R ead E xportT rade

TELANGANA STATE TRADE PROMOTION CORPORATION LIMITEDD.No. 5-10-174, Shakkar Bhavan, 2nd Floor, Fateh Maidan Road, Hyderabad-4

Phone: +91 40 23237591, Fax: +91 40 23231249, Email: info@tstpc.org, web: www.tstpc.org

VOLUME - 1 ISSUE - 5 NOVEMBER, 2016

TelanganaState Trade Journal

MoU with Hinduja Group, World's fourth Largest bus manufacturers

Telangana State Trade Journal is published every month to provide information on day to day development and new projects in the trade, industry and investment and analytical study reports and statistical data on industry, trade/exports, industrial and export infrastructure, economy, Energy, Government schemes, policies of different states, potential sector study reports etc. The contents of the Telangana State Trade Journal provides lot of insight for the businessmen, Government machinery and various institutions involved in the promotion of trade industry and infrastructure which enables to re-orient their projects, policies, business strategies, project finance, implementation process etc.

500 copies Telangana State Trade Journal are being published every month and circulated to all top industrialists, exporters, Export Promotion Councils & Trade Bodies (across the country), Foreign Embassies, Officials of the Industries& Commerce and other related Departments at all levels both State and Central Government, Government Undertakings, Research, Development& HRD Institutes, Industrial Associations, Financial Institutions, Centres of Excellence, Academic Institutions.

Advertisements will be printed in colour as per the tariffs indicated in the above table. Cost of Advertisement shall be paid in the form of crossed Demand Draft drawn in favour of “Telangana State Trade Promotion Corporation” along with the copy of the advertisement. Soft copy of the advertisement shall also be emailed to sailaja.tstpc@gmail.com. The Demand Draft along with the advertisement shall be sent to “The Joint Managing Director, Telangana Trade Promotion Corporation, D.No.5-10-174, Shakkar Bhavan, II Floor, Fateh Maidan Road, Hyderabad- 500 004”. For any further information, please contact: Ms. M. Sailaja, Associate Editor @ 9959666311.

TARIFF FOR ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE TS TRADE JOURNAL

Mr. Mar�n Ney, German Ambassador called on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao

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CONTENTS

Volume : 1 Issue : 5 November : 2016

MONTHLY TRADE JOURNALTelangana State Trade Promotion Corporation Limited.

Managing Editor :E. VENKAT NARASIMHA REDDY

JMD, TSTPC

Associate Editor :M. SAILAJAManager, TSTPC

The views expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and do not reflect the views of the TSTPC.

Newly-formed Telangana stands first in Ease of Doing Business 4Reducing cost of doing business is govt’s new goal 5KCR the best, rated most popular CM 6MoU signed with Johnson & Johnson 7Govt gives green signal for developing two Logistic Parks on outskirts of city 8160cr Science City to come up in RR dist 9Govt gets approval for 2,500 km long national highway 10Toshiba Likely To Tie Up With Telangana Government 11State realty shows 31.21% growth this year 13L&T to build 1,048-meters cable bridge in Hyderabad 14TSLIPCO to train SC un-employed youth in FDDI 15Rays Power commissions solar plant in Telangana State 17Afghanistan to open consulate in Hyderabad 18Hyderabad has huge warehousing scope 19Mission Bhagiratha set to be extended to 35 ULBs 20Powerloom industry sees a ray of hope in new dist. 21‘Industries hit by duty structure should represent their case early’ 23For long on the mat, SEZs show uptick; star performer is Reliance Industries 24Launch of Enhanced Foreign Trade Data Dashboard 25Indian engineering exports to see pick-up 26Ministry of corporate affairs eases rules for incorporating companies 27IMF retains GDP forecast of 7.6% for India in FY17 28CII lists a host of steps to make procurement policy a success 29Skill development for artisans underscored 30Why should manufacturers invest more?Low capacity utilisation and low Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) main deterrents 31TSiPASS Sector, District Wise Industrial Investment and Employment Details 32

2 / Nov 2016

First of all I am so happy to congratulate Sri. K Chandrasekhar Rao, Hon’ble Chief Minister for achieving as the most popular Chief Minister in the country, according to the latest survey by the VDP associates. I also congratulate Sri K. T. Rama Rao, Hon’ble Minister for IT, Electronic & Communication, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, Mines and Geology, Public Enterprises and NRI Affairs for achieving 1st Rank in the country in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ for the year 2016 and securing 98.78 per cent in implementation of business reforms. In this auspicious occasion, I feel that it is a privilege to extend greetings to the Principal Secretary & CIP Industries & Commerce Department and his team of Officers. It is a remarkable achievement in the

history of the country that a state achieved within a span of two years after its formation. It witnesses that the dreams of the people of Telangana in creating “Bangaru (Golden) Telangana” is transforming into reality.

It is very pleasant to note that the Industrial policy of the Telangana State was well appreciated by many foreign and local major players. TSiPASS was discovered as an important tool in the policy, emerged the state as the best investment destination. Even the investments worth Rs. 200 crs and above or creating employment to more than 1000 persons was considered as a mega project, entitled for tailor-made package of incentives based on the merits of the project. Recently, the state has undergone major administrative changes with re-organisation of the districts. The total districts have increased from 10 to 31. The VISION of the leadership to serve the people in the closer domain receives appreciations from all corners. Increase of number of districts would certainly benefit the people from the point of serving them closely with decentralised administration also yields best fruits of growth.

It is very pleasant to note that the State is on the path of Rapid Growth under the dynamic leadership of the Hon’ble Chief Minister and Hon’ble Minister for IT, Electronic & Communication, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, Mines and Geology, Public Enterprises and NRI Affairs. It is giving me pleasure to inform that Germany is very keen to investment in Telangana, Toshiba group is tying up their products with States’ Corporations, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is keen to open their Consulate General offices in Hyderabad, Ashok Leyland, the second-largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the country is setting up a truck and bus body building unit in the state with an investment of Rs 500 crores to provide employment to 1,000.

It is giving me a great pleasure that Sri K.T. Rama Rao, Hon’ble Minister for IT, Electronic & Communication, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, Mines and Geology, Public Enterprises and NRI Affairs led an official business delegation to US to attract investments. The major developments of the visit include. a) Telangana state and the Illinois state government have signed a MoU for collaboration and interaction in various fields through the sharing of expertise b) Launched T-Bridge, a new programme aimed at connecting Indian start-ups with opportunities in the global market, in the Silicon Valley at San Francisco in the USA in partnership with Uber and TiE c) Pharma companies evince interest to boost medical tourism in Hyderabad, MoU signed with Johnson & Johnson for making the State TB free and other major groups supporting the state include JLabs, Asia Pacific of the company, Merck, Pfizer, US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and d) The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) supporting the state government in shifting of pharmaceutical industries in city beyond Outer Ring Road (ORR). In addition to this visit, official business delegation of the Telangana Government had also visited the State of Penang in Malaysia to forge relationships for industrial promotion and skill development. More investments in the Infrastructure and Logistics are witnessed in the recent past. Four dry ports at Zaheerabad,

MESSAGE FROM THE JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR’S DESK

3 / Nov 2016

Bhongir, Jadcherla and Damercharla in an area of 825 acres, 450 acres 319 acres and 3,000 acres respectively are being set up to increase exports from the state. Two logistic parks at Batasingaram and Mangalampally in an area of 40 acres and 22 acres respectively are being developed with a total cost of Rs. 55 crores by Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority.

Further, I am happy to inform that Central Government have approved master plans and designs submitted by state government for NIMZ-Medak and Hyderabad Pharma City, Mucherla on the city outskirts. Government of Telangana with the Central support setting up a world-class Science City in Ranga Reddy district with an investment of Rs 160 crs in 80 acres of land. A Medical Devices Park is also coming up in Sultanpur village of Patancherumandal in Medak. CSIR-CCMB has launched its innovation activities in the form of I-Hub in Hyderabad to provide a platform both for translating ideas developed in-house and providing a place for start-up companies that are interested in medical and agricultural biotechnology. Mega Food Park in Itikyala Mandal in Mahabubnagar was inaugurated. It is very happy to note that Telangana government has succeeded in getting approval for 2,500 kilometers long National Highway (NH) in the state. Renewable energy firm Rays Power Infra commissioned 5.75 MW solar energy project in Medak. Telangana government recorded a 31.21 per cent overall growth in revenue from stamps and registrations wing in the first six months of the current financial year.

According to Knight Frank India report, Hyderabad holds immense potential as a warehousing destination as it is considered as an ideal occupier’s market. Investments to develop warehousing in the National Capital Region, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad, could see 10–24 per cent returns per annum. Global Sparenparts, an aggregator of industrial spares, has announced plans to set up a warehouse in Hyderabad to serve the southern market. In order to increase the agriculture market storage capacity from the existing 6 lakh metric tones to 17 lakh metric tonnes, Government of Telangana, initiated steps to construct 330 godowns with an outlay of Rs.1,024 crore.

Supplementing to the efforts of the Government of Telangana, Central Government have also come up with number of initiatives for the growth of Industry and commerce in the state such as easy access to the public with regard to India’s export, import and balance of trade data in an analytical fotrmat, the Commerce & Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched a new enhanced Dashboard on Foreign Trade Data. Further to boost Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows,the Central Government have identified 150 companies as potential investors, the process of incorporation of a Company was also simplified.

In addition to the above initiatives the Commerce and Industry Ministry will consider a proposal put forward by traders for setting up a Board of Internal Trade to address all the issues pertaining to domestic trade. It is also proposed that soon a GST Secretariat in every State to address the day-to-day issues relating to the implementation Goods and Services Tax. The International Monetary (IMF) has stated that thte Goods and Services Tax will be positive for trade and investment. The recent projections of World Bank India’s GDP growth will remain robust at 7.6 per cent in 2016 and 7.7 per cent in 2017 which is a positive signal for the investments to flow into the country.

The tempo of prevailing committed efforts of the Government of Telangana and trends of the projects coming to the state is reflecting glorious prospects to the State. I am sure that the future of the state will be more prosperous due to decentralised administration and effective planning in the areas of industrialisation, infrastructure promotion, responsive and simplified regulation system. I wish that more employment opportunities will be created for the aspiring youth of the state.

- E. Venkat Narasimha Reddyab

4 / Nov 2016

Newly-formed Telangana stands first in Ease of Doing BusinessHyderabad, 30th Oct, 2016

Hon’ble Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has complimented officials of all departments associated with the State getting first rank in the ease of doing business.In a statement, he said that Telangana’s ranking which jumped up from 13 last year was an indication of simplified government services reaching all the targeted sections easily. The policies being adopted by the State government were attractive to investors in trade, commerce and industries, he noted.He said that the State was given the top ranking after studying its practices in 340 aspects. It was the transparency, single window system, availability of land, speedy permissions had all helped Telangana take the top spot. About 2,550 new industries had come to the State in a short time due to the investor-friendly ecosystem.The CM suggested officials continue offering quality services and improve them with further simplification.I) TELANGANA SCORE – AT A GLANCE1. Total score is 98.78%2. 324 reform initiatives approved out of 340. 3. 12 reforms is Not Applicable to the state 4. 4 initiatives not approved.II) HIGHLIGHTS OF TELANGANA INDUSTRIAL APPROVAL SYSTEM:Minimum Government and maximum governance is the principle undertaken for the following reforms:1. TSiPASS online portal (www.ipass.telangana.gov.

in) is built as a one stop shop for information, online application, payment of fees & tracking and issue of approvals.

