Agriculture

Current scenario: Food security, a distant goal for India

Food security is still a far

cry for India, with the

average per capita food

consumption being

about 500 gm per

person, which is far

below global standards.

In the period from 2009

to 2014, Rice, Wheat, and

Pulses recorded a CAGR

of 0.9%, 2.8% and 4.1%

respectively in per

capital net availability of

foodgrains in India,

which indicate a clear

changing pattern in consumption. Source: http://eands.dacnet.nic.in/PDF/PerCapita-FoodGrains.pdf

A region wise representationof FAO data concerning the global and regional per capita food

consumption is provided below for requisite benchmarking.

Table . Global and regional per capita food consumption (kcal per capita per day)

Region 1964 -

1966

1974 -

1976

1984 -

1986

1997 -

1999

2015 2030

World 2358 2435 2655 2803 2940 3050

Developing countries 2054 2152 2450 2681 2850 2980

Near East and North Africa 2290 2591 2953 3006 3090 3170

Sub-Saharan Africa (Excluding South

Africa)

2058 2079 2057 2195 2360 2540

Latin America and the Caribbean 2393 2546 2689 2824 2980 3140

East Asia 1957 2105 2559 2921 3060 3190

South Asia 2017 1986 2205 2403 2700 2900

Industrialized countries 2947 3065 3206 3380 3440 3500

Transition countries 3222 3385 3379 2906 3060 3180

Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/ac911e/ac911e05.htm

Future trends: Agriculture in India has tremendous potential of being transformed into a

vibrant sector. India could pursue policies that would enhance foreign investment in the

food processing sector. Due attention to food safety and security, innovation, and

competitiveness of the local industry would help to increase the speed at which new

products can be introduced in the market to cater to changing consumer tastes and

preferences.

Policy news:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Announces the Reformation of the Agriculture

Ministry, which has been renamed as 'Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Ministry' with

a view to take care of the farming community's needs, as well as the personal

problems faced by them.

Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh has urged the finance ministry to increase

the import duty on both crude and refined edible oils to stem the flow of cheap

imports and protect the interest of domestic farmers. Singh, in a letter to the finance

ministry, suggested that the import duty on crude edible oil be increased to 10% from

7.5%, and to 20% from 15% in case of refined edible oil.

Education

Current scenario: India ought to attract students from SAARC countries towards

broadbasing the Knowledge hub of South Asia

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisages information technology enabled quality

education through the launch of Digital India, state governments and education

practitioners have

become increasingly

interested in the

potential of

technology to

address low learning

levels in primary

schools. In higher

education also, India

has the scope to

become the

Knowledge hub of

South Asia. Looking

at the flow of foreign students to India from the SAARC region, we see that there is room

for greater engagement with most of our neighbouring countries. A miniscule portion of

students from SAARC countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka made way to India

for studies in 2011-12 , with the majority of them opting for countries like USA, UK, Australia

and Canada.

Future trends: India's education system needs to get online. The e-learning market in India is

estimated to be around $3 billion and it is growing. The world of online learning is attractive

not only because learning is no longer tethered to classroom and timetables, but also

because software programmes can “seamlessly integrate social media, making it possible to

create online communities that are course specific”.

Policy news: India, Australia ink MoU to deepen education ties. The MoU would intensify

existing partnerships in higher education and research, including technical and professional

education, schools, vocational education and training. The agreement, which will open up

new and innovative areas of cooperation, was signed between HRD Minister Smriti Irani and

the Australian Minister for Education and Training Christopher Pyne.

Energy sector

Current Scenario: Coal: Coal production (weight: 4.38 %) increased by 0.3 % in July, 2015 over

July, 2014. Its cumulative index during April to July, 2015-16 increased by 5.7 % over

corresponding period of previous year.

Crude Oil: Crude Oil production (weight: 5.22 %) declined by 0.4 % in July, 2015 over July, 2014.

Its cumulative index during April to July, 2015-16 declined by 0.7 % over the corresponding

period of previous year.

Natural Gas: The Natural Gas production (weight: 1.71 %) declined by 4.4 % in July, 2015. Its

cumulative index during April to July, 2015-16 declined by 4.2 % over the corresponding

period of previous year.

