Rice prices zoom 13 percent, says Assocham

October 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has urged the central government to allow the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to invest at least 5 percent of its funds in equities. "The EPFO can also be a beneficiary of such emerging capital markets, provided it is permitted to invest a part of its corpus in index-based equity market - which is safer, reliable and remunerative," Assocham said in a report.

September 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Companies in the telecom and auto sectors have witnessed robust growth in turnover despite not increasing their advertisement budgets, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocam), an industry lobby. In a study titled "Cost-Benefit Analysis of Advertisement Campaigns", Assocham said: "The amount spent on the marketing expenses in proportion to the sales has undergone a substantial decline in 2008-09." However, it added that Indian telecom and auto companies, "despite spending less on their advertisement and promotion campaigns, were able to increase their sales volume significantly".

September 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Gold prices may go up further during the forthcoming festive season to touch Rs.18,000 per 10 gram, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India(Assocham). Gold has seen a huge build-up in the exchange traded funds (ETF) in the last few weeks and will gain further momentum in view of festive demand and low international production, Assocham said in a report.

August 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's arms imports are expected to touch $30 billion by 2012 even as the domestic defence market is poised to grow to $700 million in five years, according to an industry lobby report. The report submitted to the defence ministry by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said: "India's arms imports alone would rise to $30 billion by 2012." "The Defence Offset Facilitation Agency (DOFA) and the armed forces in consultation with India Inc should work out a comprehensive strategy to ensure that defence imports happen at extremely competitive rates," Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said.

July 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) wants the government to set up a Rs.7,500-crore ($1.5-billion) corpus fund for the meat and fish processing industry. The fund could be used to infuse new technologies and skills into the food processing sector in order to increase the production of meat, fish and poultry by 25 percent in two years, the chamber said in a statement Wednesday.

July 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The share of manufactured goods in India's exports declined from 81 percent in 1999-2000 to 63 percent in 2008-09, according to an industry lobby survey released here Monday. However, India's project exports - setting up infrastructure projects overseas - increased by over 25 percent during the same period, the report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Rising commodity prices globally, delayed monsoon and fiscal and monetary measures are likely to push up India's annual rate of inflation and average near 5 percent this fiscal, according to an industry lobby. "The surge in international commodity markets led by energy, metals and food is likely to push domestic prices up," the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said, and cautioned that if the monsoon fails or remains below the average, the consequences could be far-reaching.

June 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government can raise about Rs.80,000 crore ($16.6 billion) by divesting stake in public sector units, says an industry lobby report. "Dilution of stake in leading public sector units alone could fetch at least Rs.80,000 crore," the report by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said, adding that this amount could be used to bring down the fiscal deficit burden.

June 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Coaching institutes must be brought under the tax net as they seldom disclose their earnings, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has said. In a note submitted to the revenue department of the finance ministry Wednesday, Assocham said coaching institutes were charging "astronomically higher fee without submitting proper accounts of their income to tax authorities".

June 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) Wednesday called on the government to bring down tax on household purchases to less than 20 percent from over 45 percent now to spur domestic demand. "Although the annual income of an average Indian is growing significantly, it is not resulting in increased savings because the government takes away over 45 percent on household purchases in terms of indirect taxes alone," Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said in a statement.

May 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has proposed the setting up of a National Inflation Commission to help the government contain prices of essential commodities. "In the economic priorities of the new government, a transparent approach to inflation needs to be followed," Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said in a report.

May 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Punjab has incurred property losses of up to Rs.7,000 crore on account of the violence by followers of the Dera Sachh Khand sect, according to conservative estimates arrived at by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). "Social tension in Punjab has caused a loss of Rs.6,000-Rs.7,000 crore of public property and pushed behind its investment prospects to a significant extent," Assocham said in a statement Tuesday.

April 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has urged the government to set up a 'separate infrastructure financing fund' worth $90 billion to finance infrastructure projects in the next three years. In a note submitted to the Planning Commission and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Assocham secretary general D.S.

March 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has urged political parties to refrain from offering free power and foodgrains like wheat and rice at highly subsidised rates, saying such freebies could stunt economic growth in the long run. In an appeal to political parties Wednesday, Assocham said they should balance their offer of free power to farmers and others with specific steps to prevent misuse.

January 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Job creation dipped 38 percent in three critical sectors in the quarter ended December 31, 2008, an industry lobby report released Thursday said. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said job creation in the financial services, IT and hospitality sectors dipped 38 percent between October-December 2008, compared to the previous quarter, and predicted the situation would continue to be 'bleak' in 2009.