Indian Economy-News & Updates

[lemurian]

Nice, are these the ones from Dalian?

I think these are BEML rakes. This is Line 2. Dalian will be running on Line 1.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...rake-arrives-in-city/articleshow/67204152.cms

 

[lemurian]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Suzuki-Motor-to-spend-550m-on-new-Indian-plant

Suzuki Motor to spend $550m on new Indian plant
Japanese automaker aims to triple sales at its biggest market by 2030

TOKYO -- Suzuki Motor revealed Friday that it will construct a 60 billion yen ($547 million) plant in India that will boost capacity by double digits in the Japanese automaker's biggest market.

The plant will be the third operated by wholly-owned subsidiary Suzuki Motor Gujarat. It is slated to open in 2020 with a planned output capacity of 250,000 four-wheel vehicles a year. The finished products will not only be sold in India, but exported to South Africa and other countries.

The Japanese company also holds a 56.2% stake in local unit Maruti Suzuki India, which has an annual production capability of 1.5 million units. With the new factory, Suzuki's overall capacity in India will jump 13% to 2.25 million.

Suzuki is currently the best-selling automaker in India, controlling 50% of the market. Its new unit sales climbed 9% there to 1.75 million autos last year. Suzuki projects the Indian market will expand to roughly 10 million vehicles by 2030, which would equate to 5 million vehicles for the automaker if it maintains its share. The construction of the new plant is geared to help meet that demand.

The company also announced Friday that it has completed construction of Suzuki Motor Gujarat's second plant, which exclusively makes the Swift subcompact, as well as the opening of a powertrain plant. Its first plant, which opened in February 2017, makes the Baleno subcompact along with the Swift. The third facility will mark a total of 220 billion yen invested in India since Suzuki Motor Gujarat was established in 2014.

 

[lemurian]

https://www.thehindubusinessline.co...technology-centre-in-pune/article26037989.ece

Skoda, Volkswagen inaugurate new technology centre in Pune

Czech car maker Skoda Auto and Volkswagen Group India on Saturday inaugurated a new Technology Centre at its Chakan manufacturing plant here as part of its 2.0 India project. Skoda and Volkswagen group India are jointly investing €250 million (around Rs 2000 crore) in the research and development project in India. In India, Volkswagen group is led by Skoda.

The opening ceremony of the new technology centre, which will employ 250 engineers and develop India-specific vehicles, was attended by the Prime Minister of Czech Republic Andrej Babis as well as Christian Strube, member of the board of management for technical development, Skoda Auto and Gurpratap Boparai, head of the Volkswagen Group India. The India 2.0 project includes enhancing capacities at the group’s two plants at Aurangabad and Pune. Products developed under the INDIA 2.0 project will achieve up to 95 per cent localisation.

“I am delighted that Skoda Auto is expanding its presence and involvement in India with such significant investments and promising projects. The fact that Skoda is creating great opportunities for the high potential market here in India demonstrates the long-term strategy of the brand,” Babis said at the inaugural ceremony. The opening of the technology centre in Chakan represents the first major step in implementing the ‘India 2.0’ project. The Indian engineers will be responsible for project management, electronics, infotainment, body design, interior, chassis and complete vehicle.

“By opening the technology centre, we underline our determination to make the India 2.0 project a success. India has excellent universities and highly qualified staff; this state-of-the-art facility will help us to unlock that huge potential especially with regard to design and development. Local development is the key to success, Strube said.

Stating that the new centre will lay the foundation for the development of products that are specially designed for Indian market, Boparai said, “We expect to roll out the first products, for both the Skoda as well Volkswagen brands, by 2020- 21; starting with a mid-sized SUV based on MQB A0 IN platform.”

 

[anant_s]

Dalian?

Yes!

 

[kmc_chacko]

India likely to surpass UK in the world's largest economy rankings: PwC

India is likely to surpass the United Kingdom in the world's largest economy rankings in 2019, according to a report by global consultancy firm PwC. As per the report, while the UK and France have regularly switched places owing to similar levels of development and roughly equal populations, India's climb up the rankings is likely to be permanent.

PwC's Global Economy Watch report projects real GDP growth of 1.6 per cent for the UK, 1.7 per cent for France and 7.6 per cent for India in 2019.

