Today's Cancelled Trains
NPS
07:46
Showing posts with label investors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label investors. Show all posts
Saturday, 3 June 2017
Monday, 29 August 2016
IMPACT OF NEW FDI POLICY ON EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMY
IMPACT OF NEW FDI POLICY ON EMPLOYMENT & ECONOMY
Foreign direct investment is a lead economic component which indicates the investment climate in the economy and helps build investors' confidence domestically and internationally. FDI helps to create technological advancements, increase competitiveness of the industry, enhance capital stock, step up infrastructural base and thus reflects the overall level of prosperity in the economy. Post liberalization of Indian economy since 1991s, India has gone a long way in attracting FDI from different economies of the world across an entire gamut of sectors. With the continuous pace of reforms, FDI up to 100% is allowed under the automatic route in many sectors of the Indian economy.
The objective of inviting large chunks of FDI is to provide better career prospects to our youth, to generate employment opportunities and to give a push to overall economic growth and development. With the advent of continuous pace of reforms in attracting FDI, Indian economy has scripted its presence as one of the fastest growing economies of the world economic system and has emerged as a key destination for attracting FDI in the recent years. Foreign companies invest in India to take advantage of relatively lower wages, availability of large scale skilled, unskilled and semi skilled workforce and special investment privileges such as tax exemptions.
Today, India has been considered as one of the favourite FDI investment destinations across the world. The total annual FDI inflows to India have increased by nine fold over the last fifteen years. FDIs were at USD 6.1 billion in FY2002, which scaled up to USD 55.5 billion in FY2016.
FDI inflows growth remains steady over the past fifteen years with a CAGR of 16%. The FDI growth was at 52.1% in FY2002, which scaled up to a peak level of 155% in FY2007 during the period of five years. Further, FDI inflows growth was at 34% in FY2012 and stands at about 23% in FY2016.
Top ten investing countries in India
Among the top ten investing countries in India, Mauritius is the largest investor with a share of 33% in total FDI equity inflows during April 2000 to March 2016, followed by Singapore with a share if 16%, U.K. at 8%, Japan at 7%, USA and Netherlands at 6% each, Germany and Cyprus at 3% each, France at 2% and UAE at 1%.
Services sector- Prominent sector attracting largest share of FDI inflows
Services sector is holding the largest pie in the total FDI equity inflows at about 18% during the period April 2000 to March’16, followed by construction development sector at about 8%, computer software and hardware contributing share of about 7% in total FDI equity inflows.
State Wise FDI Equity Inflows
Among the top ten states or UTs attracting FDI equity inflows, Mumbai is attracting the largest share of total FDI equity inflows at 29% during April 2000 to March 2016, followed by New Delhi at 22%, Chennai and Bangalore at 7% each and Ahmedabad at 5%.
Easing FDI norms in India to push job creation and infrastructure development
Over the years, Government of India has brought major FDI policy reforms in a number of sectors viz. Defence, Construction Development, Insurance, Pension Sector, Broadcasting Sector, Tea, Coffee, Rubber, Cardamom, Palm Oil Tree and Olive Oil Tree Plantations, Single Brand Retail Trading, Manufacturing Sector, Limited Liability Partnerships, Civil Aviation, Credit Information Companies, Satellites- establishment/operation and Asset Reconstruction Companies. However, keeping in view our economy’s potential to attract far more foreign investment, Government has recently in June 2016 further liberalized and simplified the FDI regime particularly for food products, defence sector, broadcasting carriage services, pharmaceutical, civil aviation, private security agencies, establishment of branch office, liaison office or project office, animal Husbandry and single brand retailing.
Recent FDI reforms to rationalise and simplify process of foreign investments in India
In order to boost the investment environment and attract large chunks of investments, Government has recently liberalised FDI norms in sectors such as food products manufacturing, defence sector, broadcasting carriage services, pharmaceutical, civil aviation, private security agencies, establishment of branch office, liaison office or project office, animal Husbandry and single brand retail trading which are discussed below.
*Food products manufactured/produced in India- Government has permitted 100% FDI under government approval route for trading, including through e-commerce, in respect of food products manufactured or produced in India.
