สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 14 พฤศจิกายน 2556
RBI examining impact of FII limit removal in govt debt: Mayaram
Economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram on Wednesday said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was examining the pros and cons of relaxing foreign institutional investment norms in government debt as India looks to join select global bond indices. India is seriously weighing the option of joining the global bond indices for emerging economies to boost capital inflows and shore up the rupee. Finance ministry officials are planning to work out the modalities with investment bankers such as JP Morgan, Citi and Barclays who run such indices globally. For the plan to materialise, the Centre will have to remove FII limits in government debt, which now stands at $30 billion. Mayaram also said that the $1 billion rupee-denominated bond issue by International Finance Corp (IFC), the investment arm of World bank, will be taken as a test case. After the $1 billion rupee-linked bond issue, IFC plans about $5 billion worth of similar issues over the next decade. Additionally, the government is said to be considering membership of the world’s biggest bond settlement system, Euroclear Bank's settlement platform, to woo investment in sovereign debt.
(Source: Financial Express)
India gold demand hit as govt rules bite: WGC
Strict rules on gold imports are succeeding in curbing demand from India, with the nation likely to lose its crown as the world's biggest consumer of the precious metal to China, the World Gold Council said. The producer-funded industry body cut its forecast for demand from India in 2013 to around 900 tonnes from the 1,000 tonnes predicted previously, although that would still mark a slight rise from last year. Global appetite for gold fell 21% in the third quarter as outflows from physical bullion funds and the drop in buying from India offset firmer jewellery, coin and bar sales, a quarterly report from the WGC showed on Thursday. India, grappling with a high trade deficit and a weak rupee, imposed a series of measures this year to crimp demand for the metal - the second most expensive item on its import bill after oil. It introduced a record 10% duty on gold imports and tied the volume of imports to exports, making it more difficult and expensive for gold to be sold to domestic markets. Imports plummeted to 24 tonnes in October from a record 162 tonnes in May. But the WGC warned that gold was finding its way into India through unofficial channels. It did not give an estimate on supply through smuggling.
(Source: Business Standard)
Decision on policy rate to depend on inflation, rupee value: RBI
The Reserve Bank today said any change in benchmark interest rate in its next month's monetary policy review will depend upon the price situation and other macro economic factors, including the value of rupee."We will watch the incoming data carefully, especially looking for the effects of the harvest on food prices as well as the second round effects of fuel price increases and exchange rate depreciation, before we make further decisions on interest rate," RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said.RBI, which raised the key policy rate (repo rate) by 0.25 per cent twice in the recent past to check inflation, is scheduled to come out with mid-quarter monetary policy review on December 18.As per the government data, the industrial output grew by a meagre 2 per cent in September, while the retail inflation has entered in the double digit with October figure at 10.09 per cent. The GDP data for the second quarter is scheduled to be released on November 29.
(Source: Economic Times)
New export customs system to bring down transaction cost: P Chidambaram
Indian exporters will now be able to access a new green channel Customs facility that will allow expeditious and hassle-free clearance and thereby bring down transaction cost. Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday unveiled a risk management system for exports at select ports in the country that will facilitate this process. "The underlying principle is trade facilitation," Chidambaram said explaining the rationale behind the move, which is expected to bring down the time taken in clearance at Customs stations to a few hours in line with global practices. The time currently taken for Customs clearance of export cargo in Mumbai is 1.6 days while at the Inland Container Depot in Delhi it is 3.68 days. The new risk management system for exports will be implemented in two phases. The first phase, rolled out on Wednesday, will be confined to exports getting Customs clearance and in the second phase, to be launched after six months of completion of the first phase, it will be extended to drawback stage. Consignments will be cleared by Customs officials based on self declaration. Industry has often frequently complained about the high trade-specific transaction costs that impact their global competitiveness.
(Source: Economic Times)
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