"India and France are likely to surpass the UK in the world's largest economy rankings in 2019, knocking it from fifth to seventh place in the global table," the report said.

According to World Bank data, India became the world's sixth largest economy in 2017 surpassing France and was likely to go past the UK which stood at the fifth position.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...economy-rankings-pwc/articleshow/67609647.cms

 

[lemurian]

https://www.worldsteel.org/media-centre/blog/2019/india-boost-demand-for-steel.html

India to significantly boost demand for steel

The January to November crude steel production statistics released by worldsteel on 20 December 2018 show that India has become the second largest steel producer in the world, overtaking Japan for the second month in a row, with a growth rate of 4.9%.

The growth in steel production is supported by fast-growing steel demand. According to worldsteel’s October Short Range Outlook, it is likely that India will also become #2 in steel use by the end of 2019 as its steel demand is expected to grow by 7.3%.

The Indian steel industry, after recovering from the twin shocks of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform, is one of the few bright spots for the world’s steel industry in what is forecasted to be a lower growth era.

What is driving India’s steel demand?
India’s apparent steel use per capita for finished steel products stood at 66.2 kg, way below the world average of 212.3 kg in 2017, which suggests that India has a huge unrealised potential for steel demand growth.

Recently, India has been trying to unleash this through an extensive reform agenda to clear institutional bottlenecks. Also, there is an ongoing push for infrastructure development.

These factors, along with the favourable demographics, are improving the macroeconomic fundamentals, which translate into sustained growth in steel use. A worldsteel study of India, conducted in collaboration with the Indian Steel Association and the support of Indian member companies, identifies the construction sector as a pan-India steel demand driver on the back of strong infrastructure development and housing demand, especially affordable housing.

Projects like industrial corridors (connecting existing industrial cities and develop manufacturing sectors) and Sagarmala (connecting states through waterways) will increase India’s connectivity, reducing logistical costs of transportation across Indian states.

The Smart Cities initiatives will further boost urban infrastructure investment. There are currently 99 smart cities planned across India.The outlook for India’s manufacturing sector, which has been lagging behind the service sector as a growth driver, should improve.

Firstly, the Make in India initiative, which aims to transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub, will support the further development of steel using sectors along the industrial and freight corridors.

Secondly, many states are expected to develop automotive and ancillary industries, to be a global auto hub for small cars with a focus on exports. Lastly, some states are also expected to strengthen their mechanical machinery sector.

All these factors point to a high potential for steel demand growth in India, but how fast the potential can be realised will depend upon whether India can successfully implement both its reform agenda and infrastructure plans.

 

[lemurian]

https://www.cnbctv18.com/economy/da...market-for-global-ceos-pwc-survey-2030271.htm

Davos 2019: India 4th most attractive investment market for global CEOs, says PwC survey

CEOs' confidence in global economic growth has dipped dramatically by a record jump in pessimism but India has emerged as 'the rising star' by surpassing the UK to become fourth most attractive destination, a PwC survey said on Monday.

Released on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, the survey also showed that China's popularity was falling among global CEOs but remained second most attractive after the US. However, both the countries saw their attractiveness dip sharply.

The survey of more than 1,300 CEOs in 91 countries saw India's popularity falling marginally from 9 per cent to 8 percent.

The US topped with 27 percent (down from 46 percent last year), followed by China with 24 percent (down from 33 percent) and Germany at 13 percent (down from 20 percent).

However, 15 percent CEOs said, "they don't know" which was the market outside their home territory was the most attractive one for investment (up from 8 per cent last year). This was only next to the US and China and higher than the percentage of CEOs naming India or Germany as the most attractive destination.

The percentage of CEOs saying there is "no other territory" also jumped sharply from 1 percent to 8 percent.

"India is the rising star on the list of most attractive investment markets despite a slightly lower share of the votes," PwC said, adding it surpassed Japan last year and now it has overtaken the UK, which suffers from continuing uncertainty regarding Brexit.

It also said that India has always been the most buoyant territory in terms of CEO revenue confidence.

On overall confidence, the survey said nearly 30 per cent of business leaders believe global economic growth would decline in the next 12 months, approximately six times the level of 5 per cent last year to make it a record jump in pessimism.

