Indian Economy-News & Updates

[Dance]

India’s Inflation Exceeds 9% for 11th Month, Reducing Scope for Rate Pause
​

India’s inflation exceeded 9 percent for an 11th straight month, crimping the central bank’s scope to keep interest rates unchanged and shield the economy from a faltering global recovery.
The benchmark wholesale-price index rose 9.73 percent in October from a year earlier, the commerce ministry said in a statement in New Delhi today. That compares with a 9.72 percent jump in September and the median forecast of 9.65 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of 19 economists.
Asian nations from Indonesia to South Korea are either cutting rates or keeping them on hold to protect expansion as Europe’s debt crisis threatens to trigger a global slump. India’s central bank last month signaled it’s nearing the end of monetary tightening, provided inflation slows, after it raised rates for the 13th time since mid-March 2010.
“Prices are not coming off,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Mumbai-based ratings company Credit Analysis & Research Ltd. “The RBI will have to probably revisit its guidance if inflation remains elevated.”
The BSE India Sensitive Index declined 0.4 percent at the close in Mumbai. The yield on the 8.79 percent government security due November 2021 rose two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 8.97 percent. The rupee fell 0.4 to 50.29 per dollar.
The currency has tumbled more than 11 percent this year, a decline the central bank has said risks stoking inflation.
Fuel Costs
Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s biggest refiner, increased local gasoline prices on Nov. 4 for the third time in six months to stem losses, saying the rupee’s decline boosted costs.
The Reserve Bank of India on Oct. 25 said that its monetary tightening will help curb inflation and that the likelihood of a rate action in the December policy meeting is “relatively low.”
India’s inflation will start to decline from December and ease to 7 percent by March before moderating further in the first half of the next fiscal year starting April 1, according to the central bank. Beyond December, “if the inflation trajectory conforms to projections, further rate hikes may not be warranted,” the Reserve Bank said.
RBI Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn said the October inflation data was on expected lines and there is no reason for a change in the guidance put out by the central bank in its monetary policy last month.
“Our guidance in October policy was based on current expectations of growth and inflation,” Gokarn told reporters today. “We haven’t seen anything after that, which might suggest that we need to revise that guidance based both on growth and inflation.”
Growth Forecast
The Reserve Bank predicted India’s economy will expand 7.6 percent in the year ending March 31, lower than the 8 percent it estimated earlier.
Governor Duvvuri Subbarao has increased the central bank’s repurchase rate by 375 basis points since the start of 2010. That’s the fastest round of increases since the monetary authority was established in 1935, Bloomberg data show. The repurchase rate is 8.5 percent.
The rate rises have started to hurt consumer demand. India’s industrial production grew 1.9 percent in September from a year earlier, the slowest pace in two years. India’s automakers on Oct. 10 cut their car sales growth forecast for a second time this year as companies including Honda Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co. faced lower demand.
Subbarao said last month that the central bank gave the guidance on rates to help boost investment.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...11th-month-reducing-scope-for-rate-pause.html

---------- Post added at 10:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:57 AM ----------

India Shares End Down; Inflation, Poor Corporate Results Weigh​

MUMBAI (Dow Jones)--Indian shares ended lower for a third straight session Monday as persistently high inflation and poor quarterly results, including from auto major Mahindra & Mahindra, tempered trading sentiment.

Advances in Asian and European indexes did little to support local shares. Regional markets climbed on signs of stability in the euro zone after Italy appointed economist Mario Monti as premier-designate--a move investors view as a step toward containing Europe's debt impasse.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index fell 74.08 points, or 0.4%, to end at 17,118.74, after trading between 17,094.43 and 17,391.99 during the day. The index rose 1.2% intraday.

On the National Stock Exchange, the 50-stock S&P CNX Nifty lost 20.50 points, or 0.4%, to finish at 5,148.35.

The BSE's provisional cash market trading volume fell to INR23.50 billion from Friday's INR26.14 billion. Decliners outnumbered gainers 1,985 to 865, while 94 stocks were unchanged.

"The equity market's depth continues to remain tenuous," said Sandesh Kirkire, chief executive at Kotak Mutual Fund. "The continued buoyancy in inflation remains the key concern for the domestic economy watchers," he added.

India's inflation remained above 9% for the 11th straight month in October, accelerating 9.73%. The number was a touch above the estimate of 9.65%. This, after the Reserve Bank of India raised interest rates 13 times since March 2010.

