Notwithstanding all the talk and euphoria over the progress in terms of US-India trade and investment, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that India punches way below its weight when it comes to global trade.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and the US Trade Representative Ron Kirk would sign the India-US Trade Policy Forum Framework for cooperation on trade and investment in Washington on March 17.
Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, remains on high alert following violence that erupted on November 24 over a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. Police have deployed heavy security ahead of Friday prayers and a court hearing on the survey, which is expected to be tense. The violence, which left four people dead and several injured, stemmed from claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site of the mosque.
India and the United States on Wednesday agreed to fast-track technical negotiations for early conclusion of a Bilateral Investment Agreement during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
A delegation of high-level executives from US public pension funds (non-profit and government sectors) is visiting India next week to assess and familiarise themselves with the investment opportunities in the country. These executives belong to various American states and cumulatively represent $1.8 trillion in assets under management (AUM) invested across the US and global markets. The United States (US) mission to India, which includes its embassy and consulates and the Department of Treasury, along with India's Ministry of Finance and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), is hosting the delegation.
IPO bound HMIL, which is also from South Korea, had faced severe labour unrest for nearly a decade till the realisation -- a worker's union cannot be avoided -- dawned on it.
The high point of the trip will be Goyal's meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on November 13, which is expected to see the USTR push India towards lower import duties in a broad range of areas.
He drew the roadmap of India's economic reform, unshackled it from the licence raj and pulled it back from the brink when even its gold reserve was pledged.
Election fever has reached its peak in Baramati in the last phase of the campaign for the Maharashtra assembly polls with the rival Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar leaving no stone unturned.
These concrete steps should include measures to address any number of pressing concerns, including prohibitively high tariffs and discriminatory forced localization requirements that are blocking US exports of a wide range of products.
Yet another US trade delegation to India to seek beach-head on the envisaged energy market.
It is the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
On his maiden visit to New Delhi to attend the two-day informal ministerial meet on Doha round, Kirk told reporters in a teleconference that he would be back to New Delhi in just over a month for 'continued talks' relative to the Trade Policy Forum.
In a recent townhall meeting, creditors of WazirX pressed founder Nischal Shetty and the restructuring legal team for solutions, seeking representation on the committee of creditors (CoC) and expeditious restructuring within four months, and asked for clarity on redistribution of potential gains from future crypto market upswings.
'India represents one of the top opportunities with robust growth, solid fundamentals, and openness to foreign investment.'
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed readiness to join hands with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to "properly handle" issues related to the situation on the ground in the border areas, amid the protracted border row in eastern Ladakh.
Foreign Portfolio Investors' (FPIs) selling spree continues as they pulled out over Rs 3,400 crore from the Indian equity markets in the first three trading sessions of November on rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This came after such investors withdrew Rs 24,548 crore in October and Rs 14,767 crore in September, data with the depositories showed. Before the outflow, FPIs were incessantly buying Indian equities in the last six months from March to August and brought in Rs 1.74 lakh crore during the period.
'The race is now on for Indian IT firms to develop their AI prowess and focus on a software-first approach to services as the people element becomes more complicated with Trump's expected new regulations.'
'This case is not a good example of intellectual property strategy for either sector.'
'We do India great disservice if we continue to perpetuate a flawed narrative on trade, one based on myths rather than facts,' says Hardeep Singh Puri.
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.
'Given China's past behaviour and their territorial claims, should we be sceptical regarding China's willingness to adhere to these agreements fully? The answer is yes.' 'As Ronald Reagan famously said in the context of the SALT talks, 'Trust, but verify!' India should also do the same.' 'This has already begun with foot patrolling, drones, satellite imagery and so on. India's military deployment did mirror China's and will continue to do so in the future.'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has met United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and held a productive conversation with him on deepening bilateral defence cooperation, including in the co-production of defence articles, and exchanged perspectives on a variety of security issues.
India and US have agreed to redouble their efforts to iron out the key trade and economic differences between both the countries before the visit of President Barack Obama to New Delhi in early November.
The actor-politician said she must remember that she is not only an artiste but also a BJP member now and her statements should be in line with her party's policies.
An increase in the farmer income support scheme PM Kisan Nidhi, the introduction of a 'robot tax' to fund reskilling of people who lose their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI), and a reduced income-tax (I-T) to bring relief to the middle classes - these are some of the items in the Budget wish list submitted by Sangh Parivar affiliates to Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman. Representatives of the affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), such as the farmer organisation Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS); trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS); Laghu Udyog Bharati, which works for micro and small industries; and Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which works on economic and policy issues, met the FM and other officials over the last couple of weeks as part of the pre-Budget consultations.
India's current account deficit narrowed to $1.3 billion or 0.2 per cent of GDP in the January-March quarter of FY23, mainly due to moderation in the trade deficit and a robust increase in services exports, RBI data showed on Tuesday. However, for the 2022-23 fiscal, the current account balance recorded a deficit of 2 per cent of GDP compared to 1.2 per cent in 2021-22. "India's current account deficit (CAD) decreased to $1.3 billion (0.2 per cent of GDP) in Q4:2022-23 from $16.8 billion (2.0 per cent of GDP) in Q3:2022-231, and $13.4 billion (1.6 per cent of GDP) a year ago [Q4:2021-22]," as per the RBI's 'Developments in India's Balance of Payments during the Fourth Quarter (January-March) of 2022-23'.
US Trade Representative Rob Portman said India and US were working towards an investment summit
India and the United States have set up a working group to promote greater interaction between legal professionals and to facilitate trade in legal services between the two countries.
The US said on Friday that it was keen on forging closer trade ties with India and more investment flow between the two countries.
The United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick has invited key trade ministers including India's and European Union's for a meeting in London this month end to find ways to move forward in the World Trade Organisation.
Trump had said a comprehensive trade agreement with India would take much longer to finalise than earlier expected.
More than 50 per cent of SIP accounts come from semi-urban and rural areas.
Lashing out at the United States Trade Representative, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited on Monday expressed concern over the transparency of its 2006 Report, especially the section dealing with telecom sector in India.
There was no smooth surge in middle class prosperity for foreign businesses to tap into because of the Indian economy was mismanaged, argues Debashis Basu.
The two-day trade policy forum was to be held on January 12 and 13.
In her remarks at the US-China Relations Conference in Washington on Tuesday, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said: "I urge China to pull back from the brink and unambiguously commit to the market access and flexibilities put on the table by the chairs -- just as Indian Prime Minister Singh has indicated his country will".
'Traders must adopt digital payments as soon as possible within a set timeframe, as the nation is moving rapidly towards digitisation.' 'Ignoring digital systems is not an option for strengthening trade.'
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