This is in sharp contrast to a record jump on optimism about global economic growth from 29 per cent to 57 per cent last year. This has now fallen to 42 per cent.

North American CEOs saw the biggest dip in optimism.

PwC Global Chairman Bob Moritz said the CEOs' views of the global economy mirror the major economic outlooks being adjusted downward.

With the rise of trade tensions and protectionism, it stands to reason that confidence is waning, he said while releasing the survey.

Confidence in short term revenue growth has also fallen sharply with only 35 percent saying they are very confident of their own company's growth prospects over the next 12 months.

The survey also found that 85 percent of CEOs believe that Artificial Intelligence would dramatically change their business over the next five years. Nearly two-third view AI as something that would have a larger impact than the Internet.

 

[lemurian]

https://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/report-gift-city-third-most-promising-ifsc-globally-2709619
GIFT City third most promising IFSC globally

Gujarat International Finance-Tec City (GIFT City) has been ranked as third most promising financial services centre globally, in a half-yearly report by The China Development Institute (CDI) in Shenzhen and Z/Yen Partners in London. Proposed unified regulator for GIFT City will also become a reality in about six months, said a top GIFT official.

Ajay Pandey, Group CEO of GIFT said the ranking will build confidence in investors for setting up operations in GIFT International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). GIFT IFSC made a debut in the main index of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI). It ranked 77 in a list of 100 global financial centres and third in the list of 15 most significant centres. The rank takes into consideration five major factors namely business environment, human capital, reputation, infrastructure and financial sector development.

 

[lemurian]

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/i...a-line-10-things-you-should-know-3430821.html
First look at Noida Metro Aqua Line

The 29.8 km elevated Noida-Greater Noida Metro link, popularly known as the Aqua Line, will be inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on January 25. (Image: Vandana Ramnani/Moneycontrol)

The Aqua Line has 21 stations – 15 in Noida and 6 in Greater Noida. (Image: Vandana Ramnani/Moneycontrol)

The trains can clock up to 80 kmph and have an average speed of 37.5 kmph. (Image: Vandana Ramnani/Moneycontrol)

The minimum fare has been fixed at Rs 9, while the maximum is Rs 50. (Image: Vandana Ramnani/Moneycontrol)

The metro will have a separate compartment for women. Seats for ladies, elderly and differently abled will be colour coded. Children below 3 ft in height will be allowed to ride the metro for free. (Image: Vandana Ramnani/Moneycontrol)

All stations will be operational at one go, however stations such as Sector 146 and Sector 149 have been planned for future requirements. (Image: Vandana Ramnani/Moneycontrol)

Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) had invited bids from companies to sell naming rights of all 21 stations to generate revenue. (Image: Vandana Ramnani/Moneycontrol)

Currently, the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro and the Aqua Line are not connected. However, Sector 52 station of the Blue Line is 200 metres away from Sector 51 station of the Aqua Line. (Image: Vandana Ramnani/Moneycontrol)

DMRC, which operates Delhi Metro, will assist the NMRC to run the Aqua Line for one year. (Image: Vandana Ramnani/Moneycontrol)

Construction of the Aqua Line started in May 2015 and operations were scheduled to commence in November 2018. The NMRC owns the Rs 5,503 crore project. (Image: Vandana Ramnani/Moneycontrol)

 

[RPK]

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cit...ted-during-global-investors-meet-1929011.html
Ford Global Centre in Chennai inaugurated during Global Investors Meet
CHENNAI: Ford Motors’ new global technology and business centre, which has come up in Chennai at 1,300 crore, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at the inaugural session of the Global Investors Meet here on Wednesday.

The state-of-the-art technology and international standards have been used in construction of the centre. It is the second largest facility of the firm outside the USA, its global headquarters.

Managing director of Ford Motor India Michael Brielmaier was also present on the occasion. Participating in one of the sessions at the GIM on automobiles, Michael said the company has its presence in the State primarily because of the good talent pool and infrastructure available in Tamil Nadu. “The new centre will leverage all our research work.”
The technology and business centre here will provide support services for the parent offices worldwide. The centre will serve as a hub for research, product designing and development, mobility solutions and business services. The new centre will give a major boost to the company’s product development network. Ford got the Tamil Nadu government’s approval in 2016 to set up a global technology and business centre under the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd’s (ELCOT) special economic zone (SEZ) at Sholinganallur. The new centre is spread across 28 acres.

