Indian Engineering gets global attention at INNOPROM ’16, Russia

India has put up an impressive show at INNOPROM 2016, the largest annual international industrial trade fair of Russia. India is the Partner Country for INNOPROM 2016. India showcased its strengths in the area of manufacturing and engineering at the Opening Ceremony of INNOPROM 2016 on July 10, 2016. Leading the Indian delegation, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce & Industry, delivered a welcome address followed by the cultural showcase from India. The other chief guests at the Opening Ceremony included Mr Denis Manturov, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Russian Federation and Mr Evgeny Kuyvashev, Governor of Russia's Sverdlovsk Region. 

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, said, “We are proud to be the Partner Country at INNOPROM 2016. The Indian companies participating at INNOPROM 2016 will highlight the strengths in the area of engineering and innovation under the ‘Brand India Engineering’ campaign. There is a strong potential for growth in India-Russia bilateral trade. Be it high-end engineering, or manufacturing, India is moving towards being synonymous to quality, reliability & durability.” 

Ms Nirmala Sitharaman also held a bilateral meeting with Minister of Trade & Industry, Russia- Mr. Denis Manturov and discussed various specifics to further strengthen India-Russia industrial & trading ties. She also participated in the India- Russia business forum where she stressed on strong business to business ties between India & Russia. The India- Russia business forum is expected to form business associations between various Indian & global firms. 

The formal inauguration of the India pavilion took place on July 11, 2016 by Ms Nirmala Sitharaman and Mr Denis Manturov in the presence of Mr Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Ms Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan and various other important members from the Russian and Indian business community. 

The Indian exhibition at the Trade Fair covers an area of around 3,600 square metres. As many as 110 companies (spread in over 100 stands) are taking part in the technological and engineering trade fair, including the Department of Heavy Industries, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Bharat Forge, Sun Group, NTPC, NHPC and Ace Designers to name a few. 

Markets make a splash, Sensex zooms 500 pts to 11-mth high

 Mumbai, Jul 11 (PTI) Stocks were on fire today as the Sensex rocketed 500 points to close at an 11-month high of 27,627 and the Nifty above 8,400 on across the board buying amid robust global cues after a solid US jobs report.

It is the biggest single-day gain in over a month for the Sensex.

Sentiment moved many notches higher following a rally in global equities as investors cheered a strong US jobs report while a landslide victory for Japan's ruling coalition in weekend elections boosted stimulus hopes.

Investor focus now shifts to the first leg of corporate earnings. TCS and Infosys are slated to come out with their results on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Monsoon's progress, its coverage of most part of India and a stronger possibility of passage of the deadlocked GST Bill in Rajya Sabha offered more positives.

After starting higher, the Sensex ended at an 11-month high of 27,626.69, up 499.79 points, or 1.84 per cent -- its biggest single-day gain since May 25 when it had risen 575.70 points.

Today's closing is highest since August 19 last year when it ended at 27,931.64.

The 50-share NSE Nifty recaptured the 8,400-mark before closing at 8,467.90, gain of 144.70 points, or 1.74 per cent.

"Positive US jobs data and expectations of a good start to the first quarter earnings season helped the market rally," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

"Market participants expect the rising stability in the US economy is unlikely to support the Fed to make any changes in the interest rate in the near term due to the prevailing ambiguity caused by Brexit. This will provide space to EMs like India to attract foreign funds."

Most other Asian markets closed on a strong footing following a strong weekend rally in the US.

Japan's Nikkei remained at the forefront, jumping 3.98 per cent, followed by Hong Kong's 1.54 per cent, Singapore's 0.97 per cent and the Shanghai Composite's 0.23 per cent.

European bourses are too trading firmly higher, with Frankfurt' DAX up 1.20 per cent, Paris CAC 0.70 per cent and UK's FTSE 0.70 per cent.

Meanwhile, FPIs net bought shares worth Rs 330.62 crore on Friday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

The domination was near complete, as 29 scrips out of 30-share Sensex pack ended higher while Axis Bank lost.

Adani Ports was the top gainer by rising 4.78 per cent.

Tata Motors went up 4.15 per cent after the company's Jaguar Land Rover reported 22 per cent jump in global retail sales in first half the year.

So did ICICI Bank (3.44 per cent), SBI (2.84 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (2.84 per cent), Coal India (2.84 per cent), Tata Steel (2.72 per cent) and Hero MotoCorp (2.52 per cent).

