India may shut routing of gold import via Thailand
The finance ministry is pitching for removal of gold jewellery from the list of items allowed to be imported from Thailand at concessional duty under the bilateral treaty it has with India. The provision has undermined the government's attempt to make the yellow metal expensive.
Finance minister P Chidambaram recently hinted at initiating measures to make gold imports expensive after rising consumption of the yellow metal lifted India's current account deficit to an all time high 5.4% of GDP in July-September quarter.
North Block has urged the commerce and industry ministry to discuss the issue at the next review of the India-Thailand FTA, which is expected shortly.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Phuket News, Hindu Business Line, Worldnews)
FDI reforms fail to impress India Inc: CII survey
Amid a debate on green shoots of economic recovery, India Inc’s confidence refused to perk the third quarter of 2012-13. It was unimpressed by the much-hyped foreign direct investment (FDI) reforms and remained concerned about political and economic instability, shows a survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The CII Business Confidence Index dropped below 50 points for the first time in the current financial year to stand at 49.9 points in the third quarter, compared with 51.3 % in the second quarter and 55 points in the first three months. It was slightly higher than the 48.6 points in the October-December period.
The index is measured on a scale of 1 to 100 points. A score above 50 indicates positive confidence, while above 75 would mean strong positive confidence. Less than 50 indicate a weak confidence.
(Sources: Business Standard, Economic Times, Indiatimes, i4u, Moneycontrol, India Everyday)
India's steel production grows at fastest pace
India outpaced all major steel producing nations, including China in terms growth rate till November last year, but its position in the world order may still remain at number four.
India had produced 70.115 million tonnes (MT) steel till November 2012, clocking 4.2 % growth over the first 11 months of the last year, according to the World Steel Association (WSA) data.
The second highest growth was recorded by the US at 3.2 %, followed by Russia at 3 %. China's steel production grew by 2.9 %. In South Korea, it grew by 1.6%.
Steel production growth is unlikely to swing very far in the annual figure to be released by WSA a fortnight from now. During the January-November period of 2011, India's steel production had grown by 5.6 % to 66.056 MT.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Press Trust of India, Times of India, the Peoples Chronicle)
India Inc confidence down in October-December: CII
High interest rates and infrastructure bottlenecks dampened the business confidence of corporates in the October-December quarter, a survey by CII has said.
According to CII's quarterly Business Outlook Survey, the Business Confidence Index (BCI) for October-December declined to 49.9 from 51.3 in the previous quarter (July-September).
The fall in the index is an indication of weak business sentiments and is a matter of concern which requires concerted policy intervention, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.
(Sources: Business Standard, NDTV, Economic Times, Indiatimes, IBNLive, i4u, Zeenews)
8.2 per cent economic growth not easy: Plan panel study
Achieving 8.2 % growth during the 12th Plan period (2012-17) will not be easy and a fresh approach to economic issues is needed to push growth, a Planning Commission study has said.
The National Development Council (NDC) has already scaled down the average growth target for the 12th Plan to 8 % from 8.2 % envisaged earlier. The average growth rate was 7.9 % in 11th Plan (2007-12).
The country recorded 9-year low annual economic growth of 6.5 % in 2011-12. The economy has grown by 5.4 % in the first half of this fiscal (April-September).
Meanwhile, noted economist working with the World Bank, Kaushik Basu has also said that the economic growth in the current fiscal would be less than 6 %.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Financial Express, Zeenews, Rediff, Top News Today)
Economy may grow by 6-7.5 pc in 2013-14: Survey
Over a third of corporates expect Indian economy to grow at a rate of 6 % to 7.5 % in 2013-14, a survey by industry body PHDCCI has said.
Of the 277 corporates, who participated in the survey, 34 % said India's GDP growth may range between 6 % and 7.5 % in 2013-14.
About 75 % respondents said that agriculture sector would grow by 2 % to 4%, while the industry sector would grow by below 6 %. Over 77 % respondents said that the slowdown may bottom out in 2013-14.
The Indian economy registered a GDP growth of 5.3 % for the quarter ended September. The economy grew by 5.5 % growth in the June quarter and 6.7 % in the quarter ended September 30, 2011.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Hindu Business Line, Deccan Herald, Indian Express)
Economic Section
Royal Thai Embassy