2. SELF CERTIFICATION:a. Self certification introduced in Labour / Boiler /

Factories / PCB / Industries department – Mutual trust that benefits all. All low risk approvals are given self certification option for the industries.

b. Deemed approvals given in the online system if not given within the stipulated time period.

3. INSPECTION:a. JOINT INSPECTION: Joint inspection introduced

by Labour and Factories department. - By these measures, a factory that needs to be inspected under 6 labour laws, earlier would have been inspected atleast 30 times in a 5 year span. Now, it would be inspected once in 5 years, if the unit opts for self certification. From 30 inspections to 1, It is a huge relief.

4. DEPARTMENTAL INSPECTION: Risk categorisation of every unit done by departments for inspection:

a. Low risk industries - No inspection or once in 5 years (75% of units)

b. Medium risk industries - Third party inspection (adopted by PCB / Boilers / Labour dept) once in 3 years (15% of units)

c. High risk industries- Annual inspection by department ( only about 10 % of units)

5. INTEGRATED RETURNS & REGISTERS: Single integrated online returns & register introduced under all labour laws (Earlier under every act a separate register need to be maintained).

a. 57 registers reduced to form 1 & 2 and 14 returns is reduced to one return.

6. HMDA introduced “Development Permission Management System” (DPMS)”- an online portal for end-to-end service delivery to issue construction permits. It is also being implemented for DTCP & GHMC.

a. The building permissions are given within 14 days as opposed to several months earlier

7. SAME DAY APPROVALS :a. VAT and Pollution approval for green category

industries are given on the same day.b. Fire NOC and feasibility report for electricity

connection are currently provided by the departments within one day.

8. VALIDITY ENHANCEMENT OF LICENSES / APPROVALS :

a. PCB licence validity upto 5 years. Earlier it was 1 year validity

b. Online automatic renewal of Operational permissions by PCB.

c. Factory licence renewal upto 10 years. Earlier it was done every year

5 / Nov 2016

Reducing cost of doing business is govt’s new goalHyderabad, 21st Oct., 2016After emerging as the top ranker in Ease of Doing Business (EODB) for the year 2016-17, the Telangana government will now focus on reducing the cost of doing business and enhancing quality of doing business, industries and commerce minister K T Rama Rao said. He said chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has asked various government departments to adopt the principle of `Minimum Government and Maximum Governance’ by taking up reforms such as Telangana Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System (TSiPASS).

Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat , the minister said Telangana scored a total of 98.78% points in EODB. He also informed that the centre approved of 324 reforms being taken up in Telangana government of the possible total 340 reforms.While 12 reforms were not applicable to the state, four initiatives were not approved by the Centre, he said.Explaining the efforts put in by the government, Rama Rao said 113 online services were launched pertaining to various departments, 26 legislations were amended, 19 web portals were created or updated,121circulars were issued and another 58 GOs were issued with regards to 22 departments since November 2015. As a result, in the past one and half years about 2,550 new industries with an investment of Rs 44,791crore were given approvals under TSiPASS, of which 60% units have become operational.These investments happened in 14 major sectors such as food processing, engineering and pharma .Detailing the reforms, the minister said self-certification is being implemented in departments such as labour, boiler, factories, pollution control board and industries department. Deemed approvals are being given through online system if permissions are not accorded within the stipulated time, he said. “Earlier, Pollution Control

German firms keen on investments in TelanganaHyderabad, 05th Oct., 2016

Dr Martin Ney German Ambassador, accompanied by his wife Dr Gabriele Ney, called on Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao at the camp office informed that many German companies are evincing the interest to invest in Telangana. The Ambassador complimented KCR and Government of Telangana for conceiving and implementing a variety of people centric programs and schemes benefiting many. KCR briefed him about the State industrial and IT policies handed over a copy of industrial policy and said this is the best single window

policy in the world. The Chief Minister also mentioned about IT hub and incubator established by Telangana government. During the courses of discussion referring to the participation of the Federal Republic of Germany in the development of Telangana, the Ambassador mentioned that in India as of now there are as many as 1846 German firms in India but most of them are concentrated in Pune and Chennai.

He expressed his country’s preparedness to bring German companies to Telangana and invest here in the future. Chief Minister enquired about the system of education in Germany, where skill development and education are run parallel aiming at creating employment opportunities. The Chief Minister also said that Telangana government would establish more and more contacts with the Ambassadors of European and Gulf countries and invite them here to

Board used to give license for only one year. Now license is being given for five years. Inspection procedures and periods have also been reduced by categorising industries,“ Rao said. The minister added that building approvals for factories were being given by Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation within 14 days under Development Permission Management System.

6 / Nov 2016

Ashok Leyland to set up body building unit in StateHyderabad, 11th Oct., 2016Ashok Leyland, the second-largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the country, has come forward to set up a truck and bus body building unit in the state.The company will set up this unit here in a phased manner with an investment of Rs. 500 crore. It will provide employment directly to 1,000 people and indirectly to many. The state government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ashok Leyland to

Telangana and Illinois to collaborate in various fields Hyderabad, 19th Oct., 2016Telangana state and the Illinois state government in the US have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration and interaction in various fields through the sharing of expertise. Mr Arvind Kumar, principal secretary of Telangana industries and commerce, and Mr Hardik Bhatt, secretary of innovation and technology and the state chief information officer signed the agreement in Chicago, Illinois, Minister K.T. Rama Rao, and Dr Ausaf Sayeed, consul-general of India, Chicago, were present at the event. The

KCR the best, rated most popular CMHyderabad, 29th Oct., 2016

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has been rated the most popular CM in the country, according to a survey by the VDP associates. According to the latest survey, KCR stood at number one place with 87 per cent. He got 85 per cent last year. This time, his popularity has gone up by 2 per cent for the developmental activities that he had taken up in the state. On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s popularity had come down from number five position last year to number eight this time. Naidu’s popularity is 58 per cent. MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan stood at number 2 position.

establish a body-building unit. The exact location will be announced soon after the selection of the land. The unit will assemble buses and trucks. “The unit will provide direct employment to 1,000 people. Hundreds of unemployed youth will be indirectly benefited by the proposed factory,” said government.An MoU was signed in the presence of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, IT and industries minister KT Rama Rao and energy minister G Jagdish Reddy. Shanthi Kumar, additional principal secretary to chief minister, and Ashok Leyland managing director Vinod K Dasari signed the MoU at the chief minister’s camp office.The Chief Minister said that the state government was proactive and was ready to offer full support and cooperation in the production sector to investors. “The government will provide lands and other infrastructure to establish industries in the state. It will grant permission and other clearances within 15 days through TS-iPASS,” Rao said. He said that the government would procure the required vehicles for TSRTC, GHMC and other government agencies from the industries established in the state. Rao asked the officials of transport department and RTC to take the advice of Ashok Leyland for ensuring that an effective mass transport system is in place in the state. The chief minister recalled that 45 per cent of the state’s population lives in urban areas and asked the officials concerned to prepare an action plan to provide all the urban people with mass transport facility. “The government is taking steps to improve transportation facilities in Hyderabad on a par with global cities,” he said. Industries commissioner Manik Raj, finance secretary Navin Mittal, TSIIC managing director EV Narsimha Reddy and others were present.

explore the possibilities of their country’s participation in the development of Telangana. Dr Martin Ney informed KCR that they have appointed BV Mohan Reddy as Honorary Consul of German Embassy here in Hyderabad. He also presented a memento and two books, namely, Art at Telangana (Coffee Table Book) and Telangana Tourism’s book on temples. Minister for Industries, IT and Municipal Administration K T Rama Rao, Chief Secretary Dr Rajeev Sharma, Principal Secretary Industries Arvind Kumar, B V Mohan Reddy of National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) foundation, Achin Fabig Consul General Germany and Protocol Officer of Consulate Padma Priya Ramamurthy are also present.

7 / Nov 2016

MoU signed with Johnson & JohnsonHyderabad, 15th Oct., 2016

The Telangana Government signed a memorandum of understanding with healthcare multinational company Johnson & Johnson for making the State TB free on the second day of Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao’s business tour of the US. Chief scientific officer and chairman of pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson Paul Stoffel offered an active role of the company in the project by assisting the State government, a release said. Mr. Rao also met head of JLabs Melinda Richter, who assured the delegation that the company would explore the possibility of setting up a unit in Hyderabad.

KTR launches T-Bridge in Silicon ValleyHyderabad, 16th Oct., 2016

Telangana Minister for Information Technology and Industries K. Taraka Rama Rao has launched T-Bridge, a new programme aimed at connecting Indian start-ups with opportunities in the global market, in the Silicon Valley at San Francisco in the USA in partnership with Uber and TiE. Speaking after launching the initiative as an outpost of T-Hub in the USA, Mr. Rao said: We have a strong vision to make Hyderabad one of the top 10 start-up cities in the world and T–Bridge is one such move towards opening a channel of investment from across the world to the State of Telangana. He stated that he was elated to open the first outpost of T-Hub in the USA in association with Uber and TiE Silicon Valley and expressed hope that the association would forge new partnerships, spur investment and innovation between the two countries. He explained that T-Bridge would enable start-up communities in India and around the world to cross-pollinate ideas, innovate and create channels for knowledge transfer. Mr. Rao said the initiative would also create a network of mentors, venture capitalists, incubators and accelerators and it would prove advantageous to the Indian start-up ecosystem. Further, he stated that T-Bridge would provide a platform for fast-track tech companies looking to tap into India’s huge consumer market for technology. T-Bridge would help start-ups accessing UberEXCHANGE, Uber’s flagship start-up mentorship programme, and TiE Silicon Valley’s mentor network. Ram K. Reddy, incoming president of TiE Silicon Valley, complimented the Telangana Government stating that it had been one of India’s most progressive States with vitality and transformational mindset of the leadership.

TS delegation visits PenangHyderabad, 20th Oct., 2016

A Telangana government delegation visited the State of Penang in Malaysia to forge relationships for industrial promotion and skill development. An official release on three day-visit, said the delegation, comprising Director Electronics Sujai Karampudi, TASK CEO Sujiv Nair and Joint Director Industries S. Suresh met Deputy Chief Minister of Penang P. Ramaswamy. During the discussion, Mr. Ramaswamy noted that the two States are complementary in nature. Penang has hardware industry and workforce, while Telangana has well-

agreement facilitates the two states to extend cooperation in areas of smart state solutions, e-governance, entrepreneurship, innovation, business incubators, job creation and best practices. Under the smart state solutions, Illinois will introduce an “Array of Things” sensors for air pollution monitoring in Telangana state. The two states will share best practices, tools and processes for disaster and emergency management, data management, data analytics, open data and intelligent transportation systems. Under e-governance, the states will strive to transform state agencies by incorporating communications and information technologies into their operations.

entrenched software industry. Thus, a collaborative exchange of skill and learning’s would benefit both the States, the release quoted him saying. The delegation also met officials of Penang Development Corporation, Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC), Invest Penang, which is a promotion wing for industries, Penang Institute, a research institute for policy, Penang Science Café (electronic hardware maker space) and visited a few companies in the industrial clusters on the island, such as Qdos. The delegation sought PSDC’s cooperation to create hardware skilled workforce in Telangana and extended support to create software talent in Penang, the release said.

