24 September 2008

1. India, Uzbekistan resolve to step up bilateral trade
1. Bilateral Trade between these countries in first half of year is $40 million
2. The sources said the bilateral trade turnover grew by 8 per cent in 2007 at $64.4 million, with exports from Uzbekistan to India at $9.5 million and exports from India at $54.9 million.
3. he efforts should continue for investment cooperation in processed food and agricultural products, information technology, petrochemicals, fertilisers, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and it also agreed to explore possibilities and facilitate investments in these sectors through mutual consultations.
4. The Commission also noted the possibilities to set up joint ventures in the area of gas-based petrochemicals and fertilisers in Uzbekistan.
2. India Pakistan to announce cross LoC trade
1. When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of the United Nation General Assembly, they will have at least one substantive announcement to make on cross LoC trade. The two leaders are likely to announce the date for the beginning of trade across the border at two crossing points—the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route and the Poonch-Rawalkot route—when they meet in New York .
2. The joint working group on cross LoC CBMs, which met in New Delhi, finalised the modalities for cross-border trade bringing to an end a negotiations that started in 2005. The initiative is aimed specifically at resurrecting trade between Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
3. Today India and Pakistan prepared sensitive list of items to be traded between Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Indian Kashmir. Items are not disclosed yet.
4. All the goods which were manufactured or grown in and around the areas will have a zero tariff.
5. Both countries are working out modalities for infrastructure development between the areas, such as checkpost, widening of roads etc. CBM will hold good only when Pakistan bounds and accept for non firing across LOC. Don’t forget recently Pakistan opened fire across LOC several times.
6.  Cross border trade will occur in two areas:

                                                               i.      Srinagar – muzzafarabad

                                                              ii.      Poonch – Rawalkot Routes

23 September 2008

• World Congress on Disaster Management
• It is conducting for the first time in india at hyderabad
• Participated by the 50 countries
• Main objective of this meeting is to exchange the information, knowledge and technology between the countries for effectively managing the Disaster that occur naturally and man made.
• Swelling Ranks of the poor in india
• According to the latest World Bank report, the actual number of poor people in India has increased by 39.8 millions in absolute numbers during 1981-2005.
• 
  
• 42.2 per cent or four out of 10 Indians were poor in India in 2005 at an income of about Rs 50 per day. Estimated by world bank.
• What can Rs 50 (equivalent to $1.25) a day fetch in India, when a kg of atta and rice costs upwards of Rs 20, a kg of sugar Rs 20, a kg of dal Rs 45 and the cheapest cooking oil (palm oil) Rs 50 a litre? The poor, indeed, have been hit the hardest.
• Even the Asian development Bank posted 54.8% of Indian population is still poor based on PPP (Purchasing Power Parity). The statistics is based on 1 $ at 2005. The currency rate taken as 44 rupees. But don’t say that, 1 $ will purchase the same worth of goods in USA as in India for 44 rupees. Calculation is based on 15.6 rupees for 1 $
• My comments
• From the above figures it is clear that, the UPA government has not done anything for the poor in the last four years. Disgusting situation. Calling UPA as “aam aadmi” Government, but why the same aam aadmi did not able to get the fruit of their policies. Think UPA… Nuclear deal may not bring the people BPL to above. Redifine yourself at least in the next elections and come out with some other captions.
• EU favours talks with India on tax regime for wines & spirits
• The European Union on Monday said that it would request WTO-consultations with India on its domestic tax regime for spirits and wines for Goa, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
• Goa adds an import and ‘label-recording’ fee to the cost of imported wines and spirits. While the custom tariff for imported bottled wines and sprits at the Indian border is already as high as 150 per cent, discriminatory internal taxation in some Indian States adds further to this burden on importers, the EU said.
• The Indian market for spirits is one of the largest in the world, amounting in 2007 to about 130 million nine-litre cases. The corresponding figure for wine is 1.5 million nine-litre cases.
• Last year, EU exports of spirits to India were about €57 million, out of a total €7 billion exported to more than 150 countries. EU exports of wine to India were about €11 million out of a total €6 billion in 2007.

