Ambassador Shankar: India-U.S. Relations a 'Two-Way Street'

Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar would like to correct a misperception she believes some U.S. businesses have about her country -- that hers is a "predatory" nation, a "technology rival... where you think every Indian somehow is out to get your job."
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Council Releases New Study of Public Affairs in Asia

The Public Affairs Council is pleased to announce the release of the State of Public Affairs in Asia 2009 study, a first-of-its-kind benchmarking survey profiling the practice of corporate public affairs in the Asian region. Produced in conjunction with the Australian Centre for Corporate Public Affairs (CCPA), the new study provides regional insights that are critical for global public affairs practitioners as they anticipate a return to growth — which may manifest itself initially in Asia.
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India Plans to Overhaul Tax System

India's government, confronting a sharp rise in its fiscal deficit amid expanding social welfare programmes, has unveiled plans for a substantial reform of its archaic tax code, which it hopes will curb widespread tax evasion.
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France to Get Lobby Register

PARIS -- France's Parliament is introducing a register of lobbyists as the global trend toward regulation of the profession takes hold in another European country.
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Business Warned Against ‘Uncoordinated’ PA Strategies

Public affairs professionals are in the trust business, but that trust is in danger of being compromised by uncoordinated communications strategies that antagonize policymakers, an EU Environment spokeswoman told participants at last week's European Communication Summit in Brussels.
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Commission 'Satisfied' with Lobby Transparency Progress

The European Commission has declared the first year of its lobby register a success ahead of an internal review next month. But officials admitted that more bodies would have to sign up for the scheme to paint a "full picture" of lobbying in Brussels.
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BRIC Quartet Defined by Differences

The BRIC summit, which convenes for the first time on Tuesday in Yekaterinburg, Russia, is almost certainly the first multilateral nation bloc to be created by an investment bank’s research analysts and their sales team.
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Centre-Right Wins European Elections

The European elections, held simultaneously in 27 countries for the first time in history, ended in a clear victory for the centre-right EPP-ED group and a defeat for the Party of European Socialists (PES), provisional results showed late last night.
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EU Commission Hints at July Changes to Lobby Register

The European Commission on June 4 hinted at possible changes to its lobbyists register ahead of a July review. The development comes as the register is set to celebrate its first birthday on June 23.
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Twittering Not: MEPs Fail to Embrace Internet Craze

While congressmen on Capitol Hill are already tweeting with Americans across the United States, MEPs are still making scant use of the Internet and fail to fully grasp the potential of digital politics to engage with voters, found a survey published by public affairs consultancy Fleishman-Hillard.
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