India, Singapore set to sign agreement in services

NEW DELHI: India and Singapore are set to sign an agreement on services shortly under a comprehensive economic treaty between the two, enabling architects, nurses, dentists and chartered accountants to practice in each other's country, government sources said.

"This will be the first services agreement that India signs with any country. It would cover movement of personnel from professions like dental, architecture, nursing, medical and chartered accountancy," a senior official said here.

Once the agreement comes through, professionals from India and Singapore would not be required to write a separate examination or meet any other criteria to be able to start practise in the other country.

The government is also asking councils of various bodies like dental and medical to discuss with their counterparts in Singapore and work out an enabling provision to recognise qualifications of professionals from the two countries.

"We are asking the councils to expedite the process," he said.

The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement signed between India and Singapore in 2005 has four components -- a Free Trade Agreement in goods, an arrangement to boost trade in services and package to promote investment flows and avoidance of double taxation treaty.

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India, Myanmar ink four pacts, including BIPA

NEW DELHI: India will finance power transmission lines in Myanmar, with which it has also signed an investment protection agreement to boost economic ties.

India and Myanmar signed four agreements today at Naypyidaw, including regular banking arrangement for border trade.

The two countries have entered into a Bilateral Investment Promotion Agreement (BIPA) to encourage flow of funds. The trade pact with Myanmar is India's 71st BIPA agreement.

It provides a framework for resolution of disputes, promotion and protection of investment, extending national and Most Favoured Nation treatment, repatriation of investment and returns and entry and sojourn of technical and managerial personnel, an official statement said here.

The agreements were signed in Myanmar in the presence of Minister of State for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh and Myanmar Minister for National Planning and Economic Development U Soe Tha.

Under another agreement, the Exim Bank of India would extend a credit line of 64 million dollars to the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank for three 230 kv transmission lines. The project would be executed by Power Grid Corporation of India.

Exim Bank would also extend a credit line of 20 million dollars for financing establishment of an aluminium conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) wire manufacturing facility, which would be used for expansion of the power distribution network in Myanmar.

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