สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 10 ธันวาคม 2556

Increase in gold smuggling due to hike in import duty

The Finance Ministry has said incidence of gold smuggling has increased due to hike in import duty and fluctuation in global prices. With an aim to discourage gold imports, one of the major reason for high current account deficit, the government has raised the customs duty to 10 per cent, while on jewellery it has been increased to 15 per cent. During April-October 2013-14 period, there were 664 cases of gold smuggling. The Minister of State for Finance J D Seelam said that the maximum amounts of seizures (in terms of number and value) have been reported from various international airports wherein the gold/gold jewellery was being attempted to be smuggled using the passengers as well as cargo and courier. Mostly the source of the seized gold/gold jewellery had been UAE, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Hong Kong.

(Source: Economic Times)

FDI in retail: Poll verdicts raise uncertainty

The legislative Assembly poll verdict against the Congress has lead to more apprehension among foreign retail brands. The governments of Delhi and Rajasthan, top destinations for international retail chains, were among the first to say yes to allowing these after the Cabinet permitted up to 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand chains last year. The policy let each government decide if foreign chains could roll out there. No foreign multi-brand retailer has launched or even filed an application to operate in India yet. So after the loss of Congress in Delhi and Rajasthan there is apprehension on what lies ahead. Experts say whoever forms the government at the Centre after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections would need to look for a pragmatic retail FDI policy. The second half of the next calendar year is seen as the earliest for any action on foreign investment in the retail sector, says Arvind Singhal, founder and chairman Technopak Advisors, a consultancy in this area. The existing retail policy, with all the riders attached, is the biggest hurdle for those wishing to come in, he said; a state-by-state nod comes after that. Many other investor-friendly states, in favour of FDI in multi-brand retail, are also election-bound in 2014. For example, the Congress-ruled states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana will face assembly polls in 2014, a factor seen as an uncertainty for international retailers. This of States which had said yes to FDI were Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Manipur, Assam, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Daman & Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. It had Rajasthan and Delhi but these might now go the other way.

(Source: Business Standard)

Cloud over economy to remain: Experts

There would be uncertainty on the economic front till a new government comes in at the Centre after the 2014 general elections, experts said. The results of the Assembly elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, announced on Sunday, have gone against the Congress, which is leading the government at the Centre. The anti-Congress wave seen in the states could make the government go slow on reforms and the pending Bills, experts said. Among the major pending Bills, the government was expected to table in Parliament the ones on insurance and the Direct Taxes Code. Finance Minister P Chidambaram had met the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, and the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, to discuss the Bills. But the election results have lowered all hopes of the Bills being passed soon

(Source: Business Standard)

Economic Section

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