Currency notes issued before 2005 to be withdrawn post March 31: RBI

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank today decided to withdraw all currency notes issued prior to 2005, including Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations, after March 31 in a move apparently aimed at curbing black money and fake currencies. "After March 31, 2014, it (RBI) will completely withdraw from circulation all bank notes issued prior to 2005. From April 1, 2014, the public will be required to approach banks for exchanging these notes," the RBI said in a statement. The public can easily distinguish the currency notes issued before 2005 as they do not have the year of printing on reverse side. The year of printing in a small font is visible at the middle of the bottom row in notes issued after 2005. Asking people not to panic and cooperate in the withdrawal process, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said old notes will continue to be legal and can be exchanged in any bank after April 1. Asking people not to panic and cooperate in the withdrawal process, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said old notes will continue to be legal and can be exchanged in any bank after April 1. "From April 1, 2014, the public will be required to approach banks for exchanging these notes. Banks will provide exchange facility for these notes until further communication," the RBI said. Although the RBI did not give any reason for withdrawal of pre-2005 currency notes, the move is expected to unearth black money held in cash. As the new currency notes have added security features, they would help in curbing the menace of fake currency. At present, currency notes in denominations of Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 are issued.

The central bank had earlier discontinued printing of Rs 5 note, but reintroduced this denomination later to meet demand. Earlier, the RBI had withdrawn a certain series of currency notes at bank level but bearers were not asked to get them replaced. As per the RBI data, 7,351 crore pieces of currency notes were in circulation as on March 31, 2013. Of this, 14.6 per cent was Rs 500 notes and 5.9 per cent Rs 1,000 notes.

Tata Motors to offer voluntary retirement scheme to a section of employees

NEW DELHI: Hurt by the prolonged slowdown in the auto industry, Tata Motors will offer a voluntary retirement scheme to a section of employees as it looks at rationalising costs. The company, which today announced a truck racing series for the first time in India to be held in March, also said it is investing Rs 3,000 crore on product development in FY14.

"The industry as well as India is going through a rather protracted downturn. Therefore, there are lots of things out there to enable us, ensure our structure is suitable. Voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) allows those people to move on with our support," Tata Motors Managing Director Karl Slym told reporters here. Asked how many employees would be offered the VRS, he said it would be a "very minor" number. In December, domestic car sales declined 4.52 per cent from a year earlier to 1,32,561 units. Tata Motors' sales fell about 42 per cent to 6,537 units last month. Total sales of commercial vehicles were down 25.53 per cent to 46,757 units. The company's commercial vehicle sales dropped 45.83 per cent to 25,738 units. Hit by a prolonged slump in sales, Hinduja flagship firm Ashok Leyand had offered a VRS for its executives during the third quarter. It spent Rs 43.58 crore on settlements for those who accepted the offer up to December 31. On plans for product development, Slym said the company is spending Rs 3,000 crore in FY14. This is a part of the company's Plan 20-20 and will span commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles, he added. Stating that the company plans to make newer technologies available, he said the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship will serve as a "laboratory" for developing new products. "We have worked on this for eight months...we want to use this platform, not only for us but also for our partners to use the platform to develop new technologies for our trucking business," he said. The race will be held on March 22-23 at the Buddh International Circuit at Greater Noida. Slym said a revival in the commercial vehicles market is unlikely in the next 12 months. The CV market is 50 per cent of what it was two years ago and this is the longest downturn the industry has witnessed, he added.

India to grow 6 per cent in 2014-15, says Crisil

MG Arun New Delhi, January 22, 2014 | UPDATED 17:40 IST

Ratings agency Crisil said on Wednesday that India will witness a GDP growth rate of 6 per cent for the fiscal 2014-15, up from an estimated 4.8 per cent in the current fiscal. This will be aided by an expected continuation of the reform process, the implementation of stalled projects, debottlenecking of the mining sector and a recovery in industry on higher external demand, it said. "We also expect some rebound in services growth in 2014-15 led by higher exports as well as a positive rub-off from higher industrial growth," the agency added. It also expected a normal monsoon year for the next fiscal, which will cushion growth and help in taming inflation. The growth forecast is also supported by improved global outlook. Standard and Poor's expects US GDP growth to rise to 2.8 per cent in 2014, up from 1.7 per cent in 2013, while the Eurozone economy is forecast to expand by 0.9 per cent after two years of recession. Crisil, however, adds a word of caution. "...there is no saying yet whether we have seen the beginning of a decisive, sustainable recovery. On the downside, we feel growth could remain below 5 per cent yet again should risks manifest," it said in a media release. The GDP forecast for the next fiscal is driven by a partial unclogging of domestic policy logjam as well as improved global growth prospects. This, together with improved private consumption demand, will trigger a mild revival in industrial growth to 4% in 2014-15. Sectors such as consumer durables, automobiles and textiles will especially gain from this revival. The mining sector, which has been plagued by policy issues since July 2011, is also

