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UK to relax nuclear export controls for India
London: Britain's foreign ministry said on Thursday it would relax its controls on the export of civilian nuclear technology to India, saying the policy change reflected India's improved relations with neighbouring nuclear power Pakistan and its growing commitment to international non-proliferation goals.

India and Pakistan had both tested nuclear weapons in 1998.

"India is a key international partner in the UK's efforts to work towards a world safer from global terrorism and weapons of mass destruction," said a foreign office spokesman. "We attach great importance to developing our strategic partnership and to stopping onward proliferation."

He said the decision to relax the controls was a result of a six-month policy review. Current controls, which also apply to Pakistan, have been in force since March 2002.

Last month, the United States promised India full cooperation in developing its civilian nuclear power programme without demanding that it sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, designed to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.

India in response agreed to identify and separate its civilian and military nuclear programmes, continue a moratorium on nuclear testing and place civilian nuclear facilities under the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
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CMIE forecast puts GDP growth at 6.8 per cent
Mumbai: On the back of improving prospects for the farm sector, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) on Friday raised the economic growth forecast for 2005-06 to 6.8 per cent from the earlier six per cent.

The higher growth reflects the upward revision of growth in the agriculture and allied sectors, which is now expected to grow at three per cent in 2005-06 as against 0.7 per cent decline projected earlier, CMIE said in a release here today.

This increase in the estimates was due to the revival of the monsoon from the last week of June, which substantially improved the prospects for agriculture sector, it said. The food-grain production was projected to go up by 1.5 per cent to 208.5 million tonnes compared to earlier forecast of 203.5 million tonnes, it said.

The economic growth, measured by real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), would be led by manufacturing sector CMIE said, adding this sector would grow at 8.5 per cent as estimated earlier.

The construction industry was expected to grow at 10 per cent due to acceleration in investment activity during the year, it said.

The economic think-tank maintained its growth forecast for service sector, which accounts for 50 per cent of GDP, at 7.5 per cent. This growth would largely come from trade, hotel, transport and communications sector.
Back to News Review index page   Monsoon in dull phase - may revive soon
Mumbai: India's monsoon has entered a weak phase after above-average rainfall in the past two months, a break which could benefit some winter crops such as paddy and oilseeds, weather officials and traders said.

Met officials said that there were indications however that the break would not be a long one. Lull periods are normal during the annual four-month monsoon, which is the main source of water for irrigation for farms in a nation where about 600 million of its billion-plus population depend on agriculture for a livelihood.

Traders said a short break in rainfall would be beneficial for paddy, groundnut, soybean and sugarcane, sown in June and July for harvest in October and November, but they would need more rainfall in September.

Overall, the country received 102 percent of normal rains between June 1 and Aug. 10. The rainfall in central India was 19 percent above average, while it was 10 percent more in south India, weather officials said.
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Inflation at 3.84 per cent for week ending July 30
New Delhi: India's annual wholesale price inflation was at 3.84 percent in the week ending July 30, down from the previous week's 4.07 percent due to a fall in food and manufactured product prices and last year's high base, government data showed on Friday.

The inflation rate was at 8.02 percent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

The central bank left its short-term benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.0 percent in a rate review last month, saying it wanted to keep fast growth on track at a time when global uncertainties were on the rise.It said domestic demand pressures were not as severe as it had thought in April, when it last raised the rate by 25 basis points.
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KPO, the latest buzzword in Indian IT
Mumbai: India's business process outsourcing industry will soon be edged out by the emerging knowledge processing or KPO sector as the biggest revenue grosser, according to Kiran Karnik, president, National Association of Software and Service Companies.

Karnik on Friday predicted that the country's IT exports would grow by 32 per cent to touch $22.3 billion by the end of the current fiscal, with the KPO sector set to outgrow the BPO sector in the coming years. Although he did not quantify the potential of the KPO industry, Karnik said a lot of foreign companies were looking at India for setting up research and development services.

China and East European nations were the major states, which were well poised to give a tough fight to India in the sector, he also observed.

Karnik said there was a need for quality talent, for which Nasscom had initiated an industry-academia programme to have a re-look at the education curricula and faculty training. Though it was the government's job to bring about positive changes in the education sector, he said Nasscom too would play a proactive role in this regard.
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