New Delhi, April 11
India's industrial output growth slowed unexpectedly in February, adding to evidence that its economic expansion may be moderating, but a hawkish Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is still expected to raise interest rates next month as it struggles to contain stubbornly high inflation.

Several analysts have trimmed their forecasts for Asia's third-largest economy and have warned that high inflation combined with a tight monetary policy could drag on growth.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has its eyes firmly on inflation, which at 8.31 per cent in February was considerably above the RBI's comfort level, and has indicated it would tighten policy further during the year.

"Weaker-than-expected industrial production is unlikely to throw a spanner in the RBI's way, with a 25 basis points hike at the May meeting a near certainty as inflation remains the main policy driver at this juncture," said Radhika Rao, an economist at Forecast Pte in Singapore, referring to the RBI's next policy review on May 3.

"Nonetheless, successive softer IP prints does warrant some attention, especially as capital goods stay under weather, while consumer durables maintain steady growth."

February's output growth data was lower than an upwardly revised 3.9 per cent growth a month earlier.

The decline was led by a contraction in capital goods output, which shrunk 1 8.4 per cent in February, compared with an expansion of nearly 47 per cent in the prior-year period, pointing to sluggish investment spending .

Manufacturing output, which makes up 80 per cent of the overall output, grew an annual 3.5 per cent during the month, compared with 16 per cent a year ago.

The most-traded 7.80 per cent 2021 bond yield dropped 1 basis point to 7.86 per cent after the factory output data. The main share index extended losses and was down 0.6 per cent from 0.4 per cent before the data.

"The data confirms some slowdown of growth momentum in the first quarter, and will cap the Indian rupees's gains," Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist and strategist at Credit Agricole in Hong Kong.

Last week, a HSBC survey showed growth in India's service sector slowed in March from February's blistering seven-month high as new business growth moderated slightly, while price pressures, particularly wages, continued to rise.

India's domestically driven economy, is expected to have grown 8.6 percent in the fiscal year that ended on March 31 and the government has forecast it to grow 9 percent in the current fiscal year. — Reuters

Chandigarh, April 11
The northern region is the largest contributor to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. However, there are wide disparities within the region.

Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi are the largest economies; Chandigarh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Delhi continue to be the fastest-growing economies. Punjab, it seems, is struggling to make its mark as far as industry is concerned, says a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) report on ‘Investment Climate in Northern States of India’, released by the new Chairman of CII Northern Region, Vijay Thadani.

Industrial growth in the state has been adversely affected by tax concessions granted to hill states-Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Punjab has also not been able to attract industrial investment over the last two years.

Agriculture, manufacturing and trade, and hotels and restaurants in Punjab account for the largest contribution (56.9 per cent) to the state GDP, these too are not growing fast enough. This explains the slow growth rate of the state.

The report adds that severe power shortage; high cost of land for setting up industry (and high rents); and, non-implementation of single window clearance of new projects continue to be the bane for ushering in industrial development in the state.

The cost of land in the state is amongst the highest. Commercial and Residential rent and hotel tariffs, too, are quite high in the state - which in turn brings up the total project cost.

Severe power shortage is what is really affecting the state’s prospects as an investment destination. The power deficit in the state is as high as 25 per cent, with the installed capacity at just 6,974 MW. Though the state proposes to add 4,111 MW capacity in power generation, it will take some time.

Foreign investment too eludes Punjab with Delhi NCR, covering parts of Uttar Pradesh and Hayana get a major portion of the FDI (37.5 per cent) of total FDI inflows in the country.

Punjab has tried to address the issue by formulating a new industrial policy, which paves the way for attracting more investment in large projects; provide balanced growth of agriculture and industrial sectors, besides trying to rejuvenate the small scale sector. The government offers interest subsidy to small and medium agro industry; assures 24-hour power supply to IT units/ knowledge industry; provides a special package for mega projects and capital subsidy up to 20 per cent of fixed capital investment (up to Rs 20 lakh) in IT parks.

Chandigarh, April 11
The CII will set up four Centres of Excellence on skills in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. These centres will be set up and made functional so that human skills can be aligned with industry requirements.

The new chairman of CII Northern Region, Vijay Thadani, said that the main focus for the industry body will be on setting up these centres of excellence. “This region has not received its share of investments because of non availability of skilled manpower, in consonance with the needs of industry. Through these centres, we hope to bridge the gap,” he said.

He also announced setting up of 'University-Industry Partnerships' on the lines of the ongoing initiatives at Delhi University and the Punjab Technical University. “We will be partnering with one major university in each of the states comprising of the northern region, for such tie- ups. This collaboration would be the first step in setting up of finishing schools for students, providing research opportunities to faculty and assisting in curriculum upgradation,” he said.

He said that the CII would also lay focus on improving the MSME sector in this region. “We will be roping in the big industry to help the MSMEs access knowledge, resources and markets by starting mentoring services,” he added.

