Economic development Beijing’s top priority: official

June 18th, 2009 Dodd: Protecting consumers is top priorityWASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee says protecting consumers should be a top priority when overhauling the regulatory framework that governs banks and other financial institutions. Sen. Christopher Dodd says people are hurting and angry from the economic downturn and that "someone should have their backs." The Connecticut Democrat also says that regulators must be empowered and that gaps in oversight should be eliminated.

May 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said the priority of the new Congress-led government was the revival of economic growth and creating new employment opportunities that had been slowed down by the global recession. Addressing the newly-elected party MPs after being named the prime minister by the Congress Parliamentary Party, Manmohan Singh said: 'There is some slowing down of investment and employment generation.

May 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Enthused by the poll win, the Congress party Saturday said that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will continue with its economic policies, but not at the cost of the public sector. 'We will continue with the economic reforms, but not at the cost of the public sector,' Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said, referring to the disinvestment carried out by the previous National Democratic Alliance government in state-owned profit making firms.

May 7th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia does not plan to cut budget spending on the development of the country's nuclear weapons despite the ongoing economic crisis, the defence minister said. The government has reviewed overall defence expenditure under the 2009-2011 federal budget, cutting spending on defence programmes by 5.8 billion rubles ($177 million) from 1.5 trillion rubles ($46 billion).

April 28th, 2009 China and Peru seal free trade pactBEIJING — China and Peru signed a free trade pact on Tuesday, state media said, part of Beijing's efforts to bolster ties with Latin America. Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and his Peruvian counterpart, Luis Giampietri Rojas, witnessed the signing following talks at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

April 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Judicial reform will be a 'priority' if the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government comes to power, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday in response to the legal delays in convicting those responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. 'Well, I think the legal processes in our country are slow moving.

March 3rd, 2009 CHENNAI - The economic slowdown will impact allocations to social sectors in the 11th Five-Year Plan, said a top Planning Commission official here Monday. 'The allocations were proposed in the 11th Plan on the assumption that the economy would grow at 9 percent.

February 3rd, 2009 KABUL - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on his visit to this war-torn country Wednesday promised strong support to Afghanistan. The UN chief met Afghan President Hamid Karzai and discussed the security situation as well as the upcoming elections in the country.

February 1st, 2009 BEIJING - About 20 million of China's migrant workers have returned home after losing their jobs as the global financial crisis takes a toll on the economy, an official said here Monday. 'Due to the economic downturn, about 20 million rural migrant workers have either lost their jobs or have not yet found employment and have gone home to the countryside,' said Chen Xiwen, a senior rural planning official.

January 31st, 2009 DAVOS - Japan would provide about $17 billion in development aid to Asian countries, the country's prime minister said here Saturday. 'Japan will support Asian countries by mobilizing funds ranging from Official Development Assistance (ODA), other official flows to private capital,' Taro Aso told delegates at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Swiss ski resort.

January 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Security forces rushed to the Delhi airport after the pilot of an Indigo aircraft Sunday evening reported suspected hijackers on board, an official said. 'The pilot said he is suspecting a hijacker on board and asked for priority landing.

January 23rd, 2009 SRINAGAR - Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will chair a task force with members drawn from industry and academia to promote tourism, trade and investment in the state, it was announced Saturday. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the state government will also be actively involved in the initiative that will specifically identify areas and sectors that can be targeted for development.

January 13th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Acquire skills beyond general education to be able to beat the global economic slowdown, the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) has told the country's two million-plus Tamil population in its Pongal festival message this year. As people across the Southeast Asian nation celebrated the harvest festival Wednesday, the MIC that has traditionally spoken for the Indian community urged the members to work harder and gain more knowledge and skills in the face of the global economic slowdown.

January 12th, 2009 AGARTALA - Economic growth in the northeast in the 11th Five Year Plan could be hit due to poor infrastructural facilities and global economic meltdown, a Planning Commission official said Tuesday. 'The projected 9 percent economic growth during (2007-12) might not be achieved as the region is also affected by the world-wide economic meltdown, coupled with weak infrastructure and fragile connectivity,' said Bhalchandra Mungekar, a member of the commission.

January 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The global economic turmoil poses a grave threat to developing nations even though their contribution to the cause of the crisis is negligible, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Tuesday. 'Given the magnitude of the global financial and economic crisis today, the developing countries may become its worst victims even though they were not the cause of the crisis,' Mukherjee said while delivering his address at the general session of the Afro-Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO).