The wholesale price-based inflation hovered over seven per cent through 2012, down from 10 per cent inflation seen in the previous year, reflecting the impact of tight money policy of the Reserve Bank of India.
The proposed comprehensive free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation EU bloc includes relaxation of visa norms for professionals.
The minister, who was in Brussels on a two-day visit, said that seven Chief Minsters including Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Assam, Rajasthan and Kerala have already given their written commitment on allowing FDI in the sector.
Warning that volatility in international food and fuel prices may be on the way to becoming a long term and global phenomenon, India on Thursday called for a coordinated effort at the global level to control inflation.
The assurance was given by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung when India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee called on him in Hanoi.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the G-20 Finance Ministers' meeting in Paris, Mukherjee said fiscal expansionary policies were required in the past, in the wake of global financial crisis.
Often criticised for offering less attractive interest rates than banks for most of the last five years, retirement fund manager EPFO hiked the annual rate of returns on employee provident funds to 9.5 per cent in 2010 and this time around, the banks were left behind.
The central bank will have to draw a balance between the need to fuel economic growth and contain inflation.
India achieved the distinction of being the second fastest growing economy amid the global recession in 2009, but the joy was marred by the decade's sharpest rise in food prices to the chagrin of common man.
Much to the delight of borrowers, home and car loan rates came down to as low as 8 per cent, the lowest in six years, during the year.
The government had first mentioned raising foreign direct investment ceiling in insurance sector to 49 per cent from the current 26 per cent in the 2004 Union Budget and introduced a Bill to do so over a year ago.
Besides undertaking the routine work, Ahluwalia entrusted the task of revamping the Commission to new member Arun Maira, formerly with the Boston Consultancy Group. "We cannot work is silos. We need better lateral inputs," Ahluwalia had said at a recent internal meeting of the commission.
The pinnacle of a market economy is when the consumer feels like king. Never before have Indians had such a vast choice and for the icing on the cake, prices from kitchen goods to cars started falling in 2008.
Volatility in lending and deposit rates witnessed during the year is expected to end in 2009 with interest rates seen to be going down, due primarily to an easy monetary stance being pursued by the Reserve Bank of India to push growth.
World Bank President Robert B Zoellick in his remarks at the Rome Conference on Food Security pointed out that 28 countries have imposed export bans on food items and stressed 'these restrictions and taxes should be lifted, at a minimum for humanitarian food purchases and transportation by World Food Programme'. UN Secretary General Bank Ki-moon on Tuesday called upon the countries to resist the temptation to impose ban on export of foodgrain.
More than 850 million hungry people around the globe can enjoy a better life if the world sets aside less than three per cent of what it spends on the purchase of arms every year, for the development of agriculture.Pointing out the stark realities of the wasteful spending, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation director general Jacques Diouf on Tuesday appealed to world leaders for US$ 30 billion a year to re-launch agriculture and avert future threats.
Five major steel producers including SAIL, Tata Steel and Essar have decided to hold the price line for up to three months after an appeal by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to manipulate prices for short-term gains. India has said it will take measures to bring down steel prices, but would first wait to see if producers do it on their own. High steel prices are partly to blame for soaring inflation, which rose to 7.33 per cent for the week ended April 12.
SBI is keen on big overseas acquisitions that will give it a 'strategic fit' along with new products and access to cheaper capital. SBI is not keen on small foreign banks worth a few millions, chairman O P Bhatt said.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances