Indian Economy: News and Discussion

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Barclays raises India's 09/10 GDP forecast to 7.2 pct

MUMBAI, June 4 (Reuters) - Barclays Capital on Thursday raised India's growth forecast for the 2009/10 fiscal year to 7.2 percent from 5.5 percent, led by investments.

India's central bank expects 2009/10 growth to be about 6 percent.

Barclays said in a note it expects the Asia's third largest economy to expand 7.5 percent in 2010/11 from 6 percent forecast earlier.

In the 2008/09 fiscal, India's economy grew 6.7 percent, its weakest in six years. In the previous three fiscal years, it grew at or more than 9 percent.

Barclays said it expects the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to move from a loose monetary policy to a neutral stance in late third quarter of 2009 or early fourth quarter.

Barclays raises India's 09/10 GDP forecast to 7.2 pct | Reuters
 

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India strike ends with revenue share deal

Split ends two-month new release lockout

By Nyay Bhushaan
June 5, 2009, 10:58 AM ET


Bollywood films have been absent from multiplex
cinemas since 4 April [Image courtesy: BBC]


NEW DELHI — The two-month dispute between producers and multiplexes over how to share ticket revenues has been settled.

Refusing to release new movies under terms they considered unfavorable, producers and distributors turned off their distribution tap in April, leading to a dramatic boxoffice decline.

Reliance Big Entertainment chairman Amit Khanna said the strike ended early Friday morning following a marathon meeting between both parties in Mumbai. “Both parties have arrived at an amicable solution,” Khanna said.

RBE, which is investing in the new incarnation of DreamWorks, runs India’s largest theatrical chain, Big Cinemas. Other top chains that were part of the discussions include New Delhi-headquartered PVR Cinemas and Mumbai-based Fame Cinemas and Inox.

No new major releases hit screens since the strike was called by the United Producers Forum, which represents such top banners as UTV Motion Pictures and Yash Raj Films. Industry estimates are that the strike led to a loss of about 3 billion rupees ($6.2 million).

In recent years, producers and multiplex owners have been battling over revenue-sharing terms that have been negotiated on a per-picture basis depending on the title’s budget and star power.

When talks with multiplexes would fail, releases of films suffered, including last year’s “Tashan” by Yash Raj Films.

Although producers demanded a 50-50 split, multiplexes argued for a performance-based revenue-sharing system based on a film’s budget and star cast.

Khanna added that the new terms the parties agreed to set out a revenue-sharing system for the first four weeks between producers and multiplexes, with the multiplexes gradually increasing their share of ticket sales. The weekly breakdowns between producers and multiplexes, respectively, will be: 50:50, 42:58, 37.50:65 and 30:70, irrespective of a film’s budget or star cast.

Movies that do “exceptionally well” will see producers getting an additional 2.5% and the same amount will be reduced for films that perform below expectations.

“It’s not just revenue terms that were finalized,” said Khanna, adding that other issues resolved include the rights of producers to determine the number of screens on which they open their films, while multiplexes will have the right to decide how many shows they want to run of any release.

While the strike as led to a backlog of titles fighting for scarce release dates, Khanna said he didn’t see any negative impact “as there is enough elasticity to accommodate releases in the coming months. I am confident the industry will make up for any losses.”

Director/producer Mahesh Bhatt told THR, “It’s good to finally see both producers and multiplexes coming together to find a solution for the well being of the industry. I sincerely believe that all the differences of the past are over.”

Bhatt’s banner Vishesh Films is headed by his producer brother Mukesh who was actively involved in the negotiations. Bhatt said that Khanna “played a crucial role in the negotiations so that we could all arrive at a solution.”

The Indian arms of Hollywood studios were not officially part of the strike, but Sony Pictures Entertainment saw its May 29 release “Angels and Demons” open only in single-screen theaters and not multiplexes. Paramount’s “Star Trek” opened Friday in both types of cinemas.

SPE India MD Kersey Daruwalla said, “We welcome the ending of the strike and the return of our audiences to the theaters where we have a strong line-up for the summer.”

One of the first major Bollywood releases after the strike will be “Kal Kissne Dekha” (Who Has Seen Tomorrow), co-produced by RBE-owned Big Pictures, which is slated for June 12. Sony will distribute the Bollywood release “Tere Sang” (With You) in the coming weeks.

Other upcoming releases include big-budget offerings such as Dharma Productions’ “New York,” UTV Motion Pictures’ “Kaminay” (Treacherous) and Eros International’s “Kambhaqt Ishq” (Notorious Love), which features cameos by Sylvester Stallone and Denise Richards.

During the strike, multiplexes sought out alternative sources of content. Big Cinemas recently inked a deal with London-based More2Screen for such alternative content as operas, sporting events and concerts. The pact will see select Big Cinemas properties screening Italian operas with English subtitles such as “La Cenerentola” (Cinderella) and “Giulio Cesare” (Julius Caesar) on weekends beginning June 20.

