India on Thursday said it will support a candidate from a developing country for the top post of the the World Trade Organization (WTO) that is to be decided by the end of May.
The Euro 25-billion firm can now set up furniture stores in India, along with restaurants and cafes, in line with its global concept.
A host of top Congress leaders wished him on his birthday, with former prime minister Manmohan Singh among the first to send his best wishes through a letter in the morning.
In the latest changes made by the Congress before the Chintan Shivir, former Karnataka Chief Minister and former Foreign Minister S M Krishna has been dropped as the chairman of the sub-group on foreign policy titled India and the world and instead Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has been put in his place.
The former finance minister, who walked out of jail on Wednesday night, joined other Congress MPs voicing their protest against the steep hike in onion prices.
The JWG has had eight rounds of meeting since it was set up in 2006 but no mutually agreeable solution has been arrived at.
Will Nitin Gadkari manage to swing a second term as BJP president? Why were arch-rivals Anand Sharma and Virbhadra Singh hugging each other? Who is the prime minister's favourite troubleshooter? All this, and more, in this week's Dilli Gupshup.
The minister, who was in Brussels on a two-day visit, said that seven Chief Minsters including Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Assam, Rajasthan and Kerala have already given their written commitment on allowing FDI in the sector.
The government has often defended its decision to open multi-brand retail to foreign direct investment (FDI) by saying modernisation of the sector through fresh investment would bring down wastage of fruit and vegetables.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has written to chief ministers of Odisha, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, stating opening the multi-brand sector to the foreign direct investment would 'bring in investments, technologies and efficiencies to unlock the true potential of the agricultural value chain'.
The government had imposed Minimum Alternative Tax and Dividend Distribution Tax on SEZs in 2010-11, which were earlier exempted from almost all levies.
India and Indonesia today agreed to fast track the ongoing negotiations for early conclusion of the proposed comprehensive market opening pact, aimed at enhancing bilateral economic engagement between the countries.
Currently, the trade between India and Association of South East Asian Nations stood at $80 billion.
The Himachal Congress on Wednesday said party chief Sonia Gandhi will only decide the name of the chief ministerial candidate.
The meeting assumes significance as Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, which plans to invest Rs 10,500 crore (Rs 105 billion) to set up its own stores in India, had sought relaxation in certain conditions related to the mandatory 30 per cent sourcing from micro and small enterprises.
Decks have been cleared by the Centre to transfer the prime land at Indu Mills in Mumbai to the Maharashtra government for constructing a memorial for B R Amedkar. "The government of India has taken a view to make available this land for use to the government of Maharashtra for the construction of a befitting memorial," Textiles Minister Anand Sharma said in identical statements in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The Congress on Monday deferred the election to the post of party president till the COVID-19 situation improves and decided to set up a group to assess losses in the recent assembly polls, with party chief Sonia Gandhi saying it has to put its house in order by facing reality and drawing lessons from the 'serious setbacks'.
India and China will set up a joint working group soon to address all their trade related issues to strengthen economic relationship.
As China continues to wobble from the global recession -- with real estate as well as the entrepreneurial index considerably down, especially around the Pearl Delta -- new windows of opportunities are opening for India to enhance its own market leverage over China, analysts say.
During the first six months of the financial year, the country's exports dipped by 6.79 per cent to $143.6 billion from $154.1 billion in the same period last year.
Amid rupee's free fall and slowdown in western markets, the government is likely to announce incentives in the foreign trade policy (FTP), scheduled for June 5, to boost exports.
Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, speaking on the sidelines of a defence exhibition in the UAE capital, said officials would meet Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharma to discuss the deal.
"We urge the government that the issue of security of our leaders has to be beyond partisan political considerations," said Anand Sharma in Rajya Sabha.
US do not commit, but says outsourcing should create more jobs in both countries.
The decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail was announced in November last year.
The government liberalised FDI policy in sectors, including multi-brand retail, single-brand retail, commodity exchanges, power exchanges, broadcasting, non-banking financial institutions and asset reconstruction companies.
A local court on Wednesday adjourned to August 1 hearing in the Sankararaman murder case in which Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra, are the prime accused.
Talks are underway to allow banks from both the countries to open branches in each other's territory.
Expressing concern over its widening trade deficit with China, New Delhi on Monday asked the neighbouring country to provide more access to Indian goods and services to bridge the gap.
The government had imposed Minimum Alternative Tax and Dividend Distribution Tax on SEZs in 2010-11, which were earlier exempted from almost all levies.
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.
The government on Tuesday said it is considering forming a venture capital fund of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) to promote research and development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical sector.
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.
After dithering for months, if not years, the government suddenly unleashed a barrage of reforms.
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.
The two countries are scouting for members of a joint working group to study a proposal to this effect made during a recent visit by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma to Colombo.
The government is expected to take a decision tomorrow on the issue of allowing foreign airlines to buy up to 49 per cent stake in cash-starved Indian carriers.
Formation of the Rangarajan panel comes after Reddy proposed that the revision issue be placed before the empowered Group of Ministers.
Referring to the concerns raised by industry captains and others during the meeting, Gujral admitted that the weakening Rupee is hurting importers.
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