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Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
NCTI’s Services
Trade Data Analysis: Focus Market: Focus
Product – Export potential studies
Support to Department of Commerce in
drawing/ evaluating wish list/ offer list under
various PTAs/ FTAs
Creation of Databases
Creation of Website content and Maintenance
Website Content Management
Facilitating Market and Commodity Surveys
Setting up of trade information centers
Trade fair/ exhibition
support
Establishing linkages with
commercial wings of Indian
Missions Abroad
Organising training in the
field of trade and commerce
Informatics
Keeping track of the market
conditions within the country
and abroad
Organising Seminars and
Conferences
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
Table of Contents
I. Make in India Initiative
1. Foxconn to Make in India with $20-bn investment
2. India to be parallel mfg hub to China
3. Merc to assemble CLA at Pune, first outside Europe
4. Carl’s Jr Indian Franchisee plans to raise Rs125 crore
5. Huawei becomes 1st Chinese telecom co to get security nod to make
in India
6. Russia Wants to Make India Global Hub for Submarine Upgrade,
Repairs
7. Defence, Space, Atomic Energy to Chip In for Made–in-India Drive
8. Hyundai plans to invest Rs.4.5k cr for new plant
9. Driven by the Make in India Pitch, Japan’s Igarashi to Re- enter
India
10. Karbonn-Water World JV to Open Handset Assembly Plant in India
11. FDI in Equity Soars 48% after Make in India Launch
12. Adidas applies to open own stores in India
13. TRADE GROWING AT 12% A YEAR: Govt Keen to Bring Shipping
Containers Under Make in India
II. Indian Companies Make a Mark
1. 8-10% growth within reach : Jaitley
2. MUMBAI SEA LINK PROJECT
3. Airtel World’s Third Largest Telecom Co
4. INFY TO INVEST $10 MN IN IRISH START-UP FIRMS
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
5. V-Mart Plans Foray into online Retail
6. India and Kyrgyzstan to boost defence cooperation
7. Deal of the week: Saavn Gets $100 million
8. Soft Machines to Invest $100 m in India R&D Unit
9. ADB retains India’s growth outlook
10. 10 Indian cos in Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 list
11. 7 Indian cos among world’s 500 largest firms: Fortune
12. India only bright spot in global steel industry this year
13. Amul trademark to get global shield
14. Cheaper dairy items from Oz soon
15. Angels Put Rs.1.9 cr in Boxmyspace
16. Alibaba to Put $1b in the Cloud
III. Policy
1. India drafting drug quality norms to match US FDA standards
2. Govt mulls 100% FDI in insurance broking
3. Govt, RCI to fast-track foreign inflows into AIFs
4. CCI Revises combinations Rules for Easier M&A Nods
5. Govt may use duty hike to nude factory output
6. Mahila bank may merge with SBI
7. New board to review public sector banks; recommend mergers
8. PMO Takes Charge to Revive Investment Cycle
9. Govt to soon announce interest subvention scheme for exporters
10. Govt plans composite foreign investment cap
IV. Tourism
1. Home Ministry Wants All Visas to Go Online
2. Globetrotting Modi, e-visas boost tourism
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
V. BRIC nations
1. BRICS set to widen canvas, plans to create parliamentary assembly
2. BRICS nations ink agreement to create $100bn forex pool
3. BRICS, AIIB Banks to Break IMF, WB Monopoly: China Think Tank
4. BRICS Countries May Ink Economic Pact in Five Years
VI. Economic Review
1. Coming Decade Crucial for India: Rangarajan
2. Economy in recovery phase, needs deeper reforms: Rajan
3. IIP growth slows to 2.7% in May
VII. Home Grown Company Makes it Big
1. Paytm unveils P2P fund transfers
2. PayPal Acquires Xoom for $890 m
3. Paytm’s CEO Sharma Invests in GOQii Tech
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
Welcome Note .
Dear Readers,
On behalf of the National Centre for Trade Information (NCTI), management and staff, I would
like to take this opportunity to extend a very warm welcome to Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla in his
new role of heading ITPO as CMD. He is also Additional Secretary,
Department of Commerce.
Shri Bhalla has a very vast experience in various government departments
including health and family welfare, external affairs, ministry of steel and
mines, Department of shipping and Ministry of Coal.
Ajay Kumar Bhalla
I am sure that our skills and his experience will lead NCTI and its team to newer heights.
With Warm regards
Jayanta Das Executive Director, NCTI
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
From ED’s Desk
Jayanta Das
Dear Readers,
National Centre for Trade information (NCTI), is a non-profit joint venture of India Trade
Promotion Organization (ITPO) and National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the aegis of
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India.
I am very happy to highlight that besides providing trade data analysis for identifying potential
products and markets at the specific tariff line level, NCTI provides a wide range of services such
as live trade enquiries, focus market/focus product market studies, creation of websites, market
surveys, database creation, exhibition support and setting up of information centres,
development of mobile apps and other IT enabled services, etc. for the benefit of trading
community.
While re-launching their quarterly journal, trade Connect in electronic format; I wish all the best
to NCTI in their future endeavours.
With warm regards
Jayanta Das Executive Director, NCTI
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
GM, NCTI
Varun Khanna .
The way we do small things determines the way that we do everything. If we execute our minor task well,
we will also excel at our larger efforts. Mastery then becomes our way of being.
In the present era of intense global competition, knowledge plays a vital role in decision making. In order
to enhance the capability of the trading community in the world markets, reliable, updated and timely
information is required regularly. This calls for a systematic process of collection, collation, analysis and
efficient dissemination of trade information.
National Centre for Trade Information (NCTI), a joint venture of India Trade Promotion Organization
(ITPO) and National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the aegis of Ministry of Commerce and Industry
was set up with the purpose of creating an institutional mechanism for collection, dissemination of trade
data and improving information services to the trading community. Besides using technology for
collection, collation and dissemination of trade information, the main objective of NCTI relates to the
assimilation of databases, conducting market surveys, sector specific and market specific studies,
establishing linkages in India and abroad, organizing seminars and workshops and training programs in
the areas of trade, commerce & informatics and advise the Government in strategic trade promotion. In
short, NCTI is envisaged to perform the role of one-stop-shop for trade information.
It is my privilege to jointly relaunch first E-journal “Trade Connect“ by NCTI. We are making consistent
efforts to provide support to Indian exporters to extent possible. This e-journal will be circulated to Indian
mission abroad, our members and would be hosted on our website.
Moving on with the spirit, I wish good luck to NCTI’s members and our associates for moving confidently
towards doubling India Exports of goods & services to US$ 900 Billion by 2020.
Varun Khanna General Manager, NCTI
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
Foxconn Technology, the maker of iPhone and iPad among others, is likely to invest about $ Billion (Rs 1.3 lakh crore) in India, sources said on Wednesday. There are also speculations that the Taiwanese electronic component manufacturer will make iPhone in India, a move that will lower the product’s price in the country, and help take on Samsung and local players such as Micromax.
Faxconn also makes components for companies, among them Sony, Xiaomi and Acer.
The move, in the line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signature Make in India campaign, is also likely to help India take on China, especially in the area of manufacturing of technological products, and comes at a time when the neighbour is grappling with a slowdown.
Foxconn founder and Chairman Terry Gou is expected to meet communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday. Immediately after landing in India on Wednesday, Gou met executives of Indian start-ups to evaluate options of possible investments, according to sources.
A 40-member delegation from Foxconn will also visit various ministries and states’ government officials to speed up and coordinate the setting up various projects, and to sign agreements.
On Thursday, three teams from Foxconn are likely to visit Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Telengana to finalise land buy for the technology park. A core team has already met Ajay Kumar, joint secretary, department of IT. “A team from Foxconn has met the department of IT officials, including me. It is too premature to discuss what to do in India, they had some queries about Digital India,” said Kumar.
According to company sources, the investment was set to be announced during the Digital India week launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 1, but was put off since Gou could not attend the event.
