Sunday, September 23, 2007

Top three business news stories this week


By Vipin Agnihotri


The India Street is always interested in giving you detailed information regarding Indian business scene. Below find top three business news this week.


Indian government going all out to woo investments in manufacturing business



In my opinion, Indian government is working overtime to woo investments in the manufacturing business. First and foremost, it was a policy to promote Petroleum, Chemicals, and Petrochemicals Investment Regions. According to sources, now Indian government is planning to extend it to the entire manufacturing sector, by setting up mega manufacturing hubs.


It is worth mentioning in this regard that Manufacturing Investment Regions will be specifically designated zones over an area of 250 square km each for domestic and export-led production along with associated services and infrastructure. If experts are to be believed, the Indian government plans to ensure a minimum processing area about 40 per cent of the total designated area.


Pretty much like Special Economic Zones, the policy envisages that the hubs or zones will be built and managed by a developer or a group of developers. On the other hand, external linkages will be provided by the Centre and the state government concerned.


Foreign individuals can register directly as Foreign Institutional Investors




In an attempt to discourage the use of Participatory Notes and, in turn, bring about greater transparency in the capital markets, SEBI have decided to permit foreign individuals, companies and other investors such as hedge funds to register directly as Foreign Institutional Investors.


The pivotal factor here is that a large chunk of proportion of portfolio inflows into the country has been through the Participatory Note route. According to sources, regulatory bodies like SEBI and RBI have been concerned about the misuse of the instrument- it is felt that lots of overseas investors use this route to conceal their identities.


Allocation of spectrum takes new turn


In what can be termed as the new twist to the ongoing controversy over allocation of spectrum, Union Telecom minister A Raja has returned all 16 applications for spectrum allocation, both from existing and new players, deciding, instead, that number of committees will be formed to look into the issues raised by both the GSM and CDMA camps.


It is worth pointing that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has delayed its proposed recommendations on the capping of telecom service providers and other licensing regulations, citing the complexity of the issues involved.




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