Electricity: Electricity generation (weight: 10.32%) increased by 3.5 % in July, 2015. Its

cumulative index during April to July, 2015-16 increased by 2.0 % over the corresponding

period of previous year.

Renewable Energy: As on

31.07.2015 India’s total

power generation

considering solar, wind,

small hydro, biomass power

and waste to power; has

been 36642.77 MW. Figure 1

depicts the percentage

share of selected renewable

energy sources in India’s

total power generation

through renewable energy.

Future Trend: By 2020 coal production in India is expected to hit 1 billion tons and ready to

invest $25 billion towards the same. Coal is expected to grow at a rate more than 3% in

August 2015. Crude oil production might decline by 0.5% in August. Natural gas production

might continue to decline at a rate of around 5% in August 2015.

Policy news: Solar energy is the ultimate solution for India’s energy scarcity; Modi asserts.

NITI Aayog launches interactive energy platform. India might become 90% import dependent

in oil in next two decades. Brookfield Asset Management is taking its second bet on the

Indian green energy sector and is evaluating a potential investment in companies such as

Mytrah Energy Ltd and Leap Green Energy Pvt. Ltd. India has closed bids for a third of its

65.1311.19

11.27

12.060.35

Figure1: Source wise percentage share of renewable enrgy

Wind Power Solar Power Small Hydro Power

Bio Power Waste to Power

target of tendering 15,000 megawatts (MW) of solar projects this fiscal year, a government

official said, and is expecting interest from investors such as SoftBank to lift the industry.

USAID plans to invest $41 million in clean energy projects in India. Cabinet clears auctioning

of 69 ONGC, Oil India fields. A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has ruled against India

in a dispute raised by the US over the country’s solar power programme, requiring the

government to offer a level playing field to both foreign and domestic manufacturers of

solar panels. A consortium of Iranian, Indian and South Korean companies seeks to set up an

energy park in Iran’s Khuzestan province in a project worth $10 billion, including generation

of 1,000 megawatts of solar power. Centre to subsidize UP’s solar energy schemes. India has

a $250 billion investment opportunity in the renewable energy space, said Piyush Goyal,

minister of power, coal and renewable energy. Afghanistan-India Renewable Energy Summit

was recently held in Delhi. The Indian government has given its final approval to memoranda

of understanding on cooperation in the renewable energy sector with France and Mongolia.

Energy saving street lights are India’s next move towards energy saving.

Infrastructure Sector

Current Scenario: Indian

railways in millions of tonnes

have carried 89.56 million

tonnes worth of goods in the

month of April 2015 and have

registered 1.16% improvement

over the same month last year.

In terms of freight earnings

Indian railways has registered

Rs. 9270.01 crore in the month

of April that is equivalent to

14.55% of growth over the same

month previous year. Number

of passengers travelling

through Indian railways;

however, has declined by -3.8%

in comparison with the same

month previous year to register

658.29 million. Passenger

earning has increased by 19.35%

over the same month previous

year to register Rs. 3908.43 crore. As a whole, gross receipt of Indian railways has accounted

6619

14645

21264

30620

23256

13361

21783

16194

9436

14461

6666

25945

27135

42602

5603

11708

17311

28584

25716

12139

21999

12888

9450

15101

5243

24541

27035

39483

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000

Kolkata Dock System

Haldia Dock Complex

TOTAL: KOLKATA

PARADIP

VISAKHAPATNAM

KAMARAJAR (ENNORE)

CHENNAI

V.O. CHIDAMBARANAR

COCHIN

NEW MANGALORE

MORMUGAO

MUMBAI

JNPT

KANDLA

April-August 2014 April-August 2015

for Rs. 13773.05 crore, in the

month of April 2015 and has

registered a growth of 15.37%

over April, 2014. Equipment

failure however has declined in

April 2015 over April 2014.

In the month of April-August 2015

apart from Cochin and New

Mangalore all other major ports

of India have registered an

increase in traffic handling over April-August 2014; measured in thousand tonnes. Over all

traffic handling in major Indian ports has also increased by 5.53% in April-August 2015 over

April-August 2014. Figure 1 depicts the traffic comparison in major Indian ports. Kandla,

Paradip and JNPT; have successfully managed to occupy the first three spots among major

Indian ports in terms of traffic handling.

