Indian Economy - Current Affairs for May, 2016

Telecom industry’s revenue grew by 6.5 percent last year, the lowest since 2010 despite the sector witnessing close to 79 million subscribers during the period, according to COAI.

• If one goes back to 2010, the industry has been delivering double digit growth of around 10 percent following constant revenue growth of double digit.
• Industry has also seen a fall in revenue from voice calls though overall subscriber base rose by 79 million in 2015.

New capacity addition by the wind power sector may decline to 2500 MW in current fiscal as against 3415 MW in the previous fiscal on account of challenges faced by segments in MP and Maharashtra, rating agency ICRA indicated on May 30.

• Long term outlook for the wind sector remained strong given favourable government support and large and untapped wind power potential.
• Wind energy sector is facing challenges of slowdown following signing of fresh PPAs and reported delays in payments by state owned utility.
• Headwinds could lead to a decline in fresh capacity addition to 2500 MW in the wind energy sector in FY2017.
• In FY2016, the wind power sector witnessed a record capacity addition of 3415 MW, an increase of 48 percent over the capacity addition of 2,308 MW achieved during FY2015.

Indian economy will grow 7.7% in this fiscal amidst likely improvement in the industrial and agricultural sectors performance on account of good monsoon. The investment cycle is to take 6 months to witness a pickup says the survey. The growth in 2016-2017 is expected to be supported by an improvement in the agricultural and industrial sector performance. Prediction of a good monsoon after consecutive years of sup optimal rainfall will back the improved outlook in the current fiscal.

• The FICCI economic outlook survey also puts across a median GDP growth forecast of 7.7% for FY2016-2017.
• RBI in the previous month forecast a 7.6 percent growth in the current fiscal with the onset of a favourable monsoon.
• Agriculture sector is expected to record a median growth rate of 2.8 percent in 2016-2017 with a maximum and minimum range of 3.5 and 1.6. Industrial growth is expected to grow by 7.1 percent in 2016-2017.
• Services sector is estimated to grow at 9.6 percent. The survey was conducted during April/May 2016 among economists belonging to the industry, banking and financial services sector.

Government of India has approved the establishment of a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone in Odisha. This is India’s third NIMZ involving a massive area of 163 square kilometres.
The project will come up at Kalinganagar industrial area in Jaipur district of Odisha.

• For execution of the project, the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has approved INR 4241 crore
• Of this, 3816 crore will be invested in the first phase of the project which will be completed by 2020.
• NIMZ will create job opportunities for 1.5 alike people and help Odisha grow as a manufacturing hub and help Paradip’s growth
• To boost the manufacturing sector, the Union Government in 2014 announced the establishment of 16 national investment and manufacturing zones under the National Manufacturing Policy
• It aims to enhance the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 percent and creating 100 million jobs over a decade

The Loan and Project Agreements for World Bank (IBRD) assistance of US$ 100 million for the Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernisation project were signed between Government of India/Government of Karnataka and the World Bank on 24th May.

• The objective of the project is to provide city-wide access to a continuous piped water supply in the eligible cities in the State of Karnataka and to strengthen the service delivery arrangements at the city level. KUIDFC is the implementing agency for the project.
• The project would have four broad components: (i) Capital Investment Program; (ii) Institution Building; (iii) Technical Assistance for Sector Development; and (iv) Project Management.

Paying monthly fees is a tedious process as one has to repeatedly encounter red tape. The government said domestic shipping firms will have to pay only a one-time licence fee of Rs.20,000 to own foreign flag vessels, in a bid to give a boost to the maritime sector.

• The government said the move would boost the Indian Controlled Tonnage Scheme and be a step towards promoting ‘ease of doing business’ in the maritime sector.

First e-bidding process through the recently launched DEEP (Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price) e-bidding portal for short term power procurement has been found by Uttarakhand and Kerala and for the State of Bihar. The early adoption of the e-bidding portal has resulted in substantial savings as price discovered through e-bidding are significantly lower than the prices at which power was procured during a similar period in the last year.

Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated the high speed Wi-Fi services at Patna, Ranchi and Vizag through video conferencing from Rail Bhawan, New Delhi.
The Wi-Fi facility for the visitors & rail users at these stations has been commissioned by RailTel in association with Google for providing high speed state of the art world class internet experience to the commuters.

• India is heading towards digitalization, Internet has become the basic need of every individual for which they are entitled to.
• To bring the railway stations to world standard and to keep pace with the latest technology, provision of high speed WiFi is the first step in this direction.

SEBI has received four applications for InvITs or Infrastructure Investment Trusts with two of the applications received for setting up such entities approved.

• No application has been received for REIT or Real Estate Investment Trust though regulator has been getting enquiries.
• These instruments will help to garner funds for further investment into infrastructure and real estate projects.

Aiming to attract more foreign investment, RBI on May 19th laid down rules permitting FDI up to 100 percent in credit information companies if ownership of the investor company is well diversified.

• RBI also said it considered allowing higher FDI limits to entities with track record of running a CIC in a well regulated environment.
• FIIs/FPIs investing in CIC should not seek representation on the board of directors based on their shareholding according to RBI.

Entities under probe for “serious violations” in capital markets can seek settlement of case only if they make good on their losses suffered by investors as per the consent of SEBI.

• Regulations provide settlement of cases where proceedings have not been initiated
• Regulations provide for settlement of cases where proceedings are yet to be initiated

Digital wallet company Oxigen announced that the RBI has given approval for the firm to be part of Bharat Bill Payments Systems as commissioned by the National Payment Corporation of India.

• Oxigen has in the past processed bills through connection directly to numerous vendors
• Getting the license will help Oxigen widen all its vendors falling under BBPS.

World Bank has approved USD 625 million aid for India’s solar programme. The WB’s Board has approved USD 625 million loan to support India’s grid connected rooftop solar programme to generate clean energy.

• Board also approved a co-financing loan of USD 120 million in concessional terms and a USD 5 million grant from the Climate Investment Funds Clean Technology Fund.
• Project will finance installation of 400 MW of grid connected rooftop solar photovoltaic GRPV across the nation
• Solar OV installations will provide clean, renewable energy and reduce GHG emissions by displacing thermal generation.
• Project will also strengthen the capacity of key institutions and support development of the overall solar PV market.

The National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has decided to get rid of the Nehruvian five-year plans, and replace them with 15-year vision documents.

• These will be framed keeping in mind the country’s social goals and the sustainable development agenda.
• The NITI Aayog has been directed to prepare a vision document at the earliest. The current 12th Five-Year Plan will be terminated in the current financial year, 2016-17.
• The first 15-year vision document will start from 2017-18, along with a seven-year National Development Agenda which will lay down the schemes, programmes and strategies to achieve the long-term vision.

To get more participants on the MF trading platform, top bourse BSE has eased registration norms by leaving out minimum paid up capital and net worth requirements for applicants

• Changes would be applicable for BSE STAR Mutual Platform- electronic segment allowing individuals and HUF to trade
• The following conditions were discontinued: minimum paid-up capital requirement for corporate applicants, self-certified networth, individuals having a minimum tangible assets of Rs 1 lakh for the registration of mutual fund distributors.

Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIU-IND) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 30 counterpart FIUs of other countries for sharing the information pertaining to money laundering and terror funding.

• FIU-IND is also a member of Egmont Group of FIUs, an international organization with a membership of 151 FIUs.
• Besides, India is also a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental body which makes recommendations relating to combating money laundering, terrorist financing and serious tax offences.
• India participates in various regional/global meetings to put India’s position with regard to steps taken to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Deutsche Bank executive Mrugank Paranjape took over as CMD of MCX or Multiple Commodity Exchange which had previously been without a head for 2 years.

• MCX is an independent commodity exchange based in India established in 2003 and is based in Mumbai.
• It is India’s largest commodity futures exchange and the turnover of the exchange for the year 2015 was 55.52 trillion rupees (865.55 billion US dollars).

Indian electricity consumption will increase four times from 1.1 trillion to 4 trillion units by 2030. Despite energy efficient schemes, a possible 10 percent jump is there in electricity growth annually for the next 15 to 16 years. Emphasis given to domestic manufacturing activities will increase power consumption despite improvements in energy efficiency.

• India has set a target of 175 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2022 of which 100 GW is to be obtained from solar.
• Solar power capacity at 6.7 GW will touch 20 GW.
• As the solar power sector is on track, the government will focus on encouraging new hydropower and wind power capacity.

RBI will be issuing INR 1000 banknotes with inset letter R in both number panels. Banknotes will also have other security features such as ascending size of numerals, bleed lines and enlarged identification mark

• Bank notes bearing the signature of Governor Rajaan will also have year of printing 2016 printed on the reverse
• Design of banknotes will be similar to INR 1000 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series 2005
• All banknotes in the INR 1000 series will have identifying marks and remaining notes will remain legal tender.

US has a USD 1.7 billion trade deficit with India in March. It also has a USD 26 billion trade deficit with China during the month of March. Goods and services deficit was USD 40.4 billion in March down USD 6.5 billion from USD 47.0 billion in February

• March exports were USD 176.6 billion, USD 1.5 billion less than February exports while imports in the month were USSD 217.1 billion, USD 8.1 billion less than February
• The Commerce Department also indicated that exports from China increased USD 0.1 billion to USD 8.5 billion and imports decreased USD 6.1 billion to USD 34.4 billion
• March figures also show a surplus with South and Central America, OPEC, UK and Saudi Arabia
• Deficits were recorded with China, EU, Germany , Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India France, Brazil, Italy and Canada.

Integration of rupee will facilitate greater degree of integration of the Indian economy with the rest of the world in terms of foreign trade and global capital flows.

• Key benefits of internationalisation of rupee include savings on forex transactions for Indian residents, reduced foreign exchange exposure for Indian corporate, reduction in dependence on forex reserves for balance of payment stability
• An important driver for internationalisation of currency is country’s share in global merchandise and commercial services trade
• Indian government has put in place a framework for issuance of rupee denominated bonds in international sphere by Indian corporate

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in February, 2016 between Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Central Bank of United Arab Emirates (UAE) on co-operation concerning currency swap agreement.

• The MoU commits that RBI and Central Bank of UAE will consider signing a bilateral Currency Swap Agreement on mutually agreed terms and conditions, after undertaking technical deliberations, subject to the concurrence of respective Governments.
• The MoU will further strengthen the close economic relationship and cooperation between India and United Arab Emirates. The swap agreement is also expected to facilitate invoicing of bilateral trade in local currencies

Persons with annual income of over INR 50 lakhs will have to disclose acquisition cost of assets like land, building and jewellery in the IT return forms for assessment year 2016-2017

• Luxury items disclosed will also include silver, gold, platinum or other precious alloys or metals, according to a CBDT announcement
• As per the directives, for items received as gifts, the assessed will have to declare the cost of acquisition by the previous owner along with value additions
• Where the cost at which assets are acquired by the previous owner is not ascertainable and no wealth tax return may be filed, value estimated should be at circle or bullion rate

State Bank of India has ranked Number 1 in the list of public sector banks with the highest number of wilful defaulters stood at 1164. Total amount outstanding in the bank was INR 11,705 crore according to the Finance Ministry. PNB came in second with 904 defaulters owing INR 10869. Indian Overseas Bank bucked the trend with number of wilful defaulters shrinking to 70 in 2015 from 517 in 2012.Total amount in outstanding public sector banks has shot up to INR 66190 crore in 2015 and INR 27749 crore in 2012.