*Defence Sector - Present regime permits 49% FDI participation in the equity of a company under automatic route. Foreign investment beyond 49% has now been permitted through government approval route. FDI limit for defence sector has also been made applicable to Manufacturing of Small Arms and Ammunitions covered under Arms Act 1959.
*Broadcasting Carriage Services- Government has allowed 100% FDI under automatic route for Teleports(setting up of up-linking HUBs/Teleports),Direct to Home (DTH),Cable Networks (Multi System operators (MSOs) operating at National or State or District level and undertaking upgradation of networks towards digitalization and addressability),Mobile TV, Headend-in-the Sky Broadcasting Service(HITS). Further, 100% FDI is allowed under automatic route in Cable Networks (Other MSOs not undertaking upgradation of networks towards digitalization and addressability and Local Cable Operators (LCOs))
*Pharmaceutical- The extant policy on pharmaceutical sector provides 100% FDI under automatic route in greenfield pharma and up to 100% under government approval in brownfield pharma. With the objective of promoting the development of this sector, it has been decided to permit up to 74% FDI under automatic route in brownfield pharmaceuticals and government approval route beyond 74% will continue.
*Civil Aviation Sector- The extant policy on Airports permits 100% FDI under automatic route in Greenfield Projects and 74% FDI in Brownfield Projects under automatic route. FDI beyond 74% for Brownfield Projects is under government route. Now, 100% FDI is permitted under automatic route in Brownfield Airport projects. As per the present FDI policy, foreign investment up to 49% is allowed under automatic route in Scheduled Air Transport Service/ Domestic Scheduled Passenger Airline and regional Air Transport Service.
It has now been decided to raise this limit to 100%, with FDI up to 49% permitted under automatic route and FDI beyond 49% through Government approval. For NRIs, 100% FDI will continue to be allowed under automatic route. However, foreign airlines would continue to be allowed to invest in capital of Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air-transport services up to the limit of 49% of their paid up capital and subject to the laid down conditions in the existing policy.
*Private Security Agencies- The extant policy permits 49% FDI under government approval route in Private Security Agencies. FDI up to 49% is now permitted under automatic route in this sector and FDI beyond 49% and up to 74% would be permitted with government approval route.
*Establishment of branch office, liaison office or project office- For establishment of branch office, liaison office or project office or any other place of business in India if the principal business of the applicant is Defence, Telecom, Private Security or Information and Broadcasting, it has been decided that approval of Reserve Bank of India or separate security clearance would not be required in cases where FIPB approval or license/permission by the concerned Ministry/Regulator has already been granted.
*Animal Husbandry- As per FDI Policy 2016, FDI in Animal Husbandry (including breeding of dogs), Pisciculture, Aquaculture and Apiculture is allowed 100% under Automatic Route under controlled conditions. It has been decided to do away with this requirement of ‘controlled conditions’ for FDI in these activities.
*Single Brand Retail Trading- It has now been decided to relax local sourcing norms up to three years and a relaxed sourcing regime for another five years for entities undertaking Single Brand Retail Trading of products having ‘state-of-art’ and ‘cutting edge’ technology.
FDI reforms to push employment generation, youth empowerment and a boost to economic growth
With the easing of recent FDI reforms, the process of inviting foreign investments is simplified to save time and energy of the investors. The increase in sectoral caps, bringing more activities under automatic route and easing of conditionalities for foreign investment will make India a more open economy in the world economic system. The FDI policy pronouncements will help in creating additional jobs as well as induce employment and spur up the Make-in-India program with emphasis on driving both foreign and domestic investments.
The domestic investment environment will also be boosted with large scale foreign investments offerings in the promising sectors of the economy. Further, millions of the youth of our country will be benefitted as remunerative employment or entrepreneurial opportunities will be created in the coming times.
Impact of recent FDI reforms on select sectors of the economy
*Food products manufactured or produced in India : To provide impetus to the country’s food processing sector and facilitate in strengthening agri infrastructure.
*Defence Sector : To facilitate investments from several global defence companies for setting up of manufacturing base in India and to promote prestigious Make in India initiative of the Government.
