Vibrant Gujarat Summit starts today
The sixth edition of the two-day Vibrant Gujarat Summit (VGS) 2013 is set to begin tomorrow, at Mahatma Mandir in the state capital, Gandhinagar.
Around 50,000 delegates from India and 1,800 others from 105 countries are expected to participate in the two-day summit, followed by meetings between businesses and government on Sunday. VGS will see many industry stalwarts. These include new Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry, the Ambani brothers, Anand Mahindra, Sunil Bharti Mittal and Kumar Mangalam Birla.
The 2011 edition of VGS had concluded with investment commitments of $450 billion. This was far higher than the $ 227 billion during the fourth edition of the summit in 2009. In 2011 the government had signed 7,936 memoranda of understanding during the mega event and claimed the investment would provide employment to 5.2 million people in the state.
(Sources: Economic Times, Business Standard, Indian Express, Hindu Business Line, NDTV)
Overall trade deficit a cause for concern
Commerce Secretary S R Rao on Thursday said that overall trade deficit is a cause of concern. However, it won’t continue for long. It is expected that from January things will be better. Even in December there has been marginal reduction in deficit, said Rao. He said that the government has announced some additional support, including fiscal measures for boosting exports.
According to the Federation of Indian Export Organizations President Rafeeq Ahmed, the trade deficit will be somewhere between $40 and $45 billion. India’s trade deficit in two months of October and November totalled nearly $40 billion.
(Sources: Business Standard, i4u, Zeenews, IBNLive, Hindu Business Line)
Expect 8% growth rate in 2-3 yrs: Montek
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Thursday said gross domestic product (GDP) expansion was likely to improve to eight per cent annually in the next two to three years from below-six per cent at present. He also termed HSBC’s projection at 5.2 % this year incorrect, saying the second half was likely to be better than the first half.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Business Standard, Rediff, i4u, Moneycontrol, NDTV)
Barclays sees India's GDP growth rate at 6.6% in FY'14
India's economy is likely to grow at 6.6 % in the next financial year (FY14) on the back of expected monetary easing by the Reserve Bank, coupled with possible policy initiatives by the Government, Barclays has said in a report.
It, however, added that growth of Asia's third largest economy would stay below its historical averages.
Indicating that future policy initiatives will depend on the course of politics this year, the report maintained it would be difficult to stick to the 5.3 % fiscal deficit target set by the Government on the back of weaker revenues among other factors.
(Sources: Business Standard, Indian Express, Financial Express, Moneycontrol, i4u, IBNLive)
Indian auto components industry could outpace China in the coming years
According to a research report by Espirito Santo Securities, the Indian auto and auto components industry can be expected to surpass China's growth path by 2021. ACMA, the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India has pegged annual growth for the industry at 12% from 2012 to 2021.
But the research report states that the industry is in a comfortable position to beat this estimated growth rate driven by robust demand from OEMs or original equipment manufactures coupled with growth in the replacement market as vehicles age and exports improve with scale, as was seen in China.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Zeenews, IBNLive, NDTV, Moneycontrol, i4u)
India attains highest growth rate in April-November steel output: Beni Prasad Verma
Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma today congratulated the domestic steel industry on being the number one in terms of growth rate in production among top ten producing countries.
"During April - November 2012, the Indian steel industry achieved a growth rate of 5.36 % which was the highest in the world," a statement said.
India had produced 51.47 MT of steel during the period as against 48.85 MT during the same period previous fiscal.
China stood third during the period with a growth rate of 3.36 % while the world's average growth rate of steel was just 0.97 % during April-November 2012, a Steel Ministry statement said.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Zeenews, IBNLive, NDTV, Moneycontrol, i4u)
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