Economy
India To Grow 5.6% In 2014
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast 5.6 percent growth rate for India this year and a higher 6.4 percent in 2015. According to the IMF latest World Economic Outlook report released on 7 October, In China growth will remain at 7.4 percent this year and is projected to be of 7.1 per cent in 2015.
Tata’s Land Rover Is Top Indian Brand
Tata group’s Land Rover is the only Indian brand in world’s 100 most valuable brands. Tata Group-owned iconic British car brand Land Rover has been ranked 91st with a brand value of $4.47 billion (Rs. 27,267 crore) and is one of the five new entrants to this annual list compiled by leading brand consultancy Interbrand. US company Apple has retained its top slot with a valuation of nearly $119 billion.
Asian Countries Signed MoU For Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
21 Asian countries, including India, have signed an agreement to become founding members of the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to aid the infrastructure development in the Asian region and reduce the dependence on Western-dominated World Bank and IMF. The Joint Secretary of the Economic Affairs division of the Ministry of Finance signed the MoU on behalf of India at Beijing on 26 October. The MoU specifies that the authorised capital of AIIB is $100 billion and the initial subscribed capital is expected to be around $50 billion. The Headquarters of the AIIB will be at Beijing, and the bank is expected to be operational in 2015. China’s Vice Finance Minister Jin Liqun, who was also the former Vice-President of the Asian Development Bank, has been appointed as the Secretary General of AIIB.The 21 members of the AIIB are China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Laos, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
India Ranked 142 In World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business – 2015” Report
India has been placed at 142 among 189 countries in the latest World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business – 2015” report released on 29 October. India was ranked 134th in the last year’s edition of the list. Singapore topped this list with 88.27 points and is followed by New Zealand, Hong Kong, Denmark and South Korea.