*Broadcasting Carriage Services : To facilitate implementation of speedy process of digitization and promote infrastructure development, better satellite capacity and expected to enhance multi system operators in rural markets.
*Pharmaceutical : FDI up to 74% under automatic route in brownfield pharmaceuticals to boost mergers and acquisitions and private equity investments in the sector.
*Civil Aviation Sector : To encourage modernization of the existing airports to establish a high standard and help ease the pressure on the existing airports.
*Private Security Agencies : To expedite investments in private security sector and enhance skill development of security guards. This will further open up avenues for generating employment opportunities particularly among the young unskilled workforce.
*Establishment of branch office, liaison office or project office : To promote ease of setting up of branch offices, liaison offices or project offices in cases where the principal business is of Defence, Telecom, Private Security or Information and Broadcasting.
*Animal Husbandry : To promote development of animal husbandry sector, invite several research and development agencies in bringing their new and modern technology to India to improve animal breeds in our country.
*Single Brand Retail Trading : To enhance investments in single brand retail and promote technological development in the sector. Setting up of manufacturing units in India will be promoted and employment opportunities will be generated in the economy.
Conclusions
Foreign Direct Investments plays a crucial role for an accelerated economic growth. In India, post the 1991 economic reforms, the regulatory environment in terms of Foreign Direct Investments has been consistently eased to make it more and more investor-friendly and to supplement domestic capital, technology and skills.
Recent FDI policy pronouncements in various sectors of the economy are expected to attract chunk of investments and create additional jobs as well as induce employment and spur up the Make-in-India program. Increase in sectoral caps, bringing more activities under automatic route and easing of conditionalities for foreign investment will make India a more open economy in the world economic system. FDI reforms were very crucial at this juncture which will lead to further FDI inflows which already increased from around US$36 billion in FY2014 to US$55.5 billion in FY2016 due to recent initiatives of the government. Pro-active reforms oriented decisions taken by the government particularly for easing of FDI rules in various sectors of the economy are going to push employment generation, youth empowerment and a boost overall economic growth in the coming times. To sum up, India has only recently begun to attract global capital and given the size of the economy, and its perceived high growth potential, it will remain an attractive investment destination as long as policy towards investment in general and FDI in particular is seen to be supportive. Hence, the Government must continue the pace of reforms to make India more and more attractive for Make in India.
Courtesy:Mr.Surbhi Sharma.
Source:Employment News
Thursday, 31 March 2016
Metro news
18:43
BMRCL :Investor will have to integrate the properties with the nearby Metro stations
BMRCL :Investor will have to integrate the properties with the nearby Metro stations
Bengaluru Metro to monetise its properties
The BMRCL, which had spoken of its plans at the Global Investors’ Meet-2016, had received many offers from interested firms. Although it has been 11 years since the Metro began construction in the city, it is still dependent on the state government even for its operational cost!
Bangalore: The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) plans to commercially exploit its land adjoining its seven Metro stations across the city to earn revenue that will help it pay off its debts and also expand the Metro network.
To begin with, the agency has called for tenders to develop its 14 acre property near the Nagasandra Metro station on a Public Private Partnership basis. Other properties slated for commercial exploitation are a two acre plot at Jalahalli, a five acre plot at Peenya, a 1.5 acre plot at Yeshwanthpur, six acres on Mysuru Road, five acres in Banasankari, and 2.5 acres on SV Road.
The BMRCL, which had spoken of its plans at the Global Investors’ Meet-2016 , had received many offers from interested firms.
The prospective investor will have to integrate the properties with the nearby Metro stations. “Investors can build anything ranging from hotels to multiplexes on the land in question and we will integrate them with the Metro stations,” said BMRCL spokesperson, Vasanth Rao, adding, “This will increase the footfall for Metro and the revenue earned from these projects can be used to pay our debts as well as for expansion of the Metro network.”
Although it has been 11 years since the Metro began construction in the city, it is still dependent on the state government even for its operational cost. Its balance sheet shows it ran at a loss of Rs 263 crore in 2014-15 and at a loss of Rs 83.18 crore in 2013-14.
