New Delhi, The Government of India and the World Bank on Friday signed an IDA credit of USUSD 130 million to finance the Government of India's (GOI) efforts to empower rural communities in the growth-deficient North East (NE) region to improve their livelihood opportunities. The North East Rural Livelihoods Project (NERLP) will enhance the livelihoods of the rural poor, especially women, unemployed youth and the severely disadvantaged in eight districts of the four participating states- Aizawl and Lunglei in Mizoram; Peren and Tuensang in Nagaland; South, West and 15 Panchayat wards of East District in Sikkim; and West and North Districts in Tripura. Despite its rich natural resources and relatively good human development indicators, the North East (NE) region lags behind the rest of India in important parameters of growth. Almost 35 percent of its predominantly rural population lives below the poverty line; agricultural productivity is low; and high school drop-out rates and lack of skills have led to high unemployment among the youth. This low-growth scenario is exacerbated by problems of geographical inaccessibility, protracted insurgency in some areas, and recurring ...
Read Full Story

Kathmandu, The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan for six drinking water projects in Nepal. The projects are in Rupandehi, Dhangadhi, Morang, Jhapa, Arghakhanchi and Baglung, Xinhua reported Tuesday. The loan agreement was signed Dec 29. About one billion Nepali rupees ($13 million) will be spent, said Sushil Gyawali, the executive director of the City Development Fund ...
Read Full Story

New Delhi, Expressing concern at the high level of regional and inter and intra state disparities in agricultural production and productivity, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) feels that India needs to invest more in agriculture and allied sectors. It says that the country needs higher production and productivity in cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, poultry, meat, fish and milk. To improve agriculture and productivity, there is need for finding ways to surmount the existing constraints and step up productivity using finance as a tool. Dr K C Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, RBI, says that Green Revolution paved the way for food security in India. However, no major technological breakthrough has emerged since then, and with the need of higher productivity growing a second green revolution is inevitable. Borrowing a phrase coined by Prof M S Swaminatahan, renowned agriculture scientist, the country needs an ever green revolution. However, to cater to food security and food safety net, India needs bigger investments in agriculture. ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai: More than 100 individuals in Mumbai, including a few corporate biggies, have received notices from the Income-Tax department this month for holding undisclosed bank accounts with HSBC Geneva. They are among the 700 Swiss bank account holders whose names figure in the list shared by the French authorities with the Indian government a few months ago. The French had obtained the information from a former HSBC employee. The tax department is in a hurry to meet the December 31 deadline set by the Central Board of Direct Taxes for sending notices to these individuals. "A few prominent names in Mumbai's corporate world are in the list," a senior incometax official told ET. He said some of them have voluntarily disclosed their numbered accounts following which they were served notices under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act. It's a procedure the taxman follows to regularise an assessment after collecting the unpaid tax amount together with the interest. In some cases, the department also uses its discretion to slap penalties. Members belonging to a leading industrial family have disclosed their HSBC Geneva accounts. "One of them is based in Mumbai while the other ...
Read Full Story

Beijing, The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved loans worth USD 800 million to China's east Anhui province to improve the water and surrounding environment of a major lake, authorities said Tuesday. The loans will be used to intercept sewage flowing into the Chaohu lake, dredge the tributaries, renovate dikes, build lake bank roads as well as reinforce environmental monitoring, Xinhua quoted an official as saying. The ADB is already handling the first loan of $250 million. As one of China's five largest freshwater lakes, Chaohu lake, covers an area of 13,000 square km. Heavy use and local industrial development in recent years have made it one of China's most polluted ...
Read Full Story

Rio de Janeiro, Cumulative foreign direct investment in Brazil expanded fourfold between 2005 and last year, from USD 162.8 billion to USD 660.5 billion, the country's central bank said Thursday. Even with the exclusion of multinationals' transfers to their Brazilian subsidiaries, estimated by the central bank at $80.9 billion, FDI rose by 256 percent over the period. The leading foreign investors in Latin America's biggest economy are the US, with $104.7 billion; Spain, $85.3 billion; and Belgium, with $50.4 billion. Just over $98 billion, or 16.9 percent of total FDI during the period studied, went to Brazil's financial sector, while 9 percent - $52.2 billion - was captured by the beverage industry. The oil and gas sector received $49.5 billion in FDI, 8.5 percent of the total, and $40.6 billion flowed into telecoms. Brazil will post around $60 billion in additional FDI for 2011, according to the latest projections by the central ...
Read Full Story

