Page 15 - India Economy

Nepal inks long-term power deal with India, to sell 10,000 MW electricity

The agreement was signed in the presence of Nepal's Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet

Growth in Asia Pacific emerging markets to remain strong in 2024: Fitch

The economic growth in Asia Pacific will remain strong in 2024 and GDP is expected to grow by about 5 per cent in India and a host of emerging market countries, Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday. In its report titled 'APAC Cross-Sector Outlook 2024', Fitch said the outlooks for the banking sectors in India and Indonesia, as well as APAC emerging markets as a whole, move to improving in 2024, partly reflecting the robust economic backdrop. "Economic growth in APAC will generally remain strong in 2024, especially in emerging markets (EMs), supporting sector outlooks across the region. We expect real GDP to expand by, or above, 5 per cent in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, and China's performance will still be strong by most other countries' standards," Fitch said. The Indian economy grew 7.2 per cent in 2022-23 fiscal year. India's GDP expanded 7.8 per cent and 7.6 per cent in the June and September quarters, respectively. Fitch had last month said it expects India to be

Adani Ports reports 42% growth in cargo handling in December 2023

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on Tuesday said its cargo volumes rose 42 per cent in December 2023 to 35.65 MMT (million metric tonne). According to a APSEZ statement, 10 ports in the APSEZ portfolio delivered their highest-ever cargo volumes, recording new operating milestones. The billionaire Gautam Adani's firm handled 311 MMT of cargo during the nine months of FY24, which is 23 per cent higher year-on-year. Mundra Port alone managed around 5.5 MTEUs in initial nine months, it added. For the quarter ended December, APSEZ handled around 109 MMT of overall cargo, the statement said. APSEZ CEO and whole-time director Karan Adani said, "APSEZ crossed the 300 MMT cargo mark in just 266 days versus its previous best of 329 days in the previous financial year". Adani said the company is now targeting over 400 MMT of cargo volumes in FY24, surpassing the upper end of the guidance range (370-390 MMT) provided at the start of the current financial year.

Sugar production falls again, dips 7.7% to 11.2 mn tonnes in Oct-Dec: NFCSF

Sugar production was 7.7 per cent lower at 112 lakh tonnes in the first three months of the ongoing 2023-24 season, owing to lesser output in two key states, according to cooperative body NFCSF. Sugar production stood at 121.35 lakh tonnes during the October-December period of 2022-23 season. NFCSF has projected the country's total sugar output to be at 305 lakh tonnes in the 2023-24 season, lower than 330.90 lakh tonnes achieved in the 2022-23 season. Sugar season runs from October to September. Releasing the latest data, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) said a total of 511 factories had crushed 1,223 lakh tonnes of sugarcane till December 2023 of the ongoing season. Among the top three sugar producing states, the output in Maharashtra and Karnataka remained lower during the October-December period of this season. "Since the central government has limited the production of ethanol from sugarcane juice, the total availability of new sugar in the coun

Everyone wants to do an FTA with India due to rapidly growing market: GTRI

Countries ranging from large economies like Europe, and the UK to smaller ones, including Oman and Peru, want to have a free trade agreement with India due to the country's large and rapidly growing market, a report by economic think tank GTRI said. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that by implementing a trade deal (FTA) with India, countries can access the Indian market with less or no import duties on substantial trade. This gives their companies an advantage over others in selling to the Indian market. Additionally, since India currently does most of its importing (over 75 per cent) from countries it does not have FTAs with, these agreements are particularly appealing as they offer a significant new market opportunity in India. "Everyone wants to do an FTA with India. Countries ranging from large economies like the US, Europe, Japan, and the UK to smaller ones like Oman, Peru, and Mauritius either already have or actively seeking an FTA with India. The main reaso

BHEL making India self-reliant in energy, infra: Heavy industries minister

State-owned engineering firm BHEL is not only making India self-reliant in energy and infrastructure sectors but also contributing significantly to defence and space segments, said Union Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey. The minister inaugurated the newly-constructed BHEL Sadan in Noida on the occasion of BHEL Day on Monday, the company said in a statement. Addressing on the occasion he cited the clarion call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for achieving the target of 'net zero' carbon emissions by 2070 and said that this 18-storey, eco-friendly green building constructed as per the latest technology and standards is a symbol of BHEL's commitment towards environmental protection. The minister noted that the building, equipped with a 30-kW solar power system, reflects BHEL's commitment to move further towards green energy. Recalling BHEL's contribution towards creating an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, since its inception, Pandey added that BHEL is not only striving towards maki

