New Delhi, November 19
Green shoots in the Indian economy are visible at best in patches and key industrial sectors still remain in trouble, a study Assocham has pointed out.

The study comes days after Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the green shoots are visible and measures taken by the government will help the economy achieve the potential growth rate of 8%.

Analysis of industrial data suggests that nearly two dozen industry segments have reported negative trend in production in the first half of the current financial year and unless a reversal is seen in demand, the investment cycle is difficult to revive, said DS Rawat, secretary-general, Assocham.

“Unless we see clear signs of revival in the capital goods sector, the investment in manufacturing cannot be visible. The sector which reflects the state of investment in the key manufacturing industries continues to suffer - an indication of lack of appetite among the industry in the face of demand slowdown,” the study said.

The study said production in capital goods has slipped in the first half of 2013-14 further from the low base of the same period in the previous year. The consecutive negative trend - both in the first half of this year and in the previous fiscal also shows that there is a big surplus capacity lying in the sector and it would be quite a while before fresh investment can be expected since even the trend turns positive.

Leave alone green shoots, the study said some of the industries like hot rolled steel and sugar machinery are in a bad shape and produced over 58% and 39% less in September, 2013, than the same month last year. Somewhat similar is a situation with regard to colour TV sets which sold over 30% less than last year and commercial vehicles, down 28.5%.

Even the mobile telephone story appears to have lost the ring tune. Their production along with accessories was down 26.6% in September this year.

“What is causing concern is that several employment generating industries like furniture making have shown a rapid drop (minus 14%) along with fabricated metal products,” the study noted. While some industries like apparel have shown smart recovery, the decline in others is so sharp that the overall sentiment in the business circles, particularly in the labour-oriented small scale, remains subdued.

Return to high growth along with the feel-good factor is very important at this point of time so that consumers retain confidence which, in turn, would prompt fresh investment and resumption of stalled projects, according to the study.

"What is even more worrying are the signals that the government may cut its expenditure to rein in fiscal deficit.

While controlling fiscal deficit is a must, drastic cut in government expenditure would lead to further squeezing of business opportunities since the government is among the largest purchaser of goods and services," the study said.

The economic growth rate slipped to decade's low of 5% in 2012-13 and during the first quarter of current fiscal it stood at 4.4%.

New Delhi, November 19
Acknowledging that illegal deposit schemes run by companies were posing a serious problem across the country, the Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre and market and financial regulators on a PIL pleading for a crackdown on such outfits that had defrauded crores of people, shaking the foundation of rural and semi-urban economy.

A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam directed the Union Finance Ministry, market regulator SEBI, RBI, Enforcement Directorate, Serious Frauds Investigation Office and Corporate Affairs Ministry to file their response within four weeks to the PIL by Humanity, a registered society.

The petitioner has also sought a directive to the RBI and the government to extend banking facilities to half of the population that was unable to access them due to inadequate number of rural branches and the inability to cross the entry barriers such as know your customer (KYC) and minimum deposit.

Most of the deposit schemes were being run in violation of all laws with the connivance of local and state politicians and governments, the petition said.

According to the petitioner, scamsters and cheats had turned the deposit schemes into an “organised industry” in the name of finance companies, collective schemes, chit funds, multi-level marketing, teak plantation, farming, emu rearing and chicken farming.

New Delhi, November 19
Vodafone India has offered to pay Rs 4,000 crore and a spectrum usage charge of 3% for extension of permits for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata service areas for 20 years.

At Rs 4,000 crore, Vodafone is offering about one fourth of TRAI's suggested price for the premium mobile airwaves.

Vodafone's three permits held for Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai are due to expire in the last quarter of 2014.

As per a decision taken by the government earlier, the company will have to buy spectrum afresh which it holds through these permits to continue operations.

The company has written a letter to Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who also heads the Empowered Group of Ministers on Telecom, to accept telecom regulator TRAI's recommendation of levying annual spectrum fee of 3% on all operators.

The TRAI in September recommended about 62% reduction in the price of premium 900 Mhz spectrum band held by Vodafone and others.

As per the telecom regulator's suggestions, spectrum should be sold at a base price of Rs 650 crore per megahertz.

Vodafone, which holds 23.8 Mhz spectrum in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata service areas, has to pay Rs 15,470 crore at TRAI's suggested base price to continue operations in the three metros. — PTI

New Delhi, November 19
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has cleared 20 proposals worth Rs 916 crore, including that of Singapore Airlines to form a partnership with Tata Sons to start a full service airline.

The Board has cleared 20 proposals worth Rs 915.83 crore, the Finance Ministry said.

The cleared proposals included the one worth Rs 303.18 crore by Singapore Airlines to set up a 49:51 joint venture company with Tata Sons to operate domestic and international full service scheduled passenger airline.

FIPB also cleared the Rs 179.43-crore proposal of Religare Enterprises to issue warrants to carry out the business of investment advisory services and financial consultancy and to make holding investments in the NBFC sector.

The Rs 22.19 crore proposal of JM Financial to issue warrants to set up a core investment company was also approved.

Washington, November 19
Industrialist Ratan Tata has returned as a Board member of East West Centre, a prominent American think tank.

Tata, 75, is returning to the Board and has worked with the organisation several times between 1993 and 2004.

East West Centre also elected Takeshi Niinami, the CEO of Japan's Lawson Inc.

The Honolulu-based think tank's Board consists of 18 members, including five appointed by the US Secretary of State, five appointed by the Governor of Hawaii, five from Asia or the Pacific Islands and three ex-officio members, including the Governor of Hawaii, the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the President of the University of Hawaii.

Tata was the chairman of the Tata group from 1991-2012. He stepped down as the chairman on December 28, 2012, and now holds the position of Chairman Emeritus of the group.

He chairs two of the largest private-sector philanthropic trusts in India and is a member of the Indian Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry.

East West Centre is an education and research organisation established by the US Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific and the United States. — PTI 

BRIEFLY

FTIL sells SMX for $150 m
Singapore/Mumbai: Embattling a major crisis at group entity NSEL, exchange operator FTIL on Tuesday announced sale of its Singapore-based bourse SMX for $150 million (Rs 931 crore) to InterContinentalExchange. Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL) operates commodity bourse MCX, stock exchange MCX-SX and the crisis-hit NSEL. — PTI

Jet Airways’ shares soar 3%; best gain in over a month
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Govt gives more time to 30 SEZ developers
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BHEL bags Rs 1,300-crore NTPC contract
New Delhi: BHEL said on Tuesday it has bagged a Rs 1,300-crore order from NTPC for supplying equipment to the electricity generator's Unchahar plant in Uttar Pradesh besides installation work. The order includes supply and installation of the main plant package for the upcoming 500 MW Project in UP. — PTI

Qualcomm to sell smartwatch for $350
New York: Close on the heels of Samsung and Sony, mobile chipmaker Qualcomm is now joining the smartwatch bandwagon with its Qualcomm Toq hitting retail shelves on December 2 for $350. — PTI