Indian Economy-News & Updates

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Steel
14-July, 2017 16:37 IST
RINL Signs MoU with CCI for setting up Cement Plant

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and Cement Corporation of India (CCI), a PSU under Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Vishakhapatnam today to set up 2 mtpa Fly Ash and Blast Furnace Slag based Cement Plant in a Joint Venture in two phases of one million tonne capacity each. RINL generates a large quantity of BF slag and fly ash, prime raw material for the Cement Plant.

Sri Manoj Misra, Chairman cum Managing Director representing CCI and Sri P.C. Mohapatra, Director (Projects) representing RINL signed the MoU in the presence of Sri P Madhusudan CMD,RINL.

The JV Project cost is approximately Rs.150 Cr. RINL is offering around 35 acres of land for the proposed plant in its premises. The project is proposed to be completed in 15 months from the date of placement of order.

Speaking on the occasion, Sri P Madhusudan, CMD,RINL expressed confidence that CCI would set up the plant with state of the art technology in a pollution free environment, with professional way and in a time bound manner. He observed that CCI should show commitment with their expertise to translate the dream into reality and RINL would extend necessary support to realize the goal in this regard, he added.

Sri Manoj Misra, CMD said that CCI is one of the lowest cost producer of cement in the country and joining hands with RINL will be a win-win situation for both the Companies and help both the PSUs to offer more integrated product solutions to their customers.

Sri D.N.Rao, Director (Operations), Sri P Raychaudhury, Director (Commercial), Sri Kishore Chandra Das, Director (Personnel) and Sri V V Venugopala Rao, Director (Finance) from RINL and Sri B.V.N. Prasad, Director (HR) and Sri S. Sakthimani, Director (Finance) from CCI were also present.

Executive Directors and General Managers from RINL were present on the occasion.

The location of the proposed plant shall result in immense logistical cost benefits due to availability of BF slag and Fly ash. The nearby port shall also provide avenues for export of Cement as well as import of Clinker, if required. Plant and machinery available with CCI are expected to bring down the project cost. The cost data as indicated by CCI apparently makes CCI one of the lowest cost manufacturers of Clinker in India.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Railways
19-July, 2017 15:48 IST
Promotion of Clean Fuel in Railways

Railways are taking the following several steps to promote use of clean fuels and reduce carbon emissions:


I. Use of B5 (5% Bio-Diesel) blends of bio diesel in the diesel locomotives.

II. Development of Common Rail electronic Direct Injection (CReDI) system.

III. Use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) based dual fuel system on DEMU trains to achieve 20% substitution of Diesel with gas.

IV. Development of Miller cycle based turbochargers for Diesel Locomotives.

V. Development of Variable Turbine Geometry (VTG) Turbochargers for Diesel Locomotives.

VI. Development of High Effectiveness large after cooler for Diesel Locomotives.

VII. Development of CNG based dual fuel system with 40% substitution of diesel for high economy and environmental benefit.

VIII. Process to establish two bio diesel manufacturing plants with 30 Ton Per Day (TPD) capacity owned by Railways.

IX. Started Exploring for use of Methanol on Railways locomotives.

X. Promote use of LNG/CNG as environment friendly industrial gas in place of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Acetylene in Railway workshops.

XI. Promote and install roof top based solar power generation system in railways workshops and production units.

XII. Solar panel based hotel load system for powering light and fans on 250 trailer coaches of Diesel Electric Multiple unit (DEMU) trains.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 19.07.2017 (Wednesday).

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[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Railways21-July, 2017 16:06 IST
Railway Zones and Divisions in The Country

At present there are 17 Railway Zones and 68 Divisions in the country. The details are given below:

S.NO.
RAILWAY ZONES
Headquarter
DIVISIONS



1.
Central Railway
Mumbai
Mumbai (CST), Bhusawal, Nagpur, Solapur, Pune.

2.
Eastern Railway
Kolkata
Asansol, Howrah, Malda, Sealdah.

3.
East Central Railway
Hajipur
Danapur,Dhanbad,Mughalsarai, Samastipur,Sonpur.

4.
East Coast Railway
Bhubaneswar
Khurda Road, Sambalpur, Waltair.

5.
Northern Railway
New Delhi
Ambala, Delhi, Lucknow, Moradabad, Ferozpur.

6.
North Central Railway
Allahabad
Allahabad, Agra, Jhansi.

7.
North Eastern Railway
Gorakhpur
Lucknow,Izzatnager,Varanasi.

8.
Northeast Frontier Railway
Guwahati
Katihar, Alipurduar, Rangiya, Lumding, Tinsukia.

9.
North Western Railway
Jaipur
Ajmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur.

10.
Southern Railway
Chennai
Chennai, Madurai, Palghat, Trichy, Trivandrum, Salem.

11.
South Central Railway
Secunderabad
Guntakal, Guntur, Hyderabad, Nanded,Secunderabad,Vijayawada.

12.
South Eastern Railway
Kolkata
Adra,Chakradharpur, Kharagpur, Ranchi.

13.
South East Central Railway
Bilaspur
Bilaspur, Nagpur, Raipur

14.
South Western Railway
Hubli
Bangalore, Hubli, Mysore

15.
Western Railway
Mumbai
Mumbai(Central),Vadodara, Ratlam,Ahmedabad,Rajkot, Bhavnagar.

16.
West Central Railway
Jabalpur
Bhopal, Jabalpur, Kota.

17.
Metro Railway
Kolkata
Not applicable.


Zonal and Divisional boundaries are decided by operational/administrative requirements and not on considerations of State boundaries and as such there are some States which have railway lines under jurisdictional control of more than one Zonal Railway/Division.


This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 21.07.2017 (Friday).

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Ministry of Railways
21-July, 2017 16:05 IST
Dedicated Freight Corridors

Ministry of Railways have sanctioned implementation of Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), namely, Western DFC (1504 km) and Eastern DFC (1856 km).

The commissioning of Western and Eastern DFCs (excluding few sections) is targeted in phases by 2019/2020.
Western DFC covers Dadri-Rewari-Phulera-Ajmer-Marwar- Palanpur - Ahmedabad –Vadodara - Surat- Valsad-Vasai Road and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai through the States of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Eastern DFC covers Ludhiana-Ambala-Saharanpur-Meerut-Khurja-Kanpur-Allahabad-Mughalsarai-Sonnagar through the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The revised Cost Estimate of the Western DFC and Eastern DFC (excluding construction cost of Sonnagar-Dankuni to be implemented through Public Private Partnership) is ` 81,459 crore( Western DFC - ` 51,101 crore & Eastern DFC - ` 30,358 crore).

The funding of the project is through World Bank loan ( US $ 2.725 billion) for the Eastern DFC , and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) loan ( ` 38,722 crore) for the Western DFC and the rest from Gross Budgetary Support (GBS).

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 21.07.2017 (Friday).

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Ministry of Railways
21-July, 2017 16:05 IST
Increasing the Speed of Trains

While appraising the two projects at estimated cost of 18,163 crore for Raising of speed to 160/200 kilometer per hour on existing corridors of Delhi-Mumbai (including Vadodara-Ahmedabad) and Delhi-Howrah(including Kanpur-Lucknow), in June 2017, NITI Aayog has supported the proposal. The project details are as under:-

(i) New Delhi-Mumbai Route (including Vadodara-Ahmedabad) covering 1483 Route km at an estimated cost of 11,189 crore.

(ii) New Delhi-Howrah route (including Kanpur-Lucknow) covering 1525 Route kms at an estimated cost of 6974 crore.

Signalling system and safety improvement measures on the entire route of Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah include inter-alia provision of clamp type point Machines in the facing direction of train movement, elimination of level crossing gates, Interlocking and track circuit changes in connection with closure of Level crossing gates, end to end fencing, Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) and Mobile Train Radio Communication system (MTRC).

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 21.07.2017 (Friday).

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Ministry of Railways
21-July, 2017 16:04 IST
Modernization of Railway Network

Ministry of Railways have planned an investment of ₹ 8.56 lakh crore over five years ( 2015-2019) as indicated in the Rail Budget 2015-2016. Under the investment plan, major areas of priority include Network Decongestion/ Expansion, Safety related works, rolling stock procurement, station development works, modernization, speed raising , signalling, traffic facility works, information technology and customer service improvement etc.

A Fund, namely, ‘Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK)’ has been introduced in 2017-2018 for financing critical safety related works. The Fund has been created with a corpus of ` 1 lakh crore over a period of five years.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 21.07.2017 (Friday).

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Ministry of Railways
21-July, 2017 16:03 IST
Utilisation of Vacant Railway Land

The vacant land is leased/licensed for generation of non-tariff revenue for development of ancillary logistic support/infrastructure required for Railways operational needs such as bulk oil installations & oil depots, steel yards, concrete sleeper plants, coal dumps, connectivity to private sidings commercial plots, vending stalls, etc. The vacant land, which is not required by Railways for its immediate operational needs, is also utilized in the interim period for commercial development through Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), wherever feasible, in order to mobilize additional financial resources.

Railways has also planned to utilize vacant Railway land where commercial development is not feasible for Railways’ captive energy sources, such as solar/wind energy.

Commercial development of Railway land is undertaken through open competitive bidding. Any one fulfilling the eligibility criteria and other terms & conditions as stipulated in bid document can participate. However, for production of (solar/wind) energy, “Railway Energy Management Corporation Limited” (REMCL), a Railways’ owned corporate, has been involved.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 21.07.2017 (Friday).

********

Ministry of Railways
21-July, 2017 16:03 IST
Option of Alternate Choice to Waitlisted Ticket Holders

With a view to providing confirmed accommodation to waitlisted passengers and also to ensure optimal utilisation of available accommodation, a scheme known as “Alternate Train Accommodation” (ATAS) known as “VIKALP” was introduced as a pilot project in November, 2015. This scheme has been expanded to cover all type of train on all sectors from 01.04.2017. To avail this facility the passenger has to give an option at the time of booking of ticket. Passengers with waiting list status at the time of preparation of reservation charts are shifted to opted alternate trains, subject to availability of vacant accommodation.

With a view to assessing the demand pattern, waiting list of trains is monitored on regular basis and to cater to additional rush during peak periods, special trains are run and load of existing trains are augmented subject to operational feasibility. This scheme will supplement the existing procedure and ensure passenger satisfaction.

The overall utilisation (end to end) of reserved accommodation on Indian Railways during the financial year 2016-17 was more than 100%.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 21.07.2017 (Friday).

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Ministry of Railways
21-July, 2017 12:43 IST
Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu Inaugurates Round Table Conference Ensuring Cyber Security on Indian Railways

Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated Round Table Conference on “Ensuring Cyber Security on Indian Railways”. Chairman, Railway Board, Shri A. K. Mital and other Railway Board Members and senior officials were also present on the occasion.


Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu said that Indian Railways is striding ahead on its mission of transformation. A lot of upgradation, modernisation & maintenance of Railways has been taken up in last three years & these processes involve use of technologies. Indian Railways has recently launched Rail Cloud Server, Rail Saarthi App, work for developing E.R.P. is also underway. With the exhaustive use of technologies, there are high chances of vulnerability. Indian Railways keeps conducting audits to ensure safety checks. Cyber Security is one of the top priorities. Therefore, idea of this roundtable is to bring all stakeholders on one platform to ensure that these discussions becomes effective results for cyber security.


During the discussions, ideas were exchanged on Cyber threats, Security incidents and Advanced solutions. The discussions helped in understanding the issues involved and create better awareness among all stakeholders. It also helped to provide effective solutions to deal with the Cyber Security threats to IT Systems on Indian Railways.

Computerisation on Indian Railways started about 3 decades ago and major activities like Ticketing, Freight operations, Train operations and Asset management now rely heavily on IT Systems. Cyber Security on Indian Railway has now been identified as the focus area. Auditing of IT Systems by Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) and close coordination with CERT-In are some of the steps taken by Indian railways.
Cyber Security measures must be implemented as per acceptable standards in the IT industry. This would entail creating best practices for protection of key infrastructure from cyber attacks, an emergency response system to cyber-attacks to reduce the application’s vulnerability to such threats, formulation of the policy / mechanism for ensuring adequate measures in the main areas of the Mission Critical IT application’s security, such as Access control, Confidentiality – denial of access to unauthorized person, pen / flash drives etc., Data loss / theft, Integrity – protection against unauthorized changes, Authentication – establishing the identity of actual user among other things.

In an increasingly digitized mode of working, there are many such applications that are accessed through personal devices like the mobile phone. Security features of such applications need to be strengthened. Apart from this,

readiness to defend critical digital assets of Indian Railway and preparedness to counter breach by designing the applications so robust so as to assess and strengthen the ability to detect, react to, and contain advanced attacks with speed, efficiency, and scale. With this preparedness, IT applications across Indian Railways can be confidently utilized to quickly catch attackers and prevent breaches from turning into catastrophes.

Although, IT applications of Indian Railway have been developed with adequate security features based on these standard principles the recent global cyber attacks in may 2017 show that we can never be complacent .The “WannaCry” ransomware attack affected more than 200,000 organizations in 150 countries. A report by CBS News said that the estimated losses due to the ransomware attack were around $4 billion.



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[IndoCarib]

Rupee Was Expected To Fall To 70/Dollar, But Why The Opposite Happened

1) The rupee's rise comes in the backdrop of a surge in overseas inflows into the domestic stock and bond markets. Indian capital markets have attracted inflows of around $30 billion so far this year.


2) Low inflation, improving domestic economy, higher real rates and record foreign-exchange reserves have played a part in the rupee's strong showing.

3) Boosted by the inflows, the domestic stock markets have hit multiple highs this year. The Nifty is also one of the best performing markets in Asia rising over 20 per cent so far this year.

http://www.ndtv.com/business/rupee-...posite-happened-1733442?pfrom=home-topstories

 

[anant_s]

GE reveals Indian Railways Evolution locomotive livery

INDIA: The livery of the Evolution Series diesel locomotives which GE Transportation is building for Indian Railways was unveiled on August 3 when the first painted locomotive was rolled out of the Erie plant’s paint shop. The ES43ACmi required 190 litres of paint, with the red chosen to represent energy and yellow to represent freshness.

‘It is great to see Indian Railways’ first locomotive emblazoned in the railroad’s ornate paint scheme,’ said Nalin Jain, President & CEO of Asia Pacific at GE Transportation, adding the locomotives would ‘instill a sense of pride in Indians nationwide’.

In November 2015 GE Transportation and the Ministry of Railways signed a US$2·6bn joint venture agreement for the supply of 700 Type ES43ACmi twin-cab locomotives of 4 500 hp, to be designated ;Class WDG4G by Indian Railways, and 300 ES57ACi single-cab locomotives of 6 000 hp.

The first 100 of the 1 676 mm gauge freight locomotives are to be exported from the USA complete or in kit form, while the government’s Make in India programme requires the rest to be produced with mainly domestic components at a factory which GE is building at Marhowra in Bihar.

GE Transportation is preparing to ship the first locomotive from the USA in a few weeks. Production of the ES57ACi locomotives is scheduled to begin later this year.