Among BSE sectoral indices, metal rose the most by 2.46 per cent, followed by auto 2.19 per cent, banking 2.07 per cent, PSU 2.06 per cent and realty 2.05 per cent.

Mid-cap and small-cap firmed up 1.49 and 0.79 per cent, respectively, on fresh buying by retail investors.

Obama lands in Madrid for abbreviated visit to Spain

 Madrid, Jul 10 (AP) US President Barack Obama has arrived in Spain for an abbreviated visit to the NATO ally.

Air Force One landed at Torrej n Air Base outside of Madrid.

Obama plans meetings in Madrid with Spanish leaders and a visit with King Don Felipe IV. He'll also travel to the US Naval Station Rota to address troops.

The White House says the visit will highlight security cooperation between the two nations and a strong political and economic relationship.

The president had planned a stop in Seville, for some sightseeing. But he cut his trip short a day after the fatal shooting of five police officers in Dallas on Thursday night.

Obama flew from Poland, where he attended a NATO summit.

Tata Steel pauses sale of UK assets on Brexit uncertainty, looks for partner

One of the blast furnaces of the Tata Steel plant is seen at sunset in Port Talbot, South Wales, May 31, 2013.

Tata Steel has put the process of selling its major British assets on hold because of the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote and surrounding pension liabilities and will now also look at forming a joint venture, the company said.

Tata Steel put its British operations up for sale in March, including its Port Talbot plant in southern Wales, threatening thousands of jobs, but an industry source told Reuters on Thursday that the sale had been put on hold.

The firm said on Friday the June 23 referendum, when Britons voted to leave the European Union, and issues around the pension scheme had prompted a rethink.

"The bids have also been reviewed in the light of the uncertainties caused by the UK referendum and the outcome of the UK Government’s consultation on the British Steel Pension Scheme," the firm said in a statement.

"Consequently, Tata Steel has now entered into discussions with strategic players in the steel industry, including Thyssenkrupp."

Germany's biggest steelmaker Thyssenkrupp has said it wants to play a role in any consolidation of the European steel market, which is saddled with excess production capacity and a weak demand outlook.

Tata Steel said it will also begin separate processes for the potential sale of its Speciality Steels business and the northern English Hartlepool pipe mills except for its 20-inch Tube Mill.

Liberty House Group, which an industrial source told Reuters on Thursday was to bid for Tata Steel's specialty steels and pipeline tubes business, said on Friday it will continue discussions with Tata about acquiring a number of assets.

There were signs this week that Brexit-induced uncertainty and a sharp fall in sterling would hurt a wide range of companies, with investors warning the economy could tip into recession, hammering consumer and business confidence.

Tata Steel employs some 11,000 people in the UK. Its specialty steel and tubes business together employ some 2,000 people, meaning the fate of another 9,000 steel jobs and thousands more jobs indirectly related to steelmaking is now uncertain.

(Additional reporting by William James, Sankalp Phartiyal and Ankit Ajmera; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and James Dalgleish)

Market at a loss for direction as Sensex ends in red

 Mumbai, Jul 8 (PTI) Sensex slipped into reverse gear today as it wiped off yesterday's paltry gains by closing 75 points lower, with investors taking a cautious line before start of the earnings season next week amid muted overseas cues.

It was a weekly loss for the market too, with the Sensex and the Nifty losing 18.01 points (0.06 per cent) and 5.15 points (0.06 per cent), respectively.

The corporate earnings season is officially going to kick off from July 15, when Infosys is due to come out with its results.

Asia remained weak as US payroll data, which essentially serve as a pointer to the health of the American economy and are scheduled to be released on Friday, added to the level of suspense.

Despite all the global headwinds, an above-average monsoon so far and a strong chance of passage of the long-pending GST Bill in the upcoming Monsoon session are giving investors some early hopes.

Weighed down by fresh selling, mostly due to profit-booking in blue-chips, the Sensex remained in a range-bound before ending lower by 74.59 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 27,126.90. As many as 16 lost while 14 gained.

The gauge had edged up 34.62 points yesterday.

The NSE Nifty closed down by 14.70 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 8,323.20.

