ECONOMY Economic Growth/Reforms 1 Jaitley tells investors not to panic, trust economy s strength A day after the Sensex plunged 807 points, sending jitters among investors, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said there was no need for "exaggerated panic", and assured the government will continue to take steps to support growth. 1 Retail inflation at 17-month high of 5.69% in January Retail inflation in January inched up to a 17-month high of 5.69 per cent, led mainly by a sharp acceleration in food prices, suggesting any interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India might be considered only after April, Consumer Price Index (CPI)- based inflation, the central bank's primary gauge for price increase, had stood at 5.61 per cent in December. Public Finance Taxes And Duties 2 Thane budget proposes hike in property tax Thane Municipal Commissioner (TMC) Sanjeev Jaiswal on Tuesday presented the annual budget of the civic body to the standing committee and proposed a 10-per cent hike in property tax for both residential and non-residential purposes. TRADE & COMMERCE Foreign Trade/Trade Deficit 3 Exports fall for 14 th straight mth The country's merchandise exports fell in January, for a 14 th month in a row, by 13.6 per cent to $21.1 billion against $24.4 bn a year before. Major items such as petroleum and engineering continued to contract, due to softening prices and subdued demand, official data showed on Monday. INDUSTRY Industrial Growth & Production 3 Centre Relaxes Green Norms for Construction Construction projects spread over 20,000 sq metres will no longer need Centre s clearance, with all stakeholder ministries and government departments agreeing to incorporate a trimmed-down green building code into municipal by-laws. 4 Ratan Tata says infrastructure not catching up with pace of growth Tata Trusts chairman Ratan Tata on Monday asked the government to focus more on infrastructure. "Infrastructure has not been able to match the pace of growth in the country. What we lacked is thinking big enough for the growth that we could achieve,' he said. i
5 Govt goes all out to draw investors The Narendra Modi government on Monday made a fervent pitch to investors to invest in the power, infrastructure, electronics, oil and defence sectors, while promising to break down harriers impeding investments. 6 IIP shrinks 1.3% in December Industrial activity shrank 1.3 per cent in December 2015 for the second consecutive month with the capital goods sector taking the lead. Consumer price inflation accelerated to 5.7 per cent in January. 6 Soon, Business Identification Number for firms To improve ease of doing business, the government will soon introduce Business Identification Number (BIN) for companies, doing away with multiple registration numbers a single entity needs to obtain for various regulatory purposes. 7 Industrial output shrinks for second month in a row Industrial output fell for the second consecui.ve month, dipping 1.3 per cent in December, government data, showed on Friday (12.02.2016). The pace of contraction, though, decelerated from 3.4 per cent in November, the sharpest decline in four years. 7 Infrastructure sector set for negative outlook in FY17: Ind-Ra The infrastructure sector is projected to have a negative outlook for 20\6-17. India-Ratings & Research, a Fitch Group company, in its report has brought to the fore key likely trends and unresolved challenges. 8 AP to develop 200-acre model township for MSMEs In an effort to boost the growth of Micro Small and Medium Entreprises (MSMEs), the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to set up a zoo-acre model industrial township near Vijayawada. The township will develop necessary support infrastructure, a skill development and training centre and accommodation for the workers. CEMENT INDUSTRY Growth/Marketing/Demand/Takeover 8 Lafarge Holcim Gets Strong Interest for India Plants: CEO Lafarge/Holcim Chief Executive Officer Eric Olsen said the company is attracting strong interest for capacity it's forced to sell in India, following a merger that created the world's largest cement maker. 9 UltraTech, Shree to Benefit from Falling Pet Coke Rates Falling pet coke prices is expected to benefit a few large-sized cement companies which have high exposure to it. Pet coke prices have fallen by almost 50% to around $38 per tonne from $74 per tonne in August 2015. ii