8 / Nov 2016

Telangana govt finalises land for dry ports to help increase Hyderabad, 16th Oct., 2016

The TS government has zeroed in on locations for setting up dry ports. These dry ports will help increase exports from the state from the present Rs 1 lakh-crore to Rs 1.50 lakh-crore per year.The government had failed to submit proposals to the Centre in this regard despite repeated reminders from the Union shipping ministry over the last two years. The government appointed international consultants to identify suitable locations to set up the dry ports. The consultants took up an extensive study and submitted reports to government.Based on the reports, the government proposed to the Centre to set up four dry ports around Hyderabad by spending Rs 2,700 crore. Of this, the TS government has asked the Centre to extend financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore. Sources in infrastructure and investment department said that the four dry ports proposed at Zaheerabad along NH-9, Bhongir along NH-163, Jadcherla along NH-7 and Damarcharla along the Miryalaguda-Wadapally highway.“We have identified 825 acres in Zaheerabad,

Govt gives green signal for developing two Logistic Parks on outskirts of cityHyderabad, 22nd Oct., 2016

The long pending proposal for Logistic Parks at Batasingaram and Mangalapally on the city outskirts will see the light of day as the state government finally gives green signal to the projects. The state government has permitted Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) to take up these projects (truck terminals) for development of Logistic Parks as an integrated one-stop facility for freight operators, third party logistic (3PL) service providers, cargo handling companies, truck drivers, warehousing and with spacious parking facilities. These two parks will be developed on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode and HMDA will be issuing work orders next week to Credence Logistics Limited, Navi Mumbai for developing the Batasingaram unit and Ancon Design Group-KCP Project Private Limited, Hyderabad (joint-venture) for developing the Mangalapally Logistic Park. The firms should complete the projects in three years from the date of signing of the concession agreement. The Logistic Park in Batasingaram will come up in 40 acres land located in survey number 10, Batasingaram village of Hayathnagar mandal at an estimated cost of Rs 35 crore, and another one in 22 acres land in survey number 124, Mangalapally in Ibrahimpatnam mandal of Rangareddy district at a cost of Rs.20 crore. The HMDA has asked the two firms to get ready for grounding of works from first week of november. These jinxed projects were pending since last six years due to indifference attitude of successive state governments. HMDA invited request for proposal in August 2010 and bidders were also shortlisted during the same year. The parks will facilitate in creation of infrastructure for transportation and logistics hubs. They will meet the increasing infrastructure demand for freight logistics.

Estimates suggest more than 35,000 to 40,000 freight vehicles carry around one lakh tonne cargo in and out of the city. These parks will offer integrated facilities for truck parking, warehousing and replete with dhabas, cafeterias and restaurants, truck workshops, petrol pumps and weigh bridges etc. These parks would have truck parking for about 500 trucks, warehousing in 1 lakh sq.ft, cold-storage facilities for storing 4,000 MT of goods, office complex for operators, automobile service centres and accessories, vehicle testing centre, fire safety services, driver amenities, dormitories and accommodation for up to 200-300 persons. They would also have support facilities like internal road network, parking areas with hard pavement to sustain truck/trailer loads, security, water supply, noise and air pollution prevention arrangements, rainwater harvesting, sewage treatment, solid waste management, landscaping and other services. The proposed logistic park at Batasingaram is adjacent to the NH-9 and about 7 kms from the Outer Ring road (ORR) towards Vijayawada while the park at Mangalapally is located near ORR towards Nagarjunasagar.

Rachel Whetstone, Uber’s senior vice-president for policy and communications, said Telangana had set up a culture of ‘regulatory incubation’ - allowing new ideas and business models to thrive. Stating that Hyderabad had witnessed three-fold increase in the start-up activity since the lauch of T-Hub last year, its CEO Jay Krishnan said the city was abuzz with over 30 incubators and co-working spaces.

9 / Nov 2016

160cr Science City to come up in RR distHyderabad, 21th Oct., 2016

Forest & Environment Minister Jogu Ramanna said that the government had decided to construct a world-class Science City in Ranga Reddy district in about 80 acres of land, in coordination with the Centre.Launching the TSCOST (TS Council of Science and Technology) logo and website at his chambers here, the Minister told reporters that it was estimated that the Science City would cost about Rs 160 crore and the Centre was to provide Rs 66 crore, HMDA would bear Rs 40 crore and the rest would be in Public-Private Partnership model.A proposal identifying 80-acre land at Budwel near Rajendranagar had already been sent to the Centre which was yet to respond. The website of

TSCOST, www.tscost.telangana.gov.in will have details of DST, DBT, GoI, Regional Science Centre-Warangal, National Children’s Science Congress, programmes and competitions at districts and offers skill development training to artisans and artists, he said.The government would coordinate with science and research centres and institutions like JNTU, CCMB, NIRD, ICRISAT and others to have information on the website and create awareness among the students on physics, chemistry, biology, space and science and technology and research. He also said that the website would help the youth, students to get information and details of national Science Congress, workshops, seminars, debates and other details. The government proposed to encourage research on confirming diseases to castor oil trees in Mahbubnagar, decrease fluoride content in water in Nalgonda district through JNTU, to procure pulses with ICRISAT and cultivation of apple and mulberry crops in Adilabad and Komaram Bheem districts.

Centre approves plans, NIMZs make headway in Telangana Hyderabad, 9th Oct., 2016

Two National Investment and Manufacturing Zones granted to TS by the Centre in December last year are finally making some headway. The Centre approved master plans and designs submitted by state government for NIMZ-Medak and Hyderabad Pharma City, Mucherla on the city outskirts. This paved way for the Centre to declare both the NIMZ projects as ‘integrated industrial projects’. The Union commerce ministry is expected to issue a notification in this regard very soon.The new status will entitle both the projects to secure financial assistance from the Centre. The Centre would bear 20 per cent of the total expenditure incurred by the state government on developing NIMZ projects in Medak and Ranga Reddy districts. The TS government has planned Pharma City NIMZ in 16,529 acres and Medak NIMZ in 12,365 acres. It has already acquired 5,000 acres for Pharma City and 3,500 acres for Medak NIMZ. It estimated the Pharma City project cost at Rs 20,000 crore and Medak NIMZ at Rs 12,310 crore.The government expects investments worth Rs 64,000 crore in Pharma City and 20,000 crore in Medak Nimz. Pharma City is expected to provide employment to 3.25 lakh people and Medak NIMZ to 2.80 lakh. Industries minister ack mode. The Centre will bear 20 per cent of

450 in Bhongir, 319 in Jadcherla and 3,000 acres in Damarcharla. We are ready to hand over the land to union shipping ministry as and when required. There is no need to acquire any private land for these ports as there is abundant government land available in these locations,” the sources said. The Centre is expected to entrust the responsibility of setting up one of these dry ports with the Visakhapatnam Port Trust.After bifurcation of the state, Telangana was left with no sea ports since it has no coastline. This impacted exports and imports. While the government had urged the Centre to set up dry ports to compensate for the dip in revenue from exports during the last two years, it failed to identify suitable locations and submit proposals to the Centre.With several new manufacturing units coming up in the state under TS-iPASS, especially in NIMZ-Medak and Hyderabad Pharma City, with a major thrust on exports, the dry ports have become all the more important. A dry port is an inland terminal which is directly connected by rail or road to a sea port. It offers customs clearance, temporary storage, handling and inspection for exports and international cargo similar to that of a sea port.

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Govt gets approval for 2,500 km long national highwayHyderabad, 19th Oct., 2016

The Telangana government has succeeded in getting approval for 2500 kilometers long national highway (NH) in the state. This was disclosed by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao during a review meeting with roads and building department at his camp office. This is highest ever length sanctioned by the Centre to a state in the last two and half years. Seeing this as compliment from the Centre, the chief minister asked R&B officials to begin planning and take up work on the 330 km Regional Ring Road (RRR) planned to be beyond the existing Outer Ring Road (ORR) of the city. He also directed the officials to prepare a vision document with details of national highways, state highways and connecting roads which are under construction. This document, according to the chief minister, should include details of future needs and expansion requirements of each town and city. Raising concern over delay in preparing the detailed project reports (DPRS) for various road projects, the chief minister asked the department to divide the work into smaller packages so that the DPR preparation can be completed faster. He directed the department to submit a report on the places where the under bridges, flyovers, bridges on rivers and causeways are required and the funds needed to complete construction. Raising concern over increasing road accidents, the CM asked the roads department to come out with proposals to reduce curves on the national and state highways. He wanted construction of more bypass roads so that traffic would not pass through populated villages and towns.

Rs 127 crore mega food park now functionalMahabubnagar, 7th Oct., 2016

A programme was held at Putnamdoddi village in Itikyala mandal in Mahbubnagar district to mark the completion of construction of a Mega Food Park. District Collector TK Sridevi who visited the programme said that thefood park was a big gift for the farmers of villages of the area. Raga Mayuri Food Park was set up by KJR group on a 125-acre land at a cost of Rs 127 crore. It’s promoter and KJR group chairman KJ Reddy said the state government had provided Rs 50 crore and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Rs. 47 crore for the park which can accommodate 60 food processing industries. It will be formally inaugurated by the Union Minister of Food Processing on November 3. District Collector TK Siridevi, who attended the pre-launch programme, said the food park would enable farmers to store their produce when they did not get good price for their harvest. Instead, they could process them at the food park, store it and sell it. She said crops like paddy, pulses, fruits and vegetables can be processed at the food park and sold at good prices, and advised the management to hold an awareness programme for farmers about food processing.

Saudi ambassador promises KCR to aid with developmental activitiesHyderabad, 23rd Oct., 2016

Ambassador of the the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Soud Mohammed Alsati informed Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao that they too would take part in the developmental activities of Telangana. Mohammed Alsati said that Saudi would invest in Telangana state in various sectors. Alsati called on the Chief Minister at the latter’s camp office and during the discussions, Rao told Alsati that there was a close relation between the cultures of Hyderabad and Saudi Arabia. The sixth Nizam Mahaboob Ali Pasha constructed a guest house (Rubat) near Kaba, Rao said and added that Telangana had a good relations with Saudi right from the Nizam time. Chief Minister wanted the Alsati to set up Saudi Arabia Consulate office in Hyderabad. Alsati informed that the Saudi Arabia too was working in that direction. The Chief Minster told Alsati that around 3 lakh Telanganites were living in Saudi Arabia. The

the total project cost.” Mr Rao said to develop Pharma City, the government needs to spend Rs 3,000 crore to meet environmental norms on setting up common effluent plants etc, Rs 1,600 crore to create internal infrastructure facilities, Rs 450 crore for networking of roads, Rs 550 crore to lay six-lane road to the project site from Nagarjunasagar highway. For Medak-NIMZ, the government needs to spend Rs 500 crore to create internal infrastructure facilities, Rs 500 crore for networking of roads, Rs 100 crore to develop railway station in Metlakunta and the railway line between Ravulappali to Pagidipalli.

