Interest in India is Coming Back: Ajay Piramal

Ajay Piramal, Chairman of Piramal Enterprises Limited, spoke to NDTV's Prashant Nair about the mood at Davos this year and how India is in focus. He says that there's a lot of expectation from India and I think it's for us to make it work.

NDTV's Prashant R Nair spoke to one of the first time Davos attendees, Vishwarup Narain, Country Head, TPG India and how India is being talked about at Davos.

NDTV's Prashant Nair spoke to one of the biggest names in international finance, David M. Rubenstein, the co-founder and Co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, which is one of the world's largest private equity firms. He said that though deflation is a risk for Europe, growth represents the biggest threat to the global economy.

Jaitley said he is meeting the existing investors and potential investors, those who are looking at India, those who are looking to expand, while Power Minister Piyush Goyal has been meeting several people concerned with the power sector.

Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian has said the real investment flows should begin picking up from next fiscal year, but it will be a gradual process.

Emphasising that steps are being taken to tackle corruption, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the word corruption has not even been whispered since the new government came to power.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday assured that the government will keep up pace on reforms but said he doesn't want to build expectations in the run up to the Budget.

"This is expected to enhance ease of doing business and improve growth," ICICI Bank's MD and CEO told PTI in an interview.

The government wants to reduce its subsidy bill, estimated at nearly 2 per cent of its gross domestic product, to cut down state expenditure and transfer funds to other sectors, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at Davos.

'The important thing is low prices $45 to 50 dollars are a temporary phenomenon. It's a very good breathing zone for oil importing countries.'

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley shared the details of his meeting with economy and finance ministers of Switzerland. He spoke with NDTV's Shweta Rajpal Kohli on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Europe has squandered three years of opportunity to carry out badly needed economic reforms, former Bundesbank chief Axel Weber said at a panel in Davos, the ski resort hosting the global elite over four days at the World Economic Forum.

Angel Gurria, head of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), encouraged ECB President Mario Draghi to "go as far as he can" but added: "There's only so much central banks can do. Basically all they can do is wait until the governments do the right thing."

With Switzerland refusing to share information based on stolen data, India will provide independent evidence on black money account holders, its alternate but not preferred position, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.

Earlier on Wednesday, International Energy Agency's chief economist Fatih Birol also said that he expects prices - hovering at April 2009 lows - to rebound later this year.

President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday more than 9,000 Russian troops were backing Ukrainian separatist fighters that Moscow will be under pressure to reel in at high-stakes peace talks in Berlin.

Financial markets have been obsessing for months about the timing, size and structure of a European Central Bank bond-buying programme that seems likely to be unveiled today.

China's Premier Li Keqiang sought Wednesday to allay fears over the Asian giant's growth outlook, telling business and government elites gathered in Davos that the economy is not heading for a sharp slowdown.

India and Switzerland have taken a "few good steps" in their talks on exchanging information on black money account holders, Swiss Minister of Finance Eveline Widmer Schlumpf told NDTV in an exclusive interview right after her meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Here to showcase India as an investment destination at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday promised India has a "lot in the pipeline" for global investors even as he plans to take up with Switzerland the issue of black money stashed in banks there.