Untitled DocumentPrime Minister Narendra Modi connected with thousands of rapturously cheering Indiandiaspora at Madison Square Garden here on September 28, promising them he would deliver on the electoral promise of a resurgent India and urged them to join in the mass movement to work for their country of origin. Addressing a 20,000-strong crowd at the venue — that has seen former US presidents and rock stars take to the stage but never an Indian politician — and also thousands watching the event live outside on giant screens, and millions back home and around the world on TV and internet, Modi announced relief measures for the diaspora, including lifelong visas for Persons of Indian Origin cardholders and the merger of the PIO and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) schemes with a new scheme to be announced soon. Speaking in his chatty style in Hindi for almost an hour, and attired in cream kurta-pyjama and a light orange jacket, Modi praised the Indian diaspora for its contribution to IT, saying India was no longer considered a land of snake charmers but of software wizards. \"Our forefathers maybe would play with snakes, but we play with the mouse (computer mouse),\" he said, to wild cheers. Referring to the elections that swept him to power in May, Modi thanked the diaspora for their support and said he has not taken even a 15-minute vacation since becoming prime minister. \"Winning elections is not for sitting on a seat, it is a responsibility. And I have not taken even a 15-minute vacation since becoming PM,\" he said. As the crowd chanted \"Modi, Modi\" throughout his speech, the prime minister said his government w ill not leave any stone unturned to fulfil the expectations of the people. He said India is at an opportune cusp of circumstances, blessed with a vibrant democracy, with 65 percent of its people under the age of 35, and a market of 1.25 billion people and will scale new heights in the near future \"These three things are present in one country, this is not there anywhere else in the world. And on the basis of this India will cross new heights — it is my belief,\" said Modi as the crowd chanted, clapped and cheered every time the prime minister made a good point and appealed to their patriotism. Referring to the ageing populace across the world, he said that India is blessed with the youngest population and the largest workforce in the world. \"India can supply the workforce to the world,\" he said, suggesting that India should export its trained teachers and nurses across the world. He also proposed that the diaspora should join in the efforts to rebuild the country, a \"vikas jan andolan\" or a mass movement for development — in helping in any way they could. Referring to the skill development that his government has launched for the youth, he said his government has created a skill development ministry and would invite other countries to join in the effort. Modi also announced visa-free arrival for US tourists in India and that Indian missions in the US would grant long term visas to US citizens, which was widely welcomed by the Indian Americans.
Uninor to invest Rs 600 cr in India in 2014Leading telecom operator Uninor will invest Rs 600 crore in capex in India during the calendar year 2014, its CEO Morten Karlsen Sorby announced. The majority of the investment will go into establishing new base stations across six circles, he told reporters here. \"We will roll out 5,000 new base stations this year. This will be 30 per cent more than the number of base stations we had,\" he said. Telenor, the parent company of Uninor, has already spent 247 million Norwegian Krone (about Rs 235 crore) in the first half of the current year. Uninor, which has a subscriber base of 42 million, is also investing in new point of sale, retail outlets and towers. Sorby said Telenor had got approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to increase ownership in Uninor from 74 per cent equity to 100 per cent. He, however, did not give a time frame for the transition. He said the revenue growth in India was 40 per cent in the first half of 2014 but did not reveal absolute numbers. He said the company wants to focus more on internet services as the same are witnessing big growth in India but said it has no plans to launch the commercial services of 4G in the short to medium term as the penetration of 4G-enabled handsets is still in the nascent stage. Unionor launched 500 Wi-Fi enabled stores across the country on September 25, which was celebrated as Customer First Day. Of them 100 are new retail outlets. All walk-in customers into the stores will be able to experience the use of mobile Internet free of charge, access and download new applications and upgrade mobile software. The telecom operator also started a dial 121 service to enable the customer do a self-help exercise to access their account, get customised tariff plans, activate and de-activate add-on services.
Spices export up 10% in Apr-JulyIndian spices export , during April- July 2014 has shown a prospective trend registering an increase of 10% in quantity and 11% in rupee terms and 6% in dollar terms of value. Export of all major spices like pepper, chilli, ginger, turmeric, seed spices and value added products has marked an outstanding growth both in terms of value and quantity. Compared to the export target of 7,55,000 tonnes valued Rs.12304.90crores ($2000 million) for the financial year 2014-15, achievement for April-July 2014 could sum up to a total of 36% in terms of quantity and 35% in rupee and 36% in dollar terms of value. Releasing the export performance for the period, April- July 2014, A Jayathilak, Chairman, Spices Board, said that the promising export figures for the period points to an increased demand for Indian spices in the global market. We look forward to an all-time high export record for the financial year with prominence to value added products in the export basket, he told. Chilly and Mint continued to be the largest foreign exchange earners in the export basket. During April-July 2014, a total of 2, 71,280 tonnes of spices and spice products valued Rs.4339 crore ($721.02 Million) has been exported from the country as against 2, 46,060tones valued Rs. 3892.72 crore ($ 682.79 Million) during April-July 2013. Pepper export improved with an increase of 10% in quantity and 41% in value, a total quantity of 6,450 tones of pepper valued Rs.332.46 crores have been exported as against 5,870 tonnes valued Rs. 235.31 crores of the last year. Ginger, overcoming its slow down trends in the previous years, has marked an increase of 47% in quantity and 23% in value. A total of 6,150 tonnes of ginger valued Rs.65.66 crores have been exported against the 4,194 tonnes valued Rs.53.54 crores of the last year. Chilly, the most demanded spice from India registered an increase of 6% in quantity and 10% in value. A total quantity of 99,000 tonnes of chilli valued Rs.938.80 crores have been exported as against 93,122 tonnes valued Rs.850.81 crores of corresponding period of the previous year.The seed spices basket had a dream run during the period with Coriander, Cumin, and Fennel manifesting high performance. During April - July 2014, a total quantity of, 16,000 tonnes of coriander valued Rs 155.05 crores were exported as against 11,412 tonnes, valued Rs 86.40 crores of the last year. It marks an increase of 40% in quantity and 79% in value. While cumin achieved an increase of 32% in quantity and 14% in value, fennel bagged an increase of 19% in terms of value. A total of 58,000 tonnes of cumin valued Rs 672.10 crores were exported compared to 43,898 tonnes valued Rs 589.02 crores of the previous year and 4,500 tonnes of fennel valued Rs 47.2 5 crores have been exported against the 4,447 tonnes (Rs 39.65 crores ) of the last year.
Modi launches \'Make in India\' campaign, portalPrime Minister Narendra Modi launched his pet \'Make in India\' campaign to put India prominently on the global manufacturing map and, in turn, facilitate the inflow of new technology and capital, while creating millions of jobs. The ambitious scheme, that also puts in place the logistics and systems to address in a timely manner queries of potential investors, was unveiled along with a logo, a portal and brochures on 25 identified growth sectors before Who\'s Who of the corporate world from India and abroad at the Vigyan Bhavan conference complex in New Delhi. The event was watched live in several cities in India and abroad via video conferencing. Laying out the red carpet before investors, the prime minister said: \"After what we have done and what I hear from you, I don\'t think I need to assure you any further on \'Make in India\'.\" He hoped industry across the globe will take his invite seriously. He said he was saddened in the past to see scores of Indians leaving the country to seek opportunities elsewhere. People have lost faith in Indian manufacturing and themselves. \"We do not want any industrialist being forced to leave India,\" he said. \"A trust was broken -- that when a policy will be changed, when will the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) come. This is what I heard from all you. The biggest issue is trust. Why don\'t we trust each other? I want to change that.\" The prime minister said for him the term FDI for the domestic industry did not expand to \"foreign direct investment\" but \"first develop India\". \"We have to create opportunities of employment. If the poor get jobs the purchasing power of families will increase.\" Pointing to campaign logo, he said: \"This is the step of a Lion... Make in India.\" Ahead of the launch of the campaign, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a number of steps had already been taken by the Modi government to make it easier to do business in India along with the removal or relaxation of foreign equity caps in several areas. \"The processes of applying for licences has been made online, it is 24/7. The validity of such licences has also been extended to three years,\" Sitharaman said, adding several norms and procedures have also being changed to make it easier to do business in India. \"Make in India is not a slogan but a mission to be accomplished with a single-minded commitment.\" At the event some top industrialists and executives, among the 500 who had gathered here, were also invited to make short speeches. \"This programme offers a unique and timely opportunity to make India truly global,\" Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry sid, adding, countries attain high standards with a vibrant industrial economy and the biggest challenge is to create jobs for millions of youth. Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director of Maruti Suzuki India, said his Japanese group was among the first to invest in India and remains committed to the country. He said he was sure India will eventually become one of the most competitive economies. \"Today we commit ourselves to the \'Make in India\' movement that was given to us by our beloved prime minister,\" Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said. He said the main task before the industry in India was to achieve global competitiveness.
India at Mars doorstep, creates historyIndia on September 24 created space history by becoming the first country in the world to enter Mars\' orbit in its debut attempt. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the event as \"achieving the near ipossible\" and called for challenging the next frontier. ndia\'s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) traversed over 650 million km distance through deep space for over nine months to reach the Red Planet\'s orbit. \"The spacecraft (Orbiter) successfully entered the Martian orbit at 7.55 a.m. and is located at about 515 km from its surface...,\" a senior space official told IANS at the mission control centre here. Radars at the earth stations of NASA at Goldstone in the US, Madrid in Spain, Canberra in Australia and India\'s own deep space network at Baylalu near Bangalore received the radio signals from the Orbiter, confirming its insertion into the Mars orbit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who witnessed the event from an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facility in Bangalore, heartily congratulated the ISRO scientists and said that the successful Mars mission \"must become a base for challenging the next frontier\". The success \"will go down as landmark in history\", said a visibly delighted Modi. India\'s Mars mission is \"a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation\" and we have gone beyond boundaries of human enterprise and imagination, he added. The prime minister said that the MOM was built \"indigenously, in a pan-Indian effort\" and added that India is the only country to have succeeded in its very first attempt. \"With today\'s spectacular success, ISRO joins an elite group of only three other agencies worldwide to have successfully reached the Red Planet,\" he added amidst applause. Modi, wearing a red coloured jacket, said that the \"odds were stacked against us\". \"Of the 51 missions attempted across the world so far, a mere 21 had succeeded. But we have prevailed,\" he said. He went on: \"Travelling an incredible distance, of over 650 million or 65 crore km, we have gone beyond boundaries of human enterprise and imagination.\" The success of the Mars mission has made India join the elite club of the US, Europe and Russia, which reached the second smallest planet of our solar system after initial failures. The state-run ISRO became the fourth international space agency after National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US, Russian Federal Space Agency (RFSA) and European Space Agency to have undertaken successful missions to Mars. India also became the first Asian country to have entered the Mars sphere of influence (gravity) Tuesday, as a similar mission by China failed in 2011. The success of the mission to Mars will \"inspire our scientists to make even greater strides\", said President Pranab Mukherjee who described it as a \"historic achievement\". Vice President Hamid Ansari expressed confidence that \"our scientists will continue to scale greater heights and win more laurels for the country in the field of space exploration in the future\". The final orbiting exercise began in the early hours of Wednesday at 4.17 a.m. when the spacecraft switched over to the medium gain antenna to emit and receive radio signals. After rotating the Orbiter towards Mars at 6.57 a.m., the main engine was ignited at 7.17 a.m. for enabling the spacecraft enter its orbit from the sun orbit, where it cruised for over nine months and 24 days during its voyage to Mars from the Earth. During the crucial operation, when a solar eclipse occurred on Mars from 7.12 a.m., the 440 Newton liquid apogee motor (LAM) of the main engine started its burn at 7.30 a.m. and lasted for 24 minutes till 7.54 a.m. to swing the spacecraft into the Martian orbit. The speed of the spacecraft was also reduced by 2.14 metres per second from 22.2 km per second for entering the Martian orbit from the sun orbit. The five scientific instruments onboard the 475-kg (dry mass) Orbiter will study Mars\' surface, its mineral composition and scan its atmosphere for methane gas in search of life-sustaining elements. The Rs.450-crore ($70 million) ambitious mission was launched Nov 5, 2013, on board a polar rocket from spaceport Sriharikota off Bay of Bengal, about 80 km northeast of Chennai. As the fourth planet away from sun, Mars is the second smallest celestial body in the solar system. Named after Roman god of war, it is also known as the Red Planet due to the presence of iron oxide in abundance on its surface, giving it a reddish appearance. Though both the Earth and Mars have equal period of revolution around their axis, Mars takes 24 hours and 37 minutes to complete a revolution. The Earth takes 365 days to orbit the Sun while Mars 687 days to move around sun.> NEWS FEATUREEWS FEATURE
India open minded, wants change, Modi tells top US executivesIndia is open-minded and wants change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told top executives of American companies in New York, including Google and Citigroup, during a high-powered breakfast meeting in New York on September 29. “India is open-minded. We want change, Change that is not one sided. Am discussing with citizens, industrialists and investors,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, in a tweet, quoted Modi as saying. The breakfast meeting with 11 CEOs, including those of Google, Citigroup and Pepsico, was followed by one-on-one meetings with six other CEOs of companies like Boeing, IBM, GE and Goldman Sachs. Modi discussed infrastructure development with the CEOs. “Infrastructure development is a big opportunity; it creates jobs and enhances quality of life of our citizens,” Modi conveyed to the CEOs at the breakfast where business was top on the agenda. The CEOs were presented with special gift packs of tea from the Tea Board of India with the prime minister’s signature on the boxes. The tea flavours were Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiris. The morning business engagement was among the most important Modi scheduled in the US. James McNerney, chairman of Boeing, during his one-on-one meeting with Modi said that Boeing wanted to accelerate engagement with India, according to a tweet by the spokesperson. - IBM CEO Virginia Rometty discussed software for Modi’s “Smart Cities” Digital India Initiative during her one-on-one with Modi. Laurence D. Fink, CEO of Black Rock, American multinational investment management firm, conveyed to Modi during his one-on-one that the firm would host a global investors meet in India in early 2015, Akbaruddin tweeted. Modi held one-on-one meetings with Jeffrey R. Immelt. chairman and CEO of General Electric; Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs; and Henry Kravis, CEO of American private equity fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. (KKR).
India likely to join Asian infrastructure bankIndia is expected to join Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as the second largest shareholder in what is being seen as a move by the government to ensure that it has a say in running the new multilateral lending institution being created at China’s behest. “We have some concerns but we should join it.... We are discussing some of the concerns and we hope to resolve them soon,” a senior government official said, adding that India may get around 19% voting rights based on the size of its economy, compared to China’s 42%. The bank is expected to start with an authorized capital of $50 billion and will boost infrastructure financing in the region. It will rival the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where Japan and the US have larger shareholding than China, which has emerged as a major global force in recent years. When China discussed the idea of the bank last summer, India and Japan had been kept out of the closed-door meeting with 16 countries on the sidelines of the ADB’s annual meeting. Subsequently, Chinese president Xi Jinping extended an offer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Brazil. Although several in the government were initially not favourable to the idea, the mood changed when they realized that most of India’s neighbours will be shareholders. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are expected to join the bank. Already China is playing a significant role in developing a port and road network in Pakistan. Similarly, China and Bangladesh have sealed an agreement for a power plant in India’s eastern neighbour and a Chinese economic and investment zone in Chittagong. But, domination by a few countries and governance standards are concerns within the government, said an official, in what was a reference to China. Chinese authorities, sources said, have told their Indian counterparts that the concerns can be addressed once there is a commitment from India to join the new multilateral bank. But official fear that by committing to shareholding, India will end up endorsing AIIB’s structure the way China wants it. Others, however, said the issues can also be addressed when the articles of association are being finalized. At the same time, government officials said AIIB may provide low-cost funds for infrastructure creation in India, something that the existing multilateral bodies had failed to do. For instance, the government has been pushing for a Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) in the World Bank but it has failed to take off. “If the existing institutions are unable to or unwilling to intervene on behalf of emerging markets then a new institution to intermediate is needed,” said a source backing the plan for India to participate in AIIB as a shareholder.
