April 12, 2012

Feb IIP growth at 4.1%, CSO revises Jan nos down to 1.1%:

The growth in February industrial production (IIP) has come in at 4.1%, which is an improvement over the January number. The January IIP number has been revised to 1.1% from 6.8% (provisional). The Central Statistical Organization revised January IIP figure after it spotted an error in sugar output numbers. Based on the January provisional numbers, a CNBC-TV18 poll had estimated February IIP growth flat at 6.7% .
Manufacturing output, which constitutes nearly 76% of total industrial production, declined to 4% versus 7.5% year-on-year. Mining sector growth, which has been been underperforming for a while, has come in at 2%. Capital goods index at 10.6% is an improvement month-on-month. Consumer non-durables growth in February stands at 5%.
Core sector, which contributes almost 38% to industrial production, grew by a sharp 6.8% in February from a year earlier. Core sector comprises key infrastructure industries of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity.
Economists and market experts speaking to CNBC-TV18 said all indicators point towards a slow down that makes a case for repo rate cut in the Reserve Bank's monetary policy on April 17. This hope was refelected in bonds that rallied after the February numbers were released; consequently rupee fell marginally. The stock market barely reacted to the February industrial output numbers.
There is a concern on falling manufacturing growth. MS Unnikrishnan, MD, Thermax is worried that the situation is going to be worse in the subsequent quarters. "If the RBI does not intervene very quickly, the manufacturing sector is going to show negative numbers in Q1,Q2 and Q3 of FY13. It is a very alarming situation for the industry at this point in time," he said.
Sector-wise IIP data
Manufacturing sector growth at 4% Vs 7.5% (YoY)
Capital goods growth at 10.6% Vs -5.7% (YoY)
Consumer non-durable goods growth at 5.1%
Mining sector growth at 2.1% Vs 1.2% (YoY)
Electricity growth at 8%
Basic goods growth at 7.5% Vs 5.5% (YoY)
Intermediate goods growth at -0.6% vs 6.3% (YoY)
Consumer durable goods growth at -6.7% vs 18.2% (YoY)
What will be RBI's stance in its monetary policy review?
Gaurav Kapur, Senior Economist, Royal Bank of Scotland is expecting the RBI to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points on Tuesday.
He explains, "I think the bond market at this point could have a lot more confidence that the RBI would actually cut rates because the next key number of inflation is likely to be lower than 7% which is what the RBI has been indicating for the month of March. So going by that this would bolster the case for a rate cut. I think the January number did not provide any sense of comfort on the fact that growth has indeed been slowing down."
Agrees Shubhada Rao, Chief Economist, Yes Bank that the RBI has a tough task in hand now post dismal January IIP data. She, however, points out that the data is quite noisy and RBI refers to two "three other source of data as well while considering its monetary policy review.
"A lot of noisy data goes into the GDP numbers as well like a capital goods number would go into gross fixed capital formation data and so on. However, it is clear that that there is a decline pace of economic activity," she adds.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Mohan Shenoi, Treasurer, Kotak Mahindra Bank feels that the market is expecting a 25 basis points rate cut on April 17.
Bond yields
According to Shenoi, bond yield could go down to 8.35% or so but may not be sustainable at those levels because the supply pressure had still not gone off.
"In the last one week, the global financial markets were on risk-off mode and for the first time today they are on risk-on mode. We have to see whether this risk-on will continue for sometime or whether it will switch back to risk-off because that also has an impact on our bond market through the oil prices," he elaborates.

Unitech closes 4.42% up after winning case against Telenor:

