Region

Goa Tries to Prevent Foreigners from Buying Illegal land

Nov. 7 – Sun, sea and cheap land are attracting many westerners to buy illegal land from organised land mafia's along the golden beaches of Goa. Located just south of Mumbai, foreigners flock to the ideallic beaches of Goa, for a holiday, many later decide to stay on in what was formerly a portuguese colony.

According to Indian law, foreigners are free to buy real estate, but within limits: Any money invested in the country must stay in India, and for the first year, buyers must be in residence more than 182 days and file income tax.

China’s FAW Interested in Manufacturing Cars in India

Nov. 6 – Even as the dust settles on what would have been the Tata Nano plant in Singur, the West Bengal government reportedly offered the land to First Automobile Works Limited (FAW), a Chinese automobile manufacturer. Reports by the Hindu said a 12-member delegation from Chinese automobile company FAW Group Corporation met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Industry Minister Nirupam Sen expressing interest in setting up a joint venture automobile unit on about 600 acres – about the same size that is ‘undisputed’ in Singur — to set up a small car factory in Bengal.

Technology Companies Feel the Heat of the Financial Crisis

Oct. 24 – India's technology companies are feeling the heat from the global economic meltdown. "Our outlook is cautious in the near term given the extent of strain on the global economy," Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Ltd. told the Wall Street Journal. Premji is pessimistic despite a sharp weakening of the Indian rupee, which helps tech companies that earn most of their revenue overseas.

A far cry from the 40 percent growth in revenues technology companies saw in the past few years, Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest IT company by revenue said revenue growth fell to 25 percent. Wipro's revenue on the other hand rose 36 percent on a year to your basis.

Singh Assures Parliament that India will Tide over Temporary Slowdown

Oct. 23 – Like most nations, India is not an insular economy, it will be affected by the global economic meltdown. Reaffirming his stance, that India's strong fundamentals will prevent it from going under, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to convince foreign investors and the Indian people that although India will face a temporary slowdown, the economy will return to faster growth when the situation stabilises. Singh's statement came to parliment just after the Reserve bank of India cut its key short-term lending rate by one percent to eight percent. The prime minister also promised that inflation would come down in the next two months.

RBI releases US$30 billion into the Indian Financial System

Oct. 16 – India's central Bank, the Reserve Bank of India will cut the cash reserve ratio (the proportion of their deposits that banks have to maintain in cash with the central bank) by 100 basis points or 1 percent to 6.5 percent, releasing Rs 400 billion rupees ($8.2 billion) into the Indian banking system. This marks the third and steepest cut in CRR in the past two weeks, bringing the CRR down from 9 percent last month.

The RBI has also decided to release Rs 250 billion (US$5 billion) to commercial banks and credit institutions towards a farm waiver scheme immediately. According to the AFP. Last week the RBI announced a cash injection of 600 billion rupees (US$ 12 billion) into the financial system in two instalments. It has also doubled the investment limit for overseas investors in corporate bonds to US$6 billion.

All these measures will collectively, contribute Rs 1,450 billion (US$30 billion) to India's financial system this month.

India Eases Foreign Fund Investment Rules to Woo Cash

Oct. 7 – In order to encourage foreign inflows into India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), India's capital market regulator lifted curbs on indirect investment notes by foreign funds to spur inflows into a battered stock market. SEBI initiated the change to stem record sales by offshore funds that have triggered a 42 percent slide in the benchmark index this year, Bloomberg reported.

A requirement forcing investors to register in India before buying shares and limits on offshore derivatives that were imposed in October will be lifted with immediate effect, C.B. Bhave, chairman of the Securities & Exchange Board of India, told reporters after a board meeting in Mumbai.

General Motors to Invest US$200 Million in India

Aug. 29 – Riding on India's automotive high, General Motors Corp said it would invest more than US$200 million in a plant for car engines in India.

The facility, which will be located in Talegaon in western Maharashtra state, will be GM's second vehicle plant in India and will have an annual capacity of 160,000 units that can be expanded to 300,000 units, Reuters reported. The plant will make petrol and diesel engines and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2010.

Kingfisher’s Spreading its Wings

Aug. 27 – Business tycoon and Indian Richard Branson Vijay Mallya has recieved the green signal from the ministry of Aviation to fly his recently acquired Deccan Air internationally. This marks India's third International flight service, following Air India and Jet Airways.

Kingfisher Airlines will to fly to Thailand, Singapore, San Francisco, London and the UAE, amongst other destinations. The airlines is expected to launch their service from Banglore to London, Heathrow on the 3rd of September, the Economic Times reported.