Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is leading a high-powered team of policymakers, including Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia at the India-US CEOs Forum.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Planning Commission Deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia will also participate in the India-US Business CEOs Forum Meeting.
The original reforms trio of 1991, which showed the way for the opening up of the Indian economy, is now back with a bang. At that time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was Narasimha Rao's finance minister, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia was his finance secretary and Rangarajan was the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. They set the ball rolling and became the "reform priests", a journey which has come full circle today.
One of the names proposed by the dailies is India's Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, who has been charged with a criminal sex act and is under arrest in the United States, has resigned from his position, leaving the global financial body to hunt for a new chief.
A Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukhejree is likely to meet on Monday to vet London-listed mining group Vedanta Resources' $ 9.6 billion acquisition of Cairn India.
Former managing director of McKinsey & Co, Rajat Gupta, has stepped down as chairperson of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). Gupta's resignation comes days before the PHFI executive was to discuss his exit.
"Yes it is true that milk and vegetable prices are high. You know some of this is a reflection of economic prosperity and purchasing power," Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
India may end the financial year with a seven per cent GDP growth rate, as the economic deceleration is expected to continue in the third quarter, said Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.
Huge gold imports have put pressure on the country's CAD, which in turn is affecting the value of rupee.
The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was attended by Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Industry leaders, including Ratan Tata, Rahul Bajaj, Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal, who are members of the council, also participated in the discussions.
The government is planning to utilize $5 billion worth of foreign exchange reserves for infrastructure development this fiscal.
The country's new home minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, today said he prefers a Congressman as his successor in the finance ministry, setting off speculation about the implication of his statement.
The government is formulating a standard concession agreement for roads, ports and airports, expected to be ready by later this year.
A core group of ministers on Wednesday held inconclusive deliberations on a proposal to raise fuel prices, necessitated by a spike in global crude prices that threatens to spawn an oil import crisis.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "I do not claim victory. These are ideas which are under discussion in various fora. The sherpas have been discussing these ideas and it is a process of give and take. But I do claim some credit that in my speech, I brought the development issue into the very forefront of sustainable, manageable growth process."
In September, industrial growth fell to just 1.9 per cent, its lowest in two years. Inflation is at 9.73 per cent, its 10th month above nine per cent.
They are of the view that calling the new institutes "IITs" would dilute the brand image of the existing premier institutes, which figure among the world's 100 best technology universities and are compared with the likes of MIT, California University and Berkeley. The seven IITs are located in Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati and Roorkee.
The growth in the economy since the 1990s notwithstanding, there has not been much reduction in poverty levels, for measuring which multi-dimensional efforts are needed, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman, Planning Commission said on Tuesday.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia appealed to the Indian Diaspora at the PBD gathering to support health care ventures of the Indian government, for people below the poverty line.
The government on Friday announced putting in place a regulator for the civil aviation sector.
Indian industry began this financial year on a strong foot, with robust growth of 17.6 per cent in April. This has surpassed analyst expectations and fuelled concerns of a rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Higher economic growth can be sustained only in an atmosphere of reasonable price stability
India can now, if required, borrow up to $30 billion a year, up from $6 billion, from the International Monetary Fund for a three-month period which can be renewed twice more in 3-month cycles.
The principal Opposition party said an immediate cut in petrol and diesel prices was required in the larger interest of the nation. The BJP also demanded that interest rate on housing loans be brought down to 6 per cent and a real push be given for infrastructure development to 'avoid a catastrophe'.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday expressed confidence that in the years to come India could emerge as the fastest growing economy in the world, beating China as the nation has yet to achieve its full growth potential.
Strongly favouring a hike in power and water user charges, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Thursday
India has said it would exercise caution in embracing fuller rupee float since the gradual approach towards liberalising the foreign exchange regime has paid in the past.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not be able to attend the annual World Economic Forum meeting to be held at Davos from January 24-28 next year.
The government may raise the number of job days under the NREGA scheme to compensate rural households for loss of income due to a poor monsoon in large part of the country.
This is the message of the latest Human Development report, 2007-2008, which was released on Tuesday by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in New Delhi. The global release was in Brazil.
This failure of basic short-term policy is surprising, given the star power that this government brings to its economic management.
India and US have launched a new bilateral dialogue on energy, which envisages setting up working groups focussing on, among other things, clean coal technology.
India is fielding a 100-member team, led by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The duo will address a number of India-centric sessions on economic reforms.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industries Kamal Nath, would lead a high powered team to Davos in Switzerland sources in the government of India said in an informal chat with rediff.com.
