India to unveil steps to cut fuel consumption on Sept 16

New Delhi: The oil minister will come up with some plans for lowering fuel consumption on September 16, Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said on Friday, in a bid cut the country's import bill amid a sharp fall in the rupee.

Asia's third-largest economy could announce a steep hike in diesel prices later this month as it looks at measures to cut oil costs by nearly USD 20 billion after the rupee's slide has left India facing an oil bill potentially 50 percent higher than on May 1.

"No matter what happens, we will have to cut down on fuel consumption," Khurshid told business channel CNBC TV18. "You can't keep subsiding costs of fuel and not restrict the use of the fuel."

Khurshid said increasingly people are realising the "inevitability" of moving away from government-controlled prices.

"That's beginning to happen, but has political implications," he said.

Sensex up over 150 points, trading above 19K-level

Mumbai: The rupee on Friday strengthened further by 20 paise to 65.81 against the dollar in early trade, largely supported by recent RBI measures.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark index Sensex rose by 163.71 points to 19,143 in late morning trade. Similarly, the wide based Nifty rose 16.15 points to 5,509.

The domestic currency had gained 106 paise to close at 66.01 yesterday against the dollar after steps taken by new RBI Governor Raghnuram Rajan to attract US currency inflows.

To support the rupee, RBI announced steps such as enhanced limits for exporters to re-book cancelled forward exchange contracts and a special concessional window to swap foreign currency non-resident (FCNR) deposits.

Dealers said besides increased dollar selling by exporters, a higher opening in domestic equity market and dollar's weakening against some currencies overseas helped the rupee rise.

Gold buyers rush to order as import rules clarified

Gold buyers lined up to restart imports on Wednesday as the customs department clarified new rules, putting the world's biggest bullion buyer back in the market after a six-week gap and threatening government efforts to underpin the rupee.
About a quarter of a tonne of gold waiting at Mumbai airport should head to India's biggest gold market, Zaveri Bazaar, where sales are nearly $10 million a day, and jewellers said they would place fresh import orders as early as Thursday.
"Around 250 kg of gold, which is stuck at the airport, will get released after the order. New shipments could start within the next 2-3 days," said Bachhraj Bamalwa, director at the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a bid to help the government stem the tide of gold imports which had pushed the current account deficit to a record high, told importers on July 22 that a fifth of their purchases would have to be turned around for export.
But the rule's sketchy details caused buyers to hold off and instead use stocks that had piled up in April and May when record imports of 304 tonnes provoked the government into hiking duty to an all-time high of 10 percent.
On Wednesday, the Indian customs department issued its guidelines on how the central bank's call for gold imports to be split 80 percent for domestic use and 20 percent for export would be monitored.
ORDERING TOMORROW
The move aims to boost exports but could also rein in imports to around 30 tonnes a month - about half average volume - and keep India on track to meet the government's target of 845 tonnes in the 2012/13 fiscal year.
But domestic buying could surge later this year as a better than expected monsoon is expected to increase disposable incomes of farmers in rural areas, who make up about 60 percent of Indian gold demand.
"My export orders are pending since last month, I'll request my bank to place an order for 20 kg tomorrow morning," said Kumar Jain, proprietor of Umed Exports, which ships jewellery to the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
In a more than 40-clause document, the customs department laid out details on authorised importers, bonds to be given by importers over duty payments and "surprise audit or checks" by custom officers to ensure compliance.
And in a clause that may cause problems it said importers would not be able to make a third order until they had evidence of payment to exporters in the form of an inward remittance certificate, which can take nine months.
"This will make our life difficult at the time of the third import," said Pankaj Kumar Parekh, vice-chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
Imports by special economic zones, which export about 20-30 tonnes a year, will not be included in the import restrictions. Domestic jewellery exports outside these areas are about 60-70 tonnes a year.

