India - Partner In Growth
Welcome to the February 3, 2017  bulletin of key policy decisions and high-impact news, presented by the Embassy of India, Washington DC.
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KEY POLICY DECISIONS
Govt. Budget 2017-18 Unveiled
The Government's 2017-18 Budget has been unveiled, and it co ntains three major reforms: 1) The presentation of the Budget was moved up one month to enable full approval before the start of the new financial year, 2) The Railways Budget was merged with the General Budget, putting an end to the colonial practice since 1924, and 3) The plan and non-plan classification of expenditure has been done away with. Click Read More to view details of the Budget:

For First Time, FM Contributes to Annual Economic Survey
The Economic Survey for 2016-17 was presented to the Parliament, and b reaking from the tradition, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley authored a section of  the flagship annual document. The Survey noted that global credit ratings agencies suffer from a perceptional bias, as their ratings do not align with India's surging economic indicators and stable macro-conditions. 
 
To Speed Foreign Investment, FIPB to be Scrapped
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the scrapping of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to ease the inflow of foreign direct investment. The move has been done to clear the path for foreign companies to invest more in India.   

For 1st Time, India Forms National MSME Policy 
 
For the first time, the Government is formulating a national policy for micro, small and medium enterprises [MSME], which reflects their importance and substantial contribution to the growth of the Indian Economy. Click Read More to see the report. 

Income Tax Dept. Launches 'Operation Clean Money'
The Income   Tax  Department   has launched Operation Clean Money as part of its campaign to end the use of black money in India. The i nitial phase of the operation involves e-verification of large cash deposits made during November and December of last year.  A detailed user guide and a quick reference guide is available online to assist taxpayers.

HIGH-IMPACT NEWS
India Manufacturing PMI rebounds in January
The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, rose to 50.4 in January from December's 49.6. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while one below 50 points toward contraction. The main factors contributing to the recovery were growth of both new orders and output. 
 
India Pharma/Medical Device Conference Set for Feb. 11-13
Government bodies along with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry are organizing the India Pharma & India Medical Device 2017 conference, with the vision "For Responsible Healthcare,"' on Feb. 11-13 in Bangalore. 
Rupee Storms to 1.5-Month High 
The rupee continued its relentless rally against the U.S. dollar to end at 1.5-month high of 67.47 on the back of frantic dollar unwinding by banks and exporters amid hopes of a Fed hike delay. Forex market sentiment turned buoyant after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a fiscal deficit target that was in line with estimates along with a proposal to further liberalize the FDI policy. 

Stock Markets Hail New Budget with Upswing
Financial markets welcomed the proposals of the new Government Budget with both key indices Sensex and Nifty reclaiming their key levels of 28,000 and 8,700 and scoring their biggest single-day gain since October 2016. The broad-based Nifty was also on the upswing and rallied by 155.10 points. 

India Inc. Deal Tally Soars to $62.5 Billion in 2016 
India Inc.'s merger and acquisition activity witnessed nearly 1,500 deals worth $62.5 billion in 2016 and with more economic reforms expected, the current year is likely to be "action packed," according to tax firm Grant Thornton.


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