Shares of Unitech surged over 6% in trade on Thursday after CNBC-TV18 reported that the real estate developer has won a case against its JV partner Telenor in Company Law Board (CLB).
Unitech and its estranged telecom partner Norway's Telenor last month had exchanged proposals inside the closed chambers of the CLB Chairman on probable sale or purchase of shares in their joint venture company Uninor.
Unitech counsels during argument told CLB that Telenor, which holds majority stake in Uninor, had invoked arbitration under Share Subscription Agreement to seek damages and indemnity, but was rescinding Share Holders Agreement.
Telenor which holds about 67.25% stake in Uninor has held Unitech responsible for the breach of warranties related to the cancellation of JV firm licences by Supreme Court and wants to the realty from Uninor after the verdict. It has served notice to Unitech for indemnity claim.
Unitech's move to seek Arbitration has been opposed by Telenor and Uninor. Telenor Counsel in CLB has earlier argued that Unitech has no right to seek arbitration as they have filed petition before the CLB.
Citing various judgements and court cases, Telenor counsel has said once plaintiff files a suit, it has no right to refer the case for arbitration.
However, Unitech counsel contested some of the judgements that were cited by Telenor and said that the situation in cases cited by Norwegian firm are not similar to that of ongoing case between Unitech and Telenor at CLB. The counsel further argued that the arbitration application made by Unitech is indication that company has willingness to seek arbitration and depends on the decision of court.
Sources say Telenor’s plan to buy Unitech for Re 1 gets thwarted with the CLB order. Now, the matter will be decided via arbitration, which will be fair but a lengthy process.
"While (we) will now consider our next legal options, it is very clear that Telenor Group will do all that is necessary to secure the future of Uninor's employees, customers and partners," a Telenor spokesman said in a statement to Reuters.
Telenor will have to resolve this before they get new partner as proposed. Asserting that it is in India for a long-haul race, Norway-based Telenor Group declared that it would indeed participate in the Supreme Court-ordained auction for the 2G spectrum by teaming up with a yet-to-be identified new local partner. It would have a majority 74% in the still-to-be-formed new company.
The Norwegian Group had already moved the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) seeking approval for its proposed new joint outfit and investment.
Has Unitech really won?
Though the news comes as a big relief to the beleaguered realty major, however, investment analyst SP Tulsian is not too excited about the development.
"Firstly, Unitech wanted USD 150 million for their 32-33% stake in the telecom company, while the foreign partner Telenor was offering peanuts. So, I don’t know whether now the matter will be referred to the arbitration, which can be heard only in the Singapore or in the overseas court, which itself will be a very expensive, and long drawn process," he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.
Unitech shares ended trade up 4.42% at Rs 29.55 a piece.

Mitsui Sumitomo to Buy 26% Stake in India’s Max New York Life:

MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc. (8725), Japan’s biggest casualty insurer, will buy a 26 percent stake in Max New York Life Insurance Co. from the owners of the closely held venture in India.
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., a unit of MS&AD, will purchase 16.63 percent from New York Life Insurance Co. and 9.37 percent from Max India Ltd. (MAX), the Indian company said in a statement to the stock exchange today. The statement didn’t disclose the total value of the transaction. The deal is valued at about 27 billion rupees ($531 million), according to two people familiar with the sale.
Enlarge image
MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc., Japan’s biggest casualty insurer, plans to buy a 26 percent stake in Max New York Life Insurance Co. for about 27 billion rupees ($531 million), according to two people familiar with the transaction. Photographer: Sanjit Das/Bloomberg
MS&AD, formed in 2010 through a merger of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Aioi Insurance Co. (8761) and Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co., has been turning to foreign markets and cutting costs in Japan as the nation’s stagnant economy and declining population damp demand. The insurer is targeting profit of 30 billion yen for its overseas businesses, compared with 12 billion yen in the last fiscal year ended March 31.
“MS&AD has been saying they want to expand the life insurance business in Asia, so this isn’t a big surprise,” said Ayako Nakajima, an analyst at Standard & Poor’s in Tokyo. “India is an emerging market where you can bet on the potential for growth, but at the same time, it’s not a mature market like Japan’s so there are risks that need to be closely monitored.”
Yuki Fujikawa, a spokesman at MS&AD, confirmed earlier today that the insurer is in talks.
Stock Falls
New York Life will exit the Indian life insurance market upon completion of the sale, the people said. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year, they said.
The deal will be entirely in cash and represents a multiple of 3.3 times so-called embedded value, or net assets plus the present value of future profits, as of March 31, 2011, the people said.
MS&AD shares declined 1 percent to 1,560 yen at the close on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. MS&AD shares have gained 9.4 percent this year. Shares of Max India headed for their biggest gain since June 2011 in Mumbai trading, rising 6.6 percent to 200.65 rupees.
Citigroup Inc. was the financial adviser to Mitsui Sumitomo, according to the people. Godwin Chellam, a Hong Kong- based spokesman at Citigroup, declined to comment.
Max New York is a joint venture between Max India, which invests in health care and technology, and New York Life, the biggest U.S. life insurer owned by policyholders. The U.S. insurer holds 26 percent of the venture, the maximum possible under current regulations.
Overseas Expansion
Max New York Life reported an 8 percent increase in revenue to 44.7 billion rupees for the nine months ended Dec. 31, according to a company statement on Business Wire India. Assets under management grew 18 percent to 153.57 billion rupees over the same period in fiscal 2010, the company said.
MS&AD is not alone in trying to expand abroad to grapple with a shrinking domestic market. In December, Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. (8766), Japan’s second-largest non-life insurer, agreed to buy Delphi Financial Group Inc. for $2.7 billion in its biggest acquisition in three years after buying Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp. in 2008 for $4.7 billion.
The purchase will allow MS&AD to have a foothold in India through the nation’s seventh-largest insurer, as the Japanese insurer expands its business in emerging Asian markets, the Nikkei newspaper reported earlier.

