African Development Bank (AfDB)
19-May-2017: 52nd Annual Meeting of African Development Bank (AfDB), 2017
The 52nd Annual Meetings of the African Development bank are being held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from 22 to 26 May 2017. This is the first time that the Annual Meetings of AfDB are being held in India. These Meetings are the Bank’s largest annual event and serve to raise the profile of the institution on the global stage.
The Governors of the Bank are from the 54 African regional member countries and 27 non-regional member countries (including India). The Annual Meetings provide a unique forum for representatives of government, business, civil society, think-tanks, academia and the media – from Africa and beyond – to debate key issues on Africa’s development, and to discuss the Bank’s performance in delivering on its mandate.
Reflecting the significance of agriculture in Africa and in the Bank’s development work, the 2017 Annual Meetings will be held on the theme: "Transforming Agriculture for Wealth Creation in Africa.” There is a great scope for a greater synergy between India and Africa in order to achieve our shared goal of rural and agricultural transformation, which would go a long way in reducing rural poverty and improving the quality of lives of rural people.
India joined the African Development Fund in 1982, and became a member of the Bank in 1983. India is a non-regional member of the Bank. India and Africa share a great relationship, and have great degree of commonalities in terms of a shared history, and current challenges. In the recent past, we have taken a number of initiatives to further deepen our association.
India Africa Forum Summit 2015 was a great success. The announcement of a US$ 10 billion line of credit by the Prime Minister of India marked a new beginning in our approach to engage with African countries in a more constructive manner. India’s support through lines of credit have not only helped finance the projects in African countries, but have also contributed to capacity building, IT education, and higher education. AfDB meeting in India will be an occasion to further deepen our economic cooperation with the African countries through various other events that have been planned.
On the occasion of the Annual Meetings, GOI is organizing an India-Africa Dialogue in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). The sessions will broadly sensitize Indian industry and fraternity about the Bank’s High 5s Agenda – especially to help in building a roadmap of how can Indian industry contribute to ‘Industrialise Africa’ and move the continent up in the Global Value Chains (GVCs).
The Government of India is also organizing an exhibition in partnership with FICCI during the Annual Meetings of the Bank with the objective to showcase the capabilities of Indian companies in terms of technology, innovation, and start-ups, which could be relevant for African countries. The theme of the exhibition is centered around priority areas of the Bank, i.e., the "High 5s” (Energy, Healthcare and Pharma, Agriculture, Industrialization, e-Governance).
On the sidelines, we are also organizing an event on the International Solar Alliance. At the event, the Framework Agreement of ISA would be kept open for signature, and we would also accept ratification documents from those countries that have completed the ratification process. So far 25 countries have signed the Framework Agreement of ISA. Guatemala, Djibouti, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Chad, Comoros, Mauritius, Yemen and Somalia have agreed to sign the Framework Agreement. India, France, Nauru and Fiji have already ratified the Framework Agreement of ISA. Mauritius and Comoros would be ratifying the Framework Agreement shortly. The ISA as a legal entity will come into being once 15 countries ratify the Framework Agreement.
The purpose of these events is primarily to reinforce our shared commitment, and further strengthen our cooperation framework with Africa. Given the perfect alignment between Bank’s development priorities and India’s growth experience and engagement with Africa, there is tremendous potential for collaboration.
A Special Session on India-Japan co-operation for development of Africa is also being organized. At this side event, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC), in cooperation with their partner organizations in India and Africa including the African Development Bank, will discuss the promotion of African business through private-public partnerships between Japan and India, in order to contribute to the development of the African economy.
The meeting in Gandhinagar is the fourth time that the Annual Meetings of AfDB are being held outside Africa. The first such meeting took place in Valencia, Spain in 2001, the second in Shanghai, China in 2007, and the third in Lisbon, Portugal in 2011. The next meeting of AfDB is scheduled to be held in Busan, South Korea in 2018.
Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB)
24-May-2017: Cabinet approves phasing out Foreign Investment Promotion Board
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the phasing out of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The proposal entails abolishing the FIPB and allowing administrative Ministries/Departments to process applications for FDI requiring government approval.
