:00:15. > :00:19.He is all business. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, touches
:00:20. > :00:25.down in Washington where he will talk investment with global bosses.
:00:26. > :00:28.And college and friends exams from China to Australia - we look at the
:00:29. > :00:40.global potential putting business and education -- put in. Hello, and
:00:41. > :00:43.welcome to Asia Business Report. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi
:00:44. > :00:47.has landed in Washington and business will be at the top of his
:00:48. > :00:56.agenda. According to one estimate, some 30 US companies invested $15
:00:57. > :00:59.billion in India just over the last 18 months and next year 50 more are
:01:00. > :01:06.expected to invest nearly double that amount. In addition to meeting
:01:07. > :01:10.with President Obama he will also be in the company business leaders from
:01:11. > :01:16.both and multinational companies. That gathering is being organised by
:01:17. > :01:22.the US - India Business Council. Earlier I spoke with a member of the
:01:23. > :01:27.council. Investors are really bullish in India. They continue to
:01:28. > :01:31.be. The Prime Minister has sent the right signals. The purpose of the
:01:32. > :01:39.meeting is to an ounce to the Prime Minister how his reforms have built
:01:40. > :01:43.up their competence and they will make announcements on that
:01:44. > :01:46.investments -- announce. And they are talking about changes for
:01:47. > :01:52.further investment. You mentioned these reforms taken by Prime
:01:53. > :01:56.Minister Murthy. Why invest in India? Some protectionist barriers
:01:57. > :02:01.for those to invest have been eased over the last couple of years but
:02:02. > :02:06.they are still challenging -- Modi. What are some of them? Now is the
:02:07. > :02:09.time where I think investors continue to be bullish because they
:02:10. > :02:13.see a continued market liberalisation under this Prime
:02:14. > :02:18.Minister. We saw the big reforms in 1991 when a lot of India's economy
:02:19. > :02:23.was liberalised, and under this Prime Minister we are seeing another
:02:24. > :02:26.sort of revolution of reforms in India, and I think a lot of
:02:27. > :02:31.companies are betting high on the market and what we are seeing in
:02:32. > :02:35.India, when you compare it with other emerging economies, we are
:02:36. > :02:39.seeing a slowdown in China, Russia and other areas. So India these days
:02:40. > :02:46.is shining and a lot of investors are excited. We know that the Prime
:02:47. > :02:49.Minister Modi made in India campaign... Where are the biggest
:02:50. > :02:55.opportunities for US companies? Manufacturing or elsewhere? Heavy
:02:56. > :02:59.industries, we are seeing interest from automotive companies in India
:03:00. > :03:05.and infrastructure companies, so whether that is companies producing
:03:06. > :03:09.solar and wind turbines, you see a big announcement from General
:03:10. > :03:13.Electric on trains, high-speed trains and locomotives, so there is
:03:14. > :03:17.a lot of potential in infrastructure and automotive. And also on the
:03:18. > :03:19.digital side. Of course the Prime Minister has a big digital India
:03:20. > :03:25.campaign to bring Internet access to India's. And staying with India the
:03:26. > :03:30.central bank or meet today to decide on interest rates, however more than
:03:31. > :03:36.a cart, markets and analysts are eager to know about this man, the
:03:37. > :03:44.governor of the reserve bank -- India. And whether he will continue
:03:45. > :03:48.in office after his current tenure comes to an end. They have not
:03:49. > :03:56.decided yet. He has been silent on this issue. This is making investors
:03:57. > :04:00.and markets jittery. Every two months when India's central bank
:04:01. > :04:04.meets in this building to decide on interest rates the markets are
:04:05. > :04:08.usually buzzing with anticipation. Will there be a rate cut or not?
:04:09. > :04:12.Similarly this meeting has been watched closely but for a very
:04:13. > :04:18.different reason. The big question on everybody's mind is will the
:04:19. > :04:23.governor continue on the reserve bank of India post September when
:04:24. > :04:27.his term comes to an end? There are have been a series of events over
:04:28. > :04:31.the last couple of months which have put a big question mark on whether
:04:32. > :04:36.he will get an extension. It started with a senior member of Prime
:04:37. > :04:43.Minister Narendra Modi's party criticising Mr Rajan for keeping
:04:44. > :04:47.interest rates high. Most saw it as a political attack given Mr Rajan
:04:48. > :04:51.has had what many say an uneasy relationship with the current
:04:52. > :04:54.regime. He has criticised certain economic policies of the government,
:04:55. > :04:58.like the flagship manufacturing programme and has also often played
:04:59. > :05:02.down the euphoria around India's economic growth. And what has added
:05:03. > :05:06.fuel to the ongoing debate is the silence of the Prime Minister
:05:07. > :05:14.Narendra Modi and whether he will give Mr Rajan a second tone. --
:05:15. > :05:18.term. Mr Rajan has not spoken on this issue. I asked him in April
:05:19. > :05:23.earlier this year. Your term comes to an end this year. The answer is
:05:24. > :05:27.noncommittal. No, but are you interested to continue? I don't
:05:28. > :05:34.answer that question. LAUGHS. There are report that if Mr Rajan
:05:35. > :05:39.doesn't want a second term, given the noise around him, this is making
:05:40. > :05:42.markets and analyst jittery. If he does not get his second term than I
:05:43. > :05:51.think there will be a sizeable amount of disappointment not just
:05:52. > :05:54.among domestic investors but the international community -- analysts.
