Inflation must fall to 4-6 percent; Budget 2013 may help: RBI
India's stubbornly high inflation must come down to a 4 to 6 % range, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief Duvvuri Subbarao said on Wednesday, noting full implementation of this year's budget will have a "softening impact" on price growth.
The RBI holds a policy meeting next week and is widely expected by analysts to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 7.50 %.
India's headline wholesale price index inflation had been above 7 % from 2009 until January, when it fell to 6.62 % from a year earlier. It is expected to have eased further to 6.54 % in February, a Reuters poll showed.
(Sources: Business Standard, Reuters India, IBNLive, India Everyday, Smart Investors)
AP industrial growth pegged at 0.73%
Industrial output in Andhra Pradesh touched rock bottom in 2012-13 registering a growth of 0.73%, according to the advance estimates (at constant prices) prepared by the directorate of economics and statistics.
The primary reason attributed to this record low growth is the power crisis. This is the second consecutive year that AP is going through a 2-percentage-point decline in GSDP (gross state domestic product) growth from 9.66 % in 2010-11 (revised estimates) to 7.82 in 2011-12 and to the estimated 5.29 % for the current year.
The standalone growth in the agriculture sector is estimated at 1.96 % as compared with 0.78 % growth in the last year (2011-12). The revival mostly comes from allied sectors like fisheries and animal husbandry, according to the officials.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Business Standard, Smart Investors, Moneycontrol)
TN proposes four fishing harbours
Tamil Nadu has proposed four fishing harbours in different places in the state as part of promoting the deep-sea fishing and upgrading the relevant facilities for this.
Plans are to set up fishing harbours in four places - Nagapattinam, Poompuhar, Pazhayar and Mookaiyur - to improve the facilities, including storage of fish. State chief minister J Jayalalithaa has granted an administrative sanction for setting up the facility in Poompuhar, according to an official release. Around $ 1.23 million has been allocated as an initial sum.
(Sources: Business Standard, Chennai Vision, Hindu Business Line, the Hindu, Moneycontrol)
No change in FDI policy to hit global retailers like Walmart, Carrefour
The government does not plan to liberalize foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in the retail sector, said a senior government official, ruling out any change in policy in the near future and dashing hopes of global retail chains such as Walmart and Carrefour.
Senior executives and representatives of these companies met government officials in New Delhi this week to lobby for concessions. These included relaxing the local sourcing conditions, making investment in real estate part of the mandatory $50-million investment that foreign retail companies have to make in back-end infrastructure, as well as lowering the minimum investment figure itself.
A top industry ministry official, however, said these demands have not been accepted.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, India Everyday, Daily India News, IBNLive)
India strengthens its nuclear export norms
India has strengthened its nuclear export norms by updating a list of dual-use technologies to align it with globally acceptable standards as the country seeks to boost its chances to gain entry into four international export control regimes for weapons and nuclear technology.
India had also placed 12 nuclear plants and seven other installations under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards according to a commitment made by the country to separate its civil and military units, foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai said on Wednesday. India has put the nuclear plants under international watch in return for the removal of a 34-year-old embargo against international nuclear commerce.
(Sources: Livemint, India Everyday, Smart Investors, India Everyday, Daily India News)
RIL to invest $27 bn in next four years: Report
Reliance Industries (RIL) plans to invest about $27 billion in next four years across its core oil and gas and petrochemical businesses as also new ventures like telecom.
RIL will spend $11 billion in oil and gas exploration including US shale gas venture and $4 billion in refining business.
Another $8 billion is planned in petrochemical projects while $3 billion would go into its yet to be launched telecom venture. The rest $1 billion would go into retail business, it said.
RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani had last year announced plans to invest $ 18.42 billion across energy, retail and telecom businesses in the next five years to double operating profit.
(Sources: India Today, Business Today, Livemint, the Hindu, Hindustan Times, Tribune India)
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