India to invest $10 billion in IMF: Pranab (Night Lead)

September 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Thursday gave its approval for constituting a joint venture company, Invest India, to promote the country as an investment destination for foreign companies. The proposed company will be a joint venture between the government of India, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the state governments, an official statement said.

July 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Renewable energy player Astonfield will invest around $2 billion in India over the next five years to generate about 1,000 MW of power, most of it from solar sources, a top official said Friday. "We are going to make an announcement in the next 30-60 days.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India has a "clean waiver" for its civilian nuclear programme from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and "we are not concerned about what the G8 says", Finance Minister Pranab Mukehrjee said here Monday. He was speaking in the Rajya Sabha after the Group of Eight countries (G8), at its summit in Italy last week, passed a resolution banning the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing items to countries that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

July 6th, 2009 LONDON - Caparo Group chairman Swraj Paul Monday gave a hefty endorsement to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's budget, saying it would help India's rural poor at a time of global recession. "Full marks to Pranab.

June 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Leading telecom operator Tata Teleservices Wednesday launched mobile services on the GSM platform under the Tata DoCoMo brand, saying it will invest $2 billion (Rs.9,450 crore) for its pan-India rollout. The company, in which Japan's NTT DoCoMo has 26 percent stake, has received GSM spectrum for 18 out of the country's 22 telecom circles.

May 29th, 2009 KOLKATA - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee held a 45-minute meeting here Friday night but they did not speak to the media. The duo met at the NSC Bose International Airport, where Mukherjee flew in after a day's visit to his Lok Sabha constituency of Jangipur in Murshidabad district.

May 16th, 2009 KOLKATA - External Affairs Minister and Congress veteran Pranab Mukherjee was Saturday re-elected from Jangipur in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Mukherjee won by a margin of 128,149 votes over his nearest rival, Mriganka Bhattacharya of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

February 23rd, 2009 KOLKATA - External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Sunday stressed the need for stimulating domestic demand and supply to overcome the economic slowdown, and said the government would step up investment in infrastructure and rural development. Mukherjee, who is also holding the finance portfolio, said the government favoured a unanimous approach in tackling the recessionary impact.

February 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run Coal India Ltd will invest Rs.100 billion (Rs.10,000 crore) to revive coal mines at Jharia in Jharkhand, a top official said here Wednesday. 'Jharia coal mines are highly under-utilised and only coking coal is produced there.

January 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - British telecom giant Vodafone Monday said it will continue to invest heavily in India. 'We see an addition of eight to nine million mobile subscribers here.

January 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday called for greater cooperation between India and Africa, saying the potential for bilateral trade between the two was more than what is reflected by existing trade levels. 'I call upon Indian and African business partners to step up their business engagements, Existing trade and investment levels do not reflect the true potential.

January 16th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Rs.70 billion (Rs.7,000-crore/$1.43 billion) Satyam Computer Services scam is an 'isolated' case in the corporate sector of India, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Saturday. 'The Satyam scam has undoubtedly impacted our securities market.

January 14th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Global software giant Microsoft will invest in training teachers in Gujarat and enhance the use of IT in the education sector. Microsoft India Pvt Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit this week.

January 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Singapore-based Universal Success Enterprises Ltd (USEL) Monday said it has signed three agreements with the Gujarat government and will invest about Rs.87,000 crore (Rs.870 billion) in various infrastructure projects. USEL, a diversified group in the field of infrastructure development, real estate, energy trading, hospitality and manufacturing, has identified thermal power generation, seaports, and mixed-use industrial and urban development as focus areas in West Bengal, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

January 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is set to invest over $600 million for the development of assets of Imperial Energy, in addition to its acquisition price of $2.1 billion, said a company official Monday. ONGC acquired Imperial Energy after more than 97 percent of its shareholders had approved the deal last December.