Eight Indian firms in Fortune 500 list IOC, RIL lead the pack
Eight Indian companies have made the cut in the list of the world’s 500 largest companies compiled by Fortune magazine, with Indian Oil and Reliance Industries finding a place in the top 100.
Out of the eight, five are state-run entities. With an annual revenue of $86,016 million, Indian Oil (IOC) has cornered the 83rd spot, up from 98th place last year. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) is the first Indian private company to make it into the top 100 list. With an annual revenue of $76,119 million, RIL has improved its ranking to 99 from last year’s 134.
Besides IOC and RIL, the other Indian companies in the list are steel maker Tata Steel, auto company Tata Motors, oil entities Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Oil & Natural Gas and public sector bank State Bank of India (SBI).
(Sources: Business Standard, Business Today, Times of India, Economic Times)
FICCI asks Tamil Nadu govt to give big push to power sector
Industry body FICCI yesterday called upon the Tamil Nadu government to give a "big push" to the power sector, besides suggesting various steps to ensure a better investment scenario in the state.
Released at FICCI's national executive committee meeting here, it said the state has to focus on easing the process of doing business by adopting computerization of its processes and making these available online.
Industries Minister P Thangamani recalled the government signing Memoranda of Understanding with major companies, including Daimler and Yamaha recently and said 27 major prospective investments to the tune of $ 538 billion were in the pipeline.
(Sources: Economic Times, the Hindu, Indiatimes, Moneycontrol, Hindu Business Line)
Bosch forays into two-wheeler service segment
As part of its service footprint expansion in the country, auto component maker Bosch today introduced workshop concept in the two-wheeler segment here.
Announcing its foray into the two-wheeler service centers, Bosch has opened 10 Express Bike Service (EBS) outlets in the city on the lines of sole outlet at Delhi.
(Sources: Business Standard, Economic Times, Moneycontrol, Times of India)
Business confidence in Indian economy has taken a big hit, say reports
Business confidence in the economy has dipped sharply, two separate reports indicate.
A Standard Chartered Bank survey of its clients showed they are pessimistic about the near-term growth prospects for the Indian economy, a fact underlined by the Dun and Bradstreet Business Optimism Index, which has dipped to the lowest in 12 quarters.
(Sources: Economic Times, Moneycontrol, Worldnews, Hindu Business Line)
Slowdown in India to continue and might aggravate: OECD
The slowdown in India's economic activity is likely to continue and might aggravate in the coming months, Paris-based economic think tank said on Monday, scotching hopes that Asia's third-largest economy had bottomed out in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its monthly release of composite leading indicators (CLI) has said that India's economic activity points strongly to a slowdown with growth further decelerating from the long-term average.
(Sources: Economic Times, Moneycontrol, Tribune India, Indiatimes)
India Inc seeks reform measures from govt to revive ailing economy
India Inc has asked the government for measures to revive the economy, suggesting dual pricing of diesel, FDI in multi-brand retail and civil aviation, further reduction in repo rate by 100 basis points and cash reserve ratio.
Representatives of leading industry chambers CII, Assocham, South Indian Chamber of Commerce and PHDCCI on Monday met Prime Minister's key economic aide, C Rangarajan, to present their demands.
India's GDP growth fell to 6.5% during 2011-12 but the fourth quarter growth rate dropped to5.3%, the slowest in past nine years. Revival of the economy and the industrial sector would hinge on putting in place a coordinated fiscal, monetary and administrative response that would ease the supply constraints and revive investment demand in the economy, industry leaders said.
(Sources: Economic Times, Moneycontrol, Worldnews, Hindu Business Line)
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