South India more attractive for investors: Assocham

October 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has urged the government to remove the value-added tax (VAT) on fashion products with more than 50 percent handloom and handicrafts input to make them competitive in the global market. "Indian fashion industry is at budding stage and accounts for barely 0.3 percent of international industry's networth, which may further come down in the absence of necessary government support," the chamber said in a letter to the finance ministry.

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 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government should announce subsidies to the crisis-hit exporters in the forthcoming foreign trade policy to make India's exports sector more competitive, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has said. "Subsidies need to be extended to Indian exporters by substantially reducing excise and local levies and other export duties," Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said in a paper submitted to Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.

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 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has urged the government to restrict Chinese power equipment imports as the domestic industry is badly hit by the cheaper availability of Chinese products. In a note submitted to the finance ministry, Assocham said India's power equipment manufacturers lost business worth Rs.2.5 lakh crore ($52 billion) as power producers turned to cheaper Chinese products.

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 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Despite achieving a healthy 16 percent annual growth rate, India's general insurance business accounts for just 0.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), compared to the world average of 2.14 percent, says a report released here Tuesday. "The penetration of general insurance in India remains low on account of low consumer preference, largely untapped rural markets and constrained distribution channels," said the report jointly prepared by Crisil and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

June 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Medical tourism can fetch India up to Rs.8,000 crore in foreign exchange by 2012, nearly double than current figures, according to an industry lobby. "Currently, the earnings accrued through medical tourism annually are estimated to be around Rs.4,500 crore," said Sajjan Jindal, president of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) in a statement Thursday.

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".

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.

April 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Demand in India's urban areas may be dwindling, but a leading industry group says the hinterland is becoming increasingly attractive for manufacturers of consumer products and automobiles, as well as organised retail businesses. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), in a report titled 'The Rise of Rural India' released Tuesday, said companies in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector have recorded higher growth in rural market, which has contributed substantially to their bottomlines.

March 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With efficient recycling technology, India can generate about 2,500 MW of electricity from the metro's waste in the next three years at a cost of Rs.3 billion (Rs.300 crore), according to an industry lobby report. The study, jointly carried out by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) and auditing major Ernst and Young (E&Y), said about 1,500 MW of power could be generated from urban wastes, while an additional 1,000 MW could be created from industrial wastes by 2012.

February 22nd, 2009 KOLKATA - Post Nandigram and Singur fiascos, West Bengal slipped to 13th position in 2008 from fourth in the previous year among India's major investment-centric states, according to a paper brought out by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). The paper highlights that the state received robust investment announcements worth Rs.2,434.89 billion in calendar year 2007, which fell to a meagre Rs.900.95 billion last year.

January 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Even as India's exports decline, India-African bilateral trade is projected to grow by over nine times from $26 billion now to $150 billion by 2012, according to an estimate by a leading business chamber. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), in a report on Africa, projects that in the next four years the continent will have greater business significance and drive two-way trade to over $150 billion.