John McCain for free trade agreement with India

Source: The Economic Times, May 15, 2012

WASHINGTON: Senior Republican Senator John McCain on Monday made a strong pitch for a free trade agreement with India, as he slammed the Obama administration for failing to aggressively tap America’s trade potential with Asian nations.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think-tank, the lawamker said the US should have aimed for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, and emphasised that America’s long-term strategic and economic success requires an ambitious trade strategy in Asia.

Vegetable prices surge 61%, fuel 7.2% inflation in April

Source: The Economic Times, May 15, 2012

NEW DELHI: Soaring vegetable prices pushed inflation higher in April, while fuel and manufactured product prices sustained their pressure posing a fresh policy challenge and announcing the return of price pressures in Asia’s third-largest economy.

Data released by the commerce & industry ministry on Monday showed the annual rate of inflation, based on monthly wholesale price index, stood at 7.23% for April, 2012, compared to 6.89% for the previous month and 9.74% during the corresponding month of the previous year.

Registration mandatory for investment overseas

Source: The Hindu Business Line, May 14, 2012

Mumbai: Core investment companies (CICs) making overseas investment in the financial sector will require a Certificate of Registration, said the Reserve Bank of India.

Currently, CICs with an asset size of less than Rs 100 crore are exempt from registration with the RBI. Investment in the non-financial sector by such exempted CIC, however, will not require CoR.

Harley-Davidson keen to assemble more models at Haryana unit

Source: The Hindu Business Line, May 13, 2012

Kolkata: Following the good response to its bikes in the country, iconic bike-maker Harley-Davidson is keen on assembling more (bike) models in its India factory at Bawal.

Of the 15 models it currently sells in India, five are assembled in Bawal, Haryana. Bawal is Harley-Davidson’s second unit outside the US, the other being in Brazil. “We are keen to start assembling more models at Bawal. But such a decision will depend on customer feedback. If there is demand for a particular model we might explore the option of assembling more models here in the country,” Mr Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson India, said. Mr Prakash was in the city to inaugurate the company’s first showroom in Kolkata and its first in the eastern and north-eastern region.

India’s trade deficit lowest in 12 months

Source: Financial Express, May 10, 2012

New Delhi: Hit by slowdown in the western markets, India’s export growth dropped to 3.2 per cent in April, but a sharp deceleration in import expansion resulted in trade deficit narrowing to USD 13.2 billion, the lowest in a year.

The drop in the balance of trade (BoT) should reduce pressure on the rupee which has lost value by about 15 per cent against the US dollar since September, 2011.

Exports in April, the first month of the fiscal 2012-13 amounted to USD 24.5 billion, as per the provisional figures released by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar here today.

India to grow at 7.5% in 2012-13: UN

Source: Financial Express, May 10, 2012

New Delhi: India is projected to see a faster growth of 7.5 per cent this fiscal on the back of higher savings and investment rates, even as most of the Asia-Pacific economies are likely to expand at a slower pace, says a UN report.

“The Indian economy’s strong fundamentals, namely high saving and investment rates are rapidly expanding labour force and middle class will ensure a steady economic performance… We expect it to expand by about 7.5 per cent in 2012-13,” UNESCAP Chief Economist Nagesh Kumar said.

The growth estimate in the current fiscal is higher than the estimated 6.9 per cent growth in the last fiscal year.

Call to make pharma code mandatory

Source: Business standard, May 14, 2012

Chennai: A parliamentary standing committee has asked the government to make the uniform code of conduct for pharmaceutical marketing mandatory to keep cost of medicines in check. The panel on the ministry of health and family welfare, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Brajesh Pathak, has also advised the pharmaceuticals department to ensure the involvement of the health and family welfare ministry in the implementation.

Bilateral pacts may help India sustain exports of agri commodities

Source: The Economic Times, May 14, 2012

CHANDIGARH: Exporters of agri commodities such as wheat, sugar and cotton feel that shipments could pick up if India would enter into bilateral agreements with countries in the Middle East, Africa and the Saarc bloc.

Comfortable global stock and a slowdown in the world economy are making Indian agri commodity exports unviable, say exporters. With a weak rupee, exporters are confident of demand for Indian agri products in international market if bilateral agreements are in place.

Coal crisis to hit 12,500-MW capacity addition: NTPC

 Source: The Economic Times, May 13, 2012

NEW DELHI: Country’s largest power producer NTPC may not be able to add at least 12,500 MW of generation capacity, if the coal supply issues are not resolved in the next couple of months, a top company official said.

Faced with non-availability of gas for its envisaged plants, the state-run power producer has already scaled down its target of having 70,000 MW generation capacity by the end of the current Plan period (2012-17) to 65,000 MW.

Trai proposes to reduce reserve price for CDMA but not for GSM

Source: The Economic Times, May 14, 2012

NEW DELHI: The telecom regulator on Sunday proposed to reduce the reserve price of CDMA spectrum but made no change in its price recommendation for GSM spectrum auction.

The Telecom Regulatory authority of India (Trai) suggested a cut in the reserve price of CDMA spectrum from twice to 1.3 times the base price recommended for the 1,800 MHz band. The reduction, however, will be valid only in states where airwaves less than 5 MHz are available for auction.

Trai’s earlier proposal of charging 3,622 crore per unit spectrum to GSM operators in the upcoming auction and re-farming the 900MHz and 800MHz bands remains unchanged.