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Rao met top executives of pharma, life sciences and healthcare multinational company Johnson & Johnson (J&J). He held a meeting with Paul Stoffel, chief scientific officer and chairman of pharmaceuticals division; Melinda Richter, head of JLabs and Jonathan Collard, VP, government affairs and policy, Asia Pacific of the company.Paul, who showed interest in Hyderabad

Pharma City, will be visiting Hyderabad in 2017, an official release said. Melinda assured the delegation that the company will explore the possibility of setting up a JLabs unit in Hyderabad. Telangana government has entered into an MoU with J&J towards making the State TB-free.New Jersey based Johnson & Johnson will play an active role in the project by assisting the state government in achieving the goal.Rama Rao also met Sanat Chattopadhyay, Executive VP and president, Merck manufacturing division in Kenilworth office. In a wide ranging discussion, Sanat mentioned Merck’s intent for a social partnership with Telangana government on arresting infant diarrhoea. KTR invited Sanat to visit Hyderabad and he agreed to visit next month.Merck has also expressed interest in setting up a manufacturing base in Telangana in collaboration with local partners. Merck has also expressed interest in setting up a ‘Vaccine Centre of Excellence’ in Hyderabad which will also be used for imparting skills,

providing training based on the specific requirement of the companies.Nanette Cocero, president for emerging markets for innovative health business, Pfizer and Jeffery T Hamilton, senior director, Pfizer. During their

people from erstwhile Hyderabad State area too were living in Saudi Arabia and they were operating from Hyderabad as a Centre, Rao said and added that setting up of consulate office in Hyderabad would be useful for all of them. Rao also explained that bringing the bodies of those died in Saudi Arabia during Haj pilgrimage became very difficult and wanted the Saudi Arabia government to take measures to ease the process. The Chief Minister also explained the salient features of TS-iPASS and explained that TS was investor friendly state.

Toshiba Likely To Tie Up With Telangana GovernmentHyderabad, 21st Oct., 2016Toshiba Corporation Director Shigenori Shiga of Japan met Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma and Principal Secretary A Shanti Kumari in the chambers of the Chief Secretary to discuss a possible tie up with government corporations. The CS welcomed them to Hyderabad and

explained about the “industrial-friendly” atmosphere in Telangana. He thanked them for their investments in Telangana and assured all cooperation from the Government of Telangana. The company briefed the Chief Secretary on their profile, products and their operations in India in general and Telangana in particular.

Pharma companies evince interest to boost medical tourism in HyderabadHyderabad, 15th Oct., 2016

On the second day of his visit to the US, industries and IT minister KT Rama Rao met leaders of top global pharma companies.In the luncheon meeting, Rama

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USPEA to help State shift pharma units beyond ORRHyderabad, 14th Oct., 2016

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has beenpreparing guidelines for the state government which is planning to shift pharmaceutical industries in

city beyond Outer Ring Road (ORR).On the first day of his tour of US, industries minister KT Rama Rao spoke to representatives of US Environmental Protection Agency (USPEA). The USPEA explained the guidelines for shifting of the pharma units out of the city.Rao along with principal secretary (industries) Arvind Kumar, participated in the meeting of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Representatives of major pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Alexion, Merck and Amgen were present at the meeting. Addressing the meeting, the minister spoke about the proposed Hyderabad Pharma City.It may be recalled that the state government planned to shift 1,068 pharma units out of the city and locate them in the proposed Pharma City. As part of his seven-day tour of six states in the US, Rama Rao attended various programmes in Washington on the first day. He called on Indian ambassador Tarun Jeet Singh and sought his cooperation in furthering trade relations between Telangana and the US. American consul-general in Hyderabad Katherine

discussions with KTR, Cocero explained about Pfizer’s ECHO project in breast cancer screening.Rama Rao invited Pfizer to associate with Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH). Rama Rao also singed an MoU with IV2 Alliance, a non-profit corporation that works in tandem with US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to promote collaboration within the scientific, research and provider communities to achieve advances in the field of healthcare and wellness.USFDA stated that Pharma City can be the first of the international clusters it seeks to bring together and link scientific and medical advances from across the globe.

B Hadda also called on Rama Rao. Boeing International president Bertrand-Marc (Marc) Allen met with Rao as well.The IT minister requested Cleveland Motorcycles CEO Jonathan to set up a factory in Telangana, assuring him that the state government would extend full support to the unit.

CCMB I-Hub to boost medical, biotech start-upsHyderabad, 9th Oct., 2016

The CSIR-CCMB has launched its innovation activities in the form of I-Hub in Hyderabad. According to Rakesh Mishra, Director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, “The main aim of the I-Hub is to provide a platform both for translating ideas developed in-house and providing a place for start-up companies that are interested in medical and agricultural biotechnology.”The I-Hub has been initiated mainly to meet the gap in translating ideas into technologies since start-ups have difficulty in finding infrastructure that requires financial inputs. The I-Hub provides such facilities to incubate these ideas so that they can mature into technologies subsequently.Platform to groom“With the launch of the I-Hub, we are expecting many new start-ups and innovations to get a platform to groom and build themselves into robust industrial players in the field of medical biotechnology,” Mishra said. The I-Hub is housed in a five-storeyed building equipped with advanced laboratory equipment for research and innovation. For assisting the new start-ups, the CCMB authorities have also appointed experts and already tied up with two companies. The CCMB Director added that the innovation hub would facilitate application-oriented research in association with biotech companies, hospitals and start-ups. “Apart from sophisticated equipment available for use, our experts will interact with companies, depending on the need. For example, we are looking to develop technology

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to identify and isolate foetal cells in a mother’s to do pre-natal diagnosis.” The I-Hub will have a common research and technology development centre and diagnostics and clinical research facilities at one place.

Exemption of small businesses hailed Hyderabad, 19th Oct., 2016

The Centre’s recent decision to exempt dealers with annual turnover below Rs 20 lakh from the new GST regime will benefit the state government. Over 25,000 dealers registered with the commercial taxes department in the state have an annual turnover of less than Rs 20 lakh. The state government will have control over these dealers. Several states including Telangana have been demanding that the Centre exempt small traders from GST. “We welcome the decision taken by the GST Council. This will save many small scale traders and service providers from undertaking GST compliance. It also reduces a substantial burden for commercial tax officials to assess small-time dealers for GST,” said Mr K. Kranthi Sagar, representative of Small Traders Association. AP and Telangana state had demanded a threshold of Rs 20 lakh for GST exemption, while Tamil Nadu and Delhi governments had sought Rs 25 lakh. Currently, the threshold for Value-Added Tax (VAT) is Rs 10 lakh in most states.State realty shows 31.21% growth this yearHyderabad, 15th Oct., 2016The Telagnana government said it a recorded a 31.21 per cent overall growth in revenue from stamps and registrations wing in the first six months of the current financial year. This is highest growth achieved by any state in the country, a release from the Chief Minister’s office said. The state, it said, received a net revenue of Rs 1,935.50 crore against Rs 1,475 last year in the six months. Chief Minister’s principal secretary S Narsinga Rao briefed the growth figures to chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao . He explained that the corresponding growth rates of other southern states are far behind Telangana.While AP’s growth rate is 12.27%, Karnataka stands at 2.31%, Kerala at 3.57%

while Tamil Nadu reported a negative growth of 2.63%. In fact, other states in northern and western India also reported less than 10 per cent growth in real estate activity, while Telangana reported a huge jump in the real estate sector. The release claimed that decisive leadership, feel good factor, confidence in governance, adequate power supply without any cuts, single-window clearances and rise in per capita income have resulted in higher revenues in stamps and registrations department. The announcement of new and smaller districts also contributed to the growth in land and construction activity in the state, it added.It may be recalled that just, opposition parties and the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) demanded that the government issue a white paper on the state’s finances alleging that there was a large gap between government claims and reality with regard to revenues and spending on welfare schemes and projects. CM K Chandrasekhar Rao’s home district Medak topped in growth rate with a 47.94 per cent increase, followed by Adilabad 38.09%, Hyderabad 36.12%, Rangareddy 33.51%, Mahbubnagar 32.30%, Warangal 27.25%, Karimnagar 22.62%, Nizamabad 21.74% and Nalgonda 6.99%. In all, as many as 5,76, 991 documents have been registered in all the districts put together as against 5,22, 397 last year in the first six months. Against the annual target of Rs 4,291.99 crores for 2016-2017, the achievement in the first six months is Rs 1,935.30 crores accounting for nearly 45% of the target. Even the month-wise figures indicated steady growth in all districts, the release said. Hyderabad keeps business-friendly tagHyderabad, 28th Oct., 2016

Hyderabad has maintained its record in the ease of doing business by securing first place in two parameters — enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency — in the latest report released by the World Bank. The World Bank report measuring business regulations, has surveyed 17 cities across the country in terms of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. The City of Pearls was ranked number two, next to Ludhiana, in terms of overall ease of doing business. The World Bank said the methodology involved measurement of the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating

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L&T to build 1,048-meters cable bridge in HyderabadHyderabad, 30th Oct, 2016A cable-stayed bridge — that has one or more towers or pylons from which cables support the bridge deck across Durgam cheruvu at Madhapur has finally been sanctioned.The 1,048-m bridge will cost Rs 184 crore which will be shared equally between the GHMC and the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.This bridge will connect Hitec City and the financial district with other parts of the city and reduce the distance from Jubilee Hills to Mindspace and Gachibowli by 2 km. The project has been awarded to Metro Rail builder Larsen & Toubro, which is also putting in place the CCTV surveillance system for Hyde-rabad and Cyberabad.The bridge is part of the Strategic Road Develop-ment programme, a pet project of the state government. The work was sanctioned under Engineering Procurement and Construction.The bridge will have footpaths on both sides and approach roads from Madhapur and Jubilee Hills. It is expected to ease traffic congestion which has increased due to largescale development in the IT corridor.

Medical Devices Park to come up in Medak villageHyderabad, 06th Oct, 2016While the state government is already trying to attract foreign investments for the proposed Hyderabad Pharma City, a Medical Devices Park coming up in Sultanpur village of Patancheru mandal in Medakwill give a boost to the efforts.“Around 70 percent of the medical devices required for the country are being imported from other countries,” sources said explaining the need for attracting investments in the medical devices sector.IT and industries minister KT Rama Rao will address AdvaMed 2016, a leading MedTech conference in North America on October 19.The conference will help to bring more than 1,000 companies together for business development.Normally, the new pharmaceutical companies have to obtain permission from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

However, the USFDA has agreed to start its units in Hyderabad Pharma City to give spot approvals. There is a branch of USFDA branch in Bangalore. “This will be an advantage for new pharma companies,” Rama Rao said.He said there is no need to take environmental and pollution clearances for Hyderabad Pharma City. “The entire layout will have clearance and the individual companies need not obtain permissions separately,” Rama Rao explained.The minister said the master plan and designs of the Hyderabad Pharma City (HPC) would be ready in two weeks.

whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and efficiency in the court system. In terms of resolving insolvency, the Bank said it had been measured on the basis of the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings as well as the strength of the legal framework applicable to judicial liquidation and reorganisation. Construction permitsHyderabad was placed fourth in terms of starting a business where New Delhi has been ranked first. The city has also been ranked fourth in terms of dealing with construction permits with Bengaluru leading in this category. Hyderabad, however, was placed 13th in paying taxes and trading across borders, the two parameters in which Ludhiana and Bhubaneshwar are ranked number one respectively. The city finds itself in the ninth place when it comes to registering property with Gurgaon leading all 17 cities in this category.

Centre opened to generate online database of MSMEsHyderabad, 22nd Oct., 2016

Lending support to the initiative of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry to create a data bank of MSMEs in all the States, the Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTAPCCI) inaugurated the MSME Development Institute Facilitation Centre at its premises in Red Hills.

