Says Proposals On Services, IT & Environmental Goods Against Its Interest

New Delhi: India has decided to opt out of negotiations for agreements between select WTO member countries for liberalizing foreign direct investment and visa regimes in service sectors and for lowering import duty on 357 information technology products and 54 environmental goods, saying the talks were against its interests.

India will push for increased access of energy companies in Bhutan during the forthcoming visit of the external affairs minister to Bhutan next week.

The move is aimed at countering China that of late has increased its presence in the neighbouring country. Several Indian companies are already present in Bhutan undertaking feasibility studies for Hydel power projects. India is also concerned that presence of Chinese companies especially in the power sector could increase the prospects of such entities making backdoor entry into India's critical infra sector.

Amid a debate on green shoots of economic recovery, India Inc’s confidence refused to perk the third quarter of 2012-13. It was unimpressed by the much-hyped foreign direct investment (FDI) reforms and remained concerned about political and economic instability, shows a survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The CII Business Confidence Index dropped below 50 points for the first time in the current financial year to stand at 49.9 points in the third quarter, compared with 51.3 per cent in the second quarter and 55 points in the first three months. It was slightly higher than the 48.6 points in the October-December period.

Bhubaneswar: Shedding its image of abject poverty, starvation and child selling, Odisha in recent years has embraced growth and prosperity by adopting certain fiscal corrective measures and attracting huge private capital, said speakers at the ‘Resurgent Odisha’ seminar organized by The Times of India in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

CM Naveen Patnaik and experts from different fields said that the state had become a favourable destination for investors, both from within and outside India, and had the potential to become a gateway to Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday kicked off the customary pre-Budget consultations. In a meeting with the finance minister, agriculturalists shared concerns on the government’s widening fiscal deficit. They also suggested direct cash transfer of fertiliser and food subsidies, which they claimed would save the government Rs 70,000-85,000 crore directly.

To protect the interests of farmers, they also urged the finance minister and his team to set up a regulator on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail segment.

The economy is likely to witness a growth rate of 6.8 per cent in the next year driven by the reform push of the government, says a report.

According to global research firm Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), India's GDP is likely to register 5.5 per cent growth during 2012, much below the expansion level achieved in the previous year. However, growth is expected to revive in the next year. "GDP is likely to clock a growth rate of 6.8 per cent during 2013 as policy environment improves, investment conditions revive and inflationary pressures abate," Dun & Bradstreet India Senior Economist Arun Singh said.

During the year, govt also contemplated to open up sector for commercial mining

Coal fired a minefield of controversies in 2012, fuelled by CAG estimates of a huge Rs 1.86 lakh crore loss for allocation of coal blocks to business houses without auction which served as fodder to the Opposition parties to target the government. The blaze started from a leaked draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that initially had a figure of Rs 10.6 lakh crore loss resulting from the controversial allocation of coal blocks to about 100 companies without bidding.

‘Governments must protect interest of producer, consumer’

The controversy regarding India’s permission to allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and growing “land grab” in Africa by multinational corporations are being closely watched globally by agriculture experts, researchers and donors. At a workshop here on ‘Supporting Policy Research to Inform Agricultural Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia’ — which a few journalists from both regions were invited to attend — experts pointed out the phenomenon of “outsiders” displacing farmers to do commercial agriculture for exports.