|
|
|
|
|
Inflation spurts to 5-month high of over 6% in May
Biz talk
Goyal meets officials on coal pricing, quality
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Govt to review 27 coal mines on June 20
|
|
Inflation spurts to 5-month high of over 6% in May
New Delhi, June 16 The worrying part for the economy managers is that the high inflation number has come now even before the projected weak monsoon has played out. Analysts say that a weak monsoon will drive food prices even higher and cereal and oilseed prices will be watched closely. “Inflation remains a key impeding factor to the overall growth prospects of the economy. With food and fuel prices being the key driving factors, upside risks to inflation continues. The sub-par monsoon outlook for this year could put pressure on food prices going ahead", said Sidharth Birla, president, FICCI. With crude prices continuing to rise on the back of the Iraq crisis, the rupee fell below the 60-level against the American currency after a gap of over one month by dropping 28 paise to 60.05 on sustained dollar demand from importers amid rise in crude oil prices. As global markets get into a risk-off trade given the uncertainty in the Middle-East, gold, which is a safe haven investment saw a firming of trend and reclaimed the Rs 28,000- mark, rising for the sixth day in a row. While uncertainty over the crude oil situation prevails, the silver lining for the economy is that the losses on sale of diesel have dipped to a record low of Rs 1.62 per litre, brightening the chances of deregulation of the country’s most consumed fuel. The caveat is that if the rupee continues to strengthen and monthly price hikes of up to 50 paisa a litre are sustained and crude oil prices do not move up much, in that scenario, diesel prices will be decontrolled by September. Petroleum Ministry said today the difference between the cost of diesel production and the retail selling price has narrowed to Rs 1.62 a litre from Rs 2.80 in the first fortnight of June. The macro pressures would raise the uncertainty for corporates. Indranil Pan, chief economist, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said with the INR on a weak trend again and with global oil prices going up, it is yet not clear what type of input side pressures the Indian business community would have to build into their business models. |
||||||
|
Insecticides India Ltd eyes
Rs 1,200 crore turnover in FY15
Rajesh Aggarwal MD, Insecticides (India) Ltd talks to Sanjeev Sharma Agrochemical maker Insecticides (India) Ltd. (IIL), which has a strong manufacturing presence in the northern region, is expanding into the central zone of the country. Rajesh Aggarwal, managing director of Insecticides (India) Ltd, talks about the expansion plans, topline growth of the company and the impact of the poor monsoon on farm output. Q: What are the revenue targets of your company? A: IIL has shown a 40% increase in its turnover with a net income of Rs 864 crore in the 2013-14 fiscal. In 2014-15, the company, listed on both NSE and BSE, is expecting a turnover of around Rs 1,200 crore. Also, the EBITDA margin of the company, which manufactures and markets American Vanguard Corporation’s international brands Thimet and Nuvan exclusively in India and markets Japanese company Nissan International’s products Pulsor and Hakama exclusively in the country, has improved to 10% from 8% and is expected to improve further to about 12% going ahead with increase in contribution of high-margin products. Q: What is the outlook on the agriculture sector given the forecast of below- normal monsoon? A: Despite boom in the services sector, the economy is still largely dependent on agriculture. Below monsoon rains are not good for farm production as the July rains are crucial for summer crops such as sugarcane, coarse cereals, pulses, paddy, cotton and oil seeds. Poor summer rains, the main source of irrigation, will adversely affect agriculture production in the country, adding more pressure on agri inflation trends. As per the forecasts, north- west region will be the worst hit with Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh receiving less rain. Paddy, sugarcane, coarse cereals and pulses are grown in these areas. Less rains will push up food prices. Q: What are your plans for setting up new facilities for manufacturing? A: We already have six manufacturing facilities in J&K, Rajasthan and Gujarat. At present, the company has two technical plants at Chopanki (Rajasthan) and Dahej (Gujarat). Besides these, we have four formulation units at Chopanki, Dahej, Samba (J&K) and Udhampur (J&K). We are now planning to set up formulation unit in Gujarat in the next 2-3 years. Plans are also afoot to increase our existence to the central part of the country, as so far we have been restricted in presence in terms of our facilities to the Northern region. We are mulling setting up formulation unit in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as well. Q: What are your plans for the expansion of existing facilities? A: We recently commercialised our Rs 150 crore greenfield project in Dahej, Gujarat, which has increased our technical (active ingredient) manufacturing capacity by 10,000 tonne to 12,000 tonne. We are also planning to invest Rs 30 crore in our Dahej plant to expand its capacity, which will not only boost our top line but also bottom line. Q: How will the agrochemical industry be affected given the projected lower farm output than last year? A: The forecast of lower monsoon is not only a dampener for farmers but also for the agrochemicals industry. Below normal rains will badly hit agriculture production, resulting in lower use of agrochemical products such as pesticides, weedicides, fungicides and herbicides. Usage of agrochemicals is dependent on agricultural production. Any dip in farm output does potential damage to agrochemicals’ use. The industry as a whole will be considerably affected by lower farm output.
|
||||||
|
Goyal meets officials on coal pricing, quality
New Delhi, June 16 With the two ministries often at loggerheads over issues such as coal pricing and the quality of the fuel, Goyal met Power Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha and Coal Secretary SK Srivastava along with other officials late last week. Reports suggested that the power ministry officials discussed a range of issues impacting the sector as a result of non-cooperation from the coal sector. The two ministries had been at a standoff over the past year over various issues, including non-payment of dues by the power generating organisations to the coal producers. |
||||||
|
Govt to review 27 coal mines on June 20
New Delhi, June 16 According to Coal Ministry officials, while the meeting of the inter-ministerial group on coal blocks, which had been reviewing the progress of the mines over the past year and a half, would meet on June 19 to decide on the fate of the bank guarantees given by the companies in regard to as many as 61 mines, the Coal Ministry would review the production of coal at 27 captive coal blocks allocated to firms like NTPC, Sasan Power and SAIL, which have not yet reached peak capacity or which are likely to start production in the current fiscal, on June 20. The meeting of the inter-ministerial group on coal blocks was scheduled for last week, but was shifted to June 19, due to “unavoidable circumstances”. Of the total 328 coal blocks identified for allocation for captive purposes, the government has so far allocated 218 blocks. |
||||||
AirAsia India announces Bengaluru-Kochi flights Renault launches Scala spl edition at
Rs 8.48 lakh Mahindra ventures into affordable housing segment
|
||||||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Headline inflation shot up in May to 6.01% to a 5-month high and as macro pressures appeared to accentuate, the rupee fell sharply to breach the 60 to the dollar mark, at a one and a half month low.
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation crossed the 6% mark and was sharply higher than 5.2% in April.
Sidharth Birla 