The company plans to primarily invest in setting up a technology park (estimated to cost about $5billion), according to sources. The other investments include that in Indian and foreign mobile phone companies for manufacturing mobile display screens, in an Indian TV makes for making thin film transistor (TFT) for high-definition TVs. It is also in talks with Adani Group and Snapdeal and Flipkart for hawking products manufactured in India along with its partners.
It will be Foxconn’s second innings in India, which trades under the name of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd after its venture with Nokia earlier.
Source: 9th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
India will emerge as a parallel production hub to China for global markets in electronics manufacturing as the government shifts attention to boost the making of
sophisticated, high –technology products in the country, says telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. “There is a surge towards India as a manufacturing
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
destination, and this will only grow,” Prasad tells TOI in an interview.
Excerpts:
China has emerged as a major manufacturing location for electronics and is seen as a factory for the world. Do you think that India has the capacity to match up to our neighbour?
I want the production of electronics to be at the center-stage of India’s manufacturing ecosystem. We want India to be a global manufacturing hub for electronics, running parallel to china. We are confident of achieving this task, and it should happen very soon.
Have the incentives offered by the government yielded any results?
We are seeing a rush as far as new investments are concerned. Companies are attracted by India’s huge domestic consuming market as well as a pro-active government, which believes in transparent decision-making. We have received 72 proposals to the tune of Rs 23000 crore , of which 42 proposals worth Rs 12000 crore have already been cleared. Companies that are investing include Korea’s Samsung, Germany’s Bosch, Japan’s Nidec and Panasonic. These are in segments such as electronic components, telecom network equipment, LED, consumer electronics, automotive, solar panels and strategic electronics. We have even brought in medical electronics within the ambit of this sector as 100% FDI is allowed here.
Source: 3rd July, 2015; Times of India
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call for manufacturers to ‘Make in India’ is set to get another boost later this year, when German luxury car maker Mercedes Benz will begin assembling its entry-level sedan CLA class at its factory in Pune in India.
Outside of Europe (Kecskemet in Hungary), India will be the first market where the car would be assembles globally, ahead of much bigger markets, including china, Japan, Brazil, Russia or South Korea. It will also bring down the price of the car by Rs2-2.5 lakh.
Last month, Mercedes began local assembly of its entry-level crossover GLA, again
outside of Europe for the first time, and expanded its capacity in Pune to 20000 units per annum. Prices of the crossover, which was launched last October, were reduced by Rs2lakh.
“We have nine volume models for the Indian market, of which six are produced in India, We will be adding the CLA to our local product portfolio this year, making it the seventh model to be produced in the country,” said Eberhard Kern, MD and CEO, Mercedes Benz India. “We have witnessed an increasing demand for the GLA SUV, which prompted us to prepone its local production in India.”
Source: 10th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
New Delhi: CybizCorp, exclusive India
franchise partner of Californian burger chain
Carl’s Jr, Plans to raise about $20 million, or
about Rs125 crore, in tranches as it looks to
scale up in the high –potential eating-out
market in the country.
This will be over and above $2 million, or
about Rs12.5 crore, that Cybizcorp has
already raised from private equity investors
such as Delhi-based Now Foods, which also
has equity in franchisees of Boombox Café
and Café OTB, and Elara Capital.
The country’s first Carl’s Jr store- which will
sell burgers priced higher than McDonald’s –
will come up in New Delhi in the next four-
five weeks. “We will occupy the space
between a Wendy’s and a Johnny Rockets
and will Keep a natural demographic
distance between stores,” Cybizcorp
chairman and founder Sam Chopra said.
Unlike McDonald’s and KFC, which operate
hundreds of stores selling value meals, Carl’s
Jr is positioning itself between a fine dine and
quick service restaurant and will set up
three-five stores this calendar year. It has set
a target of scaling up to 100 stores over a
period of five-seven years.
Cybizcorp is a consulting, incubation and
franchising firm with interests across real
estate and food & beverage, and has
exclusive franchisee tie-ups with restobars
like fork you, Café OTB, Bombox Café,
Warehouse Café and Flying Saucer Café.
Carls Jr is being set up by Cybiz Brightstar
Restaurants, a subsidiary of Cybizcorp.
Sahil Baweja, co-founder of NOW Capital
and managing partner and director on the
board of Cybiz Brightstar Restaurants, said:
“We look for investments in companies at an
early stage level and those who have the
potential to scale up rapidly.”
California-Based CKE Restaurants Holdings
owns and licenses Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s
quick-service restaurants with close to 4,000
stores globally.
Source: 6th July, 2015; Economic Times
New Delhi: Opening up the telecom sector to
Chinese investment, the home ministry has
given security clearance to a long –pending
proposal of Chinese firm Huawei
Telecommunications to set up an
electronics/ telecom hardware
manufacturing unit in Sriperumbudur,
Tamil Nadu.
The Rs.25 crore FDI proposal, awaiting MHA
clearance since December 13, 2013, was given
the go-ahead with certain conditions. The
ministry asked the department of industrial
policy and promotion (DIPP) and
department of telecom to consider reserving
critical positions, such as officer in charge of
technical operations and chief security officer
for Indians as a security Measure.
The security go-ahead for Huawei’s
proposed unit for electronics/telecom
hardware and support services, including
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
trading and logistics activities, in
Sriperumbudur marks a major policy shift
with regard to Chinese investment in
telecom.
“Allowing Chinese firms to make telecom
hardware in India will boost FDI inflows
from the country. This will lead to stronger
economic ties with China which eventually
may extend to cooperation in even security
matters,” said an MHA official.
Source: 15th July, 2015; Times of India
In talks to select Indian JV partner, contracts
worth several thousand crore in offing
ST Petersburg: Russia says that it wants to
make India a global hub for the upgrade,
maintenance and repair of conventional
submarines and its leading shipyard is in final
talks to select an Indian joint venture partner
for a mega project to set up facilities here.
With contracts worth several thousand crores
in the offing for the upgrade of Russian origin
diesel electric submarines-several from the
Indian Navy itself –the joint venture has the
potential of making the selected Indian
shipyard a serious player in the international
market.
Officials from the state-run Zvyozdochka
shipyard told ET that a memorandum of
understanding could be signed within a month
as it is in final talks with an Indian partner for
the project. Russian engineers have already
visited the Indian yard and advised it on
changes to be made as well as investment
needed to execute the project.
Explaining the project, Shustikov says that the
Russian side is looking at a joint venture model
with partners in India who can execute work
orders from the region. India alone is looking
at the imminent second life extension of at least
four Kilo class submarines. This would give the
fleet almost 15 more years of service life.
“Our estimate is that we will be loaded with
work for at least 15-20 years,” Shustikov says.
Other nations that operate Kilos in the region
include Iran with three submarines of the same
class and Nigeria with six. In addition, Russia
has recently sold six upgraded Kilo class
submarines to Vietnam that will require
overhauling and repairs in the coming years
and is pursuing several other orders in the
region.
“India could become a second center in the
word for Kilo class upgrade. For certain
Nations it is easier to send the submarine for
repair to India than to any other place. It is also
GREEN SIGNALS
Security agencies had been stonewalling FDI proposals from Chinese telecom firms, citing
espionage risks and alleged PLA links in their ownership
MHA recently remodelled norms to ease country-specific barriers
New norms welcome investment from countries of concern, particularly China, while proposing
a mandatory national security clause in the contract as well as post-investment monitoring
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
a good chance for India to master the repair
and upgrade of this class of vessel,” Andrey
Baranov, deputy CEO Rubin design bureau
that has designed the Kilo class, told ET.
This reporter was in ST Petersburg on the
invitation of United Shipbuilding Corporation.
Source: 9th July, 2015; Economics Times
Govt may make it mandatory for strategic
sector to source chips from local
manufactures
New Delhi: India is considering a proposal to
make it mandatory for the strategic sectors of
Defence , Space and Atomic Energy to use
‘made in India’ chips in an initiative that will
meet not only national security needs but also
kick start the domestic semi-conductor
manufacturing business that has been
struggling to take off.
Sources said that preliminarily talks on the
matter have already taken place and a
meeting that included top government
representatives from the strategic
departments of space, atomic energy,
information technology and defence research
took place at the Niti Aayog recently.
