New Delhi, June 11
Buoyed by an improvement in major markets such as the US and Europe, exports grew by 12.4% in May, the fastest growth in the past six months.

The trade deficit jumped to $11.23 billion as compared to last month but was much lower than the number in May 2013, giving hope that the current account deficit (CAD) will not pose a major worry.

Exports grew by 12.4% in May to $28 billion, whereas imports dipped by 11.4% at $39.23 billion. Industry was buoyed by the numbers and said it was a sign of economic recovery.

Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher said the export figures in May are "encouraging".

Exports were driven by the rise in export of petroleum product, engineering goods and ready-made garments.

Crisil Research said historical evidence suggests that global demand is a far more important factor than exchange rate in driving export growth. “With advanced economies’ growth expected to pick-up to 2.2% in 2014 from 1.3% in 2013, we expect a faster growth in India’s exports this year, despite a marginal appreciation in the rupee in recent weeks”, it added.

Gold imports in May dipped by 72% to $2.19 billion, as against $7.7 billion in May 2013. Given that the concerns over CAD have somewhat abated, the Commerce Ministry has pitched for easing of gold import norms to increase the availability of the metal in the domestic market and boost exports.

Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher said the ministry has spoken to the Finance Ministry on the matter and it is "under their consideration". "There is a need of rationalisation in gold import duty and gold import procedure”, he said.

"If you feel that the initial concerns of CAD are fully addressed, as we hope to in the next several months, then there will be a reason to restore or at least to some extent the earlier position on gold imports," he said.

Commenting on the double-digit growth in exports in May, M Rafeeque Ahmed, president, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said: “This seems to be the beginning of upward growth backed by better global trade forecast for 2014 and 2015.”

Ahmed said most of the economies, barring a few countries in Latin America, are posting better results which augur well for India’s exports in next few months. Going by the current trend, the export could reach $360 billion in 2014-15, he added. 

New Delhi, June 11
OPPO today unveiled its flagship smartphone ‘Find 7’ in India as a successor in the most famous ‘Find’ series. It is priced at Rs 37,990 and the Find 7a is priced at Rs 31,990.

The 4G/LTE-compatible Find 7 is the first smartphone in the country that sports a 5.5-inch Quad HD screen with a 2560x1440 resolution and 538 PPI display. Powered by Qualcomm’s 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, it has an expandable storage up to 128GB.

New Delhi, June 11
Industry has endorsed the development agenda laid out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his maiden speech in the Lok Sabha today.

Sidharth Birla, president, FICCI, said the Prime Minister has conveyed a strong message that setting high targets and working vigorously towards achieving those is a collective responsibility. His response in Parliament reaffirms the government's commitment to deliver on the expectations of people of India, he added.

FICCI welcomed the thrust on government considering building real-time data for agro products and modernising the Food Corporation of India. FICCI's economic agenda has spelt out the need for such mechanism to mitigate food inflation and strengthening agro-supply chain. The chamber also welcomed the idea of transforming North-East region into a global hub for organic cultivation.

"The Prime Minister has caught the right pulse by laying out the road map focusing on use of technology and skill development to make a breakthrough in addressing social and economic issues. Education and quality skill development have the greatest ability to empower people. FICCI feels India needs to be promoted as a nation of skills and enterprise and not of pervasive and persistent aberrations. Having an employment-ready workforce is an imperative for meeting the aspirations of the youth for social stability", added Birla.

CII said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his maiden speech to the Lok Sabha raised some key issues that are important for the country’s development.

The Prime Minister’s emphasis on improving agricultural productivity is timely, it said and also welcomed that a special mention of skill development was made by the Prime Minister as a means to empower the workforce.

CII expects that the effort to start implementing the President’s agenda will begin soon, as promised by the Prime Minister.

Chandigarh, June 11
With an eye on establishing its brand along the GT road — from Murthal in Haryana to Jalandhar in Punjab —besides making inroads into "vibrant" cities like Ludhiana and Karnal, Squisita Gelato, an Italian ice cream, today launched its consumer packs here today.

Available in two sizes — one-litre family packs and small hand tubs — the new packings were launched by Pushi Chowdhry, head (India operations), Squisita, who claimed that theirs is the first brand to market Gelato in consumer packs.

"There are no preservatives in the Gelato unlike the ice cream. Also, it is thicker and creamier and has no stabilisers. It comes with a shelf life of four months though it can go up to eight months," he said, adding that nowhere in the world, Gelato is served in consumer packs.

"The objectives of the company are to bring Gelato to India and use Chandigarh as a launch pad for pan-India and South-East Asian markets," Chowdhry said.

He said the brand, started by six Italian entreprenuers with an initial investment of Rs 1.5 crore, is exploring the option of opening franchisees of Squisita. "We will give them the knowhow and the expertise but they will have to invest in the machines that will come from Italy.”

Maintaining that they have 40 outlets in the tricity, Chowdhry said the brand was looking at nearly 200 distributors in Ludhiana and would move to Jalandhar gradually.

Tokyo, June 11
Toyota on Wednesday recalled 2.27 million vehicles globally over an airbag system defect that could cause fires, dealing another blow to the world's biggest automaker whose safety reputation has been dented in recent years.

The Japanese giant, which has now recalled about nine million vehicles in the past two months, said the announcement covered 20 models, including its Corolla sedan, Yaris subcompact and Noah minivan.

The fire risk covers about 1.62 million cars overseas and 650,000 in Japan, Toyota said, and follows a mass recall last year for the same glitch with the vehicles' airbag inflator.

In April, Toyota recalled 6.39 million vehicles globally over a string of problems, and another 520,000 vehicles last month, mostly in North America, over several issues including cable corrosion that could lead unused spare tyres to fall off. — AFP

BRIEFLY

IMG meet on coal mines deferred to June 19
New Delhi: The inter-ministerial group (IMG) on coal blocks, which was to meet on Wednesday to decide on the fate of bank guarantees given by the companies with regard to 61 mines, was postponed to June 19 due to “unavoidable reasons”, said a notice issued by the Coal Ministry. — TNS

ACME Solar bags power projects in Chhattisgarh
New Delhi: ACME Solar on Wednesday said it has emerged as the developer for 30 MW solar PV power projects at the bid-opening event at Raipur by Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL). As per the terms of the bidding document, the selected developer will sign 25-year-long power purchase agreement with CSPDCL. — TNS

RCom expands 3G services to 18 circles
New Delhi: Reliance Communications has extended 3G services to 18 more circles across the country. At present, it has the largest 3G footprint in the country with a presence in 13 circles. RCom's 3G service will now be available in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and UP East. — TNS

Online search for insurance high but buying low: Survey
Chandigarh: Max Life Insurance has conducted a research on behaviour of active internet users on protection and life insurance in association with Nielsen India. It shows that life insurance is one of the most-searched financial product online, but does not translate into proportionate purchases. — TNS

BSNL launches unlimited data plans for mobile users
New Delhi: BSNL on Wednesday launched two unlimited data plans for its post-paid users of North zone, targeted towards the youth and students. The unlimited plans will be offered across the country subsequently, the company said. Currently the packs will be available to Haryana, Punjab, UP (West), UP(East), Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan 
and J&K GSM mobile post-paid customers. — PTI

Technical glitch hits BSE index calculation system
New Delhi: The BSE's index calculation system suffered a technical glitch for about 20 minutes in the morning on Wednesday. The benchmark Sensex opened blank when trading started at 9:15 am due to a fault in the calculation system. — PTI