"Investors are divided on the rate cycle reversing. A few believe that interest rates will have to decline, but we are not sure as to when this reversal will start and to what extent," a trader said.

Rate-sensitive stocks fared worse than others with the BSE Auto falling 2.0%, the realty index down 2.6% and the consumer durables index lower by 2.1%.

Utility vehicle-maker Mahindra & Mahindra fell 5.7% to INR790.40 after posting a 3% drop in its July-September net profit.

Other major losers included Reliance Industries, down nearly 1.0% to INR875.15, and Tata Steel, off 4.0% at INR412.65.

Gains in Infosys, which rose 1.2% to INR2,808.45, and Bharti Airtel, which climbed 2.5% to INR405.30, supported the Sensex. The IT Index closed 0.7% up on hopes of stability in Europe.

Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines, not part of the Sensex, rose 8.7% to INR21.35 on reports that the company's board will consider a proposal to cut its debt by more than half by selling property and converting loans from its parent company into equity among other measures. The scrip fell 9.7% in the last one week.

-By Khushita Vasant, Dow Jones Newswires; 91-22-6145-6122; khushita.vasant@dowjones.com

India Shares End Down; Inflation, Poor Corporate Results Weigh - WSJ.com

 

[ramu]

India deserves better credit rating, Govt tells Moody's

India on Monday told global rating agency Moody's that it deserves higher rating, at least two notches above the present grade, on the back of improvement in basic economic parameters witnessed in the last few years.

"Moody's should take a fresh look at the long-term credit strengths of the Indian economy and consider a long due credit rating upgrade for India's sovereign rating," a Finance Ministry official said after a meeting with Moody's representatives in New Delhi on Monday.

The officials, led by Department of Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan, impressed upon Moody's to upgrade India's rating to Baa1, two notches above its current rating. Moody's had last upgraded India's rating to 'Baa3' (with stable outlook) in 2004. Baa3 means medium grade with moderate credit risk.

Besides, Moody's had assigned a 'Ba1' with a positive outlook rating to India's local debt.

India's long-term growth prospects arise from a high savings and investment ratio, favourable demographics, rapid progress in infrastructure development and a stable democratic polity, the official said.

"India has low external debt to GDP ratio, high foreign exchange reserves, deep domestic capital markets and diversified domestic holdings of sovereign debt. It outperforms its 'Baa' peers on these indicators," he added.

Last week, the rating firm had lowered the outlook on the Indian banking sector to negative from stable saying that slow global economic growth could impact profitability.

The move did not go down well with the government and the bankers who termed the move as unwarranted and said the Indian banks are better off than their global peers.
The official said the government is actively working towards structural reforms in the economy.

In the meeting, the finance ministry officials told Moody's that the policy measures by the government includes fuel price hike, clearing 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail by Committee of Secretaries and increasing of FII investment limit in infra bonds to $25 billion among others.

They added that the government is on the path of fiscal consolidation for the last 7 years, but it was interrupted by the global financial crisis in 2008.

"Indian economy has shown significant improvement in FDI flows and total exports this year. Due to uncertainties in the global financial markets, they have been muted this year, but are expected to pick up soon," the official added.

The meeting was also attended by Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu and officers from different departments in the ministry of finance, power, fertiliser and petroleum and natural gas.

Read more at: India deserves better credit rating, Govt tells Moody's - NDTV Profit

 

[ramu]

India's 8200 super-rich own collective wealth of $945 bn‎

India is home to as many as 8,200 ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals whose combined wealth amounts to a whopping $945 billion, says a study.

According to the study by Wealth X, a global wealth intelligence and prospecting company, India has 8,200 UHNW individuals, of which 115 are billionaires.

The combined wealth figure of these UHNW individuals is equivalent to about 70 per cent of India's total economy size, but the study did not give any specifics taken into account for calculation of wealth size.

The study said that fortunes of Indians are set to increase rapidly as "new millionaires are being created every day in India".

"New millionaires are being created every day in India. Some of these moguls become UHNW individuals within a few years of creating their initial fortunes," the study said.

As per the study, an UHNW individual has a wealth of at least $30 million.

Meanwhile, according to Forbes magazine, the number of billionaires in India has fallen by a dozen to 57 this year from last year, largely owing to "inflation and corruption scandals".

The Wealth X study further said that there are 6,150 Indians having wealth between $30 million and $100 million, and nearly 900 have wealth between $100 million and $200 million.