Following its joint-venture announcement with Thailand’s Major Cineplex Group, PVR recently opened its first PVR Blu-O property, near Delhi, featuring bowling alleys and gaming zones.

At press time, unconfirmed reports suggested that multiplexes were in talks with broadcaster ESPN Star Sports to negotiate screening rights for cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup that began Friday in England.June 5

A recent report by U.K. boxoffice analyst Dodona Research said India logged about 1.5 billion theater admissions annually at its estimated 10,000 screens, of which 1,350 are multiplex screens. Dodona projected that total theatrical boxoffice will reach $1.3 billion by 2012, representing a 25% increase over 2007 figures. The report added that because of the higher ticket prices they charge, multiplexes now account for more than 50% of boxoffice receipts.


India strike ends with revenue share deal
 

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India gets kinder Asean duty cuts

6 Jun 2009, 0127 hrs IST, Amiti Sen, ET Bureau



NEW DELHI: The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) has agreed to stick to the original plan of reducing duty once a year under the long-pending India-Asean free trade agreement (FTA) to be signed later this year.

“We convinced the Asean that it would be difficult for us to reschedule the tariff cuts and take two annual cuts,” a commerce department official told ET on condition of anonymity.

Asean had been pressing for two annual cuts, instead of one, leading to faster tariff reduction. As per the final agreement, both sides will make modest cuts in duties on some 4,000 industrial and agricultural items every year to bring tariffs on all items to less than 5% over the next three to nine years.

The trade treaty will take off on January 1, 2010, almost seven years after the negotiations started.After several glitches and breakdowns, the deal was scheduled to be signed late last year, but got delayed due to political unrest in Thailand and the Union elections in India. It is now expected to be signed in August.

Visiting Thailand industry minister Chanchai Chairungruang on Thursday said that the treaty will be signed during the Asean economic ministers meeting scheduled to be held in Bangkok in August. Otherwise, it will be signed during the Asean summit in October, the official said.

As per the deal, eight out of ten products will attract a maximum of 4% duty, if at all. It allows countries to impose 5% tariffs on sensitive products. India’s sensitive list includes manufacturing items like textiles, garments and automobiles. The agreement also allows India to shield 479 items - mostly agricultural goods - from tariff cuts.

While most Asean countries and India would be bringing down most of their tariffs by 2016 and some by 2019, special and differential treatment in terms of longer implementation period is being given to the less developed Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Other members of Asean are Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei.

The FTA, while increasing competition in the home market from the Asean countries, will give the Indian industry, reeling under falling export numbers due to global downturn, deeper access into the South-East Asian market estimated at $1.1 trillion.


India gets kinder Asean duty cuts- Foreign Trade-Economy-News-The Economic Times

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India-ASEAN free trade pact to be signed in August


NEW DELHI, Jun 05, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- India and ASEAN are closing the gaps and will sign a long-awaited free trade agreement in August that will open up 1.7 billion people market for businesses from both the sides.

"...the FTA will be signed during ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting in August in Thailand," Thai Industry Minister Chanchai Chairungruang told reporters here on Friday.

While some differences on duty reduction by India on palm oil, tea, coffee and pepper remain to be resolved, both the sides have agreed to go ahead with the signing of the free trade agreements (FTA) in August.

"Negotiations are still going on this issue... talks are not finished on this...despite this India-ASEAN FTA will be signed in August," a Thai official accompanying the minister said.

The FTA would enable member countries to reduce tariffs for more than 4,700 categories from January 2010 onwards, Chairungruang said.

Some members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) like Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia are of the view that India should reduce the duties on the four products -- palm oil, tea, coffee and pepper.

The duty ranged between 50 per cent and 60 per cent, the minister said.

Automotive components, telecommunication, electrical appliances and aluminum products would benefit from the FTA, the visiting minister said.


INDIA-ASEAN FREE TRADE PACT TO BE SIGNED IN AUGUST
The Peninsula On-line: Qatar's leading English Daily
FTA between India, Asean to be inked in Aug - Economy and Politics - livemint.com
India-ASEAN free trade pact to be signed in August
 

Rage

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Wal-Mart Opens First Wholesale Outlet in India



Date Submitted: Thu Jun 04, 2009

AMRITSAR — Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, and local partner Bharti Group opened their first wholesale outlet in India as rising disposable incomes boost demand in the world’s second-fastest-growing major economy.

Bharti Wal-Mart Pvt. May 30 opened the cash-and-carry store in Amritsar, it said in a statement. The venture plans to open 10 or 15 wholesale outlets and employ 5,000 people during the next three years, the statement said.