 

[lemurian]

https://www.gizbot.com/news/oppo-invest-rs-3-500-crores-manufacturing-cluster-057118.html
Oppo to invest Rs 3,500 crores in manufacturing cluster

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo is setting up a Greenfield Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) in Greater Noida to manufacture electronics and support accessories locally in India. The project is currently expected to be completed over a period of 18 months.

Tasleem Arif, Vice President, and R&D Head, OPPO India said, "The EMC in Greater Noida will help us implement innovative and exciting technologies in future products that we introduce in India as well as help us build a local ecosystem for smartphone devices. As India is an extremely important market for us, we aim to drive innovation locally through our industrial parks and R&D centers so that we can deliver an insightful, revolutionary and seamless smartphone experience for our consumers. We are excited about this partnership with some of the leading global electronic manufacturers and look forward to working closely with all these companies while also creating job opportunities for many in the state."

The project is being set up by TEGNA Electronics Private Limited (TEGNA), an SPV of Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA), along with OPPO and a few Indian companies. The EMC will facilitate a common platform for existing electronic manufacturers and exporters to come together and establish an integrated hub for manufacturing electronics and hardware - primarily focused on smartphones.

The Cluster houses facilities like tool room, R&D lab for manufacturing electronic products along with other manufacturing and support services. It will house some of the global leaders in manufacturing of electronics and support accessories. The EMC will also generate huge employment opportunities in the state, generating direct employment for around 25,000 - 30,000 persons.

 

[lemurian]

http://www.uniindia.com/india-impro...parency-international/world/news/1482977.html

India improves its corruption index rank from 81 to 78 : Transparency International

Berlin, Jan 29 (UNI)
India had improved its 2018 corruption index rank according to the latest report published by the Transparency international on Tuesday. The report also points out decline in the US and China rankings.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which is published annually by Transparency International released its 2018 report comprising of 180 countries across the world.The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. More than two-thirds of countries score below 50 on this year’s CPI, with an average score of just 43. India scored marginal improvement from last year score. It got 41 CPI score in 2018 compared to 40 in 2017.

 

[Nilgiri]

http://www.uniindia.com/india-impro...parency-international/world/news/1482977.html

India improves its corruption index rank from 81 to 78 : Transparency International

Berlin, Jan 29 (UNI)
India had improved its 2018 corruption index rank according to the latest report published by the Transparency international on Tuesday. The report also points out decline in the US and China rankings.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which is published annually by Transparency International released its 2018 report comprising of 180 countries across the world.The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. More than two-thirds of countries score below 50 on this year’s CPI, with an average score of just 43. India scored marginal improvement from last year score. It got 41 CPI score in 2018 compared to 40 in 2017.

https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018

 

[lemurian]

https://www.financialexpress.com/au...america-bajaj-auto-tvs-top-exporters/1458364/

Demand for ‘Made-in-India’ motorcycles rises in Latin America

Worldwide Motorcycle Exports from India is recorded at $ 1905.39 Million in 2017, out of which Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has imported Motorcycles at a recorded value of $ 477.43 Million. Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Guatemala and Peru are topmost five Countries in the region who import motorcycles from India. Their percentage of Indian motorcycle import contribution in the LAC region is shown in the figure. There was an upward trend again in 2018 when the import of Motorcycle recorded nearly value of $ 504.70 Million in 2018 where 6,18,316 Units have been exported to Latin America and the Caribbean. Motorcycle import and export market can easily be identified by its engine power which is called “Cubic Centimetre” (CC) and Motorcycle type like Sports, Cruisers, Motocross, Scooters and etc depending on the country’s infrastructure, especially the roads.

In LAC Countries, Colombia holds 35% of Indian Motorcycle imports market and has in 2018 imported $ 198.396 Million of motorcycles from India. Indian motorcycle import trend is very clear by its engine power “CC”. Colombia's Motorcycle imports trend is between 50cc to 250cc, but not exceeding 250cc and this engine power motorcycle is the highest Indian motorcycle import in Colombia. India's top two-wheeler manufacturer and exporters, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor are focusing on markets for their business and are regularly updating motorcycle versions and also launching new models to attract consumers.