"The market witnessed range-bound movement with negative bias as investors stayed put from making fresh long positions ahead of US job data due later on Friday. A better job data will provide an intermediate relief to the Fed from the underlying headwinds of Brexit," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Telecom stocks took heavy blows as they fell by up to almost 4 per cent, hit by concerns that DoT will soon issue demand notice of over Rs 12,500 crore to six telecom operators amid allegations of under-reporting of revenue to the tune of Rs 45,000 crore.

Bharti Airtel plunged 2.28 per cent, Idea Cellular 2.86 per cent, Reliance Communications 3.15 per cent and Tata Teleservices 3.75 per cent.

Among 30-Sensex constituents, GAIL topped the losers list by falling 2.37 per cent to Rs 375.45, followed by Adani Ports 1.59 per cent to Rs 207.05.

Adani Ports, L&T, ONGC, Lupin, Coal India, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, RIL, HDFC, Bajaj Auto, M&M, ITC and TCS all lost by up to 1.43 per cent.

In broader markets, the BSE small-cap index edged lower by 0.17 per cent while mid-cap gained 0.11 per cent.

In terms of sectors, capital goods was the hardest hit as it fell the most by 0.99 per cent, followed by oil & gas, infrastructure, PSU and metal.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 299.51 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Asian indices ended lower. Japan's Nikkei slumped 1.11 per cent while Hong Kong Hang Seng edged lower by 0.69 per cent. Shanghai Composite was down 0.95 per cent.

In early session, European stocks fell over the Brexit implications, which deepened over worsening health of Italian banks. London's FTSE 100 index dipped 0.20 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX and Paris CAC 40 slipped 0.30 per cent each.

India seeks deeper partnership with S Africa in defence sector

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and the President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr. Jacob Zuma, at the delegation level talks, at Union Buildings, in Pretoria, South Africa on July 08, 2016

Pretoria, Jul 8 (PTI) Showcasing India as an attractive destination for defence production, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today sought deeper collaboration in the sector with South Africa, a major arms exporter, even as he thanked it for supporting India's bid for membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group.

On the second leg of a four-nation African tour, Modi held wide-ranging talks with South African President Jacob Zuma during which both sides decided to ramp up their traditional ties by boosting trade and investment ties, especially in manufacturing, mining, renewable energy and pharma sectors.

The two countries also agreed to bolster defence and security cooperation and vowed to cooperate "actively" in dealing with terrorism, besides working closely at multilateral fora.

After the talks, a total of four agreements were inked to expand ties in areas of information technology, arts and culture, tourism and science and technology.

"I thanked the President for South Africa's support to India's membership (bid) of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. We know that we can count on the active support of our friends, like South Africa," Modi said at a joint media interaction with Zuma after the talks.

There were reports that South Africa was among countries which had reservations about India's bid to join the 48-nation grouping when the issue came up for discussion at its plenary meeting in Seoul last month.

Pitching to take already close bilateral ties to new heights, both Modi and Zuma paid glowing tribute to "two liberation icons" -- Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.

"For me personally, this visit is an opportunity to pay homage to two of the greatest human souls to have ever walked this Earth - Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela," Modi said.

He further said, "We stood together in our common fight against racial subjugation and colonialism. It was in South Africa that Gandhi found his true calling. He belongs as much to India as to South Africa." 

About opportunities in the defence sector, Modi said both countries can join hands in not only meeting needs of each other but also to respond to regional and global demand.

"Beyond economic ties, and links of business, trade and investment, we can also partner in the field of defence and security. Both, at the level of industry and for our strategic and security needs," he said.

He said defence sector in India is one of the sectors witnessing a complete transformation and that it offers exciting opportunities.

"Our companies can also pool their capacities to jointly develop or manufacture defence equipments and platforms.And, not just to meet our defence needs, but also to respond to regional and global demand," he said

231 Namami Gange projects worth Rs 1500 Cr launched

 Haridwar/New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) In its bid to fast-track execution of the ambitious Namami Gange programme, the NDA government today launched 231 projects, including installation of sewage treatment plants and ghat constructions, at over 100 locations in seven states with an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore.

The projects, aimed at cleaning the holy river and ensuring its unfettered flow, were launched simultaneously at 103 locations in five basin states of the river - Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, besides Delhi and Haryana through which Ganga's tributary Yamuna passes.

Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Uma Bharati and Mahesh Sharma and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat launched 43 such projects in Haridwar.

