Czech Rep. and India aim for US$1bn in bilateral trade
Kolkata: The Czech Republic and India want to increase bilateral trade to US$1bn in future, according to Jiri Paroubek, the prime minister of the Czech Republic.

Addressing a plenary session at the CII Partnership Summit on Thursday Paroubek said that trade and investment are the key components for building a relationship between the European Union and India.

Czech Republic became a member of European Union in 2004 and is due to change its currency to the Euro from 2010.

In 2005, it recorded a GDP growth of 5 per cent, which is three times higher than the average GDP growth rate of EU and its best in the last seven years.

"Ours is one of the most modern and liberal industrial countries. Our economy is driven by external trade and our industrial productivity is extremely high. Our country is politically and socially stable too," Paroubek told the CII members.

Regarding bilateral trade with India, he said that it would increase to US$1bn but, at present, it was even less than US$0.5mn.
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IMF chief economist says India may record lower growth
Mumbai: The International Monetary Fund's chief economist Raghuram Rajan said on Friday he expected India's economic growth in 2006 to be lower than in the previous calendar year.
"We expect India to grow at around 7 to 7.5 % in calendar year 2006," Rajan told reporters after delivering a lecture at the Reserve Bank of India while on a visit to Mumbai. He said the country's growing fiscal deficit and poor infrastructure were the chief deterrents to higher growth.

India's GDP expanded at an annual 8.0 % rate in the July-September quarter.

He predicted better global economic growth in 2006, but warned the European Central Bank (ECB) to be careful about raising interest rates too quickly. Raghuram Rajan said, "The European recovery is still not in the bag. It's shown signs of recovery before, only to disappoint."

According to Rajan, an improvement in Europe's economy and a pick-up in Asian growth would at least partly offset any U.S. slippage. "We see a shifting of global growth away from the United States to other countries. Whether it's enough is still for the jury to decide," Rajan said.
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Inflation dips to 4.24 pc
New Delhi: Inflation declined by 0.16 per cent to stand at 4.24 per cent for the week ended January 7 as against 4.4 per cent for the preceding week despite rise in prices of fruits and vegetables and some fuel items.

During the week, prices of wheat, fruits and vegetables rose by one per cent each, while barley went up by two per cent.

The prices of raw silk and raw wool dip by two per cent each and castor seeds fell by one per cent.
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World Bank clears US$400mn loan to PowerGrid
New Delhi: The World Bank has approved a US$400mn loan to Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) to be used for the strengthening of power transmission system in the country.

The loan extended by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the World Bank's lending arm, is a variable-spread loan with a maturity of 20 years, including a grace period of five years. The loan, backed by the Government's guarantee, has been earmarked for upgrading the power transmission system to increase reliable power exchange among various States and regions of the country, a World Bank statement said here.

The statement said the Government's goal of universal access to electricity by 2012 would require "sizable additions" to generation, transmission and distribution capacities.

"India continues to face severe power shortages that translate into substantial losses to the economy. It stifles development of industry and commerce, increases the cost of doing business, and reduces productivity," Michael Carter, World Bank Country Director for India, said in the statement.

The project seeks to improve service delivery of PGCIL by strengthening the transmission system in the power deficit regions and increasing inter-regional transmission capacity; and developing institutional capacity to facilitate the implementation of open access and inter-regional trading.
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