สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 28 มกราคม 2555
India may slap 10% duty on gold jewellery import from Thailand
India has told Thailand that it will impose 6 to 10 % duty on gold jewellery imports in the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), according commerce ministry sources. The move is aimed at curbing a spurt in gold jewellery imports in recent times, which may rise further as the government raises Customs duty on gold imports.
However, the commerce ministry has ruled out a total ban on gold imports from Thailand.
During April-November 2012, gold jewellery imports from Thailand stood at $92 million. It was $13 million in the entire FY12. Most gold jewellery imported from Thailand is reportedly coming from China and Malaysia.
Import from Thailand stand at 0.02 % of overall gold imports into India. Currently, India has early harvest scheme with Thailand under which gold jewellery is imported at zero per cent.
(Sources: Business Standard, i4u, Moneycontrol, India Everyday, Rediff)
India to become manufacturing hub: Anand Sharma
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Sunday said that the National Manufacturing Policy has taken off with the single-window clearance mechanism in place and the land issue has been addressed.
"We have effectively put in place a single-window clearance mechanism," he said at an inaugural session of the three-day CII Partnership Summit in Agra, adding that this will make India one of the manufacturing hubs in the 21st century.
The National Manufacturing Policy announced in 2011 will create national investment and manufacturing zones involving greenfield projects. "We have approved 12 zones, out of which one will be in Uttar Pradesh so that we create 100-million jobs by the next decade", he said.
The aim is to take the share of manufacturing from 16 % in the GDP to 26% in the next decade, he added.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Zeenews, India Everyday, APN News, i4u)
Bihar govt to promote private industrial parks
To counter the scarcity of industrial land in Bihar, the state government is now planning to promote private industrial parks. For such investors, the state government is also willing to offer substantial subsidies.
Industrial Development Commissioner, Naveen Verma, said that Bihar has the highest population density in the country and land unavailability has emerged as a biggest bottleneck for the rapid industrialization of the state. Therefore, he said that Bihar Government welcome all those investors, who want to set up private industrial parks here. But they first have to submit some strong proposals to back their initiatives. If the state government likes their proposals, then government may get ready to offer subsidies up to 30-40 percent.
(Sources: Business Standard, i4u, Moneycontrol, India Everyday, Yahoo, Firstpost)
New investment proposals to pick up in March quarter: CMIE
Investment proposals are expected to see a spurt in the current quarter on the back of Vibrant Gujarat Summit (VGS) that was held earlier this month, according to a report by CMIE.
The sixth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit concluded in Gandhinagar last week with BJP government in the state claiming new investments worth $ 742.68 billion.
The CMIE report believes that Narendra Modi's resounding hat-trick in the Gujarat Assembly elections will help Gujarat garner more investment proposals.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Zeenews, CMIE, Hindu Business Line, Allvoices)
Indian economy likely to grow by 6.7 per cent in 2013-14: Ficci
Indian economy is expected to grow at a rate of 6.7 % in the 2013-14 on account of expectations of cut in the key policy rates by the RBI which may have a positive impact on industrial growth and consumption, a Ficci survey today said.
The chamber has revised its growth forecast upwards from 6.5 % to 6.7 % for the 2013-14 fiscal.
"This improvement is largely based on the expectation of a possible cut in the policy rates which is expected to have positive impact on industrial growth and consumption," Ficci's Economic Outlook Survey said.
(Sources: Business Today, Moneycontrol, Times of India, India Everyday, Press Trust of India)
FDI in services sector dips 14% in Apr-Nov 2012-13
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the services sector declined by about 14 % to USD 3.63 billion during the April-November period this fiscal.
The financial and non-financial services sector had attracted FDI worth USD 4.22 billion during the same period last year, according to the Industry Ministry data.
As far as overall FDI inflows are concerned, they declined to USD 15.84 billion during the first eight months of the current financial year, from USD 27.92 billion in the year-ago period.
In 2011-12, foreign investment in the services sector, which contributes over 50 % to India's GDP, rose to USD 5.21 billion from USD 3.29 billion in 2010-11.
Foreign investments are considered crucial for India, which needs around USD 1 trillion in the next five years to overhaul its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth.
(Sources: Economic Times, Financial Express, Press Trust of India, Moneycontrol, Zeenews)
Remove FDI ban from retail e-commerce: Assocham
Industry body Assocham has asked the government to remove the ban on foreign direct investment in retail e-commerce business.
Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat has written to Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal seeking his support in removing current restriction on Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce.
As per the present norms, e-commerce companies engaged in business-to-business trade, like selling materials or bulk product to business firms are allowed to infuse up to 100 % FDI in their company.
Rawat said that estimated revenue from this sector is expected to be about USD 15 billion by 2015 and can lead to wider reach of farmers and other domestic product firms, helping them realize better value of their products. He also added that FDI permit in B2C e-commerce segment will attract investment in back-end infrastructure of companies in country which in turn will create multiple job opportunities.
(Sources: Economic Times, Hindu Business Line, Financial Express, Press Trust of India, Moneycontrol)
Economic Section
Royal Thai Embassy