Maruti’s Ertiga will blow you away with its low price:


The shockingly affordable pricing of Maruti Suzuki‘s first multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), the Ertiga, betrays the company’s anxiousness to succeed in a segment it has never played in before.

The base petrol version of the car is priced at just Rs 5.89 lakh, ex-Delhi. This is much lower than the Toyota Innova’s base price of Rs 8.7 lakh and Mahindra Xylo’s base price of Rs 7.44 lakh (Toyota and Mahindra prices as per www.carwale.com).

Though Managing Executive Officer (Sales & marketing) Mayank Pareek was at pains to explain on Thursday that the Ertiga was in a segment by itself and cannot be compared to either the Innova or the Xylo or any other MUV available in the Indian market right now, Maruti’s cautious pricing shows the company has high hopes that the Ertiga will do in the MPV segment what the Swift did in the super hatch segment in 2005.

Maruti Ertiga. Image courtesy Maruti Suzuki India
The Ertiga is coming when Maruti has closed 2011-12 battered and bruised – its market share has fallen below the 40 percent mark for the first time in memory. Though the decline (it was about 44 percent in the previous fiscal) was largely attributed to production constraints for much of the year, some of it is also because of sales remaining lukewarm in critical models such as the Alto.

Pareek denied the company had any plans to lower prices of its mini cars to boost sales and said Ertiga was launched keeping the growth of the MUV segment in mind. He said this segment accounts for 14 percent of the overall car market and has seen compounded annual growth rates of 20 percent for the last three years. For now, Maruti has also dismissed any suggestions that it is slowly expanding its portfolio away from small cars.

Maruti has spent Rs 410 crore in developing the Ertiga, which is based on the Swift platform. The 7-seater is a bit smaller in length than both Xylo and Innova, with a length of 4,265 mm and height of 1,685 mm. The car comes in three petrol and three diesel options and Maruti claims its fuel efficiency is the best in class – 16.02 kmpl for the petrol variant and 20.77 kmpl for the diesel variant. The K14 petrol engine has a displacement of 1,400 cc while the diesel is 1,300 cc. So the Ertiga is a bit shorter, a bit less wider than competitors and also boasts of a smaller turning radius of 5.2 metres.

The pricing is introductory for now and is likely to increase after some months, but by then Maruti would have tested the market and response of competitors to this offering. Pareek said Ertiga is anyway not targeted at the taxi segment – where a lot of sales for the Innova and the Xylo come from. It is meant for the urban family of 3-5 people, for use in daily commutes and for long weekend drives. This is the first Maruti car which has been developed keeping Indian customers and road conditions in mind.

In fact, India is the first launch market for the Ertiga and completely knocked down (CKD) kits manufactured here would be exported to South-East Asian countries – CKD exports have already begun with Indonesia.

Maruti said it has flexible manufacturing and, therefore, can handle volume fluctuations on account of domestic market vagaries as well as export demands.

