India aims for pan-Asian FTAs
Hyderabad: India has signed free trade agreements with SAARC, Singapore and Thailand, and will pursue similar arrangements with several other Asian countries, said the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh while addressing the inaugural session of the Board of Governors of Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He said, "India's web of engagements may herald an eventual free trade area in Asia covering all major Asian economies and possibly extending to Australia and New Zealand. This Pan-Asian FTA could be the future of Asia and will, I am certain, open up new growth avenues for our own economy," the prime minister said.

"With this vision in mind, we have actively pursued external liberalisation by cutting down customs duty rates. The current peak rate, at around 12.5 per cent is close to ASEAN levels. Given the rich reservoir of natural, technical, and scientific acumen that South-East Asia harbours, globalisation offers a unique opportunity for harnessing such resources for enlarging not only national and regional, but also global growth prospects," he said.
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Forex reserves rise by $3.41bn
Mumbai: India's forex reserves have surged by $3.41 billion for the week ended April 28. According to currency traders, the spurt in the reserves was mainly on account of the Reserve Bank of India buying dollars from the open market. The reserves rose to touch $160.67 billion in the week ended April 28, up from $157.262 billion in the previous week, according to the RBI's weekly statistical supplement. In the previous week, the reserves had gained by $2 billion. This is the 14th consecutive week that the country's reserves have posted gains.

The rise in the value of gold reserves also caused reserves to rise. Foreign currency assets increased by $2.861 billion to touch $153.598 billion during the week. These assets, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as euro, sterling, and yen.
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Ministry to examine A-G report on Balco valuation
New Delhi: The Ministry of Mines will examine the Attorney-General's (A-G) report on the valuation report of Balco prepared by SBI Capital Markets (SBI Caps) next week for examination. The report, submitted by SBI Caps in January this year, had come under criticism from within the Ministry and was referred to the A-G's office by the Ministry for comments.

The A-G's report has stated that the Government need not sell its 49 per cent stake to Sterlite, saying that the valuation by SBI Capital did not reflect the true value of the company.

SBI Capital has valued the 49 per cent stake at Rs842.52 crore based on 2004 data.

However, since 2004, the aluminium industry has seen many changes, the A-G said, adding that it would not be in the public interest to sell Balco's shares at prices arrived at on the basis of 2004 data.
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Foreign tourist arrivals up 14.4 per cent
New Delhi: Foreign tourist arrivals in the country rose by 14.4 per cent at 16,05,773 as against 14,03,234 last year, an official release said today.

Foreign exchange earnings, in rupee terms, also recorded a growth of 16.3 per cent during April at Rs9,919.81 crore as compared to Rs8,529.96 crore for the same period last year.
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Oil PSU executives threaten strike: demand pay hike
New Delhi: The 45,000 executives of 13 public sector oil companies have threatened to strike work from May 31. The union of Oil Sector's Officers Association (OSOA), which has members up to the level of deputy general managers announced the strike demanding a 100 per cent hike in salaries.

If the threat is carried out, operations of companies like IndianOil, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, GAIL (India), Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum would be affected.
These companies supply retail fuel across the country. Cooking gas may not be affected as it is covered under the Essential Services Maintenance Act.

However, the strike may impact production at refineries and oil platforms, as these executives are directly involved in supervising work at that level.

In January 2000, the same union had struck work, affecting aviation fuel supply among other things.
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Railway income to rise to Rs.20,000-cr in 2007: railway minister
New Delhi: Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has set a revenue target of Rs20,000 crore for 2006-07 and has asked railway workers to work hard to achieve it. He said, "We earned a record Rs13,000 crore in FY06. We have to work hard to earn Rs20,000 crore during FY07", Yadav said at a conference of general managers here.
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