1.   

PM, India Inc discuss sovereign bond

Amid the high current account deficit (CAD) and the uncertainty over capital inflows, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday discussed with industry leaders the issue of raising duties on luxury consumer products, as well as floating a sovereign or a non-resident Indian (NRI) bond. At a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry, business leaders raised the issue of tax disputes, saying these affected the morale.

2.   

Best is yet to come in agri sector: PM

Amid concerns over inflation in agricultural items, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday sought suggestions from economic experts for a solution as he asserted that the "best is yet to come" in the sector. The issue came up during an interaction Singh had with members of the prestigious National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) Centre where he was told by some of them that inflation was a result of farming cost which has gone up by 20 percent in the last 4-5 years on account of MNREGA and regular hike in MSP, sources said.

3.   

Commerce ministry to study relevance of SEZ

The Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) will be reviewing the special economic zones (SEZ) in the State as part of the nation-wide study to understand the impact of the SEZ policy. It will also study if SEZs have met the economic objectives for which the programme was rolled out. Addressing a meeting of Export Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) here recently, Director of Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry Sanjeet Singh said that the ministry had entrusted the responsibility of conducting the nationwide study with ICRIER to make suitable policy recommendations on SEZ.

4.   

Proposal for setting up ICD sent to Finance Ministry

A proposal for setting up Inter-Continental Container Depot (ICD) for giving a boost to bilateral trade with Pakistan has been submitted to the Finance Ministry for approval, a senior official said. The proposed ICD is aimed at giving an impetus to trade between India and Pakistan through land route. "An elaborate proposal to set up ICD has been prepared and forwarded to Union Finance Ministry for its approval as there is dire need to tackle heavy flow of trade through the land route," Custom Commissioner (Amritsar) K K Sharma said.