1.   

Anand Sharma urges diplomats to reassure foreign investors

India’s commerce minister Anand Sharma on Tuesday urged diplomats in missions abroad to reassure foreign investors that India is a rule based economy and that there would not be reversals in policy. Addressing a gathering of 120 heads of Indian diplomatic mission across the world, Sharma stressed that despite the slowdown in India’s economic growth—it slowed to 5% in fiscal 2013, the slowest in a decade—and despite various projections to the contrary, the Indian economy would not slow to a rate below 5%, according to a press note by the ministry of external affairs.

2.   

FTA talks between India, Gulf council to resume soon

The talks for a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which have been in a limbo for a while now, are set to resume. A decision to this effect was taken during a recent visit by E Ahamed, minister of state for external affairs, to Bahrain. “India and the GCC started negotiations on FTA as far back as 2005 but the two rounds of negotiations held so far have not translated into signing the agreement. India is ready to hold the third round of meeting for expeditious conclusion of the FTA,” Ahamed said.

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Tehran Sets Trade Deals With India Amid Curbs

An Iranian trade delegation to India has sealed deals to buy shipments of rice, sugar and soybeans from the South Asian country, as part of a plan for Tehran to use such pacts to get around U.S. financial sanctions on its oil shipments. India has been unable to pay in full for Iranian oil imports because tightened U.S. sanctions have made it difficult to access U.S. dollars for transactions with Iran. Instead, Iran has agreed to accept payment in Indian rupees and sent a trade delegation to India this week to look for goods to buy with the money it earns.

4.   

Rice exports seen at 11 mt, says USDA

India's rice exports are estimated at a record 11 million tonnes in the 2012-13 marketing year ended September on bumper production and overseas demand, said the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Rice exports of India, the world's second largest rice producer, stood at 10.38 million tonnes in 2011-12 marketing year (MY) that runs from October to September. "MY 2012/13 export estimate is raised to a record 11 million tonnes based on preliminary official statistics for October 2012 to August 2013, and shipping data compiled by a private source for September 2013," USDA said in a report.