1.   

India set to join talks for world’s largest trade bloc

India is set to join talks for creating the world's largest trade bloc, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP, comprising Asean members and three manufacturing giants — China , Japan and South Korea — after a committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh endorsed the move. The 16 members who will launch talks in Phnom Penh later this month account for over a quarter of the world economy.

2.   

Trade, not aid, thrust of India-UK talks

With the UK moving to cut down by half its aid to India, New Delhi on Thursday made it clear that the government wanted trade and not aid from the British government. Addressing a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary William Hague, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said, “Aid is past, trade is future”. He added that they did not discuss the aid issue, as it did not merit a discussion.

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'Pak eases land route trade rules'

Pakistan has inched closer to granting the promised most-favoured nation status to India by the year-end by expanding the list of goods that can be traded through the Attari-Wagah border, a move that will boost shipments across Punjab. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said that last week, Pakistan notified fresh measures to improve trade relations but refused to disclose details.

4.   

British Foreign Secretary William Hague confident of doubling trade with India

British Foreign Secretary William Hague today expressed the confidence that bilateral trade with India would double in the next three years on stronger economic and business ties. "Since 2010, our partnership has truly become stronger, wider and deeper. We are on course to hit our target of doubling trade by 2015," he said addressing a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid here.