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'I think most would rather have India's problems than the West's'
NEW DELHI: India, staring at the slowest pace of economic expansion in a decade, can afford to lose a few percentage points of growth to greater public activism if the end result is better governance, says Anshu Jain, co-chief executive at Deutsche Bank.
Jain, the first person of Indian descent to head a large European bank, told ET that India's mostly supply-side problems were any day preferable to the ones bedeviling the West as he exhorted policymakers to tackle the budget deficit, prevent a credit rating downgrade, and frame "stable and predictable" rules to attract overseas capital. "India is growing far slower than it could be for a variety of reasons related to politics and governance... But I think sacrificing some growth in the near term is a price worth paying for the higher level of public engagement and activism," he said in an exclusive 90-minute interview, his first globally since taking charge as Deutsche co-CEO last year.


Read : Full Interview


Jain, who was born and raised in India and is now a British citizen, said the country's true potential could be realised by supply-side reforms and more efficient targeting of subsidies. In any case, the problems India was grappling with were the opposite of what Western economies faced.

"I think most would rather have India's problems than the West's as it is far easier to solve these supply-side problems than overcome structural demand-side ones," said the alumnus of Delhi's Shri Ram College of Commerce.

Jain, who ran Europe's most successful investment bank that he built into a global bond trading powerhouse, praised the recent burst of reforms in India and noted that the country was at an inflection point and needed to avoid a ratings downgrade.

"A sovereign downgrade would be a negative development and would place further pressure on the rupee... The Indian economy's greatest problem is its budget deficit. The country's credibility with investors cannot remain high if the budget deficit and trade deficit together are running at 8-9%," he said.

I'd rather have India's problems than the west's: Anshu Jain, co-CEO, Deutsche Bank


The government is trying hard to repair its finances and its recent reforms burst has elicited a lot of positive commentary. The global investor outlook towards India is slowly turning positive - January has seen inflows of $2.3 billion into the markets - but experts warn against complacency.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, on a tour through Asia and Europe to woo investors, is trying hard to contain the deficit at the revised target of 5.3% of GDP. The current account deficit, a broad measure of trade in goods and services, hit a record high of 5.4% in the September quarter, a level not even seen during the peak of the balance of payments crisis of the early 1990s. The government this week raised import duties on gold to 6%.

Jain, who hosts Chidambaram in Frankfurt next week, said overseas capital was "useful and necessary" for India and urged stable policies to attract it. "On the regulatory side, India's FDI regime should be made stable and predictable. In fact, I would say the FDI regime is part of a broader set of issues related to improving the ease of doing business."

Keenly sought for his thoughts on the global economy, Jain said though the world economy had seen off the most acute phase of the crisis, helped by some unprecedented level of liquidity - $7 trillion since 2007 - infused by central banks, significant risks remained.

"The storm clouds have not parted completely and I still see significant issues to keep an eye on," Jain said.
'I think most would rather have India's problems than the West's' - The Economic Times
His inter view to the today's Economic Times is great.

'I think most would rather have India's problems than the West's'
NEW DELHI: India, staring at the slowest pace of economic expansion in a decade, can afford to lose a few percentage points of growth to greater public activism if the end result is better governance, says Anshu Jain, co-chief executive at Deutsche Bank.
Jain, the first person of Indian descent to head a large European bank, told ET that India's mostly supply-side problems were any day preferable to the ones bedeviling the West as he exhorted policymakers to tackle the budget deficit, prevent a credit rating downgrade, and frame "stable and predictable" rules to attract overseas capital. "India is growing far slower than it could be for a variety of reasons related to politics and governance... But I think sacrificing some growth in the near term is a price worth paying for the higher level of public engagement and activism," he said in an exclusive 90-minute interview, his first globally since taking charge as Deutsche co-CEO last year.


Read : Full Interview


Jain, who was born and raised in India and is now a British citizen, said the country's true potential could be realised by supply-side reforms and more efficient targeting of subsidies. In any case, the problems India was grappling with were the opposite of what Western economies faced.

"I think most would rather have India's problems than the West's as it is far easier to solve these supply-side problems than overcome structural demand-side ones," said the alumnus of Delhi's Shri Ram College of Commerce.