FDI in telecom sector jumps manifold to $2.33bn in April-July>> OVERSEAS INVESTMENTSThe foreign direct investment in the telecom sector grew manifold to $2.33 billion in the first four months of 2014-15. During the entire 2013-14 fiscal, the sector had received a total FDI of $1.3 billion. FDI in the telecom sector, which includes radio paging, cellular mobile, basic telephone services, attracted only $12 million during April-July period of the last fiscal, as per the department of industrial policy and promotion. According to an industry expert, payment of spectrum auction and investments in network rollout are some of the factors that have helped attract more FDI in the sector. In 2011-12, 2010-11 and 2009-10, the sector attracted FDI worth $1.99 billion, $1.66 billion and $2.55 billion respectively. Increase in the foreign investment inflows in the sector helped the overall FDI, which increased by 52 per cent to $10.73 billion during April-July this fiscal. Other sectors that received large FDI inflows during the first four-months of the current fiscal include services ($1.03 billion), Pharmaceuticals ($886 million) and construction ($430 million). During the period, India received maximum FDI from Mauritius ($3.38 billion), Singapore ($1.66 billion), the UK ($824 million) and Japan ($834 million).
FIPB going paperless for greater ease of investingCome January and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) will go paperless for submission of applications, granting of approvals and keeping various records. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi promises to give a push to online services for investors, the Public Private Partnership (PPP) cell in North Block will also become largely digitised later this month. These moves by the finance ministry will go a long way in improving the ease of doing business in the country, a parameter on which India currently lags behind much of the world. The initiatives are also expected to bring down costs and result in faster disposal of applications. At present, an applicant seeking FIPB nod for single-window clearance on FDI proposals is required to submit at least two dozen documents with multiple hard copies at the facilitation centre in North Block. Sometimes additional documents are sought by ministries, which delays the process. In the new system, a clear checklist of required documents would be provided. Though the FIPB had allowed online submission of documents earlier, hard copies were still mandatory. “A new mechanism is being developed in which FIPB proposals would be submitted in digital form either in a DVD or online. All concerned ministries and departments would be given a login ID to directly access these files. This will bring down the average time for an FIPB clearance from about five weeks to three weeks,” said a finance ministry official who asked not to be named. Applicants will also be able to check the status of their application online. Approval letters will be given online and the hard copy will follow. At present the communication between the government and the applicant, even if it is for follow up queries, is through email, sometimes not even official email. It is a significant improvement over communication through post until a few years ago. “Currently, only the official sending mail knows about it and later the information is shared with other members of the FIPB. Now there will be institutional memory and the information will be shared simultaneously with everybody,” the official added. Besides, all FIPB records will be digitised, while weeding out old and unnecessary files. This will display all past records of a company at the click of a mouse. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will launch a facilitation centre in North Block shortly for receiving digital files. However, the website, being prepared by the government’s web services organisation, National Informatics Centre, may not be formally launched before January. For 100 per cent export-oriented units, investment by non-
resident Indians, single-brand retail and multi-brand retail, applicants may still require to file hard copies because these issues are handled by the commerce ministry. These can be handled by the finance ministry only after a change in the policy. The government has already said no to FDI in multi brand retail, though no formal rule has been inserted in the consolidated FDI policy in this regard so far. Also, the defence and home ministries would still be sent hard copies by the finance ministry due to security issues involved in submission of documents in electronic form. The finance ministry is planning to revamp its PPP website and make it more interactive and help companies involved in public private partnership projects. The existing website www.pppinindia.com is likely to be updated with more relevant and useful information. “The new website of PPP will be ready this month. People can apply online and submit documents wherever a hard copy is not needed,” said another official who did not wish to be identified. India is ranked 134 among 180 nations in terms of the ease of doing business, according to a World Bank report in 2014, three notches down from the 131st rank a year earlier.
India should aim $40 billion gold jewellery exports by 2020: WGCIndia, the world’s largest gold consumer, should target five-fold increase in gold jewellery exports to USD 40 billion by 2020 from the current level of USD 8 billion, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). The country should also put to use about 22,000 tonnes of gold lying idle with households and temples and reduce its dependence on imports in the next five years, it said. Besides, it should aim creation of 5 million new jobs across the gold value chain - manufacturing, retailing, assaying and recycling areas, it added. “Our vision for gold is that it should be put to work for the economy, creating jobs, developing skills, generating exports and revenues an essential part of the financial, economic and social structure of the country,” WGC said in its Vision 2020 for the country. In the next five years, India should target to be ‘jeweller to the world’ and gold jewellery exports from the country should increase five-fold to USD 40 billion from the current level of USD 8 billion, it said in a statement. WGC said that the country should meet 40 per cent of gold demand from its domestic stocks and the rest 60 per cent through imports and mining. That apart, India should target 75 per cent of gold sold to be standardised and hallmarked in the next five years. It should also provide higher loan to value ratio for hallmarked jewellery and ensure mandatory hallmarking for pieces above a designated selling price, WGC said. WGC also suggested the government launch ‘Karigar welfare scheme’ towards skill development and training of artisans and promotion of ‘Gold tourism’ circuit, showcasing handcrafted Indian jewellery. “This vision is to outline objectives for the industry that address the savings habit underpinning gold demand, support value addition, increase employment opportunities and benefit the industry in an organised way without curbing supply or impacting the current account deficit,” it said. This will allow the gold trade to operate in a free and transparent manner for the benefit of millions of households and eventually lead to increased economic wealth for the nation, it added.