As on 31.05.2015 total installed capacity of electricity in Mega Watt in India was 272502.95

MW. Figure 2 depicts the mode of electricity in absolute terms. It is obvious from figure two

that coal is still the prime source of electricity in India; followed by Hydroelectricity. The

most promising fact is that electricity from renewable energy sources in India is growing fast

and might easily be the future of electricity in the country. However, North-East India flaunts

only 1.2% of the national capacity. The Eastern India does not portray any brighter picture as

it has 12.23% of the national capacity. Among the East Indian states West Bengal has 9563.84

MW of installed capacity as on 31.05.2015.

Future Trend: The goods carriage by Indian railway is expected to grow by 1.15%-1.25% in

month of July 2015. Freight earnings are also expected to grow by 14.5%-15.5%. However,

passenger carriage is expected to decline by 3.5% - 4.5%. However the passenger earnings are

expected to increase by 19.5% to 20.5%. Gross receipts of the Indian railway are expected to

rise by more than 15% in month of May. The major ports in India are estimated to have

witnessed a 5.4 per cent growth in cargo traffic in 2014-15 after subdued cargo movement in

the preceding four years. Cargo traffic is expected to remain healthy in 2015-16 as well. Cargo

volumes are expected to grow by 7.1% to 627.2 million tonnes during the year. In 2016-17,

cargo traffic is likely to further increase by 7%. Installed electricity generation in India is

expected to increase over 272510 MW by the end of July 2015. However, the electricity

situation in North East India and in East India will remain more or less similar to the previous

month.

165257.8823062.15993.53

5780

41632.43

35776.96

Total installed capacity in MW

Coal Gas Diesel Nuclear Hydro RES

Policy news: Canada's Brookfield Asset Management made its first significant investment in

Indian infrastructure, buying six road and three power projects from India's Gammon

Infrastructure Projects Limited. India and the United Arab Emirates will set up a multi-billion

dollar fund to invest in Indian infrastructure projects (UAE-India Indian infrastructure fund is

expected to be worth $75 billion) and cooperate in producing military equipment, space

technology and nuclear energy according to the officials. Japan would be crucial for India’s

infrastructure push. India’s largest infrastructure project would soon start between Delhi to

Mumbai. The government is in the process of selecting certain railway stations to

conduct skill development programmes at their facilities. India lacks infrastructure to recycle

electronic waste. Government is planning India's longest 600 km expressway to connect

Delhi and Katra. Infrastructure assets, many of which have been on the block for a while, are

starting to lure buyers, as foreign funds bet on the government’s efforts to push

infrastructure growth in the country and ease the operating environment for such projects.

Uttar Pradesh seems to be on the Modi government's development radar with the railways

allocating Rs 4,185 crore in 2015-16 for various projects. Easier exit options for operational

highway projects will release Rs.4,000 crore in capital for their developers, which in turn can

be used to fund other infrastructure projects or to retire debt, said India Ratings and

Research, a Fitch group company in a recent report. International Finance Corp. (IFC), part

of the World Bank group, plans to invest at least $700 million in existing transport and

logistics infrastructure projects in India. India is in need of green infrastructure. Developing

infrastructure in North East India is top priority of the government.

Chemical and Petrochemical Industry

Current Updates:

Petrochemicals currently contribute about 30% to India's $120bn worth chemical

industry.

India consumes around 6.2 million tonnes of polymers, which represents approximately

3% of global consumption of 200 million tonnes.

India has become one of the biggest importers of petrochemicals, resulting in

sizeable capital outflow apart from impacting the economy because of its inability to

produce finished products and its consequent import resulting in sub-optimal wealth

creation.

To meet the surging demand of petrochemicals, the petrochemicals industry is

planning to more than $25 bn.

India stands a good chance in providing a lucrative market to the world as the

general trend in the global petrochemicals market has shifted to the Middle-East and

Asia from the West.

Institutional investors saved the day for the government as the Indian Oil

Corporation disinvestment sailed through amid a stock market crash. The issue,

which will help the government raise Rs 9,300 crore, was subscribed 118 per cent,

although retail portion received bids for only 18 per cent of the 4.8 crore shares

reserved for this segment.

