'Das is friendly, but he finally does what he does. The quality of engagement is very good.'
Extending its support to Saarc Bank, Sri Lanka on Thursday said the proposed financial institution will help in alleviating poverty in the South Asian region.
However, India's economy will rebound to 8.5 per cent in 2009-10, Manila-based Asian Development Bank said in its Asian Development Outlook 2008. Narhari Rao, Principal Economist with India Resident Mission of ADB, said recent duty cuts by the government to arrest inflation, which is racing towards 7 per cent, are likely to show results in 2-3 weeks.
Asian Development Bank has predicted that South Asian economy, 80 per cent of which is accounted for by India, will grow at a slower pace of 7.7 per cent in 2007.
Wholesale price-based inflation rose to an eight-month high of 0.26 per cent in November, driven by a sharp jump in food prices, especially onion and vegetables. The WPI inflation was in the negative or deflationary zone for the past seven months since April and was at (-)0.52 per cent in October. The last positive WPI inflation was recorded in March at 1.41 per cent.
The Asian Development Bank has approved a US$ 1.5 billion (around Rs 11,185 crore) loan to India for COVID-19 vaccine procurement.
Asian Paints dropped the most by 1.33 per cent. IndusInd bank fell 1.2 per cent, Axis Bank by 1.19 per cent, SBI by 1.12 per cent, Bajaj Finance by 1.07 per cent, Nestle by 1.04 per cent, and TCS by 0.97 per cent. Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, Power Grid and Kotak Bank also retreated. Maruti Suzuki was the lead gainer, rising by 2.22 per cent.
The rupee remains overvalued against the currencies of India's trading partners, even as it hit record lows against the dollar in August and September. According to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) real effective exchange rate (REER) index, the rupee stood at 5.5 per cent above its fair value in August, down from 7.7 per cent in July. This slight easing followed fears of a US recession and the unwinding of yen carry trades, which exerted pressure on the Indian currency.
India hopes to increase its share in the quotas of multilateral development banks like the International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank after major stakeholders in them bring forward the issue of quota review and expanding in accordance with current realities that will give proper representation to the emerging economies.
The Indian economy is likely to slow down a little to 7.6 per cent in the fiscal year 2006 and 7.8 per cent in 2007 as consumption and investment may get affected due to higher inflation, Asian Development Bank said on Thursday.
From the Sensex pack, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major gainers. In contrast, Tata Steel, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services were among the laggards.
Asian Development Bank has said that India's fiscal deficit targets are unlikely to be met this year due to large government spending and slow pace of domestic fuel price adjustment.
The money will be used for drainage systems development.
Monetary tightening to contain overheating as well as inadequate infrastructure is likely to slow down India's growth to moderate 8 per cent next fiscal against the expected 9.2 per cent, the Asian Development Bank has forecast.
The present financial crisis in Europe and other countries is affecting Asian economies not just through trade or slower Asian exports, but through financial channels and can be compared to the Lehman shock of 2008.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has kept its outlook for India's economic growth unchanged at 7 per cent for the current fiscal year while forecasting a weaker-than-previously expected pace for developing Asia. ADB's 7 per cent growth projection for fiscal 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023), unchanged from its September forecast, compares to 8.7 per cent GDP growth in 2021-22. For 2023-24, the GDP growth has been kept unchanged at 7.2 per cent.
The 55 basis point (bps) spike in the US 10-year bond yield, triggered by a combination of FOMC's hawkish commentary and BOJ's relaxation of the yield control curve (YCC) has made analysts cautious on Asian equities and expect them to trade sideways in the short-to-medium term.
Reconstruction efforts after the Russia-Ukraine war will be dominated by the heft of the membership of major nations across international organisations. India is hamstrung because it does not play host to any major global institution nor does it hold positions of significant influence in the ones in which it has membership. As a result, the world's sixth largest economy is obliged to follow the rules set by most of them.
The economy may grow by around 7 per cent this financial year as estimated by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), say economists with various organisations. The first advance estimates for 2023-24 will be released on Friday by the National Statistical Organisation (NSO), an exercise done for calculating ratios such as the fiscal deficit. The interim Budget will be presented on February 1.
S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday cut India's growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.3 per cent from 7.8 per cent earlier on rising inflation and the longer-than-expected Russia-Ukraine conflict. In its Global Macro Update to Growth Forecasts, S&P said inflation remaining higher for long is a worry, which requires central banks to raise rates more than what is currently priced in, risking a harder landing, including a larger hit to output and employment. S&P had in December last year pegged India's GDP growth in the 2022-23 fiscal, which began on April 1, 2022, at 7.8 per cent.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) interest rate decision, West Asia conflict and trading activity of foreign investors are the key factors that will dictate investors' sentiment in the market this week, analysts said. Moreover, quarterly earnings from IT bellwether TCS, domestic macroeconomic data and movement in global oil benchmark Brent crude would also guide trends in the market. Worsening tensions in the Middle East and foreign fund outflows were the major culprits behind the equity markets sharp fall last week.
India is set to witness a roller-coaster growth in the next three years ranging between 6-7 per cent mainly due to fluctuations in prospects of industry and services sectors, according to the Asian Development Bank.
With the rupee fast losing value against the US dollar, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday blamed volatility in global commodity prices for currency depreciation and said deteriorating balance of payment (BoP) situation in several Asian countries also put stress on currencies.
The lender has also urged Asian governments and the private sector to work together to ensure that growth is more inclusive.
The AEM has upgraded the regions 2010 growth forecast for the 14 emerging East Asian economies to an aggregate 8.1 per cent from the 7.7 per cent it had projected in April.
We must bring a laser focus on our own interests, and define our friends and foes more clearly instead of trying to live by somebody else's rules. We must grow up, think for ourselves, think India First, asserts R Jagannathan.
Challenge before Indian policy makers was to make growth inclusive and manage infrastructure investments better.
The Manila-based development finance institution has decided not to guarantee loans directed to Andhra Pradesh, where the microfinance activity has fallen sharply due to strict rules introduced by the state government in October last year.
Easy global liquidity and investors' eagerness to tap one of the world's few fast-growing regions should create a sweet spot for the region to fill the $600 billion in infrastructure needs the Asian Development Bank identifies over the next decade.
When Kamath took over the organisation, ICICI had 33 subsidiaries. He gradually brought them down to 24 and then to a dozen, preparing the organisation for an initial public offer in December 2005.
Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 674 points on Friday, weighed by losses in banking stocks as an unabated spike in new coronavirus cases fuelled uncertainty over the economic impact of the pandemic. After hitting a low of 27,500.79 during the day, the 30-share BSE barometer ended 674.36 points or 2.39 per cent lower at 27,590.95. The NSE Nifty shed 170 points, or 2.06 per cent, to finish at 8,083.80.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday pitched for formulating a policy for using the Reserve Bank of India's rising foreign exchange reserves for funding road projects, saying the country needs low cost finance for such infrastructure projects. Addressing a virtual event organised by industry body CII, Gadkari further said that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should also have a financial arm like the power ministry's Power Finance Corporation (PFC). "We have a surplus of dollar reserves in the country. I have decided to talk with the RBI Governor, about how we can formulate a policy by which we can use this foreign exchange reserves for development of infrastructure in the country," he said.
From bhikshus of Ashokan 3rd century BC and medieval Sufis to Oxfam, Omidyar and Soros now, non-State actors have any real power only when they work in conjunction with a real State, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday slashed India's GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 7 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.2 per cent mainly on account of higher inflation and a tight monetary policy. India's economy grew 13.5 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022-23, reflecting strong growth in services, ADB said in its second supplement to Asian Development Outlook Report 2022 (ADO 2022). "However, GDP growth is revised down from ADO 2022's forecasts to 7 per cent for FY2022 (ending March 2023) and 7.2 per cent for FY2023 (ending March 2024) as price pressures are expected to adversely impact domestic consumption, and sluggish global demand and elevated oil prices will likely be a drag on net exports," ADB said.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), on Wednesday said it has approved $17.51 billion in financing operations last year to assist its developing member countries achieve their Millennium Development Goals.
The project will be in three stages and sources indicate that the funding will be for the first stage of 107 kilometre from Sarai Kale Khan to SNB Urban Complex.
Takao replaced Haruhiko Kuroda, who had, in March, quit ADB to take charge as Japan's central bank governor.
