Infrastructure investment target difficult to meet: Economic Survey

October 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer has said that he is hopeful that a bilateral investment treaty between US and India will be signed by end of the year. Addressing a seminar 'Strengthening US-India Economic and Commerce Ties' hosted by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Thursday, Roemer said, "The signing of bilateral investment treaty would encourage the entry of billions of dollars in foreign direct investment in infrastructure sector.

September 9th, 2009 Fed survey: most of US in economic healing modeWASHINGTON — A new government survey finds the vast majority of the country reporting economic activity is stabilizing or improving, as the worst recession since the 1930s appears to be over. The Federal Reserve's snapshot of economic conditions backs predictions by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and most other analysts that the economy has started to grow again in the current quarter.

August 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Union Cabinet today approved the relaxation of the Debt Consolidation and Relief Facility (DCRF) guidelines, to enable the States to borrow upto four percent of their respective Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) during 2009-10. The States will not lose the benefits of DCRF, provided they are in compliance with this modified fiscal deficit target.

July 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday said that roads would play an important role in infrastructure development in the next decade. During a seminar at Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI), Kamal Nath said that roads are important as they provide domestic economic stimulus.

July 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in the first two months this fiscal touched $4.43 billion even as the world was embroiled in a financial crisis, the government said Wednesday. "Despite the economic slowdown, FDI inflow showed a growth of 11 percent to $27.31 billion in 2008-09 compared to $24.58 billion in the previous fiscal," a government statement said.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The India infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) will evolve a 'takeout financing' scheme in consultation with banks to facilitate incremental landing to infrastructure sector. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced this while presenting the General Budget 2009-10 in the parliament.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Salient features of a wish list in the Economic Survey for 2008-09 released by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in parliament Thursday: - Cut fuel, food and fertiliser subsidy leakages - Raise foreign investment cap in insurance to 49 percent - Allow 100 percent foreign investment in health, weather insurance - Raise foreign investment cap in defence production to 49 percent and in high tech defence to 100 percent - Raise Rs.25,000 crore from divestment every year - Sell 5-10 percent in profitable non-Navratnas - List unlisted state-owned firms, divest at least 10 percent equity - Auction loss-making state-owned firms - Rationalise dividend distribution tax to avoid double taxation - Review customs duty exemptions - Remove fringe benefit tax - Remove commodity and security transaction taxes - Limit subsidy on cooking gas to six-eight cylinders per household - Kerosene subsidy only for non-electrified, non-cylinder homes - Introduce new income tax code - Provide fertiliser subsidy directly to farmers - Target zero fiscal deficit - Eliminate inverted duty structure - Convert specific textile taxes to ad valorem - Lift price control on all drugs except essentials - Roll back excess liquidity once growth picks up - Decontrol sugar and insurance industries - Auction spectrum and make it freely tradable Taking stock of the country's economic condition, the survey said India could grow by around 7.75 percent in 2009-10 if the US economy "bottoms out" by September. Among other observations it made on the economy are: - Economic growth decelerates to 6.7 percent in 2008-09 - Per capita growth at 4.6 percent - Agricultural growth falls to 1.6 percent from 4.9 percent in 2007-08 - Manufacturing sector grows at 2.4 percent - Ratio of fixed investment to GDP increases to 32.2 percent - Fiscal deficit stands at 6.2 percent - Merchandise export grows at 3.6 percent in dollar terms - Overall import growth at 14.4 percent - Social, agriculture and infrastructure sectors need boost - Rural demand still strong.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Economic Survey tabled in parliament Thursday has sought the integration of diamond processing sector with jewellery manufacturing so as to boost exports. "Forward integration of the diamond processing sector to jewellery manufacturing, where the value addition achieved is the highest, will help in boosting the export performance once the existing economic downturn passes by, the survey said.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Economic Survey 2008-09 to Parliament today. The highlights of the Economic Survey 2008-09 are as follows: 1.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - After the high growth cycle that followed the economic reforms of 1990s, India should now bring in sweeping changes in its investment climate for the next stage of growth, the Economic Survey for 2008-09 released here Thursday said. "The reforms of the 1990s created a competitive environment in which Indian entrepreneurship could flourish.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Economic Survey for 2008-09 tabled Thursday has called for banking and financial market reforms, including increasing foreign investment in banks in a phased manner and lifting of ban on commodity futures. It also called for expediting passage of the Banking Regulations (Amendment) Bill and allowing high net worth individuals to invest directly in capital markets rather than go through the controversial participatory notes route.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's Economic Survey for 2008-09 released here Thursday has called for allowing private players - both domestic and foreign - to invest in the country's nuclear power sector. The survey, tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, said the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap should be fixed at 49 percent.

May 29th, 2009 LONDON - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's team must focus on infrastructure as it opens up to greater foreign investment, the international law firm Eversheds said Friday after latest figures showed India's GDP beat forecasts. Election 2009 has delivered a new outlook for India and its economy, Gauri Advani, head of India Group at the London-based firm said after official data showed India registered an impressive 6.7 percent growth in fiscal 2008-09, despite the global economic downturn.

April 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A majority of chief information officers (CIOs) of companies in India expect the economic slowdown to end by October-December 2009, a survey conducted by market intelligence IT consulting major IDC India showed Monday. The survey, titled 'Identifying Opportunities in the Current Economic Scenario', was conducted among 467 CIOs from mid-sized and large enterprises across 18 industry verticals in February-March 2009, IDC said.

March 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Infrastructure inefficiencies like poor roads and inadequate power generation are the major factors that drive up India Inc's operating costs, a survey said Thursday. According to the survey conducted jointly by global consulting major KPMG and Economist Intelligence Unit, around 95 percent of Indian top executives feel infrastructure investment was insufficient in the country to support the long-term growth of their organisations.