Only five small stretches are operational currently: Reach 1 (MG Road to Byappanahalli, 6.7km), Reach 3 (Sampige Road to Yeshwanthpur, 5.1km), Reach 3a (Yeshwanthpur to Peenya Industry, 4.8 km), Reach 3b (Peenya Industry to Nagasandra, 2.5km) and Reach 2 (Magadi Road to Mysore Road, 6.4km).
Sunday, 9 August 2015
Railway Minister
15:19
Suresh Prabhu rolls-out Red Carpet for Investors in the closed-doors of BSE Tower
Suresh Prabhu rolls-out Red Carpet for Investors in the closed-doors of BSE Tower
Mumbai: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today asked foreign funds and domestic investors to replicate with the railways their success in the telecom, power and road sectors as the national transporter needs a whopping Rs 1 trillion in funds this year and Rs 8.5 trillion over the next five years.
“You have successfully invested in the telecom and power and roads sector, but never in the railways. The government also didn’t invest during the past two decades and so we’ve chalked out a five-year plan under which we are looking at an investment of Rs 1 trillion this financial year and Rs 8.5 trillion over the next five years,” Prabhu told a gathering of overseas investment bankers and domestic funds led by insurers and financial institutions.
The closed-door meeting at the BSE Tower here this evening, where Prabhu rolled out the red carpet for foreign funds and domestic investors, included multinational i-bankers, FIIs, domestic insurers like LIC and other financial institutions, sources said.
However, the minister was quick to admit that private investment in a public service like the railways will take time.
“We are looking at private sector investments, too, though we know it will take time,” the minister was quoted as saying by one of the participants.
Most railway lines are running at 100 per cent of their capacity, leading to heavy congestion. Hence, investments are needed to ease rail traffic, he said, adding that it will cost Rs 10 crore for laying a 1-km rail link and Rs 6 crore for doubling/ tripling of an existing railhead.
Stating that most of the funds for railways come either from public institutions like LIC, which has committed to subscribe Rs 1.5-trillion worth of RFC bonds, or through budgetary support, Prabhu said that given the state of public finances, railways need large funds from the private sector.
Explaining the need for capital investment, the minister, who was praised for his radical reforms in the power sector during his tenure in the previous NDA ministry, said “for improving rail infrastructure we need to invest 10 per cent of the total infrastructure GDP of $2 trillion over next five years.
“This means we need to invest $200 billion annually in the railways over the next five years, after which we need an annual investment of 1.5 times more than this (or $350 billion) for the next five years,” Prabhu said.
Offering a break-up of rail finances, he said it has three main sources of revenue generation — passenger and freight fares, and budgetary support.
However, Prabhu said that while as much as 65 per cent of the rolling stock was passenger trains, they generate only 30 per cent of revenue, leaving 70 per cent of revenue to be mobilised by freight trains, which constitute only 35 per cent of the rolling stock.
On rail modernisation plans, he said the national transporter is on its way to constructing 400 model railway stations this fiscal year. He also said that as many as 79 of the announcements made in the rail budget for the year have already been implemented.
On involving the states in railway development, he said, “We have already signed MoUs with Maharashtra and Odisha and are on our way to doing the same with a total of 17 states.”
He added that Maharashtra has agreed to pump in Rs 10,000 crore over the next 10 years.
“On the part of the Railways, we will be investing Rs 70-80,000 crore in Maharashtra over next five years,” he said.
Talking about the dedicated freight corridor project, he said that out of the Rs 82,000 crore approved by the Cabinet last month, railways has already floated tenders for Rs 19,000 crore.
On the two proposed locomotive units with FDI participation – one electric and the other diesel – he said tenders will be floated by the end of this month and a number of MNCs have evinced interest in the project.
Sunday, 26 July 2015
PPP
08:21
Projects of Railways through PPP Model
PPP Model for Development of Railways
For encouraging PPP (Public Private Partnership) on Railways, a Policy on Participative models for rail connectivity and capacity augmentation was issued in December 2012. Model Concession Agreements for Non-Government line model, Joint Venture, Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) and Customer funded models have been issued. Till now under different PPP models, 9 projects have been implemented, 13 projects have been approved for implementation, besides 6 projects which have been given ‘in principle’ approval.