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The MSME Ministry made it mandatory for every micro, small and medium enterprise to register itself in the MSME data bank for generating the data base. Each enterprise needs to upload its profile, details of products it made, and the facilitation centre will help the members, who require help, said Mr. Ravindra Modi, president, FTAPCCI. Ravindra Modi said that the data base would help the Union Government accurately assess the number of MSMEs, the sectors in which they are working and the products they make and understand their issues and requirements to make suitable amendments to the MSME policy.Ms. Sumathi, Assistant Director, MSME-DI, said that the Department representatives would come to the FTAPCCI centre every Friday to help the entrepreneurs upload their details on the portal. “Our brief is to capture every MSME member so as to know the category-wise entrepreneurs, such as SCs, STs and other classes and sector-wise units and help create polices to help them,” she said. Under the Centre’s Public Procurement Policy, all Central and Public Sector Undertakings would have to procure 20 per cent of material, products from the MSME sector. The data would be shared with the CPSUs at a later date. The MSME-DI is collaborating with the sister concerns like NSIC, KVIC and also nodal officers were appointed for every district to coordinate with District Industries Centres and collect the data of MSMEs. There are over 1.56 lakh registered MSMEs in Andhra Pradesh and 1.13 lakh enterprises in Telangana and their profiles would have to be uploaded on the portalwww.msmedatabank.in Such a database would be helpful for the MSMEs to know the incentives and other facilities extended by the government and would help the government to understand the requirements of MSMEs, the Assistant Director said.TSLIPCO to train SC un-employed youth in FDDIHyderabad, 17th Oct., 2016

Government of Telangana Sanctioned Rs 81 Lakhs to Telangana State Leather Industries Promotion Corporation Limited (TSLIPCO) for providing 3-months training programme in open footwear manufacturing and 6 months training programme in manufacturing of Shoes etc for the Scheduled Casteun-employed youth from the districts of Telangana, at Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI), Ministry of Commerce

and Industry, Government of India, Hyderabad on residential basis. Since FDDI is an international repute institute, the trainees will have quality training in manufacturing of footwear and shoe.

Hyderabad has huge warehousing scopeHyderabad, 1st Oct., 2016

Hyderabad holds immense potential as a warehousing destination as it is considered as an ideal occupier’s market where rentals will be prone to staying depressed due to the potential for enough and more supply that can come up as required in the market, according to ‘India Warehousing Market Report 2016’ report on Indian logistics sector released by Knight Frank India. Further the Report indicates that Hyderabad warehousing market will be hard pressed to generate up to 12% returns for investors by 2020. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is expected to have a positive impact on Hyderabad due to its unique location, which is equidistant from major cities in South and Central India such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Nagpur, Pune and Mumbai. In terms of the requirement for warehousing space, the chemicals and pharmaceutical sector leads with approximately 14 mnsq. ft. followed by the remaining industries.

Global Sparenparts to open warehouse in HyderabadHyderabad, 29th Sep., 2016

Global Sparenparts, an aggregator of industrial spares, has announced plans to set up a warehouse in Hyderabad to serve the southern market.The Delhi-based start-up, which offers its spares supplies through e-commerce site www.sparenparts.com for industrial consumers, is planning to raise up to $15 million to fuel expansion plans.Dinesh Kumar Agarwal, co-founder of Global Sparenparts, said the e-commerce site has been set up to make sourcing of spares a hassle free experience for industries and businesses. The products are offered

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Incubation hub for aerospace on the anvilHyderabad, 27th Oct., 20162016 A number of projects seeking to encourage innovation as well as create a pipeline of skilled manpower for specific sectors and attract investment are being pursued by Telangana, B.V.Papa Rao, Adviser to the State government, said here. The former bureaucrat, who was addressing the inaugural session of the two-day TiE-ISB Connect 2016, counted in the list the incubation facility under consideration for the aerospace sector. For the project, involving NITI Aayog member and scientist V.K. Saraswat, the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad had recently sent a proposal to the Union Defence Ministry. The State government, Mr.Rao said, was also in discussion with the IIT-H and the scientist to promote metal 3D printing as a sector. “We are also having a dialogue with the NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation),’ he said. Metal 3D printing is the latest in the process of building prototypes in various industries and offers multiple benefits. Noting that the skill policy of Telangana was at an advanced stage of preparation, Mr.Rao said the State government with the Carnegie Mellon University would be setting up an institute to train manpower for the Big Data sector. Fifty acres, located between Gachibowli and Shamshabad, had been identified for the facility, which would emerge into a big attraction for companies to invest in Hyderabad. Earlier, Indian School of Business Dean Rajendra Srivastava said ISB was looking at a role of an accelerator for start-ups. T-Hub CEO Jay Krishnan pointed out how besides incubators, academic institutions and support structures like TiE (The Indus

TS govt coming up with IoT, Smart Technology Policy to encourage start-upsHyderabad, 27th Oct., 2016The Telangana government will come up with IoT and Smart Technology Policy that will encourage startups and IoT based product development companies, said a senior official. “The Telangana government will be coming up with IoT and Smart Technology Policy, which will be encouraging the start-ups, home grown players and the IoT based product development companies,” said Telangana IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan. He was speaking after inaugurating a conference on Internet of Things (IoT) with the theme ‘Current and Future Trends - Managing Data, Devices and connectivity in Digital world’ organised by CII Telangana. “IoT has come a long way with immense social impact. No technology is worth its name unless it has social impact,” he said. Ranjan shared some of the examples on how IoT is impacting the society, quality healthcare in rural areas, real time scientific information to farmers, prior prediction of severe heatwave conditions, besides others. He also spoke about five parameters to identify best IoT solutions impacting society - relevance, ease of usage, value proposition, replication and inter-operabilty. The conference discussed and addressed the challenges and opportunities present in IoT and data analytics for transforming India into digital economy. V Rajanna, Vice Chairman, CII Telangana and Vice President & Regional Head, TCS, in his address said the transformational value of IoT is significant, especially in the areas of healthcare, agriculture and retail. CII Telangana Chairman Nrupender Rao also spoke on the occasion.

Incentives for officialsHyderabad, 27th Oct., 2016

Mines and Geology Minister K.T. Rama Rao has ordered framing of guidelines for rewarding officials of the department with performance based incentives for aiding in revenue growth from extraction of sand and minor minerals. A release after a review meeting with senior officials on the performance of the department for the

Entrepreneurs) were crucial for the start-up eco-system. TiE Hyderabad president Suresh Challa and Tie-ISB Connect chair Ananth Rao said the event served as a forum for networking, raising funds, mentoring besides showcasing of ideas.

through tie-ups with manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers.The industrial products have been classified under 24 main categories from over 800-plus brands offering more than 5 million products. The assortment is aimed at facilitating easy search and purchase.By organising the entire range of products, the company seeks to make this business-to-business engagement a seamless one, backing it through supplies with well-established logistics companies, he said.The idea for the start-up to address the problem of sourcing spare parts came from Ashok Kumar Gupta, MD and CEO of a steel company and APL Apollo Tubes, who felt the need for such an initiative.

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half year ending September said Mr. Rao expressed happiness at the 69 per cent revenue growth from minor minerals and 57 per cent growth from sand. In this context, Mr. Rao asked the Principal Secretary of Mines and Geology Arvind Kumar to frame guidelines for release of incentives to all officials who met the targets. He also spoke to the Chairman and Managing Director of Singareni Collieries Company.

Rays Power commissions solar plant in Telangana StateHyderabad, 28th Oct., 2016

Renewable energy firm Rays Power Infra commissioned 5.75 mega watt solar energy project in Telangana. The company has undertaken the project for its client, Earth Solar. Spread across 27 acres of land in Medak district, the solar energy project was taken up under Government of Telangana’s competitive bidding 2012 process and open offer route 2013. Rays Power Infra executed the project on turnkey basis, right from land acquisition till commissioning. Power generated by the solar plant is utilised to electrify nearby villages. “This project is very special for us as it was the first secondary acquisition for our group. I want to congratulate my highly skilled team of professionals, who played a vital role at every stage of this project’s execution and commissioning within the set timeline,” said Sanjay Garudapally, Director - Business Development, Rays Power Infra. With this project, the total portfolio of commissioned projects under Rays Power Infra went up to 320 MW in India, and 76 MW in Telangana.

City entrepreneur bags MSME awardHyderabad, 22nd Oct., 2016

Ravi Kundalia of city-based Radiant Cables, received the first prize in the product/process innovation category in the national awards presented to Micro, Small and Medium enterprises for the year 2015. Mr. Ravi received the award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ceremony held at Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana on October 18. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 3 lakh, trophy and certificate. Visakhapatnam-based Coastal Corporation Pvt Limited director G.V.V. Satyanarayana received the award for outstanding entrepreneurship in the medium enterprises (manufacturing) category from Union MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra. The award carries cash

prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh, a trophy and certificate, according to a press release issued by the MSME-Development Institute.

Training in handicrafts for tribal women launched Khammam, 5th Oct., 2016

The Telangana State Handicrafts Development Corporation (TSHDC) has launched a four-month-long training programme in making bamboo-based handicrafts for tribal women of the Konda Reddy community at Kothakannaigudem in Aswaraopet mandal.The training camp got under way in the remote Kothakannaigudem village .The TSHDC has initiated the training programme in association with the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Bhadrachaslam, to equip the tribal women with the requisite skills to make value-added diversified bamboo products of both utility and decorative value. The training will be provided by trainers from Assam and Andhra Pradesh.Huge opportunity for Indian firms in biosimilarsHyderabad, 7th Oct., 2016

India is well placed to tap the opportunity set to emerge over the next 15 years in biosimilars sector of pharmaceutical industry with the transformation in technology, market access and regulatory framework, according to ASSOCHAM. A white paper on ‘Biosimilars - How can we realise the $240 billion opportunity’ that the industry body unveiled here also estimated the global market for the products to grow from $2.2 billion now to $240 billion by 2030.

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Afghanistan to open consulate in HyderabadHyderabad, 14th Oct., 2016

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will open a consulate in Hyderabad soon. This was disclosed by its ambassador, Shaida Mohammad Abdali, at an interactive session organised by the Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTAPCCI) and said he will discuss with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on how to move further on setting up of the consulate,” Abdali said, adding that the formal approvals from the governments of Afghanistan and India were already in place. Hyderabad has been a focus region for Afghanistan. The city has 1,000 students from Afghanistan, out of 16,000 in the entire country.CollaborationHighlighting the need for greater economic collaboration, the diplomat said his country was interested in IT, construction, mining, agri processing, and education, among others. “Many people ask me about our population. But see Afghanistan not as a country but as a region as we are at a crossroads geographically,” he said. Jalalabad city is being promoted by Afghanistan as a key destination. The connectivity issues between India and Afghanistan were being addressed by the recently concluded trilateral pact between India, Afghanistan and Iran on Chabahar port, he added.

Biosimilars are follow-on biologics which in turn are therapeutic proteins manufactured from natural sources such as human and animal cells, yeast and bacteria.Need of the hourCollaboration will be fundamental for Indian companies, particularly those that provide access to technology and thus help them improve the time to market. The companies ought to look for risk sharing co-investment collaborations too, both with multinational companies as well as with other Indian companies, for break into the developed markets. For expanding into RoW (rest of the world) markets, which though easier to access were, however, unlikely to offer financial sustainability until they expand to their true potential, the report suggested Indian firms joining hands. It also recommended collaborations with RoW companies.

