PM leaves for Japan, says trip to give new meaning to India's 'Look East' policy
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left here today on a two-nation five-day visit to Japan and Thailand aiming to give a "new meaning" to India's 'Look East' policy and hoping it will contribute to peace, prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific.
Singh, who flew to Tokyo, his first halt, described Japan as a "key regional and global partner for India".
In his departure statement, Singh said he proposed to invigorate India's relations with Japan in the political, security and energy spheres.
"My visits to Japan and Thailand will add depth and new meaning to our 'Look East' policy and contribute to peace, prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific," he said.
(Sources: Indian Express, Economic Times, Indiatimes, Hindu Business Line)
Delhi, Bangkok to take up gold import irregularities
With traders mounting pressure on the government to resume gold imports from Thailand, New Delhi and Bangkok are set to take up allegations of irregularities.
Gold trade between the two countries was suspended in the wake of finance ministry's suspicions that traders were bringing in cheaper gold from other Southeast Asian countries through Thailand to avoid steep import duties. New Delhi is also concerned about the adverse impact of gold imports — which hit $38 billion in 2012-13 — on India's current account deficit.
The Early Harvest Scheme (EHS) signed by India and Thailand in 2004 allows import of gold jewellery at a concessional duty of 1% against a regular duty of 6%. But these imports have to be backed by Rules of Origin (ROO) certificates to ensure the benefit is available to Thai businesses. The issue of alleged irregularities in gold imports from Thailand will be on PM Manmohan Singh's agenda during his visit to Bangkok next week, official sources told FE.
(Sources: Financial Express)
DGH rejects Cairn India’s Barmer restoration plea
Upstream oil and gas regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has rejected Cairn India’s request to restore around 8,000 sq km of area that it relinquished about a decade ago at its Barmer block in Rajasthan.
The company currently holds the 3,111 sq km at the Barmer block (RJ-ON-90/1) where it has made 26 discoveries so far.
A DGH official told that the restoration of the block was denied as the production sharing contract (PSC) that Cairn India signed with the government did not permit the restoration of the acreage.
To date, Cairn India’s 26 discoveries in the block put its in-place reserves at around 7.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwarya fields constitute Cairn India’s main assets in Rajasthan. The company has given guidance for exiting FY14 at production levels of 200,000-215,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), against current production levels of 175,000 bpd.
(Sources: Financial Express, Express India, Reuters India)
Import of cheap Chinese rubber goods hits local units: AIRIA
Huge imports of cheap rubber goods from China spurred by a low import duty are leading to the closure of local rubber units making small and tiny products at a time when India is poised to emerge as a major manufacturer of rubber goods as production shifts from the west to eastern parts of the world. The export growth of Indian rubber products has been in double digits over the last two decades with an overall export of $ 2.75 billion in the year ending March 2013.
In a letter to the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, AIRIA has said the duty on finished goods being imported from China and other countries is at 0-10%, while the import duty on key raw materials including natural rubber and synthetic rubber is at 10-70%. Since domestic production is less than local demand, units need to import rubber after paying hefty import duties.
With over 35,000 rubber products, it is difficult to prove dumping charges and most manufacturers being small, they do not have the resources to initiate anti-dumping proceedings according to law, said the association.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Indian Radios, Industries News, India Everyday)
Coal India to import coal for 78k MW capacity
The coal ministry has recommended Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to meet coal demands of 78,000 mw of power projects partly through imports since Coal India will not be able to cater more than 65-75% of supplies from its domestic production. The higher cost of imported coal may be allowed as a pass through in tariff fixation. Early this month, the ministry of power that has been working on coal price pooling mechanism for past few months sought Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's advise for implementation of this recommendation.
To meet its balance obligations for coal supplies, Coal India will supply imported coal to 78,000 mw of power plants on cost plus basis. It includes 60,000 mw of post -2009 power plants, 7,000 mw having letter of assurance and 11,000 mw of projects having tapering linkage. Power project developers will have liberty to import coal directly if they wish to.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Infraline, Rediff News, i4u
Consumption of organic products on the rise: Assocham study
There has been a major shift towards organic products, especially fruit and vegetables in the metropolitan cities as about 62 % of metropolitans in the high-income-group bracket buy organic, an increase of 95 % in the last five years, according to Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
The survey 'Rising demand of Organic products in Metropolitan cities' is based on the response of 1,500 lead retailers selling non-organic and organic products. About 1,000 retailers cited that health and environment grounds are the main reasons for purchasing organic products by customer, the industry body stated in a press release.
Major metropolitan cities in which respondents were interviewed include Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Cochin, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Patna, Pune, Chandigarh and Dehradun.
(Sources: Business Standard, Economic Times, Indiatimes, News BCC)
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