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India to lose the 'I' in BRICS????

New Delhi:  Indian babus tried to persuade S&P men to raise its rating , but were rudely shocked at what transpired thereafter. Standard & Poor's (S&P) credit analyst Takahira Ogawa listened politely as Indian govt officials at the finance ministry made an hour-long pitch for a ratings upgrade, citing economic growth prospects, revenues and their efforts to contain the government's fiscal deficit.

Massive 8.7 quake hits off Indonesia-Tsunami fear

The Indonesian president said on Wednesday there was no immediate threat of a tsunami from an 8.6-magnitude earthquake that struck off Sumatra island. Indonesia has issued its own tsunami warning and an Indian Ocean-wide alert was also issued after the quake, but  President Susilo Bambang  Yudhoyono said there was no immediate threat.

Indian Jewelers Call Off Strike.

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NEW DELHI—India's gold-jewelry trade associations agreed Friday to call off a 20-day strike, after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee promised to look into rollbacks on newly implemented gold taxes. Indian retailers have been protesting measures, effective March 16, that doubled the import tax on gold to 4% and imposed excise taxes on most gold jewelry. Earlier, the excise tax was applicable only on gold jewelry sold by large, private companies. Imports by India, the world's top consumer of gold, have nearly stopped due to the strike, impacting global prices. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303302504577327283295554276.html