Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, August 18, 2013 (AFP) – Indian policymakers are looking increasingly panicky as they battle the worst currency crisis in more than two decades, and more worryingly there is no sign their remedies are working.There have been no signs so far of domestic capital flight but analysts say the controls may have been tightened […]

NEW DELHI, August 17, 2013 (AFP) – India’s premier ruled out Saturday any suggestion the country could suffer a repeat of its 1991 balance-of-payments crisis as it grapples with a plunging rupee and a huge trade gap.Singh added that he hoped for “fresh thinking” at the central bank when its new governor Raghuram Rajan takes […]

MUMBAI, August 16, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee plunged to a fresh record low against the dollar on Friday over fears that the central bank’s measures may not be able to prop up the ailing currency, dealers said.The rupee, one of Asia’s worst-performing currencies this year, hit a new low of 62.00 rupees to the […]

NEW DELHI, August 14, 2013 (AFP) – India slapped new controls Wednesday on foreign exchange outflows as it struggled to narrow a record current account deficit and arrest the fall of the rupee.The central bank “has to cater to both currency and inflation risks”, which means monetary easing to kickstart growth “is off the table […]

NEW DELHI, August 14, 2013 (AFP) – India’s defence minister said Wednesday there were fatalities when a diesel-powered submarine exploded and sank at a dock in Mumbai. . “I feel sad about those navy personnel who have lost their lives in service of the country,” A.K Antony told reporters in New Delhi. The minister did […]

MUMBAI, August 13, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee fell in early trade on Tuesday despite the government announcing new measures aimed at narrowing the current account deficit and aiding the ailing local currency.Overseas funds have pulled out a combined .49 billion in equities and debt from India’s markets since June 1 on concerns about the […]

NEW DELHI, August 12, 2013 (AFP) – India’s car sales slid by over seven percent in July, marking a record ninth straight month of decline, industry data showed Monday, as an economic slump and high borrowing costs discouraged buyers. Carmakers sold 131,163 cars in India last month, down 7.4 percent from the same month in […]

NEW DELHI, August 10, 2013 (AFP) – India announced Saturday that its first indigenously-built nuclear submarine is ready for sea trials, a step before it becomes fully operational, and called it a “giant stride” for the nation.It will ply the seas alongside the former Russian aircraft carrier “Admiral Gorshkov”, now the “INS Vikramaditya”, due to […]

MUMBAI, August 6, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee plunged to a fresh record low against the dollar Tuesday over concerns that foreign capital could flow back to the United States as the American economy picks up.The rupee, Asia’s worst-performing major currency this year, hit 61.35 against the greenback in morning trade, below its previous low […]

DHAKA, August 6, 2013 (AFP) – Bangladesh denied on Tuesday that it plans to take control of pioneering microlender Grameen Bank which has lifted millions of people out of poverty. The statement by a government spokesman came ahead of the release of a report by a commission expected to recommend that the government increase its […]

MUMBAI, July 31, 2013 (AFP) – India’s central bank governor has decided to “move on” and a hunt for his successor is underway, the country’s finance minister was quoted saying Wednesday.The government’s chief economic advisor, Raghuram Rajan, India’s economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram and Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhary are contenders to succeed Subbarao, the […]

NEW DELHI, July 29, 2013 (AFP) – India’s foreign investment panel Monday approved a plan for Abu Dhabi-based Etihad to buy a stake in Indian airline Jet, but the pact still faces other hurdles. “It (the agreement) has been cleared” by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), a senior finance ministry official told AFP. “But […]