WPI inflation drops to 0.90%, an 8-month low in June
The Dollar Business Bureau Inflation based on Wholesale price index (WPI) fell to 0.90% in June, lowest in eight months as the prices of food commodities and manufactured goods declined. Inflation was 2.17% in May 2017 and (-) 0.09% in June last year, according to the official data released by the Commerce Ministry on Friday. “Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was -0.44% compared to 3.71% in the corresponding period of the previous year, it said. The prices of major food items such as vegetables, potatoes and pulses witnessed a sharp decline in the month. The prices of potato, pulses and vegetables dropped by 47.32%, 25.47% and 21.16%, respectively. The sharp decline in food items prices last month could be due to the agitation by ...
SC Garg assumes charge as economic affairs secretary
The Dollar Business Bureau Subhash Chandra Garg, a senior bureaucrat on Wednesday took charge as the new Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance. Garg succeeds Shaktikanta Das, who had retired on May 31 after an extended term. Tapan Ray, Corporate Affairs Secretary, was handling the additional charge of Economic Affairs Secretary after the exit of Das. “Subhash Chandra Garg assumed charge as full-time Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, said an official statement on Wednesday. In his immediate preceding posting, Garg has served as the Executive Director, World Bank for India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He is a 1983 batch IAS officer, from Rajasthan cadre and has worked in various capacities with the central government. “Garg has widespread administrative experience ...
Najib keen to extend Malaysian investments in tourism, infrastructure in Rajasthan
The Dollar Business Bureau Malaysia on Sunday expressed keen interest to invest in infrastructure and tourism sectors of Rajasthan. The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was in Jaipur as a part of his 6-day visit to India, held discussions with theChief Minister Vasundhara Raje and other senior officials of the state, regarding investment opportunities for companies of Malaysia. The Malaysian Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction at the fact that the state of Rajasthan has emerged as a major investment-friendly destination in India. “Malaysian investors are interested in several sectors including tourism, one of the prominent industries in Rajasthan, and infrastructure development in which the Malaysian companies have expertise,” he said. Other than tourism and infrastructure, Raje invited Malaysian companies to invest in urban development, water management, health care, transport and other sectors too. Both the ...
DGFT extends MEIS benefit for onion exporters till March 31, 2017
The Dollar Business Bureau The DGFT in its latest notification NO.49/2015-2020 dtd December 30, 2016, has extended the MEIS benefit at 5% FOB for ‘Onions Fresh or Chilled’ under ITC (HS) code 07031010 for further 3 months i.e., export till March 31, 2017. Onion major producing states like Maharashtra, M.P., Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan have seen bumper crop production in September. Fearing a fall in prices as a result of the bumper crop the government of Maharashtra had appealed to the Ministry of Commerce to extend the MEIS duty benefits beyond Dec 31 in order to help the exporters of onion. In September the Maharashtra State Finance Minister in his letter to the Finance Minister Jaitley had appealed that, “since the crop of onion ...
Rajasthan witnesses 40-70% dip in trade across sectors
The Dollar Business Bureau All the major sectors in Rajasthan have witnessed a slowdown in trade, thus reflecting a decrease of around 40-70%, according to Federation of Rajasthan Trade and Industry (FORTI). The findings have been revealed after carrying out an in-house survey about the impact of demonetisation across all the major sectors in the state. It was noticed that the impact of banning of high-value currency was seen the most in the Gems & Jewellery sector with the business witnessing a downfall of nearly 70%. According to Nirmal, secretary of the Jaipur Jewellers Association, local investments have been hit hard by demonetisation and a corresponding downfall in the businesses concerned. Nirmal highlighted that export hasn’t been affected much but domestic business has ...
Rajasthan invites investments in agri sector
Sharath Chowdary Explaining the new policies of Rajasthan in agriculture and other allied sectors, the state Minister for Agriculture Prabhu Lal Saini invited industrialists from the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to explore the investment opportunities in agriculture and other related sectors of the state. The minister was addressing the media during a road show organised in Hyderabad on Monday for the upcoming Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM) 2016 to be held in Jaipur, Rajasthan from November 9 to 11, 2016. This global agri-tech business event is being organised in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Highlighting the efforts of Rajasthan Government, Prabhu Lal Saini said, “We are determined to transform the desert region of the ...
Vedanta Resources plans $500 million investment
The Dollar Business Bureau Vedanta Resources has planned to invest $500 million in its zinc business. The investment amount is about half of the total capex for the current fiscal 2016-17. The company led by Anil Agarwal is one of the largest integrated zinc-lead producers. Their output during the financial year 2015-16 was 1,115- kilo tonnes (KT). In its annual report, Vedanta Resources said, “Going forward, our current requirements are low, with 2016-17 capex expected to be around $1 billion, half of which would be across the high-return zinc projects at Gamsberg and Zinc India.” The firms said that its capex was optimized to a reduced level of $600 million in 2015-16. A majority of this was invested in projects like Mangala EOR ...
Govt to put 50-60 mines on auction this year
Aamir H Kaki The government is planning to place 50-60 mines on auction this year. Out of which, six mines have already been auctioned and another 20-25 mines are in the pipeline that will be put up for auction in the next three months, Balvinder Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, said while addressing a gathering at “Workshop on Mineral Concession Rules, 2016” organised by FICCI on Wednesday. Six mines have already been auctioned and another 20-25 mines are in the pipeline that will be put up for auction in the next three months. He informed that the mines in the states of Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh are in the pipeline for auction. Kumar further said that the ministry is coming ...