‘This new ES43ACmi locomotive is ideal for Indian Railways’ modernisation efforts’, said Yuvbir Singh, Vice-President of Global Locomotive Operations at GE Transportation. ‘It will provide greatly improved fuel efficiency and emissions compared to Indian Railways’ existing non-Evolution Series fleet.’

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/traction-rolling-stock/single-view/view/ge-reveals-indian-railways-evolution-locomotive-livery.html

 

[Nilgiri]

https://swarajyamag.com/economy/what-demo-and-gst-would-lead-to-in-2019

What DeMo And GST Would Lead To In 2019

SNAPSHOT

The combined effect of demonetisation and GST would slow growth in the short run. But by FY 2019, it will give the government a fiscal flexibility that no other Indian government would have seen.

The Indian economy is heading towards a unique trajectory — bitter over the next two-quarters till end-2017, sweet beyond that — that will capture the following.

One, the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) will decrease in the short term and makeup in the medium to long term.

Two, the growth of tax collections, both direct and indirect, will increase in the short term and consolidate itself to a new normal in the medium and long term.

Three, as a result of the above, the tax-GDP ratio will jump in the short term and show a consistent but slower rise beyond that.

Four, by FY 2019 — around the time India will go for general elections — the government will be acting from a position of a full treasury.

Five, that growing treasury will give the government a fiscal flexibility that no other government would have seen.

These are consequences of two disruptive policy actions — demonetisation and the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) — both of which lead the economy in the same direction.

Because it works only in the aggregate and not through anecdotes though the latter add up to and comprise the former, any macro economic policy disruption of any significance needs to be seen as an arrow of execution being unleashed from a bow of objectives. The arrow or policy sits on a string that is pulled back, aimed and loosed towards a target for its manifestation. The bow in a modern economy is to target, through the use of sophisticated tools — logic, global benchmarking and experiences, cost-benefits, and politics — and deliver large-scale economic goals, individually or severally.

In this process, from objectives to execution, governments are ready to accept short-term losses for a bigger and grander long-term objective. Both demonetisation and the GST are part of this bow and arrow narrative.

Enough has been written about the adverse impact of demonetisation introduced on 8 November 2016. The scintillating short-term evidence of which was the 130 basis point fall in India’s GDP growth to 6.1 per cent for the January to March 2017 quarter (the first full quarter after demonetisation and enough to assess its impact economically) from 7.4 per cent in the previous October to December 2016 quarter, and 7.6 per cent in the same quarter of the previous year.

Although a quarter is no indicator of rankings, within the confines of statistics, the quarter also saw India relinquish its position of being the world’s fastest-growing large economy to China, which grew by 6.9 per cent in the same period.

That the government is serious about the demonetisation policy as well as its outcome is beyond doubt.

Six months later, while aggregate numbers are still not out, and the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes returned to the banking sector still being counted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — creating more negative speculation than mere numbers — there are several anecdotal cases are being reported, followed, prosecuted and arrested, and the modus operandi of tax evaders being analysed.

According to an analysis by the Income Tax Department, of the 1.8 million persons identified for verification, taxpayers provided 1.3 million accounts involving cash deposits of Rs 2.89 lakh crore. Search actions were conducted on 900 groups in which undisclosed income of Rs 16,398 crore was admitted, while survey actions were conducted in 8,239 cases in which undisclosed income of Rs 6,746 crore was detected.

More than 400 cases were referred to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that arrested 18 evaders and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which arrested 38 evaders.

Further, since demonetisation, we have seen the number of taxpayers rise by 9.1 million, according to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

This is a great start, the trend of which we expect to continue over the next few quarters.

The policy of converting demonetisation into a tool for increasing taxpayers is working, and the moral messaging embedded in the policy — cash is risk — is getting through to evaders. “One message has gone out clearly as per the steps taken by CBDT post demonetisation,” Jaitley said. “It is no longer safe to deal with excessive cash and tax evaded money. It is absolutely clear that those who have been indulging in all these are no longer safe.”

There is a method working behind this: technology and big data, using which evaders have been identified.

In the second phase of the government’s Operation Clean Money, more than 60,000 persons, including 1,300 high risk persons, have been identified for investigation into claims of excessive cash sales during the demonetisation period, while more than 6,000 transactions of high value property purchase and 6,600 cases of outward remittances shall be subjected to detailed investigations, Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman Sushil Chandra said: “If you are doing something wrong, there is not only one department, other departments will also take action simultaneously.

Fear should be in the mind of the assessee if they are doing something wrong. There should be no fear in the mind of honest taxpayer.”

If technology and data analytics has delivered results, both financial and moral, around demonetisation and direct taxes, the GST goes one step ahead on the GST and indirect taxes front.

Here, the linkages of databases, big and small, through technology that is wired into the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) is embedded into the very conceptualisation, construction and execution of the policy.

The entire system is electronic. Incentives have been created to ensure compliance — one entity cannot get tax credits if the previous entity does not pass it.

Although the hard and almost unrelenting compliance could be harsh on the technologically-challenged, the Indian entrepreneur is smart enough to learn.

Other issues like electricity or broadband availability are being addressed through GST Suvidha Providers. It is a clean system, the benefits of which will show up in the last quarter of FY 2018.

Those who said the GST system would collapse under the weight of transactions as it comes to life on 1 July have been proved wrong beyond doubt. The GST takes India to a more efficient, cleaner and less stressful tax system. But as has been expressed here earlier, the next two-quarters, from July to December 2017, the transition to GST will extract a price.

And that price will be in the form of a slower GDP growth. This will be the policy bow being pulled.

The arrow unleashed, the stability of the GST system will come in the January to March 2018 quarter, after which the uptick will be sharp.

This will be due to a rise in the number of taxpayers as well as the amount of taxes that were so far being evaded — on indirect taxes of course, but on direct taxes as well.

The next three-quarters, from April to December 2018, will see the treasuries of both the Central and State governments fill up. On the Central side, this will give Prime Minister Narendra Modi the leeway to do three things.

One, invest the surplus in further accelerating economic growth by spending on infrastructure — good economics, good politics.

Two, use the extra indirect taxes collected to reduce individual income taxes — good politics, good economics.

And three, fritter it away on entitlements like introducing the universal basic income — good politics, bad economics.

This would come at a time when India would have shifted from a fiscal year that begins on 1 April to a calendar year that harmonises finances with the rest of the world.

Meaning: the last Union Budget of the Modi government will have the executive mandate to spend this extra money without conflicting with Election Commission rules.

Those who are already paying their taxes, direct and indirect, have nothing to fear — nothing changes for them. Those who are not must pay the penalty for the rest of us subsidising their diamonds, SUVs and real estate. Those who live and die by stock tickers may want to build these uncertainties into their models and expectations. And finally, those of us who study and engage with the economy needs to come to terms with a slower growth — but growth, no doubt — in the short term that will be a precursor to an even more dynamic India beyond as the policy arrow hits the target.

This article was first published on Observer Research Foundation and has been republished here with permission.

 

[proud_indian]

I am afraid there is a silent second phase of demonetization is going on. Nowhere it is said, but I had a discussion with my father and BIL today and from the discussion and from the following points we reached the conclusion. And it is very carefully planned trying avoid the loopholes of the first ones.

1. 2000 rupees notes have stopped coming from ATMs. That's for sure and as one Bank (ICICI) employee told me that Govt. has stopped printing of further 2000 rupee notes.
2. As you can experience, that Banks are taking 2000 rupees notes but when one present a cheque for taking out cash, they are giving only 500 denominations.
3. where are all the money going?
4. Govt. (RBI) know how many pieces 2000 rupees were printed.
5. Now when there will be no 2000 rupees in any Bank and the flow of 2000 rupee stops coming, then we may have another PM's speech at 8PM.........."Mitron....."