Jain, who ran Europe's most successful investment bank that he built into a global bond trading powerhouse, praised the recent burst of reforms in India and noted that the country was at an inflection point and needed to avoid a ratings downgrade.

"A sovereign downgrade would be a negative development and would place further pressure on the rupee... The Indian economy's greatest problem is its budget deficit. The country's credibility with investors cannot remain high if the budget deficit and trade deficit together are running at 8-9%," he said.

I'd rather have India's problems than the west's: Anshu Jain, co-CEO, Deutsche Bank


The government is trying hard to repair its finances and its recent reforms burst has elicited a lot of positive commentary. The global investor outlook towards India is slowly turning positive - January has seen inflows of $2.3 billion into the markets - but experts warn against complacency.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, on a tour through Asia and Europe to woo investors, is trying hard to contain the deficit at the revised target of 5.3% of GDP. The current account deficit, a broad measure of trade in goods and services, hit a record high of 5.4% in the September quarter, a level not even seen during the peak of the balance of payments crisis of the early 1990s. The government this week raised import duties on gold to 6%.

Jain, who hosts Chidambaram in Frankfurt next week, said overseas capital was "useful and necessary" for India and urged stable policies to attract it. "On the regulatory side, India's FDI regime should be made stable and predictable. In fact, I would say the FDI regime is part of a broader set of issues related to improving the ease of doing business."

Keenly sought for his thoughts on the global economy, Jain said though the world economy had seen off the most acute phase of the crisis, helped by some unprecedented level of liquidity - $7 trillion since 2007 - infused by central banks, significant risks remained.

"The storm clouds have not parted completely and I still see significant issues to keep an eye on," Jain said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/i-think-most-would-rather-have-indias-problems-than-the-wests/articleshow/18157963.cms
His inter view to the today's Economic Times is great.
 
Report: Barclays may move hundreds of jobs to India


Barclays, a leading financial services giant, is planning to move hundreds of back-office jobs to India as part of cost-cutting measures.

With around 2,000 jobs on the line at its troubled investment banking unit here, Barclays is believed to have dispatched a team to recruit and train new staff in India to replace workers in both London and New York, according to The Independent.

It had sent out emails to staff at its investment bank on the planned job cuts earlier this week. Barclays employs around 9,000 people at its investment banking division in the UK.
It has not confirmed the exact number of jobs at risk but said that more details will be revealed next month. Those affected will be largely linked to back-office and support functions.

News of further offshoring and job losses could generate fresh controversy, particularly among workers’ unions, given that the roles slated to move to India will be primarily relatively modestly paid ones, the newspaper report said. “As part of our ongoing location strategy, we have been and will continue to move roles from one international location to another. This strategy will deliver improvements in our processes for the ultimate benefit of our clients,” a Barclays spokesman said.

Barclays is reviewing its operations in the light of recent scandals over the alleged fixing of inter-bank lending rate (Libor rates) and mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI) in the UK. In July, the bank was fined £290 million by the US and the UK regulators for attempting to manipulate the Libor rate.

The bank’s boss, Antony Jenkins, said last September that he would be quick and bold in making reforms at the bank and has been taking some tough measures. Last week, he told the bank’s 140,000 employees to sign up to a new code of conduct, or leave.

Report: Barclays may move hundreds of jobs to India
 
India ranks high on budget transparency
MUMBAI: India enjoys a high rating when it comes to budget transparency practices. It ranks 14th among the 100 countries that were surveyed. Its open budget index score of 68 out of 100 is much higher than the average score of 43 for all countries covered in the Global Open Budget Survey 2012.

The results of the survey were released on Wednesday by The International Budget Partnership (IBP). According to IBP, India's current score indicates that the government provides significant information on its budget and financial activities during the year, enabling Indian citizens to hold the government accountable for management of public money.

India continues to occupy the same rank as in 2010. However, its score, which is based on various parameters largely relating to availability of budget information, has increased slightly from 67 in 2010 to 68 in 2012, and is the highest in South Asia. The survey is carried out every two years, and in 2010, India had a rank of 20 with a score of 60. A score between 34 and 66 is regarded as moderate and anything above that is considered strong.

