1. Consumption in Rural India Hits a 7-Year Low
Rural household consumption slumped to a seven-year low in the September quarter, in a sign that the prolonged agrarian distress and near-stagnant rural incomes have eroded demand for consumer goods, market researcher Nielsen said.
Consumption of packaged consumer goods by rural households also grew at a slower pace than in urban areas for the first time in seven years, Nielsen said in a quarterly report on Thursday, 17 October.
The rural economy has been plagued by falling crop prices and declining incomes, resulting in a severe slump in demand. Falling income has not only singed farmers but also landless wage workers, who together account for two-thirds of all rural households.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Brexit Deal Spells Good News for India Inc With Large Investments in UK
Britain and the European Union (EU) agreeing to a new Brexit deal spells good news for Indian companies with large investments in the United Kingdom (UK). If the agreement is ratified by the British Parliament, it will end the uncertainty plaguing the operations of many Indian companies for the last three years, said analysts.
The biggest relief will be felt at Bombay House, the headquarters of the Tata group, one the largest industrial investors in the UK through companies such as Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Indian Hotels, and Tata Global Beverages.
The group has invested nearly 50 billion pounds in the UK since its acquisition of Corus Steel in 2007.
(Source: Business Standard)
3. Govt Will Take Steps for Each Sector Facing Stress, Says FM Nirmala Sitharaman
A day after pledging more reforms to boost growth, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government plans to take sector-specific measures to revive stressed sectors.
“Government has announced specific measures to deal with the slowdown being faced by automobile sector and similar initiatives are being done and will continue to be taken for each of the stressed sectors. The positive intervention from government has to be a continuous process till the current slowdown comes to a halt," Sitharaman told an event jointly organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, Ficci and CitiBank.
(Source: LiveMint)
4. To Reach $5 Trillion Mark, Economy Must Grow at 10-12%: Manmohan Singh
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said achieving the $5 trillion target for the economy, set by the Narendra Modi administration, is not possible under current circumstances, with annual growth projected to cool to 6% or slower according to some estimates.
With the growth rate declining, there is no hope of reaching this target by 2024, Singh said on Thursday, 17 October.
“For reaching the $5 trillion mark, the economy would need to grow at 10-12% per annum. What is happening under the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government is that the growth rate is declining,” said Singh.
(Source: Livemint)
5. Air India Assets Holding Raises Rs 7,985 Cr More Through Bond Sale
Raising funds for the third time in little over a month, Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL) on Thursday raised Rs 7,985 crore through bond sale, which was oversubscribed.
A special purpose vehicle of Air India, AIAHL has mopped up a total of Rs 21,985 crore by way of bond issues since 16 September and the proceeds would be utilised to repay debt of the national carrier.
The civil aviation ministry on Wednesday said the third bond issue of AIAHL was fully subscribed. The issue of 10-year tenure bonds worth Rs 1,000 crore with a green shoe option of Rs 7,064 crore received bids to the tune of Rs 15,100 crore.
(Source: Business Standard)
6. Govt Expands PM's Economic Advisory Council; Appoints 3 Part-Time Members
Less than a month after reconstituting the Economic Advisory to the Prime Minister, the centre has added three more part-time members to the advisory body – Neelkanth Mishra, Nilesh Shah and Anantha Nageswaran.
Mishra is the India Equity Strategist for Credit Suisse, Shah is the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management, and Nageswaran is the Dean of IFMR Graduate School of Business. Since they are part-time members, they may not have to take leave from their current posts.
(Source: Business Standard)
7. Govt Probing Flipkart, Amazon Over Alleged Predatory Pricing: Piyush Goyal
The government is probing Wal- Mart-owned Flipkart and Amazon over the alleged predatory pricing, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
Warning of stringent action as per the law for any violation, he said detailed questionnaires have been sent to these companies and their response is awaited. According to media reports, the e-commerce majors have grossed over $3 billion in gross merchandise value during the festive sales held over the past fortnight, which typically see over half of their annual sales.
"E-commerce companies have no right to offer discounts or adopt predatory prices. Selling products cheaper and resulting the retail sector to incur losses is not allowed," Goyal told reporters.
(Source: PTI)
8. Trai to Finalise Views on Call Ring Time in 2 Weeks
Telecom regulator Trai will finalise, in next two weeks, its views on call ring time – a contentious issue on which old and new operators have locked horns.
On the controversial issue of Jio’s latest allegations that rival telcos are fraudulently masking fixed-line as mobile calls for undue enrichment and should be slapped with penalty, a senior Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) official said the matter will be examined just as all complaints to the authority are.
“Any complaint that generally comes to us will be examined… If there is any violation, we will look into the matter…” the official said.
(Source: Financial Express)
9. Indiabulls Housing Finance Offers to Pre-Pay NCDs
Indiabulls Housing Finance on Thursday offered pre-mature redemption of all non-convertible debentures (NCDs) maturing in November and December this year.
In a stock exchange filing, the company said it will also evaluate further pre-mature redemption of its NCDs from time to time.
"The Company hereby issues an offer to all Debenture holder(s) for pre-mature redemption of its NCDs maturing in November and December 2019 at par," the filing said.
(Source: PTI)
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