Issue 432 13 January, 2020 WEEKLY MEDIA UPDATE Monday (This document comprises news clips from various media in which Balmer Lawrie is mentioned, news related to GOI and PSEs, and news from the verticals that we do business in. This will be uploaded on intranet and website every Monday.) Balmer Lawrie in News The Telegraph – 09.01.2020 Rajasthan Patrika – 06.01.2020 The Indian Express - 09.01.2020 WB Cuts India’s Growth Outlook to 5% Indian economy likely to grow at 6% in 2020, says Blackstone report The World Bank has sharply slashed growth forecast for India to 5% for FY20 from 6% forecast The latest annual global markets report by earlier, a day after the country's statistics office private equity player Blackstone's top pegged growth in current financial year at lowest executives — Vice-Chairman Byron Wien and in 11 years to 5%. It expects the country’s growth Chief Investment Strategist Joe Zidle — to recover to 5.8% in next the fiscal. A report mention India in it for the first time in more than released on Wednesday cited a lingering weakness three decades that the report is being in credit from non-banking financial companies published. Titled Ten Surprises for 2020, the (NBFCs) as the main cause of the downgrade. The report is a list unexpected events that could bank had slashed its previous estimates to 6% for influence and shape the socio-political this fiscal year and forecast a recovery to 6.9% in landscapes worldwide for this year. In a pointer FY21 in its October South Asia Economic Focus to India, the single closest ‘also-ran’ surprise report, stating that “India’s cyclical slowdown is that didn't make the top 10 projections has to severe”. The report titled, Global Economic do with the subcontinent. Specifically, the Prospects, comes a day after the National recently published report says, “Fears of an Statistical Office (NSO) released its first advance economic crisis in India are allayed. The economic estimates on Tuesday which forecast the emerging markets continue to have uneven country’s growth to slow down to a 11-year low of performance but India recovers from 5%. The previous low being 3.1% in 2009 decelerating growth. The Narendra Modi following the financial crisis of 2008. government continues business-friendly growth The Economic Times - 09.01.2020 reforms, the economy grows at 6 per cent and https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TheEc the market rises 20 per cent.” onomicTimes/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=ETK Business Standard - 08.01.2020 M%2F2020%2F01%2F09&entity=Ar01515&sk=4 https://www.business- DDE64B8&mode=text standard.com/article/economy-policy/indian- economy-likely-to-grow-at-6-in-2020-says- blackstone-report-120010800053_1.html At 5%, GDP growth to hit 11-year low in India official sees Budget gap FY20 widening to 3.8%, over target CSO’s first advance estimate projects all three India’s budget deficit could widen to 3.8% of sectors growing at lower rate; industry worst hit. gross domestic product in the current fiscal The Central Statistics Office has projected the year, breaching a target of 3.3%, according to economy’s growth rate for 2019-20 at 5 per cent, a senior official. The law allows the government the lowest in the current series with 2011-12 as to exceed the target by as much as half a the base year. This projection is a 11-year low. percentage point, the official told reporters, This first advance estimate is much lower than the asking not to be identified in line with rules. The 7 per cent growth rate projected in the Economic government can also miss its target if it faces Survey as also the average forecast of 5.5 per cent acts of war, a collapse in farm output, or the by major agencies, but on a par with RBI’s latest economy is undergoing structural reforms with estimate of 5 per cent. The government estimated unanticipated fiscal implications. The that the gross value added (GVA) — a more government is facing a revenue crunch as realistic guide to measure changes in the economic growth slows, putting pressure on the aggregate value of goods and services produced budget. An official GDP estimate published — will grow at 4.9 per cent in 2019-20. All the Tuesday showed India’s economy will probably three sectors of the economy — agriculture, grow 5% in the fiscal year to March and post industry and services — are projected to grow at nominal growth of 7.5%. That’s lower than the a lower rate than the previous year. However, 11.5% nominal growth the government forecast industry is the worst hit, with the growth rate at in its budget in July. The reduction in nominal just a third of the previous year. Most worrying is GDP estimates will push the government’s fiscal the performance of the manufacturing sector, deficit higher by 12 