@gslv @gslv mk3 @anant_s @SrNair @padamchen @Levina @Nilgiri @SarthakGanguly @Soumitra @The_Showstopper @StraightShooter and others

A day before yesterday I took 10000 rs. out of an SBI ATM and all the notes were of 2000 rs
I don't know what you are talking about

 

[lemurian]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...gujarat-road-project/articleshow/59919423.cms

India signs USD 329 million loan pact with AIIB for Gujarat road project

NEW DELHI: India today signed a loan agreement with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for financing of USD 329 million for Gujarat Rural Roads Project, a finance ministry statement said.

The agreement was signed by Joint Secretary (MI) in the Ministry of Finance, Sameer Kumar Khare, on behalf of India and Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, AIIB, D J Pandian on behalf of the AIIB.

"The objective of the project is to improve the rural road connectivity and accessibility (by providing all weather road connectivity) to 1,060 villages in all the 33 districts in Gujarat state benefiting about 8 million people.

"The project will also benefit the service providers such as public transport operators, educational institutions, hospitals, local markets and traders," the statement said.

 

[RISING SUN]

Our next car should be developed in India by Indian engineers: Kenichi Ayukawa, MD, Maruti Suzuki

When Kenichi Ayukawa, 62, managing director of Maruti SuzukiBSE 0.51 %, picked up the reins at India’s largest selling automaker in April 2013, the challenge was daunting. With Maruti sitting pretty with a 42% market share, analysts reckoned that Ayukawa’s tenure would be a success if he staved off any erosion in the leader’s fat slice of the pie. Ayukawa did better. Maruti’s share has moved up to over 50% (April-June 2017 quarter). In an interview with Malini Goyal,
Ayukawa, in his fifth year, reflects on his India stint and the path ahead for Maruti SuzukiBSE 0.51 %. Edited excerpts:

On his four years as Maruti managing director.
Nakanishi (his predecessor) is like my big brother. Any succession is not easy. I came with some experience — I was in Pakistan for four years, where we had a manufacturing company. That helped. I knew how to manage a manufacturing company. And got some idea about the region. Fortunately, during my tenure here, business has expanded. India market is growing. We are developing new products.

On living and working here.
My children are working in Japan and my wife is here with me. The biggest difference between India and Pakistan is that India is lot more developed. My wife was initially surprised and said it (Gurgaon) was a very big city with so many highrises. In Japan, where we lived, it was not a big city. Living here involves some inconvenience like power cuts and poor service quality in some areas. But human relationships here are very nice. I have lot of Indian friends. India has lot of tourist places and during vacations, I constantly try and go to new places. Last year I went to Ajanta & Ellora and Darjeeling. I have enjoyed working here.

I have lot of Indian friends. India has lot of tourist places and during vacations, I constantly try and go to new places. Last year I went to Ajanta & Ellora and Darjeeling. I have enjoyed working here.
I still do it. I believe this (collaboration and communication with workers) is important for smooth running of the company.

Since I came here, we were developing products for India in Japan. Those products were launched in India (like Baleno and Vitara Brezza) after I came here. Fortunately, those products are doing well. We are now focusing on product development in India.
Our core issue was to get the right product and bring to market models that Indian customers wanted. We have very much focused on that.

On getting the product equation right.
Last year, we launched Vitara Brezza, which was received well (it enjoys over four-month waiting period).

Of course, the platform was developed in Japan but the top part (the body) was developed by the R&D team in India. Now we have to take the next step. Our next car should be developed in India by Indian engineers. By next year, the first phase of our Rohtak R&D center will be almost complete and we should be able to develop a complete product here and also test it.

On competition and the competitive edge.
We always analyse good products from our competitor. Look at areas they are ahead of us and transfer those learnings. For example, Renault Kwid is a very challenging product, is popular and very well accepted.

Hyundai Creta, i20 and Ford EcoSport are also other such successful products.

But in business it is not just product and sales that are important. Good after-sales service must be available and is also very important. Fortunately, we have been in the market for more than 25 years and we have a larger sales and after-sales network than the competition. Our competitors face difficulties.

While they are present in big cities they do not have a presence in rural areas. We have the benefit of a big and expanding network. Our focus is always to focus on customer demand and their needs. We always try to offer good products that are better than our competitors. On ride-sharing apps.

We have to carefully watch and understand the mind of our customers. We are doing (customer) segmentation and supplying cars to cab aggregators.
On the government’s thrust on e-vehicles.
We have to see how we realise the idea of EVs. Globally, there are not too many electric vehicles. Of course we have tried to develop one. The most important thing to keep in mind is that it there is both a cost and convenience element to it. And the customer must accept it. We (Suzuki Motors) have the technology. The question is how we are going to use it.

For us, our customer is at the center and we will do what they want. I may be ready. But if India is not ready, then what’s the point?

On the partnership with Toyota Motors.
Since last year, we have been collaborating with Toyota in the area of technology, environment, IT and safety. It could extend to product-sharing in future.

We could provide them with some product. We also have a chance to supply small car technology. Details are not there (right now), but in future we can have some agreement. Any business partnership is very sensitive. Unfortunately, our experience with Volkswagen was not that good. Thankfully, Suzuki and Toyota are collaborating well.


On GST and its impact .
On the whole, the GST system is welcome. We had a very complicated tax system state-wise. It is a great thing if GST can integrate nationwide. Transportation, I hear, has become easy and speedy. At this moment, I cannot see many negative issues. On the taxation, except hybrid cars overall taxes are going down. Mild hybrid is contributing to the environment but the tax has gone up. We have to communicate this with our customers. The price gap between small cars and other segments has come down (due to the new tax structure) but the gap still remains. Our point is to go beyond the price and have a better customer connect with our brand, technology, product and better experience in our showrooms and after-sales service. We feel price is one of the factors. But for customer, product, design, features are as important.

On the shifting consumer landscape.
Customer demand is changing every day. They get lot of information from outside and have become demanding with high expectations.

They want new technology and features like automatic transmission and hybrid. Two years back, we started our premium Nexa outlets.

Initially our dealers were hesitant. Fortunately, it has been successful and we have 250-plus network now. Now we are setting up Nexa service workshops.

We will try to spread the network nationwide and have 350 workshops in a few years. We will also focus on second-hand cars with our True Value brand and bring lot of transparency for buyers.

On Maruti’s future.
Maruti has a big potential market outside of Africa and the Middle East. We do send our products to Europe. Our status (inside Suzuki) has become bigger. About 10% of our production is exported but we are not happy. At 1.8 million capacity, there is still shortage of production. We started production in the Gujarat plant in Februrary and are producing 10,000 vehicles (Balenos) a month in one shift. We are carefully ramping up
our capacity and in six months we will start with two shifts operations.

Our market share today is 50%-plus. If we provide good product I believe we can keep that market share and even expand it. But even our competitiors are getting better. Our midterm target in the company is to try and achieve 2 million (unit sales) by 2020. We are preparing for it. India will be the world’s third largest car market by then. India has (already) outpaced the HQ. It is my pleasure to be here.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...aywrap&ncode=75903408e0b98cc62ba08fe4f10059f3

 

[RISING SUN]

Biggest station redevelopment programme in the world: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu explains to Shantanu Nandan Sharma that the station redevelopment plan and the new bidding method are more transparent than the conventional Swiss challenge model. Edited excerpts :
On the progress of station redevelopment
We have taken concrete steps for development of 100 railway stations across the country. These are in various stages of development. In addition, zonal railway managers are having roadshows and pre-bid meetings for another 300 stations. Altogether, there will be work in 400 stations.
We have appointed Boston Consulting Group to give us advice. The idea is that a project of this scale must be done in a transparent manner. We have prepared pre-bidding, tender and all kinds of documents in the most transparent way. It’s the biggest ever station redevelopment programme taking place anywhere in the world. Many other nations too have redeveloped their stations, but nowhere in the world are so many stations being taken up at one go.