The government's 10 per cent stake sale in Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will not have any impact on the company's ratings according to Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings as even after the stake sale, the government will continue to hold a majority stake of 58.57 per cent in IOC.

Fall in global crude oil prices because of Chinese crisis is expected to lower oil subsidy

burden by Rs.18000 crore.

Higher excise duties have been slapped on petro-products which is expected to

Future Scenario:

China is expected to witness strong growth in its heat exchangers market due to

growing demand from chemical, petrochemical and oil & gas industry.

The global chromatography market expected to reach USD 9.223 Billion by 2020

from USD 7.062 Billion in 2015, at a CAGR of 5.5%.

With the devaluation of Renminbi, Chinese imports into India could be set to increase. A

more competitive renminbi would also mean that Indian exports to other countries,

including China. This is especially true for the steel, tyre, chemical, electronic goods and

petrochemical markets.

The Indian petrochemicals industry is estimated to reach $100bn by the end of this

decade, according to a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry

of India (ASSOCHAM).

Policy Announcement:

Navin Patnaik, Chief Minister Odisha, announced the state's new industrial policy,

Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR-2015) that addresses most of the problems identified

by the central government as harming investment interests in the country. New

policy initiatives will usher in new investments in manufacturing sector and the focus

areas will be auto components, ancillary and downstream industries, chemicals and

petrochemicals, electronics system design & manufacturing (ESDM), food

processing, IT/ITeS, plastics, and textiles. IPR 2015 will focus on ease of doing

business framework and also on employment generation. Other incentives include

grants for private sector investments in both greenfield and brownfield industrial

infrastructure, power tariff subsidy, training subsidy, capital investment subsidy,

reimbursement of value-added tax, stamp duty exemption, and concessional land

cost for investments in specific sectors. Plans to set up an infrastructure

development fund with an initial corpus of Rs 100 crore for developing external

infrastructure services has been announced.

IT and ITES Sector

Current Updates:

Economic Survey 2014-2015, IT and ITeS make up the single largest contributor to

India's Services exports.

India’s IT industry amounts to 4.26 per cent of the global market, largely due to

exports as of 2015.

India added around 5.8 million graduates to the talent pool during FY15.

India’s IT industry amounts to 12.3 per cent of the global market, largely due to

exports. Export of IT services accounted for 56.12 per cent of total IT exports

(including hardware) from India. The Business Process Management (BPM) segment

accounted for 23.46 per cent of total IT exports during FY15.

Maharashtra's share is 20% of IT exports from the country, according to Software

Technology Parks of India (STPI) data, with the state ranked below Karnataka but

higher than other competitors Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Leading IT players by revenue (FY15)

Company name Revenue (USD billion)

TCS 15.4

Cognizant 8.80*

Infosys 8.71

Wipro 7.84

HCL Tech 4.41

Tech Mahindra 3.75

Source: TCS website and Annual Report, TechSci Research Note: * is for the FY2014

Future Scenario:

Software products and services revenues for 2015-16 is projected to grow at 12-14 per

cent.

Social media is the second most lucrative segment for IT firms, offering a USD250

billion market opportunity by 2020.

Policy Announcement:

The Maharashtra state government is planning a 'start-up policy' to promote a

culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in the (IT) and (ITES) sector. This is aimed

at attracting these incubation units to Maharashtra by making the state an attractive

destination compared to current start-up magnets — Gurgaon, Bengaluru and

Hyderabad. According to Maharashtra's IT/ITES policy 2015, new IT parks will be

required to allocate at least 2% of the built-up area for providing incubation facilities

to new units. This area would be treated as a part of the park to be used for IT

activities.

Health Care

Current Scenario:

Philips unveils new healthcare products in India

The Electronic giant Phillips launched a host of healthcare products at its Indian innovation

Cemtres at Pune and Bangalore. Some of these products even feature app over cloud to permit

personalised diagnostics, analyses and advice. One of the distinguished product launched is a

new age wearable health watch with a heart rate sensor and other features of lifestyle tracking

, that can connect one with Phillips heathcare app. Other prominent healthcare related devices

launched are upper arm and a wrist-based, tubeless blood pressure monitors, a scale to

measure body fat and ear thermometer.

