NEW DELHI:Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Kamal Nath has said that there is immense possibility for joint investments between INdia and Russia in areas like banking, information technology, telecommunications, high-technology sectors, power, pharmaceuticals and textiles.
Addressing the India-Russia CEOs Council Meeting here today,Mr Kamal Nath said that India and Russia have managed to sustain strong business vibes in recent years and added that the India-Russia Forum on Trade & Investment has underscored the need for investment cooperation in a large number of sectors.
“Indian companies are quickly establishing themselves in Russia and the cumulative Indian investments in the Russian economy amounted to US $ 744.1 million as of March 31, 2008”, he said. The meeting was also attended by Shri G.K. Pillai, Commerce Secretary Ajai Shankar, Secretary (IPP) apart from CEOs from both the countries. During the occasion, the Minister also launched the IBEF Website in Russian language.
Mr Nath said there is a strong case for Russian companies to invest in India, especially in power sector, as Russia is energy rich and India's energy requirements are going to increase manifold over the next 10-15 years.
The Minister emphasised that critical sectors of the economy, like agriculture, have started a process of revival by growing at a rate of close to 4%. This growth rate is a significant contribution to inclusiveness, which is vital for India as it helps sustain domestic consumption, which will sustain our growth story in the short, medium and long term, he added.
Bilateral trade between India and Russia during 2008-09 (April-July) was to the tune of US $ 1613.56 million. Major items of export are drugs, pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals, RMG cotton including accessories, tea, coffee, tobacco un-manufactured, processed minerals, plastic & linoleum products, machinery & instruments, transport equipments, electronic goods etc. Major items of import are iron & steel, non-ferrous metals, coal, coke, newsprint, silver, synthetic & reclaimed rubber etc.
Cumulative FDI inflows from Russia till August 2008 were US $ 144 million. The top sectors that attracted FDI inflows were medical & surgical appliances, hotel & tourism, food processing industries etc.
Showing posts with label Kamal Nath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kamal Nath. Show all posts
Friday, December 5, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Dont't run away from India, Kamal Nath tells investors
NEW DELHI: Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath today said that world would benefit tremendously from a stable, large and growing consumer market provided by India and added that this is not the time for foreign investors to give up on India.
"Foreign investors who withdraw equity investments or shelve FDI plans in India will find themselves behind the curve as our economy picks up its 9-10% pace once again," he said addressing the Plenary Session on “Securing Opportunities for Inclusive Growth in India” at the India Economic Summit here.
Kamal Nath pointed out that India’s reform process has allowed millions of poor people to cross the poverty threshold and added that there is still a lot of room for further reforms in key areas such as public private partnerships, financial sector, and taxation, among others. He said that much action remains on the agenda table for integrating further with the global economy and becoming a vital link in the international supply chain of goods and services, funds and capital, and resources and talent.
The 3-day (16-18 November) Summit is being jointly organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and World Economic Forum.
Kamal Nath emphasised that inclusive growth ultimately depends on the productivity of the overall workforce, which in turn is dependent on its education, skill development, technical and professional education, and talent resource levels. India’s workforce numbers around 500 million people and is expected to expand by about 20 million each year for the next ten years. “But 600 million people continue to depend on agriculture as a source of livelihood. While agriculture has been expanding at close to 3% annually, there is need to move people off the land in order to enhance their productivity and increase their incomes”, he added.
Speaking about India’s engagement with the world, he said that India’s total exports in 2004-05 was at $ 83.5 billion, whereas in 2007-08, it exceeded the targets and achieved a doubling of trade to $163 billion and this year, for the period April to September export growth was 31% over the same period last year. At the same time, we continue to be a solid market for overseas goods, he underlined and added that India’s imports have gone up from $ 112 billion in 2004-05 to $ 251 billion in 2007-08 and non-oil imports increased at a rapid clip of 43%. “When we include export and import of services, our external engagement can be placed at over $ 525 billion for the past year, which adds up to more than half of GDP. This is unprecedented in India’s modern economic history”, he said
"Foreign investors who withdraw equity investments or shelve FDI plans in India will find themselves behind the curve as our economy picks up its 9-10% pace once again," he said addressing the Plenary Session on “Securing Opportunities for Inclusive Growth in India” at the India Economic Summit here.
Kamal Nath pointed out that India’s reform process has allowed millions of poor people to cross the poverty threshold and added that there is still a lot of room for further reforms in key areas such as public private partnerships, financial sector, and taxation, among others. He said that much action remains on the agenda table for integrating further with the global economy and becoming a vital link in the international supply chain of goods and services, funds and capital, and resources and talent.
The 3-day (16-18 November) Summit is being jointly organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and World Economic Forum.
Kamal Nath emphasised that inclusive growth ultimately depends on the productivity of the overall workforce, which in turn is dependent on its education, skill development, technical and professional education, and talent resource levels. India’s workforce numbers around 500 million people and is expected to expand by about 20 million each year for the next ten years. “But 600 million people continue to depend on agriculture as a source of livelihood. While agriculture has been expanding at close to 3% annually, there is need to move people off the land in order to enhance their productivity and increase their incomes”, he added.
Speaking about India’s engagement with the world, he said that India’s total exports in 2004-05 was at $ 83.5 billion, whereas in 2007-08, it exceeded the targets and achieved a doubling of trade to $163 billion and this year, for the period April to September export growth was 31% over the same period last year. At the same time, we continue to be a solid market for overseas goods, he underlined and added that India’s imports have gone up from $ 112 billion in 2004-05 to $ 251 billion in 2007-08 and non-oil imports increased at a rapid clip of 43%. “When we include export and import of services, our external engagement can be placed at over $ 525 billion for the past year, which adds up to more than half of GDP. This is unprecedented in India’s modern economic history”, he said
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