India, SA & Brazil to finalise Rainbow Coalition next week
New Delhi:In an effort to forge trilateral cooperation, India, South Africa and Brazil will finalise a 'Rainbow Coalition' with a seven-point agenda for international cooperation during external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha's visit to Brazil next week.

Sinha, who embarks on a six-day two-nation trip to Peru and Brazil commencing Monday, will join his counterparts from South Africa, Nkosazana Zuma and from Brazil, Celso Amorin, to firm up the trilateral pact on June 6. "India is keen to move in the direction of working out preferential tariff arrangements and subsequently free trade agreement with the Andean community, which includes Bolivia, Columbia, Equador, Peru and Venezuela," Shashank, secretary (EAA), ministry of external affairs told mediapersons on Saturday.
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Imports register A record 40 per cent jump in April, exports sluggish
New Delhi: The current fiscal (2003-04) has started with a meagre 8.71 per cent growth in exports in April, while imports have recorded an all-time high of 39.44 per cent, pushing the trade deficit to $1,523.88 million, more than seven times as much as the figure recorded during the same month in 2002. The export performance is in sharp contrast to the impressive 18.05 per cent growth at $51.7 billion posted during 2002-03. Dr Rajesh Chadha of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said that he expects the export performance to improve in the coming months so as to achieve the 12 per cent growth target fixed by the commerce ministry for 2003-04. He terms 39.49 per cent rise in imports during April as a 'good beginning' and a 'healthy' sign as it reflects the pick-up in the economic growth. The sharp increase in non-oil imports is also 'heartening' while the equally steep rise in oil imports indicates that the prices are market-determined, he says.
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