On the global level, the findings of the survey paint a bleak picture of budget transparency, participation and overall accountability. National budgets of 77 countries (which are home to half the world's population) fail to meet the basic standards of transparency. The governments of 21 countries do not even publish the executive budget proposal, which is the most critical document for understanding how the government plans to manage the country's finances. The worst performers include Bolivia, China, Equatorial Guinea, Qatar, newly democratic Myanmar and Zambia. Only six countries among those surveyed, New Zealand, South Africa, UK, Sweden, Norway and France, released extensive budget information.

While India's has achieved a good score, the Indian government has the potential to further expand budget transparency by introducing a number of measures, says the India-specific data released by the IBP. To improve budget transparency, the IBP suggests drafting and publishing a pre-budget statement. "A pre-budget statement is very much feasible and would help in getting information which can then be used to directly influence the actual budget. Introducing this will also substantially improve India's open budget index score," explains Ravi Duggal, India-based program officer, IBP.

India is identified as 'weak' when it comes to public participation in the budget process. Subrat Das, director, Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, the research agency which conducted the India-specific survey, says: "For the past few years, the finance minister has begun to meet not merely representatives from commerce and trade, but also select representatives from social sectors, but this process can be strengthened. Such meetings should take place in October-November, as by January, it is too late to influence expenditure proposals."
India ranks high on budget transparency - The Times of India

India ranks high on budget transparency
MUMBAI: India enjoys a high rating when it comes to budget transparency practices. It ranks 14th among the 100 countries that were surveyed. Its open budget index score of 68 out of 100 is much higher than the average score of 43 for all countries covered in the Global Open Budget Survey 2012.

The results of the survey were released on Wednesday by The International Budget Partnership (IBP). According to IBP, India's current score indicates that the government provides significant information on its budget and financial activities during the year, enabling Indian citizens to hold the government accountable for management of public money.

India continues to occupy the same rank as in 2010. However, its score, which is based on various parameters largely relating to availability of budget information, has increased slightly from 67 in 2010 to 68 in 2012, and is the highest in South Asia. The survey is carried out every two years, and in 2010, India had a rank of 20 with a score of 60. A score between 34 and 66 is regarded as moderate and anything above that is considered strong.

On the global level, the findings of the survey paint a bleak picture of budget transparency, participation and overall accountability. National budgets of 77 countries (which are home to half the world's population) fail to meet the basic standards of transparency. The governments of 21 countries do not even publish the executive budget proposal, which is the most critical document for understanding how the government plans to manage the country's finances. The worst performers include Bolivia, China, Equatorial Guinea, Qatar, newly democratic Myanmar and Zambia. Only six countries among those surveyed, New Zealand, South Africa, UK, Sweden, Norway and France, released extensive budget information.

While India's has achieved a good score, the Indian government has the potential to further expand budget transparency by introducing a number of measures, says the India-specific data released by the IBP. To improve budget transparency, the IBP suggests drafting and publishing a pre-budget statement. "A pre-budget statement is very much feasible and would help in getting information which can then be used to directly influence the actual budget. Introducing this will also substantially improve India's open budget index score," explains Ravi Duggal, India-based program officer, IBP.

India is identified as 'weak' when it comes to public participation in the budget process. Subrat Das, director, Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, the research agency which conducted the India-specific survey, says: "For the past few years, the finance minister has begun to meet not merely representatives from commerce and trade, but also select representatives from social sectors, but this process can be strengthened. Such meetings should take place in October-November, as by January, it is too late to influence expenditure proposals."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/India-ranks-high-on-budget-transparency/articleshow/18156776.cms
 
India's 5-year steel output 2nd highest in the world

India's 33 per cent growth in steel production in the last five years was second only to China among the top-five producing nations.

China's production grew by 39 per cent during 2008-2012, the latest World Steel Association (WSA) data has revealed.

India's production grew constantly in the last five years from 57.8 MT (metric tons) in 2008 to 63.5 MT in 2009, 69 MT in 2010, 73.6 MT in 2011 and 76.7 MT in 2012. China, which produces nearly half of world's steel, had output of 512.3 MT in 2008, 577.1 MT in 2009, 638.7 MT in 2010, 694.8 MT in 2011 and 716.5 MT in 2012.

