CHENNAI, August 5, 2014

Micromax edges out Samsung

Micromax has edged out Samsung to become the leading mobile phone supplier brand in India in the
quarter ended June 2014. It pushed Samsung down by capturing 17 per cent market share, up from
13 per cnet in the previous quarter. According to independent market research and consulting firm,
CounterPoint Research, Samsungs share in Q2 was 14.4 per cent. Micromax is also the second
largest smartphone vendor, closing in on Samsung, capturing 19 per cent share in this fast-growing
segment.

MUMBAI, August 6, 2014

RBI plays waiting game

In the last bi-monthly policy in June also the central bank cut SLR by 50 basis points from 23 per
cent to 22.5 per cent. The RBI Governor said that it had reduced the SLR to 22.5 per cent in
anticipation of recovery in economic activity.
With the Union Budget for 2014-15 renewing
commitment to the medium-term fiscal
consolidation roadmap and budgeting 4.1 per cent
of GDP as the fiscal deficit for the year, space
has opened up further for banks to expand
credit to the productive sectors in response to its
financing needs as growth picks up, he said. He
said that the central bank would continue to
monitor inflation developments closely, and
remained committed to the disinflationary path of
taking retail inflation (CPI) to 8 per cent by
January 2015 and 6 per cent by January 2016.

MUMBAI, August 6, 2014

Reserve Bank initiates inspection of Syndicate

Bank
The Reserve Bank of India, on Tuesday, said it had initiated inspection of the book of accounts of
Syndicate Bank whose Chairman and Managing Director S. K. Jain was recently arrested by the CBI
for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs.50 lakh.

NEW DELHI, August 6, 2014

PSU banks profit plunges 27 %

Sachin

August

The Hindu

Total net profit of all public sector banks (PSBs), including SBI, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank
and Bank of Baroda, fell sharply by 26.8 per cent to Rs.37,017 crore for the fiscal ended March, 2014,
over the previous year. These banks had total net profit of Rs.50,583 crore in 2012-13.
NEW DELHI, August 7, 2014

FDI proposals worth Rs.1,528 crore cleared

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), at its meeting held on July 4, has approved foreign
direct investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs.1,528.38 crore from 14 firms, including ACME Solar
Energy and Sinclairs Hotels.

NEW DELHI, August 7, 2014

Lok Sabha passes SEBI Bill

The crucial SEBI Bill, aimed at tackling the ponzi menace, was approved by the Lok Sabha on
Wednesday with the government saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon announce a
financial scheme which will discourage people from being allured by fraudulent operators.
The Securities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2014, has been brought in the backdrop of lakhs of small
investors being duped by fraudulent investment schemes, like in the alleged Saradha scam.
NEW DELHI, August 8, 2014

Raghuram Rajan warns of another global financial

crisis
Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has warned that the world economy could be
heading towards a crash much like the Great Depression of the 1930s as advanced countries in a bid
to pull out of the global downturn are working at cross purposes.
He advocated greater coordination between the central banks of these countries so as to avert a
replay of the 2008 financial crisis that the collapse of Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers had
triggered and from which the global economy is yet to fully recover.
As was the case in the 1930s, the lack of coordination between central banks across the world is
producing spillovers that may be difficult to control and could plunge the worlds financial system
into another crisis, Dr. Rajan said in an interview to the Central Banking Journal on Wednesday.
MUMBAI, August 8, 2014

Reserve Bank proposes anytime anywhere bill

payment system
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, issued draft guidelines for the implementation of
Bharat Bill Payment System (BPPS).

Sachin

August

The Hindu

The objective of the BBPS is to implement an integrated bill payment system across the country and
offer interoperable and accessible bill payment service to customers through a network of agents,
enabling multiple payment modes and providing instant confirmation of payment. Hence, it has
been decided that the existing players in the online commerce segment catering to the requirements
of bill payments as well as aggregation of payment services (in relation to bill payments) will be a
part of BBPS.The BBPS will function as a tiered structure for operating the bill payment system in
the country with a single brand image providing convenience of anytime anywhere bill payment to
customers.
NEW DELHI, August 9, 2014

SEBI slaps Rs.13 crore fine on Reliance Ind

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on Friday, imposed a penalty of Rs.13 crore on
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) for non-disclosure of a key earnings ratio. The order follows a probe
by the regulator in about seven-year-old case alleging irregularities in issuance of 12 crore warrants
by the company to its promoters entitling its holders to subscribe to equivalent number of equity
shares of RIL.
It was alleged that this issuance in April 2007 had resulted in diluting the pre-issue paid-up equity
share capital of RIL, but the company repeatedly failed to disclose a key earnings ratio for as many as
six quarters.
NEW DELHI, August 9, 2014

SIAM sees 5-10 per cent growth in car sales this

fiscal
Relief on excise duty and income tax helps revive demand
Sales of passenger cars grew for the third month
in a row in July with an increase of 5 per cent,
signalling a gradual recovery in the automobile
market that has been reeling under prolonged
slowdown.
Riding on the improved consumer sentiment,
domestic passenger car sales rose to 1.38 lakh
units last month from 1.31 lakh units in July,
2013, according to data released by the Society of
Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Overall, vehicle sales across all categories registered a growth of 12 per cent at 15.86 lakh units in
July as against 14,16 lakh units in the same month of 2013.

