Contracting for the ninth consecutive month, the output of eight core infrastructure sectors dropped by 2.6 per cent in November, mainly due to decline in production of natural gas, refinery products, steel and cement. The production of eight core sectors had recorded a growth of 0.7 per cent in November 2019, data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed on Thursday. Barring coal, fertiliser and electricity, all sectors -- crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel and cement -- recorded negative growth in November 2020.
Barring coal and fertiliser, all sectors -- crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity -- recorded negative growth in August.
100-day agenda: Commerce ministry pushes for separate logistics department
The background work of creating a suitable digital architecture of a website also remains unfinished as it has been a challenge to shortlist technology partners.
Stressing that the Apna Dal-S stands for social justice, Union minister Anupriya Patel on Monday dissociated her party from "Hindutva and all those issues" and said it is ideologically different from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Imports too tumbled by 58.65 per cent to $17.12 billion in April from $41.4 billion in the same month last year, according to the data by the commerce and industry ministry.
The output of eight core sectors grew by 16.8 per cent in May, mainly due to a low base effect and uptick in production of natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity, official data released on Wednesday showed. The eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity had contracted by 21.4 per cent in May 2020 due to the lockdown restrictions imposed to control the spread of the COVID-19 infections. In March this year, these key sectors had recorded a growth of 11.4 per cent, and 60.9 per cent in April.
Barring fertiliser, all seven sectors - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement, and electricity - had recorded negative growth in May.
According to data released by the commerce and industry ministry, exports stood at $25.01 billion in the month. The fall is only the second time exports contracted in the past year.
Barring fertiliser, all seven sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity -- recorded negative growth in July.
The key sectors that received the maximum foreign investment during the nine months of the fiscal include services, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, chemicals, and the automobile industry.
Key sectors that received maximum FDI include services, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, chemicals, and automobile.
Singapore continued to be the largest source of FDI in India followed by Mauritius, the US, the Netherlands and Japan.
The central government is devising a mechanism to step up screening imports to protect domestic manufacturers. The details of the online monitoring system may find mention in the foreign trade policy 2021-26, which will kick in next month. The online system will make the data available to the government as well as industry about the countries from where the goods are being imported, and their quantity and quality. The data can help domestic producers analyse the market potential for such goods, said a senior government official. In the past 16 months, the government had implemented a steel- and coal-import monitoring system.
Coal, natural gas, refinery products and cement grew by 16 per cent, 7 .4 per cent, 2.7 per cent, and 16 .6 per cent in April this year, respectively.
After rallying 543 points in the morning session and touching the 40,000-mark, the BSE Sensex surrendered all gains to close at 38,628.29, showing a loss of 839.02 points or 2.13 per cent. Similarly, the NSE Nifty tanked 260.10 points or 2.23 per cent to end at 11,387.50.
The reading for March WPI inflation was revised to 6% from 5.7% earlier.
After recording positive growth in September, India's exports declined 5.4 per cent to $24.82 billion in October on account of dip in shipments of petroleum products, gems and jewellery, leather, and engineering goods. Trade deficit in October narrowed to $8.78 billion as against $11.76 billion, as imports also fell 11.56 per cent to $33.6 billion during the month under review.
The retail inflation rate breached the 6 per cent upper tolerance limit of the RBI for the first time in seven months in January, while the wholesale price index stayed in double-digits for the 10th month in a row, showed two sets of data released by the government on Monday. Retail inflation, the key input for the RBI while reviewing the repo rate every two months, soared during the month mainly because of a spike in certain food items. The previous high for retail inflation was 6.26 per cent in June 2021.
After defence, the Commerce and Industry ministry has started the exercise to relax foreign investment norms in the railways sector by permitting 100 per cent FDI in high-speed train systems and dedicated freight lines.
Inflation print for food articles, as a basket, remained nearly flat at 7.47 per cent during the month.
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.
Slow growth in the key sectors would have implications on the IIP number as these segments account for about 41 per cent of the total factory output.
Production of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity contracted. The record contraction in the growth rate of eight core sectors will affect the Index of Industrial Production.
Deficit is likely to touch $60 bn this financial year from $40 bn in the previous one.
As per the procedure of World Trade Organisation, consultation is the first stage of a complaint filed with the global trade body.
Fertiliser production dropped sharply by 11.5 per cent, crude oil by 5 per cent and natural gas by 0.9 per cent in October over the year-ago month
In July 2011, the country had received foreign investment worth $1.10 billion.
Government's decision comes in the backdrop of several complaints being flagged by domestic traders on heavy discounts being given by e-commerce players to consumers.
It floated a strategy paper for this purpose where it had recommended certain specific areas such as skill development, focus on research and development and channelising incentives in a proper manner.
The state had received six proposals from IT companies for setting up units here involving an investment of Rs 1,410 crore (Rs 14.1 billion, Chatterjee said, adding that these proposals would entail direct employment to 19,000 people and indirect employment to 125,000.
Infra segment, refinery product impacted the most, even as contraction narrows in latest month.
Imports too rose by 0.46 per cent to $34.25 billion during the month under review, leaving a trade deficit of $10.36 billion.
Mukherjee said uncertainty was still there on oil prices front due to unrest in West Asia and North Africa.
Engineering exports grew by 61 per cent to $38.80 billion during the April-December period this fiscal from $24.08 billion in the same period last year.
The government is likely to extend interest subvention for some export-oriented sectors for another year to sustain the current growth in exports. This will be announced during the coming Union Budget for 2011-2012.
Sluggish infrastructure sector growth would also have impact on IIP as these segments account for about 41 per cent of the total factory output.
According to a senior commerce ministry official, the Budget sought to withdraw some significant stimulus measures "in a clandestine manner", which would affect exports and lead to impediments in efforts to achieve $450 billion worth of exports by 2013-14, from around $250 billion at present.
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