At the heart of the issue is the setting up of
two semi-conductor fabrication facilities in
India that were cleared by the UPA
government in 2013 but have still not taken
off given a lock of direction and government
support for the very high investment units.
Officials say that the government is aware
that ‘Made in India’ chips and electronics are
necessary in national interest, given the
dependence currently India has on imported
products that can be rigged and bugged.
Officials have also identified cyber security at
a key area where India made chips can be
encouraged, given that it falls within the
purview of the government. By most
estimates, the strategic electronics industry in
India is worth over Rs.12000 crore annually
and growing.
Source: 14th July, 2015; Economics Times
New Delhi: Nearly two decades after setting
foot in India, Korean car major Hyundai has
decided to pump in fresh investment of over
Rs.4500 crore for a new factory to boost its
production capacity to over a million vehicles.
Hyundai has been facing a capacity crunch at
its existing facility near Chennai, but is now
“close” to finalizing a new premises which
will house the new factory. States lobbying
with the Korean company include Gujarat,
Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
“We are closely watching … India is a future
market for the brand and we will expand
here,”company MD and CEOBS Seo told TOI.
“To Begin with , we may start with a capacity
of 3-4 lakh units annually, but this will be
scalable.”
Rs.12,000 cr size of strategic electronics
industry in India
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
Hyundai will become the second car
company in India to have over one million
production capacity after Maruti Suzuki.
Indian operations contributed 14.5% to
Hyundai’s global sales last year and Seo said
this is set to grow as the company launches
new models and expands its retail presence.
Source: 24th July, 2015; Times of India
Keiichi lgarashi to buy Blackstone stake in IMIL jointly with Tata Cap’s PE arm and MAPE
Advisory
Mumbai: In August-September last year,
Prime minister Narendra Modi concluded an
important visit to Japan. He met Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, top officials of
the Japanese businessmen were interested
and impressed though few concrete
commitments were made.
About 90% of employees at IMIL’s Chennai
factories are women and the firm is a big
exporter. Igarashi said the Modi-Abe
friendship was an important factor and that
he did not need any other reasons.
In a few days from now, Igarashi will
announce the purchase of Blackstone’s stake
in IMIL. The private equity arm of Tata
Capital will invest about $33 million to
become a partner . Investment banking firm
MAPE advisory Group will invest $9.4
million for a small stake.
IMIL shares ended 0.61% up at Rs.659.25
valuing the firm at about Rs.2000 crore.
IMIL makes DC motors and motor sub
assemblies for global auto industry,
according to a presentation seen by ET. It
claims a 35% global market share in
electronic throttle control motors used
widely in the auto industry. Its revenue grew
10.3% to Rs.675.8 crore in the financial year
2014-2015 and operating margin expanded to
18.4% from 17.6% in the previous year. Profit
margin rose to 9.4% from 8.2% in March 14.
Source: 30th July, 2015; Economic Times
New Delhi: Sudhir Hasija and Pardeep jain,
promoters of Karbonn Mobiles, have formed
a joint venture with Water world Technology
Co Ltd, among China’s leading contract
manufacturers, to set up a handset assembly
plant in Greater Noida with an initial
investment of Rs.50 crore.
The joint venture- Million Club
Manufacturing (MCM) –will make feature
phones and smarthones and comes weeks
after Foxconn Technology Group’s contract
manufacturing unit started in India.
Foxconn’s unit located in Sri City area of
Andhra Pradesh started making phones for
China’s Xiaomi and US brand Infocus earlier
this month.
As a 50% partner in the venture, Water World
Technology will manage the unit. Hasija and
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
Jain individually own 25% each. Jain is the
managing director of jain Group, the equal
partner backing Karbonn Mobiles.
The brownfield plant, inaugurated on
Wednesday, will initially make 1.5 million
feature phones and smartphones a month for
Karbonn. The capacity will be scaled up to 3
million units a month with an additional
investment of Rs.100 crore within the next
three months.
Phones produced at the unit may also be
exported, Hasija said.
The Unit is spread across 150000 sq feet and
employs close to 2000 technicians. MCM’s
assembly unit adds to the growing list of
contract manufacturing plants that have come
up in the country within the span of a quarter,
enthused by the government’s ‘Make in India’
initiative and duty differential, which have
made assembling and making phones in India
cheaper than importing them.
Source: 30th July, 2015; Economic Times
WORDS OF HOPE FDI inflows under the
approval route grew 87% to $2.22 billion last
fiscal
New Delhi: Foreign direct investment (FDI)
into equity jumped 48% after the launch of
the ‘Make in India’ programme, the
commerce and industry ministry said on
Tuesday.
The ‘Make in India’ initiative, which seeks to
make the country a global manufacturing
hub, was launched on September 25 last year.
Between October 2014 and April 2015, equity
FDI rose 48% according to the ministry. Total
FDI includes fresh equity inflows and
reinvested earnings of foreign investors.
The ministry also said that in 2014-2015,
investment by foreign institutional investors
(FIIs) rose 7175 TO $40.92 billion. “These
indicators showcases remarkable pace of
approval being accorded by the government
and confidence of investors in the resurgent
India,” the ministry said.
FDI inflows under the approval route grew
87% to $2.22 billion in the last fiscal.
“The increased inflows of FDI in India,
especially in a climate of contracting
worldwide investments, indicate the faith
that overseas investors have imposed in the
country’s economy and the reforms initiated
by the government towards ease of doing
business,” the ministry added.
The ‘Make in India’ initiative and its outreach
to all investors have made a positive
investment climate for India, it said.
Source: 15th July, 2015; Economic Times
NEW DELHI: Sportswear and equipment
major Adidas is planning to set up a fully-
owned unit in the country, nearly three
years after India allowed 100% FDI in
single- brand retail.
Trade Connect August, 2015 NCTI
The Germany head- quartered maker of
sports goods, shoes, apparels and
accessories, has filed an application with
the Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP) on July 13, the
department’s website showed.
Adidas, which competes with the likes of
Nike and Puma, already has stores in India
through franchisees. If the company’s
application in approved, it can open its
fully- owned flagship stores in the country,
giving it more control over its business.
The company, which clocked global sales
of 14 billion euros in 2014, confirmed that it
was planning to enter India through a
100% wholly- owned unit. The company,
which bought Reebok for $3.8 billion in a
global deal in 2005, however, plans to set
up its wholly-owned stores in
India only for the Adidas brand. With
estimated revenues of more than Rs. 700
crore, Adidas is currently the leader in
India’s Rs. 5000-crore sportswear market,
followed by Puma and Nike.
Source: 16th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
New Delhi: India wants to manufacture
shipping containers instead of rely on imports as
part of a plan aimed at promoting the ‘Make in
India’ campaign. Officials said the government
will soon appoint a consultant to conduct a study
into the capacity available within the country to
take up container manufacturing. It will also
approach foreign companies if technological
expertise is required in building specialized
containers.
Shipping lines in India order containers of twenty
feet equivalent unit (TEUs) from China, Korea
and various European countries. Many also buy
second hand containers from the market. Since
there are only a handful of container shipping
lines in the country, a container manufacturing
facility has to be able to cater to international
market to sustain itself.
Container trade in India is growing at over 12% a
year. The country’s largest container facility at
the Jawaharlal Nehru Port has a capacity of 4
million TEUs. JNPT handles 56% of the total
containers, followed by the Chennai port which
handles 25% of such cargo.
In 2015-15, container traffic in India’s 12 major
ports grew 6.8% over that in the previous year.
“There are many companies in the public sector
which have idle capacity and can get into these
new areas of manufacturing for their own and
country’s benefit,” said a senior government
official.
Moving trade to containers is considered to have
various advantages such as safety of cargo
against damage and theft. It provides better
space utilisation of the ship, leading to lowering
of cost. It also gives way to carrying out multi-
modal transportation since a containers can be
moved as easily from ship to truck or rail.
Source: 24th July, 2015; Economic Times
IN SEPT 2012, INDIA
ALLOWED 100% FDI IN SINGLE-BRAND RETAIL.