Sachin

August

The Hindu

Sachin

August

The Hindu

NEW DELHI, August 13, 2014

July retail inflation inches up to 7.96 %

The moderation in prices witnessed in June did not
hold up in the month of July. Pushed up by a steep rise
in vegetable and fruit prices, the rate of growth of retail
inflation inched up to 7.96 per cent.
retail inflation at 7.46 percent (revised from the initial
7.31 per cent) in June was the lowest in 29 months. But
this could have been temporary respite as the
downward trend reversed in July, according to official
data on the Consumer Price Index released on Tuesday.
The increase in vegetable prices was nearly double that
of the previous month, rising 16.88 per cent against
8.73 percent in June. Fruits prices rose by 22.48 per
cent in July against 20.64 per cent in the previous
month. The price increase in milk and dairy products,
condiments, spices and sugar too rose during the
month.

NEW DELHI, August 13, 2014

Moodys pegs India growth at 5 %

Projecting a better growth outlook for India, global rating agency Moodys, on Tuesday, said the
countrys GDP would grow by 5 per cent this year and accelerate further in 2015.The growth outlook
is more robust for India and Indonesia. For both countries, we forecast GDP growth of around 5 per
cent this year, rising to around 5.5-6 per cent in 2015, Moodys said in its report Global Macro
Outlook 2014-15.
MUMBAI, August 14, 2014

Infrastructure status for housing sector sought

The chronic housing shortage in India requires reforms in the banking sector and investment policies
to achieve the governments vision of Housing for all by 2022.Currently, banks exposure to the
realty sector is only 5 per cent and is way too small, Sunil Mantri, President, National Real Estate
Development Council (NAREDCO), told a press conference, adding that internationally, it was
between 20 per cent and 25 per cent.He said the sector had been facing a liquidity crunch and
investment in the housing sector would have positive impact on the entire economy.On foreign direct
investment (FDI) in the sector, Mr. Mantri said that between 2008 and 2014, around $953 billion
was invested in the real estate sector.

Sachin

August

The Hindu

MUMBAI, August 14, 2014

Business houses commit over $100 b investment

amidst optimism
With improvement in business sentiment following change of guard at the Centre, major Indian
corporate houses, led by Tatas and Reliance, have committed to invest nearly $100 billion (Rs.6 lakh
crore) in three years expressing their faith in the economy. A portion of this investment will go for
their overseas operations as they have harboured global ambitions.
The Tata group has announced plans to invest $35 billion (Rs.2.10 lakh crore). While Reliance
Industries has committed to invest $30 billion (Rs.1.80 lakh crore) in three years, JSW Steel has
plans to invest $22 billion (Rs.1.32 lakh crore) in ten years.
This year, public sector undertakings (PSUs) would invest $41 billion (Rs.2.48 lakh crore) as
announced in the budget 2014-15 to spur growth and create employment. This is in marked contrast
to the past few years when companies, both big and small, remained shy to invest in a regime
plagued by policy paralysis. Now they are openly announcing growth plans with renewed optimism.
NEW DELHI, August 15, 2014

Export growth slows to 7.33 %

Exports growth slipped to 7.33 per cent in July
after witnessing a double-digit expansion in
the previous two months, pushing up the
trade deficit to one-year high of $12.22
billion.
Exports stood at $27.73 billion in July as
compared to $25.84 billion in the same
month last year. In June and May, the growth
was 10.22 per cent and 12.4 per cent,
respectively.
The sectors that put up a good show include
textiles (13.3 per cent), petroleum products
(28 per cent), engineering (23.9 per cent),
leather (17.23 per cent), marine products (25
per cent), oil seeds (19.25 per cent),
chemicals (16.67 per cent) and pharmaceuticals (10.78 per cent).
Imports increased by 4.25 per cent year-on-year to $39.95 billion in July. This is the second
consecutive growth in the inbound shipments after remaining in the negative for the past several
months.
The trade deficit of $12.22 billion is one-year high as the previous high was $12.49 billion in July
2013.Oil imports increased by 12.75 per cent to $14.35 billion in July. Non-oil imports during
the month under review were up 0.03 per cent to $25.6 billion.Gold imports dipped by 26.39
per cent to $1.81 billion in July from $2.46 billion in the same month last year.
Sachin

August

The Hindu