สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 20 สิงหาคม 2556
Duty-free import of TVs banned
In a bid to prop up the rupee, the government banned the duty-free import of flat-screen television by air travelers.
It is set that from August 26, under the new norms, air passengers will have to pay 35% of the cost of the product as duty and other charges.
According to government estimates, more than a million television sets were imported as air baggage last year, mainly from Dubai, Thailand and Singapore. The government used to allow travelers to bring in screens of up to Rs. 35,000 as part of their baggage allowance.
A Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association spokesperson said the government had lost Rs. 750 crore the previous year due to duty-free imports and the capacity utilization of the Indian makers was 70%.
(Source: Business Standard, the Financial Express, the Hindu)
"Indian made only" policy for UMPPs
Praful Patel, the Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has called for mandating only domestically manufactured power equipment for all future ultra mega power projects (UMPPs).
And, for this to be made applicable for all future Case-2 bids — where the developer is expected to bid on the basis of specific fuel and location, where the specifics are provided by the central/state government calling the bids.
This comes in the wake of a rapid fall in orders placed by power developers with government owned-Bharat Heavy Electricals and other domestic manufacturers of equipment in the sector. The minister said domestic manufacturers had set up state of the art facilities for coal-based power plant equipment in excess of 20,000 Mw annually, investing thousands of crores.
(Source: Business Standard)
India says no to labour, environment to FTA with New Zealand
The negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and New Zealand hit a major roadblock during the latest round, as New Delhi declined to include the other side's demand pertaining to labour, environment and government procurement in the pact.
In the recently concluded 9th round of negotiations for the FTA in Wellington, New Zealand had expressed the desire to include provisions relating to trade in labour and environment, besides intellectual property, government procurement and competition policy, in the pact.
However, a senior commerce ministry official said, "India noted that they did not have a mandate to include these issues, so they would not be able to record them in the FTA".
(Source: the Financial Express)
Rupee fall to raise import bill, global buyers seek discounts
Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) said on Monday the fluctuating rupee will not only raise imports bill but would also lead to volatility affecting Indian exporters. It is said, while the depreciating domestic currency would help exporters in a way but it also increases their manufacturing cost due to high import content in products.
"We are happy but we want a stable currency. It is difficult to quote prices for buyers due to the fluctuation. It confuses buyers," FIEO President Rafeeq Ahmed said.
He also said that due to this trend, importers are demanding heavy discounts on the products as well. Continuing its free fall, the rupee on Monday breached 63-mark a dollar to end at record low of 63.13, recording the decade's worst single-day fall of 148 paise.
(Source: Business Standard, the Economic Times, the Financial Express)
FM says no to IMF help
The Finance Ministry is not considering reaching out to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to shore up its reserves, even as experts weighed in favour of such a move. "It is not even on the agenda," said a finance ministry official, dismissing the suggestion that India should go to the IMF to seek a credit line for any contingency.
Finance minister P Chidambaram has given out a plan to rein in the Current Account Deficit (CAD) to 3.7% of GDP and its "full and safe" financing. The government also expects that there could be accretion to foreign reserves unlike in 2011-12 when there was a drawdown. The plan clearly states how India will fund its CAD with specifics.
(Source: the Economic Times, Business Standard, the Financial Express)
Rupee may fall to 65 by December
The gloom surrounding the Indian Economy may deepen in the next three months with the rupee expected to weaken and inflation projected to stay high, a poll of top fund managers and brokers shows.
The rupee may possibly touch 65 to the US Dollar by December while inflation is expected to stay at elevated levels of 9% (retail) and 6% (wholesale). The US Federal Reserve could start slowing its bond purchases by the end of the year, a majority of participants said, and not September as is widely believed.
The Sensex is expected to hold its current position and may even surprise on the upside, the poll reveals. Nearly 45% of the fund managers and brokers expect the rupee to trade between 62 and 65 to the dollar this year while 33% said it will be range-bound between 60 and 62.
(Source: Economic Times)
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