New Delhi, March 1
India Inc today described Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as industry's Sachin Tendulkar saying the veteran leader was steering the economy "with ease of a seasoned player" in difficult times.

"Just as India is looking at Sachin Tendulkar to bring smiles to our faces at the end of this World Cup cricket, business is looking at you to steer the Indian economy through the rough patches," Ficci President Rajan Bharti Mittal said at the 83rd Annual General Meeting of the chamber.

Comparing Mukherjee with cricket legend Tendulkar, the Ficci chief said, the Minister is "carefully picking the opportunities that match out strengths and negotiating the challenges with the ease of a seasoned player".

"As Tendulkar has succeeded in all phases of evolution of cricket...you (Mukherjee) have engaged in the dramatic evolution (of the economy) in all its multifarious phases. We look forward to continued success under your wise leadership," he added. — PTI

New Delhi, March 1
Amid the debate over making it mandatory for companies to spend at least 2 per cent of profits on CSR activities, RIL Chairman and India's wealthiest person Mukesh Ambani today suggested improving corporate social responsibility to Continuous Social Business.

“The purpose of any business cannot be only profit. Profit for the shareholders is important. But unless entrepreneurs have a larger purpose and businesses that change lives of millions of people, a sustainable business cannot be created,” he said at FICCI's Annual General Meeting here.

“We will have to move from a model of Corporate Social Responsibility to a model of Continuous Social Business through enterprise and entrepreneurship,” he said.

“For that, we will have to create world class institutions with a soul.It is important to get the business of businesses right," he said, adding that the primary responsibility of business is social improvement.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has proposed that companies should spend at least 2 per cent of their annual profits on CSR activities, but the industry has opposed the proposal.

"Our demographic dividend, the youth, are largely unprotected and uncared for," he said.— PTI

New Delhi, March 1
Major auto makers in the country such as Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero Honda and TVS Motor today reported double-digit growth in their domestic sales in February even as the rate slowed down from last year.

Car maker Hyundai Motor India saw domestic sales growing only 5.25 per cent to 32,629 units. Total sales declined 4.77 per cent in the last month as its exports fell drastically 17.92 per cent.

On the other hand, rival and the country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India reported an increase of 19.79 per cent in its sales for the domestic market in February at 1,01,543 units.

Mahindra & Mahindra’s domestic sales saw a rise of 20.27 per cent at 31,967 units compared to 26,580 units in the year-ago period. Tata Motors' passenger vehicles sales stood at 31,909 units, a jump of 18.25 per cent from 26,985 units in the same month last year.

The moderated numbers by these big companies of the Indian auto industry are in contrast to around 30 per cent growth that the sector witnessed in 2010.

Car maker Ford India reported a nearly three-fold jump in its February sales at 9,293 units on the back of its latest small car Figo's good response. It had sold 3,223 units in the same month last year. Toyota Kirloskar Motor's sales grew 55.31 per cent at 9,308 units as against 5,993 units in the corresponding month last year.

Czech premium car maker SkodaAuto reported a 39.17 per cent growth in sales of its vehicles at 2,512 units compared to 1,805 units in the corresponding period last year.

However, Honda Siel Cars India saw its sales for February at 4,843 units, a decline of 22.83 per cent over 6,276 units in the corresponding month last year.

On the two-wheeler front, the leading firms such as Hero Honda, TVS Motor and Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India posted good growth in sales.

TVS Motor Company's domestic sales grew 24.81 per cent to 1,51,526 units from 1,21,403 units in February, 2010. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India reported 19.27 per cent growth in sales at 1,45,819 units from 22,261 units. Another two-wheeler maker India Yamaha Motor domestic sales stood at 23,384 units as against 17,131 in the 
same month last year, up 36.50 per cent.— PTI

Jalandhar, March 1
The Budget’s announcement of setting up 7 mega leather clusters during the next financial year in various parts of the country has been welcome by the sector in Jalandhar. Around 80 leather units function from the city.

M Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman,Council for Leather Exports, said that the these clusters would play a crucial role in the doubling exports from the leather sector. The export target for $8.25 bn will also be achieved by 2013-14.

The chairman said that 3 per cent duty free import scheme (DFIS) was implemented by Council for leather exporters under the scheme, certain notified inputs were allowed to be imported to the extent of 3 per cent of the value of export realization in the previous year by manufacturer-exporters of leather garments and other leather products including footwear.

