New Delhi, February 18
The cut in excise duty on consumer durables announced in the Interim Budget yesterday may not boost demand due to high consumer inflation and interest rates. The Interim Budget had cut the excise duty on consumer durables such as TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners to 10% from 12%.

A research note by India Ratings says this cut will not boost their demand because high interest rates and high consumer price index continue to plague the sector.

The 2% duty cut will result in a Rs 200-1,000 reduction in the final prices from Rs 10,000 to 50,000 for consumer durables. Index of Industrial Production for the consumer durables industry declined 12.9% year-on-year during April-December 2013 as against 3.7% year-on-year in the same period last year.

The report says this is despite the Finance Ministry providing additional capital to the tune of Rs 140 billion announced in the financial year 2014 Union Budget to banks to enable them to lend to borrowers in selected areas such as two-wheelers and consumer durables.

While no changes have been made on the direct taxes front, there are some clauses which may expire. According to PwC, there are at least five provisions of the law which will expire on March 31. These are profit-linked incentive for power sector undertakings commencing after March 31, concessional tax rate on dividend from foreign subsidiary, additional deduction up to Rs 1 lakh for interest paid on loan for first residential property - loans sanctioned after this date do not get this deduction u/s 80EE.

It said benefits under all these provisions will lapse if they are not renewed or extended by the newly elected Parliament.

On the arithmetic of the Budget, analysts have commented on the quality of the deficit and said the fiscal consolidation remains optical.

Indranil Pan, chief economist, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said the quality of deficit remains an issue with a massive squeeze in the Plan expenditure to achieve the numbers. He said the government seems to have overestimated its revenue numbers going forward.

He said while the vote-on-account Budget paints a rosy picture of the fiscal scenario, the real picture could emerge in the Budget to be presented by the new Government, sometime in June 2014, which is also likely to include a full plan from the government to stabilise the economy as also kick-start growth.

Some analysts have said the quality of fiscal adjustment was sub-optimal. ICRA in a report said the Revised Estimates (RE) for 2013-14 indicate a continued focus on fiscal consolidation, with a narrower fiscal deficit as compared to the budgeted target of 4.8% of GDP. “This was achieved through a substantial cut in revenue grants for the creation of capital assets and capital expenditure, rendering the quality of fiscal adjustment sub-optimal”, it said.

The target of fiscal deficit next year may be difficult to meet. “Curtailing the fiscal deficit to 4.1% of GDP in 2014-15 seems challenging, given the optimistic assumptions for nominal GDP growth, net tax revenue growth and disinvestment receipts while simultaneously allowing for fiscal space to fund the new government’s expenditure priorities”, ICRA said. 

New Delhi, February 18
Telecom major Bharti Airtel today said it would acquire Loop Mobile, which is operational in Mumbai circle only. Airtel has entered into a strategic agreement to acquire Loop’s over three million subscribers and some assets for about Rs 700 crore.

Established in 1994, Loop Mobile was the country's first mobile network operator. Earlier, it was known as BPL Mobile.

Loop Mobile is 99% owned by Dubai-based Khaitan family. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.

As part of the deal, Airtel besides getting about 3.2 million subscribers of Loop Mobile, would also get its retail outlets and about 400-500 cellular towers which are currently owned by Loop. It has over 400 telecom towers in Mumbai circle.

This is the first deal since the government finalised the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Policy earlier this year, which is yet to be notified formally. However, the deal between Airtel and Loop Mobile can go through even in the previous M&A regime.

Both the companies have signed an agreement in this regard. The agreement will ensure continuity of services to Loop Mobile's subscribers, whose licence is expiring in November, with an option to access Airtel’s services.

Bambolim (Goa), Feb 18
Consumer appliances and electronic goods maker Haier plans to set up a new plant in north India entailing an investment of Rs 100 crore to meet its growing demand, and is mulling over a third one for South region after 5 to 6 years.

After completing its ongoing $20 million (around Rs 120 crore) expansion at the Pune plant by May 2015, Haier would start work on the proposed new new plant.

"We are planning for a new manufacturing plant in the Northern region. We would take up this new project after May 2015 when we would finish our expansion plan in Pune," Haier India president Eric Braganza said.

When asked about the investments planned for the new project, Braganza said the company would invest Rs 100 crore but was yet to find a new location for it.

"We have not decided on any location in North. It would depend on the what kind of incentives we are going to get and what would be the government's policy at that time," he said, adding the new proposed plant would manufacture washing machines and air conditioners. — PTI

New Delhi, February 18
PowerGrid Corp plans to invest over Rs 61,000 crore in the next years, with a significant chunk of funds to be raised by way of bonds and debentures.

