สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 26 กุมภาพันธ์ 2557

Jewellery exports to key market US under threat from illicit imports of gold

A sharp rise in smuggled gold can damage India's jewellery exports as illicit imports may be sourced from illegal mines, which attract punitive trade measures from the US - the market that absorbs nearly 60 per cent of gem and ornaments shipped out of India. The stakes are high as jewellery exports from India stood at Rs 1,53,862.94 crore for the April 2013 - January 2014 period. US importers carry out due diligence of the chain of raw materials and the process of manufacturing of the supplier. If they detect any violation, they have the option of suing the Indian exporter according to the Dodd Frank Act in the US court of law. Most of the US importers carry out such due diligence intermittently but without informing the exporters. In fact, World Gold Council has estimated that nearly 150-200 tonne gold has entered Indian market in 2013 through the illegal route. The jewellers had made a last ditch attempt to persuade the government to bring down the import duty to 2 per cent from 10 per cent in the last parliament session of UPA-II government, which ended on February 20.

(Source: Economic Times)

India likely to export 18 million tonnes rice, wheat in 2013/14: Report

India is likely to export about 18 million tonnes of rice and wheat in 2013/14, the government's adviser on farm prices said, as the world's second-biggest producer of these grains looks for ways to handle another record crop. Ashok Gulati also suggested India should release 15-20 million tonnes of the grains for open market sales to cut massive mounds of stocks and help ease food inflation. India, the world's biggest rice and wheat producer after China, exported 22 million tonnes of the grains in the last fiscal year to March 31, 2013 after New Delhi lifted a four-year-old ban on overseas shipments of the staples in late 2011. Rising rice exports helped India replace Thailand as the world's top rice exporter and wheat shipments picked up at the expense of rival suppliers Russia and Ukraine.  

(Source: Economic Times)

India to block US trade probes, ready for fight at WTO

India has decided to block investigations by the United States into its trade policies and patent laws and prepare for a battle at the World Trade Organization (WTO), a move that could escalate already-strained tension between the two countries.  New Delhi is furious about a threat of trade sanctions made by the US Trade Representative's (USTR) office over its protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), preference for domestic producers and non-trade barriers. Ahead of a general election, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government does not want to be seen as bowing to US pressure, amid lingering tension over the recent arrest and strip search of a female diplomat in New York suspected of visa fraud. On Wednesday, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) - which represents about 50 US business groups - asked the USTR to designate India a Priority Foreign Country in its 2014 report. "This designation appropriately would rank India among the very worst violators of intellectual property rights and establish a process leading to concrete solutions," NAM said in a letter to US Trade Representative Michael Froman. The USTR is holding public hearings for its annual report due in April. The report will provide details on nations denying protection of IP rights or fair market access to US firms.

(Source: Economic Times)

US investors keen on investing in WB: Mitra

After a gap of 10 years, the US investors have expressed their interest in investing in West Bengal keeping pace with the change in the state, state's Finance and Industry Minister Amit Mitra today said.  After his one-and-half hour meeting with the 13-member AMCHAM India delegation led by its chairman Lowell Paddock, Mitra told reporters here that the US investors had shown keen interest in investing in a number of sectors in the state and future cooperation considering it as a hub in South East Asia and among ASEAN countries. The areas of possible investment by the US investors in West Bengal included energy, manufacturing sector, aircraft repairing, IT, healthcare, agricultural marketing and tourism, Mitra said. Optimistic about investment in the state, the Minister said he had asked the members of the delegation, representing various multinational companies, to come up with specific proposals for the state government's consideration. Describing his meeting with the AMCHAM executive committee, Mitra said the members of the delegation were considering various modes of investment in the state, including the PPP model.

(Source: Business Standard)

'Recovery in government spending, private investment to remain subdued'

A recovery in private investments, consumption and government spending is likely to remain subdued for the next one year, says a report. "We believe that a meaningful recovery in private capex, government spending or private consumption, will be difficult to achieve over the next 6-12 months while policy makers focus on improving macro stability indicators such as inflation, the current account deficit and improving banking sector balance sheet," Morgan Stanley said in a report.  Due to constraints that domestic demand is facing, the strength of the overall growth uptick will depend on improvements in exports in the near term and the measures to boost productivity in the medium-term, the report said. It further said the general election scheduled for May 2014 will be critical in determining the pace of the recovery. "We believe a strong set of policy reforms which improves productivity will help to kick start the macro adjustment process that will help to lay the foundation for a future boom phase in the growth cycle," the report said.  The report expects CPI inflation to moderate over the next 12 months, however, the pace of moderation will likely be gradual. "The recent monetary tightening, reduced mis-allocation in the household balance sheet (lower allocation to gold and property), the focus of the corporate sector on improving productivity, demand compression and lower year-on-year of global commodity prices should help moderate CPI inflation to around 7.5-8 per cent by March, 2015," the report said.

(Source: Economic Times)

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