The high-end variants of Ertiga come with features like electronic power steering, power windows, steering-mounted audio controls, a high-end stereo system, air conditioning and heating with blowers for the second row of seats as well and safety features such as ABS, EBD and two front airbags.

Mar 30, 2012

Govt short-term borrow limit at Rs 50Kcr in April-Jun: RBI:

The government can borrow up to Rs 50,000 crore from the Reserve Bank of India during April-June as short-term loans and up to Rs 45,000 crore during July-September, the central bank said in a statement on Friday.
The RBI will charge an interest rate of 8.50%, its repo rate, on its ways and means (WMA) loans. And, any overdraft for the government will attract an interest of 2% above the repo rate, the RBI said.
The central bank may also float market loans when the government utilizes 75% of the WMA limit.

Source: www.moneycontrol.com

No tax liability on P-notes holders: Pranab Mukherjee:

Holders of participatory notes, or P-notes, will have no tax liability and a clarification on these notes will be

issued in due course, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday.

"The Indian tax authorities would examine the tax liability of the said financial institutional investors (FIIs).

However, the tax authorities would not go beyond the FIIs to check any further detail about the participatory

notes holders," Mukherjee told reporters.

"Accordingly, the question of liability for tax in India of participatory note holders would not arise."

P-notes are issued by foreign portfolio investors registered with the Indian market regulator, or by their sub-

accounts, to investors overseas and they offer the buyer anonymity.

A lack of clarity on taxation of P-notes has contributed to the recent volatility in the domestic share market.

Source: www.moneycontrol.com


Tribunal puts $12 billion POSCO plant in limbo:

A tribunal on Friday suspended the environmental licence for POSCO's $12 billion steel project in Orissa,

India's biggest foreign direct investment, in a fresh blow to business confidence in Asia's third-largest

economy.

"The National Green Tribunal has suspended the environment clearance," environmental lawyer Ritwick Dutta

with activist group Green Panel told Reuters.

South Korea's POSCO signed the agreement for the mill in 2005 and was scheduled to begin production by

the end of 2011. Protests, environmental concerns and government inquiries into alleged illegalities at a related

mining concession have delayed it.

POSCO (005490.KS) spokesman Chung Jae-woong in Seoul said he could not immediately comment on the

ruling and it was not clear if the company would appeal. POSCO said it had received no official notification of

the court's decision.

Foreign firms vying for a place in one of the world's fastest-growing markets have been rattled by a series of

decisions and policies governing investment in recent months, including the cancellation of more than 100

telecoms licenses by India's Supreme Court hearing a corruption case.

The setback for the South Korean steelmaker, the world's third largest, came just days after Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh told a group of CEOs in Seoul his country was a stable location for their money.

On a state visit to South Korea this week, Singh tried to convince more Korean businesses to invest in India

despite the recent dents to investor confidence.

"The government is keen to move forward with the POSCO project," Singh told the business leaders on

Monday. "I believe that India is a stable and profitable long-term investment opportunity. I urge Korean

industry to have faith in India," he said.

Environmental groups have long complained that POSCO's plant would destroy large areas of forest in the

poor state and would hurt the livelihoods of indigenous tribes in the area.

Dutta said there were serious discrepancies in the way the government issued a conditional approval for the

project last year.

The company said it would build a 12 million tonne-per-year mill. Dutta said that was three times the size of

project approved by the environment ministry.

"Strangely enough the environmental impact assessment studies are done only for a 4 million tonne project,"

the lawyer told the CNN-IBN television station.

POSCO is seeking to expand overseas as it faces a growing threat from home rival Hyundai Steel, challenging

POSCO's dominance in high-end steel used in autos and ships.

Source: www.in.reuters.com


BoP slips into red, seen improving in 2012/13:

India's balance of payments (BoP) slipped into negative territory for the first time in three years as expected in the three months through December on shrinking dollar inflows, while the country's current account deficit widened further.

The final quarter of 2011 was marked by risk aversion among global investors as well as a worsening Indian economy and surging fiscal deficit, which crimped inflows.

Analysts expect the BoP to improve going into the next fiscal year, starting in April, on expectations that dollar inflows will pick up.

"We are looking at a BoP surplus of $5.5 billion for 2012/13. Foreign fund flows may be slightly more stable," said Anubhuti Sahay, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Mumbai.

