Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, August 16, 2011 (AFP) – India’s annual inflation edged lower to 9. 22 percent in July, official data showed Tuesday, still far above the comfort level of the country’s central bank, which has been raising rates aggressively. Growing fears about the stuttering global economy have fuelled speculation among economists that the bank may […]

NEW DELHI, August 15, 2011 (AFP) – India’s embattled premier Monday used his Independence Day address from Delhi’s rain-drenched Red Fort to insist the government was taking “the strictest possible action” against corruption. Manmohan Singh, speaking from a bullet-proof enclosure in torrential monsoon rains, also said that inflation running at nearly 10 percent was a […]

MUMBAI, August 14, 2011 (AFP) – India’s real estate sector, which soared as the country’s economy took off and higher incomes led to increased demand, is facing turbulent times as interest rates push up the cost of home loans. A succession of rate hikes has prompted prospective buyers to delay purchases, with the situation having […]

Aug 11, 2011 (LBO) – India’s Religare Capital Market Limited (RCML) said a recent purchase of South Africa’s Noah Financial Innovation will be a base for further expansion in to the region. RCML chief executive Martin Newson says the South African acquisition is part of its emerging markets investment banking operations, “both in its own […]

NEW DELHI, August 10, 2011 (AFP) – Confidence has returned to India’s share market after it plunged to a 14-month low on the back of the latest global financial turmoil, the country’s finance minister said Wednesday. India’s benchmark Sensex index of 30 leading shares soared nearly 400 points in early trade as part of a […]

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2011 (AFP) – Australia’s defense minister on Wednesday urged a greater role in Asia for India, calling the world’s largest democracy a positive force in a region where attention has long been focused on China. Defense Minister Stephen Smith made his appeal in Washington one week after US Secretary of State Hillary […]

NEW DELHI, July 28, 2011 (AFP) – US auto giant Ford said Thursday it would invest $1 billion to build a second vehicle assembly and engine plant in India as it ramps up production to exploit the country’s burgeoning car market. India has become a battleground for global car manufacturers such as Ford, GM and […]

MUMBAI, July 26, 2011 (AFP) – India’s central bank hiked interest rates by a higher-than-expected 50 basis points on Tuesday, its 11th increase since March 2010, as it struggles to combat near double-digit inflation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its repo rate at which it lends to commercial banks to 8.0 percent and […]

NEW DELHI, July 25, 2011 (AFP) – The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan will hold peace talks in New Delhi on Wednesday overshadowed by triple bomb blasts in Mumbai and intense media interest in Islamabad’s new top diplomat. They will be the first foreign minister-level discussions between the nuclear-armed neighbours and arch-rivals for a […]

NEW DELHI, July 24, 2011 (AFP) – A US challenge to India to take a more assertive role on the global stage runs counter to a decades-old foreign policy that has nearly always valued diplomatic caution over strategic ambition. “We need to contest the orthodoxy that says, ‘do as little as possible’”. Since independence in […]

NEW DELHI, July 23, 2011 (AFP) – A top Indian government panel has approved a plan to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country’s vast retail market in what would be one of the country’s biggest economic reforms. “Business confidence will grow. It will definitely benefit the farmers as well as consumers, besides attracting […]

MUMBAI, July 22, 2011 (AFP) – India’s largest private sector airline, Jet Airways, has swung to a quarterly net loss from a profit a year earlier, it reported Friday, as rising fuel costs offset a rise in passenger air traffic. India this week lowered its growth forecast for this financial year to 8.6 percent from […]