World's steel production grew to 1,548 MT in 2012, up from 1,341 MT in 2008, recording a growth of 15 per cent.

Russia, which holds the fifth rank in the world order of steel production in 2012, had clocked a mere three per cent growth in output during the last five years.

In 2008, it had produced 68.5 MT and in 2012, it stood at 70.6 MT.

Japan and the US, which occupy the second and third ranks respectively since 2010, have, in fact, produced less steel in 2012 than what they had produced in 2008.

Japan's production fell to 107.2 MT in 2012 from 118.7 MT in 2008. Similarly, production in the US slipped to 88.6 MT in 2012 from 91.4 MT, the WSA data revealed.

India is projected to grab the second slot in the world of steel production within a year or two on new capacity expansions, mainly through the brownfield route.

The government expects the country's installed steel production capacity to go up to 200 MT by 2020 from around 90 MT now.

India's 5-year steel output 2nd highest in the world - The Times of India
 
Saudi petro giant, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, to set up centres in Bangalore, Shanghai - The Economic Times

DUBAI: A major Saudi petrochemical company has unveiled plans to launch four new state-of-the-art technology and innovation facilities in 2013, two of them in the emerging economies of India and China.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) will launch its new centres in Bangalore and Shanghai to host around 500 professionals, the company said in a statement.

Two other new centres will be based in Saudi Arabia itself and will take the total number of the company's research facilities around the world to 18.

The four new centres represent a strategic investment of around half a billion US dollars to continuously improve technology, applications and solutions and meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated marketplace, as well as address a wide variety of sustainability issues.

Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice Chairman and CEO, said by continuing to invest in technology and innovation, SABIC is driving ingenuity forward to meet specific needs of customers as well as society.

"These four new facilities will further empower our global technology and innovation centres to build on their innovative systems to develop new technologies, improve manufacturing processes, and contribute to a sustainable environment for our communities," Al-Mady said.

The Bangalore research centre is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2013.

It will deal with application development, strategic business research and corporate research and will focus primarily on diverse areas of research in chemistry, material science, process engineering, analytical and application technology.

Its aim is to support business as a strategic centre of excellence to cater to global and regional needs.

The centre in Shanghai will open in the third quarter of 2013. It will deal with application development, strategic business research and corporate research.
 
RBI cuts repo rate, CRR by 25 basis points

(Reuters) - The RBI reduced repo rate by a widely expected 25 basis points on Tuesday, taking comfort from cooling inflation as it made the first cut in nine months to support an economy headed for its slowest growth in a decade.
The Reserve Bank of India cut its key repo rate to 7.75 percent, as forecast by a Reuters poll.

The RBI unexpectedly also reduced the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the share of deposits banks must keep with the central bank by 25 bps to 4 percent, which will infuse an additional 180 billion rupees into the banking system.

The central bank said there was increasing likelihood of inflation remaining rangebound around current levels heading into 2013/14 fiscal year starting April.

"This provides space, albeit limited, for monetary policy to give greater emphasis to growth risks," the central bank said in its quarterly monetary policy review.

RBI cuts repo rate, CRR by 25 basis points | Reuters
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After 9 months, RBI has finally announced a Repo cut which could be the beginning of further cuts this year.

On the basis of current assessment and in line with the policy stance outlined in Section III, the Reserve Bank announces the following policy measures:

Repo Rate

It has been decided to:

Reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 8.0 per cent to 7.75 per cent with immediate effect.

Reverse Repo Rate

The reverse repo rate under the LAF, determined with a spread of 100 basis points below the repo rate, stands adjusted to 6.75 per cent with immediate effect.

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate

The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate, determined with a spread of 100 basis points above the repo rate, stands adjusted to 8.75 per cent with immediate effect.

Bank Rate

The Bank Rate stands adjusted to 8.75 per cent with immediate effect.

Cash Reserve Ratio

It has been decided to:

Reduce the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks by 25 basis points from 4.25 per cent to 4.0 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) effective the fortnight beginning February 9, 2013.