Wal-Mart and other foreign companies, barred from opening their own retail shops or buying stakes in Indian stores, are starting wholesale outlets in Asia’s third-largest economy. Local laws, aimed at protecting small shops, let global companies operate only wholesale stores that sell groceries and other goods to retailers, restaurants and other businesses.

The “Best Price Modern Wholesale” store will sell around 6,000 items, the statement said. As much as 90 percent of the products are sourced locally, it said.

Wal-Mart and Bharti formed the venture in August 2007.


India Journal - South Asian News for Southern California

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YouTube - Walmart in India
 

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India's aviation sector caught in 'perfect storm'

By Penny MacRae – May 23, 2009




NEW DELHI (AFP) — India's airlines are caught in a "perfect storm" of big losses, high debt and falling demand, and need urgent help from the new government to make them high-flyers again, says an industry report.

The struggling sector was once a vibrant symbol of India's economic progress but it has seen its fortunes nosedive due to over-expansion, costly fuel and cut-throat competition.

"The industry now is at a very critical stage," said Kapil Kaul, India head of the Sydney-based Center for Asia Pacific Aviation, the consultancy which authored the report entitled Aviation Agenda for The Next Indian Government.

Sector losses for the fiscal year just ended in March 2009 are expected to nearly double from last year to 1.75 billion dollars, Kaul said.

That's a fifth of the losses of airlines globally of 8.5 billion dollars estimated by the International Air Transport Association.

"India's contribution to this (loss) is significantly higher than the two percent of world air traffic for which it accounts," said the report.

The Indian industry's woes are highlighted by a slump in passengers. In April, the number of domestic passengers fell by 591,000 or 15.2 percent year-on-year, the fourth straight month of declines.

The figures are a far cry from earlier heady government forecasts that passenger growth would run at 25 percent annually until the end of the decade.

Passenger numbers were expanding by double digits when India's economy was booming. Cheap fares and increasing affluence among India's middle classes drove a migration from the country's antiquated train network to planes.

After the government opened India's skies to more competition in 2004, a clutch of new airlines took flight, revolutionising domestic travel in the country of 1.1 billion.

But then costlier oil pushed up air fares last year, sending many passengers back to trains.
Now the sector has also been hit by a slowing economy triggered by the global financial crisis, reducing business and leisure journeys.

"It needs to quickly restructure and the new government has to help them reduce high structural costs," Kaul told AFP, citing hefty jet fuel taxes.




There is also a need to allow more domestic airlines to fly internationally to boost revenues, Kaul said.

The Congress-led government should allow foreign airlines to take equity stakes in domestic airlines to give them access to fresh capital, he said, but to draw investment the carriers must clean up their balance sheets.

"Over-aggressive expansion" to grab market share is "partly responsible for the fiscal demise of the sector," the report said.

Flagship state airline Air India is hurting the most. It's estimated to have racked up 800 million dollars in losses for the past year and debt of four billion dollars, the report said.

Air India, which flies internationally, merged with government-run domestic carrier Indian last year to become more efficient but its planes are flying emptier and passenger revenues are still falling.

Despite this, it still plans to take delivery this year of 26 new aircraft -- "a significant augmentation in capacity when the opposite would be more appropriate," said the report.
And India's two major private airline groups, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, also have hefty debts and big losses. Jet reported its third-quarter net loss more than doubled to 44 million dollars.

Rationalisation "is inevitable and desirable for the health of the industry," said Kaul, who believes India can only support two full-service carriers. He declined to say which should survive.

But the no-frills airline model offered by carriers such as Indigo Airlines, which has bucked the falling passenger trend, could be the platform for future growth, he said.


Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved


AFP: India's aviation sector caught in 'perfect storm'

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Air India chalks out new austerity measures to save Rs 1,000 cr a year



23 May 2009, 0102 hrs IST,
Nirbhay Kumaar, ET Bureau


NEW DELHI: The newly-appointed chairman and managing director of Air India Arvind Jadhav has initiated a slew of austerity measures aimed at saving Rs 1,000 crore per year, as he looks to improve the finances of India’s national carrier that currently accounts for almost half of the Rs 10,000-crore losses that the Indian aviation sector collectively incurs.

According to a person familiar with the matter, an Air India board meeting on Wednesday cleared a long-pending proposal to offer voluntary retirement scheme and voluntary leave schemes. The airline also issued a circular to its 31,000-odd employees asking them to avoid business class from their flying entitlements. It has also decided to go strict on upgradation of class — from economy to business or first. The company has also extended a long leave-without-pay scheme to a maximum of five years.

National Aviation Company of India (NACIL), the entity created by merging Air India and India Airlines, is estimated to have lost about Rs 4,000 crore in the last fiscal. “The CMD has given a very clear signal. He has asked to save on wherever we can and also improve the performance wherever we can,” said the person familiar with the development.

