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.
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'.
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.
Will achieve exports of around $300 billion .
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.
Talks are underway to allow banks from both the countries to open branches in each other's territory.
Industry houses are emphatic with the RBI pruning repo rate and CRR by 0.25 per cent each after a long nine months in its third quarter monetary policy review.
The issue on Monday figured in a bilateral meeting held in Agra between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and visiting South Korean Minister of Knowledge Economy Sukwoo Hong, in which the Korean side raised the issue of delays in Posco project clearance, an official statement said.
Etihad is in talks to pick up a 24 percent stake in Jet.
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.
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.
India and China will set up a joint working group soon to address all their trade related issues to strengthen economic relationship.
The government had imposed Minimum Alternative Tax and Dividend Distribution Tax on SEZs in 2010-11, which were earlier exempted from almost all levies.
Currently, the trade between India and Association of South East Asian Nations stood at $80 billion.
For the entire 2011-12 fiscal, the shipments to the neighbouring country had stood at $1.53 billion.
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.
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.
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.
US do not commit, but says outsourcing should create more jobs in both countries.
Referring to the concerns raised by industry captains and others during the meeting, Gujral admitted that the weakening Rupee is hurting importers.
Well aware that the government cannot control inflation through RBI's monetary tools only, the Centre tried to inbuilt a supply-augmenting mechanism in the economy by opening multi-brand retail to 51 per cent FDI, but vehement opposition from the Opposition and even some of the United Progressive Alliance allies forced it to hold back the decision.
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.
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.
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.
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 Indonesia can do much more in the changing world," Sharma said at a reception hosted by the India-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce last night.
Leveraging the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, India wants to double its commerce with Myanmar and diversify the bilateral engagement to agro-research and natural gas exploration.
Annual event being organised by FICCI focuses on the investment potential offered by India's infrastructure sector.
Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan may touch USD 10 billion by 2015, if trade and investment barriers are removed, CII said.
The RBI is scheduled to review its short-term lending rates on Tuesday, amidst apprehensions that it may not go in for interest rate cut even as the pause on the hikes may continue.
The retail company has sought approval to invest Rs 10,500 crore to set up single-brand retail stores in the country.
Industry is of the view that rising interest rates is increasing the input cost as loans are getting costlier.
The government has announced several incentives for exporters to explore new destinations under focus market and focus product scheme.
Marking further cementing of bilateral ties, a haat (rural bazaar) on the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya was inaugurated on Saturday.
Without making big-ticket changes in the economic ministries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday shifted Law Minister M Veerappa Moily to the ministry of corporate affairs and inducted young Milind Deora in his council of ministers.
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.
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