Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday pitched the India story to a large group of pension funds and institutional investors in the US and impressed on them to take advantage of India's enormous investment opportunities.
GoI is seeking to put in place a standardised approach to negotiating FTAs to address rules of origin (ROOs) and non-tariff barriers. It's a good idea. ROOs have assumed importance due to India's pivot away from regional trade blocs in favour of bilaterals. Since the rest of the world doesn't share India's circumspection about trade blocs, it has to erect its own fences in supply chains centred around China.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said India is poised to continue its growth trajectory and is likely to become the world's third-largest economy by 2027. India currently is the fifth largest economy in the world with a GDP of around USD 3.9 trillion.
India has questioned several moves by China at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), turning the heat on non-transparent subsidies that lead to an influx of low-priced, poor-quality goods into the country, harming its local industries.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has issued Compliance Requirements for Health Certificates on food consignments imported from Bhutan, following the implementation of the Agreement signed between the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ( FSSAI ) and the Bhutan Food and Drug Authority ( BFDA ).
According to a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Finance today (20 October), the existing customs duty on rice has been reduced from 25% to 15% and the existing regulatory duty has been reduced from 25% to 5%.