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U.S. President Barack Obama's effort to win legislative backing for military strikes against Syria passed its first hurdle on Wednesday when a Senate committee voted in favor, but the narrow margin of victory showed the depth of U.S. caution.
In a possible sign of internal unrest in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ruling Alawite sect in the shadow of a likely U.S. intervention, Syrian opposition figures said General Ali Habib, a former defense minister, had defected. Syria denied the report.
Washington and Syria's main backer, Russia, remained publicly at odds as Obama tried to build his case for military action over chemical weapons before flying to Russia for a G20 summit hosted by President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
Putin said U.S. congressional approval without a U.N. Security Council resolution would be an act of aggression, and accused U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry of lying by playing down the role of the militant group al Qaeda with rebel forces.
With Obama focused on building international support, administration officials kept up their campaign of persuasion in Congress, where deep U.S. skepticism about going to war was reflected in a House of Representatives hearing.
Still, after much jockeying over the exact wording, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution authorizing the use of military force in Syria in a vote that avoided party lines, with Democrats and Republicans on both sides. The action cleared the way for a vote in the full Senate, likely next week.
The committee voted 10-7 in favor of a compromise resolution that sets a 60-day limit on any engagement in Syria, with a possible 30-day extension, and bars the use of U.S. troops on the ground for combat operations.
The administration is trying to balance the views of many in Congress who want a narrowly defined resolution against hawks such as Senator John McCain, who has pushed for a broader resolution that would allow direct U.S. support for rebels.
The Senate committee adopted amendments proposed by McCain with policy goals of degrading Assad's ability to use chemical weapons, increasing support for rebel forces and reversing battlefield momentum to create conditions for Assad's removal.
The authorization still faces significant resistance in Congress, where many lawmakers fear it could lead to a prolonged U.S. military involvement in Syria's civil war and spark an escalation of regional violence.
The full Senate is expected to vote on the resolution next week. The House of Representatives also must approve the measure.
RUSSIAN TENSIONS
Obama said he would continue to try to persuade Putin of the need for punitive strikes on Assad for using chemical weapons when the two meet in St. Petersburg.
In Stockholm en route to Russia, Obama said the credibility of America and of the world was at stake. He appeared to take umbrage at a reporter's question about the "red line" he set for Assad at an August 2012 White House news conference.
"I did not set a red line. The world set a red line," Obama said, referring to bans on chemical weapons use.
Putin again questioned Western evidence. He accused Kerry outright of lying when, in urging Congress to approve strikes on Syria, Kerry played down the role of al Qaeda in the rebel forces. "Al Qaeda units are the main military echelon, and they know this," Putin said.
"He is lying and knows he is lying. It's sad."
Earlier, Putin had said in a pre-summit interview with the Associated Press that he could not absolutely "rule out" Russia supporting a U.N. Security Council resolution to punish Assad - if it could be proved he had used poison gas.
Briefing members of Congress in Washington, Kerry said those comments were "hopeful" and "there may be a road forward where Russia would consider not blocking action."
Kerry played down concerns that any U.S. military strike over chemical weapons might provoke a clash with Russia.
"Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov has made it clear ... Russia does not intend to fight a war over Syria," Kerry told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
A senior Western official said that while Moscow was unlikely to say so in public, there were signs Russian officials believe Assad was responsible for the deaths on August 21 and that it had strained Russian support for him - providing an opening for a new, concerted drive to end the conflict.
However, Putin's characteristically blunt tone towards the U.S. position appeared to limit prospects for a breakthrough in a stalemate that has prevented international action to rein in a conflict that has killed more than 100,000 Syrians and left millions homeless but which neither side has been able to win.
"DEFECTION"
Numerous defections over the past two years by senior commanders, either to the rebel Free Syrian Army or into exile abroad, have not led to a collapse of Assad's defenses.
Habib, the former defense minister, had been under house arrest since he resigned in protest at Assad's crackdown on demonstrators in 2011. He managed to reach the Turkish border late on Tuesday with Western help, Kamal al-Labwani of the Syrian National Coalition told Reuters.
Other sources also said Habib had fled but Syrian state television denied he had left his home. Turkey's foreign minister said he could not confirm the general had defected.
The flight of Habib, if confirmed, would lend credibility to suggestions that parts of the Alawite community may be turning against Assad. Previous high-level defections have generally involved Sunni officers.
"Ali Habib has managed to escape from the grip of the regime and he is now in Turkey, but this does not mean that he has joined the opposition. I was told this by a Western diplomatic official," Labwani said from Paris.
A Gulf source told Reuters that Habib had crossed the Turkish frontier late on Tuesday with two or three other people. He was taken across the border in a convoy of vehicles.
Kerry said he did not know if the report of Habib's defection was correct but "there are currently defections taking place. I think there are something like 60 to 100 in the last day or so, officers and enlisted personnel."
In an interview on Britain's Sky News, Bouthaina Shaaban, a senior adviser to Assad, made no mention of the defection. She said the world should wait for the outcome of a United Nations investigation into the use of chemical weapons and blamed groups linked to al Qaeda for the alleged gas attack last month.
MILITARY PLANS
Following the failure of British Prime Minister David Cameron to win parliamentary backing for air strikes last week, Washington has been struggling to build an international coalition for action in the absence of a U.N. resolution.
Kerry told lawmakers that at least 10 countries had pledged to participate in a U.S. military intervention in Syria, but he did not identify them nor say what roles they might play.
France and Turkey are the most significant military powers lining up behind Obama. The French parliament debated Syria on Wednesday, though President Francois Hollande does not need approval for action.
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told parliament that failure to strike Assad would send a message to the likes of Iran and North Korea that they could defy Western powers with impunity, notably over concerns about their nuclear programs.
Obama has won the backing of key figures in the U.S. Congress, including among his Republican opponents.
But in a sign of the tough road still ahead, Democrats and Republicans took both sides in the Senate committee vote. Two Democrats, Tom Udall and Chris Murphy, joined Republicans Marco Rubio, John Barrasso, James Risch, Ron Johnson and Rand Paul in voting no.
In the Senate, Democratic leader Harry Reid is guardedly confident that a majority of the 100 members will vote yes, but is still unsure if he can get the 60 votes needed to overcome Republican procedural roadblocks, aides said.
In the 435-member House, a senior Republican aide predicted that most of the 50 or so Republicans backed by the anti-big government Tea Party movement will vote no. A number of Democratic liberals are also expected to vote against a resolution, placing the final outcome in doubt

