Indian Economy-News & Updates

[RPK]

Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka Health Minister seeks India\'s help on pharma needs


* Sri Lanka Health Minister seeks India's help on pharma needs
Wed, Aug 3, 2011, 09:22 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Aug 03, New Delhi: Sri Lanka's Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena has sought India's help in addressing the island's health sector needs when he called on India's Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The Minister who is visiting India has asked the Indian Minister for advice and guidance in procurement procedures of medical equipment, devices and medicines, mostly generic drugs for the country's public health program, a release form the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

In addition, Minister Sirisena has also asked for further help in training of medical and paramedical personnel in short term skill up-gradation and in long term degree courses.

Sri Lanka procures nearly 80 percent of its drugs from Indian pharma companies.

The Indian Minister has assured full assistance to Sri Lanka in all issues raised by Minister Sirisena.

The two ministers have recalled the close historical and cultural ties existing between the two countries and emphasized the need to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the health sector.

The Indian Minister highlighted that his government has supplied medical equipment for Jaffna Teaching Hospital in January 2011 and is also supplying medical equipment to two General Hospitals in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.

India is also helping with construction of a 150 bed base hospital at Dickoya in Hatton which started in March 2011, Azad noted.

In addition, government of India has also announced a gift of Bhabha Radiotherapy Machine to Sri Lanka and later in the year India will set up a month long limb re-fitment camp (Jaipur foot) in Jaffna, the Minister has informed his Sri Lankan counterpart.

 

[SpArK]

India to post high growth despite weak global sentiment: FM - PTI -

 

[sputnik]

Goldman Sachs upgrades India to ‘marketweight’ from underweight: http://t.co/84Df9cV

 

[sputnik]

India's forex reserves at new high of US$319bn India's forex reserves at new high of $319 bn

 

[Patrician]

India adds 11.4 mln mobile users in June;total at 852 mln

TABLE-India adds 11.4 mln mobile users in June;total at 852 mln | Reuters

 

[Nitin Goyal]

FDI into India shoots up 310% to record $5.65 bn in June


NEW DELHI: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India saw a whopping 310 per cent increase in June to $5.65 billion, the highest monthly inflow in the last 11 financial years, indicating the revival of investor confidence in the Indian economy.

In June, 2010, FDI inflows into the country amounted to USD 1.38 billion.

FDI flows were also very high in May, 2011, with the country receiving foreign investment worth USD 4.66 billion, a jump of 111 per cent vis-a-vis the same period last year.

In the April-June period of the current fiscal, FDI went up by a massive 133 per cent to USD 13.44 billion from USD 5.77 billion in the corresponding period last year.

"The figures indicate that the trend of high FDI equity inflows since the beginning of the present financial year is being maintained," a statement from the Commerce and Industry Ministry said today.

During the first six months of the 2011 calendar year, FDI increased by 57 per cent year-on-year to USD 16.83 billion, it said.

In the previous fiscal, equity inflows through the FDI route dipped 25 per cent amid the uncertain global situation following the recession of 2008.

In 2010-11, FDI into India declined to USD 19.43 billion from USD 25.6 billion in 2009-10. In 2008-09, FDI stood at USD 27.3 billion.

FDI into India shoots up 310% to record $5.65 bn in June - The Economic Times

 

[SpArK]

US ratings downgrade: IT sector could face difficult times - The Times of India

 

[SpArK]

India's forex reserves at new high of $319 bn

After topping pre-crisis levels, India’s foreign exchange reserves have posted a new high of $319 billion as on July 29, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). While foreign currency assets have grown in tandem, appreciation in gold reserves has also contributed.


“Valuation gains, on both euro and gold, seem to be the primary driver for the increase in the foreign exchange reserves,” said Samiran Chakraborty, regional head of research (India), Standard Chartered Bank. In an uncertain global environment, rising foreign exchange reserves should provide some comfort to RBI, he added.

India’s gold reserves are at an all-time high of $25,349 million as on July 29. Foreign currency assets are at $286 billion, still lower than the high of $306 billion two years ago.

The euro was at 1.4212 against the dollar on Friday as compared to 1.5991 as on April 22, 2008, and 1.5991 as on June 7, 2010. The dollar index was at 74.72 on Friday as compared to 89.11 as on March 5, 2009, and 71.33 as on April 22, 2008.

“There hasn’t been much accretion in foreign currency assets which is evident in the fact that RBI hasn’t intervened in the exchange market lately,” said A Prasanna, economist, ICICI Securities Primary Dealership.

RBI’s intervention in the foreign exchange market has been only four times since April 2010. Prasanna adds that coupon inflows on investments already made could also be one of the contributing factors.

Going forward, RBI’s investments may suffer due to low interest rates in the global markets. Its deputy governor

K C Chakrabarty on Friday said the central bank would diversify its foreign exchange reserves to prevent any devaluation of its dollar assets. It was not easy to move away from investing in US Treasury, he said.

As on July 29, the special drawing rights were down by $16 million to $4.6 billion over a week and the reserve position in the International Monetary Fund also decreased by $10 million to $3 billion in the same period.