New App launched to ease Doctors’ Access

A private healthcare facilitator has come up with a newly devised app with tie-ups with over

120 hospitals, with features like ‘live-chat’ or ‘doctor-on-call’. This kind of facilities is conceived

to promote new-age healthcare services and facilitate better access to doctors by easier

patient-doctor online interactive services.

Future Scenario:

Indian healthcare sector to grow to $280 billion by 2020

Indian healthcare sector, which was worth $73.92 billion in 2011, is expected to be $280 billion

by 2020 growing at a compound annual rate of 16%. With the healthcare industry expected to

grow at a steady rate, the workforce in the sector which stood at 3.6 million in 2013, is

expected to reach 7.4 million by 2022. The share of healthcare in gross FDI basket, has

witnessed steady rise in last few years and hence is expected to maintain the same pace on

account of gorwing interest of foreign players in Indian healthcare market, burgeoning growth

of domestic healthcare market and growing awareness coupled with increasing incidence of

lifestyle related diseases .

Policy level Initiatives:

‘Sehat’- the Unique Initiative for Health Care Launched

The Govt of India has come up with an ambitious initiative on healthcare named ‘Sehat’ which

is a step towards the ‘Digital India’ initiative. Under the scheme, there will be around 2,50,000

access points for delivery of various Government to Citizen (G2C) services and the citizen can

avail Government services in any of these Common Service Centres (CSC).CSCs, which are

providing teleconsulting services with technical support from Apollo and Medanta, has

extended the services to 60,000 units across the country and is also going to provide and

promote generic drugs through collaboration with Ministry of Healthcare by setting up Jan

Aasudhi Stors.All these initiatives are expected to promote affordable and quality healthcare

services to every section of society.

Govt seeks partnership with private sector to provide affordable and quality healthcare

The Health Minister called for more involvement from the private sector in providing accessible

and cost effective healthcare services in the country across rural as well as urban India. National

Health Mission which primarily aims reducing maternal and child mortality, has successfully

reduced under 5 mortality rate from 126 per 1000 live births in 1990 to 49 per 1000 live births

in 2013 through effective vaccination programme like Mission Indradhanush.

Sector Note: Tourism

Current Scenario: According to

The Benchmarking Report 2015,

published by World Travel &

Tourism Council (WTTC), the 23

million jobs directly generated

by India’s travel and tourism

sector are more than those

generated by education,

financial services, mining,

chemicals manufacturing, and

auto manufacturing combined.

In month of July, 2015 6.33 lakhs

foreign tourists have arrived in

India and registered an 11.3%

growth over the same month of

the previous year. Figure 1

depicts the year wise

comparison of foreign tourist

arrival in India in the month of

July and it is apparent that

foreign tourist arrival in India

has increased steadily in the

month of July over the years. However, it is also worth mentioning that growth of foreign

tourist arrival in India in July has

slowed marginally. In July 2014

foreign tourist arrival in India

had registered a growth of

12.45% over July 2013 that has

declined to 11.3% as mentioned

before in July 2015. Similarly,

cumulative foreign

Table1: Percentage share of

top 15 countries in FTA in

India

0

2

4

6

8

JULY 2015 July 2014 July 2013

6.335.69

5.06

Figure1: Foreign Tourist Arrival in India Year wise same month comparison in lakh (in lakhs)

FTA

34

36

38

40

42

44

46

January-July 2015

January - July 2014

January - July 2013

44.78

42.75

38.72

Figure 2: Foreign tourist arrival in India comparison of January-June 2015 , 2014 and 2013 (in lakhs)

FTA

16.51

16.44

12.29

3.43

3.36

3.32

2.75

2.45

2.332.25

2.212.16

1.71

1.57 1.55

Top 15 countries in terms of FTA (in %)USABangladeshUKFranceSri LankaMalaysiaCanadaGermanyChinaJapan AustraliaNepalSingaporeOmanSaudi Arabia

Tourist arrival in India from January-July 2015 has registered a

growth of 4.8% over January- July 2014. Figure 2 depicts the

absolute number of foreign tourist arrival in India during

January-July 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Figure 3 on the other hand depicts the share of the top 15

countries in terms of FTA in India in June, 2015. USA tops the

list followed by Bangladesh and UK.

