India's Ranking Has Improved On Ease Of Doing Business, Says Arun Jaitley

Confident of pushing GDP growth higher and continuing the reforms agenda, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said one main reform which is still work in progress is 'ease of doing business' in India and steps are under way on that front.

Confident of pushing GDP growth higher and continuing the reforms agenda, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said one main reform still work in progress was 'ease of doing business' in India and steps were underway on that front.

Senior Saudi and Iranian figures clashed behind closed doors at a private meeting convened by the World Economic Forum in Davos this week to try to promote peace in Syria, participants said.

A rare note of optimism at Davos this year comes from the trade ministers, who are gathering on Saturday for the first time since the World Trade Organization (WTO) closed the lid on 14 years of increasingly toxic stalemate.

The United States is not looking for conflict with China but steps it is taking in the South China Sea are self-isolating and prompting other countries to seek help from Washington, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Friday.

Colourful lions adorn a salon on the main street of Davos, inviting visiting business leaders to "Make in India".

Refugee crisis in Europe presents both challenges and opportunities, ECB President Mario Draghi on Friday said, while emphasising that expenditure in this regard could be a great stimulus for growth.

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said through automation, more and more manual tasks are possible to be done automatically.

Emphasising that India is taking steps to address problems in the infrastructure sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said multiple institutions are required to meet the funding requirements in this space.

Asserting that the world is not witnessing a global gridlock, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday said the fight against violent extremism is the "challenge of our generation".

The deployment of autonomous weapons would represent a dangerous new era in warfare, scientists said.

Reducing commercial friction and investment uncertainty are among the measures that can boost global trade as well as help reintegrate the world's "spaghetti bowl" of regional free trade and investment agreements, says a report.

The United States wants the United Nations to raise funding for refugees this year by 30 per cent to $13 billion and says it will ask for the extra cash at a summit to be hosted by President Barack Obama in September.

Pakistan is the best place to invest in given its geographical location and lands full of natural resources, said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today.

The country can stand out in the gloomy global economic situation with headwinds from China and the US, if it continues with "reforms and responsible economic planning", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said, expressing confidence the country will prove its resilience.

China's economy is on track and the country has entered a phase of steady rather than speedy growth, China Vice-President Li Yuanchao said.

Economic reforms in India are going in the right direction, but the level is "wrong", RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said, referring to some of the outdated regulations that are currently in place.

In an exclusive interview to Shekhar Gupta, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan speaks about the Indian economy in the wake of the current turmoil in the financial markets.

"Unbelievable", "embarrassing" even "dangerous" are some of the words the financial elite gathered at the World Economic Forum conference in the Swiss resort of Davos have been using to describe US Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that initial talks in Geneva involving the Syrian government and opposition groups would be "proximity talks", not a face-to-face meeting of participants.