สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 26 มีนาคม 2556
ASEAN countries eyeing Kerala as major investment destination
A high profile delegation from ASEAN today held discussions with industry heads here for promoting business ties between the bloc and Kerala.
The delegation consisted of Ambassadors, Trade & High Commissioners from seven ASEAN countries including Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia & Myanmar.
The discussions were held at an interactive session with the ASEAN Heads of Mission, a CII press release said.
ASEAN region has emerged as an important trading partner of India over the last one decade. India and ASEAN signed a Free Trade Agreement in 2009, which came into force from January 2010. Negotiations for agreement on services and investment between India and ASEAN countries have been concluded recently.
India has also signed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements (CECA) with Malaysia and Singapore and is currently negotiating CECA with Thailand and Indonesia.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, India Everyday, Asia Net India, ASEAN News Today)
Current account deficit to be 5% this fiscal: Rangarajan
India's Current Account Deficit (CAD) for 2012-13 is likely to be around 5 % of the GDP, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan said today.
CAD, which represents the difference between inflows and outflows of foreign currency, had touched a record high of 5.4 % of GDP in the July-September quarter.
India's trade deficit has fallen to 10-month low of $ 14.9 billion in February on improving exports and a sharp drop in imports. PMEAC Chairman expressed the hope that the capital flows would be adequate to cover the CAD.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indian Express, Financial Express, News Hour 24, Hindu Business Line)
Agri & processed food export to set record
Agricultural and processed food exports from India are likely to set a record this financial year, despite unfavorable global economic sentiment.
These exports had already surpassed last year’s annual figure in the first 10 months of the current financial year, witnessing a strong demand for India’s ready-to-eat and raw food products from foreign markets. Data compiled by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) showed India’s agri and processed foods exports shot up 63 % to set a record at $ 18.74 billion in the first 10 months of 2012-13, as compared to $ 11.50 billion in the corresponding period of last year.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Business Standard, EXIM News, the Hindu)
Chhattisgarh among top three states in development spending
Mineral-rich Chhattisgarh state is among the three states in the country for recording highest development expenditure.
"After reviewing the economic status of all the states in the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ranked that Chhattisgarh state is one of the top three states with highest spending on development work," Chief Minister Raman Singh said. The other two states include Bihar and Jharkhand.
Underlining the RBI report for the financial year 2012-13, he said the financial management in Chhattisgarh state was in a far better position. He said the state government had been spending 49.3 % of its total budget on the social sector that is more than the national average of 40%.
In the education sector also, Chhattisgarh is among the five leading states in the country.
(Sources: Business Standard, Smart Investors, Rediff News, News BCC, Daily India News, India Everyday)
India among world's top 20 real estate investment mkts: Report
India is ranked 20th in the list of world's top real estate investment markets with investment volume of USD 3.4 billion in 2012, property consultant Cushman & Wakefield said in its latest report.
China was at the top position with investment of $ 304.1 billion, followed by US ($ 267.1 billion) and UK ($ 56.3 billion).
The majority of the investments in India were through institutional sales (67 %) while remaining were through private equity (PE) investments (33 %).
Investments in institutional sales saw a decline of 37 % over last year, but private equity investment in India rose by 7 % in 2012 at $ 1.14 billion.
(Sources: Zeenews, Times of India, Business Standard, the Hindu, Firstpost, Press Trust of India)
Four concrete deliverables expected at 5th BRICS Summit at Durban
Four concrete deliverables are expected at the 5th BRICS Summit at Durban March 26-27, 2013, that will take the process of the five-nation bloc forward to the next level, Indian officials said on Monday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who arrived here on Monday evening, will join the leaders from Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa for the summit, being held in the African continent for the first time.
The four deliverables expected at the summit are:
(i) The eThekwini Declaration, named after the alternate name for Durban to set the future agenda for the bloc; (ii) The launch up of the BRICS Business Council on Wednesday at the breakfast meeting among leaders;(iii) A consortium of five think tanks from each of the five countries, with India represented by the Observer Research Foundation; (iv) Two pacts on BRICS Multilateral Infrastructure Co-financing Agreement for Africa and BRICS Multilateral Cooperation and Co-financing Agreement for Sustainable Development where India is represented by its Exim Bank.
(Sources: IBNLive, Financial Times, News Reporter, One News Page, Worldnews)
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