New Delhi: The panel looking into retail major Walmart's lobbying activities with American lawmakers for its entry into the Indian market is likely to submit its report to the government in a day or two. The one-man committee, headed by former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal, has finalised the report. Sources said the report is expected to be submitted to the government "this week". The conclusions of the panel could not be immediately ascertained.
The panel, which was set up in January this year, is looking into "whether Walmart undertook any activities in India in contravention of any Indian law", and any other matter relevant to this issue.
In the wake of intense political pressure following reports about Walmart's lobbying among the US lawmakers since 2008 for facilitating its entry into the Indian market, the government in December 2012 had assured Parliament to get the matter probed by a retired judge.
As per Congressional records of lobbying disclosure reports, the company spent a total amount of USD 6.13 million (about Rs 33 crore) on lobbying for various issues, including on "discussions related to FDI in India", during entire 2012....
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02:20 PM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said it has cleared 17 foreign direct investment proposals totalling Rs 262.56 crore, including that of Sanofi-Synthelabo (India). The proposals were cleared following recommendations by Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) headed by Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, an official statement said. Sanofi-Synthelabo's proposal was regarding acquisition of a pharma company through internal accruals. The company proposes to bring in FDI worth Rs...
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New Delhi: The government on Thursday allowed Swedish furniture major IKEA to invest Rs 10,500 crore - the biggest ever FDI proposal in single brand retail - for setting up home furnishing stores in the country. "Whatever proposal of IKEA was there has been cleared," Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told reporters after the application was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by Prime Minister Manmohan...
09:30 PM, May 02, 2013
New Delhi: Rejecting the Defence Ministry's view on foreign direct investment, a Parliamentary committee has recommended enhancement in FDI limit to attract foreign companies as it would benefit the Indian defence sector in the long run and save precious foreign exchange. The Standing Committee on Defence took note of the divergent views within the Ministry over the issue. While the Department of Defence Production opposes FDI, the DRDO favours it,...
02:45 AM, Apr 30, 2013
Washington: Walmart continued to lobby with the American lawmakers over Indian retail FDI rules during the first quarter of 2013, even as a probe is underway into the global retail giant's US lobbying activities for facilitating its India entry. In its latest lobbying disclosure report filed with the US Senate and the House of Representatives for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, the various lobbying issues of Walmart during the...
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Washington: Increasing Foreign Direct Investment in the insurance sector is top priority for the ruling UPA, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Saturday, hoping that a bill to address the issue will be passed in the upcoming Parliament session. Responding to questions at the Peterson Institute, Chidambaram appreciated the efforts of the insurance industry in reaching out to the opposition parties and hoped that this would help the political parties...
01:31 PM, Apr 20, 2013
The government on Friday said it has approved 12 FDI proposals, including that of pharma firm Claris Otsuka, totalling over Rs 2,609 crore. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, also cleared the proposal of Decathlon Sports India's proposal for induction of foreign equity worth Rs 700 crore to engage in single brand retail. ...
03:35 PM, Mar 22, 2013
Seeking to end ambiguity, the government on Thursday proposed to follow the international practice with regard to defining foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investors (FII). "In order to remove the ambiguity that prevails on what is FDI and what is FII, I propose to follow the international practice and lay down a broad principle," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in his Budgetary proposals. ...
03:54 PM, Feb 28, 2013
India on Wednesday welcomed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from China, saying that Chinese companies could take advantage of India's goal to increase the share of manufacturing in the economy from 16 per cent to 25 per cent by 2022. The climate in India today is welcoming of FDI, including from China, Indian Ambassador to China S Jaishankar said while speaking at India-China Investment Forum in Beijing. ...
01:39 AM, Feb 28, 2013
After clearing IKEA's Rs 10,500 crore foreign direct investment proposal, the Finance Ministry on Wednesday said it has now forwarded the investment plans of Swedish furniture major to set up single brand retail stores to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for final approval. "One proposal (of) M/s Ingka Holding Overseas BV, amounting to Rs 10,500 crore, has been recommended for consideration of CCEA," the Ministry said in a...
06:44 PM, Feb 27, 2013
India's economy will grow "no better than" 5.7 per cent in the current fiscal year but will regain traction in 2013/2014, the finance minister said on Tuesday, as he sought to reassure international investors that the government remained committed to pro-growth policies and reforms. P Chidambaram made the comments at a media briefing after meeting investors in Hong Kong as part of a four-city tour to try and boost capital...
05:45 PM, Jan 22, 2013
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01:30 PM, Dec 21, 2012
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Lok Sabha member Kameshwar Baitha on Tuesday said he went by his 'conscience' while voting along with the United Progressive Alliance against the Opposition motion on foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. "I voted as per my conscience. FDI is in the interest of the country and will open up job opportunities," Baitha, who is on bail on the charge of being a Maoist, said. ...
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07:40 PM, Dec 07, 2012
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05:14 PM, Dec 06, 2012
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07:14 PM, Dec 04, 2012
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10:29 PM, Nov 29, 2012
New Delhi: Surrounded by controversies and scams, the big three of the Congress - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi will try to divert attention by showcasing the economic agenda of the government over the past few months at a mega rally of party workers at the Ramlila ground in New Delhi on Sunday. The PM is expected to focus on economic...
07:13 AM, Nov 04, 2012
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08:39 AM, Nov 03, 2012