August core sector output rises to 5.8%Driven by good expansion in steel, coal, cement and electricity generation, the output of eight crucial core sector industries rose 5.8 per cent in August from 2.7 per cent in July, official data showed on September 30. The eight industries had risen 4.7 per cent in August, 2013-14. For the first five months of 2014-15, the eight grew 4.4 per cent, marginally higher than the 4.2 per cent in the corresponding period of the earlier year. This might boost industrial growth data for August, which had dipped to 0.5 per cent in July. The eight industries constitute 38 per cent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). Earlier, there was apprehension over IIP growth in August after a mere 2.35 per cent rise in merchandise export for the month. The August core sector data had allayed this fear about industrial growth in the month, said ICRA senior economist Aditi Nayar. However, there is no one-to-one correspondence between core sector data and the IIP numbers. For instance, core sector output rose 7.3 per cent in June from 2.3 per cent in May but the IIP rise declined to 3.9 per cent from the earlier five per cent. Crude oil, natural gas and refinery products saw production contracting in August. In July, five industries had seen a decline. Steel, which saw production falling 3.4 per cent in July, rose 9.1 per cent in August. Electricity generation rose 12.6 per cent in August after doing so by 11.2 per cent in July. In the first five months of the current financial year, electricity generation has grown by double digits in four months. The exception was May, when it expanded 6.3 per cent. Production of coal, a vital raw material for electricity generation, increased 13.4 per cent in August, more than double the 6.2 per cent in July and the highest growth in it during the first five months of 2014-15. However, the recent Supreme Court decision on coal block allotments, cancelling all but four of the 218 made since 1990, makes it unclear if this can be sustained, said Nayar. Cement posted 10.3 per cent growth in August, though lower than the 16.5 per cent in May. The fact that August also showed a monsoon revival showed that construction activity, either for infrastructure or for personal dwellings, is on the upswing. The economy rose at a two-year high of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of this financial year (April-June), after two years of below-five per cent growth. The Reserve Bank of India has retained its earlier economic growth target of 5.5 per cent for 2014-15, projecting growth in the second and third quarter to be moderating, before rebounding in the fourth one.
Growth rate of 5.7% to 5.9% achievable, says MayaramThe government expressed confidence that a growth rate of 5.7% to 5.9% would be easily achievable during the current fiscal. Speaking at a function organised by the Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Chennai, finance secretary Arvind Mayaram said an outlook upgrade by ratings agency S&P from negative to stable reaffirms that the economy was in a much better condition than it was a year ago. Mayaram said the economic conditions were becoming favourable for a cut in interest rates. “Conditions are becoming favourable for a more benign monetary policy going forward in this year,” he said. Mayaram said the indices in the first half of 2014-15 appear to be more robust, with the first quarter GDP growth at 5.7%, inflation easing and a healthier external account balance. He also said that the investment data in September shows an uptick with a growth of 9.8% as against 6.7% in the year-ago period. He added that the fiscal deficit target of 4.1% for 2014-15 is achievable. He said that he is confident that the steps taken by the government to distress projects and simplify decision-making will show increasingly better results in the coming quarters. Foreign institutional investors’ net investment in India this year has reached $34.2 billion compared to $12.13 billion in the entire year of 2013, he said. On ease of doing business, he said that a revision of central government policies is underway, most of the action lies with the states.
DISCLAIMERThis newsletter is compilation of news articles from various business-e-newspapers and in no way is an endorsement or reflection of Embassy of India, Berne views.