FIRMS SUCH AS IKEA, HENNES AND OTHERS
HAVE APPLIED TO ENTER INDIA
Mumbai : Finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that a growth rate of 8% was possible and a future target of 8-10% “eminently achievable”. The minister also said that monsoon was expected to be better than last year and government investment was set to pick up with the twin deficits (fiscal and current account) and inflation under control.
The finance minister indicated that India would be a Key driver of global growth in coming years. “There are countries that have driven global growth. The US has driven it , China for more than 30 years had 9% average growth. Today, they believe the new chinese normal is 7% By comparison, India’s projected growth rate of 8% gives us reason to smile,” said Jaitley, speaking at nabard’s Seminar on Mitigating Agrarian Distress’ in Mumbai on Sunday.
Stating that there was no trade-off between growth and distribution of resources for the underprivileged, Jaitley said, “I have not the least doubt that the economy will move up and resources will be available. We are clear that a large part of additional investment
will have to go into agriculture and to mitigating this rural distress and indebtedness of the farmer.”
According to Jaitley, another silver lining in the economy was the surge in indirect tax collections. “Even without taking into account the additional revenue measures, indirect tax collections were up 14.5% to last year. If you take the additional revenue measures, they were up 37% .The silver lining in that was the revenue situation may be more comfortable with all these measures compared to last year. With some more significant changes like GST in the pipeline, with increased
infrastructure spending and emphasis on smart cites… all these initiatives will help India initiatives will help India get on top of Its growth target of 8% for this year and get on to the 8-10% target which is eminently achievable.”
The finance minister further said India is better placed than most other economies. On the surface, with various parameters and how the global economy is doing, when we compare ourselves, we may have some opportunity to cheer, because even in challenging times, we are being looked upon as a brighter spot.”
Source: 13th July, 2015; Times of India
REASON TO SMILE
Today, they believe the new Chinese
normal is 7%. By comparison, India’s
projected growth rate of 8% gives us
reason to smile.
We had a lesson from Greece to
learn… countries must learn to spend
within their means. If they did not,
you have a crisis confronting you.
Indirect tax collections were up 14.5%
to last year. If you take the additional
revenue measures, they were up 37%.
Arun Jaitley / Finance Minister
Mumbai: A cash strapped Maharashtra
government which was struggling to
seek investment to execute the 11000
crore 22 Km Mumbai Trans-harbour Sea
Link from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai has
suddenly received a shot in the arm as it
has now four countries vying to finance
and build the project. While Maharashtra
had initially approached Japan
International Co-operation Agency
(JICA), the chinese government also
evinced interest in financing the project
when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
visited China in May. State government
officials have now told ET that besides
Japan and China, UK and Germany are
also in touch with the Fadnavis
government expressing their willingness
to finance the project.
However, all the countries have put forth
certain conditions. The UK for instance
has put forth a condition that 20% of the
project work should be given to firms in
the UK, 30% could go to Indian firms and
the rest 50% could be given to other firms
abroad.
Germany on the other hand wants 50% of
the project work to go to firms in its
country, 30% to Indian firms and the rest
to other firms abroad. Interestingly
China has not forth any condition.
However, a top state government official
said the Chinese are expecting that the
entire project work involving the sub
contacts should be given to firms from
China alone.
UPS Madan, Mumbai Metropolitan
Region Development Authority
(MMRDA) Commissioner who is
executing the project confirmed that four
countries have shown interest in the
project but said that no decision has been
taken on who would be given the project.
Source: 6th July, 2015; Economic Times
Mittal sees mobile internet to bring next phase of growth
Kotkata: Bharti Airtel has become the world’s third largest mobile carrier by subscribers, behind China Mobile and UK’s Vodafone Group, Latest data from
Japan, China, Germany and UK have
expressed their interest to finance the project
research firm Ovum’s World Cellular Information Service (WCIS) showed.
Bharti Airtel, with more than 303 million mobile subscribers across 20 countries in south Asia and Africa, has “moved up one position in the global rankings”, WCIS said. It now leads China Unicom and Mexican carrier America Movil, which are at fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
The company had a modest start in 1995 as a single –circle operator in New Delhi. Two decades since, it is the No.1 in India, the world’s second largest mobile telecom market, and offers services across the second -,third – and fourth-generation platforms. Its mobile networks carried more than 1.23 trillion minutes of calls and over 333 petabytes of data in the fiscal year ended on March 31, 2015 .
Bharti Airtel pioneered a low –cost business model based on outsourcing,
which allowed it to expand services rapidly.
He said the next phase of the company’s growth would be led by mobile internet.
The company, however; faces threat in India from Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries.
Africa, where Bharti Airtel entered in 2010, is a drag on the company as its operations in the continent continue to bleed. In the quarter through March 2015,net losses there widened to $183 million (1,155.7 crore) from $105 million a year earlier, stung mainly by forex losses. Revenue dropped nearly 13%
Source: 1st July, 2015; Economic Times
NEW DELHI: Software major Infosys will invest $10 million (about Rs 63 crore) in Ireland-based start-ups which are developing disruptive technologies.
The Bangalore-based IT services firm has been selected as a strategic partner by Allied Irish Banks (AIB), a financial services group that operates predominantly in Ireland and the UK, to set up a 200-seater unit in Dublin.
A disruptive innovation is one that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually disrupts the earlier one, displacing the old technology.
Infosys intends to set aside $10 million from its global innovation fund for Ireland-based startups… Infosys is Keen to assist start-ups that are developing and enabling these (disruptive) technologies,” the company said.
Earlier this year, Infosys announced the $500-million innovation fund, earmarked for investments in the growth of disruptive new technologies. Infosys will provide application development and management services to AIB.
Source: 4th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
A Landmark in Airtel’s journey, which
underlined the strength of its business model
and brand
New Delhi: V-Mart is gearing up to join
the fast growing e-commerce sector by
next year with a mobile app-based
platform to sell products. It has 108
stores and plans to use its existing outlets
as delivery hubs for online customers in
the initial stage.
“We will have an offline and online
combined strategy, where offline would
feed the online demand. We need at least
a year to start online retail and it will be
around next Diwali,” V-Mart Retail
chairman and MD Lalit Agarwal told
PTI. “Initially we are planning to use our
existing stores as the delivery hubs. We
are in the process of finalising the
details,”” he said.
The company would roll out in a phased
manner in selected cities and later extend
to other places. It would start the pilot
project by june2016. V-Mart will first
develop an app for android, followed by
Apple’s iOS, Agarwal said, adding “we
will offer our entire stock online. To start
with, we would only offer the products-
apparels and non-apparels, which we are
selling offline.”
Source: 3rd July, 2015; Economic Times
BISHKEK (KYRGYZSTAN): Seeking a
peaceful and secure neighbourhood
amid the thread of terrorism and
extremism, India and Kyrgyzstan signed
four agreements, including one on
bolstering defence cooperation and
holding annual joint military exercises.
The two countries signed four key
agreements, including on cooperation in
defence and culture fields. Two MoUs
were also signed for cooperation
between the Election Commissions of the
two countries and on cooperation in the
sphere of standards, a move that will
help economic relations.
Prime minister Modi underlined that his
visit to the countries in the region
“demonstrates the importance that we
attach to a new level of relationship with
Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is a Key part of
that vision”.
Noting that the bilateral defence ties are
strong, he said a joint exercise ‘Khanjar
2015’ has just been completed. “ We have
decided to hold joint military exercises
on an annual basis,” he said.
Modi underlined that the new agreement
on defence cooperation would provide a
“framework to broaden bilateral
engagement” which would also include
defence technology.
The Prime Minister said India sees an
important place for Central Asia in its
future. “We can reinforce each other’s
economic progress. Sustainable
development is important for both. We
can contribute to cooperation and
integration across the different regions of
Asia,” he said.
Source: 13th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
Music-streaming company Saavn has
raised $100 million (Rs.635 crore) in
funding led by Tiger Global
Management as it prepares to launch a
video service that could offer it a buffer
in the music market that’s drawing
global giants like Apple. Money was
raised at a valuation of $300-400 million.
