The commerce ministry held deliberations with experts, former officers and senior officials from different departments on framing a standard operating procedure for free trade pacts and other related issues under these agreements, an official release said on Tuesday. The commerce ministry in the release stated that the 'Chintan Shivir' was organised on May 16-17 at Neemrana, Rajasthan. "The Shivir facilitated discussions on various issues related to negotiations of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) by India, its position and strategy that should be adopted for such negotiations," the ministry said. The participants also deliberated on standard operating procedures (SoP) for FTA negotiations, capacity building and resource management for trade negotiations as well as certain contemporary issues under modern FTAs such as labour, environment, and gender. It said that Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal spearheaded the deliberations which sought to chart a strategic course for India's future

The new govt will announce a budget shortly after it comes to power, which will likely focus on "all the good stuff that is happening while trying to see what other changes have to be made," he said

The NDA government has disclosed off-Budget funded schemes in the Budget documents from FY22

Above average rains will help India, which depends heavily on the summer rains for its farm output, boost agriculture and overall economic growth

Fitch Ratings said in a press statement that this dividend would help India in meeting the fiscal deficit target of 5.1 per cent of GDP for FY25

Fitch said an important driver of higher RBI profits appears to be higher interest revenue on foreign assets, though the central bank has not yet provided a detailed breakdown

RBI's MPC has sounded cautious on sticky food inflation, Goldman Sachs said, owing to supply-side disruptions due to the ongoing hot weather conditions in many parts of India

Growth in Asia's third-largest economy likely slowed to an annual 6.7 per cent in January-March, more in line with the long-term GDP growth rate

India has recorded a trade deficit, the difference between imports and exports, with nine of its top 10 trading partners, including China, Russia, Singapore, and Korea, in 2023-24, according to official data. The data also showed that the deficit with China, Russia, Korea, and Hong Kong increased in the last fiscal compared to 2022-23, while the trade gap with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Indonesia, and Iraq narrowed. The trade deficit with China rose to USD 85 billion, Russia to USD 57.2 billion, Korea to USD 14.71 billion and Hong Kong to USD 12.2 billion in 2023-24 against USD 83.2 billion, USD 43 billion, USD 14.57 billion and USD 8.38 billion, respectively, in 2022-23. China has emerged as India's largest trading partner with USD 118.4 billion of two-way commerce in 2023-24, edging past the US. The bilateral trade between India and the US stood at USD 118.28 billion in 2023-24. Washington was the top trading partner of New Delhi during 2021-22 and 2022-23. India has a free

Maldives on Saturday said India has initiated efforts to create a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries and deliberations are ongoing for achieving it. They (India) want there to be a Free Trade Agreement with Maldives, in addition to SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement), Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed told a press conference here. The Maldives President has offered this opportunity to all countries, Saeed said, adding that the government aims to enter into agreements with as many countries as possible to offer ease in trade activities. India's reported effort at seeking an FTA with the Maldives comes in the backdrop of an ongoing diplomatic row between the two countries since November last year when President Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took the oath. Within hours of his oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country. The last of the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians earlier

The Indian startup ecosystem is mature, with multiple tailwinds that are poised to escalate India to become the third largest economy in the world, said AWS' Kumara Raghavan. In a conversation with PTI, Raghavan, Head, Startups, Amazon Web Services (AWS) India, and South Asia, discussed the vibrant Indian startup scene, noting its strength and innovation potential. "We are the 5th largest economy, we are trending towards becoming the 3rd largest... factors that will contribute to it are labor addition, infrastructure growth, and efficiency improvements, where technologies like GenAI will play their part, a large developer ecosystem, the ability to build products in the country and serviced all over the world, then there are regulatory tailwinds as well," he said. Raghavan lauded the maturity of the Indian startup ecosystem, noting the significant contributions of experienced founders who have embarked on multiple entrepreneurial ventures. "We are the third largest startup ecosystem

As India moves towards the mission of Viksit Bharat' and becoming a developed country by 2047, the development path for India will not be the same as that of China as they have a different environment and capabilities, Chairman of the Capacity Building Commission Adil Zainulbhai has said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid out a vision of what India will be as a developed country and there is a lot of thinking in terms of we want this to be different, Zainulbhai said. The development path for India will not be the same as the development path for China. So for every article that compares China's growth with India's growth, India's growth for the next 25 years will not follow the China model. Because we can't, it's a different environment and India's capabilities are different, he said. According to the World Bank, China's strong growth has been based on investment and export-oriented manufacturing, an approach that has largely reached its limits, and has led to economic, social,

Under the 2022 revival package totalling Rs 1.64 trillion and the Rs 89,047 crore allocation in 2023, the government is set to provide spectrum and settle adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues for BSNL

Industrial activity gaining momentum with improved capacity utilisation

Market participants said that the rupee gave up some gains by the end of the trade as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened in the foreign exchange market via dollar buys

India's forex reserves jumped USD 4.549 billion to a new all-time high of USD 648.7 billion for the week ended May 17, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. This is the third consecutive week of increase in the overall kitty, which had increased by USD 2.561 billion to USD 644.151 billion in the previous reporting week ended May 17. For the week ended April 5, the reserves had hit an all time high of USD 648.562 billion following multiple weeks of increases. In the week ended May 10, foreign currency assets -- a major component of the reserves -- increased USD 3.361 billion to USD 569.009 billion, the data released on Friday showed. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. Gold reserves increased USD 1.244 billion to USD 57.195 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up USD 113 million to USD 18.168

World Inequality Lab says tax gains could raise health, education expenditure

Wheat procurement for the 2024-25 marketing year has surpassed last year's total of 262.02 lakh tonnes, boosted by strong contributions from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, the government said on Friday. In a statement, the government said 262.48 lakh tonnes of rabi (winter)-sown grain has already been purchased for the central pool, benefiting 22.31 lakh farmers, with a minimum support price outflow of Rs 59,715 crore. The major procuring states were Punjab with 124.26 lakh tonnes, Haryana with 71.49 lakh tonnes, Madhya Pradesh with 47.78 lakh tonnes, Rajasthan with 9.66 lakh tonnes and Uttar Pradesh with 9.07 lakh tonnes. Wheat procurement normally runs from April to March, but the Centre this year allowed states to make purchases based on crop arrivals. In most states, the procurement began in early March. The government has set a wheat procurement target of 300-320 million tonnes for the 2024-25 marketing year. Rice procurement is also progressing smoothly, with 728

Global rating agencies on Friday said windfall of Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend from the RBI is positive for the country's fiscal metrics and its usage will provide a signal around the new government's fiscal priorities. The board of India's central bank earlier this week decided to pay Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend to the government from the profits earned in 2023-24. This is more than double of Rs 1.02 lakh crore that was budgeted by the government. Fitch Ratings Asia-Pacific Sovereigns Director Jeremy Zook said sustained deficit reduction, particularly if underpinned by durable revenue-raising reforms, would be positive for India's rating fundamentals over the medium-term. "The use of the dividend -- whether it is saved or used for additional spending -- could provide a signal around the government's fiscal priorities," Zook told PTI in an email response. Fitch has a 'BBB-' rating on India with a stable outlook. In January, the rating agency had affirmed India's rating on robust growt

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has traditionally been more active in the local over-the-counter (OTC) spot market to keep the rupee stable