Colombo, Aiming to spur economic growth, the Sri Lankan central bank has relaxed regulations of foreign investments in corporate debentures of local firms and foreign borrowings by local firms, it said in a statement Tuesday. In the case of corporate debentures raised by local companies, the ceiling imposed on the interest rate of the debentures has been removed as have the requirement for the maintenance of a sinking fund by the issuing company, according to the statement. These new procedures are expected to support alternative financing needs at a competitive cost. In addition, the minimum tenure of the debentures has been reduced from the current level of five years to two years, reported Xinhua. In the case of foreign borrowing, the current limit on borrowing applicable to a local firm has been increased from USD 20 million to USD 50 million and local firms have been permitted to raise foreign loans against corporate or bank guarantees. "Other borrowing arrangements of a short-term nature and those by newly incorporated firms would also be considered for approval by the central bank, based on the merits of each case," said the statement. Sri Lanka's economy is ...
Read Full Story

Jajarta, Indonesian central bank has asked commercial banks in the country to lower their interest rates as the country will rely much on its domestic consumption to boost economic growth, central bank governor Darmin Nasution has said here. Darmin made the call as the Indonesian government has been struggling to ease the risks of global economic uncertainty due to slowing US economic growth and Europe debt crisis, reported Xinhua. "This is clearly not a short-term issue, it's a medium-term problem. But we cannot be weary of reminding and fighting for (lower lending rates)," Darmin was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying Monday. The central bank has cut rate by 75 basis points in September and October after keeping it unchanged for more than two years, aiming at fighting inflation and spurring economic growth. The bank expected the move would be followed by commercial banks in the country. Darmin said that next year's lending growth would remain robust at up to 25 percent like this year despite global economic woes. The central bank started with the "prime lending rate" policy earlier this year, which requires banks to publicly announce the rates they charge their ...
Read Full Story

Vienna, Global financial crisis would cause stagnation of Austrian economy, said the country's central bank Austrian National bank (OeNB) Friday. According to OeNB, Austrian economic growth rate in the fourth quarter this year would be zero. In the first and second quarters next year it would only reach 0.1 percent respectively, reported Xinhua. OeNB chief economist Peter Mooslechner even expected a negative economic growth for one or two quarters in Austria. OeNB President Ewald Nowotny told the press that the stagnation may last for a longer period, a scenario for which the Austrian government must be prepared. The Austrian government thus needs to make adjustments in public finance, said Nowotny. In particular, it would be necessary for the government to reduce its deficit, as the current budget deficit of Austria is too high, he added. He also said that it is necessary for Austria to limit the proportion of national budget deficits by drawing up the related law, hoping that this measure could be implemented by the government to limit the public debt as soon as possible. It was expected that the Austrian economy would recover slightly starting in summer or ...
Read Full Story

Wellington, The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announced Thursday it was leaving the interest rates unchanged on 2.5 percent, citing a deteriorating global financial outlook. RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard said it was prudent to leave the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 2.5 percent given the global uncertainty and the "moderate pace" of domestic demand, reported Xinhua. "Continuing difficulties related to sovereign and bank debt in a growing number of European economies have resulted in high levels of volatility in financial markets. There has also been a softening in international economic activity, including in the Asia-Pacific region," said Bollard in the policy assessment of the RBNZ December Monetary Policy Statement. "Global developments are having some negative impact on New Zealand, though to date it has been limited. Business confidence has declined and investment spending is likely to remain weak for some time. In addition, tightness in international markets means funding costs for New Zealand banks will increase to some degree over the coming year." He said the risk on further weakening conditions remained as outlined in the previous RBNZ Monetary Policy ...
Read Full Story

Washington, The rate of economic growth in the US continues to be "slow to moderate" in all but one of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts, the central bank said Wednesday in the latest edition of its Beige Book report. The exception was the St. Louis district, which "reported a decline in economic activity", the Fed said. The Beige Book, a periodic appraisal of economic conditions based on anecdotal information from the Fed's 12 regional banks, found that consumer spending increased moderately during the past two months. "Motor vehicle sales increased in a number of Districts, and tourism showed signs of strength," the publication added. Business activity in the service sector reached higher levels than were noted in the previous report and manufacturing activity expended at a constant rate in most of the country. The Fed also verified that the number of bank loans had increased and home refinancing had expanded even more. The construction sector registered a slight increase in single family homes and slow growth in the construction of commercial properties. The majority of the districts reported more favourable conditions for agriculture, energy production and ...
Read Full Story

Beijing, Some 1.3 million Chinese will compete for 18,000 civil servant posts in various government departments over the next two days, Xinhua reported. On Saturday, candidates will give exams for posts in the China Banking Regulatory Commission and for vacancies requiring foreign language efficiency. On Sunday, they will take the general exam. About 88,000 applicants are from Beijing. The city has adopted various measures to prevent cheating in the exams. For the first time, devices were installed near the exam sites to block mobile phone signals so that candidates will not be able to use them for ...
Read Full Story