basis points, or upwards of projected to grow at just 2 per cent against 6.9 3.4%, said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief per cent in the previous fiscal. economist at State Bank of India in Mumbai. The Hindu Business Line - 07.01.2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/ already breached its deficit goals in the previous gdp-growth-seen-slipping-to-11-yr-low-of-5-per- two years. The shortfall exceeded the target by cent-this-fiscal-government- 1 percentage point in the last fiscal year and by data/article30505134.ece 3 percentage points the year before. The Economic Times - 08.01.2020 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/e conomy/indicators/india-official-sees-budget- gap-widening-to-3-8-over- target/articleshow/73152157.cms Modi on frontline to fight slump New Services Biz Growth Hits 3-year High Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the fundamentals of the Indian economy were India’s service sector activity expanded to a strong and it had the capacity to bounce back. five-month high in December on the back of a Modi, who seems to have taken charge of the sharp jump in new business growth, raising efforts to revive the economy, has over the past hopes of sustained economic recovery, a survey few days held multiple brainstorming meetings released on Monday showed. The IHS Markit with different stakeholders over various issues India Services Business Activity Index stood at affecting the economy and to thrash out 53.3 in December, up from 52.7 in November. appropriate policy interventions in the upcoming This is the second-strongest rate of increase in budget. The Prime Minister met economists, output in more than a year behind 53.8 in July. private equity and venture capitalists, business A reading below 50 on the index shows leaders and agri experts on Thursday at the Niti contraction while above that threshold indicates Aayog, and called for focussed efforts from all expansion. “Survey members linked the rise to stakeholders at a time GDP growth in this fiscal is better market conditions and new business projected at 5 per cent, which will be an 11-year growth,” IHS Markit said in a report. New low, making it difficult to reach Modi’s much business growth hit a 38-month high, growing vaunted goal to turn India into a $5 trillion at the quickest pace since October 2016, while economy by 2024. The high-profile meeting — total sales expanded for the third consecutive where finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was month in December, the survey showed. “It's conspicuous by her absence — was attended by encouraging to see the Indian service sector home minister Amit Shah, road transport and continuing to recover from the subdued highways minister Nitin Gadkari, commerce and performances noted in September and industry minister Piyush Goyal besides Niti Aayog October,” said Pollyanna de Lima, principal vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh Kant economist at IHS Markit. and other senior officials of the think-tank. The Economic Times - 07.01.2020 The Telegraph - 10.01.2020 https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/Th https://www.telegraphindia.com/business/modi- eEconomicTimes/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc on-frontline-to-fight-slump/cid/1734423 =ETKM%2F2020%2F01%2F07&entity=Ar0110 9&sk=28424EA1&mode=text Factory output makes modest recovery PSUs not allowed to bid for BPCL in November, driven by manufacturing PSUs such as ONGC and IOC will not be allowed India’s industrial production recovered from three to bid for Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd months of contraction to expand by 1.8% in (BPCL), a senior government official has said. November, signalling an early but weak “The Cabinet has cleared it, questions have improvement in the economy. The recovery, which been answered in Parliament. It’s a move comes against the backdrop of near-flat output towards privatisation. There is no question of growth seen in the same month a year ago, was public sector companies to be allowed,” the driven by a 2.7% expansion in manufacturing official said. Such a move would be against the output, official data from the Central Statistics rules and go against the plan of privatising, the Office showed on Friday. Manufacturing output official said. had been shrinking for the past three months with The Economic Times - 08.01.2020 a 2.1% contraction in October. It had seen a 0.7% https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/ contraction last November. The factory output news/oil-and-gas/psus-not-allowed-to-bid-for- recovery was also aided by expansion in mining, bpcl/73147937 which grew by 1.7% in November, after two months of contraction and no growth in the month before.