A relatively slow performance by the industrial sector and a high base effect may slow down gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter (July-September) of fiscal 2007-08 to below 9 per cent, feel analysts.
RBI, govt concerned over inflationary impact of rising capital inflows.
Reliance Power's exemption demands prompt move.
In order to provide greater leeway to central government departments and ministries to finalise centrally-funded projects, the Department of Expenditure under the finance ministry has increased the financial limits of projects requiring approval from various cost-approving bodies.
According to sources close to the development, the IPO will provide an easy exit route to the banks and FIs to bring down their respective stakeholding to 5 per cent as required under the new demutualisation guidelines of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
According to sources close to the development, major domestic banks and institutions such as State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of India (BoI) and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) have sought the permission of their respective regulators - the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) to participate in the equity derivatives market (F&O segment) as traders.
Faced with huge cost overruns due to a delay in building the rural roads under Bharat Nirman, the Planning Commission is now looking at alternative ways to fund the ambitious rural development project of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.The rural road project, christened the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), has seen tardy performance on the target of constructing 146,185 km of rural roads by 2009.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) is in talks with the Department of Posts to take the help of its staff in collecting sample data for the proposed Consumer Price Index for Rural India (CPI-R). The data for the index would be collected from 1,000 villages, Chief Statistician of India Pronab Sen said on the sidelines of a national seminar on the results of the 61st round of the National Sample Survey.
The finance ministry has opposed the proposed airport at Greater Noida, and has instead favoured upgrading infrastructure at Delhi airport, which it says makes more economic sense. This has come as a shot in the arm for the GMR group, the private sector developer of Delhi airport, which has been opposing another airport so close to the existing one.
Banks have asked for an exemption of statutory requirements such as the cash reserve ratio (CRR) and the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) for lending to the infrastructure sector. While the CRR is a tool where banks have to set aside liquidity with RBI in proportion of the deposits mobilised by them, the SLR requires banks to invest 25 per cent of their liabilities in government securities to generate instant liquidity.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may opt for a 25 per cent cut in the repo rate, to prop sagging demand in the interest rate-sensitive durables sector in the mid-term review of its 2007-08 monetary policy on October 30.The likely reduction in the repo rate would take place despite concerns about inflation, which suggest that interest rates can be left unchanged, banking sources said.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has suggested stringent conditions for participatory notes (P-notes) that are issued even by registered foreign institutional investors (FIIs). In a note sent to the finance ministry on the eve of the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) board meeting to decide on restrictions for P-notes, the central bank has reiterated its earlier stance of a complete ban on P-notes.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India will increase overseas participation in the Indian stock markets and is planning two specific measures in this regard, Sebi Chairman M Damodaran told Business Standard in an exclusive interview.
In a meeting between the central bank and market participants last week, it was also decided that futures would be introduced both as an exchange-traded product and over the counter. The RBI will also be reviving interest rate futures that were introduced in 2003, but failed to take off due to the lack of a well-developed pricing curve in the market across maturiites.
Overseas markets are already hit by an acute dollar crunch, which is why major central banks, the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, had to infuse funds into the market. These lines of credit are over and above the stand-by credit, which is usually maintained by foreign banks with the Indian banks.
The Sixth Pay Commission is likely to significantly raise basic salaries for an estimated 4.5 million central government employees. The recommendations are expected to be submitted in January, a few months ahead of schedule, and the award is likely to come into effect from January 2006.
Officers of the elite Indian Administrative Service (IAS) want their pay scales to be determined on the basis of prevailing market rates. However, they are not ready to give up the substantial perks they enjoy, like palatial bungalows in city centres, number of attendants, guards, drivers and other assorted facilities.
The sixth central Pay Commission is examining the feasibility of introducing performance-linked salaries for government employees. The commission has constituted a study group headed by Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad Professor Biju Varkkey to develop a model on these lines.The study group has submitted interim reports and is expected to send its final report soon.
The high level of capital inflows has forced the government to put fresh restrictions on ECBs. In August this year, the Reserve Bank of India tightened ECB rules by limiting the use of foreign loans in India at $20 million per company.
Among its suggestions to the finance ministry, RBI has also said the government should classify private equity under a separate category of foreign investment, or create sub-limits within foreign direct investment or investments by foreign institutional investors.
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