Table 1 shows that; FTA from Bangladesh and USA has

marginally declined in July, 2015 over June, 2015.

Oman and Saudi Arabia is new entrant in the top 15 list. The

top 15 countries in terms of FTA in India have cumulatively

contributed to 74.33% in July 2015 the same was 76.81% in

June 2015.

On the other hand foreign exchange earnings from foreign

tourist arrivals in India have increased to Rs. 11452 Crore in

July 2015 from Rs. 10336 crore in July 2014. The same was Rs.

8620 crore in July 2013. In terms of percentage growth rate

foreign exchange earnings June, 2015 has registered a growth

rate of 10.80% over June, 2014. Figure 4 depicts the FEE from

FTA in July in three successive years. In cumulative sense

during January - July 2015 calendar year India has earned Rs.

71754 crore worth of foreign exchange from FTA; the same

was Rs. 67096 crore over the same months in 2014. But in

terms of growth rate FEE from FTA surely has decelerated.

The growth rate of FEE from FTA in

January-July 2015 over January-July

2014 has been 4.6%. The same

growth rate in January-July 2014

over January-July 2013 was 19.3%.

Figure 5 provides a pictorial

depiction of cumulative FEE from

FTA during January-July of different

calendar years. From April 2000 to

June 2015 hotel and tourism

attracted cumulative FDI worth of

$8,140.10million. In the month of

Countries 15-July 15- June

USA 16.51 22.21

Bangladesh 16.44 17.00

UK 12.29 7.18

France 3.43 2.69

Sri Lanka 3.36 3.41

Malaysia 3.32 4.00

Canada 2.75 2.49

Germany 2.45 2.35

China 2.33 2.36

Japan 2.25 2.80

Australia 2.21 2.64

Nepal 2.16 2.10

Singapore 1.71 2.54

Oman 1.57

Saudi Arabia 1.55

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

July 2015 July 2014 July 2013

1145210336

8620

FEE in terms Rupees Crore

FEE in terms Rupees Crore

July 2015; 21476 tourists arrived on e – tourist visa. The same was 2462 in the same month

last year. This accounts to 772.30% growth rate regarding the e – tourist visa.

In the month of July India’s new foreign tourist sensation North east India has been visited

by around 11000-12500 (estimated) foreign tourists. In the same month around 810000-

920000 (estimated) domestic tourists have visited North East India. Regarding the lean and

peak month for tourism in North East India the Month of May and December have been

historically considered as lean and peak month respectively.

Future Trend: In month of August

around 6.5 lakh of foreign tourists

are expected to visit India. In the

same month foreign exchange

earnings from tourism is expected

to be Rs. 8000-9000 crore. By 2020

India is expected to witness 15

million foreign tourist arrivals.

Demand for hotels rooms will grow

to more than 1,80,000 against

current requirement of 1,03,000.

The travel and tourism sector is

expected to grow at an annual

average of 7% over the next ten

years, outpacing the total economy growth of 5.2% per annum.

Policy News: The Centre has recently proposed Rs 100 crore spiritual tourism circuits for

Kerala and assured steps to declare Sabarimala as a national Pilgrimage Centre. Maharashtra

eyes tourists from Japan. E-visa boosts tourist inflow in India from UK Gujarat also benefits

from the same. Poor air connectivity is reducing tourist inflow in Aurangabad. As per the

Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2015, of the World Economic Forum,

India’s rank has improved significantly to 52nd this year from 65th in 2013. A parliamentary

panel has asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to "shed its inertia" in reviving Air India's ailing

subsidiary HCI and its flight catering unit Chefair or hand them over to the Tourism

Ministry for better management. Tourism off-take in Lakshadweep depends on Superme

Court's take on MoEF and Lakshadweep administrations' R V Raveendran Committee report.

The apex court had set up a five-member committee headed by its former judge

71754

67096

56241

Cumulative FEE through FTA Calender Year wise January-June in crores of Rupees

January-July 2015 January-July 2014 January-July 2013

Raveendran. Due to low tariffs rates and discounts offered by hotels, resorts and

airlines, India's domestic tourism has gone up by 23.5 per cent during the monsoon

season as compared to 18.5 per cent last year. IRCTC gets involved with medical tourism.