The Concession Agreements provide for Conciliation, Arbitration and Adjudication for resolving disputes between Government and partners.
Projects under PPP model are undertaken on the basis of operational requirement, financial viability, bankability and interest of stakeholders. Such projects are not undertaken based on socio-economic development of a particular region.
This information was given Minister of State in Ministry of Railways Shri Manoj Sinha in a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha Yesterday.
Tuesday, 23 June 2015
Kolkata Metro
21:14
Can manufacture Metro Rail Coaches for a Cost 30-40% less than other Cos with High Quality & Standards: GM/ICFicf
Can manufacture Metro Rail Coaches for a Cost 30-40% less than other Cos with High Quality & Standards: GM/ICF
It supplied 13 Metro coaches to Kolkata between 2011 and 2013. The ICF is also manufacturing Luxury Coaches on a par with international standards. The Golden Chariot, Palace on Wheels, Deccan Odyssey and the Maharaja’s Express are some of the luxury trains created in the ICF – said Mr.A.K.Agarwal, GM/ICF
Kolkata (KOAA): The Integral Coach Factory (ICF), a unit of the Indian Railways is well-equipped to manufacture coaches for Metro Rail, but it is not allowed to participate in the tender process because of technical reasons, said Ashok K. Agarwal, ICF General Manager.
“If we can supply coaches to Calcutta Metro why not to Chennai and other Metros? Moreover, we can manufacture coaches for a cost 30 to 40 per cent less than other companies,” he told.
ICF has supplied 13 rakes (eight coaches each) of fully air-conditioned stainless steel body Metro coaches to Kolkata between 2011 and 2013, and has an order for manufacturing two more rakes with the latest three-phase insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) technology during the current production year.
Mr.Agarwal, who is also holding additional charge as General Manager of the Southern Railway, said the ICF was not eligible to participate in the tender process, because it was only a coach builder and it depended on other companies like Bharat Heavy Electrical (BHEL) and MEDHA for electrics.
Since Kolkata Metro is run by Indian Railways, ICF was given the order to supply the coaches. In the case of Metro Rail companies in other cities, as they are PSUs and under global tenders, it was mandatory for a coaching factory to manufacture everything under one unit. The new Metro Rail projects are mostly funded by the World Bank or the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and they have a say in deciding the eligibility condition for the global tenders for coaches.
“This is the only reason preventing us from supplying coaches to other Metros, including Chennai Metro,” Mr. Agarwal said.
The ICF is also manufacturing Luxury Coaches on a par with international standards. The Golden Chariot, Palace on Wheels, Deccan Odyssey and the Maharaja’s Express are some of the luxury trains created in the ICF
“It is only a question of money. Depending on the investment, we will manufacture coaches,” Mr. Agarwal said.
Saturday, 20 June 2015
Railway Land
20:55
Metro Rail will facilitate Development in other Locations too: Cushman & Wakefield on Hyderabad Metro
Metro Rail will facilitate Development in other Locations too: Cushman & Wakefield on Hyderabad Metro
Hyderabad: With the real estate industry progressing at a snail’s pace in Hyderabad, Veera Babu, office head, Hyderabad, Cushman & Wakefield, speaks about the ups and downs of Hyderabad’s real estate industry. Excerpts:
How would you assess the real estate commercial market under the TRS-led government?
Well, the government is making all the right noises as far as bringing more investments is concerned. IT minister KT Rama Rao had visited US and Hong Kong recently and there is a visibility of Telangana on the global map. But that does not translate into immediate results. The current market is only bringing in IT business. Other commercial markets have not benefited as much as IT industry. However, overall there is significant traction coming up in the state and hopefully that will translate into more investments.
The Residential sector has been badly hit by political instability and even one year after the formation of Telangana, it hasn’t performed as expected. Why?