Source: 13th July, 2015; Economic Times
New Delhi: US-based semiconductor
company Soft Machines plans to invest
$100 million (about Rs.640 crore) in India
this year to establish a new research and
development unit and fund various
other startups. The company is on the
verge of closing a deal to raise $150-300
million (Rs.960 -1,920 crore), said
Mahesh Lingareddy, co-founder and
chief executive of Soft machines. It is in
talks with about 10 startups to bring
them on board, he said.
“We want to develop products such as
routers, switches, storage and security
appliances in India through our
upcoming R&D unit,” said Lingareddy.
The company will also look at offering
content services through consumer
applications. Soft Machines is combining
Lingareddy’s expertise and crowd
innovation to offer various smart devices
and services for home and enterprise
customers.
The company is currently operating its
aggregated platform in stealth mode
under the name ‘the tiger rising’, with
more than 50 employees. Soft Machines
plans to double its team to 500 people
globally over the next 18-24 months to
support its commercialization roadmap.
As part of this strategy, it is expected to
expand its team in India to 250 people
from about 100 at present.
Source: 7th July, 2015; Economic Times
NEW DELHI: The Asian Development
Bank (ADB) in its latest review on
Thursday maintained that India was
likely to register a growth rate of 7.8% in
2015 backed by improved performance
in both industry and services while
structural bottlenecks are expected to be
addressed.
However, it said that delay n reforms
particularly those relating to land
acquisition and goods and services could
dent growth rate. ADB lowered China’s
growth estimates to 7% this year as
compared to its earlier projection of 7.2%.
It also lowered its growth projection for
2016 to 6.8% from 7% projected in March.
Source: 17th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
NEW YORK: Ten Indian companies,
including Aurobindo Pharma, HCL
Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services,
and HDFC Bank, have made it to the
Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 list. India has
the second- highest number of firms on
the list for the fifth year in a row, after
China.
7 Indian cos among world’s 500 largest
firms: Fortune
NEW YORK: Seven Indian companies,
including Indian oil (ranked119),
Reliance Industries(ranked 158) and Tata
Motors (ranked 254), are among the
world’s 500 largest companies, according
to a list compiled by Fortune, which has
been topped by retail giant Walmart.
Source: 24th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
NEW DELHI: India was the only bright
spot in a depressing global steel market
in the first half of this year, the only one
to grow among the top five. India also
logged the fastest growth among the
world’s top 10 steel markets.
Crude steel production in the country
grew 4.2% to 45 million tonnes, even as
global production fell 2% to 813 million
tonnes. India’s growth helped
consolidate its position as the third-
largest steel- producing country in the
world after Chine and Japan. It over took
the US at the beginning of the year.
“For six consecutive months, we have
been able to maintain our status of being
the third- largest producer of the world,”
steel and mines minister Narendra Singh
Tomar told HT. “In the first six months
of 2015, we were the only country among
the top five steel producers in the world,
which registered positive growth. We
will attempt to take India to the position
of the second- largest producer in the
world.”
Domestic steel companies have been
investing I expanding capacities at their
existing factories. Some of them,
including Tata Steel in Jamshedpur and
market leader Steel Authority of India
Ltd in Burnpur, Bhilai and Rourkela,
have come onstream in the last few
months, leading to a rise in production.
The partial lifting of curbs on mining in
Karnataka, a major iron ore producing
state, has also led to a higher capacity
untilisation.
“Imports rose 55% year- on- year to 1.7
million tonnes in April- May, while
exports fell 35% to 0.7 million tonnes,
signalling that revenue- generation
remains feeble for domestic producers,
“Kotak Institutional Equities said in a
report.
Source: 24th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
NEW DELHI: Amul is joining the league
of global brands such as Coca- Cola,
Kodak, Wimbledon and Viagra to get a
“well- known” trademark, ensuring
unparalleled protection not just in India
but across the world. The step taken by
the government will ensure that the
brand name is not used anywhere or for
any product.
“It will have an impact on cross- border
reputation and it will ensure that no one
will be able to get registration for Amul
in other categories too,” said R S Sodhi,
managing director of Gujarat
Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation,
which owns the Amul brand.
The India list includes Bata, Bajaj, Bisleri,
Nirma and Infosys, among the home-
grown brands, while global players such
as Cartier; Dunhill, Play boy, Mars and
Yahoo have received well- known
trademarks.
Indian as well as international laws
provide for well- known brands as a
special category, while some even make
a distinction with famous brands. “The
well- known trademarks enjoy
tremendous protection. They are
essentially not distinguishable and have
been given protection because they have
become really well- known. The
protection is WELL- KNOWN available
even if something is not sold in India. So
a similar treatment will be available for
Amul or other 62 on the list,” said an
officer.
Source: 24th July, 2015; Times of India
New Delhi: High-end dairy products such as yoghurt, cheese, ice-creams, wines and lamb chops from Australia may soon be available at cheaper rates for consumers here as the two countries inch closer to finalizing the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). Negotiators from India and Australia met for the 8th round of the CECA talks in the capital and indications are that dairy products, where India had reservations earlier, are likely to be part of the final list.
For example, duty on lamb meat from Australia may be reduced to make it available for Rs800-1000 per Kg in the Indian market, Similarly, Ice-creams in the Rs600 a litre category could be allowed. Domestic ice-creams players
such as Mother Dairy and Amul operate at Rs150-Rs350 a litre segment. Discussions are on for reducing duties for all these products but no final decision has been taken.
Skimmed milk powder, wheat and other farm products are off the list due to sensitivities on both sides, even if there is a shortage of skimmed milk powder in India. Sources said duties on Australian wines could also be cut.
With Chinese market slowing down, there is an urgent push from Australia to engage with India. Australia is the fourth largest exporter of dairy products in the world and accounts for 7% of world trade, according to industry data.
Source: 4th July, 2015; Times of India
Bengaluru: Physical storage solutions
provider Boxmyspace has raised Rs1.92
crore in a seed-round of funding from
angel investors such as farooq
Oomerbhoy, cofounder of Orios Venture
Partners, Singapore Angel Networks and
Ritesh Veera.
Operating out of Mumbai, the seven-
month-old startup will use the funds
primarily to extend operations into
Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Delhi and to
beef up its marketing efforts.
“We have already extended our
operations to Pune, Nasik and Nagpur
because of the proximity. We are
planning to move to Bangalore and NCR
as soon as possible,” said Pratyush Jalan,
founder, Boxmyspace, which operates on
a “service at the doorstep” concept.
Customers who want to store unwanted
goods can do so by clicking on the app.
The company then delivers custom-built
water and pest proof storage boxes.
Source: 14th July, 2015; Economic Times
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba is
upping its investment in cloud
computing , with a new, $1-billion cash
infusion, making it more of a competitor
to Amazon, Google and Microsoft than
ever before. The funding will be used to
expand Aliyun’s international presence,
extend its alliance –based ecosystem, and
to build new products that it can offer at
lower costs, the company said,
This is the second of recent signs that
Alibaba’s getting serious about its cloud
business. Last month, aliyun signed a
series of new partnerships with the likers
of Intel and data centre company Equinix
to localise its cloud offerings without
having of build its own new data centers.
Right now, cloud computing only
constitutes a small chunk of Alibaba’s
$2.8 billion in revenue last quarter, but
this new investment proves Aliyun
doesn’t plan to slow down. Amazon
leads cloud computing in the US, on
track to book more than $7 billion this
year from its AWS business – that’s more
than its four closest competitors
combined. –Business insider
Source: 30th July, 2015; Economic Times
NEW DELHI : After facing harsh criticism over drug manufacturing quality in the recent past, government is now set to draft a new set of guidelines to regulate drug quality in India.
Health ministry and Central Drug standards Control Organisation (CDSCO), jointly, plan to study the guidelines of global health regulators.
While the new set of regulation guidelines will be referred from top global health regulators such as, the government plans to study regulations of lesser developed countries and BRICS countries as well.