New Projects/Expansions/Diversification 9 Dalmia Bharat gets nod for KKR stake buy Shareholders of Dalmia Bharat have almost unanimously passed three special resolutions that together give private equity player KKR 8.45 per cent of the cement-maker. 9 Kesoram plans to raise Rs.180 cr via pref issue Kesoram Industries, a BK Birla Group company, plans to raise Rs.180 crore the rough preferential issue of equity shares to a promoter entity and issue of optionally convertible preference shares to IndusInd Bank. Financing/Public Issues/Shares 10 India Cements reports Q3 net profit of Rs.5 cr Indian Cements reported a net profit of Rs. five crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, when compared with a net loss of Rs.12 crore in the yearago period despite unfavourable market conditions that include impact of unprecedented rains in Tamil Nadu and weak demand. Housing & Building Construction 10 Housing launches down 20% in top 7 cities during 2015 New launches in the housing segment across the top seven cities came down by a fifth to 120,000 units in 2015, from 150,000 in 2014, said a report from Colliers International, a commercial real estate services entity. Smart Cities 11 Govt s 5-year road-map: 50,000 km at Rs.17 lakh cr The government plans to add around 50,000 km of road network in the next five to six years at an estimated $250 billion (about Rs.17 lakh crore), Of these, about 5,000 km of road projects will be awarded by next year; "Next year, we will award 4-6 lane road projects of about 5,000 km, with valueadded structures of improved quality standards," said Raghav Chandra, chairman, National Highways Authority of India during a seminar at the Make in India week. 11 Dubai firm keen to invest in another smart city after Kochi The Dubai-based Smart City, which develops knowledge based business townships such as Dubai Internet City and the soon-to-open Smart City Kochi, is looking for another Indian site to develop as a free-zone business park. 12 Slag cement to build highways can be game changer: Gadkari Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is pushing for the use of waste material such as plastic and slag cement for the construction of highways. He believes that slag cement, which costs about Rs.120 a bag, could be a game changer, A traditional cement bag costs about Rs.410-478. iii
12 Govt sanctions Rs.4,076 cr to build 81,000 homes for urban poor in seven States The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has sanctioned the construction of 81,757 houses for Economically Weaker Sections in urban areas in seven States with a total investment of Rs.4,076 crore. 13 Event draws Rs.15.20 lakh cr fund plans The Make in India Week, which concluded on Thursday afternoon, has received firm investment commitments of Rs.15.20 lakh crore from global and domestic companies. 14 State signs MoU for 5.7L cheaper homes The Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government on Thursday (18.02.2016) to construct 5.69 lakh affordable houses in Mumbai. 15 How to build smart cities The utopian ideal of smart cities anchored by futuristic technologies such as robots and flying cars has been replaced by the idea that technology should be used to enrich society and the lives of people in ways that are practical and relatable. Coal ENERGY, FUEL & POWER 17 Coal India Q3 profit rises by Rs.500 crore Coal India reported a nearly Rs.500 crore increase in net profit, which touched Rs.3,718.30 crore as compared to Rs.3262.50 crore a year ago. 17 Singareni Collieries to take up 10 new mines next fiscal Singareni Collieries Company Ltd has drawn up plans to open 10 new mines in 2016-17, aimed at increasing the coal output from the targeted 60 million tonnes this fiscal to 66 million tonnes. Power Projects/Generation/Distribution/Tariff 18 India to add 3,790 MW of solar power capacity by March-end India will add 3,790 MW of solar power capacity by March 31, 2016 to take the total installed capacity in India to 9,038 MW, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy said. Railways TRANSPORT 18 Freight corridor operations will be 40% cheaper than Railways The operational cost of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) will be 40 per cent cheaper than Indian Railways, thus adding to the profitability of Railways, Adesh Sharma, Managing Director, DFCCIL, said. iv
Highways/Roads/Bridges 19 Highway Ministry approves 13 projects worth Rs.10,300 cr The Highway Ministry has approved 13 projects worth Rs.10,300 crore, for building 672 km of national highways. The projects will be awarded by March-end. LABOUR General 19 EPFO raises interim interest rate to 8.8% The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Tuesday marginally raised the interest rate by 0.05 percentage points to 8.8 per cent for 2015-16, benefiting its 50-million subscribers' safety net and yet leaving a surplus of Rs.673 crore with itself. However, the interest rate could be revised upwards later. MISCELLANEOUS 20 Steel prices will find their own level Tata Steel will start commercial production at its three million tonnes (mt) capacity plant at Kalinganagar, Odisha, from April 1. The production will start at a time when the domestic industry has been facing one of the toughest years in recent year that led to the government imposing a minimum import price. T.V. Narendran, Managing director, Tata Steel India and Southeast Asia, tells Abhineet Kumar about how the company and the industry are coping with this challenge. 21 India eyeing bridge or undersea tunnel link to Sri Lanka: Gadkari India, after signing a road transport agreement with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, is said to be considering an ambitious bridge or undersea tunnel linking the Indian mainland with Sri Lanka. Tenders Cement Concrete Roads (CC1 CC10) 23 24 A1 F1 Tenders Housing (T11 T13) Tenders Canal Lining (T14) Articles/Interviews (A1 A9) Financial Results (F1 F8) ****** v
vi