An airline official, on conditions of anonymity, said that the company has decided to shut down its Jeevan Bharti building office in Delhi’s prime business district Connaught Place to save cost. “We have already closed 14-15 such offices across the country,” he said.

When contacted, an Air India spokesperson declined to comment on the developments in the board meeting. He, however, said that fresh measures were being taken to cut cost.

The civil aviation ministry had recently replaced Raghu Menon as CMD of the airline by Mr Jadhav reportedly on grounds of performance. “With the new ground handling policy coming in place and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) jointly undertaking the ground-handling work at various airports, some manpower cost is expected to be saved as SATS will share the cost,” the Air India official said.

The airline has reduced about 20% of its flights in the last 8-10 months in the domestic market to contain losses. As the fuel price has now come down, significantly, reducing the operating the cost, the airline is looking at adding flights to increase fleet utilisation.


Air India chalks out new austerity measures to save Rs 1,000 cr a year- Airlines / Aviation-Transportation-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
 

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'Made in India' Metro rolls out

6 Jun 2009, 0518 hrs IST, Megha Suri, TNN



File Picture: Delhi Metro


SAVLI (GUJARAT): Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off what can be called the first truly `Indian' Metro train, from a manufacturing plant near Vadodara. Henceforth, the facility will roll out one Delhi Metro coach a day and wheel it to the capital to cater to the acute overcrowding on the system due to shortage of trains and provide for the new lines opening as part of Phase II.

"This is my third trip to this factory in the past 18 months. Slowly, India and the rest of the world will realize the importance of today's event,'' said Modi.

In all, the manufacturing unit belonging to Bombardier Transportation, will supply a total of 81 train sets comprising 424 broad gauge coaches to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) by October 2010 at a cost of about Rs 3,000 crore. "This is a very proud day for DMRC. Only 24 months ago, in June 2007, we placed an order for 454 coaches with M/s Bombardier Transportation, with a stipulation that it can bring a maximum of 21 train sets from abroad. The company limited their imports to just nine train sets and set up a facility in Gujarat to manufacture the rest. I am very happy that we have achieved indigenousness so soon,'' said E Sreedharan, DMRC managing director.

The day of the rollout World Environment Day is significant as the trains are environment-friendly in design. "We are gifting people an eco-friendly train. Surface transport vehicles contribute to nearly 84% to the carbon emissions in the atmosphere, followed by aeroplanes, which add another 15%. Rail-based transportation comprise for just 1% of these emissions,'' said Modi.

The trains are energy efficient and the cost of the trains is also much lesser compared to their imported counterparts. Sreedharan added that India was trying to minimize costs further by standardization, and has even proposed to the government to make Metro coaches exempt from duties and taxes, otherwise a lot of Indian cities may not be able to afford Metro systems.




The new trains promise a more comfortable ride for Delhiites as they have been made after analyzing the problems with the existing coaches. "Based on the Phase I experience, we have made a lot of changes to the new coaches, said Rajeev Jyoti, president & managing director, India, Bombardier Transportation. The changes include an advanced braking system to keep the noise levels in check as the earlier coaches were very noisy. The airconditioning has also been improved so Delhiites can expect a cooler ride next time they board a Metro train. The bogie design has been improved and the flooring quality upgraded to ensure a smoother ride. Keeping in view the high security threat on the Metro, the coaches are also equipped with CCTV cameras to track unusual movement.

The Delhi Metro currently operates across 78 km and will spread to over 190 km by 2010, making it one of the largest networks in the world. More than two million people are expected to travel by the Delhi Metro daily by next year making the timely delivery of coaches imperative.

The first Bombardier Movia train has been wheeled out of the Savli facility in a record 18 months from the time the factory was set up including the time taken to set up the factory. "This is the fastest in the 150 year old history of Bombardier, and a record even for us, said Stephane Rambaud Measson, president, passengers division, Bombardier Transportation.

The coaches are state-of-the-art these have been made using the most advanced manufacturing technology such as spot-welding robots, being used for the first time in the country for rail carbody manufacturing. The coaches are about 35-40% indigenous, as a large part of the spare parts, have also been manufactured by local vendors.


'Made in India' Metro rolls out - Delhi - Cities - The Times of India
 

Known_Unknown

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India’s Goldilocks Globalization

India's Goldilocks Economy | Newsweek International | Newsweek.com

The Congress Party's big win in the recent Indian election was a double surprise. Recent Indian politics have featured a strong strain of anti-incumbency, and the global financial crisis has spelled trouble at the polls for many other governments worldwide. True, before the trouble hit, India had enjoyed five years of the fastest economic growth in its history, reaching 9 percent—almost the same pace as China. But the global crisis could easily have erased all the happy memories. Yet that didn't happen, and for one big reason: India has not been a gung-ho globalizer.