"But obviously there is a risk to this number. If inflation turns out to be more sticky that what we are expecting now, and the RBI's rate cuts are lower than expected, it will have an impact."

The balance of payments deficit during October-December was $12.8 billion, compared with a surplus of $4 billion a year earlier. It had last been in the red in the December quarter of 2008, soon after the Lehman crisis.

"India's BoP experienced a significant stress as trade deficit widened and capital inflows fell far short of financing requirement resulting in significant drawdown of foreign exchange reserves," the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement on Friday.

The country's current account deficit was $19.6 billion in the December quarter, higher t han $9.7 billion a year earlier. The deficit has been widening steadily since the start of the fiscal year in April as exports slumped and imports rose.

For the December quarter, the current account deficit was 4.3 percent of the gross domestic product, up from 4.1 percent in the previous quarter.

Rising global oil prices pushed up import bills for Asia's third-largest economy, which sources more than 80 percent of its oil overseas.

Foreign funds invested $8.05 billion in 2011, sharply lower than the $39.2 billion in the previous year.

Earlier in the month, Nomura forecast a BoP deficit of about $10 billion for the Oct-Dec period on lower foreign fund inflows and weak export demand.

In mid-December, the Indian rupee plunged to a record low of 54.30 to the dollar as investors grew worried about the global economy, raising the prospect of further capital outflows from emerging markets.

India's financial account surplus stood at $20.9 billion in the December quarter compared with $9.9 billion a year earlier. It stood at $17.9 billion in the previous quarter.

The financial account includes, among other items, foreign direct investment and portfolio investment as well as overseas borrowing by Indian companies.

Source: www.in.reuters.com

Govt collects Rs. 6.97 lakh cr in tax during Apr-Feb:

The government on Friday said it has collected over Rs. 6.97 lakh crore in direct and indirect taxes between April and February of this fiscal.
While about Rs. 3.69 lakh crore was collected in direct taxes, over Rs. 3.28 lakh crore was mopped up through indirect taxes up to February


2012, Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
In Budget 2011-12, the government had estimated that it would collect Rs. 5.33 lakh crore during the fiscal through direct taxes, the number was later revised to 5 lakh crore.

The Budget estimate for indirect tax collection was Rs. 3.97 lakh crore which was later scaled to Rs. 3.98 lakh crore.

To a query if there was a shortfall in the collection, Palanimanickam said: "Since, the financial year has not ended, whether there will be a shortfall against revised estimate 2011-12 cannot be said at this stage."

He added that the contribution of Customs, Central Excise and Service tax in total indirect tax collection during April 2011 to February 2012 was Rs. 1.35 lakh crore (41.1%), Rs. 1.16 lakh crore (35.3%) and Rs. 77, 529 crore (23.6%), respectively.

Source: www.hindustantimes.com


India’s April-Feb fiscal deficit at $96.8 bn:

India’s fiscal deficit during April to February was Rs. 4.94 trillion ($96.8 billion), or 94.6% of the revised full fiscal year 2011/12 target, government data showed on Friday.

During the same period in the last fiscal year, the deficit was 68.6% of the budgeted target.

Net tax receipts were Rs. 4.94 trillion and total expenditure was Rs. 11.07 trillion during the April-February period.

Earlier this month, the government revised up the fiscal deficit target for the 2011/12 fiscal year to 5.9% of GDP from 4.6% projected earlier.

Source: www.livemint.com

Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh knew about Tatra deal: Karnataka leader:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pratibha Patil, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Defence Minister AK Antony were aware of the Tatra-Bharat Earth Movers Limited deal in which kickbacks were taken, claims a Karnataka leader. D Hanumanthappa, president of the Karnataka wing of All India Federation of SC/ST/Backward Class and Minority Employees Welfare Association, said that he had written a letter in 2009 to the Prime Minister and the President about the deal, which is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Hanumanthappa claimed that he had sent copies of his letter to Sonia and Antony as well with the Congress President asking senior Congress leader and Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to forward the letter to concerned department.

Claiming that he wants to save democracy and make the country's defence forces stronger, Hanumanthappa said that he wrote about the Tatra-BEML deal in detail.