As a result of this reduction in the CRR, around Rs. 180 billion of primary liquidity will be injected into the banking system.
 
NEW DELHI: Australian energy major MetroCoal Ltd has approached NTPC for forming a joint venture for developing that country's biggest coal mine and ship the fuel for firing the state-run generation utility's power stations.

The offer has been conveyed to NTPC through PENTAQ Corporation, an Australian firm engaged in recycling energy and information technology waste. The initial offer proposes that NTPC invests in Bundi mines, owned by MetroCoal. Bundi is Australia's biggest coal project located in Queensland's Surat coal basin. Sources said the MetroCoal board has already passed a resolution with the condition that the proposed partner must also be an end-user. It has also made provisions to offer up to 50% stake in the Bundi project to the partner, who would share the coal output in proportion to the equity.

The Central Electricity Authority has (CEA) given the nod for NTPC to examine the PENTAQ offer and start due diligence. But NTPC executives played it cool, saying the offer was premature and there were too many issues with the project and forming a mining JV in Australia.

NTPC has a requirement of 165 million tonne of coal to run its power plants in a year. But supply has been an issue since state-run monopoly, Coal India Ltd (CIL), has failed to keep its commitment. Bottlenecks in rail transportation only add to NTPC's woes.

NTPC executives said the Bundi project was land locked and mining was expected only around 2015. Increasing environmental concerns among local population has made it difficult for companies to develop their projects. Mining and rail projects have particularly been facing local opposition.

NTPC plans to import 16 million tonnes of coal to bridge this gap in domestic supplies. It has already invited bids for importing seven million tonne of coal. The company imported over 12 million tonnes of coal in the last financial year.

MetroCoal expects to start underground development work in 2015, with long wall production following in 2017. The seams would be mined underground utilizing a modern high productivity long wall techniques producing about 5 million tonnes per year of medium ash, low sulphur thermal coal suitable for running power plants.


Oz energy major offers NTPC mining joint venture - The Times of India
 
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India’s merchandise exports rose for the first time in nine months in January ‘13 following a recovery in engineering and gems and jewellery shipments. A look at the top 10 exported commodities from India during 2010-11.

1. Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation including products like coal and oil accounted for 16.92% of the total percentage share of India’s exports of top ten commodities during 2010-11.

2. Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semiprecious stones, and jewelery clad with precious metals and also coins accounted for 15.95% of total exports.

3. Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and their parts and accessories accounted for 4.5%

4. Electrical machinery and their equipment and parts including products like televisons and sound recorders had a total share of 4.31% of the export basket.

5. Exports of Iron and steel accounted for 3.76% of the total 2010-11 exports.

6. Organic chemicals like fertilizers and similar products made up 3.64% of India’s exports

7. Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances constituted 3.57% of India’s total exports.

8. Copper and its products accounted for 3.23% of the 2010-11 export figure

9. Products made of iron and steel accounted for 3.05% of India’s total exports.

10. Cotton exports accounted for 2.67%.

(All data from the National Centre for Trade Information)

India’s top 10 exported commodities - Livemint
 
India’s merchandise exports rose for the first time in nine months in January ‘13 following a recovery in engineering and gems and jewellery shipments. A look at the top 10 exported commodities from India during 2010-11.

1. Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation including products like coal and oil accounted for 16.92% of the total percentage share of India’s exports of top ten commodities during 2010-11.

2. Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semiprecious stones, and jewelery clad with precious metals and also coins accounted for 15.95% of total exports.

3. Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and their parts and accessories accounted for 4.5%

4. Electrical machinery and their equipment and parts including products like televisons and sound recorders had a total share of 4.31% of the export basket.

5. Exports of Iron and steel accounted for 3.76% of the total 2010-11 exports.

6. Organic chemicals like fertilizers and similar products made up 3.64% of India’s exports

7. Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances constituted 3.57% of India’s total exports.

8. Copper and its products accounted for 3.23% of the 2010-11 export figure

9. Products made of iron and steel accounted for 3.05% of India’s total exports.

10. Cotton exports accounted for 2.67%.

(All data from the National Centre for Trade Information)

India’s top 10 exported commodities - Livemint

To whom ?????
 
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