The crisis that began in the United States spread abroad through two channels: finance and trade. Countries that sucked in a lot of foreign capital—like those in Eastern Europe—suffered huge disruptions to their exchange rates, asset prices and financial systems when this capital fled to safety. Meanwhile, countries that relied heavily on exports—like Singapore, Taiwan and China—also suffered when foreign demand collapsed.

India managed to avoid both extremes. That's because it followed a strategy that can be called "Goldilocks globalization," relying neither too much on foreign finance nor too much on exports. On the financial side, unlike the Eastern European countries that ran a current-account deficit of more than 10 percent of GDP, India kept its own at about 2 to 3 percent of GDP. India also cannily insured itself against turmoil by building a healthy cushion of foreign-exchange reserves: about $315 billion worth, among the highest in the world. As a result, when the crisis hit, India was able to provide dollars to investors that were selling rupee assets and demanding dollars in return. This reassured investors, leading many to keep their money in India.

On the trade side, India's exports of goods and services never accounted for more than about 20 percent of its economy, compared with about 45 percent for China and up to 100 percent elsewhere in Asia. Thus when foreign demand for products collapsed, this hurt India far less. Indeed, between March 2008 and March 2009, India managed to grow at 6.7 percent, well above the rate of most industrial countries.

It's worth asking whether all this was a result of a conscious strategy—whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserves credit for following this middle road on globalization. Determining intent or purpose is always tricky when dealing with a weak and decentralized polity such as India. Yet there's no question that New Delhi did deliberately choose to follow a steady and gradual approach to reforms in general and globalization in particular. As Montek Ahluwalia, one of India's leading economic policymakers, has put it: in Indian politics, there is a strong consensus for weak reforms.

Such an approach wasn't an unalloyed good. It meant that India never enjoyed the kind of benefits—such as greater efficiency and productivity leading to even higher growth—that big-bang reforms can deliver. But it did have the huge advantage of ensuring stability when conditions got rough. Perhaps the most telling example of how this worked can be found in the Indian banking system, which is still three-quarters owned by the government. During the crisis, the only bank that was seriously endangered with exposure to toxic assets was a private one. India's cautious government-owned banks had nothing to do with these dangerous assets, and were thus able to provide a safe haven to depositors fleeing the private system.

Now that the election has delivered Singh a big win, many observers expect him to abandon his caution and press forward with dramatic changes. Indeed, he will probably will try to push for bolder reforms, such as greater infrastructure development and foreign investment in key sectors. Yet India's political system features numerous checks and balances, making rapid progress unlikely. The country's political system is often said to have the wheels of an ox cart and the brakes of a Rolls-Royce. No matter how much change Singh manages to accomplish, he'll never make the rest of the machine resemble a Rolls. Yet the country would happily settle for a Nano: India's revolutionary $2,000 car that's far from fancy but a good metaphor for the country's modest, and successful, approach.
 

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i think the article does summarise the whole situation decently well, we faltered on many fronts and as a result we are here not in as dire a situation as the world finds it self in or for that matter a situation where prc's model of growth looks tad bit faulty and our a better one. well there is more to it than has been spelled out in the article, and one very important decision of not letting foreign capital flow into the country in fag end of 2007 when there was absolute boom in the stock market, and real estate market helped us wither the storm without much troubles. something like 50b usd was not allowed to enter the shores of the country that year and this is certainly not one of the “faulty” takes by the rbi. the way our present day banking system is today certainly helped us or the icici's of the country had our dooms day written all over and for that one has to give credit to the communists who did not allow the reforms to happen in the sector, sometimes inaptness also gets appreciated, strange are the ways of this world and life. the highs of the forex reserves we saw were greatly inspired by the prc's successful model on the same and there were lessons learnt from the near bankruptcy that the country saw in 1991, but going back a little and the real credit for this goes to the nda regime which instilled the logic of having healthy rate of forex reserves which needed to be buildup and people will do good to recall the first 100b usd in the reserve happened during the fag end of nda regime. the timing of financial disaster of 2008 saved us from the same mistake that prc had made by buying into the us treasury reserves, a blunder we were almost going to commit, thanks that the meltdown happened sooner than latter.

having said all this especially with the article focusing on our no go on a lot of fronts in the reform process in the past, the question comes to mind, do we let this very system continue where we do half hearted things, where in we take two steps ahead and one step back, i think the answer lies in the huge poverty elevation that happened in the prc over a sustained period of three decades with high growth rate figures and those efforts and reforms made by the prc were certainly not half hearted. we as a nation will never no what is too much and what is too little, what is to be protected and what is not to be protected and as i have always believed in, let the market forces decide the same and the government needs to be the facilitator which helps in sustaining a process of free market by policy making but yes there needs to be an advisory board formed out of the industry leaders and of eminent economists and socialists who become a guiding light to such policy making.

