Korea reluctant to eliminate non-tariff walls for India
New Delhi: India has asked South Korea to eliminate non-tariff barriers and also rationalise its sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) regulations with a view to allowing greater market access.

The request for review of SPS regulations did not evoke an immediate positive response from the South Korean side, with the visiting President of Republic of Korea, Roh Moo-Hyun, expressing difficulty in giving any form of assurance on this issue.

Stating that SPS was a "difficult issue," the President highlighted that the Koreans are always keen that their Government should ensure that their imported food products conform to best quality standards.

At the meeting, the Commerce and Industry Minister, Kamal Nath, said that the SPS and non-tariff barriers imposed by South Korea were creating impediments in increasing the volume of the country's exports to Republic of Korea. The meeting was jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Nath also suggested that India and Republic of Korea should aim for a "relatively evenly balanced total annual trade of $10 billion within three years and a sustained average annual foreign direct investment (FDI) of $1 billion."

The total trade between India and South Korea stood at $3.3 billion last year. While India's exports to Republic of Korea stood at $800 million last year, imports from Korea in the same period stood at $2.5 billion.

India's exports to South Korea comprised a high proportion of primary products — agri products, dyes and pharmaceuticals. India's imports from South Korea are industrial goods like electronics, machinery and transport equipments.
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New sites identified for nuclear plants
Madurai: About six sites have been identified for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to establish power plants in the country.

According to NPCIL a report has already been forwarded to the Union Government and an announcement is awaited. The nuclear reactors might be installed in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and in certain coastal areas.
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World Bank assures support for infrastructure projects
Washington D.C., USA: In their meeting the President of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, and the visiting Finance Minister of India, P. Chidambaram, discussed a wide range of issues that included lending for infrastructure and irrigation; and among the sectors identified in the infrastructure area were electricity, sea ports, airports and railways.

Chidambaram, who was in town for the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, also outlined to the World Bank Chief the ambitious project announced in the Union Budget for the restoration of water bodies. According to a note from the Indian Embassy, the President of the World Bank offered to support a nationwide project for providing drinking water, especially to the rural areas. The Finance Minister indicated that a nationwide project for rural electrification was under way and both he and Wolfensohn agreed to examine the ideas further. Wolfensohn is said to have made the point that if adequate infrastructure projects were posed to the World Bank, he could "easily commit" to provide the desired scale of funding.
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SC reserves verdict on Zee petition - allows DD telecast
New Delhi: The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on the maintainability of a writ petition filed by Zee Telefilms challenging the cancellation of the contract awarded to it by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

A five-member Constitution Bench, while reserving the verdict, declined to interfere with the BCCI's decision to award the contract to Doordarshan to telecast live the India-Australia and India-South Africa series as well as the Platinum Jubilee friendship one-day match between India and Pakistan.

The Bench, comprising Justice Santosh N. Hegde, Justice S.N. Variava, Justice B.P. Singh, Justice H.K. Sema and Justice S.B. Sinha, passed this order, while deferring the hearing on an application by Zee Telefilms questioning the BCCI's decision to award the national telecast rights to Doordarshan and the overseas rights to Sony network. It said that it would first decide the maintainability of Zee's writ petition.

At the same time, the Bench directed Prasar Bharti, Set Satellite (Singapore) Pvt Ltd (Sony) and the BCCI to maintain proper accounts of the revenue received from the telecast of the matches.

On behalf of the Centre, Additional Solicitor-General, Mohan Parasaran, on Tuesday produced before the court a set of letters written by the BCCI to the Government to drive home the point that the Board had been consistently following its administrative guidelines on the management of sports.

BCCI counsel, K.K. Venugopal, refuted the Centre's stand that the Board was subject to Government control and said that merely seeking permission from the Government did not change the nature of the BCCI. He said permissions were asked from the Government in a routine manner just like any other sports organisation and it does not mean that the Government was exercising any control over the Board.

Zee Telefilms' counsel, Harish Salve, cited several letters by the BCCI to the Government seeking various kinds of permissions for hosting matches in India and sending the Indian team abroad. He contended that the document proved beyond doubt that the Board functioned under the Government control and it was, therefore, amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the court under Article 32 of the Constitution. He said the BCCI had been applying for permission on a particular format supplied by the Sports Ministry.

The former Attorney-General, Soli Sorabji, appearing for ESPN-Star, said the BCCI was amenable to the writ jurisdiction of High Courts under Article 226 of the Constitution but it should not be construed that the Board is a State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution.

The Bench, while reserving the verdict, asked the parties to file their written submissions by Monday.
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A.T. Kearney: India second most attractive retail destination
New Delhi: A.T. Kearney has ranked India as the second most attractive retail destination among emerging markets globally, ahead of China, despite the ban on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the sector and a relatively low market attractiveness of the country.

In its 2004 `Global Retail Development Index (top 30 Emerging Markets)' report, A.T. Kearney has ranked India 88 on a scale of 100, aggregating points earned over parameters such as economic and political risks, market attractiveness, market saturation and time pressure. Russia, with 100 points, is the most attractive emerging retail destination, according to this report.

The report said India's market size offered "tremendous promise as its population is expected to surpass China's by 2050. India's country risk score (62) is higher due to improved living standards and continuing economic growth". Even dampeners such as stringent FDI rules have failed to move India from its vantage point in the list.

"India's market attractiveness score is relatively low (34) because of its large rural population but it earns marks in other areas. Retail sales per capita have increased by one-third between 1999 and 2003," it said. Other downsides include a fragmented retail market with the top 10 companies holding only about 2 per cent of the market share.

India is closely followed by China with a total score of 86. A.T. Kearney said that though China was also an attractive retail destination, economic and retail indications are showing "signs of stagnation".

The annual A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index ranks 30 emerging countries on a 100-point scale - the higher the ranking, the more urgency to enter a country.
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