Economic Survey, an utter confession of Govt failures: P Chidambaram
Aamir H Kaki Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday that the Economic Survey was an ‘utter confession’ that the current government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the last four years, has failed to deal with three major issues of employment, education and agriculture. He was speaking at a panel discussion after release of his book, Speaking Truth to Power - a collection of his columns in The Indian Express published by Rupa Publications. The book was released by former President Pranab Mukherjee. Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor, former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, senior journalist Shekhar Gupta also participated in the panel discussion. The session was moderated by journalist and television personality Nidhi Razdan. Chidambaram disputed the ...
Sri Lanka and Singapore FTA to finalise this year
The Dollar Business Bureau In order to further strengthen bilateral trade and investment between the two countries, Sri Lanka and Singapore are to formalise the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) later this year, said Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake on Tuesday. The Sri Lankan Minister said that during a meeting with his Singaporean counterpart Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, who is on a visit to the island nation, particular emphasis was given on finding ways and means to further bolster bilateral trade and investment between the two nations. The proposed FTA between Sri Lanka and Singapore is likely to be finalised in the latter part of this year, reported the Chinese official news agency Xinhua. Addressing the media, Karunanayake said that both the countries enjoy robust and strong bilateral ties that have been ...
We are growing at over 7% and you cannot accelerate growth with many Indians in the BPL category, Kant
The Dollar Business Bureau India needs to accelerate its economic growth, and in order to materialise it, the country must lift vast number of people out of poverty, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday. "We are growing at over 7 per cent. We need to accelerate growth...The real challenge is that you cannot accelerate growth rate if vast number of people are living below poverty line," he said when speaking at the Tata Trusts, Tech 4 Transformation conference. Laying importance on the power of innovation and harnessing the power of technology, he said, ‘India has become integral part of the global supply chain and to maintain the rapid acceleration of growth, we must focus on social sectors like education and healthcare.’ He ...
We are growing at over 7% and you cannot accelerate growth with many Indians in the BPL category, Kant
The Dollar Business Bureau India needs to accelerate its economic growth, and in order to materialise it, the country must lift vast number of people out of poverty, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday. "We are growing at over 7 per cent. We need to accelerate growth...The real challenge is that you cannot accelerate growth rate if vast number of people are living below poverty line," he said when speaking at the Tata Trusts, Tech 4 Transformation conference. Laying importance on the power of innovation and harnessing the power of technology, he said, ‘India has become integral part of the global supply chain and to maintain the rapid acceleration of growth, we must focus on social sectors like education and healthcare.’ He ...
Overall healthcare cost could increase post GST, Chairman Reddy
The Dollar Business Bureau The cost of overall healthcare could rise after the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) as some of the products and services will be levied with 15-18% tax, while healthcare has been exempted, said Apollo Hospitals Chairman Prathap C Reddy on Tuesday. Reddy said that if there is a surge in the cost of healthcare by up to 2%, hospitals would be able to absorb the increase but any hike beyond that would have to be borne by the patients. “There is no GST for us but there are services and some products with GST rate ranging from 15 to 18% that have fallen on us. So, after GST the cost increase for hospitals will be around 2% ...
Indonesia plans to collaborate with Kerala in trade, healthcare, tourism and education
The Dollar Business Bureau A seven-member Indonesian team led by Consul General Saut Siringoringo is in Kerala, looking to explore the possibility of collaborating with the Kerala government in trade, healthcare, tourism and education. The team will also interact with the Kerala chapter of CII and with the Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce (TCCI). The Indonesian team has another agenda- to attract Kerala businesses, investors, traders and buyers to attend the 32nd edition of the four-day Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) being organised by the Indonesia Ministry of Trade in ICE-BSD City - Banten from October 11. In the previous edition of TEI, around 150 buyers from Kerala, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat had clocked the maximum transactions. Indian buyers topped the list and Indonesia ...
India, Sri Lanka sign agreement for $318 mn line of credit
The Dollar Business Bureau India on Tuesday signed a pact with Sri Lanka for a $318 million line of credit for developing the railway sector of island nation, according to officials. RHS Samaratunga, Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media of Sri Lanka, and David Rasquinha, Managing Director of Export Import Bank of India in Colombo signed the agreement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his first visit to the island nation in 2015, had announced a $318 million line of credit for development of railway sector of the country. The visit was the first standalone bilateral visit since 1987 by an Indian prime minister and had come in the wake of rising presence of China in the Indian Ocean country. China has been ...
Commerce Department pushes for more sops for small exporters
The Dollar Business Bureau Striving to make the life of small exporters easier, the Department of Commerce is likely to push for greater interest subsidy and broader export credit insurance. As part of the review of Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) – 2015-2020, the Commerce Department is seeking to broaden the basket of services and to make it more attractive for foreign nationals to study and get medical treatment in the country. Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister, has marked two sections small exporters and services to be added in the review of the FTP, which is expected to be released in June, in time for the roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). According to sources, Rs.1,000 crore has been ...