New Delhi, April 11
Insurance Regulator and Development Authority (IRDA) today said that policy holders would gradually have to pay more for motor, health and other general insurance covers as costs would go up due to companies setting aside higher funds for claim settlements.

“I think the demand and supply position in the non-life industry will be such that prices should harden and I expect to see evidence of that in the course of next few years. I would like to make it even harder as we go along,” IRDA Chairman J Harinarayan said.

Harinarayan, who was speaking at the "FICCI National Conference on Insurance", said the non-life insurance companies would need to bring in changes in marketing, pricing and modes of claim settlement to become profitable.

Harinarayan said in the next three years the insurance companies will see changes in distribution set up, marketing techniques, channels of distribution and also terms of regulatory development.

“The agency model that we see right now has serious deficiencies and that requires to be strengthened. I do not think the agency distribution model is going to last very long,” he said. — PTI

New Delhi, April 11
The government has decided to issue biometric (Permanent Account Number ) PAN cards to taxpayers across the country to weed out the problem of duplicate and fake ones.

The decision was taken recently by the Finance Ministry and it comes in the wake of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report that asked the Income Tax department to ensure that a single tax payer is not issued multiple cards. The proposed new biometric Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards would bear the I-T assessee' fingerprints (two from each hand) and the face.

There could be an option to existing PAN card holders to opt for the biometric cards, but it may not be mandatory.

The Finance Ministry and the I-T department had put on hold the biometric PAN card project last year to avoid duplication with the UID numbers to be issued by Nandan Nilekani's Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI).

“The bioemetric PAN card project is on again. The step will be very important when it comes to stopping the misuse of this vital identity document,” sources in the Finance Ministry said.

The biometric PAN card was proposed by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram in 2006 to counter the problem of duplicate PAN cards which were uncovered during I-T searches and raids. — PTI

Mumbai, April 11
US drugmaker Merck & Co has formed a joint venture with India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd to develop and manufacture branded generic drugs for emerging markets, the two companies said on Monday.

The companies did not disclose financial details of the deal.

"It will leverage Merck's market presence (and) regulatory competence across emerging markets," Sun's chairman and managing director, Dilip Shanghvi, said at a media briefing. "This will help us optimize the potential for JV products."

Faced with stalling sales in mature Western markets, rising competition and loss of patent protection on several of their drugs, Western drugmakers are increasingly looking at emerging markets for growth.

"The joint venture will help to further strengthen our position for leadership in some of the world's fastest growing geographies," said Kevin Ali, president of emerging markets at Merck.

Last year, Anglo-Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca struck its first branded generics supply deal with India's Torrent Pharmaceuticals , a year after rival British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline tied a similar branded generics deal with India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd.

Cheap off-patent medicines sold in high volumes in emerging markets under a multinational brand name are a growing target for major drugmakers.

In January, German drugmaker Bayer signed an agreement with India's Cadila Healthcare to set up a joint venture to market products locally. Shares in Sun Pharmaceutical gained 2 per cent at close in a weak Mumbai market.

New Delhi, April 11
The government has released norms for appointment of relatives in companies, a decision that will allow directors or managers to engage services of close ones without seeking permission of the Centre.

A company, however, will be required to seek the permission of the central Government if monthly payment made to relatives is more than Rs 2,50,000, the Corporate Affairs Ministry said in a notification.

Earlier, the approval of the Corporate Affairs Ministry was required for appointment of relatives of directors or managers, in case the monthly remuneration to be paid to the person exceeded Rs 50,000.

Further, with regard to selection of such relatives of directors or managers of a listed company, the Ministry has maintained that it would be done by the Selection Committee. — PTI

Mumbai, April 11
Hinduja Group-promoted IndusInd Bank today announced that it would acquire Deutsche Bank's credit card business in India and expects to issue its own card in three months. The portfolio size of the credit card business with nearly 2,50,000 cardholders is about Rs 225 crore, IndusInd Bank MD and CEO Romesh Sobti told PTI.

"We hope to issue cards to new customers by the end of June," he said, without disclosing the amount the lender would pay to acquire Deutsche Bank's credit card business. The existing cardholders would continue to retain Deutsche Bank's credit cards for certain period of time, after which they would be phased out, he said.

With this acquisition, IndusInd Bank will look at expanding its wide range of customer-centric financial products and becoming a full service bank, he said.

Under the agreement, IndusInd Bank will get access to close to 2,50,000 card customers and the entire operating platform of the cards franchise including talent and technology, he said.

The strategic intent behind this acquisition is to offer targeted credit card products for chosen client segments, he said. "Cards are an important element in our segmented offering. Deutsche Bank has a stable cards portfolio and the acquisition gives us a head start in building the cards business," Sobti said.

As a precursor to its entry into the credit card business, IndusInd Bank hired Anil Ramachandran as the head of its cards business in November. — PTI