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CCEA clears mega divestment plan
Govt to unveil new foreign trade policy
soon
iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus to hit Indian stores on Oct 17
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Total telephone user base rises to 95 crore
NTPC clears over Rs 10k crore investment
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CCEA clears mega divestment plan
New Delhi, September 10 According to sources, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the ONGC stake sale proposal. Earlier this week, the disinvestment department had selected 5 merchant bankers — Citigroup and HSBC Securities, UBS Securities, ICICI Securities and Kotak Mahindra Capital for managing the stake sale. The government also gave a go-ahead to the much-awaited 10% stake sale in Coal India Ltd, which could fetch over Rs 23,000 crore to the exchequer. Sources said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the disinvestment department’s proposal to offload 10% stake through Offer For Sale (OFS) route. At today’s closing share price of Rs 373.85, a sale of 10% stake or 63.16 crore shares in CIL would fetch the government more than Rs 23,000 crore. This will make up for more than half of the total disinvestment target for the current fiscal 2014-15, during which the government plans to mop up Rs 43,425 crore from selling stake in PSUs. A planned stake sale in CIL in 2013-14 had to be deferred after stiff opposition from the trade unions. The coal major had to make up for that by paying about Rs 19,000 crore as dividend to the exchequer. The government, which holds a 89.65% stake in CIL, initially sought to divest a 10% stake but lowered it to 5% on account of opposition from the unions. The government also proposes to divest 11.36% of power producer NHPC in the current fiscal year ending March 2015. |
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Govt to unveil new foreign trade policy
soon
“Very soon the FTP will be unveiled. I can give you a broad idea, but not on intrinsic details. Whatever was the structure of earlier FTPs, it would be different from that,” Sitharaman said while addressing a press conference on the completion of 100 days of the NDA government. The Commerce Ministry is scheduled to announce the new five-year Foreign Trade Policy (2014-19) as it seeks to boost manufacturing and exports, among other things. India’s exports in the past three years have been hovering around $300 billion, and steps are on to boost it further and enhance its contribution in the world trade. On the issue of gold import duty, Sitharaman said the government was not considering any immediate cut in gold import duty, which was hiked to 10% last year to check widening Current Account Deficit (CAD). “I cannot say that gold smuggling has increased because of hike in import duty. CAD has come down, but there is no thought to lower the import duty immediately,” she added. There have been demands for reduction in the levy on the precious metal as imports declined to 638 tonne in 2013-14 from 845 tonne in the previous fiscal. On the issue of WTO talks, the government has stressed that food security is a sovereign right and expressed the hope that WTO members would understand its position and come up with a solution on issues concerning public stock holding of foodgrains. “We hope that the WTO member countries understand the position India has taken. It is not just for India, but in the interest of many countries which have public stock of foodgrain. These are issues of sovereign right of a country,” the minister added. “We would like WTO to address them and I am hopeful. Our expectation is that we get a permanent solution for the public stock holding of foodgrains. It is important for my national food security,” she said. Sitharaman will represent India at the meeting of Finance Ministers and central bank governors of G-20 nations in Australia later this month. The Commerce Ministry said while the global environment still remains challenging, policy action in India has been repositioned so as to better tackle the negative impact of external shocks. Broad contours of policy
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iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus to hit Indian stores on Oct 17
Incidentally, the company makes the new smartphones available in the country in the midst of festive season. Prices of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, however, have not yet been disclosed. In the past, Apple smartphones were made available in India around November. iPhone 5S for the 16GB version is retailing in India at about Rs 41,500. Apple unveiled two thinner and larger screened smartphones, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6-Plus yesterday as the tech giant looks to fend off competition from Korean handset maker Samsung. The company also unveiled its first wearable device Apple Watch, after years of rumours and speculation. While the company website did not disclose a specific date for the availability of Apple Watch, the wearable device that comes with a price tag of $349, is expected to hit stores in 2015. For the US, iPhone 6 will be available for $199 (16GB), $299 (64GB) and $399 (128GB) with a two-year contract.
— PTI |
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Total telephone user base rises to 95 crore
New Delhi, September 10 Urban subscription increased to 56.24 crore at the end of July from 55.97 crore at the end of June. The rural base was up from 38.31 crore to 38.39 crore. The overall teledensity in the country increased to 76% from 75.80% at the end of June. The total wireless subscriber base rose 0.42% in July to reach 91.87 crore at the end of July from 91.49 crore last month. The overall wireless teledensity has risen to 73.78%. “Private operators hold 90.05% of the wireless subscriber share whereas BSNL and MTNL hold only 9.95% market share,” TRAI said.
— PTI |
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Domestic car sales up 15% in August
New Delhi, September 10
New Delhi, September 10