สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 30 เมษายน 2556
Current account deficit likely to improve to 3.9% of GDP in FY'14: Report
India's current account deficit (CAD) is likely to witness a "gradual" improvement in the next two to three years and it is expected to come down to 3.9 % of the GDP this fiscal, says a Barclays report.
"India's current account balance has weakened significantly since FY2010-11, but we expect an improvement over the next two-three years, albeit at a gradual pace," Barclays said in a research note.
CAD of a country represents the difference between inflows and outflows of foreign currency.
According to Barclays, India's CAD reached a record 4.9 % of GDP in FY2012-13 (about USD 90 billion) and on a conservative basis, it is likely to improve to 3.9 % of GDP (about USD 80 billion) in FY2013-14.
(Sources: NDTV, Business Today, Zeenews, Economic Times, Indiatimes)
Parliamentary panel recommends enhancing FDI limit in defence sector
Rejecting the Defence Ministry's view on foreign direct investment, a Parliamentary committee has recommended enhancement in FDI limit to attract foreign companies as it would benefit the Indian defence sector in the long run and save precious foreign exchange.
The Standing Committee on Defence took note of the divergent views within the Ministry over the issue. While the Department of Defence Production opposes FDI, the DRDO favours it, the Committee said.
"The Committee desire to recommend enhancement in the FDI limit to attract foreign companies which in a long term would benefit not only the Indian defence industry but also help in providing employment opportunities and saving precious foreign exchange," the Committee said in its report.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, IBNLive, India Everyday, News Hour 24, Asian Age)
Govt for independent regulators to promote PPP projects
The government today made a case for strong independent regulatory authorities to promote Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in sectors like coal, road and rail.
"The regulatory authorities have to be empowered and they have to be given enough authority to be able them to deal with the issues which are arising on the regulatory side," Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram said at a Ficci event here.
Budget 2013-14 has proposed formation of a new regulator for road sector and in Rail budget there has been an announcement for tariff regulator.
Referring to the problems being faced by PPP projects, Mayaram said the government cannot bailout projects which fail due to commercial reasons.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Zeenews, Infraline, News BCC, i4u)
Introduce penalty for delay in clearances to infra projects: Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has suggested introducing some form of penalty for delays in statutory clearances to infrastructure projects being executed in the public-private partnership mode.
"Most projects are delayed because statutory clearances are not delivered on time. One way to handle this is to introduce penalties on behalf of the government," Ahluwalia said at a Ficci conference here on Monday. "If the project is delayed, the government will have to pay penalty. While it may be raising cost of the project, it will also create an incentive not to delay clearance."
Private sector participation in infrastructure PPP projects has grown from 10% of the required investment in the 10th Plan period to 37 % during the 11th Plan.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Indian Commodity, Smart Investors, News Hour 24)
Indian economy to grow at 6.1%: World Bank
India’s economy is likely to grow at 6.1% in the current fiscal, compared with 5% in the previous year; the World Bank said in its India development update but stressed the need for continuing reforms.
In its biannual update, the World Bank said growth may accelerate in the coming months with recent economic data showing signs of a pick up. The forecast is in line with similar ones by the International Monetary Fund as well as economists that the Indian economy may have bottomed out.
With inflation slowing and the government sticking to its fiscal consolidation targets, the Reserve Bank of India may have more room to cut interest rates, which could aid growth momentum, the bank said.
The bank flagged the widening current account deficit as a worry but said the deficit could come down in the current fiscal to 4.5% of GDP with an improvement in the country’s trade deficit.
(Sources: Times of India, Livemint, Economic Times, Hindu Business Line, Money Life)
FII investment crosses $11-bn mark in 2013
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) may well have slowed the pace of investments in the Indian equity market in the recent past, but their net inflows in the current calendar year has crossed yet another psychological mark. The cumulative inflow of foreign investors in the current calendar year (CY13) has crossed the $11-billion mark.
According to data available with Bloomberg and the provisional numbers by stock exchanges, FIIs have been net buyers at $11.13 billion in CY13, which saw both Sensex and Nifty losing around 0.5 % each.
Interestingly, the current month has seen a sharp fall in the quantum of FII investments when compared to the previous months of the current calendar year.
(Sources: Financial Express, Business Standard, Indian Express, Zeenews, Rediff News)
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