S&P - India Rating may shift towards negative
MUMBAI: India is facing challenges to keep its stable rating outlook with high inflation, weak fiscal position and slower economic growth weighing, according to Standard & Poor’s rating service.
“The balance of risk factors for the sovereign credit rating may be shifting slightly toward the negative,” S&P, which has an investment grade BBB rating with a stable outlook on India, said in a report. – Reuters
S&P: India faces rating challenges
^^ good joke...
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Government plans five more National Manufacturing Investment Zones: Talleen Kumar
New Delhi: Government will facilitate towards making India as the world’s manufacturing hub by shortly notifying the National Manufacturing Investment Zone, said Mr Talleen Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India at the 4th Learning Convention of Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing(VLFM) organised by Confederation of Indian Industry jointly with National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, government of India and VLFM and JICA.
“Seven such NMIZs are ready for implementation in the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor and five more are proposed in different parts of the country,” Mr Talleen Kumar said.
National Manufacturing Investment Zones will be spread over 5,000 hectares each with world class infrastructure and clean technologies and skill development institutes. In dynamic global environment, India suffers from power and transport infrastructure gaps, making its products less competitive and these zones will help overcome these shortcomings, Talleen Kumar said.
Visionary Leader For Manufacturing (VLFM) along with government can play a key role in taking India to the next growth cycle. By looking at the fragile economic environment globally, companies will need to be continuously innovating, Mr Tallen Kumar said.
”The government has set a target of 25% share of GDP growth from manufacturing by 2022 and 100 million additional jobs to make growth inclusive,” he said referring to manufacturing being made the engine of growth.
Speaking at the CII’s VLFM session, Mr Tamaki Tsukada, Minister (Economic Development)
Embassy of Japan in India, said VLFM launched in 2006, has gone a long way with support and sponsorship of the government of Japan. On this strength of higher trust between two countries, VLFM will continue to evolve and succeed, Mr Tsukada said.
“Official support from government of Japan is technically set to end by March 2013. Meanwhile we know there is a strong request from India side to continue with JICA support. We will consider how best government of Japan can play a role that will stand us in good stead in the post 2013 phase,” Mr Tsukada said.
Stating that India and Japan have declared themselves as strategic partner, Mr Tsukada said “India is the only country with which Japan exchanges annual mutual visits of the two Prime Ministers.”
Setting the tone, Mr Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman, VLFM & Chairman & Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd expressed his gratitude for the highest level of commitment demonstrated by Professor Shoji Shiba for relentlessly striving for India’s manufacturing excellence.
Expressing CII’s gratitude to the Prime Minister of Japan and Embassy of Japan, Mr Godrej explained the objective of VLFM towards building a strong community and fostering innovative learning which will create ideas and project which will benefit the community at large.
In recent India visit by Japan’s Prime Minister Noda at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister, the visiting Prime Minister had said, “Professor Shiba played a leadership role from the planning stage in the program (VLFM) aimed at fostering senior managers in the Indian manufacturing sector.”
Professor Shiba, who was recently conferred with Padma Shri awards by the Indian government, believes in working not just for personal gain or for the profit of one company, but rather for the greater cause of society as whole. The professor made this belief a framework for the VLFM program.
Government plans five more National Manufacturing Investment Zones: Talleen Kumar, Orissa Business News
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Ssangyong may make India manufacturing base
Ssangyong Motor Company, now owned by Mahindra and Mahindra, is considering making India a manufacturing base for its vehicles. It is planning to invest USD 1.2 billion into four new products (including variants) that will launch over the next five years.
It is especially interested in the sub-continent as a manufacturing hub for smaller vehicles, namely the subcompact SUV segment which seems to be the next frontier for a whole lot of manufacturers, including Ford with its EcoSport and Maruti Suzuki, who also showcased its XA-Alpha concept at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo just like Ford did. The new, smaller, SUVs are being developed jointly with Mahindra so it will make sense to set up a manufacturing base here.
Other Korean manufacturers like Hyundai use India as a manufacturing and exporting base with great success, so it is certainly a good idea to set up a manufacturing base in the country. There are just two questions that arise about this move, however: where will the manufacturing base be set up? Mahindra has just invested in a new plant in Tamil Nadu after the Maharashtra government suddenly did an about-face and refused to refund the taxes it was supposed to as an incentive for the manufacturer to set up in the state. The lion's share of its car
manufacturing still occurs in Nashik, so it is unclear as to where it will set up its base. The other concern is of quality: even Hyundai exports only small cars from India as it is difficult to get world-class quality from an Indian manufacturing base.
Mahindra has already started talks with Indian vendors to manufacture some parts for the Korando C and Rexton, which will launch sometime this year. If they manage to match the required quality, we don't see why Ssangyong shouldn't use India as a low-cost manufacturing base for its small vehicles.
Ssangyong may make India manufacturing base | Latest Autos & Car News | OnCars.in