Indian Economy-News & Updates

[IndoCarib]

India Doubles Solar-Power Installation Target as Industry Booms - Bloomberg

 

[Quick MIK]

S&P differs with Moody's, upgrades Indian banking sector - PTI -


Jhajjar plant boosts NTPC's capacity to 35,354 MW

With the commissioning of 500 MW Unit-II of Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project at Jhajjar, NTPC's installed capacity has increased to 35,354 MW. TThe Unit-II was commissioned on November 5. The project is a joint venture between NTPC and the governments of Haryana and Delhi.The state-run major is aiming a generation capacity of more than 1,28,000 MW by 2032.

 

[IndoCarib]

Indian entrepreneurs showcase their technology products start-ups on global platforms - The Economic Times

 

[Quick MIK]

Industrial output hits 24-month low at 1.8%

 

[IndoCarib]

India's Internet Growth Fuels Net-Based Businesses | South Asia | English

 

[IndoCarib]

After three week's raise, India's annual food inflation rate for the week ended October 29 continued to be in double digits and fell to 11.81 percent, on lower prices of milk, egg, fish, fruits, rice, wheat and onion.

Annual inflation rate of food article prices, as measured by the wholesale price index, or WPI, (with base year 2004-05) for the week ended October 29 declined to 11.81 percent from 12.21 in the preceding week.

India's Food Inflation Rate Eases

 

[Quick MIK]

The State-run mineral giant NMDC has struck it rich when it unearthed a 37.68 carat diamond the biggest ever gem produced from the legendary diamond mines in Panna in Madhya Pradesh.The experts have valued this gem recovered recently from the NMDC mine somewhere between Rs 2.5 and 5 crore.

Biggest ever diamond unearthed from Panna

Forex reserves drop by $5.72 b to $314.6 b

 

[Vinod2070]

Building an $85-trillion Indian economy - The Economic Times

Building an $85-trillion Indian economy

According to a study by US banking group Citi, India will be the world's largest economy within 39 years. Indian GDP in 2050, measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), will be $85.97 trillion. China, in second place, will have a GDP of $ 80.02 trillion and the US $ 39.07 trillion (see chart).

With an estimated population in 2050 of 1.63 billion, India will thus have a per capita income of over $53,000 - in the range of today's wealthiest countries like Switzerland and Norway. Sounds too good to be true? Of course it is.

This needs us to grow at 8.1% for 4 decades. Definitely achievable.

We just need to get our act together and the future belongs to India and Asia.

 

[Varad]

India initiates major free trade move in SAARC

Addu: In a major boost to its trade liberalisation effort, India yesterday reduced its sensitive list for least developed countries to 25 from 480 and said zero basic customs duty access would be given to all the removed items.
"I am happy to announce that, in a major trade liberalisation effort, the government of India has issued a notification to reduce the sensitive list for the least developed countries under the South Asian Free Trade Area Agreement from 480 tariff lines to 25 tariff lines," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his address at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit, to loud applause.
"Zero basic customs duty access will be given for all items removed with immediate effect," he added.
‘Free growth'

Under the Safta agreement, member countries are allowed to retain a ‘sensitive list' that are not offered for concessional treatment. Now least developed countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal will have increased access to Indian markets. Tariff line refers to a category in a country's tariff schedule.
Singh said he recognised that non-tariff barriers were an area of concern. "India is committed to the idea of free and balanced growth of trade in South Asia. Competition begins at home. Our industries have to learn to compete if our economies are to have a future in this globalised world that we live in," he said.
As per the Safta agreement, non-LDCs that include India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, are required to reduce their tariff to five per cent by 2013, while LDCs are required to reduce tariff to this level by 2016.
For non-LDCs India maintains 865 tariff lines under sensitive list while Pakistan has 1,169 items. Among the other members Sri Lanka has 1,065; Bangladesh 1,254, Bhutan 157; Maldives 671 and Nepal 1,313 tariff lines under sensitive list.
Noting that all South Asian nations could benefit from the respective comparative advantages, he said these include the hydropower and natural resource endowments, possibilities of earnings from transit, marine resources, scientific and technological base and above all young population, which will drive consumption and investment in the years ahead.
‘Uncalled for burden'
"We should expedite the finalisation of the Saarc Agreement on Investment," he told the heads of states and governments of the eight member-nations.
Pointing out that the Saarc summit had come at a time when the global economy was under acute stress, Singh said this had imposed "a fresh and entirely uncalled for burden" on the region's development efforts.
"We hope the leaders of the major economies, particularly in the Eurozone, will show the wisdom and will that are required to revive the global economy," he said. Singh last week ago attended the G20 meet at Cannes in France, where the Eurozone issues drew much attention.
"The world economy is going to take time to recover. In the meantime, developing countries like ours will be squeezed for capital, investments and markets for our exports," he said.

gulfnews : India initiates major free trade move in SAARC

 

[Varad]

Vodafone India revenue up at 2.11 bn pounds

Even with a 11.6 per cent drop in net profit, global telecom giant Vodafone is upbeat and has increased its annual forecast on the back of strong growth in emerging markets like India.