Between $200 million and $500 million, there are 880 Indians, while in the range of $500 million to $999 million, there are 160 Indians, the study said.

According to Wealth X estimates, North America has the highest concentration of UHNW individuals with as many as 1,925 people, followed by Europe which is home to 1,080 UHNW people.

Asia-Pacific region follows close behind with 955 UHNW individuals, the Middle East is home to 750 UHNW NRI population.

There are at least 4,960 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) UHNW individuals with a combined worth of about $465 billion, Wealth X said.

Interestingly, India's UHNW population is larger and worth more than the global UHNW NRI population.

Luxury auto makers are betting on India's super rich to spur sales, but spending by India's ultra rich is not confined to premium cars. As per the report, they are "not just buying cars, gold and property, they are also acquiring companies outside India."

Some of the largest M&A deals reported by India's UHNW in the last decade include the $12.8 billion Tata-Corus deal, and the $10.7 billion Bharti-Zain transaction among others.

The report further said that Asia-Pacific, which is home to 42,525 UHNW individuals, representing $6.2 trillion of fortune will surpass the UHNW population of Europe in 2024 and overtake that of the US in 2032.


Read more at: India's 8200 super-rich own collective wealth of $945 bn

 

[ramu]

M&M reports Q2 profits at Rs. 737.4 cr, sales up 38%

Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd announced its Q2 results posting a marginal decline in profit at Rs. 737.4 crore as against Rs. 758.5 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Net sales was up 38 per cent to Rs. 7,306.81 crore from Rs. 5,311.26 crore on year on year (YoY) basis.
Operating margin for the quarter after adjusting for exchange difference stood at 12.3 per cent. The company reported that it faced relentless increase in material costs this quarter, inspite of which it maintained profits due to good volume performance by both vehicles and tractors in a difficult market along with a tight control on expenses.

Earnings before interest, depreciation, taxation and amortization (EBIDTA) stood at Rs. 822 crore, much lower than the market estimates of Rs. 920 crore.

Other income of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (Standalone) for the quarter stood at Rs. 8,198.7 crore as against Rs. 6,157.3 crore in the corresponding period last year, reflecting a growth of 33.2 per cent, while other expenses was reported to be Rs. 715.11 crore over Rs. 531.76 crore YoY.

NDTV Poll saw M&M Q2 sales at Rs. 7,423 crore and profits at Rs. 746.35 crore.



The Auto major reported a 3.18 per cent rise in its consolidated profit after tax for the quarter ended September 30 at Rs. 761.5 crore on account of contributions from its subsidiary -- Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Ltd (MVML).

The company also posted PAT of Rs. 738 crore in the same period last fiscal, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The consolidated total revenue during the second quarter this fiscal also increased 33.86 per cent to Rs. 8,298.8 crore from Rs. 6,199.6 crore in the year-ago period, it added.



"The company could maintain its profits despite the relentless increase in material costs due to a good volume performance by both vehicles and tractors in a difficult market and a tight control on expenses," M&M said.

During the second quarter, sales of M&M's passenger utility vehicle segment grew 14.2 per cent at 47,523 units over the same period last year, the filing said.

"While all products in the company's UV portfolio did well, the quarter belonged to the company's newly launched global vehicle XUV500," it added.

In the exports market, the company's sales increased by 88.8 per cent at 7,239 vehicles, primarily in SAARC, South American and South African markets.

In the tractor segment, M&M's domestic sales during the quarter witnessed a growth of 28.5 per cent at 54,585 units. It also exported 3,102 tractors in the period.

Besides, revenue of the engine business of M&M grew by 24.9 per cent to Rs. 208.1 crore as against Rs. 166.6 crore for year-ago period, the company said.

On the company's outlook, M&M said, "After recording an annual average rate of growth of about 8.5 per cent per annum during the last five years, India's economic performance will dip below trend in FY 2012... On balance, our economic outlook for the current year is cautious."



The company added, "Faced with a steadily deteriorating global macro environment, volatile capital flows and exchange rates, persistently high inflation, rising interest rates and continued policy and regulatory uncertainty, business confidence has weakened considerably this year."

Investment outlays are witnessing a significant moderation, which does not bode well for future growth, it added.

"The National Manufacturing Policy outlined recently is promising and has helped boost sentiments. On balance, our economic outlook for the current year is cautious," the company said.