Recently TVS Motor launched three models in Peru including: TVS Apache RR 310 (312 cc), TVS NTORQ 125 (125 cc) and TVS Apache RTR 160 (160cc). Bajaj Auto is building a new factory in Lerma, in Mexico with a capacity of 50,000 units a year. Although Bajaj is ranked second in Mexico, another player Hero MotoCorp is also focusing their business towards LAC countries and have started to developed ethanol-based fuel engines to get entry in Brazil and Mexico.

Royal Enfield (Eicher Group) is also present in the region where consumers like to buy a heavy motorcycle and more than 250cc bikes. The company already has a good presence in Colombia and Brazil and has recently entered in Argentina. In this figure, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Quarter of 2018 show the Indian motorcycle export market trend according to engine power (cc), where Motorcycle between 50cc –250cc hold 85% market, and Motorcycle between 250cc-500cc hold 12% market and Motorcycle between 500cc – 800cc holds only 3%.
This export trend clearly shows the consumer choice and market consumption. Although Motorcycle between 50cc –250cc is economical to buy.

 

[Nilgiri]

https://www.financialexpress.com/au...america-bajaj-auto-tvs-top-exporters/1458364/

Demand for ‘Made-in-India’ motorcycles rises in Latin America

Worldwide Motorcycle Exports from India is recorded at $ 1905.39 Million in 2017, out of which Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has imported Motorcycles at a recorded value of $ 477.43 Million. Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Guatemala and Peru are topmost five Countries in the region who import motorcycles from India. Their percentage of Indian motorcycle import contribution in the LAC region is shown in the figure. There was an upward trend again in 2018 when the import of Motorcycle recorded nearly value of $ 504.70 Million in 2018 where 6,18,316 Units have been exported to Latin America and the Caribbean. Motorcycle import and export market can easily be identified by its engine power which is called “Cubic Centimetre” (CC) and Motorcycle type like Sports, Cruisers, Motocross, Scooters and etc depending on the country’s infrastructure, especially the roads.

In LAC Countries, Colombia holds 35% of Indian Motorcycle imports market and has in 2018 imported $ 198.396 Million of motorcycles from India. Indian motorcycle import trend is very clear by its engine power “CC”. Colombia's Motorcycle imports trend is between 50cc to 250cc, but not exceeding 250cc and this engine power motorcycle is the highest Indian motorcycle import in Colombia. India's top two-wheeler manufacturer and exporters, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor are focusing on markets for their business and are regularly updating motorcycle versions and also launching new models to attract consumers.

Recently TVS Motor launched three models in Peru including: TVS Apache RR 310 (312 cc), TVS NTORQ 125 (125 cc) and TVS Apache RTR 160 (160cc). Bajaj Auto is building a new factory in Lerma, in Mexico with a capacity of 50,000 units a year. Although Bajaj is ranked second in Mexico, another player Hero MotoCorp is also focusing their business towards LAC countries and have started to developed ethanol-based fuel engines to get entry in Brazil and Mexico.

Royal Enfield (Eicher Group) is also present in the region where consumers like to buy a heavy motorcycle and more than 250cc bikes. The company already has a good presence in Colombia and Brazil and has recently entered in Argentina. In this figure, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Quarter of 2018 show the Indian motorcycle export market trend according to engine power (cc), where Motorcycle between 50cc –250cc hold 85% market, and Motorcycle between 250cc-500cc hold 12% market and Motorcycle between 500cc – 800cc holds only 3%.
This export trend clearly shows the consumer choice and market consumption. Although Motorcycle between 50cc –250cc is economical to buy.

Overall the global market export wise (for 2 wheelers) seems to be around 25 billion:

http://www.worldstopexports.com/motorcycles-exports-country/

Of which India around 1.5 billion mark. (6% of total market)

Car export market is much larger, around 750 billion:

http://www.worldstopexports.com/car-exports-country/

Of which India around 5 billion mark. (0.7% of total market)

India must target/expand in both (along with meeting domestic market demand), but must long term focus on the latter given much larger (30 times) market size.

@GeraltofRivia @GS Zhou @rott @Two @Marine Rouge @bluesky @Mage