Telecom regulator Trai on Monday announced reduction in the national mobile phone roaming charges, but said there will be no free national roaming as of now.
This is not the first time Trai has been accused of bias; and, in my memory, never have such charges of bias been leveled against any other regulatory body, says Rahul Khullar.
'Mere fundamentals will not do the trick,' cautions former commerce secretary Rahul Khullar.
An announcement has barred the entry of journalists in the finance ministry.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India around mid of this month decided to continue with forbearance in tariff regime that gives freedom to decide on call and other services rates.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa may have walked out of the National Development Council meeting on Thursday protesting against 10-minute cap on her speech, but this time limit had already been communicated to the states on Wednesday.
Saturday would mark the completion of a year of history being made in India-Pakistan trade relations.
Regulator has suggested a lower reserve price even in service areas where spectrum was sold in November 2012.
Trai chairman attributed predatory price as one of the key reasons for deteriorating condition of telecom industry.
Afghanistan would have to harness the economic opportunities for its people and provide gainful employment to its youth.
Exports dropped 5.7 per cent to $28.6 billion from the same period a year earlier.
The BoA, a 19-member inter-ministerial body that deals with special economic zone -related matters, is scheduled to meet on September 9.
According to Assocham, "the prospects for improving bilateral economic relations seem extraordinary. . .Pakistan will benefit by improving trade and economic relations with a fast growing country like India".
Industry is of the view that rising interest rates is increasing the input cost as loans are getting costlier.
The government on Monday appointed S R Rao as commerce secretary, in place of Rahul Khullar, who was made chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India after he retired earlier this month.
The FIH has issued a veiled threat to block India's participation in the 2012 London Olympics in case the government does not grant Hockey India the status of National Sports Federation and if all lawsuits, including the one filed by IHF against it, are not terminated.
India's merchandise exports crossed the government's target of $300 billion in the last fiscal and reached $303.7 billion. But according to Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar, the present fiscal is going to be tougher.
In sharp contrast, imports grew at a faster rate of 20.6 per cent year-on-year to $39.7 billion in February, translating into a trade deficit of $15.1 billion.
India's exports recorded the slowest pace of growth in three months at 4.3 per cent year-on-year at USD 24.6 billion in February, mainly due to the global slowdown.
Development commissioners have been asked to forward proposals regarding SEZs along with their comments at the earliest so that they could be deliberated over at the meeting, it said.
'Tinkering will not do. Merely staggering spectrum dues comes nowhere near solving the problem,' cautions Rahul Khullar.
With the US and Europe imposing sanctions on Iran, India sees an opportunity to boost its trade with it by tapping the sectors which would be affected by the restrictions imposed by the West.
Meeting is on June 24-25 on stalled pact, agreement likely by year-end.
"You see, I have been in Commerce for the last seven years and I am perhaps the only factor that provides continuity in this ministry," Khullar says with unconcealed pride.
The government will next week consider requests from Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Group firms and other companies for extension of validity for their different special economic zones.
Imports too grew by a fast pace of 41.8 per cent.
With the growing voice of developing countries like India, Brazil and China, the big pharmaceutical firms will not be able to get the WTO's Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights agreement changed to their advantage, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said in New Delhi.
Six Olympians have accused the International Hockey Federation of taking away all the profits generated at the World Cup in Delhi and written a letter to the government to stop the world body from repeating the act during the Champions Trophy allotted to India this year.
Imports, too, grew by 41.8 per cent to $38.4 billion in August, translating into a trade deficit of $14 billion during the month, as per the data.
In its meeting in New Delhi, the inter-ministerial Board of Approval also approved India's largest stainless steel producer JSL's proposal to surrender its sector-specific SEZ in Orissa, Commerce Ministry Additional Secretary D K Mittal told PTI.
The government has given more time to 20 SEZ developers, including Tata Consultancy Services and Mahindra World City, to execute their projects. At a meeting on January 14, the Board of Approval (BoA) headed by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar also allowed four SEZ developers to surrender their projects.
According to the revised DTC draft, which will replace the Income Tax Act of 1961, tax exemptions for SEZs will be confined to the existing units.
Exports growth was lower in April compared to the robust growth of 54 per cent in March.
India may drag US to the World Trade Organisation for its new "protectionist" move in hiking professional visa fees, a step that will make Indian IT companies less competitive in the American market.
The industry feels that prices of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can go up in the range of 5-15 per cent.
During April-February, 2011, the country's merchandise shipments grew by 31.4 per cent to $208.2 billion, surpassing the export target of $200 billion for the entire 2010-11 fiscal.
India will join a WTO panel as an 'observer' that would give the country an insight into how governments of developed countries place multi-billion procurement orders with the industry.
The government on Friday said rupee appreciation has not been "that sharp" as to hurt Indian exports, rebuffing exporters' claims that there was a need to curtail FII inflows into the economy, which are largely responsible for the appreciation against the dollar.
India's exports grew by 13.2 per cent in July to $16.24 billion year-on-year, a rate much lower than witnessed in the first three months of this fiscal because of the fading base effect.
The sale will be quicker if an Indian private bank buys it; it will take longer for regulatory clearances if a foreign bank or an NBFC buys it, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances