Barring fertiliser, all seven sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity -- recorded negative growth in July.
Growing for the third consecutive month, the country's exports rose marginally by 0.67 per cent year-on-year to $27.93 billion in February even as trade deficit widened to $12.62 billion, according to official data released on Monday.
The government on Thursday more than doubled the price of natural gas that is used to produce electricity, make fertilisers, turned into CNG and piped to household kitchens for cooking, on the back of a spike in global energy prices. The price of gas produced from old regulated fields, such as the nation's largest gas field of Bassein of ONGC, will rise to a record high of $6.10 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) from the current $2.90 per mmBtu, according to the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). The new price, which is likely to result in a hike in CNG and piped cooking gas rates, will be for six months beginning April 1.
The wholesale price-based inflation rose for the second consecutive month in February to 4.17 per cent, as food, fuel and power prices spiked. The WPI inflation was 2.03 per cent in January and 2.26 per cent in February last year. After witnessing months of softening of prices, the food articles in February saw 1.36 per cent inflation. In January it was (-) 2.80 per cent.
Further relaxation in aircraft capacity deployment coupled with festive season air travel demand helped recovery in the domestic traffic with passenger volume seeing 22 per cent sequential growth in the previous month, ratings agency ICRA said on Wednesday. ICRA also said that the November domestic passenger traffic was close to 50 per cent of the domestic air travel demand in November 2019. The recovery in international passenger traffic, however, is likely to further get delayed in the wake of fresh travel curbs by select countries following the detection of a new virus strain in the UK, it said.
Ratings agency ICRA on Wednesday revised downwards growth forecast for the domestic passenger vehicles industry to 8-11 per cent in the ongoing fiscal from the earlier estimate of 14-17 per cent on account of the ongoing semiconductor shortage. Similarly, for the two-wheeler segment, it said the volumes are expected to contract by 1-4 per cent in FY2022 against an earlier prediction of 6-8 per cent growth as affordability and demand sentiments of target clientele was hit sharply by the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. With around 5 lakh units of production lost by various automakers in the passenger vehicles segment due to the semiconductor shortage, ICRA said the earnings loss for the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) could be around Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 2,000 crore for the ongoing fiscal.
Coal, crude oil, natural gas, cement, and electricity recorded a negative growth of 8.6 per cent, 5.4 per cent , 3.9 per cent, 4.9 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively, in August.
Family-owned companies like those of Tatas, Birlas and Ambanis are dominating the country's corporate landscape, but still face challenges regarding corporate governance norms such as appointment of successors and transparency in functioning, rating agency Moody's said. However, these companies have responded well to opportunities available in the fast-growing and liberalizing economy, according to a joint survey by Moody's Investors Service and its domestic associate.
New norms are in place to strengthen regulations for this set of lenders which has been playing a critical role in Asia's third largest economy, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Imports too declined 26 per cent to $29.47 billion in August, leaving a trade deficit of $6.77 billion.
The forthcoming public issue by rating agency ICRA Ltd will see State Bank of India diluting its stake in the company by a nominal 0.21 per cent, but the meagre divestment has larger implications on both the entities.
Sectors with positive growth during the month include rice, iron ore, oil seeds, oil meals, meat, dairy and poultry products, pharmaceuticals, coffee, engineering goods, and plastic.
In three separate but similarly-worded orders, Sebi said the default by IL&FS occurred due to "lethargic indifference and needless procrastination and laxity" of the rating agencies.
Import segments which recorded negative growth include gold, silver, transport equipment, coal, fertiliser, machinery and machine tools. However, exports of oil seeds, coffee, rice, tobacco, spices, pharma, and chemicals reported positive growth in June.
Barring rice, spices, iron ore and pharmaceuticals, all the remaining 26 key sectors registered negative growth in May. Imports too plunged 51 per cent to $22.2 billion in May.
The new system is expected to give emphasis on various in-built credit enhancement structures.
In the context of RBI's view that the real interest rate, defined as the repo rate less "look forward" CPI, should be around 150-200 basis points.
India plans to keep its fiscal deficit within 3.9% of GDP.
Retail inflation inches up to 3.77%; IIP growth dips to 3-month low
The limit of indebtedness comes down to Rs 15,000 crore from 2018-19, and then Rs 10,000 crore from April 2019 onwards
The central government's deposits with the RBI had fallen to just Rs 100 crore as of June 8.
Indian cotton and paddy could see their competitiveness in international markets take a hit
Assocham expressed concern over the precarious situation that the manufacturing sector is in, observing that if the trend does not reverse with monetary and fiscal measures it would be difficult for the industry to generate jobs.
Petrol prices on Thursday crossed Rs 73 a litre mark, the highest level since the BJP government came to power in 2014, while diesel touched a record high of Rs 64.11 a litre.
Will demonetisation lead to a rate cut, leading to higher quantum of lending?
RBI is expected to discuss about the impact of GST in its monetary policy.
Heading to the third year, will Urjit Patel be busy firefighting a currency crisis? Almost no governor of the RBI managed to evade it and Patel perhaps knows it.
RBI has, since January, cut its policy rate four times.
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