Exports exceed us $ 155 billion in 2007-08
11 April 2008, New Delhi |
The Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Shri Kamal Nath and Ministers of State for Commerce, and Shri Jairam Ramesh releasing a book titled ‘Foreign Trade Policy’ |
Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, while releasing the Annual Supplement to Foreign Trade Policy, stated that the Foreign Trade Policy initiatives in the last four years has resulted in increased trade activity and has generated additional employment of 136 lakh. The Minister stated that exports are not just about earning foreign exchange, but about boosting manufacturing sector, creating large scale economic activities and generating employment opportunities.
India’s total merchandise trade (both exports and imports) will be US $ 400 billion during 2007-08, accounting for nearly 1.5% of world trade. The Minister stated that if trade in services is added, our commercial engagement with the world would be to the tune of US $ 525 billion.
Shri Kamal Nath said that the new Foreign Trade Policy (2004-09) has more than doubled India’s exports in 4 years. The country’s exports in 2007-08 has exceeded US $ 155 billion from US $ 63 billion in 2004, registering a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23%, year on year, way ahead of the average growth rate of international trade.
Lauding the achievements in exports that have been accomplished in the face of appreciation of rupee, high interest rates, spiraling oil prices, slow down in major trade markets, and withdrawal of some GSP benefits to India by other countries, Shri Kamal Nath stressed that India should achieve 5% share of world trade by 2020. “As a means to achieve this, an export target of US $ 200 billion has been set for 2008-09”, he added. |
| Motorola plans handset facility near Chennai |
US major Motorola is set to unveil a key manufacturing facility in the suburbs of Chennai in the next few days, making it the second MNC after Nokia to make significant investments in manufacturing in India. According to industry sources, the facility, which will eventually be spread over 450 acres or more, is coming up close to Nokia's handset manufacturing unit in Sriperumbudur. This is significantly larger than Nokia's facility, which reportedly covers an area of just 211 acres.
While Motorola refused to divulge any details, sources say Motorola's new unit is likely to closely follow Nokia's model of building a regional manufacturing hub.
Source: The Times of India |
Sotheby's to kick off sale of Indian artworks
in London |
Sotheby's is unfurling a comprehensive sale of Indian modern and contemporary art in London in early May. The auction sports an overall estimate of around £2.4 million and will see some 120 lots go under the hammer. This sale follows the New York auction in March, spurred by the "ever-growing interest in and rising profile of Indian art on the international stage."
The selection of works will trace the course of Indian art over the past century encompassing important works by key figures of the modern Indian art movement such as FN Souza and Akbar Padamsee through to cutting-edge contemporary names like Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher and Jitish Kallat.
The sale will also feature 11 rare works from the exquisite collection of William and Mildred Archer, two remarkable scholars who played a crucial role in bringing Indian art to the vanguard in this field. The Archer collection includes paintings by Rabindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, George Keyt and Avinash Chandra.
Source: The Economic Times |
6 Indians in Forbes list of 500 highest-paid CEOs |
Six business leaders of Indian origin figure in business magazine Forbes list of 500 highest-paid CEOs. Business software giant Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison tops the list. Forbes put his total compensation for 2007 at $192.92 million, which includes $1 million in salary and $182 million from exercise of vested stock options.
Investment guru Warren Buffett, the world's richest man and chief of Berkshire Hathaway, is ranked 497th with a pay packet of $0.10 million dollars. Ranks are based on total compensation for the latest fiscal year, which includes salary, bonus and other compensation, like vested restricted stock grants and the value realized by exercising stock options.
Beverages giant Pepsico's chief Indra K Nooyi is the top Indian-origin CEO in the list. She is ranked 139th. The list put her pay packet at $12.74 million.
Source: Outlook India |
|
STC profit zooms by
30 per cent
The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. (STC) has reported the highest ever profit before tax of Rs.163 crore during 2007-08 which demonstrates a growth of 33% over the previous years. The all time high profitability was a result of many new initiatives including diversification into new areas and improved customer delivery mechanism which helped in negotiating better trading margins.
All branch offices of the Corporation thus continued to be profit making during 2007-08. Buoyed by growths in all the three segments of trade, namely, export, import and domestic trading, the total turnover during the year (excluding wheat imports handled on Government account) grew by 45% over the previous year.
In spite of substantially lower imports of wheat handled on Govt. account during the year, the overall turnover reached the highest ever level of over Rs.15,300 crore. |
India's GDP likely to be 7.8 pc this year: Report
On the back of strong Government spending and investment activity, the global slowdown will only have a modest effect on Indian economy whereas the country's GDP is expected to ease to 7.8 per cent this year, says global credit rating agency Moody's in its latest report. The report by Moody's Economy.
Com noted that slowing exports and tight monetary policy are the key downside risks to expansion this year. Further, Government's current priority to improve infrastructure and reduce poverty would witness strong demand for workers and household income grow at a stunning pace this year. Public expenditure would receive a major boost in anticipation of the general election to be held in May 2009, the report said.
Source: The Pioneer |
India has second-largest number of homegrown companies
India has the second-largest number of homegrown corporate champions holding their fort against the might of multinational giants, according to a recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report. The country was ranked second behind China among the ten rapidly growing economies in terms of number of such homegrown leaders. Consultancy firm BCG shortlisted 50 homegrown companies from developing economies such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Thailand that are leading their domestic markets and fending off fierce competition with innovative business models.
|
|