Bayyaram Steel Factory may soon become realityHyderabad, 9th Oct., 2016

The loss-making public sector undertaking unit Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is exploring various options to set up a steel factory in Bayyaram in Khammam district.According to sources, as SAIL’s financial losses stood close to Rs. 5,000 crore, the company is exploring several possibilities to start the Bayyaram Steel Factory in collaboration with some other firms. Setting up a steel factory in Telangana was a commitment made by the Centre in AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. Recently, industries minister KT Rama Rao had held discussions with the Union ministers concerned on the fate of

Secunderabad to Nagpur in 3 hours: Pact signed with Russia for 200 kmph trainsHyderabad, 16th Oct., 2016

Passengers can travel from Secunderabad to Nagpur in less than three hours when the 200 kmph trains, for which India signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia, start running. The rail distance between the two cities is 575 km. The superfast Rajdhani Express takes 7 hours and 50 minutes to cover the distance with an average speed of about 80 kmph and top speed of 130 kmph. Other fast trains take over 10 hours. The MoU was signed at the ongoing BRICS meet at Goa. “The plan is to improve the railway tracks and strengthen them to allow trains to run at 200 kmph,” Railway Board member Ved Prakash told. Nagpur is the connecting point between southern and northern rail corridors. Mr Prakash said the details of survey, project reports, cost and timeline would be announced later. SCR officials said the Secunderabad-Nagpur route was one of the main corridors connecting south India with the north. Every day over 130 trains operate on this sector

19 / Nov 2016

Hyderabad has huge warehousing scopeHyderabad, 1st Oct., 2016

Hyderabad holds immense potential as a warehousing destination as it is considered as an ideal occupier’s market where rentals will be prone to staying depressed due to the potential for enough and more supply that can come up as required in the market, according to ‘India Warehousing Market Report 2016’ report on Indian logistics sector released by Knight Frank India. Further the Report indicates that Hyderabad warehousing market will be hard pressed to generate up to 12% returns for investors by 2020. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is expected to have a positive impact on Hyderabad due to its unique location, which is equidistant from major cities in South and Central India such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Nagpur, Pune and Mumbai. In terms of the

the Steel Factory. Later, the Union government constituted a committee to explore the possibility of setting up a steel factory in Bayyaram in Telangana and another steel factory in Kadapa of Andhra Pradesh. The Telangana government wanted the Centre to take a representative in the committee from Telangana State too, for which the Centre accepted. However, sources said SAIL could not set up Bayyaram Steel Factory on its own. This is on two counts - the SAIL is in huge losses and the quality of iron ore available in Bayyaram is not good. According to sources, one option being explored is that SAIL will have a tie-up with the Arcelor Mittal to start a steel factory in Bayyaram. The other option before the SAIL is to start a pelletisation factory in Bayyaram to improve the quality of iron ore in Bayyaram and later manufacture steel with the pellets. The State government suggested the Centre to link up the proposed Bayyaram Steel Factory with iron ore mines in Bailadila, located near Kirandul town in Dantewada district of southern Chhattisgarh, so that the iron ore from Bailadila mines can be transported to Telangana for the use of proposed steel factory in Bayyaram.

Storage capacity for market yards to be increased, 330 godowns to be built at Rs 1,024 cr: T Harish RaoHyderabad, 17th Oct., 2016

Marketing minister T Harish Rao urged the Agriculture Market Committee (AMC) chairmen and secretaries to ensure that farmers get remunerative prices for their produce. “To ensure that farmers need not resort to distress selling of their agriculture produce when prices are low, government is taking steps to increase the storage capacity at all market yards. While there was storage capacity of just six lakh metric tonnes at godowns in market yards during the formation of Telangana, we have initiated steps to construct 330 godowns with an outlay of Rs.1,024 crore to increase storage capacity to 17 lakh metric tonnes in the state,” said Harish Rao speaking at the workshop held for AMC chairmen and marketing department staff in Hyderabad on Sunday. “Telangana government has brought ‘Raithu Bandhu’ scheme where farmers can store their produce at godowns at AMCs and get a loan to the extent of 75 per cent of agri-produce’s value in case they do not get remunerative price at market. All AMC chairmen should publicise Raithu Bandhu scheme extensively and ensure that farmers know about its benefits,” further said Harish Rao. Saying that Telangana government is on the forefront of ensuring better prices to farmers when compared to other states, Harish Rao pointed out that while electronic-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) was launched in all 214 market yards all over India, 44 of them are in Telangana. “There is no use when farmers do not get remunerative price for their crop.Therefore all AMC chairmen should take up the onus of creating awareness about farmers on how to get best price for their produce and take all government initiatives like e-NAM, Raithu Bandhu, crop insurance to farmers,” urged Harish Rao. He also announced that government is planning to set up a Raithu Bazar for all revenue division. AMC chairmen and staff were trained on how e-NAM, Raithu Bandu and other marketing department initiatives work, as Kharif marketing season is about to start.

requirement for warehousing space, the chemicals and pharmaceutical sector leads with approximately 14 mnsq. ft. followed by the remaining industries.

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Mission Bhagiratha set to be extended to 35 ULBsHyderabad, 15th October 2016:

The Telangana government has decided to extend Mission Bhagiratha project intended to provide piped drinking water to all households in rural and semi-urban areas of the State to urban areas now by unveiling its plan to cover 35 urban local bodies (ULBs), including five municipal corporations and 30 municipalities. Administrative sanction to the project with three packages was given on Friday with an estimated cost of Rs. 4,403 crore. However, the water supply project to 35 ULBs would be implemented on a modified annuity mode of contract basis. In response to the proposals sent by the Engineer-in-Chief (Public Health) for taking up water supply improvement schemes in 35 ULBs, including 10 towns covered under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme for integrating with Mission Bhagiratha, the government has given its nod.The 10 towns/cities covered under AMRUT -- Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Ramagundam, Khammam (all corporations), Mahabubnagar, Adilabad, Nalgonda, Suryapet and Miryalguda (all municipalities) -- would get 50 per cent grant from the Centre for implementing the water supply scheme. The Telangana Urban Finance Infrastructure Development Corporation (TUFIDC), the nodal agency for AMRUT for release of funds, would make all the annuity payments for the purpose. Operation and maintenance period for the new water supply components has been fixed as seven years, including defect liability period from the date of commercial operations (COD) in the ULB concerned, which is two years after entrusting work to the contract agency. The provision has been made to satisfy the Centre’s guidelines under the AMRUT. It is also

KCR announces incentive for Mission Bhagiratha contractorsHyderabad, 18th October 2016:

Telangana Chief Minister Sri.K Chandrasekhar Rao announced an incentive of 1.5% of total cost of Mission Bhagiratha to contractors, who complete works within stipulated time in rural areas. The government wants to complete Mission Bhagiratha works, aimed at supplying drinking water to every household in the state, by December 2017. The chief minister held a review meeting on Mission Bhagiratha works with officials. He asked the officials complete pipelines laying and fixing of taps in rural on a priority basis. Chandrasekhar Rao was briefed on progress of the works such as construction of intake wells and water treatment plants, electricity substations and other related structures. He said various financial institutions have come forward to provide Rs 22,000 crore loans for Mission Bhagiratha and another Rs 8,000 crore loans were expected soon. The chief minister also said optical fibre cable should also be laid along with water pipelines for providing internet connections to all households in the near future. He directed officials to consult information technology department for the optical fibre network works. The chief minister said henceforth, Mission Bhagiratha programme implementation would be taken care by Rural Water Supply (RWS) department. He asked the officials to merge Mission Bhagirtha wing with RWS department and suggested that promotions be given to officials after the merger of the departments. Chandrasekhar Rao said the works would be reviewed by Mission Bhagiratha vice-chairman Vemula Prashanth Reddy.

proposed that the contract agency chosen for maintaining water supply would provide two supervisors to every ULB since the condition of the existing water supply system would be unknown to it. The power charges, consumables, repairs and wages for the manpower would, however, have to be borne by the ULBs. The other municipalities to which the Mission Bhagiratha scehme would be extended include Jagityal, Korutla, Metpally, Sircilla, Palvancha, Sathupally, Yellandu, Bellampally, Bhainsa, Kagaznagar, Manchiryal, Mandamarry, Nirmal, Jangaon, Gadwal, Narayanpet, Wanaparthy, Bhongir, Tandur, Vikarabad, Sadashivpet, Sangareddy, Zaheerabad, Bodhan and Kamareddy.

21 / Nov 2016

Power generation to meet 12th Plan targetNew Delhi, 7th October 2016:

Power generation will be 100 per cent of the envisaged capacity addition target of 88,537 megawatt (MW) by the end of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan. The sector has missed targets despite them being scaled at times over the previous two Plan periods. The achievement now is 99.4 per cent and this will likely climb to 100 per cent by March 2017, when the Twelfth Plan ends. This is largely due to capacity increases by private and state thermal power producers, while hydroelectric projects are lagging behind targets. The enhanced thermal power generation is attributed to improved fuel supply, with coal availability increasing to a historic high and gas supply brought to order through auctions.During the Tenth Plan period (2002-07), the government had set a target of adding 41,110 MW. The actual

Powerloom industry sees a ray of hope in new dist.Rajanna-Sircilla, , 18th October 2016:

State Government’s proposal to develop the Sircilla textile town on the lines of Tirupur, in Tamil Nadu, has rekindled hopes among the distressed powerloom weavers of Sircilla in the new Rajanna-Sircilla district. The textile town of Sircilla, which always hits the headlines due to crisis in the powerloom industry and suicides by the powerloom weavers in the integrated Karimnagar district, is seeing a ray of hope in the proposal to replicate the Tirupur, capital of knitwear industry in the country, model.

Faith in KTRThe residents have confidence in Sircilla MLA and Minister for Municipal Administration and IT K Taraka Rama Rao, and hope that the proposal would take root soon. The powerloom weavers suggest that the government take up rapid modernization of the powerlooms in Sircilla town to produce value added fabric as part of implementing Tirupur model. Sircilla town has the highest number of powerlooms in the State. It accounts for 33,000 of the total 42,000 powerlooms in entire Telangana State. The weavers feel that the State Government in association with the Centre should replace the existing the powerlooms with the jet looms to produce value added fabric for good marketing.Easy redressalPresident of AITUC affiliated Sircilla Powerloom Workers Union Samalla Mallesham said that the new district would help the residents easier access to district officials for redressal of long pending woes. “We submitted a petition urging Collector Krishna Bhaskar to take measures for the increase of wages of the powerloom weavers,” he said pointing out that

the powerloom owners had not increased wages of Rs 0.20 paise for weaving 10 pieces of fabric on the looms since last one year. “It is the right time for the state government to replicate the Tirupur model in Sircilla textile town,” he said and urged the government to set up a powerloom corporation for the supply of yarn and purchase of fabric from the weavers to provide round the year employment to the weavers. CITU trade union leader P Ravi wanted the government to take steps to ensure that the powerloom weavers work for only eight hours a day on the looms instead of existing 12 hours per day. He hoped that the formation of new district would help the powerloom industry rid all crisis.