On the real estate market being down
This programme is based on public private partnership (PPP) model. I concede that the real estate market has been a little low in the last few years. So, the interest shown by the private sector is also low. But we are not deterred by a bad real estate market. In this project, we have roped in NBCC (National Buildings Construction Corporation, a government-run construction company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs), our own rail PSU, IRSDC (Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation), and state governments. For example, we have tied up with the Odisha government for development of a railway station. Also, the Mumbai Rail Vikas Nigam Limited is entrusted to develop 18 suburban stations.

On following a modified Swiss challenge bidding method
We have adopted the India challenge, not Swiss challenge, for station redevelopment. This is entirely our idea of developing a transparent bidding method. The process followed is very simple. There are four stages. First, we put our requirements on our website so that anyone can bid and give us the design. Then we evaluate the design proposal based on technical and financial parameters. Independent domain experts will then evaluate the proposal. Once the proposal is frozen, a detailed project report will be prepared. Then we will allow anyone to challenge the proposal commercially. So how can it be Swiss challenge? It’s an Indian challenge. This is the best model in terms of participation, transparency and innovation.


On linking station development with the smart city project
We have tied up with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for linking smart cities with our station development programme. There can’t be any smart city unless there’s a smart railway station. If 100 smart cities are created, there will redevelopment of at least 100 stations.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...aywrap&ncode=75903408e0b98cc62ba08fe4f10059f3

Indian Railways Gets New Modern Diesel Locomotive; Check Out Cool Facts
In bright hues of red and yellow, this is Indian Railways’ new diesel locomotive – it’s the first in a set of 1,000 engines – that will power trains for many years from now. Manufactured by GE Transportation, the new locomotive was unveiled in June this year. After two months of testing and validation, the locomotive has now been painted. This particular locomotive has been made in the US, but eventually, GE will make the new engines in its factory in Bihar under the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. We take a look at the significance of its colour scheme and other salient facts:

The bright colours are said to hold a “special meaning”, with yellow representing freshness and red signifying energy. The new colour scheme for Indian Railways was completed using approximately 50 gallons of paint, says GE, adding that it will provide the locomotive protection in the harsh environments where Indian Railways operates.
https://energyinfrapost.com/indian-railways-gets-new-modern-diesel-locomotive-check-cool-facts/

Indian Railways signs first EPC contract to speed up electrification
With the aim of boosting its ‘Mission Electrification’ plan, Indian Railways signed its first Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with L&T for large electrification projects on Friday. The contract valuing Rs 1,050 crore for electrification of 781 route kilometres (RKM) was awarded by Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE) and Konkan Railways.

“For faster execution of Railway Electrification projects, Indian Railways has changed from Business as usual (BAU) approach and entrusted new electrification works not only to Railway PSUs like Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) and Rail India Techno Economic Service (RITES) but also to Power Grid Corporation India Limited (PGCIL),” the ministry of railways said in a statement.

The contract was awarded for electrification of Delhi Sarai Rohilla – Rewari and Alwr – Bandikui – Jaipur – Phulera – Ajmer (353 rkm) section at a cost of Rs 594 crore and Roha – Verna (428 rkm) of Konkan Railway at a cost of Rs. 456 crore. Also, eight agreements were also exchanged between Zonal Railways and Public Sector Undertakings for 1,735 rkm of electrification projects valuing Rs 1,746 crore.

This comes on the heels of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) stating in its audit report on ‘Electrification Projects in Indian Railways’ that the Indian Railways lost savings to the tune of Rs 3,006 crore on account of delays in execution 21 railways electrification projects out of 29 projects which were examined.

Under ‘Mission Electrification’, ten different electrification projects covering 2,516 rkm at a cost of about Rs. 2,797 crore have been finalized in a short duration, the statement added. “It is a very important milestone for us. We had also announced in the rail budget that we will increase the pace of electrification. Around 42 per cent of electrification will be doubled in the next 5 years. Rs 16,500 crore of track doubling has also been sanctioned which will be electrified after getting commissioned,” rail minister Suresh Prabhu said at the signing.

Prabhu also said the national carrier is also in the process of procuring electric locomotives from GE and Alstom, adding that the manufacturing of the locomotives will begin within a few months. He also stated that electrification has been given a higher thrust during the last four years as a total of 103 electrification projects were sanctioned.

“We are also introducing 40,000 retrofitted and modernised coaches. Railways is constantly reforming itself by taking various initiatives in energy sector. With rolling stock getting modernised, lines getting electrified and guage conversion you can imagine the huge impact it will have on the whole Indian Railways network,” he added.

The national carrier aims to reduce its total energy bill by over Rs 4,000 crore per annum through rapid electrification. At present, only 42 percent of the total Indian Railways network is electrified. The rail ministry plans to increase its electrified network to 52,400 rkm by 2021. On completion of 90 percent of railway electrification, the national carrier expects its total energy bill to come down to Rs 16,000 crore as against Rs 26,500 crore at present.

https://ippai.org/ippai/powernewsde...irst-epc-contract-to-speed-up-electrification

Railways to reduce emission intensity by 32 per cent by 2030: Govt

The Indian Railways will reduce its emission intensity to the extent of 32 per cent by 2030 by taking a series of energy efficient initiatives, the government said today. In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said the interim emission standards for diesel locomotives are proposed to be drafted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change soon.

“The Indian Railways has committed to reduce its emission intensity to the extent of 32 per cent by 2030 by taking a series of energy efficiency initiatives,” he said.

“It has also entrusted Rail India Techno Economic Service (RITES) for consultancy contract for study on emissions from diesel locomotives and setting up of emission standards,” Gohain said.

The MoS further said that the ministry had taken several measures to ensure compliance of the standards, including use of biodiesel blends and conversion of diesel power car in dual fuel mode. The process of development of standards is likely to be completed by March 2019, the minister said.
http://indianexpress.com/article/in...ission-intensity-by-32-per-cent-by-2030-govt/

 

[RISING SUN]

Air Force huddles to be over for S’rekha port

The hurdle for establishment of the proposed Subarnarekha Port seems to be eased with the Centre green-signalling the ambitious project in northern Odisha.

Earlier, the Air Force authorities were not providing requisite clearances for setting up of the port. Official sources say that the Air Force authorities claim to have their “Practice Limit Zone” falling under the Subarnarekha Port limit.

As the proposed port area is falling in the Indian Air Force (IAF) notified Air to Air Range area, the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Air Force was needed.

Union Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra held a high level meeting with Chief Secretary AP Padhi recently at New Delhi and favored the setting up of the port proposed on the mouth of the river Subarnarekha. Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS) of IAF was also present in the meeting, said sources.

Besides, Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan, Principal Secretary Commerce and Transport Sanjay Rastogi and Special Secretary Commerce and Transport Manoj Kumar Mishra were also present.

Padhi urged to have a holistic view on the project and find out a possible solution so that all activities like Air Force practice and port activities can co-exist.

Union Secretary Mitra agreed over the proposal and urged Air Force authorities to explore possible solution for development of the port coexisting with the IAF activities.