Crude oil imports from Russia plunge in December on payment issues

After rising to an all time record of 2.15 million barrels a day in May, oil imports from Russia fluctuated downwards, experiencing a sharp decline between November and December

California walnut imports witness sharp uptick after India's tariff removal

Chile is currently the top walnut supplier to India

Rupee settles flat at 83.20 against dollar amid volatile crude oil prices

The rupee paired all its early gains to end on a flat note at 83.20 (provisional) against the US dollar amid increased month-end dollar demand from importers and volatile crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 83.14, touched the peak of 83.10 and hit the lowest level of 83.22 against the greenback during intra-day deals. The local unit closed the session at Thursday's closing level of 83.20 (provisional) against the dollar. The domestic currency jumped 14 paise on Thursday. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.13 per cent at 101.36 on Friday. Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said the US dollar recovered slightly on short coverings but declined again on expectations of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. The rupee is likely to trade with a slight positive bias on the weak tone of the US dollar and declining crude oil pric

Govt hopeful of 'bountiful harvest' amid food inflation headwinds

With India's farm sector remaining resilient to erratic weather conditions, the government is hopeful of having bountiful food grain production even as it tries hard to keep a lid on food inflation ahead of general elections in 2024. From floods to droughts, extreme weather events this year have not only raised fears over foodgrain production but also created an artificial supply scare that forced the government to take a slew of pre-emptive measures, including export curbs on certain commodities. Besides, the government subsidised the sale of a few commodities to improve domestic supply and arrest the sharp spikes in retail prices of wheat, rice, edible oils, pulses, tomato, and onion. While the efforts to control food prices are still on, the government is closely watching the prospects of rabi (winter) crops, especially wheat and pulses, which are sown now and will be ready for harvest closer to 2024 general elections in April-May. Food inflation remained at an elevated level ..

Kolkata restaurants see surge in footfall during Christmas-New Year week

City-based restaurants are experiencing a surge in customer footfall during the Christmas-New Year week from December 24-27, according to an official of the Hostel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI). HRAEI president Sudesh Poddar said crowd turnout is expected to improve further leading up to the New Year. The association reported a 15% increase in food consumption, with customers patiently waiting for three to four hours to savour their favourite dishes. Poddar mentioned that his own fine dining restaurants, Manthan and Manthan Songhai, continue to have full house with customers waiting patiently for hours. Bar-cum-restaurant owners have requested the government to extend the closing time till 2 am until January 1 and urged patrons not to drive their vehicles to comply with the administration's road safety request. Nitin Kothari, owner of Peter Cat, Mocambo, and Peter Hu?, said after Durga puja, there was brief slump, but customer response has been exceptionally

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Indian poultry industry revenues to grow by 8-10% in FY24, says report

The Indian poultry industry's revenue is expected to grow by 8-10 per cent in 2023-24, mainly driven by healthy volume growth and improvement in realisations, a report said on Tuesday. The revenue growth expectations of the domestic poultry industry are likely to be at 8-10 per cent in FY24, which will be led by significant volume expansion and improving share of organised players, rating agency Icra said in a report. While realisations were strong in H1 FY23, they started tapering afterwards due to excess supply, said the report. Subsequently, the pick-up in demand in the current fiscal resulted in improvement of average realisations to Rs 107 per kg in H1 FY24 compared to Rs 101 per kg in FY23, said the report adding that the festive season and cold weather will support demand and realisations in the remaining fiscal year. "While realisations improved in H1 FY24, following controlled supply and healthy demand, players' earnings were further supported by softened feed costs. Maize

Indian businesses gearing up for responsible AI adoption: Nasscom

Nearly 60 per cent of businesses surveyed reported having either matured Responsible AI (RAI) practices and policies or having initiated formal steps towards adoption of such responsible practices, according to a report by industry body Nasscom. About 30 per cent reported having basic awareness of RAI imperatives without a formal strategy or framework, the report said citing the early insights on the state of RAI in India. Based on analysis of the data collected through a survey of over 500 senior executives from across large enterprises, SMEs and startups engaged in the commercial development and/or use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in India, the report offers a glimpse into the beliefs and perceptions of the tech industry about its key strengths and areas for improvement when it comes to compliance with the benchmarks for RAI adoption. The rising need for RAI among AI users and stakeholders is compelling industry leaders to invest in advanced RAI tools and strategies while ...