Abu Dhabi, The board of directors of the Central Bank of the UAE has approved the budget for 2012 after reviewing it during a meet. The board held its 12th meeting for the year 2011 Tuesday. The board adopted the budget as -- total expected revenues of 4,322 million dirhams, total expected expenses of 822 million dirhams, with a net profit of 3,500 million dirhams, compared to 3,470 million dirhams expected in ...
Read Full Story

Colombo, Sri Lanka's currency depreciated by about 3.2 percent Wednesday for the second successive day on new government policy, the island's central bank said here. The exchange rate saw the Sri Lankan rupee buying rate at Rs.112.99 and selling rate at Rs.114.88 against the US dollar after the central bank set the new lower currency rate through the Bank of Ceylon, reported Xinhua. However, currency dealers speculate that the central bank spent around $15 million to defend the current depreciation as investors tried to sell off rupee denominated Treasury Bonds. On Monday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa outlined plans to let the rupee depreciate by 3 percent in a shock announcement that halted trading. The decision was part of the country's second post-war budget detailing government policy for ...
Read Full Story

Mumbai, In a move to stem the slide in the Rupee, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today intervened in the Forex market by modifying certain aspects of the External commercial borrowings with immediate effect and the indian unit, after plunging to a lifetime low of 52.73, closed slightly higher at 52.37 against the US Dollar. The Rupee hit a low of 52.54 against the US Dollar, weakening by 24 paise, in the opening session today but the RBI intervention, after a review of developments in global financial markets and due to borrowers experiencing difficulties, somewhat stemmed the declining tide. With the stock market also declining, the impact on the Rupee was more pronounced, dealers said. The Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had told Parliament yesterday that RBI's intervention would not arrest the slide of Rupee as global recession and FII's pullout were behind the depreciation. The Rupee fluctuated in a range of 52.60 and 51,70, dealers said. The Rupee had closed at 52.30 against the dollar ...
Read Full Story

London, Britain has severed all links with Iranian banks as part of the country's new financial sanctions against Tehran. Starting Monday, all of Britain's credit and financial institutions were required to cease business relationships and transactions with all Iranian banks, including the Central Bank of Iran, and their branches and subsidiaries, Xinhua reported. "I have today (Monday) taken action to impose further financial restrictions against Iran," Finance Minister George Osborne said. "We believe that the Iranian regime's actions pose a significant threat to Britain's national security and the international community. Today's announcement is a further step to preventing the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons," he said. According to a statement from the British Treasury, Iranian banks played a crucial role in providing financial services to individuals and entities within Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The development followed a recent report on Iran's nuclear programme by the International Atomic Energy Agency that said Tehran engaged in nuclear weapons-related research activities. Iran has dismissed the report, saying its ...
Read Full Story

The government needs to do much more to boost growth, business tycoons, top bankers and ministry officials said at the India Economic Summit held in Mumbai on Sunday. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani called upon the governments to move faster to ensure economic development. “The central government and the state government need to align and move a lot faster. In today’s world of aspiration, people want everything to happen now.” Speaking at the 27th edition of the India Chapter of the World Economic Forum, Ambani also stressed on the need for better governance. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan seemed to concur, but cited the difficulties. “The big challenge before the political system in India is managing the diversities in the country. It is very difficult to satisfy fast movers’ needs,” he said. Top industrialist Rahul Bajaj minced no words while opposing any bailout attempt by the government for the debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines. “Those who die, must die,” he said. “I don’t see any logic of bailing out any private sector company, either for the sake of its employees or customers.” Drawing attention to high inflation and high ...
Read Full Story

Jalandhar, Dec.2 (DNS)- 517 Graduates and postgraduates students from Management, Engineering, Retail, arts, commerce and science stream have been shortlisted in a two day CT Mega Job festival organized in Jalandhar by CT Group of Institutions. The best thing about this job was that there was good number of companies to hire B.Tech students. In the past months companies were hesitating to give jobs due to bad economic scenario. Now this Job fest brought smile on the faces of students. This employment festival was open for all the students of various colleges and institutions. Prof. Manhar Arora Director – Corporate Relations and Placements said “More than 25 companies from all the major brands like IBM, HDFC, ING, Time Technoplast, DTDC, Pantaloon, Big Bazaar, Karvy, Coca Cola, Kotak Bank, Bonanza, Omega and others participated with their top rank officials. All these Company officials expressed their satisfaction and praised students of Punjab for their talent and knowledge demonstrated at the time of recruitment.” Further Prof. Arora said “Placement situation is changing as companies have shown keen interest in hiring good number of students. In future also there ...
Read Full Story