Wholesale Price Index shows elevated inflation in primary articles and fuel & power, driven by minerals and petroleum price rises.
Wholesale Price Index movements for Primary Articles and Fuel & Power recorded modest weekly increases while point to point annual inflation remained elevated; Primary Articles registered a slight rise with Food Articles declining and Minerals rising, and Fuel & Power increased on higher prices for lubricants and petroleum products. Annexures detail subgroup indices, week over week changes, build up from the financial year start and short term trend tables to show sectoral contributions to wholesale inflation.

Wholesale Price Index shows sustained inflationary pressure in primary commodities and fuel, with mixed food and non food movements.
Publication of the Wholesale Price Index for the week ending 9 April 2011 reports Primary Articles rising to an index of 190.9 with a point to point inflation rate of 11.96 percent, Food Articles edging down while Non Food Articles increased due to higher prices of flowers, raw rubber, soyabean and raw silk. Fuel & Power remained at 159.4 with an annual inflation rate of 13.05 percent. The release provides subgroup indices, week on week and year on year changes and a six week trend annexure for selected commodities.

Trade and Investment Agreement talks intensifying, aiming to boost market access and catalyse investment through liberalising measures.
Negotiations on the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement between India and the EU are intensifying, with both sides committing to a balanced, ambitious agreement aimed at increasing market access in goods and services, while the Government pledges to catalyse business engagement and expand investment into infrastructure through liberalising measures and an investor-friendly FDI policy.

Wholesale Price Index inflation: primary commodities and fuel pressures rose, led by food and petroleum price increases.
The Weekly Wholesale Price Index bulletin reports week on week increases in Primary Articles and Fuel & Power for the week ended 2 April 2011, with Food Articles-especially fruits and vegetables-driving Primary Articles' rise while Non Food Articles marginally declined; Fuel & Power rose on higher petroleum product prices. The release provides subgroup level week over week changes, build up from financial year end, year on year inflation rates, 52 week averages and six week trends for selected commodities, and identifies the data as provisional.

Wholesale price inflation rises, driven by fuel and manufactured product price increases, with primary articles easing.
The Wholesale Price Index (base 2004 05=100) rose 1.4 percent to 148.0 in March 2011 (provisional), with the annual WPI based inflation rate at 8.98 percent. Primary Articles fell slightly while Fuel & Power increased substantially (notably coal, aviation turbine fuel and furnace oil). Manufactured Products rose 1.4 percent with significant gains in Textiles, Chemicals and Basic Metals; subgroup movements are detailed in annexures alongside weights and six month trends.

Reform of global governance sought to make institutions more representative, with deeper BRICS cooperation and rule-based order.
Adoption of the Sanya Declaration and an Action Plan directs BRICS cooperation across security, finance, trade and sustainable development; designated banks commit to a framework agreement to provide credit in local currencies and cooperate in capital markets and financial services. Members agree to intensify consultations as concurrent United Nations Security Council members, pursue reform of institutions of global governance for greater representativeness, and uphold a rule-based international order respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Rule-based global governance urged as BRICS prioritizes trade reform, clean energy, nuclear safety and security cooperation.
BRICS commits to cooperative policies promoting rule-based global governance and reforms of political, security, financial and trade institutions; endorses a balanced Doha outcome and a fair multilateral trade regime; and prioritises operational cooperation on clean energy, nuclear safety, disaster relief, capacity building, and responses to non-traditional security threats to support inclusive socio-economic transformation.

Confidentiality in investigations: two-part DG reports and broader confidential treatment protect commercially sensitive materials.
The amendments allow the Director General to submit investigation reports in two parts to protect commercially sensitive information and permit the Commission or Director General to accord confidential treatment to additional information even without a party's request; they also replace power-of-attorney filings with a simple authorization letter, restrict inspection of internal documents, require a show-cause notice and hearing before imposing Chapter VI penalties, and adjust copy submission and fee requirements.

Compulsory licences: existing patent law governs, no new guidelines; patent office directed to decide applications promptly.
Compulsory licences are to be governed by the existing Patents Act and TRIPS obligations; no additional guidelines will be issued. The Controller General of Patents must not delegate the grant of compulsory licences, must decide applications promptly, and must ensure patentees comply with reporting obligations, with patentee data reviewed in the annual report to government.

Joint Drafting Committee formed to prepare draft Lok Pal Bill, with mixed government and civil society nominees and fixed deadline.
A Joint Drafting Committee is constituted to prepare a draft Lok Pal Bill, composed of five Government nominee ministers and five nominees of Shri Anna Hazare (including himself). The Chairperson is the Union Finance Minister, the Co Chairperson is a civil society nominee, and a senior Law Minister serves as Convenor. The Committee shall commence work immediately, evolve its own procedure for drafting the proposed legislation, and complete its work by the specified deadline.

Lokpal bill consensus between government and civil society prompts collaborative drafting and Cabinet submission during the monsoon session.
Agreement between the Government and civil society establishes a consensus-driven process to draft the Lokpal Bill, with the Government committing to place the legislation before the Cabinet for introduction in Parliament during the monsoon session after wide stakeholder consultation.

Open multilateral trading regime reaffirmed; India commits to early Doha conclusion and concluding EFTA negotiations.
India reaffirmed commitment to an open, equitable, predictable, non-discriminatory and rule-based multilateral trading regime and support for an early conclusion of the Doha Round. Negotiations with the European Free Trade Association are expected to be concluded by year end; bilateral ties with Switzerland include about 170 Swiss companies in India, significant trade and employment links, and cooperation priorities in manufacturing, infrastructure, renewable energy, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and services.

Wholesale Price Index update: primary articles rose while fuel and power indices remained unchanged, with itemized inflation trends.
The press release provides provisional weekly wholesale price indices and point to point annual inflation rates for Primary Articles and Fuel & Power for the week ending 26 March 2011. It records a week on week rise in the Primary Articles index with detailed sub group movements-Food Articles, Non Food Articles and Minerals-identifying items driving increases and declines, while Fuel & Power indices and the annual inflation rate remained unchanged; annexures supply item level indices, build up inflation and six week trend data.

Economic cooperation in infrastructure and agro processing to deepen, with cross border investments and connectivity projects prioritized.
India and Thailand will deepen bilateral economic cooperation in infrastructure, manufacturing and agro processing, prioritising the North East as a sub regional market and land bridge. Cooperation targets pharmaceuticals, automobiles, chemicals, and food processing, with emphasis on Thai participation in infrastructure projects-including a tri lateral highway-and investment in cold chains, warehouses and food processing facilities. India permits full foreign direct investment in agro processing, making Thai expertise in agro processing and manufacturing integration a central operational focus.

Tax refund issuance deadline: completion of pending paper refunds ordered to clear unprocessed AY10 11 claims by the set date.
The central tax administration ordered that all pending paper refund returns for AY 2010-11 entered into the system but not processed be issued by April 10, 2011; CIT wise lists show a system total of 735,655 pending cases and an aggregate refund amount, while noting the system undercounts total pending refunds because an estimated eight lakh paper returns remain unentered, many in Mumbai and Delhi.

Trade balance narrows as export growth outpaces imports, improving the external sector's cumulative position this year.
Monthly foreign trade report for February 2011 summarises export and import values and growth rates and reports that cumulative export growth outpaced import growth for April-February 2010-11. Oil imports showed modest month-on-month variation but rose cumulatively, while non-oil imports recorded stronger month and cumulative growth. The cumulative trade deficit for April-February 2010-11 narrowed relative to the prior year as export growth exceeded import growth, with provisional aggregates presented in dollar and rupee terms and percentage comparisons distinguishing oil and non-oil components.