New Delhi, June 3
India Inc today said a cut in key rates by the RBI would have been propitious for growth, even as it hailed the central bank's move to slash statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), saying it will give more room to banks for onward lending to the corporate sector.

The industry also emphasised on supply-side interventions by the government to tackle persistently high food inflation.

"While we expect the government to attack food inflation through administrative and policy fixes from the supply-side, we would have appreciated the central bank facilitating a revival of capital expenditure cycle by exhibiting a softer stance on policy rates," Ficci president Sidharth Birla said.

Steadfast on his resolve of keeping inflation under check, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today left key rates unchanged and unlocked about Rs 40,000 crore of funds by reducing the amount of deposits banks are required to park in government securities.

It is a priority for the government to maintain a balance between growth and inflation ... It (RBI) has followed a calibrated approach aimed in the direction of balancing between growth and inflation Arun Jaitley, finance minister The decision to hold the rates reflects the current level of inflation as well as the expectation of policy and administrative actions from the government in the coming months to address inflation as well as boost growth Chanda Kochhar, icici bank ceo While we expect the government to attack food inflation through administrative and policy fixes from the supply-side, we would have appreciated the central bank facilitating a revival of capital expenditure cycle by exhibiting a softer stance on policy rates Sidharth Birla, ficci president CII recognises the concerns about inflation that have restrained RBI from reducing key policy rates but by easing liquidity in the system by lowering SLR it has ensured that funds would be available to the banking sector for onward lending which in turn would push investment and growth Chandrajit Banerjee, cii director general

"CII recognises the concerns about inflation that have restrained RBI from reducing key policy rates but by easing liquidity in the system by lowering SLR it has ensured that funds would be available to the banking sector for onward lending which in turn would push investment and growth," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

Mumbai, June 3
The BSE benchmark Sensex rose by 173 points to close at an all-time high level on buying in metal, oil & gas and power stocks as RBI injected liquidity into the markets while keeping key rates unchanged.

The 30-share barometer spurted by 173.74 points, or 0.70%, to close at record 24,858.59 points, surpassing previous all-time high of 24,716.88 reached on May 26.

The 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also closed at record 7,367.10 points, up by 53.35 points, or 0.72%.

The central bank, in its second bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2014-15, unlocked about Rs 40,000 crore of banking fund by reducing SLR to 22.5%.

Tata Steel rose the most among Sensex scrips by 6.69%, followed by Sesa Sterlite which jumped 6.53%.

The BSE metal index gained the most by rising 5.06% to 13,155.30, followed by realty index by 3.15% to 1,981.79. — PTI

New Delhi, June 3
Exporters are divided over the impact of the RBI’s move to reduce availability of funds under the export credit refinance (ECR) window.

Liquidity provided under the ECR facility will be cut from 50% of eligible export credit outstanding to 32% with immediate effect, the RBI said today, adding that it will introduce a special term repo facility to compensate for the reduction.

"It will affect both the availability and cost of credit, which will be detrimental to competitiveness of Indian exports at a time when global economy is gathering momentum," Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president M Rafeeque Ahmed said.

"Banks would be reluctant to lend to the export sector, which is already facing liquidity crunch, as share of exports credit in net bank credit has come down drastically from close to 9 per cent to 3.5 per cent in last 10 years," he added. — PTI

New Delhi, June 3
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), in a bid to bring about transparency in the allocation of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, has decided to make all information available on its website.

NHAI said it proposes to place all information relating to projects taken up by them under PPP mode in the public domain to be available on a link www.nhai.org.in.

Specific project details can be obtained by typing the name of the particular stretch/Project Implementation Unit (PIU) along with this link. Most project-specific websites have already been launched and the remaining will be launched by July 15, it added.

Details will be given about all stages of the project development such as construction, operation and maintenance and each PIU will have a separate link.

Information for each project will include name of the concessionaire, independent engineer and safety consultant, project location details, location of toll plaza, availability of ambulance and emergency telephone numbers of nearest police station, trauma centre etc.

The Concession Agreement between NHAI and the concessionaire and between NHAI and independent engineer (IE)/safety consultants will also be hosted on this website. Complete database of the correspondence exchanged between the IE and the concessionaire, between NHAI and independent engineer on all aspects of the project, along with details of court cases and arbitration awards etc. will be uploaded on the website.

Report of the IE on important parameters such as quality of construction, maintenance, road safety, tolling etc, correspondence between IE and the concessionaire of these projects will also be available. Besides, it will contain information, along with photographs, about the progress of work, major developments of the project, including change of scope, change of alignment etc.

Road users and the general public can lodge their complaints, if any, directly on the website. Complaints received through letters, telephonically or on facebook page of NHAI will also be posted on the website. Redressal of these complaints done by NHAI/IE/concessionaire will also be posted on the website.

BRIEFLY

Rupee loses 23p/$ to end at 3-week low of 59.38
Mumbai: The rupee on Tuesday dipped by 23 paise to close at nearly three-week low of 59.38 against the dollar. At the Forex market, it commenced slightly lower at 59.17 a dollar from last close of 59.15. Later, it tumbled to a low of 59.42 before concluding at 59.38. — PTI

Norms eased for FIIs in currency derivatives
Mumbai: The RBI on Tuesday allowed foreign investors to participate in the domestic exchange-traded currency derivatives. "It has also been decided to allow domestic entities similar access to the exchange-traded currency derivatives market," it said, adding that detailed guidelines would be issued soon. — PTI

Honda to double sourcing of parts from India
Tapukara (Rajasthan): Honda plans to nearly double sourcing of auto components, including engine parts, from India to over Rs 800 crore during 2014-15. This was disclosed by HCIL senior VP (marketing and sales) Jnaneswar Sen. — PTI

Tata-SIA airline to lease 20 planes to launch flights
Doha: Tata-SIA Airlines will acquire at least 20 Airbus aircraft on lease from a Singapore-based firm to launch their operations in India by this winter. Claire Leow, Head of Investor Relations of BOC Aviation Private Limited, said the deliveries of these aircraft are likely to start from the third quarter of this year. — PTI

CPI-IW up 3 points in April
Chandigarh: The Consumer Price Index for Industrial workers (CPI-IW) for April rose by three points and was pegged at 242. — TNS