A press release by the Defence Ministry on Friday said that after receiving a letter from Azad in October 2009, forwarding the complaints of Hanumanthappa, Antony had asked the Secretary (Defence Production) to look into the various issues raised in the complaint.

"A day after receiving a letter from Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, on 05 Oct 2009, forwarding the complaints of Dr. D Hanumanthappa, addressed to Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi on BEML, the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony had asked the Secretary (Defence Production) to look into the various issues raised in the complaint. Records show that the vigilance wings of MoD and BEML are examining the matter and there are also correspondence between the CBI and Chief Vigilance Officer of BEML on these allegations. Meanwhile, the Defence Minister has accorded his sanction for a CBI investigation on 21 Feb 2012 in another case relating to BEML, much before a newspaper report was published on 26 Mar 2012," the statement released by Defence Ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said.


Source: www.ibnlive.in.com

BRICS bourses start cross-listing:

Aiming to expand their product offerings beyond home markets, five of the world's leading emerging market indices, have started to cross-list derivative indices from today.

Accordingly, Brazil's IBOVESPA futures; Russia's MICEX Index futures; Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index futures; and South Africa's FTSE/JSE Top40 futures got listed on the BSE.

Price bands for the benchmark equity index derivatives will be same as that applicable for the existing stock index futures contracts, BSE said.

It added that the derivatives contracts on these foreign stock indices shall also be denominated, traded and settled in Indian Rupees.

BSE further noted that exchange transaction charges for trades done by trading members on these futures contracts shall be waived off for a period of 6 months from commencement (till September 30, 2012).

The cross-listing of benchmark equity index derivatives is likely to facilitate liquidity growth in the BRICS markets and will considerably strengthen their international position.

Source: www.financialexpress.com

India Current Account Deficit Nearly Doubles:

India's October-December current account deficit nearly doubled to $19.6 billion from $10.1 billion a year earlier due to a sharp slowdown in merchandise and services exports even as imports grew at a rapid pace, the central bank said Friday.

The current account is made up of trade balance and other items such as software payments.

The Reserve Bank of India said that the country's balance of payments "experienced a significant stress as trade deficit widened and capital inflows fell far short of financing requirement, resulting in significant drawdown of foreign exchange reserves."

The trade deficit in the October-December period widened to $47.7 billion from $31.4 billion a year earlier.

India's capital and financial account during the October-December period was at a net surplus of $8.2 billion.

The central bank had to draw down its foreign exchange reserves by $12.8 billion during the quarter compared with an addition of $4 billion a year earlier to balance India's external account.

Source: www.online.wsj.com

March 29, 2012

I want to expose centre on petrol prices: Parrikar:

Goan Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar caught the attention of Indians across the country by reducing taxation on petrol in the state and feels that his model for keeping petrol prices low can be replicated across the country.

“I want to expose the Central Government on the petrol prices. It’s an artificial hike created by the Central Government. The Centre is simply looting the people,’” Parrikar , an IIT engineer-turned-politician told Firstpost in a telephonic interview.

The Chief Minister has said he will take action against illegal mining in the state. PTI
Parrikar, who has virtually abolished state taxes levied on petrol, said, “Just examine the international market of petrol for the past two years. There is a fluctuation in prices, but on average the petrol price has remained around $100 a barrel at any point of time. This means that the petrol price should be around Rs 40 or 45 a litre.’’

Parrikar alleges that the Central Government is the culprit.

“It is charging additional Rs 16-17 a litre of petrol in the name of excise and custom duty,” he said.

Parrikar feels that massive cut in petrol prices will curb the inflationary pressure on tourism sector in his state.

“I have factored additional revenue in the budget and thus I am meeting my revenue target despite slashing the petrol prices. In Goa, 72 percent of the office goers and businessmen use two-wheelers. All of them will benefit. Prices of essential commodities will also come down. And I expect reasonable boost in tourism sector with slashing of the petrol prices,’’ Parrikar said.

Petrol in Goa, once the tax cuts are implemented, will be cheaper than all the metropolitan cities of the country.