much has been made of the export based economy of the prc off late as has also been made in the article above, all these economists would do good to reflect at the huge number of job creation that happened which any day out weighs the recent job loss and i am happy to say country is moving in the same direction where the merchandise exports increased three and a half fold from 45b usd to 175b usd in the past 5yrs of the upa regime. india as a country is thirsty for foreign capital by way of loans raised by our companies overseas, or by way of venture capital or by way of remittance or by way of fdi or by way of capital inflow in the stock market and here again the capital inflow has grown many fold over the past 5 years and the way forward in to keep the momentum going. there is no way india can afford to despise either the over seas capital or not present itself as a manufacturing hub for the world at large, there are millions of lives at stake who could benefit, and it will be best we keep the momentum going.
 

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General Motors Expansion Plans in India On Track

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
12 June 2009



General Motors world headquarters in Detroit (file)


U.S. automaker General Motors says its expansion plans are on track in India despite the troubles it faces in the United States. General Motors is among several global auto companies hoping to tap the potential of emerging markets like India.

Executives at General Motors in India were enthusiastic when they recently revealed a new version of the compact Spark Chevrolet, which runs on liquefied natural gas.

The company, which has filed for bankruptcy in the United States, says it is business as usual in India.

General Motors entered the Indian market in 2003, and sold nearly 66,000 cars last year - up 10 percent over the previous year. That is still way behind the market leader, Maruti Suzuki, which sells more than 10 times that number.

General Motors, however, is hoping to expand its footprint in India. Last year, the company commissioned a new plant with a capacity to produce 140,000 cars. It says it is confident of raising funds for its expansion, and has no plans to reduce its 40,000-strong staff in India.

Yogendra Pratap, editor of the Auto Bild magazine in India, says the company has good reason to be optimistic. Sales are expected to grow strongly in the coming years in a country where only seven out of every 1,000 people own a car, and where the economy is growing despite the global recession.

"The planning for these companies has always been for the long term, to get market share and be in a position to exploit the market once the market is up and running," said Pratap. "India is still in its infancy, so all these companies want to be positioned right once the Indian car market matures."

Like several other automakers, General Motors is pinning its hopes on the compact car segment, which accounts for four out of every five cars sold in India.

Besides the latest version of the Spark, it is introducing a new mini car later this year to compete with other popular small cars.

Pratap points out that these cars are very different from the ones General Motors sold in the United States.

"They have got a very strong product portfolio to do well in India. They are small cars, they are fuel efficient, they are not the huge suburban kind of trucks they sell in the U.S," said Pratap.

General Motors is not the only global automaker which has been making inroads into the Indian market in recent years. Companies such as BMW, Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Audi have also made investments in the country, hoping to gain a foothold in the Indian car market.


VOA News - General Motors Says Its Expansion Plans in India On Track
 

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PAN relief for Mutual Fund Investor

PAN relief for MF investors- MF News-Mutual Funds-Personal Finance-The Economic Times

PAN relief for MF investors

18 Jun 2009, 0447 hrs IST, Pooja Meswani, ET Now

The government is set to exempt an annual investment of Rs 50,000 or less by investors in units of mutual funds from the requirement of submitting details of their permanent account number (PAN) at the time of investment.

According to officials privy to the development, only investments through monthly systematic investment plans (SIPs) will be exempt from the requirement of providing PAN details. PAN was introduced under the Prevention of Anti-Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and since all SIPs transactions are routed through electronic transfers from the investor's bank accounts, money laundering is not an issue.

However, the ministry is still to clarify whether lump sum investment of the same amount will be exempt from mandatory submission of PAN. Says AP Kurian, chairman of industry body AMFI, "We are yet to get the official notification on this from the government."

The new notification comes nearly 2 years after PAN card was made mandatory for all such investments on July 2, 2007. Says Dhirendra Kumar, CEO, Value Research Online, "This will democratize MF investment. There has to be some room at the bottom of the pyramid for people to invest meaningfully without having to prove that they aren't laundering anything. Nearly 100 crore Indians cannot invest in mainstream financial products because of lack of PAN."

Adds Sanjay Sinha, CEO, DBS Chola Mutual Fund, "There is first stage of educating an investor about the product. And then if you tell him about PAN, he may get a little reluctant. If threshold is brought down, it broadens the base of potential investors."

But while the PAN requirement may be eased, investors will soon have to undergo Know Your Client process while investing in MFs. ET reported this first on May 29, '09 and while raising concerns on MF industry at a conference in Mumbai on Thursday, SEBI chairman CB Bhave said, "KYC is not a difficulty, but a requirement in the interest of the investor and the industry as a whole."

KYC means registering certain personal details with CDSL Ventures, along with the application process of a fund house.

This is currently applicable only for investments of Rs 50,000 and above.
 

