|
|
India will protect interest of exporting community: Maran NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran...more
Majority of world WASHINGTON, Nov 25: U S President Bill Clinton has failed to persuade....more No. one pasta sauces launched in Calcutta CALCUTTA, Nov 25: Barilla , claimed to be the number one pasta and ...more Wisitex 2000 to NEW DELHI, Nov 25: One of world’s premier technology and business..more |
 |
ASEAN eyes East Asia MANILA, Nov 25: Leaders in Southeast Asia are working toward an.....more Work on Sardar VADODARA, Nov 25: Gujarat programme implementation chairman...more ASEAN eyes East Asia MANILA, Nov 25: Leaders in Southeast Asia are working toward an East Asian common market .....more
India will raise tech NEW DELHI, Nov 25: India will raise the issue of....more |
|
India will protect interest of exporting community: Maran NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran today assured exporters that the Government will resist any attempt to press for agenda affecting the equitable balance of trade between developing and developed countries at the coming Seattle ministerial conference on WTO. In a meeting with a delegation led by Federation of Indian Export Organisations president Navratan Samdria, Mr Maran said the Government is aware of the problems arising out of non-implementation of agreed provisions of Uruguay WTO meet and the attempt by a section of the nations to take up additional issues at the conference. "India will fight to protect and safeguard the interest of its exporting community by ensuring that promises assured in the earlier WTO meet would be honoured. " He said the Government will protest against obstructions being created against the developing nations by means of peak tariffs for exportable products from India and other developing countries. The Government will also oppose the non-tariff barriers attempted to be introduced by way of raising issues on labour and environment at the conference. (UNI) |
 |
Majority of world leaders not attending Seattle WASHINGTON, Nov 25: U S President Bill Clinton has failed to persuade leaders of major countries to attend the WTO conference in Seattle next week to break a political deadlock over workers’ rights and agricultural subsidies, media reports here said today. Clinton’s top aides had informally invited Japanese premier Keizo Obuchi, EC President Romano Prodi and a number of other leaders, the New York Times said. Reports from Geneva indicate that the third round may not take off because the Clinton administration is insisting on linking trade with labour and environment, in a forum where decisions are made by consensus. Clinton has angered developing nations like India and Brazil by insisting that the next round of trade talks take up, for the first time, the question of protection for workers - allowing the WTO, for example, to ban the export of goods made by child labour, The New York Times noted. However, US trade representative Charlene Barshefsky played down the breakdown of official level talks in Geneva. This is a negotiation. It will break down. It will resume. I am not in the least bit concerned, she said. The talks in Geneva failed as there was no agreement on issues like subsidies to agricultural exports, on anti-dumping laws, labour standards and implementation of trade agreements. The US and the Cairns group of countries are pushing hard for an end to export subsidies for farm goods. Europe and Japan are against such a step.(PTI) |
|
No. one pasta sauces launched in Calcutta CALCUTTA, Nov 25: Barilla , claimed to be the number one pasta and ready-to use pasta sauces in Italy, was formally launched in Calcutta and in the Eastern region today to make further inroads in the Rs 20 crore Indian market of similar products. To be marketted by the leading Indian retailer R R Oomerbhoy and Company Limited through more than 60,000 stores in the country, including about 3,000 in Calcutta and other Eastern citites, Barilla Pasta would initially be abvailable in ten different varieties and Barilla sauces in four different tastes in 100 grams, 250 grams and 500 grams packets and jars at very competitive prices. Formally introducing the products from the 2.2 billion dollar Italian Pasta giant Barilla Group which exports its products in more than 36 countries from 22 sophisticated plants, Managing Director of R R Oomerbhoy Company Limited Riyad Oomerbhoy told a press conference here today that the present demand for pasta in India was 7,000 tonnes every year, anmounting to more than Rs 20 crores and is growing at the rate of about 15 per cent annually. Stating that initially they would supply about 1500 tonnes of Barilla products in India, Mr Oomerbhoy said while the products had already been launched in Delhi and Mumbai, after Calcutta the same products would be introduced in Chennai, Bangalore and Goa during the next one month. Replying to queries on whether they have any plan to produce the same products in India maintaining their high international quality, Mr Oomerbhoy ruled out any such possibility in forseable future saying the country needed some more time to develop the pasta culture. (UNI) |
