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Bush:
no protectionist measures against outsourcing
Hyderabad:
The US President, Mr George W Bush, on Friday ruled out
protectionist measures to address domestic concerns on
outsourcing and favoured easy access for Indian students
to American universities and schools. He said, "We
will reject protectionism. We won't fear competition.
We welcome competition," he said interacting with
young entrepreneurs at the Indian School of Business,
which has collaboration with Wharton School and Kellog
School o f Management.
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AEC
welcomes Indo-US deal
New Delhi: The Indo-American nuclear deal will
not have any adverse impact either on the indigenous atomic
research or the country's weapons programme, said Anil
Kakodkar, chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).
Kakodkar's
feelings on the deal announced yesterday is shared by
almost the entire nuclear establishment including former
AEC chairman P K Iyengar who had been worried about the
possible adverse fallout on indigenous research and development
in atomic energy.
Kakodkar,
who was initially against the deal said he is quite happy
with the final agreement, announced by US President George
Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
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Inflation
up at 4.34 per cent
New Delhi: Inflation was up at 4.34 per cent for
the week ended February 18 from 4.02 per cent in the previous
week, mainly due to surge in prices of iron ore, essential
non-food, industrial fuel and manufactured items.
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Now
a US consulate in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: United States has agreed to a long-standing
demand for setting up a consulate in Hyderabad.
"The US and Indian government have agreed on the
setting up of a US consulate in Hyderabad," chief
minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy informed the press after
the departure of US President George W Bush from the Acharya
N G Ranga Agricultural University today.
He said the government had already received an official
communication to this effect.
The state government will provide the Dilkusa guest house
in the city to house the consulate till a permanent accommodation
is ready in the city, the sources added.
More than 25 per cent of Indian software professionals
present in the US are from Andhra Pradesh.
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Germany
keen for increased business ties with India
Kolkata: Germany wants more business ties with
India, said the German minister for economics, transport
and employment Walter Hirche who is leading a 45-member
delegation touring the country. He said the delegation
would have close interaction with companies working in
the areas of IT, engineering, automotive components, tourism,
food-processing, logistics and education, law and management
services.
During 2004-05, India's exports to Germany were Rs 1,188.03
crore, while imports from that country were Rs 1738.09
crore.
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US
CEOs put off by red tape and poor infrastructure
New Delhi: American CEOs at a joint business forum
between US and India said poor infrastructure and bureaucratic
delays were major deterrents to US investments in India.
The head honchos are making a pitch for further liberalisation
in the financial and retail sector.
The business forum has identified six priority initiatives
for cooperation to be taken up by both the governments,
as well as the private sector, to boost investments. These
include setting up of a $5 billion infrastructure development
fund to make Mumbai a financial hub and facilitate setting
up of large-scale SEZs.
The forum said the Indian government should further liberlise
the financial sector as US companies were bullish on growth
there. "India should reduce restrictions on foreign
investment, especially in banking, insurance and retail."
The
other initiatives targeted by the forum was facilitating
enhanced movement of people between the two countries
and stepping up of national coordination of IPR enforcement
efforts in India.
Reforms
of the Indian power sector and setting up of more institutes
of higher learning with opportunities for joint research
projects are other areas the forum identified for enhancing
cooperation.
The
forum also sought cooperation on government-to- government
efforts on civilian nuclear energy and sought speedy enactment
of pending legislation in the oil and gas sector.
Increased
cooperation on human resource development as well as technology
exchange between US and India were also among areas identified
as priority initiatives by the forum.
The
members of the forum from India include Bharat Forge chairman
Baba Kalyani, Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw,
ITC chief Y C Deveshwar, Reliance Industries chairman
Mukesh Ambani and Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani.
From
the US, the forum includes Citigroup chairman and CEO
Charles O Prince, AES corporation president Paul Hanrahan,
Pepsico chairman Steven Peinemund and Visa International
president and CEO Christopher Rodrigues.