 

[SpArK]

Reliance Power to set up 200 mw wind power project for Rs 1,500 crore in Maharashtra - The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Reliance Power plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore to develop a 200 mw wind power project at Vashpet in Maharashtra, making it the largest such investment in India by any power generation company at a single location.

The project will be developed under a special purpose vehicle of R-Power and can be scaled up to 400 mw. Power generated from the project will be wheeled for distribution in Mumbai by Reliance Infrastructure.

The project is expected to be commissioned in phases and reach the full capacity of 200 mw by Sepember 2012. R-Power has entered into a long-term power purchase agreement with R-Infra at the tariff declared by Maharashtra State Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), which is Rs 5.37 per unit.

 

[RPK]

Business Line : Industry & Economy / Info-tech : Chennai facility set to become Nokia

Chennai facility set to become Nokia’s biggest in Asia


New Delhi, August 9:

In the next one year, the Chennai (Oragadam) centre of Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) could be the company's biggest manufacturing hub in Asia, overtaking the China facility, according to a senior company official.

As of now, the Chinese facility is bigger in size but going by the expansion here, Chennai could possibly be the biggest in a year or so, said Mr Herbert Merz, Global Head of operations and Executive Board Member, Nokia Siemens Networks, a €12.7-billion telecom infrastructure manufacturer. However, both the Chennai and China units manufacture different products, he said.

Investing More

A point to prove on the growth was the fact that NSN, which is a 50:50 joint venture that combined Nokia's network business group and the carrier-related businesses of Siemens Communications, has invested more than its committed amount while commissioning the Oragadam plant in 2007.

The company then committed the Tamil Nadu Government that its investment in the Oragadam plant will be nearly $70 million and generate employment to around 500 people in three years. However, it has already invested $75 million in two-and-half years and provided employment to 1,250 people, Mr Merz told newspersons.

4th Generation mobile

Meanwhile, the company has expanded its Chennai facility to meet local and global demand. With a ‘remarkable' GSM footprint; a rapidly growing 3G market and the expected rollout of TD-LTE (4th generation mobile data connection), there is a strong demand for telecom equipment.

The facility will be expanded to 55,000 sq m from the present 35,000 and the number of product lines increased to 33 from 28.

Scope for more exports

The expansion will also increase exports from the plant. At present, the export is 37 per cent of the total production of 8.6 lakh units. Anything beyond the requirement for the domestic market would be exported, said Mr Merz without giving any projections. From Chennai plant, the company's products are exported to the US, Europe and also to some of the Asian countries, he said.

The Indian market for telecom infrastructure equipment was around Rs 19,000 crore of which NSN has a 30 per cent market, said Mr Ashish Chowdhary, Head of India and customer operations East, NSN, quoting an external agency. Serving close to 260 million Indian subscribers on its networks, NSN's clients include Aircel, Bharti, Defence, Idea, Railways, he said.

The expansion will enable the company to manufacture and distribute new ‘multi radio and LTE products, he said.

 

[Night_Raven]

New $3bn window for foreign investors in infra funding

The Securities and Exchange Board of India and the government on Tuesday opened a fresh $3 billion (around Rs 14,000 crore) window for foreign investors to invest in debt instruments issued by domestic infrastructure companies.

The foreign investors, who comply with know-your-customer (KYC) norms, would be eligible to invest through mutual funds, the finance ministry said. The new facility is in addition to a similar benefit available to foreign investors to invest in the equities, which was announced by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the budget.

Together, foreign investors can now invest up to $13 billion (around Rs 58,000 crore) directly in Indian markets using the mutual fund route. Earlier, their investment was limited to foreign institutional investors but the government expanded the ambit to bring about more stability in the flows as investment from retail investors are seen to be more stable than portfolio, often called hot money.

The move comes at a time when the global markets are nervous following the US rating downgrade and the sovereign debt problems in Europe, which has raised fears of a slowdown in India and possible withdrawal of funds by FIIs. Finance ministry officials said the move to expand the ambit of the window was taken following recommendations made by the country's top industrialists during their meeting with Mukherjee on August 1.

Both the Reserve Bank of India and Sebi issued the required notifications. Sebi said that qualified financial investors (QFI) - which can include individuals, groups or associations, resident in a foreign country that has complied with the KYC norms - can buy units of equity or debt funds in the primary market, but cannot trade in the secondary market.

Though the limit for equities is $10 billion, when cumulative QFI investment reaches $8 billion (around Rs 36,000 crore) in equity schemes, Sebi would auction the remaining limit to foreign investors who can then buy the units from funds of their choice. A similar process will be followed when the investment in debt hits $2.5 billion (around Rs 11,000 crore). The QFI limit for debt will be within the overall ceiling of $25 billion (nearly Rs 1.13 lakh crore), including FIIs, set by the RBI in corporate debt issued by infrastructure companies.