WB in Loss

• Hot topic of Bengal singur will soon come to an end, as the vendors of tata plant started to shift the equipment.
• Do you want to know, why I mentioned as a loss? Huhhh.. answer is : TATA has started nano project at singur as a mother unit which will roll out 2.5 Lakhs NANO cars per year. Anyway the mother unit is going to be shifted either in Karnataka, Mumbai or in Harayana based on the matching of sops.
• The 1000 NANO is going to be rolled out from UTTARAKHAND in the middle of oct 2008. I guess Mamata has certainly got mass vote bank. Disappointing to Gopala Krishna Gandhi.
• Enlarge G8 for the World Isuues said France
• French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for adding new members to the exclusive G8 and the UN Security Council so they can more effectively deal with problems that continue to defy efforts by Western governments.
• Sarkozy said in an address to the UN General Assembly that the UN Security Council, currently with 15 members, and the world's group of eight leading industrialised nations (G8) should be enlarged to reflect demands of emerging countries.
• The G8 in particular could become the G14, with new members like China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil, the emerging economic powers among developing countries. The group currently comprises of the United States, Germany, Italy, France, Canada, Japan, Britain and Russia.
• The G8 in particular could become the G14, with new members like China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil, the emerging economic powers among developing countries. The group currently comprises of the United States, Germany, Italy, France, Canada, Japan, Britain and Russia.
• Though Russia is a member of the G8, its relations with the West were stressed over its invasion of Georgia in August and US Republican presidential candidate John McCain had even called for ousting the Russians from the G8.
• Italy will host next year's G8 summit and will propose a major reform to the group, Sarkozy said.
• Dubai to host first world  Pearls forum
• The Dubai Pearl Exchange, a subsidiary of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), has announced that it would host the first-ever World Pearl Forum here February 17-19 next year, with the objective of bringing together the global pearl sector, and addressing ways to grow the worldwide market for pearl jewellery, according to a DMCC statement.

Weekly Round Up 14th to 21st September 2008

1. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc has filed for bankruptcy protection, making it the largest casualty of the global credit crisis, and given its assets at the time of filing, Lehman surpassed WorldCom as the biggest US Bankruptcy filing.

 

2. The boards of Bank of America Corp and Merrill Lynch & Co. struck a deal last Sunday in which the former would sell itself to Bank of America Corp for roughly $50 billion.

A combination of the two is expected to create a global financial service behemoth involved in everything from fixed-income trading to stock underwriting to credit cards.

 

3. Tata AIG Life, an insurance venture between Tata Sons and American International Group, has sought to re-assure its policyholders that the Wall Street turmoil would not have any "immediate material impact" on the company.

AIG got a $85-billion lifeline from US Federal Reserve to help it come out of its financial mess. The Tatas and AIG have two insurance ventures in India - Tata AIG Life and Tata AIG General. In both these entities, Tata Sons holds 74 per cent and AIG has 26 per cent.

 

4. Reliance Industries Ltd has been able to flow crude oil for the first time from its offshore asset in Krishna-Godavari Basin, on schedule.

Sources said the company has started crude oil production off the Andhra Pradesh coast and an announcement is expected to be made by the company's Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Mukesh D Ambani, on Sunday.

 

5. State Bank of Saurashtra formally merged with State Bank of India. Announcing the merger the Chairman of State Bank Group, Mr O.P. Bhatt, said there were no plans for the merger of the other six associates with the bank in the immediate future.

 

6. The Government has allowed Indian editions of foreign news and current affairs magazines stipulating a 26-per cent foreign direct investment ceiling.

Magazines such as Time and Newsweek will now be able to publish Indian editions, as long as they follow the FDI ownership cap and rope in an Indian partner.

 

7. Tata Motors said last Thursday the Karnataka Government was willing to offer 1,000 acres of land and other incentives to the company if it had plans to relocate the Nano small car project to the State.

The Tata Motors Managing Director, Mr Ravi Kant, said the company was actively looking at alternative sites and needs around 1000 acres of land for an integrated plant.

 

8. The turbulence in the global equity markets echoed not only in the domestic equity markets, but also in the currency market, with the rupee crashing to an intra-week low of 46.97/98. The rupee opened last Monday at 45.52/54 and fell to a low of 46.97/98 on Wednesday, a level last seen in July 2006. It closed at 45.83 on Friday, netting a loss of 31 paise during the week.

 

9. In a blow to Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Ltd, the US Food and Drug Administration has blacklisted about 30 generic drugs being manufactured by the company at its Dewas and Paonta Sahib plants in India. The US drug regulator said that it had taken the decision after the two units owned by Ranbaxy failed to meet the standards specified under the current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements of the US Government.

While the FDA has not imposed a ban on the drugs or sought a withdrawal of the medicines from US drugstores, it has issued an Import Alert, under which US officials may detain any products manufactured at its two facilities.