India to invest upto $10 bn in IMF

India is to invest up to $10 billion in the International Monetary Fund as part of a major thrust to wrest a greater say in the running of international financial institutions, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in recent BRIC countries meetings being held at london.

"India has decided to invest up to $10 bn of its reserves in notes issued by the IMF," Mukherjee said after a meeting of the finance ministers of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) in London.

The Indian pledge is part of a total of $80 billion that the four BRIC countries will invest into the IMF in order to replenish its fund aimed at helping out countries that are struggling in the current financial crisis.

China will account for $50 billion of this amount, and the rest will be borne by India, Russia and Brazil.

In return, the BRIC countries want a greater say in the running of the IMF and other international financial institutions such as the World Bank, including a larger share of quotas and voting, said Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega.

Part of the BRIC meeting was joined by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in a move that Mukherjee described as "an acknowledgement of the group's emergence as a key voice in global economic and financial issues".

Cheers - no service tax on goods transported through trains

The government has withdrawn a proposal to impose a 10 per cent service tax on goods transported by rail, to check price increases of products such as steel, cement and coal.

The revenue receipts of the state-run Indian railways, which opposed new tax proposal, have been adversely affected since September last year due to economic slowdown and decline in exports.

During April-July period, railways' receipts from transport of commodities rose by 4.77 per cent to 182.75 billion rupees as against Rs 174.42 billion during the corresponding period last year.

Indian Exports decline by 28.4 perc

(posted under - Indian exports news & updates) - Yet another sign of prevailing economic crises is that indian exports fell by a whopping 28.4 percent to just $13.62 billion. Imports also fell sharply, with both oil and non-oil imports registering a decline during the month compared with the year-ago period, according to government data released on Tuesday.

A sharp 37% decline in July imports to $19.62 billion resulted in a steep fall in the trade deficit to $6 billion during the month, compared with $12 billion in July 2008. The commerce department, however, is not taking it as a positive development.

FIEO expects the export sops extended in the FTP announced last week to start showing results by the beginning of next year.

India's GDP for Q1 at 6.1 perc - meets expectations

(posted under - Indian GDP news) - India's economy grew 6.1 per cent in the June quarter from a year earlier, roughly in line with forecasts, as government stimulus measures helped spur demand, although a poor monsoon threatens to crimp growth later in the year even as it drives inflation.

The economy accelerated from its 5.8 per cent rate in the previous quarter, data showed on Monday, propelled by a pick-up in activity in the mining, manufacturing, electricity and services sectors from the previous quarter.