“Government is worried over the promises made to the US Food and Drug Administration off late. However, due to the certain quality lapses by Indian drug
makers, US FDA still continues to take harsh action against India drug – production plants,” said a senior bureaucrat from ministry of health and family welfare.
Government is taking several other measures to save brand image of pharmaceuticals industry which majorly includes overhauling of CDSCO ,the regulatory body for drug quality standards in India.
“We have floated a cabinet note on revamping CDSCO where it would be upgraded into a world-class health regulator .CDSCO will also be renamed as Central Drug Administration,” said an official. The Cabinet may take up the proposal in this month.”
Source: 8th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
Mumbai : The government is considering exempting insurance intermediaries, including brokers, from the foreign direct investment limit. Although caps on insurance intermediaries were not original envisaged, the insurance regulator had at some point decided to apply the limits applicable to insurance firms to other companies across the sector.
The rethink comes at a time when the government has allowed reinsurance firms to set up 100% -owned units in the form of domestic branches. Several of the international brokers are keen to follow their clients in India but are not interested in a minority – stake company.
The complication that the FDI limit is creating on regulation is that foreign
banks allowed to distribute insurance as brokers or corporate agents end up breaching the caps.
The other reason for considering 100% FDI for broking firms is that insurance broking is not a capital –intensive business and most of the work is advisory in nature. Even if the premium is sourced by a multinational broking firm, the policy is issued by a domestic insurance company and there is no loss of foreign exchange.
At present, most of the top international broking firms are present in India. These include Aon, Marsh, Howden and JLT. Willis, which had exited from a joint venture earlier, is re-entering the market through an equity stake in Almondz.
Source: 10th July, 2015; Times of India
NEW DELHI: To attract greater foreign capital inflows through alternative investment funds (AIFs) , the government and Reserve Bank are considering changes to the foreign
exchange regulations to make such investments a seamless affairs.
Source: 10th July, 2015; Times of India
New Delhi: In a bid to make the process of approvals of mergers and acquisitions speedier and simpler, the competition commission of India (CCI) has revised its combinations regulations. Stakeholders, for long, were demanding the revision of
tedious compliance requirements of the competition regulator.
As per the new guidelines, a summary of every combination (merger and acquisition) under review will be
published on the website of CCI. The step will ensure greater transparency.
In recent months CCI has seen a spurt in number of merger notices being filed. Last year, the regulator was getting three notices per month on an average. This year the number has gone up to ten notices per month.
“A Key change brought in the amendments is in relation to the definition of the term other document. To bring in more certainty, scope of the
term other document has now been limited to a communication conveying the intention to make an acquisition to a statutory authority,” said a statement from CCI.
The number of copies of notice to be filed with the Commission has also been reduced.
CCI has also simplified forms required to be filed for notifying combination.
Source: 4th July, 2015; Economic Times
MUZZLING IMPORTS Finance, commerce ministries also mull exiting ailing businesses to make PSUs competitive
NEW DELHI: In a bid to boost manufacturing output, the government is considering a host of indirect fiscal measures which might pull the industry from its existing slowdown.
According to official sources, talks are on between the finance ministry, the commerce ministry and other stakeholders to come out with ways and means in which the domestic industry can pick up pace in manufacturing and compete against cheaper imports.
Top on the list of these sectors is iron and steel followed by mining and then power and natural gas. Currently, these sectors are facing a tough time in terms of production levels. Indirect fiscal
measures would mean that government may revise duties and taxes for these sectors.
Source said that a three pronged strategy which includes spurring the manufacturing sector, contributing make in India campaign and pull out specific industries from slowing businesses is being considered.
Cheap steel imports have risen 72% in 2014-15 to 9.3 million tonnes.
Already, the reserve Bank of India in its recent financial stability report said, “As on date, five out of the top 10 private sector steel-producing companies are under severe stress on account of delayed implementation of their projects due to land acquisition and environmental clearances among other factors.”
Source: 8th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
Mumbai: Former finance minister P
Chidambaram’s brain child the
Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), launched
only 20 months ago, may be merged with
the state bank of India. According to
sources, the merger proposal is being
discussed within the government
considering that the newly started bank
will find it a challenge to build a
distribution reach.
The bank was started with a capital of Rs
1,000 crore which was provided under
the budget. The bank has opened 62
branches, mobilized deposits of around
Rs 800 crore and has loan of around Rs
400 crore and has loans of around Rs 400
crore. Following the announcement in
the 2013 budget, the bank was launched
in record time in November 2013. But
despite the speed of the rollout, the
bank’s coverage has been very meager
and large lenders have been able to open
more women’s account during the same
period.
SBI, which is the country’s largest lender;
had in past merged its two of its associate
banks – state bank of Saurashtra and
state Bank of Indore. SBI merged state
bank of Saurashtra with itself in 2008.
Two years later in 2010, state bank of
Indore was merged with the parent.
Among the public sector banks, BMB is
the only unlisted entity.
Source: 1st July, 2015; Times of India
NEW DELHI: The proposal to
consolidate state-owned banks is back on
the drawing board. This will be
undertaken by the public sector bank
board, which will be set up in the next
few months.
With the government showing
reluctance in providing financial support
to state-owned banks that have failed to
show significant growth in their
businesses, many “weaker” banks may
be forced to look at mergers.
The setting up of the board was
proposed by finance minister Arun
Jaitley in this year’s Union Budget. The
board, once set up, would act as an
independent consultant and identify the
banks with the right synergies that could
be merged.
Andhra Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and
United Bank of India (UBI), all of which
have comparatively less assets, may be
among the banks that may be forced to
look at a merger.
UBI has a market capitalisation of Rs
1,815.7 crore and a gross non-performing
asset –loans that do not yield returns –
ratio of 9.49%. Bank of Maharashtra,
which has a market capitalisation of
Rs3,997.6 crore has a gross NPA ratio of
6.33% and Andhra Bank, with a market
capitalisation of Rs4,217 crore has a gross
NPA ratio of 5.31%
Gross NPAs of all public sector banks
stood at 5.17% as of March 2015.
Source: 7th July, 2015; Hindustan Times
Principal Secretary at the PMO met
bankers, project promoters, top
ministry officials & Chief Secretaries of
states to resolve hurdles delaying
investments across sectors
New Delhi /Mumbai: The Prime
Minister’s Office (PMO) has taken charge
of reviving the investment cycle and
unravelling banks; chronic non-
performing assets on account of
investment plans worth lakhs of crores of
rupees that have got entangled in red
tape over the past few years.
Over the past three days, Principal
Secretary in the PMO Nripendra Misra
has held hectic, virtually daylong parleys
with bankers, project promoters, top
Ministry officials and chief secretaries of
states to arrive at a swift resolution of the
hurdles delaying big-ticket investments
across sectors.
Struck projects of companies like Tata
Power, Avantha, Lanco, GMR and Essar
Power, among others were discussed.
“Decision on as many as 22 projects were
taken on Wednesday,” a person aware of
the development told ET.
The PMO is mining through the 410-odd
stalled investment projects worth Rs.19.5
lakh crore that have sought and await an
intervention from the project monitoring
group in the cabinet secretariat. The
group was set up by the UPA
government in July 2013 to help
negotiate hurdles holding up large
investments. Officials from this group
were present at these meetings.
While state chief secretaries and line
ministries like power, railways and
finance have been asked to expedite
clearance and other issues in their
domains that have been scuttling specific
projects, in a few cases, promoters have
also been asked to bring more funds onto
the table to make the project viable rather
than expect banks and financiers to take
haircuts alone.
Source: 9th July, 2015; Economic Times
PMO is going through 410 stalled investment
projects worth Rs.19.5 lakh crore that await an
intervention from the project monitoring group
in the cabinet secretariat
NEW DELHI: Concerned over a
continuous decline in exports, the
government on Friday said it will soon
announce an interest subsidy scheme for
exporters.
Under the interest subvention scheme,
exporters get loans at affordable rates.
The 3% scheme ended on March 31 last
year.