Tata Chemicals Limited honoured for excellence in energy management

Kolkata, Aug 28 2013 (IBNS): Indian global company with interests in chemicals, crop nutrition and consumer products Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) bagged an esteemed award for Excellence in Energy Management 2013 from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the company's Babrala plant in Uttar Pradesh.

TCL won for 'Energy Efficient Unit' award in general category.

The company was felicitated in 14th National Award for Excellence in Energy Management 2013 at a gala function in Hyderabad.

The award strengthens the company's commitment to environmental stewardship and its constant endevour of meeting sustainability goals, noted officials.

Tata Chemicals' Babrala plant was amongst 76 selected companies from around 232 applicants from across India.

The company was selected based on the rigorous efforts on Energy Conservation during the last three years, CII stated.

Speaking on the achievement, R Mukundan, MD, Tata Chemicals Limited said, "All Tata Chemicals manufacturing plants have demonstrated a sustainable performance in achieving targets on their energy, water and inclusivity dimensions and are becoming benchmark on their environmental and safety performance."

"Our Babrala plant is amongst the most energy efficient fertilizer plant in India. These prestigious awards and recognitions help us calibrate our approach to raise the bar and meet the emerging expectations around sustainable performance," Mukundan said.

CII noted that the companies have been evaluated based on criteria such as Continuous improvements for energy conservation; recycle of waste, focus on renewable energy resources, latest energy management system (ISO-50001) etc.

Categories for the award include Cement, Power and Building and General.

The objective of the awards was to recognize and award 'Excellence' in Energy Management in Industries and to facilitate sharing of information by excellent energy efficient companies.

CII said that the entire focus of the evaluation was to assess the trend of reduction in specific energy consumption, its proximity towards global best in energy consumption, innovation in identifying and implementing energy saving projects, savings achieved, methodology adopted during the implementation, proven efforts taken by the company to sustain the savings and utilization of Renewable Energy & waste materials.

Tata Chemicals Babrala plant has also been awarded the Sword of Honour four times by the British Safety Council, company officials noted.

Onion wholesale prices Cheaper at Rs 10 in Nashik, August 19 2013

Nashik, Aug 19 (IBNS) Wholesale prices of onions declined by over Rs 10 in Maharashtra's Nashik city on Monday, said reports."The rate has come down to Rs 36-33 per kg from 47-45 per kg last week," reported CNN-IBN. Pertinently, Nashik's wholesale market is the largest in India.

"The fall in onion prices in Nashik could impact prices elsewhere in the country over the next few weeks. The prices are expected to drop further and stabilise later in August when new crop comes in," said the news channel.

With onion prices soaring as high as Rs 80 a kg, Sheila Dikshit-led Delhi government has started selling onionsat around Rs 50 per kg Saturday onwards.

The government has deployed 150 mobile vans to cover 600 points across the city where people can buy onions at a cheaper rate.

Besides, the vegetables can be availed at discounted rates at 400 stores, including 280 Mother Dairy outlets, across the city.

Keeping in mind that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was ousted in 1998 following rise in onion prices, Dikshit made this well-planned move three months before the assembly elections.

How the government can stabilise the rupee

Abheek Barua

The author explains how the government could make a real difference in the financial markets.
Let me cut to the chase. What are the options left for the government to bring some stability back to the rupee?

What are the short-term fixes, and the somewhat longer-term policies, that could help achieve this?
Two things need to be emphasised at the very beginning. First, the shortage of capital flows into emerging markets is unlikely to go away in a hurry.
The United States Federal Reserve might or might not taper in September and an initial taper could indeed be baked into the emerging market currency exchange rates vis-à-vis the dollar.

However, it seems certain that the Fed will start winding quantitative easing down by the end of the year - and whatever the pace of the taper, the infusion of dollar liquidity will keep reducing over 2014. Thus, India and other emerging markets have to be ready for a long dry season ahead.
Second, the option of simply "growing" ourselves out of this problem is limited. Better execution of projects and a more conducive investment environment (difficult to achieve when elections lie ahead) might improve sentiment towards India and invite capital flows, but there is a risk of growth stretching the current account deficit wider.