16% Drop in the US aid to India

John Kerry, US secretary of state has proposed a 16% cut in the American aid to India. This is because of the change from a traditional "donor-recipient" relationship to a "strategic partnership" between the two countries.

A senior state department official said "With respect to India, for the fiscal year 2014, the State Department request is $91 million. This represents a 16% decrease from the fiscal levels 2012.

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FDI inflow goes up by 111% in May 2011

Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) inflow has been increased by around 111 per cent in May 2011 at$4.66 billion. This the largest inflow in a month in last eleven years in India. Still the government is also planning to give some more relaxation the filed for FDI.

The FDI in May 2010 was $2.21 billion. The FDI in the retail is expected to be cleared by the government of India by August this year. This will help to get more FDI in India.

Last year, the FDI flow was low due the global recession and economic slowdown in 2008. The two economies - Indian economy and Chinese economy helped the world to recover from the grip of global slowdown.

The high FDI inflow is also a good indication for the economy but may be wrong signal for some sectors due to the competition. Its good to have some protection for domestic sector but FDI may bring some alternative changes in the economy too.

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EPFO starts online tracking of Provident Fund

The Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO)has posted a link on its website which will help provident fund (PF) holders to track their account online.

By just one mouse click and providing account number, the PF account holder will come to know about their balance in their account.

Earlier, such facility was not there. With boom of internet and it high usage made the organisation also tech savoy.

The online tracking of the PF account is the best step for many people as they have been spending many hours knowing their account and its status.

The account updates will be available in 120 EPFO offices in the country.

The EPFO has also decided to give the interest of 9.5 per cent for 2010-11, as it has surplus fund.

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