Wellington, July 11 (IANS) New Zealand is a country full of regulatory barriers, said a survey released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Thursday.

New Zealand Minister for Regulation David Seymour stressed the need for New Zealand’s regulatory reform, citing areas that are found to be particularly overregulated including barriers to foreign direct investment, acquiring licences and permits, and administrative and regulatory burden.

“It is too difficult to invest, and Kiwis have their productivity sapped because of the time spent complying with edicts from Wellington,” Seymour said.

The result from the five-yearly OECD Product Market Regulation Indicators should end any and all doubt that the government must go to war on red tape and regulation, he said.

The quality of regulation in New Zealand is in freefall, from being ranked second in 1998 to twentieth in this year’s survey, he said, adding that it is no coincidence that New Zealand experienced strong productivity growth in the 1990s but has fallen behind since.

The Ministry for Regulation aims to cut existing red tape with sector reviews, to improve the scrutiny of new laws, and to improve the capability of the regulatory workforce.

“The culture of lawmaking needs real change, so Kiwis spend less time complying, and more time doing. The end result is higher wages and lower living costs,” the minister said.

The OECD survey, of about 1,000 questions, assesses the degree to which policies and regulations promote or inhibit competition in product markets.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday hold a meeting with leading economists to discuss the Union Budget 2024-25.

The budget will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on July 23. The Budget Session will start on July 22 and conclude on August 12.

Economists, industry experts and Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery will discuss the fiscal situation and strategies, and also present views and recommendations to the Prime Minister at the meeting, according to sources.

This will be the first Budget of the Modi-led government in its third term at the Centre.

PM Modi returned to the national capital on Thursday morning after concluding his two-nation visit to Russia and Austria.

Last month during her address to a joint session of Parliament, President Droupadi Murmu indicated that the government would come out with historic steps to accelerate the pace of reforms.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has held discussions with various stakeholders, including economists and captains of industry on the forthcoming Budget.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 10(IANS) The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector can play a key role in making India a leading electronic manufacturing destination, S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy), said on Wednesday.

In his address at the CII MSME Growth Summit here, he said that this can be achieved by increasing the proportion of domestically manufactured components.

“Manufacturing will play a major role in the structural transformation of the Indian economy and electronics will be an important sector driving this transition. We should enhance domestic value-add in electronics from 18-20 per cent to 35-40 per cent within the next five years,” Krishnan said.

“MSMEs will play a crucial role in this effort and have a huge role to play in electronics components manufacturing.”

He emphasised the huge potential that digitisation holds to be a game changer for the MSME segment. Adoption of technology by smaller players through cluster-based facilities and retrofitting existing facilities are cost-effective ways to go digital for this segment.

Underlining the importance of a digital economy, he said that MeitY is working to assess the size of the digital economy in the country.

Dr Ishita Ganguli Tripathy, Additional Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, highlighted that women’s participation in registered MSMEs needs to be increased from 39 per cent. She emphasised leveraging the “7 As” to empower women: availability, accessibility, affordability, awareness, accountability, alliance, and achievement.

She added that educating MSMEs about regulatory requirements and ESG compliances is essential for their sustainable growth.

Government and large enterprises can play an important role in supporting MSMEs and MSMEs must leverage the digital ecosystem, said T Koshy, Managing Director & CEO, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

He added that the network is also adding insurance as a new component which will be visible soon.

–IANS

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Hanoi, July 10 (IANS) The number of millionaires in Vietnam virtually doubled between 2013 and 2023, at the fastest rate globally, to 19,400, VnExpress reported Wednesday, citing a new report by British investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners.

The Southeast Asian country has 58 centi-millionaires (those with 100 million U.S. dollars or more in assets) and six billionaires, said Henley & Partners.

The Vietnamese government has set the goal of having at least 10 businesspeople named on the list of the world top U.S. dollar billionaires and five among Asia’s most influential entrepreneurs by 2030, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Wealth Report by Knight Frank, released in March, estimated that Vietnam had approximately 750 ultra-high-net-worth individuals in 2023, a 2.4 per cent increase from 2022. Knight Frank projects that by 2028, the figure will reach around 980, a 30 per cent increase from 2023.

–IANS

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Jaipur, July 10 (IANS) Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Diya Kumari on Wednesday said that the state government is committed to make Rajasthan a $350 million economy.

Counting this resolution amongst the top of 10 resolutions while presenting the budget, she said that the Rajasthan government is committed to making Developed Rajasthan 2047.

Kumari also drew laurels during her budget presentation for reading the couplets of different poets, writers and renowned personalities like Swami Vivakanand, Bhimrao Ambedkar, Viba Bhave, Saint Haridas, Nida Fazli and M.S. Swaminathan in the Assembly.

In the initial phase of the budget, she read a poem by Nida Fazli.

Thereafter, she recalled the lines written by Ambedkar, saying: “The capital of economic progress and social upliftment lies in industrialisation. By increasing industrial development, we can provide employment, reduce poverty and raise the standard of living.”

Further, she quoted Swami Vivekananda while announcing schemes for youth, saying, “Brave, outspoken, clean-hearted, courageous and ambitious youths are the only foundation on which the future nation can be built.”

During the budget speech, the Finance Minister also recalled Bharat Ratna Vinoba Bhave and quoted her lines. “Real progress can be made only when its benefits are available to all and not limited to a few,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

She also read the lines of Sant Haridas, saying, “I want to remind you of the lines of Sant Haridas ji. Doing Karma is the only religion of human beings.”

During the address of the agriculture budget, she also quoted the pioneer of the Green Revolution M.S. Swaminathan, saying, “Farming is the most risky business in the world because the future of the crop depends on the monsoon.”

The Deputy Chief Minister also read the composition of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

–IANS

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