At the meeting of the State Level Bankers Committee, it was announced that bank deposits by NRIs in Kerala was at Rs.62,708 crores as of December 2012, up from the corresponding period in 2011.

Semi-urban areas of Kerala accounted for 62.85 percent of the deposits followed by 31.34 percent in urban areas and 5.81 percent in the rural areas.

There are now some 3 million Keralites who work in foreign countries, 90 percent of which are in Middle East countries.

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According to the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) that provides profiles, ratings, and rankings for 79 financial centres worldwide, Mumbai is now at 66th place, down three ranks from last year.

Mumbai is the only India city on the list, as Delhi failed to make a mark. London topped the rankings. New York ranked second followed by Hong Kong and Singapore. Others in the top ten are Zurich, Tokyo, Geneva, Boston, Seoul, and Frankfurt.

Nearly 40 percent of the centres included in the GFCI ranking are located in emerging markets as they gain prominence in the financial world.

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According to the Reserve Bank of India, India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.96 billion to $292.31 billion for the week ended March 15. The foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex reserves, grew by $1.97 billion to $259.35 billion.

The central bank said FCA in dollar terms included the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies held in reserve such as the pound sterling, euro and yen.

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The US Assistant secretary of state for south and central Asia, Robert Blake, told students of the Berkeley Institute of International Studies, California that California Governor, Jerry Brown and some eight American governors and city mayors plan to visit India with trade and investment delegations this year.

Blake said the state officials increasingly understand that as the fastest-growing market for US exports, India provides significant opportunities to drive US job growth and bring economic opportunity to the American workforce.

One 2012 report by an industry body noted that Indian companies in American invested over $800 million in US based facilities and had conducted 72 mergers and acquisitions in the US since 2005.

India is also among the fastest growing investors in the US, highlighting the mutually beneficial nature of the economic relationship of the two countries.

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At a reception hosted by the US India Business Council (USIBC) in Washington, US investors and officials told visiting economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram that "doing business in India is messy".

At the meeting held at the Treasury Department, a select group of American investors, corporate leaders and officials frankly assessed the current investment climate in India, where they said they are eager to pump in their money.

In response, Mayaram who is in the US leading an Indian delegation for US-India Economic & Financial Partnership meetings between the US Treasury Department and Ministry of Finance, assured the investors and US corporate sector that the Indian government is determined to take the necessary decisions to improve upon the climate of investment and make it business friendly as soon as possible.

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