Pintu

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AMFI gets govt nod to exempt PAN for SIPs up to Rs 50,000

AMFI gets govt nod to exempt PAN for SIPs up to Rs 50,000

Mumbai, Jun 17 (PTI) Concerned over the falling growth in the mutual fund industry, the government today gave in-principle nod to allow up to Rs 50,000 investments under SIP without quoting PAN card number.
The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has received permission from the Government to exempt PAN card requirement for such investments and the notification in this regard is expected soon, AMFI Chairman A P Kurian told PTI on the sidelines of a mutual fund seminar here.

"It is a good thing (making PAN card not mandatory for SIP investments up to Rs 50,000) and it will help the industry to grow," Kurian said.

In 2007, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had made it compulsory for all resident and non-resident Indians to submit a copy of their PAN cards while investing in securities.

Mandatory submission of PAN had caused hardships for many small investors to invest in mutual fund schemes, thus impacting the pan-India penetration of MF products.

Earlier, AMFI had asked SEBI to re-consider the decision of having a PAN card compulsorily for investments in mutual funds arguing that it may discourage many investors from opting MF schemes.

An SIP (systematic investment plan) is a vehicle offered by mutual funds to help investors save regularly. PTI
 

Antimony

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Backward step.

I think all Indians should have a PAN that should be used for any such transactions, just like the SSN is used for the US.

Helps keep black money in check
 

Pintu

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Inflation in Negative Territory

The Statesman

Inflation in negative zone for first time in 30 yrs

NEW DELHI, 18 JUNE: As widely anticipated for weeks, inflation has slipped into negative territory for the first time since 1977, registering minus 1.61 per cent for the week ending 6 June. It was 0.13 per cent in the previous week ending 31 May.
The development marked a watershed since the new wholesale price index (WPI) series started in 1995. The fall was bigger than the 1.52 per cent median forecast by analysts. “This is due to the high statistical base, but going forward, inflationary risks are already in sight,” chief economist at Bank of Baroda, Ms Rupa Rege Nitsure said.
“The negative inflation was expected,” said Mr Sri Ram Khanna, head of the commerce department at Delhi School of Economics. He explained that it was due to “static demand and adequate supply of commodities” and opined that inflation would fluctuate and revive only during the festive season around October this year.
Mr Dalip Kumar, head of projects at the National Council of Applied Economic Research, warned that the negative trend would lead to hoarding of food commodities.
Allaying fears of any negative impact on the health of the economy, the government said the economy was on the path of improvement and the fall in wholesale price index was not unusual. “Our assessment is that WPI is likely to remain in the negative region for some more time,” finance secretary Mr Ashok Chawla said. “It is not a cause of concern whatsoever,” Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia said. "This is not a matter of crisis. Rather this is a course correction,” Commission member Mr Saumitra Chaudhuri said. “As prices had risen to very high levels last year, the negative inflation is more of a statistical issue.”
Experts said they did not see the development as a sign of a weakening economy. Nor would it lead to further rate cuts by the RBI which had forecast negative trends in the price index chiefly for statistical reasons. RBI would not call the development “deflation”, which follows a sharp contraction in demand.
The fall has little implication for monetary policy, and firm consumer price inflation, which stood at 8.7 per cent in April, has kept policy makers cautious. “Monetary policy will gradually start building into the inflationary expectation some time around October essentially because of rising commodity prices,” Ms Jyotinder Kaur, economist at HDFC Bank, said. “By year-end, we expect (wholesale) inflation to exceed 5.5 per cent,” Ms Shubhada Rao, chief economist at Yes Bank said.
Meanwhile, the WPI for all commodities rose 0.04 per cent primarily due to a rise in the indices for non-food articles, manufactured products, and fuel, power, light and lubricants. While the index for primary articles declined 0.7 per cent, that for fuel and power rose 0.7 per cent. The index for manufactured products rose 0.1 per cent. The final data for the week ended April 11 showed that the revised annual inflation rate stood at 0.96 per cent against 0.26 per cent reported earlier based on provisional figures.
Meanwhile, with inflation turning negative, banks are gearing up for interest rate cut up to 100 basis points. Home loan financier HDFC has reduced its deposit rates by upto 0.25 per cent across various maturities with immediate effect. HDFC Bank has also reduced its deposit rates by upto 0.25 per cent, effective from tomorrow. ;SNS
 

p2prada

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Negative inflation is bad for the economy. It will hurt the farmers.
 
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India largest investor in UK after US

India largest investor in UK after US


India largest investor in UK after US


after United States, India with 108 projects is the largest investor in United Kingdom in terms of number in 2008-09 as against 75 in the previous year.

"Investment from India increased across a range of sectors including IT, Life Sciences and advanced engineering sectors and was a mix of acquisitions and expansions," a UK Trade & Investment, UK government's international business development organisation, release said.

