The Indian Banking sector is expected to witness credit growth in the range of 20% to 22% in the financial year 2010-11. This was disclosed by Ms. Rupa Kudva, MD &CEO, Crisil India in Mumbai on Thursday. She was speaking at the seminar ‘The New Normal: The Changing Face of the Financial Markets’.

Ms. Kuduva stated that the growth would be mostly driven by demand from infrastructure, automobile and telecom sectors. However, to fuel this high demand, banks will have to aim for a near-impossible compounded growth rate of 25% in deposits. This situation may ultimately compel banks to borrow funds from the market at a higher cost.

Regarding the recent spurt in influx of foreign investments in Indian market, she said that capital controls is a possibility if the abundance of money becomes a threat to financial stability. “India may have to control the amount of foreign money flowing into its economy if the surplus cash threatens to destabilize the financial sector. In the corporate bond market, foreign investments have reached $10 billion, which is an all-time high,” she said.

Ms. Kuduva stated that Indian banks were never involved in over-leveraging and complex financial products. Instead, they will become ‘more sophisticated, issuing complex products and became more transparent’, which means that they will not be mimicking the global trends. Despite this, there will be improvement in its integration with global markets, driven by the need for funds .

The recent spat among regulators over ULIPs has thrown up solutions such as appointing a super regulator. Ms. Kudva, though did not reply directly, said that it is ideal for each market to have a single regulator rather than a super regulator to regulate regulators.

Future holds bright prospects not only for Indian economy. Indian education scene is poised for a major revamp to help it reach global levels. This was the message conveyed by Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal at the Global Summit on Higher Education organized by CII.

Sibal added that the amazing economic growth of the country would be helpful in the establishment of global campuses in India. This would be helpful in retaining those seeking higher education in the country itself, instead of drawing them away to foreign shores.

The Minister said that this ambitious vision would be possible only if the country can generate lucrative returns for the foreign investments happening in the country. “For this to happen, India needs to gear up, become ready and accommodate all the foreign attention and give them their due return for the investment in our country,” he said.

Sibal has set high goals for Indian education by saying it will fuel global economy in the next 20 – 30 years. He projected India as the future education capital of the world, global research center and knowledge destination. According to the Minister, these are inevitable steps for India, if the country wants to be part of the future world order. He termed this as ‘knowledge economy’.

Sibal spoke at length on the importance of understanding the functioning of knowledge economy at another event. He said, “The real success of the knowledge economy would depend on the quality of wealth and not the quantity. And quality can only be achieved by having people who have an orientation towards research and innovation.”

President Mohammed Nasheed of Maldives extolled India’s success in overcoming global challenges and said that the countries of the region should join forces with India to take forward the economic growth to the next level.

The President was delivering his keynote address at The Partnership Summit 2010 on the topic ‘Global Partnerships: Meeting Challenges’.

Nasheed said, “The world is on the brink of next industrial revolution – the one based on renewable energy. India is already in the forefront of developing renewable energy. However, it should evolve strategies to protect itself from the fluctuating oil prices, as countries that do not understand renewable energy will not be the leaders of the bold, brave new future.”

About Maldivian economy, he said that his government is in the process of opening it up for foreign investments. He said, “From water and sewerage, to aquaculture and fishing, the message is the same: we are open for business.”

He said that many Indian companies have already invested in Maldives and reaped rich dividends for it. The Taj Group that has two resorts in Maldives is one of the pioneers in this endeavor. Suzlon has already signed agreement to build wind farm in the southern parts of Maldives. GMR has signed a pact to develop an international port in northern parts of the country.

He invited India Inc to visit ‘Invest Maldives’ website for more information on the liberalization policies initiated by his government to attract foreign investment. With the Maldivian airlines flying directly between Male and Chennai, the President hoped the ties between the two countries would see an upsurge.

After the setback that the fashion industry suffered because of the slowdown in global trade, the textile and apparel industry in India is in focus once again. However, this time it is good news. It has been estimated that the foreign investment in India’s apparel industry is growing rapidly. In the near future, it has been estimated that the foreign investments will grow at a more rapid rate.

Right now, the apparel exports are valued at about $22 billion. However, in the next one year, the exports are predicted to rise four fold. Since the European Union and the United States of America are the major buyers from India, as soon as their economies get back on their feet, some action may be seen in the Indian apparel industry.

This increased attention from the foreign buyers will help the textile industry create more jobs. This will also present an interesting opportunity for the sector to upgrade the technology and increase production. Overall, it will allow India to have about 4% share in the world clothing and apparel trade.

Today, the apparel industry is valued at about $40 billion. The aim is to increase this net value while also increasing the growth rate which is estimated to be 14% annually right now.