Exports were up 0.8 per cent in Jan while imports rose 6 per cent.
Anand Sharma, Union Commerce Minister, crossed over to Pakistan early Monday morning with a large delegation comprising of officials of his ministry, members of the trade chambers and journalists to launch India show in Lahore where goods from India would be displayed for the visitors who are keen to buy them.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday appeared to share industry's concerns over naming Kumar Mangalam Birla in an FIR in coal scam case saying it was unfortunate and could raise questions over investor confidence in the country.
Sharma said both US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are firmly committed to take this relationship to greater heights.
Sharma was addressing the members of the Board of Trade, a body comprising captains of Indian industry.
Top Congress sources hinted on Thursday that Sharma will not have to resign as the party would re-nominate him by July. He is likely to get his third term in Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh.
The action comes two days after Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a key meeting and broke the ice by starting dialogue with some of the prominent 'letter-writers', who had earlier written to her demanding an overhaul of the party and an effective leadership.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma takes on Narendra Modi, says: Gujrat cannot be sold as a model state as it has many flaws.
Noted lawyer and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Ram Jethmalani and Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma were on Thursday elected in the Rajya Sabha polls in Rajasthan, while a Congress-supported Independent candidate was defeated.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said that India has been less affected by the current global economic crisis due to the economy's strong fundamentals.
Exports are expected to grow by 10-15 per cent in the current fiscal, FIEO director general and chief executive officer Ajay Sahai said.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has protested, on behalf of the corporate sector, against the Union environment and forests ministry's 'unreasonable environment regulations' being clamped on the industrial projects.
Although Infosys was given 50 acre at Rajarhat for setting up its first development centre in West Bengal, the firm was insisting on getting special economic zone status, which the state was not keen to consider due to political reasons.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and to Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, the industry body has outlined its view on the climate change negotiations based on Indian industry's feedback and called for the prime minister to urge the developed world to provide technology transfer and funds to help mitigate the crisis.
Minister says rupee and market surge caused by current recovery in the external sector, 8% economic growth possible in next three years.
This accord marks the success of India's Look East Policy and is the first with a trading bloc.
This accord marks the success of India's Look East Policy and is the first with a trading bloc.
The Congress party's consistent foreign policy has made India expand and diversify its commerce base and, as a result, it is poised to figure among the top three economies of the world by 2030, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on Monday.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has warned countries trying to introduce protectionist measures that this would not only be counter-productive, but also deepen the recession and delay recovery.
The $31-billion company, which sources around 30 per cent of its global consumption from India, had also criticised the Indian government for not opening foreign direct investment in single brand retailing.
Contrary to Modi's claim of the state being the largest beneficiary of Foreign Direct Investment, Gujarat has received only $8 billion of foreign investment during the 13-year period beginning 2000, according to the Union Minister.
With the pressure on for the European Union (EU) and India to come up with a significant announcement at the upcoming EU-India summit on December 10, a flurry of activity surrounding the ongoing negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) is giving momentum to the process.
Anand Sharma working tirelessly for extension of tax breaks that expired on March 31, 2010.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has a tough time in Davos pacifying African leaders, who are extremely upset over Delhi law minister's midnight raid. Anita Katyal reports
Talks for an India-European Union free trade agreement started in 2007 and the eighth round of negotiations was completed in New Delhi last month.
On Monday, the EU had temporarily banned imports of Alphonso mangoes, the king of fruits, and four vegetables from India from May 1.
During the talks, both sides failed to reach on a conclusion and has agreed to meet again in June.
So far 15 rounds of negotiations have been held.
The TERC, which comprises, among others Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, will also review the state of play in the Doha Round of talks for a multilateral trade agreement under the aegis of World Trade Organization, sources said.
The issue was taken up at a meeting in New Delhi between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and visiting Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
Believes companies would come to India eventually.
Efforts are on to convince West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to support FDI in multi-brand retail which is coming up for consideration of the Union Cabinet on Thursday evening.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht concluded another round of talks on Monday at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, which the Commission said 'provided a renewed momentum to bring the negotiations forward'.
India clearly told the EU it would 'not accept' any further concession, as far as the automobile sector was concerned.
In a major policy reversal, the AAP government wrote to the Centre to withdraw the approval given by the previous Sheila Dikshit government for FDI in multi-brand retailing in Delhi, saying the entry of global chains such as Walmart and Tesco in India would result in large-scale job losses.
The Forum will host a special session on 'The reality of terrorism', to be initiated by Union home minister P Chidambaram. The deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma will be part of the Indian delegation.
The five-year Foreign Trade Policy, to be unveiled on August 27, is expected to give incentives to Indian exporters to widen their global markets beyond the United States, the European Union and Japan in the face of the economic crisis in these key destinations.
Talking tough, India on Friday threatened to drag the European Union to the World Trade Organization if the 28-nation bloc did not lift its ban on the import of Indian mangoes and vegetables.
A senior European Union representative said here on Tuesday that the body would soon change its Customs laws to address the issue of seizures of Indian generic drug shipments while en route for export to other countries.
Earlier this week, commerce secretary Rahul Khullar met EU director-general for trade David O'Sullivan to review the progress so far. Several differences mired the process over EU's insistence on including social issues such as human rights, labour policies and climate change within the FTA purview.
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