The Chairman added that after the Budget, certain new inputs had been added under DFIS scheme. The description of certain existing inputs has also been widened. This measure will enable import of more critical inputs required by the leather industry and help in manufacture of high-quality value-added products.

The other major measure announced for the leather sector was the exemption from basic excise duty for the enzyme based preparations for pre-tanning to encourage eco-friendly tanning technology.

New Delhi, March 1
Driven by a pick-up demand in the US and Latin American markets, India’s exports rose 32.4 per cent year-on-year to $20.6 billion in January, in line with projections that overall shipments will touch $225 billion this fiscal. In the April-January period this fiscal, outbound shipments grew 29.3 per cent to $184.63 billion vis-a-vis the year-ago period, Commerce Ministry data released today showed.

Apex exporters’ body FIEO said exports are increasing in the new markets of Latin America and Africa, along with the US and especially within Asia. “The January number is a huge jump. The strategy of going beyond the traditional markets of US and Europe is paying rich dividends,” the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said. The government incentivises exporters to explore African and Latin American markets.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said that several external factors that pose challenges to the economy. “Global recovery remains fragile... There is also the danger of sovereign debt crisis in peripheral Euro zone countries spilling over to financial markets,” Mukherjee said at the Annual General Meeting of Ficci here. Imports grew 13.1 per cent during the month to $28.58 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $7.98 billion.

Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar recently said India is likely to cross the $200 billion export target for the fiscal in February and total shipments are likely to touch $225 billion.

The Commerce Ministry has sought comments on its strategic paper to double India's exports to $450 billion in three years.— PTI

Chandigarh, March 1
In a major relief for farmers in Haryana, commercial banks have agreed to assess the value of land for granting agricultural loans at the floor rates fixed by the state government. Banks will now not be mortgaging farmers’ land for granting crop loans; only a small portion of the land — based on the loan amount — will be mortgaged by the banks.

The decision was announced during the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting of Haryana, chaired by M V Tanksale, ED of Punjab National Bank. He said that the decision to this effect was taken by the sub-committee of the SLBC.

The issue was raised by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, with RBI Governor D Subbarao, during the latters’ visit here in October last year. Farmers in the state had been demanding that only a portion of their land holding (in accordance with the amount of loan sanctioned) be mortgaged for availing crop loans. This would then enable them to raise more money for farm mechanisation and farm operations, from the remaining land.

The decision to grant loans based on the floor rate of land fixed by the state government would benefit farmers as they will get better valuation of their land and could avail a bigger loan by mortgaging his land with the bank. 

New Delhi, March 1
The output of the six core infrastructure industries grew by a healthy 7.1 per cent in January, leading some economists to predict a positive impact on overall factory output during the month.

The growth was mainly driven by the healthy performance of the crude oil, petroleum refinery products and electricity sectors, according to data released by the Industry Ministry today.

The output of the six core industries -- crude oil, petroleum refinery products, coal, electricity, cement and finished steel -- grew by 9.8 per cent in January, 2010.

According to economists, the healthy growth in the month under review will have a positive impact on the January Index of Industrial Production (IIP) numbers, likely to be released this month.

"It (the January figures) will have a positive impact on overall January industrial growth," credit ratings agency CRISIL Principal Economist D K Joshi said.

Yes Bank Chief Economist Shubhada Rao concurred with this view. "The better core sector numbers would definitely support the IIP in January," Rao said.

On the other hand, Ficci Director-General Rajiv Kumar did not see the growth in core sector output having a significant influence on the overall industrial production numbers.— PTI

BRIEFLY

CPI for industrial workers
New Delhi: The consumer price index (CPI) rose 9.3 per cent in January from a year earlier, slower than December's annual rise of 9.47 per cent, government data showed. The consumer price index for industrial workers rose 3 points to 188 points in January. — TNS

NHAI bonds
New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) today said it plans to issue Rs 10,000 crore tax free bonds in two tranches, first of which will be issued in the first quarter of the next fiscal for Rs 5,000 crore. — PTI

Tyre prices
New Delhi: Tyre maker Michelin today said it will raise the prices of its entire range of products in the country by up to 12 per cent with effect from April 1, 2011, on account of high input costs. — PTI