournments. In Tuesday's session, the Opposition is expected to give a tough time to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government over the issue of FDI in retail.
The winter session of Parliament has already witnessed several disruptions and adjournments. In Tuesday's session, the Opposition is again expected to give a tough time to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government over the issue of FDI in retail.
The winter session of Parliament has already witnessed several disruptions and adjournments. In Tuesday's session, the Opposition is again expected to give a tough time to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government over the issue of FDI in retail.
The winter session of Parliament has already witnessed several disruptions and adjournments. In Tuesday's session, the Opposition is expected to give a tough time to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government over the issue of FDI in retail.
Government is likely to face stiff opposition on FDI in retail in the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning on August 8.
The 10-nation regional block of Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN), and not China and India, is the leading destination of America's foreign direct investment, a top US trade official said Monday.
Stepping back to break the logjam in Parliament, the government on Wednesday put the controversial decision on foreign direct investment in retail on the backburner till a consensus is evolved, a proposal the entire opposition and the dissenting allies accepted without reservation.
Virtually rejecting demands from within United Progressive Alliance and outside for rollback of foreign direct investment in retail, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday justified the decision as a well considered move.
Indian exporters shipping goods to Israel may face higher insurance premiums and shipping costs due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to experts. Israel witnessed a surprise and unprecedented multifront attack by air, land and sea by the Hamas militant group, which rules the Gaza Strip, in its southern parts on Saturday morning. The International trade experts said the conflict may reduce the profits of domestic exporters but will not impact trade volumes unless war escalates.