UKIT, however, did not mention the quantum of investment. HCL's euro 450 million buy of Axon, ONGC's more than euro one billion acquisition of Imperial Energy and Dr Reddy's purchase of a clinical trials unit were the prominent investments from Indian side in UK last fiscal.

Biocon established its European headquarters and GTL Europe opened four new offices in UK during the year, the release said.

India replaced Japan as the largest investor from Asia in 2008-09 from the seventh spot last fiscal.

The US, however, continued to top the list in FY'09 as well with 621 foreign direct investment projects flagging of base in UK. In 2007-08, it was 478.

Overall, recording an 11 per cent increase over the previous fiscal, UK had received 1,744 investment projects from 53 countries during FY'09.
 

SATISH

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The consumer price index is still at 5%. This negative inflation hurts the growth rate.
 

F-14

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History is repeating it self i think we should set up a trading co get it
 

Singh

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Indian inflation turns negative

Inflation in India has turned negative for the first time in more than 30 years, official figures have shown.

Wholesale prices fell 1.61% in the year to 6 June, compared with a rise of 0.13% the previous week, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.

Cheaper food prices dragged the index down, and analysts said prices could continue falling for about four months.

It marks the first annual decline in wholesale prices since the government started releasing weekly data in 1977.

"We will have negative numbers at least till September, primarily because inflation had picked up very sharply during this period last year," said Sonal Verma, an economist at Nomura.

Inflation hit a 13-year high of 12.9% in August 2008, but has been decelerating steadily since.

BBC NEWS | Business | Indian inflation turns negative
 

Pintu

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domain-b.com : RBI discounts deflation, sticks to policy stance

RBI discounts deflation, sticks to policy stance news

20 June 2009

The Reserve Bank of India does not consider any prospect of deflation in India and does not envisage any change in its policy stance even as the annual rate of inflation turned negative, falling to (-)1.61 per cent for the week ended 6 June 2009.

"India does not suffer from any demand constraints, therefore there is no concern of deflation," RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao said.

On the contrary, he said, it is important to ensure food prices stay at reasonable rates in a country like India.

The country, he said, does not suffer from demand constraints. It is rather the high prices that deter spending and consumption.

Subbarao said while the RBI and the government recognises the need for economic stimulus, reversing monetary expansion is part of fiscal management and that there was no schedule for this.

The problem with the stimulus plan was that it did not to work through
fully and had effect on only parts of the economy like steel, cement, two-wheelers, cars, cargo and freight traffic.

The immediate priority for the RBI, he said, was restoring the economy to a high growth path and making sure exports recover.

India does suffer from demand constraints, he said, adding, but that is due to high prices.

The Reserve Bank will, however, continue to monitor price trends in the coming months as well before arriving at a policy decision, Subbarao said.

There is a fear that both business and the government may use the negative inflation as a means to press RBI and the commercial banks to lower interest rates.

The RBI uses various parameters to monitor inflation and data shows that prices of food and primary articles in India are still high, Subbarao said.

While government data shows WPI-based inflation rate at a three-decade low of -1.61 per cent, the RBI governor said prices of food and crude oil prices are still high.
 

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BHEL stake sale on the table

NEW DELHI: The government may shed a 10% stake in state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), a process expected to bring in around Rs 10,000
crore into the disinvestment kitty.

On Friday, heavy industry and public enterprises minister Vilasrao Deshmukh confirmed the government was considering the proposal to offload a 10% stake in the power equipment maker, where it currently holds a 67.72% stake.

BHEL is currently valued at Rs 28,000 crore and has been classified "navratna," which gives the company management more autonomy than other public sector firms.

A 10% stake sale is likely to raise around Rs 10,000 crore, said a market analyst who asked not be named. The BHEL scrip rose 2.83% to close at Rs 2,090.50 at the BSE on Friday.

"The point of disinvestment (in BHEL) is still under consideration," Mr Deshmukh said in his first media interaction after taking office. "The government definitely has a positive thinking on that line," he said.

BHEL's top officials are now likely to meet Mr Deshmukh on Monday, according to a company official.

The minister also announced that the company would enter into an agreement with Indian Railways for supplying stainless steel energy-efficient EMU coaches on a long term basis, as part of the government's 100-day agenda. BHEL will also synchronise eight thermal and hydro sets to generate 1,200 MW capacity in the next 100 days, he said.

The company will enter into agreements with state government power generation companies to form joint ventures (JVs) for super critical thermal power plants.

BHEL currently makes equipment that can generate 10,000 MW power capacity and is further augmenting this capacity to 15,000 MW per annum by December 2009. It plans to hike its capacity to 20,000 MW by 2011-12.

BHEL stake sale on the table- IPOs-Markets-The Economic Times
 

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