Inflation likely to moderate till September: Dun & Bradstreet
Headline inflation is expected to moderate till September this year and stay below 5 %, largely due to base effect, global research firm Dun and Bradstreet said in a report.
According to the Dun and Bradstreet economy forecast while subdued demand is expected to slow down the overall inflation, upside risks to overall inflation persists from depreciation of rupee and increase in global crude oil prices.
D&B expects the WPI inflation to remain in the range of 4.7 % - 4.9 % during May 2013. The wholesale price (WPI) based inflation was 5.96 % in March, while in April, 2012, it was 7.50 per cent.
(Sources: Business Standard, Economic Times, Indiatimes, Moneycontrol, Smart Investors)
Needs to boost manufacturing to bridge CAD, trade gap: DIPP
The country needs to boost its manufacturing sector to bridge the ballooning current account deficit (CAD) and trade imbalance, Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Saurabh Chandra, said here at a Ficci function.
He said that there are countries which have trade surpluses equal to India's trade deficit.
India's trade deficit has touched an all-time high of USD 191 billion during the last fiscal. India's CAD deficit touched a record high of 6.7 % of GDP in the October-December quarter. CAD occurs when a country's total imports of goods, services and transfers are greater than the country's total export of goods, services and transfers.
National Manufacturing Policy aims at increasing contribution of manufacturing to the national GDP from current 16 % to 25-26 % by 2025 and of creating 100 million jobs in the next decade.
(Sources: Zeenews, Hindu Business Line, Business Standard, Moneycontrol)
Bilateral trade with Canada may touch $15 billion by 2015
India's bilateral trade with Canada is expected to grow to $15 billion by 2015 from the present $5.8 billion, Canadian Consul General Richard Bale said at a conference on Renewable Energy in Mumbai.
During the India visit of Canadian Prime Minister last November, both the Prime Ministers set an ambitious target to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the end of the year that would boost the Indian and Canadian economics by $6 billion and result in a significant increase in bilateral trade, Bale said.
The government of Canada has committed $13.8 million over five years to establish Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence. The Centre will fund greater collaboration between Indian and Canadian researchers and is expected to be operational by year-end, Bale added.
Canadian investments in science and technology currently amount to $12 billion per year and have created one of the strongest science and technology bases in the world, he said.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Zeenews, News Track India, News BCC, i4u)
Cairn India to spend $3 billion on oil exploration in 3 years
Vedanta group firm Cairn India will invest $ 3 billion (over $ 2.92 billion) in the next three years to expand its oil and gas production in the country, a top company official said today.
Of this, more than 80 % (over$ 2.34 billion) of the total capex will be invested on Cairn's prolific Barmer oil block in Rajasthan, company's CEO P Elango said, adding that entire capex will be met through internal resources only. The company has plans to drill 100 new oil wells to monetise new reserves at the Rajasthan block, whose resource potential is 7.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Business Standard, Rediff News, India Everyday)
DGH rejects Cairn plea for restoring relinquished area in Rajasthan
Upstream regulator DGH has rejected Cairn India's plea seeking return of nearly 8,000 square kilometers of area in its prolific Rajasthan block that it had over the years contractually relinquished.
The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) on May 5 wrote to the Oil Ministry saying return on nomination basis of any area previously relinquished by Cairn was not legally tenable.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Hindu Business Line, Infraline, Zeenews)
Honda, H&M approach DIPP for single-brand retail stores
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) and Swedish fashion retail giant H&M have sought government approval for opening up of single-brand retail stores in the country.
“Both H&M and Honda have applied,” said Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) secretary Saurabh Chandra.
HMSI, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Japanese auto giant Honda, which had sought approval of the Foreign Investment promotion Board (FIPB), has proposed to sell products like two-wheeler motor cycles, spare parts and accessories in their stores. At present, the firm sells its vehicles as well as spare parts through franchises.
On the other hand, H&M has proposed an investment of 100 million euro for opening up 50 stores in the country.
(Sources: Livemint, Indian Express, Moneycontrol, Financial Express, Press Trust of India)
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