Noting "wrong planning" resulted in high pollution level in Ganga, Union Water Resources Minister Bharati reiterated commitment of the Modi government to taking corrective steps to cleanse the river which she termed as "pride of the world and country".

"The Ganga has not been polluted because of untreated water as much as because of wrong planning. Projects being launched under Namami Gange are corrective steps to atone for what has been done over the years to dirty the river," she said at the event.

"We will achieve what has been resolved," she told the gathering, according to an official statement.

Announcing that the Centre is mulling a legislation, called the Ganga Act, for the success of Namami Gange, Bharati said industries will not just be barred from dumping untreated waste into the holy river, but treated water will also be diverted for irrigation purposes.

The preliminary draft of the Act will be sent to the states for their opinion and the final draft will be prepared based on it, she said.

Bharati also renewed her pledge to begin a 'Ganga Padayatra' (foot march) in October this year to create awareness among the people about advantages of a 'Clean Ganga' and how they could contribute to it.

The minister said those found dumping industrial waste into the Ganga will be sent to jail.

She said that Namami Gange will achieve its objective by 2018 but its effects will be visible by the end of this year.

Union Transport Minister Gadkari said the government will install 60 sewage treatment plants and launch 50 other big projects under the mission later this year. .

Joint Press Conference by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya and Mr. Guy Ryder, DG of ILO held

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge), Shri Bandaru Dattatreya along with the Director-General of International Labour Organization (ILO), Mr. Guy Ryder addressing the joint press conference, in New Delhi on July 07, 2016. The Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Shri Shankar Aggarwal is also seen.

Government of India is following the approach of ‘Reform to Transform’ through far-reaching structural reforms. Employment Generation is the first priority for Government of India. This was stated by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State(IC) for Labour and Employment in a joint press conference with DG,ILO(International Labour Organisation) Shri Guy Ryder here today. India is working on a comprehensive strategy to bring employment to the core of development strategy, promoting industrial activity through Make in India, enhancing employability through Skill India and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship through Start up India. These are a few transformative initiatives that the existing government has taken. 

The Minister said that India is very proactive voice on the international Labour Policy Forum. International Labour Conference 2015 adopted the Recommendation on Transition from Informal to Formal economy (R 204) aimed at facilitating the transition of workers and economic units from the informal to the formal economy with an overwhelming majority. The concept of ‘Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)’, which India is practicing, has also been acknowledged by the international forum as a powerful intervention for leading the transition. 

He said India is actively engaged with other international forums like BRICS and G20 to address common issues faced by these nations in labour and employment sectors. BRICS brings together five major emerging economies, comprising 43% of the world population, having 37% of the world GDP and 17% share in the world trade. Starting essentially with economic issues of mutual interest, the agenda of BRICS meetings has considerably widened over the years to encompass topical global issues. BRICS cooperation has two pillars – consultation on issues of mutual interest through meetings of Leaders as well as at the level of Ministers. 

India has assumed the presidency of BRICS, this year, the Minister informed. Labour & Employment pillar has newly been added to BRICS. The Ministerial level meeting of BRICS took place recently at the sidelines of International Labour Conference at Geneva. For the first time an Employment Working Group of BRICS has been constituted and the first meeting of the Group is scheduled to be held on 27-28, July, 2016 at Hyderabad, India. This will be followed by the Labour & Employment Ministers’ Meet in October 2016. 

Shri Dattatreya said that the Ministry of Labour and Employment is committed towards job security, wage security and social security for each and every worker. The Ministry is working on reforms for bringing transparency and accountability in enforcement of Labour Laws. Simultaneously, the Ministry is making important initiatives to realize and establish the dignity and respect for each and every worker in the country through provision of social security and enhancing the avenues and quality of employment. 

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Guy Ryder, DG, ILO said that the World of Work is fast changing due to globalization, technological upgradation, geo-political situations for which collective responses and solutions needs to be taken by all the stake holders. India is the fastest growing economy, largest democracy and the youngest nation and is responsive to the challenges that new global order is throwing at . He said there is a very clearly detectable convergence in the priorities and ambitions of Indian government with the objectives of ILO. Indian Government is focussing on rural population and rural economy and expressed hope of success in these efforts, he added. Talking about India’s footprint on international labour policy he said that India is not only a founding member of ILO but a strong voice on the issues of Labour. Speaking of ILO’s role he said, the ILO can bring three ingredients to these efforts i.e. International experience, international labour standards and social dialogue. ILO as a 100-year-old organisation looks forward to strong and practical India leading in achieving ILO objectives. Sympathising with labour reforms, Mr.Guy Ryder said there is nothing negative or objectionable about labour reforms as per se. Labour laws that are easy to comprehend and easy to implement are need of the day. He said that the international community is coming closer and UN adopted development agenda for 2030 with 17 goals to be achieved and one of these commitment is decent work opportunities for all. Mr. Guy Ryder also responded to questions from media while interacting with them. 