forecast to expand for the first time in three years. The mining ban on iron ore in Karnataka and Goa has already been lifted and mining growth will pick up, boosted by a low base and as firms obtain relevant clearances and resume operations. "We believe that the recent momentum on resolving mining issues will continue into 2014-15 and will help address supply-side constraints for industries, particularly in the steel and power sectors. The integration of south India into the national power grid will help improve power availability for industries in the region," Crisil said. The upside is limited because, even with an improvement in private investment climate due to the recent policy momentum, the benefits will take time to flow at the ground level because of the long gestation periods involved and a sharp narrowing of project pipelines. In addition, the financial sector is not in a position to aggressively bankroll growth unless significant cleansing of balance sheets (especially infrastructure loans) is undertaken. Higher industrial growth will also have a positive rub-off on some services sectors such as trade, transport and banking. Higher exports growth, especially by the IT/ITES sector, will provide additional thrust. "Overall, we expect the service sector growth to lift to 7.6 per cent in the next fiscal," it added. Pick-up in consumption from its current lows on the back of moderation in inflation and as a bumper rabi crop harvested in 2014 raises farm income will help begin a recovery. On the upcoming general elections, Crisil said that a decisive mandate can speed up the resolution of policy bottlenecks (a big drag on India's growth), hasten pending reforms, improve private sector sentiment by sending a strong signal and lay the foundation for India's entry into a phase of healthier growth. A fragile political outcome, in contrast, could further delay long-pending critical reforms, particularly in agriculture, manufacturing, education and skill development.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/crisil-india-gdp-growth-rate-sixpercent/1/339123.html TABLE Outlook 2012-13* 2013-14 Forecast 2014-15 Forecast Total GDP (y-o-y %) Agriculture Industry 5.0 1.9 2.1 4.8 4.5 1.0 6.0 3.0 4.0

Services

7.1

6.5

7.6

Note: *Provisional actuals Source: Central Statistical Office, CRISIL Research

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/crisil-india-gdp-growth-rate-sixpercent/1/339123.html

Room for rate cut as inflation moderating: Mayaram

PTI Davos Last Updated: January 22, 2014 | 21:09 IST TAGS: Inflation Mayaram

| government's share sale | RBI policy | Hindustan Zinc Limited | BALCO | Arvind

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Ahead of RBI's monetary policy meet, Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram on Wednesday said signs of moderation in inflation have strengthened the case for a cut in interest rates to boost economic growth. "I don't think there is a case for rate hike at all at this point of time. If the RBI is

comfortable at the manner at which the inflation is coming out, they may consider it (rate cut). And I also believe that there is now a very strong case for incentivising growth...because we now need to move out of this trough, specially considering the fact that employment is also suffering, investments have been sluggish...," Mayaram told a television channel in Davos. The Secretary is here to attend the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting at this Alpine ski resort town. Wholesale inflation declined to a five-month low of 6.16 per cent in December, while the consumer price index (CPI) based inflation declined to three month low of 9.87 per cent. The data raised hopes that the RBI will lower interest rates in its third quarter monetary policy review on January 28. To a query on government's share sale in Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) and BALCO, Mayaram said stake sales must happen before March 31, the last day of current financial year. "...as soon as we go back, we are going to draw a roadmap and I do believe that in the next two months you will see that it will be completed," he said. The Secretary also said the government was "not looking" at selling its stake in either L&T or ITC held through SUUTI at this point of time. The statement comes within days of the government appointing merchant bankers to sell its stake Axis Bank, the third entity in SUUTI holdings.

SpiceJet, Air India, IndiGo and GoAir offer cut-price tickets as airline fare war rages Intel Corporation And Verizon Communications Inc. Make A Deal

Limited offer: SpiceJet, IndiGo cut fares by 50%; Air India, Jet, GoAir may follow
NEW DELHI: It's a fare war in the skies once again, thanks to the lean travelling season. Hours after SpiceJet said it is offering a 50% discount on base fares for a period of three days, Indigo too threw its hat in the ring, saying it has also effected a similar scheme. India's largest passenger carrier by market share IndiGo also slashed its fares by around 50% for 30-day and 60-day advance purchases on its website. The airline, however, declined to comment on whether the drop in fares was part of a discount campaign. Air India is also expected to take call on dropping its fares in a day or two. There are limited tickets available and the discount window is open for a period of three days in both cases. The discount is valid for travel up to April 15, 2014. Last year when the airlines had offered hefty discounts, it was valid through the year. ET Now reports that Jet Airways and GoAir are also likely to follow suit. SpiceJet, the low-cost airline owned by the Sun Group, earlier in the day said it is offering 50% discount on base fares for a period of three days. The sales of the tickets ends at 23:59 hours on January 23. A Delhi to Mumbai flight will cost Rs 2,830; a Delhi to Goa 3,355; Bengalore to Delhi 3,444 and Bangalore to Mumbai 1,902. Rates for other routes are mentioned at the end of this story. "Tickets need to be booked at least 30 days prior to the travel day," according to the website of the airline. Nothing to cheer, however, for those planning an international trip. "Tickets need to be booked at least 30 days prior to the travel day," according to the website of the airline. Nothing to cheer, however, for those planning an international trip. "I think the offer is only on domestic flights and not international routes," SL Narayanan, group CFO, Sun Group, told ET Now. "The discount in rates is to improve realizations," he said. He clarified that earnings of the company would not be hurt on account of the discount that has been offered. Can the company afford a scheme like that? "We have done this based on the

numbers we have crunched. If we can succeed to move utilizations by the target we are anticipating, this would be a step in the right direction," Narayanan said. The offer from SpiceJet says all applicable fee and taxes will have to borne by the customer. So, if we calculate, a Goa to Mumbai fare is just 20% cheaper. "There are certain sectors where the loads would be high, so you have to look at it sector-wise. As I said it's not a one-size-fits-all. We are not selling all sectors at the same price, and therefore realizations will be better for long distances," he said. Mumbai to Chandigarh is being offered at Rs 2,588; Chennai to Delhi 3,293; Chennai to Port Blair 2,302; Hyderabad to Kolkata 2,729; Hyderabad to Jaipur 2,729; Kolkata to Mumbai 3,090; and Kolkata to Chennai Rs 2,565.