The ministry is discussing the matter
with industry groups to find ways to
boost export and explore new markets,
she added.
On existing markets, Sitharaman said the
ministry is “certainly going ahead” with
the proposed free trade agreement with
the European Union, irrespective of the
Greek debt crisis.
Both sides are expected to meet next
month to begin talks.
On reports that the government has
asked chief economic adviser Arvind
Subramanian to look into the country’s
free trade agreements, she said: “Finance
ministry would do it for their reasons
because investments and investment
protection agreements will have to be
given a final shape by the ministry
itself.”
Source: 18th July, 2015; Times of India
NEW DELHI: The government will
settle for composite foreign investment
limits – including foreign direct i
investment, foreign institutional
investment, non-resident investment
and venture capital – in a move that will
have a bearing on several sectors ranging
from e-commerce and single- brand
retail to insurance, commodity
exchanges and asset reconstruction.
The issue, which has been pending for
several months, is expected to be finally
decided by the Union Cabinet with the
department of industrial policy and
promotion (DIPP), which is piloting the
proposal, recommending grandfathering
of earlier holding structures to comfort
existing investors.
E-COMMERCE TAX UNDER GST
E-commerce will be taxed according to the rules of
the “place of supply” under GST, said VS Krishnan,
member-GST, Central Board of Excise and
Customs. “The rules will be drafted keeping them
in mind,” he said at an interactive session on GST
at Ficci.
ON THE AGENDA
Amendment to the Arbitration &
Conciliation Act to end delays and
eliminate high costs, improve ease in
doing business
Recapitalization of regional rural
banks
Clearance for setting up of e-courts
At present, in several sectors, there are
sub- limits within the overall foreign
investment ceiling. But, following the
government go-ahead, any one set of
investors can raise their stake up to the
sectoral cap. The move is seen to be
especially beneficial to foreign
institutional investors in some of the
sectors as they can increase their stake up
to the sectoral limit.
“The whole idea is to provide flexibility
to investors,” said an official. Sources
said the move would help in removing
ambiguity in application of sectoral caps,
conditions and approval requirements I
different sectors.
The ministry has proposed a composite
foreign investment cap in sectors
including agriculture, tea, mining,
broadcasting, media, airports, retail, e-
commerce, asset reconstruction
companies, banking, commodity
exchanges and insurance.
Over the past 14 months, the government
has initiated several steps to improve the
rules related to foreign investment,
including allowing overseas flows into
hitherto closed sectors such as rail-ways
while increasing the limits for defence
and insurance, two areas of special
interest to investors. Rules have also
been eased for sectors such as
construction and efforts are underway to
clearly stipulate the rules for Indian
manufacturers to enter into the e-
commerce arena.
Source: 16th July, 2015; Times of India
New Delhi: The home ministry plans to replicate the online E-Tourist Visa (ETV) model to over 30 kinds of visas offered by India, a proposal which could eliminate human interaction with visa-seekers unless a person with a particular profile requires an interview.
The power of granting visas is delegated to Indian missions abroad, which have outsourced it to private operators like VF Worldwide Holdings, Cox & kings Global Services and VFS Global. However, the new ETV regime is handled by the government alone in a
fully online process which requires a visa-seeker to apply online, upload documents, pay through an internet gateway and also receive the visa within 72 hours online.
“We aim to issue 10 lakh ETVs annually after March 2016 when 150 countries will be covered. The point being debated is that when ETV can be totally online, why not the 30-odd other visa services?
The Prime minister has also given a call for Digital India and this could be the best example,” a senior government official told ET.
Source: 3rd July, 2015; Economic Times
Mumbai: Narendra Modi has given Indian tourism a booster shot. The PM’s record number of international jaunts and ease with selfies, besides other proactive measures, have given a fillip to the tourism industry.
Modi’s foreign trips – some of them the first ever for an Indian leader –have generated or renewed Indian travellers’ interest in the locations he visits. Besides, the PM’s push to improve tourist destinations within the country and rolling out e-visas to visitors from more nations has helped boost in –bound arrivals as well.
With Indians emerging as big globetrotters and spenders on overseas travel, industry pundits estimate that the number of Indians travelling abroad will touch 50 million by 2020 and their spending will cross $28 billion by then, up from 15 million and $15 billion in 2013.
Modi has also sought upgrade of heritage and pilgrimage sites across India, and has initiated a campaign involving citizens’ selfies at various picturesque locations within the country and extended e-visa facilities to more nations, increasing the footfalls to and within the country. His government’s Bharat Parva festival, to be held in various cities , aims to revive the cultural milieu and give a leg-up to domestic tourism.
Numbers tell the tale. Foreign tourist arrivals to India grew more than 9% in May 2015 over the same period last year when Modi came to power. As many as 15,659 tourists arrived on e-visas in May 2015 compared to 1,833 in May 2014.
Forex earnings from tourism grew 15% in May 2015 as compared to 0.2% growth in May 2014, according to data from the ministry of tourism.
After a year in office, thought other industries and investors may have lowered their expectations from the government, with the sensex too correcting by over 10% after rising to a record high of 30000 , the Indian tourism sector seems to be steering steadily ahead with Modi at the helm.
MORE FLOCK IN
5.11 lakh foreign tourists arrived in India in My 2015 compared to 4.68 lakh in May 2014,a growth of
9.2%
33.32 lakh foreign tourists arrived in India in January-May 2015 compared to 32.15 lakh in January-
May 2014, a growth of 3.6%
1.10 lakh foreign tourists arrived on e-visa in January-May 2015 compared to 9841 in January-May
2014 , a growth of 1024%
15,659 foreign tourists arrived on e-visa in May 2015 compared to 1833 in May 2014 a growth of
754%
Source: 7th July, 2015; Times of India
NEW HORIZONS : Assembly will help
in rapidly implementing decisions, final
decision can be taken in India next year
At the first parliamentary forum for BRICS held in Moscow on June 8, the participants agreed to start exploring the possibility of creating a parliamentary (or inter-parliamentary) assembly. The final decision on the creation of such a body might be made a soon as next year at the forum in India. The chief purpose of such a mechanism, according to First Deputy Chairman of the Federal Council Committee on International Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov, is to harmonise the legislation of member countries. Moreover, it is an additional platform for discussion where parliaments will be able to prepare recommendations for leaders.
“Parliaments will be able to raise and discuss any questions. The results will be
brought to the consideration of the countries leaderships,” said Vasily Likhachev, member of the State Duma committee for CIS Affairs. According to Likhachev, the BRICS parliamentary assembly can accomplish two fundamental tasks. The first is developing laws that are either the same or closely resemble each other, their standardisation, and with time, the elaboration of common laws. The second is bringing the parliamentary community together to resolve the most important issues such as nuclear non –proliferation, reforming international institutions, reforming the IMF, and defending international law.
“It will be possible to develop various inter-parliamentary international initiatives,” added Likhachev. Citing an example, he said that Russia and China are promoting initiatives in the UN for the demilitarisation of outer space and
TOP SOURCE COUNTRIES THAT AVAILED E-VISA:
Foreign exchange earnings were $1.39bn in May 2015 compared to $1.2bn in May 2014, a growth of
15%
Foreign exchange earnings were $8.2bn in January-May 2015 compared to $7.8bn, a growth of 4%
for introducing a code of conduct to the information sphere. Inter –parliamentary dialogue will help to simplify the implementation of decisions taken in national legislation.
“Parliamentary accompaniment is essential to the rapid implementation of the decisions of the countries’ leaderships,” said Deputy Chairman of
the State Duma Sergei Zheleznyak. First of all , we are speaking of the launch of the New Development Bank and the Currency Reserve Pool.
An analysis of the BRICS countries ‘legislation will now be conducted. Approaches to cybersecurity will be studies attentively, ”said Zheleznyak.
Source: 1st July, 2015; Economic Times
Moscow: The five-nation BRICS group on Tuesday signed an agreement to create a $100 billion pool of forex reserves to help each other “in case of any problems with dollar liquidity”, with India chipping in $18 billion.