Puducherry is ready to launch special tourism package. Jaisalmir plans pilot project on eco

tourism. Kochi joins Beijing based World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Council. Tourism

Minister supports demand for 'infrastructure status' for tourism industry. India and

Philippines might be important partners in promoting tourism.

Coal

Current Scenario:

For last three months June, July and August, coal production could not meet its target. The

production volume declined significantly from 38.83 MT in June 15 to 34.83 in July 15 to

recover moderately to touch a production level of 36.21MT. Actual offtake of coal declined

continuously for three consecutive months and could not reach its target level for the same

period. The decline in offtake reflects the decline in industrial activity as a whole in this

period.

Coal Production of CIL (in million tones) Coal Offtake (in million tones)

Future Scenario:

Indian Government asserts that the Government will be able to more than double coal

production in next five years which translates to an output of 1 billion tones coal production

per annum. India will produce 1.5 billion tones of coal by end of this decade as per

projection. However increase in coal production must come with increase in industrial

activity to make the optimum usage of this coal.In next two to three years, it is likely Indian

Month %

Achievemen

t

Target Actual

August 15 37.66 36.21 98%

July 15 36.04 34.83 97%

June 15 40.73 38.83 95%

Month %

Achievement Target Actual

August 15 40.5 40.62 100%

July 15 44.17 40.88 93%

June 15 43.45 42.18 97%

coal demand growth will exceed the expansion in domestic output, meaning a growing gap

that needs to be met by imports.

Policy level Changes:

Skill Development Centre on anvil at Western Coalfields Ltd in Madhya Pradesh

To enhance skill set of rural youths and project affected people (pap), the foundation stone

was laid at Western Coalfields by Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power,

Coal and New & Renewable Energy. It is expected to boost the self employment scenario as

well. A record amount (1851 Ha)land was acquired with a compensation of Rs 445 crore by

WCL in last ten months.

Mining & Metal

Current Scenario:

Steel production increased by 4.9% in June 2015. Its cumulative index during April to June

2015-16 increased by 2.8% over the corresponding period of previous year.

The index for Minerals group rose by 3.0 percent to 255.9 (provisional) from 248.5

(provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of zinc concentrate (9%), crude

petroleum (8%), magnesite (3%) and chromite (2%). However, the price of sillimanite and

copper ore (5% each), manganese ore (3%) and iron ore (2%) declined.

Wholesale Price Index of Minerals

Month/Year Feb March April May June July

2015 247.7 243.3 246.6 247.7 248.5 255.9

Future Scenario:

India has already obtained third place in the world in production of steel. As per Ministry

assertion, India is moving in the direction of becoming the second largest producer by 2020.

According to same sources, by March 2016, SAIL's capacity should become 23 million tonnes

(MT) per annum, RINL's capacity has also increased to 6.3 million tonnes per annum, which

shall be further enhanced in coming years. SAIL’s capacity would also be enhanced to 50 MT

by 2025.

Policy Level Changes:

Geological Survey of India signs MOU with its counterpart Geo Science Australia

GSI signed an MOU with Geo Science Australia for capacity building and technology transfer

on the sideline of the Asia Pacific International Mining Exhibition (AIMEX) 2015 held in

Sydney. The MOU eyes ‘Cooperation to develop short term and medium term roadmap for

GSI in technology infusion, capacity building and efficiency improvement’. Under the signed

collaboration, GSA will work closely with GSI to help it attain global benchmarks in

exploration work. Acting CEO of GSA Dr James Johnson and Director-General of GSI Mr

Harbans Singh exchanged the MoU document in the presence of Shri Narendra Singh

Tomar, Hon’ble Union Minister for Mines & Steel.

Rehabilitation Schemes for Mining Areas

Union Steel & Mines Minister assures to meet all the small and secondary steel producers to

understand and mitigate their concerns. Besides, Govt of India is also working on enhancing

the capacity through green field projects in 4 states. In this regard, MOUs have already been

signed for the states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Under this plan, using Special Purpose

Vehicle(SPV) route, a steel plant of 3 million tonne annual capacity would be created initially,

which would later be enhanced to 6 MT in each of the four states. Thus a capacity of 24 MT

would be added through this route.