Indian Economy-News & Updates

[ashok321]

Ashok Leyland unveils first Made-in-India electric bus

 

[Echo_419]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...s-up-five-committees/articleshow/54907207.cms

To restore credibility of GDP, inflation and IIP data, Modi government sets up five committees

NEW DELHI: The government has begun a mammoth exercise to overhaul the system of collecting key statistics on inflation, industrial production, consumption and employment to restore the credibility of official economic data, which took a severe beating after a new series of national accounts was released last year.

In a wholesale clean-up attempt, five committees have been set up to review data for GDP estimates, provide for mechanisms to ensure “data integrity” and come up with industry-wise and geography-wise disaggregated data – something that is not available in the current system.

The committee on financial sector statistics is headed by Ravindra Dholakia, a member of the newly constituted Monetary Policy Committee.

“These committees are expected to cover the requirement of statistics for estimation of GDP, data governance for quality, timelines and credibility of collected data and derived estimates, provide for data integrity and audit trials of a National Statistical System,” the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said in a directive.

The exercise, according to National Statistical Commission Chairman RB Barman, will make monitoring the performance evaluation of data more effective.

“The enhanced transparency that will be available will go a long way for re-ensuring the credibility of the National Statistical System. A focused attention on district-level statistics will also serve the needs of the Human Development Index,” he said.

Through the committees, which are chaired by experts from various institutes, the commission also wants to put the fiscal statistics of the government – expenditure and revenue – in a centralised repository.

The committees have been set up when the statistics office is struggling with persistent doubts about the new series of national accounts that had puzzled even Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan.

The new series of national accounts, which changed the methodology of estimating output from the internationally followed factor cost to market prices, bumped up growth for FY14 to 6.9% from 5% estimated under the earlier methodology.

The new series continues to be questioned even now for the over 7% growth being out of sync with industrial production, among other indicators.

The Index of Industrial Production reported a 2.4% expansion in FY16, while GDP grew 7.6%, inviting many questions.

The statistics office is also preparing the back-series data from FY05 to FY12 with the revised base of 2011-12 to explain this sharp upward revision in growth, as previous explanations have not satisfied doubts.

The Ravindra Dholakia committee is entrusted with the responsibility of reviewing the existing system of data collection and suggest measures for an integrated system to capture granular data and a mechanism to provide estimates at the state level.

The panel on online reporting system is supposed to review data collection methods for core statistics, including inflation and industrial production, and has been delegated the task of recommending measures for automated online collection of such data for “improving quality and timelines.”

Data-collecting agencies of the government such as the Central Statistics Office, National Sample Survey Office and Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, too, have been covered.

The group on analytics will review their existing systems of data collection, collation and dissemination and survey the best practices for the repository of the National Statistical System.

Barman explained that data on the government and the corporate sector, which cover more than half of the GDP, can be collected and validated online. Similarly, data on household sector and non-profit institutions, which is collected by way of sample surveys, can be scrutinised using advanced processing systems.

@itachii @proud_indian @kadamba-warrior @anant_s @PARIKRAMA @ranjeet

Long overdue and very welcome!

The pace of change is picking up speed

 

[ashok321]

TCS is no longer India’s largest IT company as Infosys takes the lead

 

[Nilgiri]

There will be four slabs of GST rates; FM Arun Jaitley says consensus reached on compensating states for revenue loss.

@anant_s @PARIKRAMA @proud_indian @kadamba-warrior @itachii @ranjeet @Echo_419 @Ryuzaki @Ankit Kumar 002

 

[Nilgiri]

Five different rate structures were presented to GST Council: FM Arun Jaitley

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

[Nilgiri]

Reforms cut risk, drive up highway construction: CRISIL

http://www.business-standard.com/ar...e-up-highway-construction-116101700685_1.html

Thanks to a healthy growth in traffic and reforms allowing developers to divest 100 per cent equity in projects two years after completion of construction, high-risk road projects in the sector came down by 13 per cent in FY16, compared to the previous year, an analysis showed.

According to the analysis -– done by CRISIL on 85 under-construction and 104 operational build-operate-transfer (BOT) and annuity projects awarded by the NationalHighways Authority of India (NHAI), spanning 16,600 km -– refinancing of debt by low-cost, longer-tenure loans played a big role in credit improvement of these projects.

The risks pertain to completion of under-construction projects and the debt-servicing ability of operational ones. The pace of construction also improved from an average 4.3 km a day in FY15 to six km in FY16.

Of the 104 operational projects, there was an 18 per cent reduction in both length (to 2,700 km) and outstanding debt (to Rs 19,650 crore) of high-risk operational BOT projects, compared with FY15. Consequently, 65 per cent of the operational portfolio had a debt service coverage ratio of 1x, compared with 55 per cent a year ago.

According to CRISIL, over the next two years, stronger developers will be able to raise funds for their under-construction portfolio through stake sales in their operational portfolio and from investment trusts. However, weaker developers still face a funding gap of Rs 6,300 crore, equivalent to three-fourth of funds required for their existing portfolio.