The company's share prices are down by Rs. 29.40 at Rs. 809, a decline of 3.51 per cent as of 2.21 pm on Monday.



Read more at: M&M reports Q2 profits at Rs 737.4 cr, sales up 38% - NDTV Profit

 

[Varad]

Untapped opportunity in rural India: WEF panellists

Mumbai: Connecting villages and small towns to the digital economy is the next big challenge—and opportunity—for India, participants at the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) concurred on Monday.

“In cities from grade A to grade E, there is strong infrastructure, and financial institutions operating there have access to the latest technologies. The opportunity lies in the other part of India, where 70% of the under-served population lives,” said H.S. Bedi, chairman and managing director, Tulip Telecom Ltd. “This population needs the digital economy more than anyone else.”

The fibre optic network being laid out by telecom companies in India’s villages will provide last-mile connectivity, Bedi said. The Aadhaar project, which aims to provide a unique identification number to each Indian and maintain an online record of demographic and biometric information of citizens, will change the way technology is perceived in rural India, Bedi added.
Only 9.6% of India’s population has access to financial products despite India having a strong culture of saving, said Kaku Nakhate, president and country head of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch.

“The time has come to look at how we can mould technology as a way of life, how it can improve business models, and how it can enable innovation because different models are needed out there to serve different needs,” she said.

Anand Sankaran, senior vice-president and business head (India and Middle East), Wipro Infotech, said the telecom revolution in India over the past decade, with 886 million wireless subscribers, was a huge opportunity for both companies and the government.

India has only 90 million Internet users and with both the broadband and third-generation licences given as well as the fact that smart devices like tablets that have caught on, these will drive the speed of adoption (of technology),” said Sankaran.
India has the greatest need for technological innovation given its burgeoning middle class, according to James Bujold, president of diversified technology firm Honeywell International Inc.’s Indian operations.

“Your challenges, skill sets and the conditions are very different from any other country in the world and, therefore, more than looking east or west, any solutions that are developed will have to be uniquely Indian,” Bujold said.

If India innovates and makes its systems more efficient, the world will have an opportunity to learn from what India does, Bujold said. “It will then signify India truly taking its place in the world by driving solutions out to the rest of the world.”

Untapped opportunity in rural India: WEF panellists - Economy and Politics - livemint.com

 

[MINK]

BBC News - Coke plans $2bn India investment in bid to boost growth

 

[SpArK]

Petrol prices, excluding local tax, cut by 1.85 rupees per litre from Wed; petrol to cost 2.22 rupees less in New Delhi: Reports

 

[IndoCarib]

India luxury market ready to explode with 8,200 UHNW individuals | Firstpost


India luxury market ready to explode with 8,200 UHNW individuals

 

[Varad]

October inflation flat at 9.73%; experts say it has peaked

NEW DELHI: India's inflation rose just a tad in October, offering respite to policy makers and raising hopes that it may have hit a cyclical high. The slower rise is, however, unlikely to prod the Reserve Bank of India to loosen its monetary policy anytime soon as inflation remained in the distress zone of 9% for the 11th month in a row.

Headline inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index, rose 9.73% in October from a year ago as against 9.72% in the previous month, data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Monday showed.

"We have hit the peak for inflation or are certainly very close to it," said Jyotinder Kaur, economist with HDFC Bank. "Any spikes now are only seasonal and expected to ease in the coming months."

There was also no upward revision of the provisional inflation estimate for August, which stood at 9.78%. But the ministry revised the reading for July to 9.36% from 9.22%.

"Large revisions suggest strong latent inflationary pressures in the economy and remain an additional source of uncertainty for the inflation trajectory," Siddharth Sanyal of Barclays Capital said in a report released on Monday. "From that point of view, the latest trend in revisions is a welcome breather."

October inflation flat at 9.73%; experts say it has peaked - The Economic Times

 

[Inqhilab]

The World in 2050 :Citi Group

 

[IndoCarib]

India’s Debt at 70% of GDP Is ‘Constraint’ to Higher Rating, Moody’s Says

India’s public debt at 70 percent of its gross domestic product is preventing Asia’s third-biggest economy from securing an investment-grade rating, Moody’s Investors Service said.

The nation’s fiscal deficit and “the debt burden, which is high relative to similarly rated countries,” are among the constraints, Atsi Sheth, a sovereign analyst at Moody’s, said in a telephone interview from Mumbai yesterday. “For the ratings to be improved, we will have to be comfortable that India’s government debt is at a level that can be sustained over the medium term.”

