Daily Economic News - 31 July 2014

1. Saudi Arabia Bans Import of Pepper from India:
Saudi authorities have decided to impose temporary ban on import of pepper from India with effect from May 30. According to reports, presence of high levels of pesticides in the Indian consignment was the reason to put the import restriction. According to the Indian Spices Board, chilli peppers are one of India's largest foreign currency earners, and between April and November 2013 a quantity of 181,500 tonnes of chilli peppers worth USD 3 million were exported.
(Source: Financial Express)

2. India Gets Edge Over China:
The manufacturing cost competitiveness of a handful of countries including India remained steady relative to the US over the last decade, while several economies like China and Brazil, which were traditionally regarded as low cost manufacturing bases have started losing their edge. According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), India, Indonesia, Netherlands and UK have managed to significantly increase their manufacturing cost competitiveness and have positioned themselves as the potential future leaders in each of their respective regions.
BCG pointed out that China’s estimated manufacturing cost advantage over the US has shrunk to less than 5 per cent from 14 per cent a decade ago due to skyrocketing labour and energy costs. Brazil is now estimated to be more expensive than much of Western Europe.
(Source: The Asian Age)

3. Employment rises 34% between 2005 and 2013:
According to the Sixth Economic Census, released on Wednesday, employment in urban quarters of the country increased by 37.46 per cent to 6.14 crore in 2013, whereas in rural areas the growth was 31.59 per cent to 6.62 crore compared to 2005. The survey also showed an increase in the proportion of women in the total workforce, as it went up to 25.56 per cent in 2013 from 20 per cent in 2005. Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of employed people at 1.43 crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 1.37 crore, West Bengal at 1.15 crore, Tamil Nadu 1.08 crore and Gujarat at 90.63 lakh. The Economic Census does not include employment in agriculture, public administration, Defence and compulsory social security services activities.
(Source: The Pioneer)

4. India Airline Companies headed for $1.4 billion loss in 2014 – 15: CAPA
Over the last seven years Indian airlines have lost approximately $10.6 billion (Rs 63,663 crore) and the red ink is expected to continue, the report said. Capa estimated that Indian carriers other than IndiGo, will require $1.6 billion (Rs 9,610 crore) of funding this year to stabilise their operations, let alone for investment in aircraft. Given the current environment this is likely to be a challenging exercise. Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa) is Aviation’s consultancy firm
(Source: Hindustan Times)

5. Amazon lines up $2 billion for expansion in India:
In the biggest corporate face off in India’s fledgling e-commerce sector, global online retail giant Amazon on Wednesday announced an investment of $2 billion (Rs 12,000 crore) for expansion of its India operations, just a day after local player Flipkart raised $1billion (Rs 6,000 crore) to fund its growth plans.
Online retailing accounted for $13 billion of India’s $500-billion retail market in 2013, but it is expected to touch $76 billion by 2021. This high growth rate is being fuelled by rising broadband penetration, increase in adoption of Internet-enabled smartphones and a growing penchant for online purchase by Indians.
India doesn’t allow FDI in retail e-commerce but allows it in market places where third-party sellers sell directly to shoppers through online portals as well as in wholesale trading.
(Source: Hindustan Times)

Thaiindianet.Team

31 July 2014