Revenues from India stood at 2.11 billion pounds for the six months ended September 2011 as compared to 1.87 billion pounds in the same period last year.

"Service revenue in India grew by 18.4 per cent, driven by a 25.5 per cent increase in the customer base, strong growth in incoming and outgoing voice minutes and 66.1 per cent growth in data revenue," Vodafone said in a statement.

Growth also benefitted from operators starting to charge for SMS termination in Q2, it added.

Overall, Vodafone Group reported 11.6 per cent drop in net profit to 6.6 billion pounds for the six months ended September 30, 2011 as against 7.5 billion pounds during the same period last year.

The group revenue was, however, up 4.05 per cent in H1 2011 to 23.52 billion pounds, helped by growth in emerging markets.

Vodafone has also upped its annual guidance on the back of the strong performance in these markets. From a guidance of 11 billion pounds to 11.8 billion pounds indicated earlier this year, Vodafone now expects the adjusted operating profit to be in the range of 11.4 billion pounds to 11.8 billion pounds.

Vodafone India revenue up at 2.11 bn pounds - Business Today - Business News

 

[Varad]

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy sets up India venture

MUMBAI — Japanese industries giant Mitsubishi Heavy on Thursday announced a joint venture with India's Anupam Industries to make port cranes and other equipment for the domestic and global markets.
The two companies said in a statement that they will invest a total of 1.88 billion rupees ($38 million) in the new venture, which will be called Anupam-MHI Industries Ltd.
Anupam, which is India's largest overhead crane manufacturer, will hold a 51 percent stake while shipbuilding-to-machinery manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy will hold the balance.
The venture plans to set up two plants in Anand, in the western state of Gujarat, to make port cranes and material-handling equipment.
Operations are set to start in the first half of 2012, officials told reporters.
"We expect to see significant growth in the port crane and equipment market in India, alongside the Middle East, Africa and Latin America," said the chairman of the new venture, Kanji Obata.
The company has already bagged two orders -- one from the state-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai and another from the private Krishnapatnam port in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
The combined orders are worth three billion rupees, the companies said.

AFP: Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy sets up India venture

 

[IndoCarib]

With $85 trillion, how India can become world's largest economy - The Economic Times

 

[Varad]

India Inc told to invest 1% of GDP towards R and D

The Centre has proposed to increase private sector participation in industrial Research and Development activities from the present 0.24 per cent to at least one per cent in the near future.

Union Minister of State for Science & Technology Ashwani Kumar said unlike the developed countries and other emerging economies like China, the share of private sector in R&D expenditure is only about 24 per cent, while the remaining three-fourths is accounted for by the public sector. As per the data available the current private sector investment in R&D is pegged at Rs 720 crore, he noted.

He said investments of thepublic sector into R&D through its various wings was about Rs 2,000 crore, inclusive of non-plan expenditure. Kumar held a wide ranging interaction with CEOs and members of CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) on the sidelines of Indian Economic Summit of the World Economic forum.

The discussions examined issues and remedies in terms of incentives policy changes and implementation mechanism required to step up India’s gross expenditure in R&D. Ashwani Kumar said the Centre plans to increase India’s gross expenditure on R&D of 2 per cent of GDP at the end of 12th Five Year Plan.

India Inc told to invest 1% of GDP towards R and D

 

[Varad]

Tyre exports up 30% in Apr-Sept

Despite the global economic slowdown, tyre exports from India increased 30 per cent in the first half (H1) of the current financial year, according to the latest data by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (Atma). During April-September period, 3.7 million tyres were shipped as against 2.9 million tyres in the same period of the last financial year. The average monthly exports increased to 631,032 tyres as against 486,608 tyres in the same period last year.

Two-wheeler tyres (scotters and moped) recorded the highest growth of 125 per cent, while off-the-road tyre (OTR) segment increased 95 per cent. A total of 41,808 scooter tyres were shipped as against 18,600 in H1 last year and 109,878 OTR tyres were exported as against 56,484 tyres during the period, according to Atma data. Passenger car tyre exports increased 40 per cent to 731,676 as against 521,490 tyres in April-September period of the last financial year. The average monthly exports in this segment was 121,946. Exports of truck and bus tyres also recorded growth of 27 per cent. The total shipments in this flagship segment were 1.1 million as against 875,000 last year.

