INDIA AMONG HIGHLY RANKED EMERGING MARKETS
India has been rated among highly ranked emerging markets by the chief executive officers of several major companies, even as many listed China as the most important emerging market, according to a new report. The report entitled 'Partnering for Success: Business perspectives on multi-stakeholder partnerships' also rated Brazil, Russia, Southern Africa, South East Asia and the Middle East as among the highly ranked emerging markets.

The report was produced in collaboration with The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum and the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. It was found that nine out of 10 CEOs felt partnerships between business, government and civil society must play a major role in addressing key development challenges in the world today.

Based on surveys conducted with the Global Corporate Citizenship Initiative among 40 member companies, it found that the rapid economic development and growing geopolitical significance of these markets offered long-term business potential, but also posed leadership challenges and risks for most private enterprises.

The challenges of fundamental economic restructuring, evolving governance structures, poor working conditions, human rights concerns, environmental stress and high levels of inequality were important issues in the emerging markets.The report also stressed the importance of promoting good governance, tackling corruption, sustaining peace and security, achieving sustained economic growth and alleviating poverty in these countries and the developing world.

INDIA TO ATTEND G-7 MEETING
India's Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will attend a meeting of finance ministers from leading industrialized nations in London on Feb. 4, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Thursday. He has been invited by Chancellor Gordon Brown in London to participate in a meeting of G7 countries' finance ministers, Chidambaram said on the sidelines of a micro-finance institutions' conference here.

"I don't know whether you call it a G7 meeting. But India and China have been invited. I have accepted the invitation," he added. The finance ministers of leading economies are expected to hold wide-ranging discussions on the global economy.

INFLATION FALLS TO 5.6%
The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index has continued its southward journey, falling 0.18 percentage points to 5.6% for the week ended January 8 from 5.78% a week earlier. The inflation rate was at 6.63 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

The Reserve Bank of India had forecast the wholesale inflation rate would decline from a 3-1/2-year peak of 8.74 per cent in late August and economists say the gradual easing of price pressures should persuade it to leave interest rates unchanged for the next few months.

INDIA, INDONESIA TO OUTPERFORM REST OF ASIA, BUT HIGH RATES MAY HARM
According to a report by the agency, Asia-Pacific's high-flying economies are likely to face more headwinds in '05, but will be largely resilient to most shocks and cyclical corrections.

This is because these economies and governments have bolstered their financial strength, especially their external positions, during `03 and `04, and are well placed to cope with most foreseeable shocks, including heightened interest and exchange rate adjustments.

REVISED DRAWBACK RATES IRK EXPORTER
At a time when Indian industry is gearing up for unrestricted competition in the global market, the new duty drawback regime has come as a major disappointment to exporters.

The move to grant drawback on the basis of weight will affect premium quality products while actual availability of refunds will go down by 50%, say exporters.

In a letter to finance minister P Chidambaram, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has said that drawback should be restored to earlier levels since the new regime would hit the competitive edge of the industry.

NATIONAL ELECTRICITY POLICY SOON
Cabinet will take up the much-awaited National Electricity Policy soon. The policy will provide guidelines for competitive bidding and norms for captive power plants as part of measures to promote competition and attract investments in the sector. Power secretary RV Shahi said, "We have finalised the National Electricity Policy and sent it to the Cabinet Secretariat, after which it will be put up before the Cabinet for approval.". Mr Shahi was addressing a conference on 'turnaround in the power sector'.

The secretary said that the ministry is also finalising rules for captive power plants. The draft electricity policy, which was initially put up for public comments in June last year, had to be modified following the change in governments in some states and the Centre. The policy stresses on rural electrification, which is in conformity with the UPA government's National Common Minimum Programme.

The ministry has embarked on a plan to provide electricity to one crore households and one lakh non-electrified villages in the next five years, he said. The policy would also include the issue of cross-subsidy to below poverty line families.