Residential sector, across India, is the only market which is completely driven by the end-users. Until and unless you do not attract the investor community, the market will not rise. Even today, investors have ‘wait and watch’ perspective in Hyderabad. What works for Hyderabad is that it is the cheapest location compared to other metropolitans in the South. Only concern is that predominantly most of the focus of the investments are in the Western quadrant of the city, close to the Hitech City area.
What needs to be done to shift focus from the Western quadrant to other pockets of the city?
The upcoming Hyderabad Metro Rail can play a key role in making this happen. Once the Metro comes, a couple of locations will emerge as destination of new real estate attractions. Most people are looking to work in the western quadrant but the affordability is higher and prices are increasing. It is becoming an upmarket area, where rentals are higher and capital values are higher. So for the middle and lower class people this may not be feasible any longer, so the metro will be an added advantage.
What are the most pressing challenges that developers are facing?
Biggest concern in Hyderabad is the prices of legally available land for investors. The availability of land must be substantially cheaper.
Monday, 18 May 2015
Railway Minister
20:40
Suresh Prabhu Chairs the First Meeting of Newly Constituted Advisory Board of Railway Finances
Suresh Prabhu Chairs the First Meeting of Newly Constituted Advisory Board of Railway Finances
Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Railways, chaired the first meeting of the newly constituted Advisory Board on financial matters at the Railway Ministry here today. The Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha was specially presented on the occasion. Chairman, Railway Board, Shri A.K.Mital and Members of the Railway Board, other senior officers of the Ministry and Managing Director, IRFC attended the meeting. The member of the Advisory Committee presented on the occasion were; Shri K.V Kamath, Chairman, ICICI Bank Ltd., Ms. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson, SBI, Dr. Rajiv Lall, Executive Chairman, IDFC, and Shri Raghav Bahl, Founder, The Quintillion Media Pvt. Ltd.
It may be recalled that Minister of Railways, in his reply to the discussion on the Railway Budget in Parliament had announced the setting up of the Advisory Board. The Board consisting of top names of the financial world is expected to guide and advise on matters of sourcing investments into Railway infrastructure development.
In his first ever Budget, Shri Prabhu had announced an investment of Rs. 8.5 lakh crore in Railways in the next 5 years. Immediately thereafter, the Ministry signed a MOU with LIC of India for a funding assistance of Rs.1,50,000 crore to be drawn over the next 5 years. The Annual Plan size for 2015-16 was also doubled to cross Rs. 1 lakh figure in 2015-16.
Leading the discussion, Minister for Railways drew attention to the huge investment requirement in Railways and the various sources and structures under consideration to mobilize the required resources. A Financial Services Cell has been created in the Ministry to focus on this aspect. He drew attention to the complex task of matching projects with varying levels returns to various sources of finances, all available at various costs. In the ensuing discussion, several suggestions were made by members of the Advisory Board for attracting domestic and international funds, steps required to give comfort to investors/ lenders and to ensure sustainability of the funding models.
Source :PIB NEWS.
Source :PIB NEWS.
Friday, 8 August 2014
new technology
07:54
Will conduct ‘Joint Meeting’ of all Unions for ‘Sectoral Policy on FDI’ in Railways: Gowda
Will conduct ‘Joint Meeting’ of all Unions for ‘Sectoral Policy on FDI’ in Railways: Gowda
New Delhi: A day after the union cabinet’s decision permitting 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the sector, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda said that “model agreements” and a “sectoral policy” on the engagement with the private and foreign players would shortly be unveiled.
“Foreign players will bring in funds and new technology, which will fast-track big-ticket projects. Our motto is to strengthen the Railways infrastructure to boost our economy, particularly in the stages of rapid transformations – both technologically and economy-wise, however safeguarding the Railways with utmost care and concern as well. There is no possibility of it being rolled back,” he said.
The decision — which permits railways public sector undertakings to off-load shares to foreign firms — has raised the hackles of rail unions. “A joint meeting of all unions is being scheduled for the month-end to formulate a response in the matter,” said Shiva Gopal Mishra of the All India Railway Men Federation, which claims to represent 11 lakh of the total of approximately 14 lakh employees of the public transporter.