India’s finance ministry pitched for a higher rating in a meeting with Moody’s officials on Nov. 14, R. Gopalan, secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, said a day later. The government raised its planned borrowing for the six months through March 31 by 32 percent as revenue collections fall short of target. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Oct. 4 that it may be hard to meet his goal of cutting the budget deficit to a four-year low of 4.6 percent of GDP.

Moody’s rates India’s rupee sovereign debt a Ba1, the highest junk grade, a level shared by Indonesia and Morocco. India’s foreign-currency debt is rated at Baa3, the lowest investment grade. Sheth, who declined to comment on the lobbying by the finance ministry, expects the budget gap to be as high as 5.5 percent in the year ending March 31. Mukherjee said yesterday the government isn’t revising its deficit target yet.
Rising Bond Yields

The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond has risen 96 basis points this year, the most in Asia, to 8.88 percent, as inflation remained untamed above 9 percent for a 11th consecutive month in October, while increased supply damped demand. The Reserve Bank of India has increased borrowing costs 13 times starting March, 2010, to slow the pace of price gains, and expects inflation will cool to 7 percent by the end of March.

“It might be optimistic to expect a rating upgrade at this juncture when there are significant risks” on account of the deficit, said Suvodeep Rakshit, an economist at Kotak Securities Ltd. in Mumbai. “The government’s finances are under severe pressure this year due to slowing growth and higher rates.”

Slowing economic growth may also exacerbate the deficit, Sheth said. The $1.7 trillion economy is likely to expand 7.6 percent in the fiscal year to March, 2012, slower than 8.5 percent in the previous year, according to the central bank.

“The deficit is going to be higher due to growth slowdown,” Sheth said. “Growth and profitability have been lower than the government had assumed and that will be reflected in revenue growth.”
Revenue Collection

India’s receipts grew 38.7 percent in the six months to September from a year earlier, slower than 58.4 percent gain in the same period a year ago, according to government estimates. Fourteen of the 30 companies that comprise the benchmark Sensitive Index reported profits that fell short of analyst estimates in the quarter ended Sept. 30.

The government will also spend more on oil and food subsidies, she said. The state caps retail prices of fuels including diesel, cooking gas and kerosene to rein in inflation and shield about 828 million people the World Bank says live on less than $2 a day.

Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings have a BBB- rating on India’s local-currency debt, the lowest level in the investment category.

“A high debt burden, we believe, limits the fiscal flexibility that the government has to respond to future shocks, as well as invest in India’s social and physical infrastructure Needs,” Sheth said


India

 

[Varad]

Domino's aim to double outlets in India in five years


New Delhi: Pizza maker Domino's expects to double its total outlets in India to over 800 in the next five years as it expands rapidly in the country that is set to become its fourth largest market globally by 2012.

"India is the fifth largest market after the US, UK, Mexico and Australia and continues to grow incredibly fast. It will probably become fourth largest market in the next year or so," Domino's President and CEO J Patrick Doyle said.

Stressing that India is Domino's fastest growing market, he said: "We are adding over 80 stores this year and it is the pace at which we will grow. So, we are looking at doubling the stores in the next five years."

Doyle is visiting India as Domino's sets up 411 outlets in the country. It operates in India in partnership with Jubilant Foodworks Ltd, which is the master franchisee for the Indian subcontinent including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"We are witnessing system sales growth of over 50 percent and continue to penetrate the market with new stores with 80 new stores to be added this year," he said.

Globally Domino's has over 9,500 stores under operation with over 4,500 in the US alone.

"So, in terms of stores India currently accounts for around 4 percent of the global count," Doyle added.

In 2010, Domino's globally registered sales of USD 6.2 billion.

Asked about future investments in India for opening new stores, he said: "It will be made by Jubilant FoodWorks."

Besides increasing retail reach, Dominos will also focus on the digital medium, especially Internet to reach out to its customers here.

"A lot of our investments will go into building the online medium for delivery. Till now we have had relationship with our customers through phone...but with the number of tech-savvy consumers increasing, there will be thrust on online," Doyle.

On the product portfolio, he said, menu will remain limited with main focus on pizzas.

