|
19-Apr-2024 09:23 Hrs IST |
Good market access offered on both sides: UK government on India-UK FTA
|
<p style="text-align: justify;">Talking about the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, the UK government said there has been good market access offered on both sides but not enough to secure a FTA. Indian negotiators are in London this week to continue discussions with their British counterparts. The recent restructuring of the BBC to create a new Indian-owned entity in order to comply with the country's foreign direct investment (FDI) rules was flagged by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Jeremy Purvis, who questioned the level of market access being offered to India in the field of media, data and telecoms as part of the FTA negotiations.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said ‘My understanding of where we are with the trade deal is that good market access has been offered on both sides, but not quite enough yet to secure a deal. It is important with such trade deals, as you only really get one proper shot at it, to make sure that it is a good enough deal that will be welcomed by industry leaders here in the UK as offering real market access'. It came as a team from India arrived in London to continue talks this week under the fourteenth round of FTA negotiations, which are aimed at significantly enhancing the GBP 38.1 billion bilateral partnership across different sectors.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Specifically referencing the point on media access, Lord Cameron said he would have to look into the details but his personal view was that 'we should open up media access on both sides to make sure we have a good plurality of media'. Earlier this month, the BBC confirmed the launch of Collective Newsroom as an independent entity which will create programmes and content for the BBC as its first client. Lord Purvis questioned this necessity for Britain's public broadcaster to operate in India unlike in any other country, alluding to 'harassment and intimidation' by authorities. He said ‘My understanding is that India passed a law insisting that digital media companies had to be Indian-owned, and the BBC has had to restructure on that basis', and noted that this was 'not the British way'. He said ‘Nonetheless, that is the reason why the BBC has restructured, together with some disagreements with India'.</p>
|
|
18-Apr-2024 09:01 Hrs IST |
IMF raises India's growth projection to 6.8% for 2024
|
<p style="text-align: justify;">Citing bullish domestic demand conditions and a rising working-age population, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest edition of the World Economic Outlook has raised India's growth projection to 6.8 per cent for 2024. IMF in its January update had projected 6.5 per cent growth for India in 2024. With this, India continues to be the fastest growing economy of the world, ahead of China's growth projection of 4.6 per cent during the same period. It said ‘Growth in India is projected to remain strong at 6.8 per cent in 2024 and 6.5 per cent in 2025, with the robustness reflecting continuing strength in domestic demand and a rising working-age population'. At the same time, growth in emerging and developing Asia is expected to fall from an estimated 5.6 per cent in 2023 to 5.2 per cent in 2024 and 4.9 per cent in 2025, a slight upward revision compared with the January 2024 WEO Update.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As per the IMF outlook, ‘Growth in China is projected to slow from 5.2 per cent in 2023 to 4.6 per cent in 2024 and 4.1 per cent in 2025, as the positive effects of one-off factors - including the post pandemic boost to consumption and fiscal stimulus - ease and weakness in the property sector persists'. Global growth, estimated at 3.2 per cent in 2023, is projected to continue at the same pace in 2024 and 2025. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, chief economist of the IMF said ‘Despite gloomy predictions, the global economy remains remarkably resilient, with steady growth and inflation slowing almost as quickly as it rose. The journey has been eventful, starting with supply-chain disruptions in the aftermath of the pandemic, an energy and food crisis triggered by Russia's war on Ukraine, a considerable surge in inflation, followed by a globally synchronized monetary policy tightening'.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">He said global growth bottomed out at the end of 2022, at 2.3 per cent, shortly after median headline inflation peaked at 9.4 per cent. He observed growth this year and next will hold steady at 3.2 per cent, with median headline inflation declining from 2.8 per cent at the end of 2024 to 2.4 per cent at the end of 2025. Most indicators continue to point to a soft landing. China's economy remains affected by the downturn in its property sector. Credit booms and busts never resolve themselves quickly, and this one is no exception.</p>
|
|
16-Apr-2024 09:06 Hrs IST |
IMD predicts above-normal rainfall season across India
|
|
|
15-Apr-2024 09:08 Hrs IST |
Amended India-Mauritius tax treaty protocol yet to be ratified, notified: Income Tax Department
|
|
|
12-Apr-2024 09:03 Hrs IST |
ADB raises India's GDP growth forecast to 7% for FY25 from 6.7% earlier
|
|
|
10-Apr-2024 09:24 Hrs IST |
Partnership between India, US reach new height: US National Security Advisor
|
|
|
09-Apr-2024 09:04 Hrs IST |
Climate change poses challenges for monetary policy, risks to growth: RBI report
|
|
|
08-Apr-2024 09:14 Hrs IST |
SBI Research anticipates rate cut cycle to begin from October 2024
|
|
|
05-Apr-2024 09:26 Hrs IST |
India becomes world's fastest-growing major economy in 2023: United Nations Report
|
|
|
04-Apr-2024 09:07 Hrs IST |
Indirect tax collection for FY24 exceeds RE by ‘handsome margin' with record GST mop-up: CBIC
|
|