MGNREGA spend spike, subsidies to lead to fiscal slippage in FY24: Report

Despite the handsome growth in tax collections, there is a possibility of a fiscal slippage in FY24 because of higher spends on employment guarantee scheme and subsidies, a domestic rating agency said on Tuesday. India Ratings and Research, which is a unit of international rating agency Fitch Ratings, said the fiscal deficit for FY24 will come at 6 per cent, as against the budgetary target of 5.9 per cent. "Higher-than-budgeted revenue expenditure triggered through the first and likely second supplementary demand for grants in combination with lower-than-budgeted nominal GDP will push the fiscal deficit," the agency said in a note. It said the fiscal slippage will happen despite higher tax and non-tax revenue collections, and also added that these will be more than sufficient to offset the lower-than-budgeted divestment proceeds. In the first supplementary demand, the union government will spend more on prioritised areas/sectors such as food, fertiliser and LPG subsidy and Mahatma

Govt cleared 746 PLI applications till November for different sectors

As many as 746 applications have been approved till November 2023 under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for 14 sectors such as pharma, white goods, and electronics, an official statement said on Tuesday. The schemes for 14 sectors were announced with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities and exports. The commerce and industry ministry said that beneficiary companies have set up units in more than 150 districts (24 states) and over Rs 95,000 crore of investment has been reported till September, which has led to production/sales of Rs 7.80 lakh crore and employment generation of over 6.4 lakh. "746 applications have been approved till November 2023... Incentives worth around Rs 2,900 crores have been disbursed in 2022-23. There has been a value addition of 20 per cent in mobile manufacturing within a period of 3 years," the statement said. It added that of the USD 101 billion worth of total electronics production in 2022-23, ...

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Traded bond outstanding rises to $2.47 trn in July-Sept quarter: Report

The country's total debt, or the total outstanding bonds which are being traded in the market, rose to USD 2.47 trillion (Rs 205 lakh crore) in the September quarter, according to a report. The total debt amount in the March quarter of the previous fiscal was USD 2.34 trillion (Rs 200 lakh crore). The central government's debt stood at USD 1.34 trillion, or Rs 161.1 lakh crore, in the September quarter, up from USD 1.06 trillion, or Rs 150.4 lakh crore, in the March quarter, Vishal Goenka, Co-Founder of Indiabonds.com, said, quoting data provided by the Reserve bank of India. Indiabonds.com, which was launched in 2021, is a Sebi-registered online bond platform that provides investing solutions. The report is a collation of data from the RBI, Clearing Corporation of India, and the Securities and Exchange Board of India. At Rs 161.1 lakh crore, the central government's debt constitutes the highest 46.04 per cent share of the total amount. State governments' debt share was 24.4 per

Share of agriculture in India's GDP declined to 15% in FY23: Govt

Share of agriculture in India's GDP declined to 15 per cent last fiscal year from 35 per cent in 1990-91 due to rapid growth in the industrial and service sector, the government informed on Tuesday. "The share of agriculture in total Gross Value Added (GVA) of economy has declined from 35% in 1990-91 to 15% in 2022-23. The decline is brought out not by the decline in agricultural GVA but a rapid expansion in industrial and service sector GVA," Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. "In growth terms, agriculture and allied sector has registered an average annual growth of 4 per cent during last five years. As far as global experience is concerned, share of agriculture in the world's GDP has also declined over the decades and stands at about 4 per cent in recent years," he added. The minister said the government has adopted/implemented several developmental programmes, schemes, reforms and policies towards increasing agricultural productivity, ...

India will become third largest economy in my next innings: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday listed the four castes he wants to empower while repeating his guarantee to make the country the third largest economic superpower during his third innings in power. Modi was addressing a rally in his parliamentary constituency, where he also made a reference to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which he will make his bid for the third consecutive term in office. "For decades, the entire region of Purvanchal was lying neglected. With the blessings of Mahadev, Modi is engaged in serving you, he said at the event where he launched development projects worth over Rs 19,000 crore. Some months from now, there will be elections in the entire country. And Modi has given a guarantee to the country that in his third innings, he will make Bharat the third largest economic superpower in the world, he said. The prime minister said for a developed India, it is important to develop the country's women power, youth power, farmers and the poor. The PM has bee