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FM
invites more US investments; promises to hike FDI in insurance
New Delhi: The Indian government has invited US
companies to increase investments in manufacturing and
service sectors and assured the Government will look into
demands to enhance the foreign investment caps in the
country's insurance and banking sectors.
Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, said, "We have made
our intentions clear to make India a manufacturing hub
for small cars in textiles, leather and gems and jewellery
and I invited the US side to take advantage of these opportunities,"
the told corporate honchos at the India-US CEOs forum
here.
Chidambaram said he was aware of existing concerns in
the financial services sectors such as insurance and banking
but asserted that FDI limits were not entry barriers.
He said the 26 per cent cap in insurance is not an entry
barrier. The Indian market is still hugely untapped with
only 10 per cent of people in the insurance net. There
are still many companies who are not present in India
and as we go forward we can persuade the Parliament to
amend the Insurance Act (for increasing the FDI cap),
he said.
The Finance Minister said that the banking sector was
in the first phase of opening up and provided a lot of
opportunities and it would be further liberalised after
2009 when the second phase begins.
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US
talks of defence cooperation
Washington: The United States has offered to sell India
advanced fighter aircrafts like F-16s and F18s as the
next step in the rapidly growing defence cooperation between
the two countries.
"The United States is committed to providing state-of-the
art fighter aircraft in response to India's requirements
for a multi-role combat aircraft," the Pentagon said
in a statement, as the two countries clinched a deal on
civilian nuclear cooperation in Delhi.
Our proposal will also address India's interest in technology
transfer and indigenous co-production.
The Pentagon said, "It is is our goal to help meet
India's needs in the defence realm, and to provide important
capabilities and technologies that India seeks. We are
on a path to accomplish this."
The Pentagon has further maintained that the next step
would be to turn the talk of prospective sales into reality
and that Washington is committed to working with India
on this issue.
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UK
government offers easy money transfer facility for NRIs
London: The British government has started a project
to educate and facilitate non-resident Indians to remit
funds home at cheaper rates. The project also includes
a Web site, www.sendmoneyhome.org. Ranjan Mathai, deputy
high commissioner, launched a leaflet in the House of
Commons last night, which contains information on the
choices of money transfer products and services available
for Indians to send home money.
India received a staggering $22 billion through NRI remittances
last year, more than any other country in the world, a
World Bank report has said.
Both the Web site and leaflet give clear, objective information
on UK banks and money transfer operators who offer services
to India; their costs, exchange rates, speed of transfer
and security.
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Draft
pharma policy in two weeks
Mumbai:
The government has completed the draft formulation of
the National Drug Policy, and plans to release it within
two weeks.
The government said it is dealing with the Part B of the
policy involving cost control of life saving drugs. It
said there are 74 such drugs and its formulations under
cost control, which comprise 25 per cent of the market.
The government is looking at two options for reforms,
which are within the current cost regime or a different
regime wherein the weighted average of the top three drugs
would be considered for fixing the price.
On
patented drugs, the department is looking at a price negotiation
system to be carried out by an expert committee or the
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).
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TDSAT
directs BSNL to pay Rs5 crore to Idea
New
Delhi: Telecom
tribunal TDSAT has asked BSNL to refund Rs five crore
to private operator Idea Cellular. The case pertains to
a decade ago when Idea Cellular, then known as Tata Communications,
sought lease of long distance telephone lines from BSNL
for its service in Andhra Pradesh for a period of one
year.
After
expiry of the lease, Idea sought extension of the agreement
for up to three months. The lease was again extended to
a year after Idea made payments to BSNL. But the telecom
PSU later raised a demand for a fee of Rs5.72 crore, saying
the minimum period of hire should be three years and not
one year.
TDSAT
said that in case the minimum guarantee period of these
circuits was three years, it goes without saying that
while approving the same, the respondent should have mentioned
this minimum guarantee period of three years in its approval
and advice and demand notes.
It
said it was not convinced by the respondent that the minimum
guarantee period should have been three years. Secondly,
the internal circulars quoted by the respondent do not
become an authority for raising such demand it said.
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