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 ...
Narendra Modi talks of mandating generic prescriptions
Sneha Gilada The pharma bigwigs, after the government recently imposed a cap on stent prices, are in for another rough ride as PM Modi seeks to make prescription of cheap generic drugs binding on doctors. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a charitable hospital in Surat on April 17, Narendra Modi vowed to take on the mantle of making healthcare affordable to the Indian middle class and poor. In his speech, he averred that the health policy was being revamped after a gap of 15 years. The last time it was updated was back in 2002. The new health policy lays special emphasis on the pricing of drugs included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), along with the timely revision of the list. "Price control ...
Govt optimistic about overshooting Rs.45,500 cr divestment target
The Dollar Business Bureau The current fiscal's divestment target of Rs 45,500 crore is likely to be overshot due to strong equity markets. In alignment with PM Narendra Modi's motto of 'less government, more governance', the finance ministry has recently approved stake sale in two more PSUs. A good response to the most recent divestment proposals has emboldened the Centre's hopes of surpassing the set target for revenue from divestments by a few thousand crores. Gains from a better performing stock market have also translated into higher prices for the government's divestment bids. So far, in the current fiscal, the government has sold stake in four PSUs via the Offer for Sale (OFS) route. In April 2016, a 11.36% stake ...
Five PSU banks post loss Rs 2,564 cr in Q1
PTI Saddled with rising bad loans, five public sector banks, including Bank of India, Dena Bank, and Central Bank of India, on Friday posted a combined loss of Rs 2,564 crore for the first quarter ended June. Meanwhile, the country's largest lender SBI witnessed a 78 per cent drop in consolidated profit to Rs 1,046 crore against Rs 4,714 crore profit in the same quarter a year ago. Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) too reported 61 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 100.69 crore as against Rs 257.84 crore in the corresponding April-June quarter of 2015-16. Leading the pack, Bank of India reported a loss of Rs 741.3 crore as provisions for bad loans nearly doubled. Provisions and contingencies ...
Rise in coal production can reduce Indias import bill
The Dollar Business Bureau Increase in domestic production and sharp fall in global prices can help India to reduce its coal import bill this year. In June, the country imported 20.18 million tonnes of coal, almost equal to the shipment quantity of the same month last year, a report said citing a data collected by a private agency. During the last fiscal, the import of coal including coke and briquettes was worth $17.47 billion, which was 6.5% more than $16.47 billion imported a year ago, according to the government data. However in March this year, the import value of the commodity fell marginally to $1.50 billion from $1.57 billion recorded in the corresponding month of the previous year. Decline in import value ...
