India Economic News Consulate General of IndiaJuly 2015 Munich

Skill India mission will be youth's war against poverty: Modi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 16 launched the Skill India Mission, terming it a war against poverty by training youth to earn their livelihood with honour. Launching the programme on the first World Youth Skills Day, Modi said a large number of India's population is young and could do wonders if trained well for various works and trades available in the world and reiterated his government’s desire to turn this century to be of ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes). India Inc. have also expressed support for Modi's vision to train the youth skillfully.

Cabinet nod for merging FDI, FII limits:

The cabinet committee on Economic Affairs cleared a policy for determining composite foreign investment limits by including funds flowing through foreign direct investment (FDI), foreign institutional investment (FII) and other routes and has approved "the introduction of composite caps for the simplification of foreign direct investment". According to Mr. Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister, the decision is essentially a move towards giving companies more flexibility for deciding on the desired mix of foreign investment.

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Foreign investment caps remain in Bank, Defence: Sitharaman:

After India clubbed categories of foreign capital flowing into domestic companies, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman,Commerce Minister announced that foreign institutional investment (FII) limits in the Banking and Defence sector have been retained at existing levels to prevent disruptions in sensitive sectors.

Volvo to export 100 'Made in India' buses to Europe:

Volvo Buses Corporation President, Mr. Hakan Agnevall has announced that the company's Indian subsidiary would export about 100 buses a year to European countries from its manufacturing plant at Hoskote in Karnataka. The type of luxury buses to be exported by Volvo, the Swedish transport major will be Euro-6 compliant for mass rapid transportation in European cities. It has also been reported that Volvo India Ltd is expected to invest an additional Rs.974 crore (equivalent to approx. Euro

140 million) to expand its Hoskote plant, generating employment to 2,125 more people.

India, Australia CECA talks likely next month:

India and Australia are soon likely to sit for the ninth round of negotiations on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), even as talks between the both gain momentum in an attempt to reach the December-end deadline. The talks continue to remain stuck on the sensitive issues of agriculture and services. For India, the main concern is how the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement pans out, in which Australia is also a member. Bilateral trade between India and Australia presently stands at $15 billion compared to $160 billion worth of trade that Australia has with China.

Boeing, TASL ink manufacturing agreement:

Giving a boost to 'Make in India' initiative, Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has signed a

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framework agreement to collaborate in aerospace and defense manufacturing and potential integrated systems development opportunities, including unmanned aerial vehicles. The companies also intend to access markets jointly for products and platforms developed together by Boeing and TASL. TASL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, is already on contract to manufacture aero-structures for Boeing's CH-47 Chinook and AH-6i helicopters.

Government clears defence proposals worth Rs 30,000 crore (approx. Euro 4310 million):

The Defence Acquisition Council has cleared purchases of over Rs 29,000 crore (approx. Euro 4166 million) of equipment, including four maritime spy planes from Boeing worth Rs 4,380 crore and 428 L-70 & ZU-23 air defence guns worth around Rs 16,900 crore. As per Defence Ministry statement, the guns are to be manufactured in India as part of the push to expand the defence industry. As per reports, only two Indian

companies — Punj Llyod and Bharat Forge — had responded to an Army request on the project. But now there is a possibility to broad base the competition by inviting other players as well.

Singapore building agency keen to join India's smart city project:

The state-run Building and Construction Authority (BCA) of Singapore announced its intention to associate with the Indian government's Smart City project. During his maiden visit to India in February, Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam in his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj , had covered new focus areas which are part of India's development process like the Smart Cities, urban rejuvenation initiatives, skill development and measures to speed up connectivity and coastal and port development.

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India to help build infrastructure in Central Asia:

While addressing the 15th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would help develop infrastructure in the Central Asian region. Founded in 2001, the SCO has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its full members. Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are observers while Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners. The Prime Minister also announced India’s enhanced engagement with SCO member-states in human resource development, IT, pharmaceuticals and health, banking and capital markets, micro- small and medium enterprises (MSME), micro-finance and food security.

Q1 passenger car sales up 8 percent: SIAM:

As per the industry data furnished by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the

passenger car segment sales grew by 8.57 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal as compared with the corresponding period of 2014-15. Data also showed that the total passenger vehicle segment sales, went up by 6.17 percent in the quarter under review. However, sales of utility vehicles fell by 0.57 percent. The industry data for the last quarter reported a 3.55 percent growth in the overall commercial vehicles segment sales, which is a key indicator of economic activity.

ISRO launches five British satellites in copy book style:

India successfully put into orbit five British satellites with its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle's XL variant (PSLV-XL) in copy book style. the PSLV-XL rocket, standing 44.4 metres tall and weighing around 320 tonnes, carried five British satellites cumulatively weighing around 1,440 kg as its luggage slung them into their intended orbit just over 19 minutes into its flight. This was the first commercial mission for ISRO in 2015.

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ADB's India forecast: Sunny with a chance of 7.8% growth:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently reaffirmed its growth forecast for India, pegging Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow at 7.8 per cent in FY16 and 8.2 per cent in FY17. ADB's growth forecasts are higher than that of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF), which projects India to grow at 7.5 per cent in each of these years. Growth projections for China have been revised downwards

from 7.2 per cent previously to 7 per cent in 2015. Despite this downward revision, ADB's estimate is higher than that of IMF, which projects China to grow at 6.8 per cent in 2015 and 6.3 per cent in 2016.

***DISCLAIMER

This newsletter is a compilation of news articlesfrom various business e-newspapers and in no

way is an endorsement or reflection ofviews of Consulate General of India, Munich.

For queries contact:

Mr. Asheesh Gupta, Consul (E & C), Consulate General of India, Widenmayer Strasse 15, 80538 Munich, Germany. Email: cpic@cgimunich.com , Web: www.cgimunich.com