Except jeep, tractor (rear) and industrial segments, all other types of tyres recorded a positive growth in exports. Around 830,000 light commercial vehicle (LCV) tyres were shipped as against 650,000, registering a growth of 29 per cent. Three-wheeler segment recorded 38 per cent growth, while motorcycle segment registered 13 per cent rise in exports during the period, Atma data said.

Production recorded a narrow growth in major tyre segments though overall production in H1 increased 10 per cent. Total production of tyres in all segments was 63 million tyres as against 57 million in the same period of 2010-11. A total of 4.2 million three-wheeler tyres were produced, increasing 24 per cent, while 20 per cent increase was recorded in the production of LCV tyres. Total production in LCV segment was 3.4 million.

A slowdown in growth was recorded in truck and bus segment at just three per cent increase, while passenger car segment registered 7 per cent growth in H1 of the current financial year. The total truck and bus tyres produced were 7.8 million tyres as against 7.2 million and passenger car tyre production increased to 13.2 million as against 12 million last year. Motorcycle tyre production increased nine per cent while that in the OTR segment increased eight per cent, according to the data. The average monthly production among all categories of tyres was 10.4 million tyres. In September, production recorded zero growth indicating a slowdown in the coming months.

Exports in the month shot up sharply at 21 per cent. A drop in the sale of passenger cars is seriously affecting the production of tyres. Also, the demand from the original equipment sector is rather slow when compared to the re-placement sector, thus, affecting the sales.

Tyre exports up 30% in Apr-Sept

 

[53fd]

India industrial output growth hits two-year low:

NEW DELHI — India's industrial output growth skidded to a two-year low in September, data showed Friday, as a string of interest rate rises took their toll on Asia's third-largest economy.

The country's 1.9 percent industrial expansion in September undershot market forecasts of a 3.5 percent jump and added to a gloomy picture of an economy that is losing traction due to 13 interest rate hikes since March 2010.

"There's a clear slowdown, definitely monetary policy is biting," D.K. Joshi, chief economist at leading Indian credit rating agency Crisil, told AFP.

The sluggish output figures, the weakest since September 2009, also undercut hopes that emerging markets such as India can power global growth as Europe and the United States struggle.

Earlier this week, neighbouring China reported industrial output rose 13.2 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2011, slower than the 14.2 percent growth recorded in the first nine months of the year.

India's manufacturing production rose 2.1 percent in September, but output of capital goods such as factory equipment -- a key pointer to future activity -- as well as consumer goods and mines all shrank.

"We are concerned that the pace of growth in the economy has gone down," senior government economic planning advisor Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.

The weak figures buttressed expectations that India's hawkish central bank would pause in hiking rates to combat inflation even though it remains stubbornly high at nearly 10 percent, analysts said.

The bank signalled that last month's quarter-point rate rise could be the last for 2011 and that worries about growth would assume greater prominence.

The Reserve Bank of India's anti-inflation battle has been one of the most aggressive globally, but has had little obvious impact.
On Friday, food inflation fell nearly half a percentage point from the previous week but still stood at a hefty 11.81 percent for the week.

Overall inflation, measured monthly, stands at 9.72 percent with some analysts expecting a slight rise when figures are released next week.

Even with high inflation, "with the global economic scenario also deteriorating, the central bank should not only pause but begin to reverse its interest hikes," said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry, which lobbies on behalf of companies.

Banerjee warned about the impact of the rate rises on investment and demand but economists said the central bank was unlikely to start unwinding the rate hikes.

"With inflation still elevated and susceptible to upside risks, the central bank is not about to cut rates and will keep them at current levels for an extended period of time," said HSBC chief India economist Leif Eskesen.

The Reserve Bank has revised its estimates for economic growth for this financial year to March 2012 to 7.6 percent, down from an earlier 8.0 percent, saying the economy is "clearly seeing slowing growth."

But many economists estimate growth could be seven percent or even lower.

The string of rate rises has weakened consumer demand during the ongoing festive season across a range of sectors, from cars to property, as loans become costlier while inflation erodes incomes.

The latest figures cap a string of data showing the economy losing ground. Car sales in October fell nearly 24 percent, the most in close to 11 years, while October's annual export growth was the slowest in two years.

The weakening economy has put pressure on federal finances with doubts mounting about the government's ability to meet its goal of containing the fiscal deficit to 4.6 percent of gross domestic product as tax revenues fall.

The central bank made it clear reducing inflation was its top priority and "if growth had to moderate that was the price," Brian Jackson, senior emerging markets strategist at Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong, told AFP.

"Now, in general, a slowdown is going on," he said.

AFP: India industrial output growth hits two-year low