Issue of PSLCs is good for banks: Moody's
The Dollar Buiness Bureau The release of Reserve Bank’s guidelines for priority sector lending certificates (PSLCs) is credit positive for banks that are not having expertise in making priority sector loans, said global rating agency Moody’s. “This allows them to focus on their strengths and purchase credits from banks with expertise in making such loans, instead of diverting their own resources toward meeting priority sector lending targets,” it said. While releasing the instructions on trading in PSLCs, S S Mundra, Deputy Governor of RBI also launched a platform to enable trading in the certificates through its Core Banking Solution portal (e-Kuber). All Scheduled Commercial Banks including Regional Rural Banks, Urban Co-operative Banks, Small Finance Banks and Local Area Banks are eligible to ...
Centre gives the nod for setting up of 30 new cold chain projects
The Dollar Business Bureau The Government of India has sanctioned the proposal for setting up of 30 new cold chain proposals with a grant-in-aid of Rs 274.9 crore. The above information was given by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister of Food Processing Industries, who told the media that the aid would attract an investment of Rs 470 crore, reported a PIB release. The minister also stated that, to boost the creation of infrastructure for food processing, the Ministry has, in the last one year, inaugurated two Mega Food Parks - one in Karnataka and another in Fazilka in Punjab. Three more Mega Food Parks are to be inaugurated shortly in West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. Government has announced 17 ...
Tax reforms, changes in import duties among FIEOs recommendations to government
The Dollar Business Bureau In an attempt to clarify its stand on the requirements of the export community of India, the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) has laid out its recommendations and complaints to the Finance Ministry. In a meeting with Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister, today, Rafeeque Ahmed, President, FIEO, said that the government should remove the National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) on crude oil imports in order to support petroleum product exports which account for over 19% of India’s total exports. “Removal of this duty on imports under advance licenses, which only earns the Government a sum of less than Rs.100 crore per annum, will lead to improving the competitiveness of Indian exports,” he said. The FIEO chief ...
Indias new Foreign Trade Policy 2014-19: Why not have more IIFTs?
Bidhu Bhushan Palo | @TheDollarBiz Change is in the air, they say. I too see that the spotlight is suddenly on the export sector, a definite focus on mercantilism. Is this a revisit to 1991 when India liberalized its economy as a last resort, but a step that helped India survive and then get noticed as a major economy? I definitely hope so. It would be wonderful to see India’s economy gallop and exports could play a major part in it, doing what the IT and BPO sectors have done for over a decade now. But are we doing enough? It is great to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak from the ramparts of the Red Fort, ...
External sector doing remarkably well, says Reserve Bank of India
The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) says that policy efforts, improvement in exports and a steep decline in imports helped reduce the full year current account deficit (CAD) in FY2013-14 to $32.4 billion or 1.7% of GDP (valued at around $1.9 trillion) from the large deficit of 4.9% of GDP recorded in Q1 of FY2013-14. “Following a lower trade deficit accompanied by robust growth in services export and stable flows of remittances, CAD declined to 1.7% of GDP in 2013-14,” the RBI says in its Annual Report (ended June 30, 2014). Policy decisions to curb gold imports last year were effective, and other factors such as low international prices of oil, fertilisers and ...
Making exports a Priority Sector will strengthen economy, says FIEO President
The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz M. Rafeeque Ahmed, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), says that while the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to reduce the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) of commercial banks by 50 basis points will provide the necessary liquidity, making exports a priority sector could improve India’s overall economy. M. Rafeeque Ahmed, President, FIEO Priority sectors are those sectors which may not get timely and adequate credit in the absence of this special dispensation, says RBI. At present, priority sectors include farmers, micro and small enterprises, poor people for housing, students for education and other low income groups and weaker sections for loans. Export credit is also under the PSL list, as per RBI’s February 2014 ...
