India - Partner In Growth
Welcome to the April 14, 2016 bulletin of key policy decisions and high-impact news from India, presented by the Embassy of India, in Washington D.C.
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KEY POLICY DECISIONS

FM Jaitley Announces Single Window for Trade Clearances
The Central Board of Excise and Customs has launched a Customs Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade for speedier clearance of inbound shipments. This enables importers to file a common electronic "integrated declaration" on the ICEGATE portal, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech. 
 
Cabinet OKs Rollout of National Hydrology Project
The Cabinet has given its approval to implement the National Hydrology Project, a $553 million plan that will establish the National Water Informatics Centre and gather hydro-meteorological data to be analyzed on a real-time basis.
   

Govt. Launches Dashboard to Monitor Make in India Commitments
A web-based dashboard for monitoring the short and medium term commitments of ministries under the Make in India initiative will allow users to view and update the progress of each of their action plans.



Spectrum Allocation Policy Liberalized
The Cabinet has approved modifications in the policy for liberalization of administratively allotted spectrum where market determined prices were not available. This will facilitate optimal utilization of spectrum by introducing new technologies, sharing and trading of spectrum. 
 
 
 
NITI Aayog Launches 'Grand Innovation Challenge'
NITI Aayog, the National Institution for Transforming India, has launched the first phase of the "Grand Innovation Challenge" to seek citizen input on key developmental challenges facing India. The Challenge is being launched on the MyGov portal, to involve citizens at the first stage in innovating for India's development. 

HIGH-IMPACT NEWS
India-U.S. Joint Statement on the Visit of Secretary Carter Issued
U.S. Secretary of Defence Ash Carter visited India from April 10-13, 2016. He met with Prime Minister Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and other leaders. Both sides issued a Joint Statement which stated that bilateral Defence cooperation is a key component of the strategic partnership between India and the United States. 
 
WB: India Will Turn South Asia as Fastest-Growing Region
 India's economic growth is projected to climb to 7.3% in 2017 from 7.15% in 2016, despite the global economic slowdown, the World Bank said in its latest biennial South Asia Economic Focus report. It added that India's prominence in the region "sets the pace for South Asia as a whole" and will make it the world's fastest-growing region.


$10.5 Bn. Loans Ok'd for Renewable Energy Projects since Feb. '15
Banks and non-banking financial companies sanctioned $10.5 billion to finance renewable energy projects between February 2015 and March 21, 2016, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has said.


Dell's India Revenue Crosses $2 Billion on Growth in Services
Dell's India business grew at a healthy pace during the 2014-15 financial year to cross $2 billion in revenue, driven mainly by growth in its services business. The growth comes at a time when the privately-held company is looking to make significant inroads in India and win market share from rivals IBM and HPE. 

Finance Ministry: 98% of FDI Comes Via Automatic Route
The Finance Ministry has said that the 98 percent of foreign direct investment coming into India through the automatic route is a positive sign and that the number of applications being routed via the Foreign Investment Promotion Board approval route has started declining.

 

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