Brazil and Russia will contribute same as India. China would put in the maximum of $41 billion, while South Africa would chip in $5 billion. “The central banks of
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have signed operational agreement on July 7, 2015 in Moscow. The fund will be an “insurance instrument” that member nations could draw if they experience problems with their balance of payments. The pool will go into force on July 30. AGENCIES
Source: 8th July, 2015; Times of India
Beijing: The formation of the New
Development Bank (NDB) by the BRICS
nations along with the formation of the
Asian Infrastructure investment Bank
(AIIB) will break the monopoly of the
IMF and World Bank and make their
functioning more democratic, a state-run
Chinese think tank has said.
“All the BRICS, (Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa ) economies have
become founding members of the AIIB ,
while China, India and Russia turned out
to be the three largest shareholders of the
bank,” an article titled “BRICS
cooperation helps to build new
international framework” published in
the Global Times daily said.
“The establishment of the BRICS New
Development Bank, an emergency
reserve fund, and the AIIB will break the
monopoly position of the International
Money fund (IMF) and the World Bank
(WB),” said the article written by Liu
Zengyi, research fellow of Shanghai
Institutes for International Studies.-PTI
Source: 14th July, 2015; Economic Times
Moscow: BRICS countries may sign an
agreement on greater economic
integration in the next five years,
Russia’s First Deputy Economic
Development Minister Alexei Likhachev
said on Monday.
“Of course, it is now premature to talk
about the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India,
China South Africa) economic
agreement. But if the approach and the
crystallisation of our association as an
international group will take place at the
same pace as now, the economic
agreement within a few years will be
quite timely and inevitable. I think it can
happen within five years, “Likhachev
said in an interview with TASS news
agency.
However, Likhachev expressed
confidence that “ the day when the
BRICS countries will speak about the
economic agreement is not far away”.
According to him, the agreement will
undergo several stages.
“At first it will be a declarative document
that will inspire our countries to
cooperate more actively. Then it could be
non- preferential agreements, which
optimise regulatory system, simplify
customs and investment procedures,
create the so- called “green corridors” for
goods. The third phase is a preferential
regime—concessions that we will make
in terms of commodity trade,” Likhachev
said.
Source: 7th July, 2015; Economic Times
Bengaluru: India needs to overcome the low growth phase as quickly as possible as it is answer to many of the country’s socio-economic problems, former RBI Governor C Rangarajan said on Monday. “In many ways the coming decade will be crucial for India,” he said.
If India grows at 8 to 9% per annum, it is estimated that per capita GDP will increase from the current level of $1600 to $ 8000-10,000 by 2025, said
Rangarajan, also former chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. “Then India will transit from being a low income to a middle income country. We need to overcome the low growth phase as quickly as possible, as growth is the answer to many of our socio-economic problems,” he said while delivering the annual Khusro Memorial Lecture. – PTI
Source: 1st July, 2015; Economic Times
Chennai: RBI governor Rahuram Rajan on Thursday said that the Indian economy was in a recovery phase. “There are signs of pick-up in capital investments,” he said. But he added that sustainable growth would require greater reforms and putting stalled projects back on track. The governor was in the city for an RBI board meet.
On Greece, Rajan said: “The direct exposure is very limited for India. But there is some indirect exposure like how the Euro would react to the Greece situation.” “Our growth prospects are good and the buffers that we have are reasonable, including foreign exchange,” Rajan said. He said exports remained an area of relative concern but they have been weak across all Asian economies, barring China.
Mumbai: Customers will be able to view their bank accounts, mutual funds and shares and insurance investments on a single screen in the near future. The aggregation of all financial sector account will have the added advantage of customers not having to duplicate the “Know your customer” process. The RBI on Thursday said that it is amending norms to register a new kind of non-
banking finance company whose objective would be to act as an aggregator across various financial institutions. The proposal was discussed in a meeting of a sub-committee of the financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) chaired by Rajan in New Delhi on August 2014.
Source: 3rd July, 2015; Times of India
New Delhi: Industrial output growth slowed in May on the back of sluggish manufacturing sector expansion, triggering demand for a cut in interest rates to support growth.
Data released by the government on Friday showed the index of industrial
production (IIP) rose 2.7% in May compared to a downwardly revised 3.4% growth in April and 5.6% expansion in the year-ago period. In April, provisional data had shown the sector had grown 4.1%, fuelling talk of a sharp turnaround.
Source: 11th July, 2015; Times of India
Mumbai: Seeing the huge potential of cashless transactions through e-wallet, mobile payments and commerce venture Paytm is the latest company to jump on the person-to-person (P2P) money transfer bandwagon.
After online shopping, this space has seen good traction with mobile payment firms like M-Pesa and Oxigen, and certain banks joining the fray, to offer ease and convenience of the cashless mode and promote cashless and paperless transactions while making merchant payments. While banks have deployed point-of-sales (PoS) terminals at various merchant outlets and lanched mobile payment apps, others like Vodafone M-Pesa launched a mobile app recently to carry out transactions like cash deposits, money transfers, and make mobile and utility bill payments.
“We did a quiet launch for select users in April, and are now rolling it out to all
Paytm users. We saw good traction in this space with a million transactions in a day,” Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma told TOI, adding that it is now sprucing up security for money transfer transactions. This would benefittier-2 and -3 markets, where consumers are not very digitally savvy.
To enhance security, an SMS-based password will be sent to the user transferring money from the mobile wallet. The ease of use and convenience will be more for a Paytm user; Sharma claimed, and the scale being bigger. Paytm now has a user base of over 80 million. He added the money transfer facility will also be available on Apple Watch, and Android Wear.
“Our focus is beyond remittances… on day-to day needs of consumers where cash is spent or a transaction takes place,” he added.
Source: 10th July, 2015; Times of India
San Francisco: Online payments titan PayPal said on Wednesday it is buying international money-sending service Xoom in a deal valued at $890 million. PayPal, a subsidiary of eBay, will pay $25 per share of Xoom in what amounts to a premium of 32% over the stock’s average price over the past three months.
PayPal touted Xoom as a leading service for letting people in the United States pay bills or send money to family members or friends in other countries using mobile phones, tablets or computers.
“Expanding into international money transfer and remittances aligns with our strategic vision to democratise the movement and management of money,” PayPal president Dan Schulman said.
Acquiring Xoom will let PayPal broaden its array of services and expand in important markets, Particularly China, Brazil, India, Mexico and the Philippines, according to Schulman.
Xoom has a presence in 37 countries. “Becoming part of PayPal represents an exciting new chapter for Xoom ,which will help accelerate our time-to-market in unserved geographies and expand the ways we can innovate for customers,” said Xoom chief executive John Kunze.
The acquisition was expected to close in the final quarter of this year.
Source: 3rd July, 2015; Economic Times
New Delhi: Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has invested an undisclosed amount in fitness –tracker startup GOQii Technologies, ahead of the first institutional funding it expects to raise this year.
GOQii, founded by angel investor and former Indiagames CEO Vishal Gondal, said the latest funding takes the total amount invested in the Mumbai-based company to about $2.8 million (Rs17.7 crore). Incorporated in 2013,GOQii Technologies is a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based GOQii. “Wearables is a piping hot sector both globally and in India,” said Sharma, who Invested in his personal capacity.
“The startup with its combination of technology, experts and coaches on a single platform is uniquely positioned to lead in it.” Sharma is one of more than 20 angel investors who have put money into the fitness application startup.
GOQii’s application also integrates with 35 major fitness bands including Jawbone, Fitbit, Garmin, Moov, Misfit and Sony. Users have to decide on a goal and chose a coach to guide them on the application.
Source: 3rd July, 2015; Economic Times
In the Bag
It amounts to a premium of 32% over the stock’s average
Price over the past 3 months
Xoom will let Paypal broaden its array of services
And expand in important markets
$25 Money PayPal will
pay per share of Xoom
37 Countries Xoom is
preset in
WHAT’S HOT
Wearables is a piping hot sector both globally and in India
VIJAY SHEKHAR SHARMA, Founder and CEO, Paytm
Major Products being Exported from India
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