Sources said the Air Force authorities have also agreed to the proposal and the hurdle has been eased paving the way for starting construction of the port. Soon, the IAF authorities will be notifying the State Government in this regard, sources said.

The Creative Port Development Private Limited (CPDPL) is setting up the port and recently, the Tata Steel has executed the Share Purchase Agreement to acquire 51 per cent stake of CPDPL. The CPDPL on January 11, 2008 had signed a Concession Agreement (CA) with the Government of Odisha to develop the port. The Tata Steel has also executed a shareholder agreement with the CPDPL and its promoters for development of the Subarnarekha Port through SPV, Subarnarekha Port Private Limited (SPPL), and the shareholders agreement will take effect on closing of the share purchase agreement, said sources.

It was proposed to have at least 12 berths in the port in several phases and the earlier promoter was making endeavor in this direction with an initial capacity of 10 Million Ton Per annum (MTPA), which was to be scaled up to 40 MTPA in 10 years.

Not only Subarnarekha Port Limit falls under the Air Force Practice Limit, but also another proposed port at Chudamani reportedly also comes under the same zone, officials say.

In the meantime, the Environment Clearance (EC) and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearances for the port have already been obtained from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest.

While the Subarnarekha Port needs 960 acres, at least 692 acres have already been acquired to develop the port, which envisages to provide direct and indirect employment to over 3000 persons, said sources.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-e...force-huddles-to-be-over-for-srekha-port.html

 

[RISING SUN]

India, Japan Announce Coordination Forum to Push Infra Development in Northeast
Amid a face-off with China in Doklam, India has involved good friend Japan for a major infrastructure push in the sensitive northeast region.

To take forward the initiative, both sides announced the formation of a India-Japan Coordination Forum for Development of North East.

The coordination forum was announced on Thursday at an event in New Delhi, by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and the Embassy of Japan. It was attended by Japan's Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu and Naveen Verma, secretary in the Ministry for Development of the North-Eastern Region.

Development of India's northeast is a priority for India and a key to promote its Act East Policy. Japan has also placed a special emphasis on cooperation in the northeast for its geographical importance connecting India to Southeast Asia and historical ties.

Japan has cooperated with a variety of development projects in the northeast, ranging from connectivity infrastructure such as roads and electricity, water supply and sewage, to forest resource management and biodiversity. Furthermore, there is a great potential for people-to-people and cultural exchanges between Japan and the northeast, with Japan's historical connection with the region, a statement from the Japanese Embassy said.


The Coordination Forum would explore and expand cooperation in the Northeastern Region, and help strengthen the relationship between Japan and North East as well as that between Japan and India, it said.

The launch of the coordination forum comes in the backdrop of Chinese troops making incursions into Indian territory in the northeast, and currently in the Sikkim sector.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is slated to visit India in September, when he is likely to attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the high-speed rail corridor.

In April 2017, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed an agreement with the Indian government to provide over 67 billion yen ($610 million) for Phase I of the North East Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project.

Phase 1 will see the development of National Highway 54 and National Highway 51 in Mizoram and Meghalaya.
http://www.news18.com/news/india/in...h-infra-development-in-northeast-1483403.html

 

[RISING SUN]

Mahindra to develop own range of electric vehicles
Mahindra and Mahindra plans to enter electric mobility in a big way, producing a range of vehicles from small cars to performance vehicles as it fortifies its future, chairman Anand Mahindra told shareholders on Friday.

Addressing the company's 71st annual general meeting in Mumbai on Friday, Mahindra informed shareholders that the company will have range of electric cars - right from a small car to a vehicle for shared mobility platforms like Ola and Uber to even a performance car under the Pininfarina brand.

But, he said, Mahindra is not interested in being Tesla of India, the company would rather create a differentiated offering than following Tesla. He said Mahindra has a strategy both for ride sharing in fleet business right up to premium vehicles.

"We have just committed that we are working on high end cars. Tesla was the pioneer, so Mahindra should develop its separate niche. There is no point in copying anybody, you have to differntiate yourself. We are spending significant amount of money on electric. We are ahead of the game," Mahindra said.

Mahindra, with its electric subsidiary, has invested about Rs500 crore in the EV business and has recently committed an additional Rs600 crore. The company currently imports cell and packages and fits it on to the vehicles.

He said the 12 per cent fix on electric vehicle GST combined with the Rs1 lakh benefit under the FAME scheme and the road tax waiver by some state governments have come as a big relief for manufacturers of clean energy vehicles.

However, Mahindra said, industry cannot always look for government subsidy and should be ready for normal life after the initial hand holding. "For electric vehicles to take off they must become competitive against the gasoline and I believe that is around the corner given the falling battery costs. If you as an industry are going to depend on government for subsidies, it will never survive," said Mahindra.

Meanwhile, Mahindra Racing finished third in the recently concluded Formula E Racing competition, ahead of global brands like Jaguar just behind Renault and Audi. "We were third out of 10 constructors, after Renault and Audi. We are getting enormous technology feedback from there, Formula Electric is our laboratory in that sense, that is part of the reason we will succeed in the high end of electric vehicles," Mahindra stated.

Mahindra defended Mahindra Electric's recent exit from the UK market saying that market for EVs in UK had moved up from affordable small cars to high performance electric cars.

"We tried a very unique model in UK where we had no dealerships, we are re-adjusting our strategy for Europe with EVs. What we found out was the market has moved very quickly from smaller E2O like vehicles to higher end EV - it is better to return when we have a right product for Europe. As you know we have acquired Pininfarina, we intend to be in the higher end EV space, so we will come back with a product which is suitable for European market," Mahindra added.
http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_m/Mahindra/20170805_anand_mahindra.html

 

[RISING SUN]

FPIs pour Rs5,000 crore in debt markets in just 4 trading sessions
Foreign investors have pumped in a staggering over Rs5,000 crore in the country’s debt markets in last four trading sessions helped by a stable outlook for the rupee. However, in view of higher stock valuations amid surging markets, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulled out more than Rs1,500 crore from equities during this period.

According to latest depository data, FPIs invested a net sum of Rs5,181 crore ($811 million) in debt markets during 1-4 August. This comes following a net inflow of Rs1.16 lakh crore in last six months from February-July 2017. Prior to that, they withdrew more than Rs2,300 crore. With the latest inflow, total investment in debt markets has crossed over Rs1.2 lakh crore ($18 billion) this year.

“FPI investments in debt have been robust for the last few months. While the run-up to the monetary policy saw some tepid flows, as investors remained cautious in the event of a no rate cut stance by RBI; FPI flows picked up right after the 25 bps rate cut on 2 August,” Vidya Bala, head of MF research at FundsIndia.com said. Markets regulator Sebi, in early July, increased the FPI limit in central government securities, which provided a longer rope for them to pump in money.

“With the spread between US 10-year bond and 10-year India gilts at a good 4.2 percentage points even now, FPIs continue to seek opportunities in the Indian debt market with the rupee-dollar equation stable,” she added. Echoing similar views, Alok Agarwala, senior vice- president and head investment analytics at Bajaj Capital said: “Indian real policy rates as well as real treasury yields remain the highest among major economies except probably Brazil and Russia.

Besides, a stable currency gives an added incentive to foreign investors”. The RBI in its latest monetary policy statement, accepted downside risks to growth and inflation hinting that their next action would be data dependent. Agarwala said data is unlikely to improve in the very short term as the temporary adverse impact of GST implementation on growth is visible in the contraction in manufacturing and service sectors for July.

