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CAG raises ‘red flag' against RIL
- the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has once again raised the “red flag” asking the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to allow RIL to recover expenditure on its Eastern offshore KG-D6 oil and gas fields only after it has been audited.
- As a practice, operators are allowed to recover from the sale of hydrocarbons only that part of investment which has been audited.
Industrial growth slows down to 4.1 %
- it was the manufacturing sector with a weight of over 75 per cent in the index which pulled down the overall IIP growth
- India Inc., on its part, has been making out a case for pause in rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India.
- However, with food and headline inflation hovering near 10 per cent with no signs of relenting, that seems a remote possibility.
- FICCI noted that investment demand had been impacted during the last few months by RBI's monetary tightening measures.
- the mining sector was the worst performer
- Electricity generation, however, showed a smart turnaround
First half exports up 52 % at $160 billion
- During the first half of this fiscal, the sectors that registered healthy growth in exports include engineering (103 per cent), petroleum and oil lubricants (53 per cent), gems and jewellery (23 per cent), ready-made garments (32 per cent), marine products (48 per cent) and drugs (33 per cent).
- exports were growing in new markets such as Africa, Latin America and Asia, which had helped India maintain the export growth momentum.
- The Federation of Indian Exporters Association said the trade deficit was huge and might touch $150 billion by the end of 2011-12
- The sectors that reported a steep increase in imports include gold and silver (80 per cent), vegetable oil (60 per cent) and electronics (33 per cent).
Concern over high cotton prices
- The price of Shankar-6 variety of cotton was quoted at Rs.40,500 a candy on Wednesday as against Rs.39,000-39,500 a candy on Tuesday.
- Incentives for cotton exports would make the Indian cotton available to competing countries at a lower price.
- He suggested that the Government should levy freight equalisation charges on cotton exports as the transport cost of Indian cotton from Gujarat to China was lower than the cost of transporting it from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu or Punjab.
Wait gets longer for lower STT
- The stock market will have to wait a little longer to see any reduction in the Securities Transaction Tax.
- The Central Board of Direct Taxes is against the move. The Finance Ministry has scheduled a meeting on October 17 to take a view on the issue.