Henceforth, the work relating to processing of applications for FDI and approval of the Government thereon under the extant FDI Policy and FEMA, shall now be handled by the concerned Ministries/Departments in consultation with the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion(DIPP), Ministry of Commerce, which will also issue the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for processing of applications and decision of the Government under the extant FDI policy.
In addition, Foreign Investors will find India more attractive destination and this will result in more inflow of FDI. The move will provide ease of doing business and will help in promoting the principle of Maximum Governance and Minimum Government.
The proposal for abolition of FIPB was approved by the Cabinet in its meeting on 24-05-2017. Presently, applications are considered by FIPB in Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance comprising of various Secretaries of Government of India for making recommendation on FDI applications. After the Cabinet decision, it would be handled independently by Administrative Ministries as per Sector.
19-Jan-2017: FIPB clears 6 FDI proposals worth Rs 1,187 crore.
Inter-ministerial body FIPB today approved six investment proposals for foreign investments of worth Rs 1,186.5 crore. Recipharm Participation BV of Netherlands brings maximum investment of Rs 950 crore.
India allows FDI in most sectors through the automatic route, but in certain segments considered sensitive for the economy and security, the proposals have to be first cleared by FIPB.
The government has taken a slew of measures in the recent past to boost foreign direct investment into the country.
With growth in FDI in important sectors like services and manufacturing, overall foreign inflows in the country rose by 30 per cent to $21.62 billion during the first half of 2016-17.
During the April-October period of the current fiscal FDI grew by over 27 per cent to $27.82 billion as against $21.87 billion same period a year ago.
FDI in India grew by 29 per cent to $40 billion in 2015-16 as against $30.94 billion in the previous financial year.
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index(TTCI)
7-Apr-2017: India ranks 40th in WEF’s 2017 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index.
India has moved 12 places up in this ranking from 52nd to 40th position. The tourism sector in the country has been on a growth trajectory since the present government came into power in May, 2014. India’s ranking in the Travel and Tourism Competitive Index (TTCI) of World Economic Forum moved from 65rd position to 52nd position in 2015. Now India has moved up by another 12 positions and ranked at 40th position. In all, in last three years India has cumulatively improved its ranking by 25 places which is a significant achievement.
India continues to charm international tourists with its vast cultural and natural resources with a ranking of 9th and 24th respectively which are the USP’s of Indian Tourism product. In terms of price competitiveness advantage, we are ranked 10th.
India continues to enrich its cultural resources, protecting more cultural sites and intangible expressions through UNESCO World Heritage lists, and via a greater digital presence.
In terms of International openness, India is ranked 55th, up by 14 places. This has been possible through stronger visa policies. Implementing both visas on arrival and e-visas, has enabled India to rise through the ranks.
The T&T sector benefited from improvements in the country's ground transport infrastructure, which has traditionally been a challenge (29th). India is taking small but important steps in the right direction. The Indian T&T sector presents significant opportunities that are yet to be reaped.
The World Economic Forum has, for the past 11 years, engaged leaders in travel and tourism to carry out an in-depth analysis of the Travel and Tourism competitiveness of 136 economies across the world. The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index measures “the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the travel and tourism sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country”. The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index enables all stakeholders to work together to improve the industry’s competitiveness in their national economies.
At a macro level, the primary reasons for India’s jump in the Travel and Tourism Competitive Index 2017 should be attributed to the pro-active steps taken by our Government in terms of development of tourism infrastructure, easing of entry formalities for tourists by introducing the e-visa facilities in November 2014.
Two new schemes for development of tourism infrastructure in the country with a holistic coverage of an entire circuit instead of individual tourist spots. PRASAD Scheme is targeted towards the development of tourism infrastructure in and around famous religious and pilgrimage cities. The Swadesh Darshan Scheme aims at the development of a complete circuit on a specific theme.
The e-Tourist Visa was introduced in September 2014 for 46 countries. This facility is now called e-Visa. It is now available for nationals of 161 countries and allows visits for business and medical treatment. The process of obtaining the e-Tourist Visa has been simplified significantly by addressing issues like more than one entry and longer lead period for applying for e-Visa.10,79,696 tourists visited India on the e-Tourist Visa in 2016.
The Indian Culinary Institute (ICI) at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh was set up and commenced its academic session with the 3-year regular B.Sc. course (Culinary Arts) from August 2016.