Asked if the products in India required to be changed as in the case of US, he said: "We might go in for a little bit of tweaking here and there, but no major change is required to be done in recipes in India unlike the US and Mexico."


http://zeenews.**********/business/...ble-outlets-in-india-in-five-years_34033.html

---------- Post added at 07:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:44 AM ----------

India cabinet OKs 26 pct FDI in growing pension sector

NEW DELHI — India's cabinet on Wednesday approved allowing foreign direct investment in the country's burgeoning pension sector as it looks to press ahead with stalled economic reforms.
Global financial players have long been lobbying for access to the lucrative pension sector that is expected to expand rapidly as millions of young Indians join the work force in the world's second most populous nation.
The change is contained in a proposed pension bill to be considered by parliament during the winter session which begins next week and is seen by investors as a key economic reform.
The pensions bill would give global financial institutions access to around $2 billion worth of pension fund assets in Asia's third-largest economy.
The foreign direct investment (FDI) cap will initially be set at 26 percent.
"But the government would like to retain the flexibility of changing the cap of FDI as and when required," a government spokesman, who asked not to be named, said.
Around 1.1 million workers have pension funds that are managed by players such as ICICI Prudential Insurance, Reliance Capital and Life Insurance Corp of India, most of which have foreign partners.
Foreign players which include global giants Aviva and Axa can already have 26 percent holdings in Indian insurance companies and a number have expressed a keen desire to enter the pension market.
The pension announcement came as India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee sought to reassure investors that while the country's financial reforms might be slow in coming, they would proceed at a "steady" clip.
Foreign and domestic investors have been frustrated by the slow pace of economic reform by the Congress party-led government, which critics say has been gripped by "policy paralysis" due to a string of corruption scandals.
The government's proposal coincided with an appeal by Sunil Bharti Mittal -- head of India's top mobile phone company Bharti Airtel -- to opposition parties not to stall "critical" economic reforms in the next session of parliament.
The opposition has been relentlessly attacking the government over near double-digit inflation and rampant corruption, holding up parliamentary proceedings and obstructing headway on reforms.
Mittal in an open letter urged opposition leaders to "ponder over the serious negative perception that is now being created for India" on the global stage.
"On a bad day one often wonders how it (India) functions at all, let alone how it evolved to be Asia's second-fastest growing economy," investment house CLSA Asia Pacific Markets remarked this week in a sharply worded critique of the government's handling of the country's economy.

AFP: India cabinet OKs 26 pct FDI in growing pension sector

 

[Quick MIK]

Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure okays 15 highway projects.

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure approved 15 projects for highway construction of about 1,814 kilometres at an estimated cost of Rs 15,680 crore.

 

[Inqhilab]

16 economic legislations in coming Parliament session

Government will seek passage of several key economic legislations in the winter session of Parliament, pushing its reforms agenda and allaying concerns of policy paralysis among a section of the industry. The long-pending Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, which will pave way for 26 per cent foreign investment and encourage private sector participation in pension sector, is among 16 economic bills which will come up in the month-long session beginning November 22. Since the government has not received reports of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Direct Taxes Code Bill and the Goods and Services Tax Bill, they are not likely to be taken up in the coming session. Besides, the Bill, which seeks to raise foreign direct investment in insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, is also pending with the Committee headed by senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha. These bills are considered important for the next generation reforms and the government has been making requests to the Parliamentary panel to expeditiously complete the work. The DTC Bill which will overhaul the five-decade old Income Tax Act, was introduced in August 2010 and the Constitution Amendment Bill for GST in the Budget session. The government needs to take the Opposition parties on board, particularly for the GST since it would require two-thirds majority in both the Houses of Parliament and ratification by at least half of the state assemblies. In recent past, a section of India Inc has blamed for the government for inaction on policy front, especially at a time when efforts were needed to fight slow down and combat the impact of the global crisis on domestic economy

 

[IndoCarib]

NEW DELHI – Food prices in India eased in the week ended Nov. 5, raising hopes of relief from uncomfortably high inflation that has remained sticky despite a sustained tightening in monetary policy by the central bank.

The wholesale price index for food articles rose 10.63% from a year earlier during the week, compared with an 11.81% rise in the previous week, government data showed Thursday. On a week-on-week basis, the food ...

India Food Inflation Eases - WSJ.com

---------- Post added at 03:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:11 PM ----------

India May Ease Rules Next Week to Allow Wal-Mart, Tesco Entry - Businessweek