|
Wisitex 2000 to begin from March one NEW DELHI, Nov 25: One of world’s premier technology and business event, Wisitex 2000 - the 11th international exhibition and business summit, will begin here from March one. Organised by the Wisitex Foundation and the Indian Investment Centre, the four-day event will highlight developments in ‘information technology’, ‘instrumentation and control’ and ‘telecommunications’. Dr Y L Arora, Chairman, ‘Wisitex Foundation’ said, "Wisitex would have ‘E-6 empowerment’ as its central theme with ‘E-commerce’, ‘E-finance’, ‘E-governance’, ‘E-IPR’, ‘E-law’, and ‘E-citizen’ as its six branches." Concurrently, ‘Wisitex 2000’ would also entail presentation on ‘Infrastructure and investment India 2000’ and ‘Life 2000’ on the same dates. ‘Life 2000’- the clean technology event and business summit, will put forth the ‘Environmental engineering and systems’, ‘Non conventional energy’ and ‘Health care and medical services’ aspect of the next millennium. A feature of Wisitex would be its declaration of march two as the ‘Information technology day’. (UNI) |
|
ASEAN eyes East Asia common market MANILA, Nov 25: Leaders in Southeast Asia are working toward an East Asian common market which will include Japan, China and both Koreas and later a regional currency, Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said today. The Philippines hosts a summit meeting of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) this weekend at which the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea will also be present. Substantial progress toward more economic cooperation and eliminating trade barriers in the region is expected. "I see we will be having first an ASEAB common market, (then) an East Asia free trade area, an East Asia common market, an East Asia currency, it is just inevitable," Mr Siazon told Reuters television. "I think you will see this number expanding not only to China, South Korea and Japan but perhaps in the near future to North Korea. Maybe Mongolia might wish to join." Mr Siazon said he could not give a timeframe when these developments would happen. ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and it is for the first time that all 10 nations will meet in a summit. Cambodia was formally admitted only earlier this year. Reclusive North Korea is likely to take the first step toward more regional integration by joining the ASEAN Regional Forum, a security grouping which includes the United States, Russia and countries in East Asia, Mr Siazon said. While no overtures have yet been received from Pyongyang, he said the door was open for North Korea to join the Forum. Japan the lynchpin of cooperation Mr Siazon said Japan was the lynchpin of the regional cooperation initiative. "Japan, since 1997, has committed 82 billion dollars to East Asia," he said. "This is mind-boggling, especially if you look at it in terms of what the IMF has provided or the World Bank. It in effect is the major partner as far as East Asia is concerned." Officials in Tokyo have said Japan would announce a fresh programme at the summit to help Southeast Asian nations get more technological training, a key thrust in an effort to build regional competitiveness in information technology industries. This is viewed as key to helping ASEAN maintain the economic resurgence over the past year and re-invent the booming growth of the years before the 1997/98 financial crisis. Mr Siazon said the region, and particularly the Philippines, would welcome more Japanese involvement in their economies. "For us, we prefer equity investment to borrowing... We have shared risk, a shared future," he said. "For us that would be a better alternative... But we appreciate very much the credit financing which was offered by Japan." ASEAN agrees on spratlys but China may not Mr Siazon said the vision for the future included a common foreign policy for East Asia, but admitted that this week’s summit was still grappling with a code of conduct for overlapping territorial claims in the South China sea. Late, ASEAN overcame internal differences to finalise a draft code of conduct which would be presented to China for comments later this week. A Philippine proposal for a code of conduct bogged down when Vietnam insisted on the inclusion of the paracels, an adjoining group of islands, in the agreement, officials said. Mr Siazon said the inclusion was agreed to although this would perhaps be disputed by China. "Right now, I am not too optimistic that there is enough time to have a code of conduct (in this summit). Hopefully it could be settled in the next six months." (REUTERS) |
|
Work on Sardar Sarovar complete by December 2000 VADODARA, Nov 25: Gujarat programme implementation chairman Vijaybhai Rupani has indicated that work on the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSI) will be completed by the end of December 2000. Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Mr Rupani assured that by December 2000,the water problem of the Saurashtra belt will be solved. (UNI) |