CRISIL Research Director Ajay Srinivasan said: “The material improvement in the pace of execution can be attributed to policy reforms by NHAI and facilitation by the government, which is also reducing delays. Given this, we expect the average construction per day for NHAI projects to nearly double to 11 km by FY18.”

The key policy reforms initiated include easing of the clearances process, ensuring 80 per cent land acquisition before the award of projects, premium rescheduling, allowing developers to fully exit operational road projects and introduction of the hybrid annuity model. Given that these reforms are largely aimed at reducing risk, private participation is set to pick up.

On reforms in land acquisition, CRISIL noted that of the 40 projects tendered by NHAI during 2015 and 2016 (calendar years), a large portion of the land was already in place at the time of tendering.

Within the 85 under-construction BOT projects, there has been a 10 per cent decline. As much as 4,600 km of projects are still in the high-risk category because delays in land acquisition and approvals have increased costs by 20 per cent or Rs 11,000 crore, and the financial health of sponsors remains weak. These stuck projects were largely awarded between FY09 and FY12 and the mitigation options for them include a one-time fund infusion through NHAI loans, and a change in sponsor.

CRISIL Ratings Director Sushmita Majumdar said: “Of the 4,600-km, high-risk, under-construction projects, 1,400 km have reached the provisional commercial operations date stage, but are still unviable due to cost overruns and weak sponsors. These projects need a whopping 60 per cent revenue growth to meet debt-servicing requirements. Refinancing, debt restructuring, premium deferment or acquisition by a stronger sponsor are the only solutions.”

The hybrid annuity model has a lot of potential since the developer is fully insulated from traffic risk and partly from inflation and interest rate risks. The award of projects through this mode would kick-start private-sector participation, as 60 per cent of the funding for these projects would need to be arranged by developers. However, bidding aggression on project cost and operations parameters, and funding mix for hybrid annuity projects need to be closely monitored. CRISILindicates around one-quarter of the projects awarded so far could face challenge in debt-servicing.

@Abingdonboy

 

[Dungeness]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...s-up-five-committees/articleshow/54907207.cms

To restore credibility of GDP, inflation and IIP data, Modi government sets up five committees

NEW DELHI: The government has begun a mammoth exercise to overhaul the system of collecting key statistics on inflation, industrial production, consumption and employment to restore the credibility of official economic data, which took a severe beating after a new series of national accounts was released last year.

In a wholesale clean-up attempt, five committees have been set up to review data for GDP estimates, provide for mechanisms to ensure “data integrity” and come up with industry-wise and geography-wise disaggregated data – something that is not available in the current system.

The committee on financial sector statistics is headed by Ravindra Dholakia, a member of the newly constituted Monetary Policy Committee.

“These committees are expected to cover the requirement of statistics for estimation of GDP, data governance for quality, timelines and credibility of collected data and derived estimates, provide for data integrity and audit trials of a National Statistical System,” the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said in a directive.

The exercise, according to National Statistical Commission Chairman RB Barman, will make monitoring the performance evaluation of data more effective.

“The enhanced transparency that will be available will go a long way for re-ensuring the credibility of the National Statistical System. A focused attention on district-level statistics will also serve the needs of the Human Development Index,” he said.

Through the committees, which are chaired by experts from various institutes, the commission also wants to put the fiscal statistics of the government – expenditure and revenue – in a centralised repository.

The committees have been set up when the statistics office is struggling with persistent doubts about the new series of national accounts that had puzzled even Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan.

The new series of national accounts, which changed the methodology of estimating output from the internationally followed factor cost to market prices, bumped up growth for FY14 to 6.9% from 5% estimated under the earlier methodology.

The new series continues to be questioned even now for the over 7% growth being out of sync with industrial production, among other indicators.

The Index of Industrial Production reported a 2.4% expansion in FY16, while GDP grew 7.6%, inviting many questions.

The statistics office is also preparing the back-series data from FY05 to FY12 with the revised base of 2011-12 to explain this sharp upward revision in growth, as previous explanations have not satisfied doubts.

The Ravindra Dholakia committee is entrusted with the responsibility of reviewing the existing system of data collection and suggest measures for an integrated system to capture granular data and a mechanism to provide estimates at the state level.

The panel on online reporting system is supposed to review data collection methods for core statistics, including inflation and industrial production, and has been delegated the task of recommending measures for automated online collection of such data for “improving quality and timelines.”

Data-collecting agencies of the government such as the Central Statistics Office, National Sample Survey Office and Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, too, have been covered.

The group on analytics will review their existing systems of data collection, collation and dissemination and survey the best practices for the repository of the National Statistical System.

Barman explained that data on the government and the corporate sector, which cover more than half of the GDP, can be collected and validated online. Similarly, data on household sector and non-profit institutions, which is collected by way of sample surveys, can be scrutinised using advanced processing systems.

@itachii @proud_indian @kadamba-warrior @anant_s @PARIKRAMA @ranjeet

Long overdue and very welcome!

Indian Gov doesn't believe its own data?

 

[Nilgiri]

Indian Gov doesn't believe its own data?