And not just petrol, Parrikar also cut taxes on Aviation Turbine Fuel from 20 per cent to 12 per cent. A move that is expected to directly directly benefit tourists who fly to Goa.

Parrikar’s move to slash fuel prices in the state had caught the eye of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as well who said it was a model other states could replicate but it could mean they would demand financial support from the Centre.

After getting done with delivering the state’s budget, Parrikar said is set to cleanse the Mining department of the Goa government. His campaign against illegal mining is responsible to an extent to bring him and his party BJP back into power in the recently held Assembly elections.

“Mining is not an issue, but illegal mining is an issue. I did not want to open all my fronts. Now when the budget exercise is over, I will take up the process of cleansing the Mining department of Goa,” he said

Asked if he will opt for auctioning the mining rights to the company, he said this is what the Central Government has to decide.

“I will go for the auction, if tomorrow the Central Government decides and directs me to do so,’’ he said.

In Goa, all the mines were leased out to some prominent families by the Portuguese government in pre-independence era. The Goa government is still following the same Portuguese system.

Source:I want to expose centre on petrol prices: Parrikar


Source: www.firstpost.com


February infra output up 6.8% y-o-y:

The eight core industries expanded by 6.8% in February, against 6.4% in the same period last year, on healthy growth in coal, electricity and cement production.

The infrastructure industries had grown by just 0.5% in the previous month.

Electricity, coal and cement output grew by 8%, 17.8% and 10.8% in February respectively, according to the provisional data released today.
In the same month last year, electricity and cement production had grown by 7.2% and 6.5% respectively, coal output contracted by -5.8%.

Crude oil production grew by 0.4% in the month under review against 12.2% in the comparable period of last year. Petroleum refinery products output too grew by 6.2% against a growth of 3.2% in the same month last year.

However, natural gas output contracted by -7.6%. Fertiliser and steel production grew by 4.1% and 4.3% in February as against 4.8% and 18.5% respectively in the same period last year.

During April-February FY12, the growth of core industries slowed down to 4.4% from 5.8% in the same quarter last year.

Source: www.business-standard.com

Brics sign pacts to promote trade in local currencies:

Concerned over uncertain global environment, Brics nations on Thursday signed two agreements to facilitate trade in local currencies and decided to examine the possibility of setting up a Development Bank on the lines of the World Bank to promote funding activities.

The agreements signed at the Brics summit by officials of the five countries--Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- are aimed at enhancing trade among the members -countries in the coming years.

The Master Agreement on Extending Credit Facility in Local Currency and the Multilateral Letter of Credit Confirmation Facility Agreement are being perceived as a step towards replacing dollar as main unit of trade among them. “The agreements signed today by development banks of Brics countries will boost trade by offering credit in our local currency,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a media statement after the meeting of Brics leaders.

On the proposal of setting up a Brics Development Bank, he said, “We have directed our Finance Ministers to examine the proposal and report back by next summit.” The initiative to set up a Brics Development Bank on the lines of the World Bank would allow the member-countries to pool resources for infrastructure development and could also be used to lend during the difficult global environment.

Expressing concerns over the current global situation and excessive volatility in capital flows and commodity prices, Brics leaders in the joint declaration said: “The immediate is to restore market confidence and get global growth back on track. ”...it is critical for advanced economies to adopt responsible macro-economic and financial policies, avoid creating excessive global liquidity and undertake structural reforms to lift growth that create jobs,“ it added.

Source: www.livemint.com

242 infra projects running behind schedule: Govt:

As many as 242 infrastructure projects in the country are running behind schedule, Parliament was informed today.

"Out of the 561 projects (costing Rs 150 crore and above) which are on the monitor of this ministry, 242 projects are delayed as on January 1, 2012," the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics and Programme Implementation Srikant Kumar Jena said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The delay is due to time taken in land acquisition, procurement, law and order problems, inadequate infrastructure, delay in mobilisation by contractors, general cost escalation due to delay, increase in prices of cement and steel and exchange rate variations, Jena said.

A monitoring system is in place for central sector projects costing Rs 150 crore or more in 16 infrastructure sectors, he added.

Assam, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have maximum number of delayed projects at 31, 20, 15 and 16 respectively, the minister added.

Source:www.business-standard.com