“In this scenario, Indian treasuries seem an attractive choice for FPIs. The Indian G-Sec yield curve is pretty steep (and hence attractive for term spread plays) barring the benchmark 10-year bond,” he added.
http://www.livemint.com/Money/IjCav...ore-in-debt-markets-in-just-4-trading-se.html

Bonds beat loans as foreign demand for Indian debt cuts costs
Mumbai: Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), India’s third-largest fuel retailer, last month sold dollar bonds in a debut offering. Vedanta Resources Plc priced its offshore notes on Thursday.

Greenko Energy Holdings raised $1 billion to become Asia’s top corporate green bond issuer.

For the first time in at least a decade, Indian companies are choosing bonds over loans to borrow overseas as they line up to tap demand for the nation’s debt.

Businesses sold $8.9 billion of notes in seven months through July, 63% more from a year earlier, even as syndicated loans fell 45 percent to $7.8 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

One of the fastest growth rates in the world and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic policies have attracted global funds to India, reducing costs for issuers.

The yield premium Indian companies must pay over equivalent US Treasuries to sell dollar bonds has averaged 229 basis points this year, the tightest spread since 2007, JPMorgan Chase & Co. indexes show.

“As spreads for these bonds have been tightening, new issuers are tapping the international market and old issuers are accessing it more actively,” Jujhar Singh, head of capital markets for South Asia at Standard Chartered Plc in Singapore, said in an interview.

Issuance may exceed the 2014 peak of $19.7 billion if the bond market stays buoyant for rest of the year, he said.

The appetite for India’s corporate debt is so strong that Hindustan Petroleum’s $500 million offering in July attracted bids for six times the amount.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which runs the nation’s largest port, sold dollar bonds twice this year to repay existing loans and fund projects, according to its latest annual report.

Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta sold seven-year dollar notes, a second $1 billion issuance by the resources company this year.

Last month’s ruling by the market regulator to halt sales of Masala bonds—debt in rupees issued outside India—will likely drive up foreign currency issuance, said Raymond Chia, head of credit research for Asia ex-Japan at Schroder Investment Management Ltd in Singapore.

“I expect more Indian companies to start rethinking their funding strategies in foreign currency,” he said.

Raising money by selling bonds is currently cheaper than loans, according to J. Ramaswamy, director of finance at Hindustan Petroleum.

For instance, the margin paid over benchmark rates on non-rupee loans has averaged 203 basis points this year, up from 194 basis points in 2016.

HPCL needs about Rs10,000 crore for projects and working capital needs, and the longer-duration notes help the refiner better plan cash flows, said Ramaswamy.

Bonds will remain the security of choice for companies amid strong demand for them, analysts say.

Foreigners raised holdings of local government and corporate debt by Rs20,300 crore in July—a sixth month of inflows—lifting this year’s total purchases to Rs1.4 trillion, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

While flows into emerging-market debt remains strong, India “has been an outperformer given the perception about reforms that are taking place and political stability,” Standard Chartered’s Singh said. Bloomberg
http://www.livemint.com/Money/CCN5c...foreign-demand-for-Indian-debt-cuts-cost.html

ONGC buys 80% participating interest in GSPC block
Bengaluru: Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd, India’s top explorer, said on Friday it has bought 80% participating interest and operator-ship in one of the blocks of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) in Krishna Godavari Basin offshore.

GSPC will continue to hold 10% participating interest in the said block while the remaining 10% lies with GSPC’s partner Jubilant Offshore Drilling Ltd, ONGC said in an exchange filing.

ONGC said it has taken over the block against a purchase consideration of $995.3 million.

The state-run company said it has made an advance payment of $200 million to GSPC towards future consideration for six discoveries other than Deen Dayal West Field.

ONGC also intends to develop an High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) corridor of oil and gas in the Krishna Godavari Basin, it said. Reuters
http://www.livemint.com/Industry/my...-80-participating-interest-in-GSPC-block.html

Consensus on SAIL, ArcelorMittal JV likely in two months
New Delhi: A consensus on signing of the joint venture (JV) deal between Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and ArcelorMittal for an auto-grade steel plant is likely in two months at the instance of think tank Niti Aayog, an official said.

SAIL, the country’s largest steelmaker, had sought help from Niti Aayog to resolve differences with ArcelorMittal over setting up of Rs5,000 crore steel plant.

“A consensus on signing of the joint venture may be reached in two months,” the official said.

Almost a month ago, a meeting was called by Niti Aayog wherein both companies were asked to firm up their JV agreement, the official said.

“Both the companies had issues, including pricing mechanism for raw material,” the official added.

The government had earlier said the proposed auto-grade steel plant would be set up close to an automobile hub.

SAIL and ArcelorMittal had in May 2015 entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the possibility of setting up an auto-grade steel manufacturing facility under a JV in India.

A task force team comprising representatives from both SAIL and ArcelorMittal has been working on detailed due diligence and preliminary feasibility study and all other issues for setting up the JV company.

The JV will also focus on producing specialised grade steel products for defence, space and automobiles. It will construct a cold rolling mill and other downstream finishing facilities in India, touted as one of the fastest-growing automotive markets in the world with production expected to double between 2014 and 2020, from 3.6 million units to 7.3 million units.

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/k...IL-ArcelorMittal-JV-likely-in-two-months.html

Tax regime for resident fund managers of FIIs eased
New Delhi: The government has eased the taxation regime for advisors and fund managers working from India for foreign institutional investors (FIIs), giving them more flexibility to organize their activities without the gains they make on their investments becoming taxable as business income.

The move is part of the government’s efforts to expand the domestic financial services market, which lost out to their counterparts like Singapore and London because of onerous conditions on operations.

The taxation regime of these fund managers allow the gains they make on their investments to be subjected to only capital gains tax—and not to be taxed as business income—if they follow certain conditions.

Saturday’s notification by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy making body for direct taxes, waived off three of those conditions relating to the diversification of participants in those offshore funds.

Separately, the board also named 121 countries to which the benefit will apply. Accordingly, the funds set up in countries including Mauritius, Singapore, Switzerland and Netherlands will get the benefit.

One of the conditions waived off is the requirement for the fund to have at least 25 members who are not directly or indirectly connected by family or by directorship in a company. The notification also waived off the requirement for members in the fund or their connected persons not to have more than 10% interest in the fund. The third condition that has been waived off is the 50% limit on the participation interest in the fund that ten members or their connected persons could have in the fund.

Experts welcomed the move. “The effort of the government is to expand the domestic financial services market by easing the conditions that were found to be onerous by these funds,” said Amit Maheshwari, partner, Ashok Maheshwary and Associates LLP.

The funds taking advantage of the provisions have to be registered with capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The notification dated 3 August and released on Saturday said it is effective from the date of its publication.
http://www.livemint.com/Industry/8V...for-resident-fund-managers-of-FIIs-eased.html

Rupee stamps its best weekly show this year
Maintaining its aggressive dominance against the beleagured US currency, the rupee powerheaded relentlessly to bask in the glory of abundant capital inflows and ended at a fresh two-year high of 63.58 even as panic dollar unwinding remained unabated.

Stamping its best weekly show this year - the home currency garnered a solid 57 paise against the greenback.

This is the best closing for the Indian unit since July 22, 2015 after briefly climbing 63.55 level.


Besides plunging dollar value, the rupee has a lot of positive factors supporting its outlook at this juncture and is likely to outperform in the region driven by government's economic policy initiatives and heavy capital inflows, a forex trader said.

The current rupee rally has been spurred by sustained foreign fund inflows on expectations of more aggressive reform measures that will boost long-term economic growth against the backdrop of improving macro environment.

Moreover, the equity markets also kept up their good mood, supporting the forex market sentiment.