This administration is finally intent on fixing the statistical framework continued by the previous one for way too long. The sampling rates of IIP for certain items and their weightages are quite ludicrous.

The main problem was that the GDP methodology was changed (to become more in line with international IMF standards) but no addresing of other economy metrics was done in similar fashion to keep up (esp GVA format), so in effect a lot of them are still only relevant for the older factor cost growth rate at the previous base year level (when say the rubber cable sampling rate and weight was fixed) leading to terrible volatility in those figures they are part of now (seeing how the industrial makeup of the country is very different now from the base year snapshot).

This should have been done earlier by this administration, but they are at least far less slow than the previous administration which had effectively more than 6 years or so from when I first remember the consultations with the IMF starting on GVA standardisation.

Also this administration has had more on this plate, the massive utility of more accurate numbers is planning for future long term programs....but there was so many immediate things they definitely had to fix first. Glad they are finally getting around to it.

The dream is to have a constantly updated "dynamic" system that is able to keep up with a fast changing economy. This is especially important with the upcoming GST. The technology framework will be there to feed into this data analysis in a big way.

 

[Nilgiri]

 

[ashok321]

Army inducts customised hi-tech coaches for troops


http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...ches-for-troops/article9242165.ece?ref=tpnews

The rakes will have on-board power generator, RO plants and bio-toilets

The Indian Army last week inducted customised coaches designed and developed by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) here for military operations. The coaches built with facilities such as on-board power generator, reverse osmosis plants and bio-toilets will be part of exclusive military trains transporting defence personnel and equipment.

The Ministry of Defence had placed an order for 40 Two-Tier AC coaches and 32 Pantry Cars or Military Langars at a cost of Rs. 250 crore.

According to defence sources, Lt. Gen. Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Director-General (Operation Logistic & Strategic Movement) inspected the coaches at the ICF last week and expressed satisfaction over the quality and prompt delivery.

“This is the first time that we have procured custom-made coaches that suit our requirements. The 46-berth AC coaches have emergency evacuation facility in all windows and the two doors to the air conditioned portion can be operated both inward and outward. There are two RO plants in each coach.

The Military Langar has an on-board 75 KV generator, deep freezer and utensil washer.

The Periodic Overhauling of the coaches would be done by the railways.

“The coaches are the first of its kind in military operations. Keeping in mind the requirement of defence personnel, these coaches were specifically designed to enhance the comfort level of troops on the move,” the official said.

 

[Ryuzaki]

India's September Exports Up By 5%, Imports Down By Nearly 3%

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timwors...p-by-5-imports-down-by-nearly-3/#717af89437ad

 

[Nilgiri]

India's September Exports Up By 5%, Imports Down By Nearly 3%

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timwors...p-by-5-imports-down-by-nearly-3/#717af89437ad

Will need more months before we can say its sustained recovery. I am optimistic.

 

[migflug]

India’s rooftop solar capacity crosses 1 GW: Bridge To India report
India has added 513 MW of rooftop solar capacity over the past 12 months, a growth of 113%, taking total installed capacity to 1,020 MW or 1 GW

Shailaja Sharma

India has a target of setting up 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022. Of this, 40 GW is to come from rooftop solar and 60 GW from grid connected solar projects. Photo: Bloomberg

Mumbai: India’s rooftop solar market has added capacity at the fastest pace this year and crossed 1 gigawatt (GW) in total installed capacity, according to Bridge To India, a renewable energy-focused consultancy and research firm.

India has added 513 megawatt (MW) of rooftop solar capacity over the past 12 months, a growth of 113%, taking total installed capacity to 1,020 MW or 1 GW, Bridge To India said in a report on Wednesday.

The rooftop sector is expected to reach a total capacity of 12.7 GW by 2021. The cost of rooftop solar has fallen by 12% per annum for the last four years.

India has a target of setting up 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022. Of this, 40 GW is to come from rooftop solar and 60 GW from grid connected solar projects.

“Rooftop solar has been a side-story in the Indian solar sector so far but that is beginning to change now. The sector is growing rapidly and beginning to realise its potential thanks largely to increasing cost competitiveness of rooftop solar power versus grid power,” said Vinay Rustagi, managing director, Bridge To India.

CleanMax Solar, Amplus Solar, Cleantech Solar, Azure Power, Rays Power Experts and Hero Future Energies are some of the leading companies offering rooftop solar projects.

“We expect rooftop solar to outpace growth in the utility solar market in the coming years. The government has announced attractive policies such as net metering, subsidies for select customers and cheaper debt financing for the sector although there is huge scope for improvement on every front,” Rustagi said.

Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat are the states leading in total installed capacity of the rooftop sector.

India’s total solar capacity has crossed 9 GW, of this rooftop solar is 1 GW.

 

[Ryuzaki]

India’s steel production grows 8.5% in September

KOLKATA: India’s steel production grew 8.5% to 7.8 million tonne (mt) in September 2016 compared to 7.2 mt in September 2015 even as Asia’s steel output went up 3.7% to 92.5 mt during September over the same month last year.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst



Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

[Soumitra]

https://twitter.com/x/status/789474509686394884