Out of the total amount, Rs 37,641 crore will be raised through bonds/debentures while Rs 7,770 crore would be through multilateral funding/ECB/supplier's credit, Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informed the Rajya Sabha. — PTI

Honda Motor Company recently launched diesel versions of entry-level sedan Amaze and flagship model City in India. It has positioned itself to further strengthen its market share here with new launches at the Auto Expo 2014. Takanobu Ito, CEO, talks about the company’s growth prospects despite sluggish market conditions.

Q. People talk about emerging markets and the problems being faced by them, including India. What are Honda’s plans for the emerging markets?

A. In any emerging market, there is a problem of currency fluctuation and other situations which are tough. But you see our products, especially two-wheelers, are essential for daily life. It is something which you cannot live without. So, therefore, I think it would be a robust market for the two-wheelers.

And also in case of four-wheelers, in India, we have been selling Amaze very well and in the Asean countries, other products such as Mobilio have been doing well and these are the products which are not only technologically strong but affordable too. We are confident they will sell well and we will have a good market.

We know that the market has de-grown over the past few months. But it will pick up in due course as potential is there. Honda’s target is to sell six million vehicles globally by March 2017. In India, we are looking at trebling sales to 300,000 units by that time. We are committed to the market here. Over the next few years, we want to bring models which are comfortable and usuable for Indian customers.

Q. You already have three plants and have bought land for the fourth in Gujarat. However, as per estimates, you would need at least seven plants to achieve the volumes to be the biggest player here. What are your plans?

A. We have already started working on the fourth plant and will start production there in the latter half of 2015.

Q. Over the past two years, Indian market has slowed down and the going forward also does not look to be very positive.

A. We know the market has been slow for the past 14 months. However, we are sure the market will pick up in due course. We believe in the potentiality of the Indian market and Honda plans to sell six million units globally by 2016-17 and most of the growth comes from emerging markets, including India.

Q. Honda is largely known for its sedans. Given the numbers you are targeting, are you exploring possibilities to introduce an entry-level compact car positioned below the Brio, possibly powered by a diesel engine to grow volumes in India?

A. We do not have any specific plan at the moment. We have not made any final decision but we are exploring possibilities in the market.

Q. At the Auto Expo, you unveiled multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio based on the same platform as the Brio. Any plans for a compact SUV on the same?

A. Just like the compact sedan segment, the market for small SUVs is opening up. We are examining opportunities. We will launch Mobilio in the next fiscal and an all-new Jazz. 

BRIEFLY

Rupee logs biggest loss in 3 weeks, down 36 paise
Mumbai: The rupee fell 36 paise, its biggest loss in three weeks, to close at 62.20 versus the dollar on Tuesday as pent up demand of the American currency and a drop in regional currencies weighed. At the Forex market, the rupee commenced lower at 62.02 a dollar from the previous close of 61.84. Later, it declined to a low of 62.31, before settling at 62.20. — PTI

Honda cuts two-wheeler prices by up to Rs 7,600
New Delhi: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India on Tuesday cut prices of its products by up to Rs 7,600 after the excise duty reduction was announced in the Interim Budget 2014-15. The price benefit starts from minimum of Rs 1,600 on Dream Neo motorcycle, priced between Rs 43,150 and Rs 47,289, and goes up to Rs 7,600 on CBR 250R performance bike tagged between Rs 1.58 lakh and Rs 1.93 lakh. — PTI

P-Notes investments hit 5-month low in January
New Delhi: Investments into Indian stocks through participatory notes (P-Notes), a preferred route for HNIs and hedge funds from abroad, slipped to a five-month low of Rs 1.63 lakh crore ($26 billion) in January. As per the latest SEBI, the total value of P-Notes investment in Indian markets declined to Rs 1,63,348 crore at the end of January from Rs 1,67,566 crore in the preceding month. — PTI

NPAs soar 35.2% to Rs 2.43 tr as on Dec’ 13
Mumbai: The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of listed banks rose 35.2% to Rs 2.43 trillion during the first three quarters of the current financial year, according to an industry report. In absolute terms, the 40 listed banks added Rs 63,386 crore to their gross NPAs during the nine months, with SBI, the largest, leading with an accretion of Rs 16,610 crore, NPASource.com, a portal that tracks bad assets in the system, said on Tuesday. — PTI