22 / Nov 2016

Airport entry passes to be available online soonNew Delhi, 5th October 2016:

Securing a permit to enter the airport premises would become hassle-free soon, as the Union Civil Aviation Ministry has sanctioned a project to put all such applications vetted by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)’s on an online platform.“This would include passes for the general public that come to see off their friends or relatives at the airport or passes for the airport and airline staff,” Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey. The process of security clearance to ground handling and cargo handling agencies will also go online.Applications for securing entry passes to the airport could be submitted on the website of BCAS, which regulates entry of people at the airport.“We have

CII lists a host of steps to make procurement policy a successNew Delhi, 11th October 2016:

Concerned about a majority of state-owned firms not meeting the norm of 20 per cent procurement from micro and small enterprises, CII has called for a strong co-ordination mechanism between the ministry of MSME and other stakeholders. The industry body is in the process of submitting a set of suggestions to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) ministry which it believes could impart effectiveness to the policy objectives and have the desired impact. From April 2015, all PSUs, central government ministries and departments have been directed to procure at least 20 per cent of their product and service requirements from micro and small enterprises. Of the 20 per cent, the policy has earmarked a sub-target of 4 per cent procurement from micro and small enterprises (MSEs) owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs. As per data from the ministry of MSME, some 133 PSUs submitted data on total procurement and the one from MSEs during 2014-15. Of these, ontly 43 central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) complied with the mandatory procurement guidelines. “A strong institutional framework with adequate bandwidth and resources, enabling IT tools and platforms and a robust monitoring mechanism must

capacity added was 20,950 MW, 49 per cent of the target. The position worsened during the Eleventh Plan period (2007-2011). The original target of 78,577 MW was revised to 62,000 MW, and the actual capacity addition was 50,000 MW. The draft Twelfth Five-Year Plan had set a target of adding 100,000 Mw of capacity, but the Planning Commission scaled it down to 88,537 MW.There has been no hydroelectric capacity addition in the past five years. Private and state thermal power producers have surpassed targets by 112 per cent and 129 per cent, respectively.“The private sector has become active. As India goes about implementing its growth plan, the role of private players will be the differentiator,” said Ratul Puri, chairman, Hindustan Power Projects. Central government power companies have met 62 per cent of their targets. Hydroelectric and nuclear power capacity has lagged, but NTPC — the country’s largest power generating company — claims to be close to its target.“With capacity addition of 9,800 Mw during the current Plan till date, NTPC is all geared up to achieve the target of 11,920 Mw for the Twelfth Plan, ending 2016-17,” an NTPC executive said. The company’s annual report said it planned to add 4,500 Mw in 2016-17.NTPC had added 9,610 Mw in the Eleventh Plan, surpassing its target of 9,220 Mw, the executive added.After the Twelfth Plan ends in 2017, the power sector is looking at an empty capital investment pipeline, as no big generation project is in sight.

sanctioned project worth Rs. 22 crore to put all the airport entry pass applications online. The implementation will take place within the next six months,” Mr. Choubey said.‘Takes more time’At present, all airline and airport staff including pilots, cabin crew and ground staff needs to secure an airport entry pass approved by BCAS. Apart from that, protocol officers, staffs of union ministers and Members of Parliament also need to get an airport entry pass to enter the airport terminal building.“While the temporary airport passes are made quickly, the regular ones takes more time as it involves a lot of paper work and is a tedious process,” said aviation consultant Dr. Anurag Jain.“The lead time needs to be shrunk and if the online process achieves the purpose, it will be very helpful,” Mr. Jain said. He added that it took at least two-three weeks at present to get the passes for staff members.

23 / Nov 2016

be created in order to effectively implement the policy,” a white paper prepared by CII said. The paper called for creation of a centralised database of MSE vendors in the country. It also suggested that the list of 358 items reserved for exclusive procurement from MSE vendors be updated and extended. As per the proposed measures, the MSME ministry should create a product-wise list of MSE vendors under the 358 reserved items in order to facilitate identification. “The ministry must undertake measures for training MSE vendors as well as PSUs and their procurement officers in order to inculcate sensitivity among them to efficiently deal with each other. Special measures must be undertaken by the ministry in order to identify and enlist the SC/ST vendors within the MSE category,” the paper stated. It further suggested that testing labs be set up in states to ensure MSE vendors can meet the quality criteria of PSUs and pitched for inclusion of state-owned PSUs that are currently off the policy ambit. The paper also proposed that the qualification criteria need to be relaxed for MSE vendors to provide them with a level-playing field against their larger counterparts. It pitched for the government taking necessary steps to encourage MSMEs across the country to get them registered and consider bringing medium-scale enterprises under the purview of the policy.

‘Industries hit by duty structure should represent their case early’Chennai, 9th October 2016:

Industries hit by inverted duty structure or dumping should represent their case to the ministries concerned fast as the Budget will be presented earlier than the usual date of February 28, according to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman.In an interaction organised by the Chennai International Centre (CIC), she said the issue of inverted duty structure

Exporters seek special windowNew Delhi, 5th October 2016:

Exporters sought a special dispensation from the RBI for lower interest rates to help them tide over the persisting weak external demand.Welcoming the 25-basis points cut in the benchmark interest rates, the Engineering Export Promotion Council India Chairman T.S. Bhasin said a special dispensation should be considered by the RBI to boost exports in the wake of continuing sluggishness in overseas markets, so well enunciated in the credit policy document itself.External weakness“The policy document has elaborately has talked about the risks to the macro economy from slackening of external demand and other issues (including) protectionism,” he said.“Under these circumstances, the Indian exporters, especially from the employment

— where finished products face lower import duty than the raw material — was addressed in some sectors during the last Budget. Since then, the Finance Ministry has also engaged the industries sector-by-sector on this issue. Industries that still have a grouse relating to duty structure should present their case as early as possible as the Ministry is clear that it should be corrected fast.Non-tariff barrierShe was responding to a question from A Vellayan, Chairman, Murugappa Group, who sought action ahead of the Budget on inverted duty structure and imposition of non-tariff barrier considered against China, which dumped a range of products, resulting in domestic industries such phosphatic fertiliser units working at less than capacity. On the non-tariff barrier, she said, when specific issues have been identified, the Commerce Ministry has responded to the representation from the sector/industry. To a question from Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice-Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, while complimenting the government on the implementation of the JAM trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile number), asked when a double-digit growth in economy can be expected.The Minister said Jan Dhan Yojana, the financial inclusion scheme; Aadhar, the unique identity card; and Mobile phone connectivity together have started delivering huge benefits in the form of transparent and efficient delivery of benefits and plugging leakages in subsidies.

24 / Nov 2016

CSO releases supply and use tables to clear doubts on GDP dataNew Delhi, 13th October 2016:

In a bid to reduce discrepancies in the national accounts or gross domestic product data (GDP), the Central Statistics Office has now released supply and use tables that balance the production and consumption activities in the economy. The CSO has brought out supply and use

tables (SUTs) for 2011-12 and 2012-13 and hopes to make it an annual exercise. The SUTs will help explain why the discrepancies are seen in the GDP data. The supply table describes the supply of goods and services, which are produced in the domestic industry. The use table shows where and how goods and services are used in the economy. The SUT, which gives data on 140 products and 66 industries of the Indian economy, provides a complete description of the economy by giving detailed information on the production processes, the inter-dependencies in production, the use of goods and services as well as generation of income through production.Institutionalising SUT“We are trying to give the SUTs annually. We have given it for two years and work is on for the next year.

For long on the mat, SEZs show uptick; star performer is Reliance IndustriesNew Delhi, 13th October 2016:

After a near 11% drop in 2014-15, exports from special economic zones (SEZs) shrank 3.3% to $70.81 billion in the last fiscal, official data showed, reports Banikinkar Pattanayak in New Delhi. This is the first time since 2012-13 — when the minimum alternate tax (MAT) on developers and units and a dividend distribution tax (DDT) on developers started to hit SEZs hard — that SEZs have outperformed the growth in overall merchandise exports. Importantly, the Jamnagar SEZ of Reliance Industries alone continues to account for roughly a fourth of the total exports by SEZs, suggesting that the overall performance of such designated enclaves still owes a lot to RIL. Analysts say the seemingly better show put up by SEZs points at the fact they have worked hard on their business models, realising both the MAT and the DDT are here to stay, thanks to stubborn refusal by the revenue department in giving any concession on such taxes.Also, a sizeable portion of the SEZ exports is from the services sector, which performed better in 2015-16 than the manufacturing sector, especially due to a global commodity price slump. As of September, of the 204

oriented engineering (sector), suffer due to high cost of production, with the situation aggravating by (government-imposed) restrictions on imports on steel, the basic raw material.”It was up to the banks now to pass on the benefits of the reduction in repo rate to the industry, said S.C. Ralhan, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations(FIEO).

operational SEZs in the country, 116 were in the IT/IT3S, electronic hardware, and semiconductor segments, although it’s not clear from the latest official data as to how much of the SEZ exports were accounted for by the services sector. However, analysts were categorical that SEZs could have performed even better had the government decided to scrap both the MAT and DDT. The government had imposed MAT on SEZ developers and units and DDT on developers in 2011-12. Before the MAT and DDT were imposed, the growth in exports from SEZs was as high as 121% (2009-10) and 43% (2010-11), far exceeding the increase in the country’s overall goods exports for these years. Currently, many of the SEZs are operating at 70% of their capacities due to subdued global demand and the imposition of the 18.5% MAT on SEZ developers and units and the DDT on such developers. Some SEZs have been forced to operate at even less than 60% of their capacities, industry officials said.

25 / Nov 2016

With luck, we will institutionalise it so that regular SUTs will be published,” said TCA Anant, Chief Statistician and Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. In effect, it links the output of industries as products and their intermediate and final uses. However, the SUTs can only be compiled once the final data sets for GDP compilations such as the Annual Survey of Industries have been released. “At that stage you have all the information to eliminate the discrepancy,” Anant told BusinessLine. The annual SUTs would also be an improvement on the earlier input-output tables, which were compiled by the CSO as part of its exercise of revising the base years for GDP series. Apart from concerns over the high growth rates, the new series with a base year of 2011-12 has also been dogged with questions on high discrepancies – the variation between the calculation on production and consumption side of the GDP. The issue had come to the fore when the CSO had released the GDP data for 2015-16 on May 31 this year. At the time, it had estimated GDP growth of 7.9 per cent for the fourth quarter of the fiscal and 7.6 per cent for the whole of 2015-16.But, there were widespread concerns on the rates of discrepancies which were estimated at 0.1 per cent and 1.9 per cent at current and constant (2011-12) prices respectively during 2015-16, as against the corresponding rates of 0.4 per cent and (-) 0.3 per cent respectively in 2014-15. More worryingly, discrepancies in the fourth quarter of the 2015-16 jumped up to Rs. 1,43,210 crore from Rs. 29,933 crore in the corresponding period a year ago and raised questions about economic growth. If these discrepancies were removed then the GDP growth in the fourth quarter would have been 3.9 per cent and full fiscal at 5.2 per cent.Back-seriesWhile welcoming the SUT, analysts however, said that there continues to be a need for a back-series to link the new GDP series with the earlier series with a base year of 2004-05. “The SUT will certainly help as there are a lot of questions relating to value addition and manufacturing in the new GDP series. But, what is more needed is a fairly long, back series of the current GDP series to link up with the old series and explain where the divergence between the two is taking place,” said Abheek Barua, chief economist, HDFC Bank.

Launch of Enhanced Foreign Trade Data DashboardNew Delhi, 10th October 2016:

As part of the initiative of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry to provide easy access to the public with regard to India’s export, import and balance of trade data in an analytical format, over time and space, Commerce & Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched a new enhanced Dashboard on Foreign Trade Data. Speaking on the occasion she said technology will be used for transparent decision making and reaching out to people using real time data. The Minister said this Dashboard is an improved version of the earlier EXIM Analytics Dashboard developed with many added features. It is more user friendly and would facilitate the general public to have an accurate picture on dynamics of foreign trade performance of India.The new Dashboard gives a graphical collection of exports, imports and balance of trade of India; e.g., the Export turnover of the country – how it performs over time and space? What are the export destinations? What items are being exported? Which are the ports – inland, sea or airports from which the exports are taking place? The new interface is broadly divided into Exports, Imports and Balance of Trade views. Each of these views provide the user with features to inspect the trade that happens between India and a particular country, zoom into the activities of a particular port and reflect trade pattern over any months of the user’s choice. The Import view gives a sharp perspective of how India’s imports have changed compared to the previous year. The user may also observe how the import value has fared across the months of that year. The Top Commodities and Ports section details the top 5 commodities and ports, in addition to the ones at the lower end. The clickable world map reflects the performance of India in imports to rest of the world. The darker the country shade, the higher the import from it. The flow diagram to the right of the world map will visualise what percentage of the top commodities have been imported from the various ports (thickness of the line reflects the magnitude).