:05:55. > :05:58.After the interest-rate policy meeting it is thought he might
:05:59. > :06:02.announce his decision. However, given his track record of surprising
:06:03. > :06:10.the markets, analysts hope he will give some indication as to what he
:06:11. > :06:14.wants to do post September. And speaking of interest rates, the
:06:15. > :06:17.chair of the Federal Reserve says US interest-rate hikes are likely to be
:06:18. > :06:21.on the way. That is for that country, with Janet Eleanor Givens a
:06:22. > :06:27.largely positive assessment of the US economic outlook in a speech in
:06:28. > :06:31.Philadelphia -- with Janet Yellen giving. It is the last comment from
:06:32. > :06:37.any central bank before a key meeting next week. The Fed chair
:06:38. > :06:40.also an ounce uncertainty around the economy meant no indication would
:06:41. > :06:43.come as to when interest rates would be raised again -- announce. If
:06:44. > :06:47.incoming data is consistent with labour market conditions
:06:48. > :06:54.strengthening and inflation making progress toward the 2% objective as
:06:55. > :07:00.I expect, further gradual increases in the federal funds rate are likely
:07:01. > :07:05.to be appropriate and most conducive to meeting and maintaining those
:07:06. > :07:12.objectives. Janet Yellen speaking. In other news:, BHP Billiton has
:07:13. > :07:15.announced a $7.4 million donation to China's Peking University,
:07:16. > :07:19.channelled into research and developing technology to capture
:07:20. > :07:24.carbon emissions in the iron and steel industry. The BBC says finding
:07:25. > :07:32.uses of carbon has been the potential for a significant industry
:07:33. > :07:37.in the world the biggest producer of carbon dioxide. 9 million students
:07:38. > :07:41.will sit the Chinese college entrance exam. It is acknowledged
:07:42. > :07:45.for putting too much pressure on students like these but results are
:07:46. > :07:48.increasingly accepted at universities outside China. In
:07:49. > :07:54.Australia for incidents more than one third of overseas students come
:07:55. > :07:59.from there. Phil Honeywood was on the show earlier and I asked him why
:08:00. > :08:03.Australian universities are increasingly accepting Chinese
:08:04. > :08:09.students based on those results. It has become a reliable indicator of
:08:10. > :08:13.academic credibility, and clearly there are a number of streams which
:08:14. > :08:19.Chinese students are required to take, the scientific or the art
:08:20. > :08:22.stream, that will be factored into the equation, but Australian
:08:23. > :08:27.universities use a formula which applies in each case to every
:08:28. > :08:30.student, and it is just one of the criteria that is utilised, however
:08:31. > :08:35.it is increasingly popular because it has become a reliable indicator
:08:36. > :08:39.of academic credibility. We know they are equally rigourous systems,
:08:40. > :08:47.and elsewhere in Asia, Japan and South Korea, but their
:08:48. > :08:51.qualifications are not recognised. We have a situation in which the
:08:52. > :08:55.Chinese have a credible world ranking system for universities,
:08:56. > :09:01.placing American, Australian and UK unities in the top 100. That ranking
:09:02. > :09:06.system is just one indicator that the Chinese take very seriously --
:09:07. > :09:09.universities. Australia has made a big industry at international
:09:10. > :09:12.education, the third-largest industry, $20 billion per year,
:09:13. > :09:18.important for a country like Australia given Alp lays in Asian
:09:19. > :09:22.region and it has some incredible softer plummeted benefits for the
:09:23. > :09:25.population going forward -- our place. Interesting it is the
:09:26. > :09:31.third-largest industry. And what do you say disc epics as a it is all
:09:32. > :09:36.about money? Chinese students account for 30 to feepaying students
:09:37. > :09:40.-- what do you say to sceptics. Is Australia becoming dependent on
:09:41. > :09:42.Chinese money? Australia sees international education as having
:09:43. > :09:46.any number of benefits, especially as we are in the Asian region. It is
:09:47. > :09:51.important to have major people to people in academic exchanges.
:09:52. > :09:55.Australia is selfies now putting 5000 young Australian undergraduates
:09:56. > :09:58.under government scholarships into Asian universities, so we are taking
:09:59. > :10:03.very seriously the 2-way flow of students and academics to better
:10:04. > :10:08.integrate into the Asian region. That was Phil Honeywood speaking
:10:09. > :10:10.earlier. Let's look at markets. Asian markets are opening
:10:11. > :10:16.positively. The Nikkei is not ever so slightly. Australia continues
:10:17. > :10:20.higher as well. They are tracking those gains from Wall Street. And
:10:21. > :10:27.the weak yen is lifting exports over in Japan. That is it for this
:10:28. > :10:41.edition of Asia Business Report. Thanks for watching. I am Babita
:10:42. > :10:43.Sharma. You're watching BBC News. In breaking news, Hillary Clinton has
:10:44. > :10:44.reached