Business Today July 17, 2016

What a fortnight it has been. As we go to press, the United Kingdom has voted in a referendum to exit the European Union. It was a remarkably close vote, practically split down the middle. The markets around the world are going crazy, and in India, the rupee and stock indices are plunging. I think the markets are overreacting because the implications of Brexit will only be clear much later. If it triggers a global financial crisis, it will obviously affect our economy, too. If the markets calm down in a few days or even weeks, India should not be very badly affected. Indeed, it may even gain. On page 26, we look at the short-term impact of Brexit. Meanwhile, the government announced a major initiative on FDI. Prime Minister…

Indian MNC with Global Footprint This refers to your cover story on Larsen & Toubro (The New L&T, July 3). An excellent piece. The saga of L&T is a fine example of how Indians can build world class businesses at home provided they get the right opportunities. Indeed, L&T has clocked a stellar performance across diverse sectors as its Chairman A.M. Naik has pointed out. The immense contribution of L&T to India’s economic development merits special mention. Its alacrity in retaining profitable business ventures and entering newer verticals such as defence, nuclear and aerospace in an effort to garner substantial revenues is highly commendable. The HR initiatives of L&T, too, deserve special mention. The company has focused on infusing fresh talent, retaining seasoned professionals, reducing attrition, and building a strong…

$85 billion what the Indian government expects to fetch after the Union Cabinet approved the base price for the country’s largest spectrum auction to date QUOTE “Who said to US Cong on 13/3/13 the US should act against India to defend US pharmaceuticals interests? Arvind Subramanian MoF !! Sack him!!!” – Subramanian Swamy, tweets targeting Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, after ensuring RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s exit QUOTE “Opening up sectors like retail, defence and pharma to FDI and by relaxing norms ‘betrayal’ to people of the country” – Ashwani Mahajan, National Co-convener of RSS-affiliate body, Swadeshi Jagran Manch, on the Centre’s decision to relax FDI norms in nine sectors INDIA IN TOP 10 FDI inflows 2015 FLASH IN A PAN To cripple and check the activities of wilful tax…

30 FAIR & SQUARE WHAT: Trade Frauds, Trade Elasticities and Non-tariff Measures WHEN: June 30, Kuala Lumpur WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The series invites leading researchers in development economics and public policy to present their work on the role of burdensome non-tariff measures in inducing large trade frauds and affecting trade flows. 07 HOLD WATER WHAT: Water Conclave 2016 WHEN: July 7, Jaipur WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The interactive session organised by the CII and Rajasthan government will have representatives of the government, industries, society and social groups to chalk out a sustainable plan on water conservation and recharge of ground water by industries. 07 - 09 - 15 - 16 KNIGHTS IN ARMOUR WHAT: Familiarisation Programme for Indian Army’s Armoured Vehicle Requirements WHEN: July 7-9 & July 15-16, Ahmednagar…

ON A TEAR Cotton and spices production has shot up exponentially since 1990/91 Production values of crops are indexed to 100 Food grains include cereals and pulses; Plantation crops include tea, coffee and rubber; Fibre include cotton and jute; Spices include pepper, coriander, ginger, turmeric, chillies, garlic and areca nuts ; Oil seeds include soyabean, ground nut, linseed, rapeseed and mustard, sunflower seed, castor, nigerseed, safflower and sesamum BIGGER FOOTPRINT The pattern of gross cropped area reveals the same trend. The area under cash crops has increased over time - it's the reverse for food crops. TOP 10 EXPORTS Cash crops and their products figure prominently in India's basket of agricultural exports... Top 10 exported agricultural products in terms of value. Figures for 2015/16 in ` crore Spices, cotton, coffee…

If trends in pledging of shares indicate the financial health of promoters, India Inc. is showing early signs of deleveraging. If we look at the data of top 25 companies that account for 58 per cent pledged shares by value, 11 showed a decline between March 31 and June 21. This means the promoters paid the lenders and got a part of their shares released. The list includes TCS, Zee Entertainment, JSW Steel, Reliance Power, GMR Infrastructure and Apollo Hospitals. Seven showed an increase while the other seven showed no change. For instance, TCS saw pledged shares fall from 3.15 per cent to 2.90 per cent. The value fell from 11,490 crore to 11,119 crore. This was despite a 5.2 per cent rise in the company’s stock price during the…