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No going back on gas price hike, says Moily
Revive investment in infra to restore growth, says Assocham
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ICRA sees Q2 GDP growth at 4.6%
Diageo buys USL shares worth Rs 472 crore
DoT may send notices to telcos in Matrix case Apple world’s most valuable brand: Forbes
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No going back on gas price hike, says Moily
Mumbai, November 26 "Absolutely, there is no question of reversing the decision to hike natural gas prices, as proposed by the Rangarajan panel report, or going back on the decision," Moily told reporters. "The notification regarding the implementation of the new price formula will be issued shortly," he said here, a day after meeting investors, bankers and analysts ahead of the forthcoming NELP round X auctions from mid-January. The comments come amid the Supreme Court hearing a PIL filed by CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta contending that the government decided to hike the gas prices without taking into account its disastrous consequences on the economy, particularly power and fertiliser sectors. Moily said the rising demand for subsidies from end-user industries won't come in the way of price hike. "We are firm that there will be only uniform pricing for gas to all industries and other end-user sector like city gas distribution companies for household use. It is up to the ministries and industries concerned to arrive at a subsidy formula and we have no role to play in that," Moily said when asked whether he was confident of securing the needed consensus by April when new pricing formula will be effective. He further said the new price will apply uniformly to all companies - public sector and private sector, and all forms of gas -conventional natural gas, coal-bed methane and shale gas. On June 27, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had decided to implement a new pricing formula suggested by a panel headed by Prime Minister's economic adviser C Rangarajan. Under this, prices will nearly double to $8 from $4.2 per million British thermal unit. However, a day after the decision, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had hinted
at allowing subsidies to power and fertiliser units to keep electricity and urea costs down. The government claims that the proposed hike will lead to a $500 million additional revenue for the government per annum by way of royalty, taxes and profit on higher rate.
— PTI |
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Revive investment in infra to restore growth, says Assocham
New Delhi, November 26 These steps, according to the council, can restore the economy back to the high growth rate of 7-8%. The panel has made a detailed plan listing immediate steps for reviving the investment-led growth, which will not only revive economic expansion but also lead to enhanced supply of goods and services, thereby also taming high inflation. These steps should be implemented before the end of the current fiscal. The strategy aims at drastic cuts in avoidable imports, finding alternatives in steel, coal and hydrocarbons while making exports free from procedural delays and incentivising them. “Sustaining imports of about $500 billion without commensurate exports cannot be sustainable for long” the council said. Another industry chamber, Ficci also had recently expressed concern over imports. According to a recent Ficci survey on inverted duty structure in Indian manufacturing sector, a number of manufacturing segments are facing inverted customs duty that is making them uncompetitive against finished product imports and discouraging domestic value addition. According to the Assocham panel, India's crude oil imports in 2012-13 were to the tune of $144 billion. This level is exerting a huge pressure on the current account deficit (CAD), which adds to the problems of the macro-economy, the council said. For expediting project clearances, the council suggested setting up a body at the state level on the lines of the Cabinet Committee on Investments (CCI) at the Centre. "The CCI initiative at the Centre has benefited by unclogging around 100 mega infrastructure projects. A similar institutional set-up should be tried at the state level," the council said in its strategy paper. Among other measures, the council suggested cutting CAD by reducing imports of gold through setting up a Gold Bank. “The government or RBI can set up a Gold Bank which can procure and retain gold abroad through offshore foreign currency borrowings, linked to Libor rate," the council said. Besides, the council has recommended exemption from levy of MAT (minimum alternate tax) on the profits earned by infra projects to encourage investments. The suggestions
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ICRA sees Q2 GDP growth at 4.6%
New Delhi, November 26 The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) indicates a mild improvement in the performance of the manufacturing, mining and quarrying sectors. While investment activity remained muted and consumption confidence weakened, the performance of merchandise exports improved considerably in the second quarter. Mining activity benefited from an improvement in coal output growth which also boosted thermal electricity generation. Additionally, surplus monsoon rainfall in 2013 led to the replenishment of reservoirs and boosted hydropower generation, which contributed to a rise in the pace of growth of electricity generation. However, a timely onset of the monsoon impacted construction activities from July 2013 onwards. Aditi Nayar, senior economist, ICRA, says improved agricultural output, rural demand and healthy exports are expected to support economic growth in the remainder of 2013-14. However, factors such as weak investor and consumer confidence, lack of visible improvement in the pace of implementation of various projects, further likelihood of monetary tightening and anticipated expenditure restraint by the Central Government would dampen growth. At present, ICRA expects Indian GDP to expand by 4.7-4.9% in 2013-14. |
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Diageo buys USL shares worth Rs 472 crore
Mumbai, November 26 Meanwhile, foreign fund house Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte offloaded more than 39 lakh shares of United Spirits Ltd (USL) worth Rs 943 crore through open market at an average price of Rs 2,406.51. According to the information available with the bourses, Relay BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Diageo, purchased 19,67,940 USL shares. The shares were acquired at Rs 2,400 apiece, valuing the transaction at Rs 472.31 crore. Last year, Diageo had announced that it would pick up 53.4% stake in USL in a multi-structured deal for a total of Rs 11,166.5 crore. Today's acquisition of shares comes in the wake of Diageo's Rs 5,441 crore open offer which had elicited tepid response. — PTI
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Commerce Min for 49% FDI cap in existing drug firms Gold, silver surge on seasonal demand Hitachi to acquire payment solutions firm Prizm Reliance shuts 10th well on D1&D3 gas fields Five power projects of NHPC facing cost overruns
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Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily today ruled out reversal of the decision to double natural gas prices from April 1 next year and said the notification on this will be issued shortly.
"Absolutely, there is no question of reversing the decision to hike natural gas prices, as proposed by the Rangarajan panel report, or going back on the decision," Moily told reporters.
Assocham’s high-level economic panel has suggested a turnaround plan for the economy with a focus on drastic cut in imports.
The Assocham National Economic Council (Assocham-NEC) headed by industry leader and educationist, Sushma Berlia has recommended measures for replacing imports with domestic production, boosting exports and reviving investment in key infrastructure sectors such as power, roads and ports by extending them tax breaks.