|
ASEAN eyes East Asia common market MANILA, Nov 25: Leaders in Southeast Asia are working toward an East Asian common market which will include Japan, China and both Koreas and later a regional currency, Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said today. The Philippines hosts a summit meeting of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) this weekend at which the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea will also be present. Substantial progress toward more economic cooperation and eliminating trade barriers in the region is expected. "I see we will be having first an ASEAB common market, (then) an East Asia free trade area, an East Asia common market, an East Asia currency, it is just inevitable," Mr Siazon told Reuters television. "I think you will see this number expanding not only to China, South Korea and Japan but perhaps in the near future to North Korea. Maybe Mongolia might wish to join." Mr Siazon said he could not give a timeframe when these developments would happen. ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and it is for the first time that all 10 nations will meet in a summit. Cambodia was formally admitted only earlier this year. Reclusive North Korea is likely to take the first step toward more regional integration by joining the ASEAN Regional Forum, a security grouping which includes the United States, Russia and countries in East Asia, Mr Siazon said. While no overtures have yet been received from Pyongyang, he said the door was open for North Korea to join the Forum. Japan the lynchpin of cooperation Mr Siazon said Japan was the lynchpin of the regional cooperation initiative. "Japan, since 1997, has committed 82 billion dollars to East Asia," he said. "This is mind-boggling, especially if you look at it in terms of what the IMF has provided or the World Bank. It in effect is the major partner as far as East Asia is concerned." Officials in Tokyo have said Japan would announce a fresh programme at the summit to help Southeast Asian nations get more technological training, a key thrust in an effort to build regional competitiveness in information technology industries. This is viewed as key to helping ASEAN maintain the economic resurgence over the past year and re-invent the booming growth of the years before the 1997/98 financial crisis. Mr Siazon said the region, and particularly the Philippines, would welcome more Japanese involvement in their economies. "For us, we prefer equity investment to borrowing... We have shared risk, a shared future," he said. "For us that would be a better alternative... But we appreciate very much the credit financing which was offered by Japan." ASEAN agrees on spratlys but China may not Mr Siazon said the vision for the future included a common foreign policy for East Asia, but admitted that this week’s summit was still grappling with a code of conduct for overlapping territorial claims in the South China sea. Late, ASEAN overcame internal differences to finalise a draft code of conduct which would be presented to China for comments later this week. A Philippine proposal for a code of conduct bogged down when Vietnam insisted on the inclusion of the paracels, an adjoining group of islands, in the agreement, officials said. Mr Siazon said the inclusion was agreed to although this would perhaps be disputed by China. "Right now, I am not too optimistic that there is enough time to have a code of conduct (in this summit). Hopefully it could be settled in the next six months." (REUTERS) |
|
India will raise tech transfer issue at WTO meet NEW DELHI, Nov 25: India will raise the issue of technology transfer to developing countries in the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) discussions at the forthcoming World Trade Organisation (WTO) meet, Science Minister Murli Manohar Joshi said. Although a number of WTO agreements refer to transfer of technology, the acquisition of contemporary and competitive technology by Indian small and medium industries is likely to emerge as a major cause of concern, Joshi said, inaugurating the 13th national conference on in-house Research and Development (R&D) in industry here today. Joshi, who earlier presented national awards for R&D efforts in industry to six companies, also pulled up the indian industry for its low investment in R&D, and dismal generation and use of patents, saying industry should learn to stand on its own feet. Despite globalisation, R&D and associated technology remains highly centralised with companies in industrialised countries, the minister said. The need for India becoming technologically self-reliant could not have been more imminent. Asking the Indian industry to be self-reliant, Joshi pointed out that for 50 years, domestic industry has been sheltered and protected from internal and external competition. (PTI) |
|