Mr. Guy Ryder, Director General, International Labour Organization (ILO) is on a five day visit to India from July 5-9, 2016, at the invitation of Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (IC), Labour and Employment. The DG is participating in high-level discussions with Government officials and Social Partners. He had successful one-to-one meetings with the Prime Minister and the Minister of State (IC), Labour and Employment. ILO is the highest tripartite UN body on labour matters. Presently, 187 countries are members of ILO. India is a founding member of ILO and a permanent member of the Governing Body. 

The visit of Mr. Guy Ryder, DG, ILO to India has come at an appropriate time. ILO is a think tank for many other international fora in their research activities. This visit of DG, ILO would be beneficial both to ILO as well India. 

Market consolidates as Sensex creeps up, Lupin leads

 Mumbai, Jul 7 (PTI) Market remained in a phase of consolidation as the Sensex edged up 35 points in choppy trade today ahead of start of earnings season next week and Monsoon session of Parliament amid a higher opening in Europe.

According to the just-released US Fed minutes, policymakers decided to put rate hike plans on hold till they get a grip on likely consequences of the Brexit fallout.

The earnings season is scheduled for next week and the Monsoon session is slated to begin from July 18.

Healthcare, FMCG, power and banking stocks were on the radar as buying paced up.

Though the market showed plenty of resilience after the UK vote to exit the European Union, investors digest implications of the development and are trying to get a sense of the fuller impact.

HSBC in a report said India's economy may grow at a slightly slower pace of 7.4 per cent this fiscal amid weaker global demand and risk aversion, which injected a sense of restraint.

The 30-share Sensex gave up most of its early gains before closing at 27,201.49, a moderate gain of 34.62 points, or 0.13 per cent.

On Tuesday, the index had dropped 112 points for the first time in six sessions as investors booked profits in recent gainers.

The NSE Nifty settled the day at 8,337.90, up 1.95 points, or 0.02 per cent.

The market was shut yesterday on account of 'Eid-Ul-Fitr'.

IT, auto, capital goods and metal stocks came under pressure, which restricted the gains.

Lupin topped the Sensex gainers' list, soaring 6.25 per cent after the company received Establishment Inspection Report from USFDA for the Goa facility, followed by Hind Unilever 3.03 per cent.

The recovery also got support from gains in Dr Reddy's, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Power Grid, ITC, Cipla, NTPC, Axis Bank and Sun Pharma, rising by up to 2.97 per cent.

Punjab National Bank rose 2.68 per cent as its arm PNB Housing Finance approached Sebi for an IPO to raise Rs 2,500 crore.

Of the 30-share Sensex pack, 12 advanced while 18 fell.

BSE healthcare counter saw maximum activity with gains of 1.14 per cent, followed by FMCG (0.92 per cent), power (0.30 per cent), banking (0.24 per cent) and realty (0.20 per cent).

The small-cap index ended 0.04 per cent higher while the mid-cap index fell 0.41 per cent.

The buy momentum continued as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net bought shares worth Rs 265.63 52 crore on Tuesday, provisional data from the stock exchanges showed.

Global stocks presented a mixed picture. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 1.03 while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.67 per cent and Shanghai Composite shed 0.01 per cent.

European stocks extended their early advance, with Britain's FTSE, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 climbing up to 1.61 per cent

PM Modi arrives in Mozambique

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and the President of Mozambique, Mr. Filipe Nyusi, at the delegation level talks, at Maputo, Mozambique on July 07, 2016.

Maputo (Mozambique), Jul 7 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Mozambique as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.

"A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Mozambique's capital Maputo.

Modi begins his five-day tour with Mozambique and will then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

"Beginning my Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique. This visit will strengthen India's bond with Mozambique," the Prime Minister said in a tweet.