Foreign funds and investors were pumping money into Indian capital market primarily due to "better prospects" of economic growth as compared to other emerging markets aided by steady progress in monsoon andgood corporate earnings.

Earlier this week, the RBI after a 10-month pause decided to cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 6 percent, the lowest in over 6 years.

The apex bank had held its repo rate at 6.25 percent since October 2016.

The dollar has been under intense pressure and hitting fresh lows against all major world currencies and losing fast its most preferred asset tag on a combination of underwhelming US economic data and political uncertainty amid subdued outlook for US rate hike.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, the local unit resumed a tad higher at 64.12 against weekend close of 64.15, but soon retreated to a low of 64.25 amid caution ahead of RBI monetary policy.

Overcoming the initial directionless trade, rupee staged a splendid comeback after the RBI set the platform by lowering the benchmark interest rate.

However, breaching the psychologically significant 64-mark on Wednesday believed to have triggered stop-losses and panic unwinding of long dollar positions, pushing up the currency to hit a fresh high of 63.55 before ending at 63.58, showing a handsome gain of 57 paise, or 0.89 percent.

In the four-straight week, it has surged by 102 paise, while the rupee has appreciated by a whopping 434 paise, taking the year-to-date gains to 6.39 percent.

Meanwhile, country's foreign exchange reserves surged by USD 1.536 billion to touch a fresh life-time high of USD 392.867 billion during the week to July 28, helped by rise in foreign currency assets (FCAs), the RBI data showed.

However, foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who have been positive on Indian for the past five weeks, turned net sellers during the week and offloaded worth USD 236.27 mln in local equities as per provisional exchange data.

The RBI, meanwhile fixed the reference rate for the USD at Rs 63.7091 and Euro at Rs 75.6609, respectively.

In worldwide trade, the U.S. Dollar bounced back with renewed vigour - its biggest one-day gain so far this year against a basket of major currencies and managed to end at a fresh one-week high on Friday bolstered by the release of strong U.S. July payrolls report and comments from National Economic Council director Gary Cohn about lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate.

http://zeenews.india.com/markets/we...s-its-best-weekly-show-this-year-2030522.html

Government offers slice of blue chips via new exchange-traded fund Bharat-22
The government announced a new exchange-traded fund (ETF), Bharat-22, that’s expected to speed up a disinvestment programme budgeted to raise a record Rs 72,500 crore in the fiscal year to March 2018.
The ETF comprises 22 scrips including blue chips such as Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and State Bank of India (SBI) — all state-owned companies — along with partial stakes in Axis Bank, ITC and Larsen & Toubro that it holds through the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI).

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...lynews&ncode=75903408e0b98cc650a2176b9dd8c4b8

Equity funds invest record Rs 12.7k crore in July
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...market&ncode=75903408e0b98cc69ef9f2c137ced0cd

RBI cut seen fuelling rupee advance as two-year high reached
There’s no stopping the rupee. Strategists say Asia’s best-performing currency of the past six months could climb further as the Reserve Bank of India’s interest-rate cut lures more inflows into local shares.

Benchmark borrowing costs in Asia’s third-largest economy stand at the lowest since 2010, which could spur growth, boost earnings and encourage foreigners to add to $8.8 billion (Dh32.3 billion) of local stock purchases this year. The rupee reached a two-year high after the RBI’s decision Wednesday, and Bloomberg Intelligence predicts the currency to further strengthen to 61 per dollar by March next year.

“The break in USD/INR below 64 suggests that the RBI will not be standing in the way of any increase in inflows, which could lead to some further near-term rupee appreciation,” said Khoon Goh, Singapore-based head of Asia research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “Interest in the Indian economy will continue to be strong.”

ANZ is one of at least three global banks to have recently raised their year-end forecasts for the rupee, which has rallied 5.8 per cent over six months. While India’s improving finances, higher real rates and rising foreign-exchange reserves have played a part in the rupee’s strong showing, the currency has also benefited from a weak dollar.

The rupee added 0.1 per cent to 63.6263 on Friday, set for the biggest weekly climb since April.

Foreign holdings of rupee-denominated government and corporate debt have surged by 1.39 trillion rupees ($21.8 billion) so far this year. While the RBI’s easing will narrow the spread Indian notes offer over Treasuries, strategists say the Asian nation’s yields, still the highest among major regional markets after Indonesia, keep the allure of rupee debt intact.

“Economic and political stability and reform momentum are attracting strong inflows, which will mean the rupee is set to continue appreciating,” said Abhishek Gupta, India economist at Bloomberg Intelligence in Mumbai. “Attraction for India’s debt market is based on factors such as a higher risk-free rate of return, a strong currency and possibility for further rate cuts.”

That said, some investors are growing sceptical about the outlook for foreign flows, arguing that equity valuations look expensive after benchmark indexes surged to record levels. At the same time, global funds have almost exhausted their purchase limits for Indian bonds, leaving little scope for them to add to their holdings of rupee debt in a substantial manner.

“Much of the capital inflow into India this year has come from foreign investment into Indian local currency debt,” said Ray Farris, Singapore-based head of fixed-income research and economics for Asia Pacific at Credit Suisse Group AG. “This flow is now running up against regulatory limits and is likely to moderate sharply over the coming months.”

Farris, however, said his firm expects India’s government to increase limits on global funds’ holdings of bonds, which should prevent flows from “stopping outright.” The limits on foreign ownership have been a sore point with fund managers chasing returns in one of the world’s fastest-growing economy.
http://gulfnews.com/business/sector...ee-advance-as-two-year-high-reached-1.2069053

 

[RISING SUN]

15 New Lines for Railway infrastructure in the State of Assam and North Eastern States
ew Delhi: Indian Railways have laid a great emphasis on improvement and development of Railway infrastructure in the State of Assam and North Eastern States. 15 major projects of New Lines have been taken up in North Eastern States including in the State of Assam. Details of these projects are as under:
S.No. Name of Project (with length) Anticipated Cost Expenditure upto March’ 2017 Outlay 2017-18
1 Bogibeel bridge with linking lines between Dibrugharh and North Bank line (73 km) 4996 4102 300
2 New Moynaguri-Jogighopa New Line with Gauge Conversion of New Mal-Moynaguri Road and New Changrabanda-Changrabanda (289 km) 2531 2182 75
3 Jiribam-Imphal (111 km) 6571 5278 1400
4 Dimapur-Kohima (88 km) 2973 237 350
5 Agartala-Sabroom (110 km) 2720 1692 404
6 Teteliya-Byrnihat (22 km) 496 372 150
7 Bhairabi-Sairang (51 km) 2820 1127 600
8 Sivok-Rangpo (44 km) 4190 536 250
9 Byrnihat-Shillong (108 km) 5308 23 200
10 Murkongselek-Pasighat (31 km) 436 141 172
11 Agartala-Akhaura (13 km) 887 210 350
12 Dimapur-Tizit (257 km)* 4488 – 1
13 Salona-Khumtai (99 km)* 5958 – 1
14 Sibsagar Town – Jorhat Town (62 km)* 1296 – 1
15 Tezpur-Silghat Town (25 km)* 2025 – 1

*proposed railway line in Assam and other North Eastern States included in Budget subject to requisite approvals.

Final Location Survey for new lines included in Budget have been taken up by Northeast Frontier Railway.

Railways have huge throwforward of ongoing projects with limited availability of resources. Completion of projects also depends upon land acquisition and forestry clearance, adverse law and order conditions, NOC from Road, Canal and Electrical crossings from different authorities of Central / State Governments.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 04.08.2017 (Friday).

https://orissadiary.com/15-new-lines-railway-infrastructure-state-assam-north-eastern-states/