New $3bn window for foreign investors in infra funding - The Times of India

 

[Maritimer]

India July Exports Rise 82%

NEW DELHI -- India's merchandise exports grew nearly 82% in July from a year earlier, totaling $29.3 billion, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said Thursday. Imports in the just-ended month rose 51.5% from a year earlier to $40.4 billion, which widened the trade deficit to $11.1 billion from $7.66 billion in June. Exports in the April-July period grew 54% from a year earlier to $108.3 billion, Mr. Khullar said at a news conference.

Source: Wall Street Journal

 

[RPK]

Business Line : Features / Life : Small country thinks big and bright


The recent visit of the Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor attracted interest among Indian businessmen, mainly because of the open invitation for Indian investment in Slovenia, which is facing a cash crunch due to heavy fiscal deficits and the Euro crisis. But few may have realised that Slovenia also presents immense opportunities thanks to its highly innovative industries and R&D infrastructure.

On my recent visit to Slovenia, Natasha Turk, regional director of the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, showed me a comprehensive handbook she had written on Indian industry that had on its cover a photo of the Tata Nano representing Indian manufacturing innovation. I soon discovered that there are many such “Nanos” to be found in the compact and efficient factories of Slovenia.

With a little more than 22 lakh people, the country relied on its companies to be innovative, exported-oriented and internationally competitive. For instance, its home appliances manufacturer, Gorenje, is famous for offbeat product design. It works with world-famous designers such as Swarovski, Pininfarina, Karim Rashid and Ora-Ïto — which accounts for some of its great-looking products such as the smart fridge that connects with the Internet. Today, Gorenje products are sold in 70 countries.

Slovenia is marching ahead in electronics, biotechnology and pharmaceutical R&D. In the highly-competitive telecommunication technology market, Iskratel stood firm with solutions based on its own R&D. Even today, its products and solutions for telecom, mobile and digital broadband sectors are doing well in East European markets, including Russia, and is competing head-on with much bigger American and European players.
Globally competitive

The focus on export also kept Slovenian companies on their toes and competitive. Krka Pharmaceutical is an internationally recognised company with sales of €951 million, 89 per cent of which comes from outside Slovenia. Litostoj, a turbine manufacturer for small hydroelectric power projects, is equally successful in Europe and elsewhere in the world, including India. Elan Skupkina, world-famous ski manufacturer, comes up with championship winning ski designs almost every year.

In recent years, Slovenian transport companies have been in focus. Two years ago, the Greenline Boat manufacturer launched the solar-power assisted Greenline Hybrid boats, which have proven to be both reliable and cost-effective. The patented super-displacement low-drag hull uses much less energy to move through water at speeds of up to 15 knots. Besides reducing fuel consumption, it allows efficient electric propulsion through power supplied by battery and solar energy.

The success story of the Akrapovic Exhaust Systems rests on a racer. Slovenian racer Igor Akrapovic established the “Skorpion in Scorpion” in 1990 after he noticed during his racing career the absence of high-quality exhaust systems in the market. Those available either fell short on quality or were prohibitively expensive. Drawing from his experience in motorcycle tuning, he developed a relatively lower-cost, high-performance exhaust system, which fetched him many international awards. Today his exhausts power many leading racing motorcycle brands and win hundreds of races worldwide. There is scope for adapting and mass producing the Akrapovic exhaust design in India.
Flying high

But in terms of sheer creativity and commercial success, it is the Pipistrel that flies high. Using path-breaking concepts in aircraft design, the company's light airplane has catapulted it to dizzying heights of success. The aircraft was the brainchild of Ivo Boscarol, who integrated the principles of glider and micro-light aircraft to design fliers that consume nearly 40 per cent less fuel, take-off and land at very short grassy runways, fly non-stop for 1,000 km and are quite easy to maintain. These planes use sophisticated electronic control systems and provide unprecedented levels of safety including manoeuvring at slow speed, gliding long distances without engine power and, in case of an accident, a parachute operated through a hand lever that allows both the passenger and plane to land safely. The ex-factory cost of this two-seater light aircraft starts from €55,000 and is comparable to the price of a decent high-end car. The company won two NASA Centennial Challenge Awards in 2007 and 2008 respectively for innovative aircraft design. Hundreds of its planes have been sold worldwide. Pipistrel is now readying for the commercial launch of its four-seater light aircraft, Pipistrel Panthera, this October.

A visit to its factory was a refreshing lesson in modern and efficient management. Completely green and self-sufficient in energy, each of its employees including Boscarol is either a specialist or a multi-tasker. The Chairman also carries the card of the General Manager — Marketing and he himself brought coffee for the visiting Indian delegates. During his India visit, the Slovenian Prime Minister was keen on initially sales of the Pipistrel light aircraft to the Indian Air Force and other Defence and civilian establishments.

With its high literacy levels and impeccable R&D infrastructure, Slovenia promises to deliver to those seeking path-breaking solutions.

 

[SpArK]

The Hindu : Business News : Exports zoom to $29 billion in July

 

[Patrician]

FDI inflows surge by 54 per cent in Jan-June 2011 - The Economic Times