Will Indian democracy benefit from the potential that Shashi Tharoor stores in his mind, spirit and intellect? Or will it be the saga of another leader who promised much but delivered too little, asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
Voices of opposition to FDI in retail from within the United Progressive Alliance gained momentum on Tuesday with a Congress member of Parliament from poll-bound Uttar Pradesh criticising the decision, saying it will hurt the poor and its timing was not right.
In the face of stiff opposition in Parliament to foreign direct investment in retail, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Monday sought to reach out to MPs and state chief ministers and appealed to them to rise above 'petty' partisanship on the issue.
Asks India Inc for a list of concerns in 4 weeks, to coordinate policy response within 60 days; FM says prevailing cynicism based on perception, not facts.
Data exclusivity provides protection to the technical data generated by innovator companies to prove the merit of usefulness of their products.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday met Environment Minister Jayanthi Natrajan to resolve the inter-ministerial differences over a proposal to ease environment laws in the manufacturing policy.
The India-China trade is on course to reach the USD 100 billion target by 2015, but New Delhi is concerned over galloping gaps between India's exports and imports from China.
At present, global retail firms can invest up to 51 per cent in India and need a local joint venture partner.
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'.
Days ahead of India-EU annual summit, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday said a few ends are yet to be stitched for concluding the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two sides.
Centre wanted to push the Banking Regulation Bill, the Opposition wanted to discuss stalking case.
The far-reaching Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement serves a number of national interests on both sides.
A meeting of the Board of Trade, an advisory body to the Commerce Ministry, is likely to be held on October 11, a ministry official said.
India plans to cut transaction costs for exporters and ensure the availability of dollar finance, as it looks to reverse a decline in exports and double outbound sales of goods and services over the next five years.
India and Malaysia on Friday signed a landmark pact that paves the way for freer flow of trade in goods and services, besides enhanced investment and economic cooperation between the two countries.
India will sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) with Japan on Wednesday, setting the stage for free bilateral trade of goods and services.
The sops, to be given under different schemes like 'Focus Market' and 'Focus Products' from January to December 2011, were unveiled here by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
The commerce ministry has sought a review of foreign direct investment policy in the pharmaceutical sector, in the light of recent takeovers of domestic companies by multinationals.
India will sign trade pacts with Japan and Malaysia within a week.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday said the government will soon announce incentives for labour intensive export sectors, notwithstanding high growth in the shipments during December.
India and Australia have expressed a keen interest to work together to boost two-way trade following talks in Canberra during the visit of Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, its Trade Minister has said.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma will be meeting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to make a case for the extension of one of the most popular incentives to exporters, the Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme (DEPB), which is slated for expiry on June 30. DEPB is a duty reimbursement scheme, launched 14 years earlier.
India's disappointment over recent 'protectionist' measures by the United States, including increase in visa fee for IT professionals and Ohio's ban on government outsourcing, will be raised at the high level ministerial meeting in Washington on Tuesday.
The government on Wednesday expressed disappointment over China not fulfilling its promise to import more IT, ITeS and pharma products, which could help reduce the hugely-tilted trade imbalance favouring Beijing.
India and Australia are all set to open negotiations on free trade following a feasibility study that showed each sides would gain AUD 30 billion over 20 years from lowering barriers.
The manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, declined by 2 per cent in October as against a growth of 9.9 per cent a year ago.
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma on Sunday raised concerns over India's drugs regulator granting permission for restricted use of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine and asked the government to explain why mandatory protocols and verification of data has been dispensed with.
Wen said, China is ready to work with India to increase the scale, and expand the scope of bilateral business cooperation.
"Horse trading band karo (Stop horse trading of MLAs)," Congress members shouted from the well.
India and Saudi Arabia on Friday, agreed to increase investments in each other's country through joint ventures to enhance economic cooperation. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Saudi Arabian Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah bin Ahmed Zainal Alireza, agreed to regular exchange of business delegations to sensitise the businesspersons in both the countries.
Unsatisfied by the minister's reply during the Question Hour, the Congress members including former prime minister Manmohan Singh staged a walkout.
Enthused by the success of US President Barack Obama's visit, India said on Tuesday it is time to 'seriously consider' a trade-opening agreement with America, similar to the ones entered with the ASEAN and South Korea.
The deal was signed between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara in Tokyo.
We welcome all companies from India to come and invest and do business there. We have almost no restrictions in any sector at all. However, we expect similar reciprocity in India for our apples, pistachios, helicopters, and disaster relief materials, besides other products. We do not restrict such items from entering the US markets.
Centre has lifted the ban on exports of a certain variety grown in Karnataka.
Of late, Indian businessmen have been complaining about difficulties in obtaining German visas.
The Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry comprising top industrialists and bankers met on Wednesday and reviewed the economic situation, particularly in the wake of the European financial crisis.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has asked global retail chains not to rush the government into allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.
As the shadow of governance deficit and corruption back home threatened to lengthen behind the glorious Davos sun, India's image managers launched a spirited damage control exercise on the penultimate day of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
India and 24 other trade ministers agreed to step up efforts to conclude a multilateral trade deal under the Doha Round this year itself.
