Daily News - Friday, 1 November 2024

Core Sector Growth Rebounds to 2% in Sept after Aug Setback (The Economic Times)

India’s core sector output grew by 2% in September, slightly recovering from August’s 1.6% (a 42-month low) but still marking one of the slowest paces in two years, influenced by easing rainfall disruptions in mining and electricity, according to Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA. Cement production led growth at 7.1% year-on-year, followed by refinery products (5.8%), with declines in crude oil (-3.9%), natural gas (-1.3%), and electricity (-0.5%) output; overall growth for these sectors averaged 4.2% in the first half of the fiscal year, down from 8.2% the previous year. Nayar projects a 3.5% growth in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for September, driven by pre-festive stocking and improvements in GST e-way bill generation, with electricity and mining expected to support this turnaround. 

Goyal: India is not seeking gains from US-China trade war (Financial Express)

⁠India views its economic growth and global positioning as independent of US-China tensions, focusing on its own strengths like a robust democracy, young population, and rule of law, according to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Goyal highlighted India as an attractive alternative for global supply chains seeking resilience post-COVID, alongside Southeast Asian economies, and emphasized that India sees opportunities through enhanced ties with emerging and less-developed markets rather than through geopolitical conflicts. He acknowledged challenges in the multilateral trade system, particularly at the WTO, where differing priorities between developed and emerging economies persist, yet noted India’s optimistic approach, evidenced by its bilateral resolution of seven WTO trade disputes with the US. 

Railways and Swiss govt renew MoU to enhance tech, infra (Financial Express)

⁠India’s Ministry of Railways renewed its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Switzerland’s Federal Department of Environment, Transport and Communications to strengthen cooperation on rail infrastructure, maintenance, and modern technology. The updated MoU includes collaboration on advanced Swiss technologies like electric multiple units, traction propulsion, tilting trains, and tunnelling, which promise to enhance safety, operational efficiency, and modernization across Indian Railways’ extensive network. Swiss firms, already suppliers of key components like electric locomotive cables and assembly parts, will continue supporting India with machinery, materials, and consultancy under this extended partnership, furthering India’s capital investment strategies to attract Swiss expertise and innovation. 

India’s gold demand rose 18% in July-Sept after duty cuts: World Gold Council (The Indian Express)

⁠India’s gold demand rose significantly in Q3 2024, reaching 248.3 tonnes (an 18% increase from 210.2 tonnes in Q3 2023) and totalling 537 tonnes year-to-date, an 8.6% rise over 2023 levels, as reported by the World Gold Council (WGC). The value of gold purchased surged by 53% year-over-year to Rs 1.65 lakh crore, fueled by a customs duty reduction from 15% to 6%, which boosted demand for wedding jewellery and released pent-up demand, especially during favourable monsoon conditions in rural areas. The WGC noted this duty cut sparked the strongest third-quarter gold jewellery demand since 2015, with consumer interest intensifying in late July before tapering with the Shradh period in mid-September.

Indian pharma players asked to step up amid IV fluids’ shortage in U.S. (The Hindu)

⁠India’s drug export council, Pharmexcil, has alerted its members to a severe shortage of intravenous (IV) fluids in the United States, following significant damage caused by Hurricane Helene to a key Baxter International manufacturing facility. Pharmexcil Director General Raja Bhanu urged manufacturers with U.S. FDA or equivalent approvals to step in and supply IV fluids, noting that the U.S. has declared a public health emergency, prompting hospitals to postpone non-essential procedures and the FDA to authorize emergency imports. Baxter has reported extensive flooding at its North Cove plant in North Carolina but expects to restart its highest-output IV solutions line shortly, aided by the FDA’s extended use dates on some parenteral products to address the crisis.