If users are curious to see how their selected choices were to behave in the Exports area, they merely need to click on the Export view on the top navigation bar. Similarly, when users switch to the Balance of Trade

26 / Nov 2016

Govt identifies 150 cos as potential investors for FDI New Delhi, 3rd October 2016:

After a high decibel `Make in India’ pitch, the government has now turned to a more targeted approach to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows.In a first, the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), along with Invest India, has identified 150 companies as potential investors and is meeting their top management individually as it seeks to ensure that FDI inflows rise for the fourth straight year.The idea is to tap companies which are looking to set up shop in India or are eyeing expansion. Recently , a team met led by DIPP secretary Ramesh Abhishek met Fiat Chrysler COO Alfredo Altavilla in Italy to address the company’s concerns. Similarly , there has been a fresh outreach to Italian chocolatier Ferrero SpA, the maker of Ferrero Rocher, which decided to set up a plant in China to cater to demand in Japan and Korea after its runins with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). “Invest India has lined up investment of close to $40 billion and we are working to ensure all this flows into the country ,“ said an officer. The list includes Dalian Wanda Group, China’s largest commercial property company and the world’s largest cinema chain operator, which is looking to invest around $10 billion. Then there is Lotte, the conglomerate from South Korea, which has evinced interest in development of railway stations and tourism.There is a third set, where companies had planned to invest in the country but deferred their plans due to regulatory hurdles. In these cases, the department is seeking to get the government agency or the state concerned to address the problem, said officers wor king on implementing the new strategy. For instance, a Chinese company was not getting safety clearance for a gas pipeline which was connected to its plant. The issue was sorted out soon after the government took up the issue with the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization.“Often the complaints are minor such as connectivity to the ports or VAT refunds and once the issue is taken up with the agency concerned, the problem is sorted out and investors feel comfortable to invest,“ said an officer.Sources said that there is a mechanism to deal with complaints from Japanese companies and a fast-track system has also been put up for German firms.

Indian engineering exports to see pick-upNew Delhi, 13th October 2016:

As per the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC) Indian engineering exports have begun to pick-up.This is being led by a low base effect and positive growth in European nations, which are the major engineering export destinations. The top 25 engineering export destinations include UK, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, France and Spain. EEPC Chairman T S Bhasin said that on a cumulative basis, exports of engineering goods to European nation recorded positive growth. During April-August 2016, engineering exports to Europe rose by 9.8 per cent to USD 6.2 billion from the previous year. Belgium registered the highest growth in August 2016 and also on cumulative basis during Apr-Aug 2016-17. Bhasin added that global risks emanating from geo political factors, Brexit and rising crude oil prices are few risks that remain to engineering exports growth. Engineering goods accounted for 22.1 per cent of India’s exports in August 2016. Engineering exports have increased by 4.4 per cent to USD 4.8 billion in August 2016 compared to the previous year. But, on a cumulative basis, engineering exports fell by 4.4 per cent to USD 24.5 billion during April-August 2016 compared to the corresponding period a year ago.

view, they can see a world map detailing countries with positive/negative balance of trade with India. Countries can be sorted by Import value and the corresponding value of Export trade. Visual comparison of import-export trade values over the years is also available. Touching a monthly value in Trade Performance would highlight corresponding value in the Balance of Trade performance chart as well, making it easy to understand India’s position on Balance of Trade (BoT) in that month compared to the previous months. Digitization of the government records and data analytics is also crucial for fast and effective evidence based planning and policy evaluation. This has an important role to play in effective and transparent governance. The Dashboard would provide an enabling environment to importers and exporters to identify and access global trade opportunities based on reliable and updated information, directly accessible to the public through Government sources.

27 / Nov 2016

Ministry of corporate affairs eases rules for incorporating companiesNew Delhi, 4th October 2016:

New rules notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on Monday will make it easier to incorporate companies in India.Not only will it reduce paperwork it will also reduce the incorporation time, which at present is about four weeks, further improving ease of doing business in India.The Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically (SPICE) was notified in the Companies (Incorporation) Fourth Amendment Rules, 2016.The MCA, in its official press release, said “the main objective of launching this e-Format pro forma, SPICE, is to provide speedy incorporation related services within stipulated time frames which are in line with the international best practices.”SPICE is an e-form, yet another initiative in its Government Process Re-engineering (GPR). This move comes as a part of several measures that the government has introduced over the last two years to improve ease of doing business in the country. Last year, India ranked 130 among 189 countries in World Bank’s ease of doing business index. This year’s rankings are expected in October.SPICE is intended to bring ease of doing business on a par with global norms where the incorporation time is as low as one day. The rules, finalized on 1 October and made available on the website a day later, introduced digital submission of documents for incorporation along with e-Memorandum of Association and e-Articles of Association. The rules also entail the provision to apply for company incorporation with a pre-approved company name.“SPICE is a remarkable change for companies which will significantly reduce the time of incorporation for new entities helping business to flourish,” said Ravi Singhania, managing partner at Singhania and Partners, a law firm. While use of digital documents will ensure a speedy process, in-person verification for ‘user clarification’ may be a cause for delay, he added.The changes introduced by the government as a whole showed a movement towards digitization, said Harsh Pais, partner at Trilegal, a law firm.“This is part of a longer term project to automate and digitize the incorporation process. In context of all the other changes that have happened, the government is gradually moving towards a digitized and automated

process. It aims to streamline the process and try and realize things through a single window,” Pais said.The rules notified come into force on the date of the publishing in the official gazette

Indian GDP growth to remain robust at 7.6%: World BankWashington, 04th October 2016 :

Ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s first monetary policy review to be decided by a committee later on Tuesday, the World Bank has said India’s GDP growth will remain robust at 7.6 per cent in 2016 and 7.7 per cent in 2017.”In India, GDP growth will remain strong at 7.6 per cent in 2016 and 7.7 per cent in 2017, supported by expectations of a rebound in agriculture, civil service pay reforms supporting consumption, increasingly positive contributions from exports and a recovery of private investment in the medium term,” the multilateral lender said in its latest report on South Asia Economic Focus released here on Monday.”However, India faces the challenge of further accelerating the responsiveness of poverty reduction to growth, promoting inclusion, and extending gains to a broader range of human development outcomes related to health, nutrition, education and gender,” the report said.According to the World Bank, Indian economic growth remained robust, which is expected to support continued poverty reduction, as in the past.”This year is expected to see some convergence in rural and urban economies, supported by stimulating policies, such as passage of GST (Goods and Services Tax) and civil pay revisions, along with good monsoon,” the report said.The central government has set the target of April 1, 2017, for implementing the GST for a thorough overhaul of the Indian indirect tax regime.”Optimism on the growth front needs to be balanced with caution when translating to broad-based poverty reduction. Despite the recent success in poverty reduction, gains have been uneven, with greater progress in states and social groups that were already better-off,” the report said.”India faces the challenge of further accelerating the responsiveness of poverty reduction to growth, enforcing inclusion of presently excluded groups (such as, women and scheduled tribes), and extending gains to a broader range of human development outcomes related to health, nutrition, education and gender, where the country continues to rank poorly,” it added.

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IMF retains GDP forecast of 7.6% for India in FY17New Delhi, 04th October 2016 :

Stating that India’s growth is “resilient”, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday retained its forecast of 7.6 per cent growth in 2016-17 and 2017-18 for the country.“India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will continue to expand at the fastest pace among major economies, with growth forecast at 7.6 per cent in 2016–17,” the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook.This projection is in line with that of the Reserve Bank of India. The government is also hopeful of close to 8 per cent growth this fiscal year, even though the economy expanded by 7.1 per cent in the first quarter.The IMF said the economic recovery will continue to benefit from the improvement in trade, more effective policy actions and stronger external buffers. “These have helped boost sentiment,” it said.Upbeat on GSTThe IMF further noted that the Goods and Services Tax will be positive for trade and investment. “This tax reform and the elimination of poorly targeted subsidies are needed to widen the revenue base and expand the fiscal envelope to support investment in infrastructure, education and healthcare,” it said. However, it called for more policy actions, including measures to increase efficiency in the mining sector, increase electricity generation and ease rigid labour market conditions.“Continued efforts by the RBI to strengthen bank balance sheets through full recognition of losses and increasing bank capital buffers remain critical for improving the quality of domestic financial intermediation,” it said.The report also noted that while inflation has declined more than expected, underlying inflationary pressures continue due to the bottlenecks in food storage and distribution.More reforms neededIt called for further structural reforms in the sector to ensure that consumer price inflation remains within the target band over the medium term. The report has projected consumer price index based inflation at 5.5 per

DIPP taking steps to resolve problems faced by startups: Ramesh AbhishekNew Delhi, 06th October 2016 : “We have identified a number of problems of the startups,” Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said today. (Source: Website). The industry department has identified roadblocks faced by startups and is in talks with other departments to resolve the issues to provide favourable policies for budding entrepreneurs.“We have identified a number of problems of the startups,” Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said today.Elaborating on roadblocks, he said that for external commercial borrowings, the present regulatory framework is not favourable and there are many conditions.The secretary said that DIPP has taken up the matter and they “have done a serious meeting” on the issue.“ESOPs to promoters and independent directors are not allowed. We have been told that it is an important subject and startups need that … this is a good incentive, so we are working on these,” he said further.Favourable tax regime for IPRs is also one of the issues which is on the radar of the DIPP, he said, adding on this “we are working with various ministries”.Speaking at a function organised by industry body Ficci, he said that the DIPP is working on all the 19-action points announced in the Startup India initiative.On the Fund of Funds, the official said that the ministry is trying to fast forward that and “we are in the middle of discussion on how this can be expedited”.The secretary said that the DIPP will soon approach the Cabinet on the credit guarantee scheme of Rs 2,000 crore.Speaking at the event, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman exhorted women to get into the startups as their number is less.She also sought views of young entrepreneurs to further strengthen the ecosystem for

cent in the current fiscal year and 5.2 per cent in 2017-18.The IMF also maintained its global growth projection of 3.1 per cent for 2016, which is slightly weaker than the projection in its April report. For 2017, it has pegged the global growth rate at 3.4 per cent with a gradual increase to 3.8 per cent. “The recovery is expected to gather some pace in 2017 and beyond, driven primarily by emerging market and developing economies, as conditions in stressed economies gradually normalise,” it said.

29 / Nov 2016

startups. “We are here as a facilitator and not regulator,” she said.The minister also said that huge opportunities are there for startups in the project exports as it would help them in accessing markets abroad and becoming a component in a large project.CII lists a host of steps to make procurement policy a successNew Delhi, 11th October 2016:

Concerned about a majority of state-owned firms not meeting the norm of 20 per cent procurement from micro and small enterprises, CII has called for a strong co-ordination mechanism between the ministry of MSME and other stakeholders. The industry body is in the process of submitting a set of suggestions to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) ministry which it believes could impart effectiveness to the policy objectives and have the desired impact. From April 2015, all PSUs, central government ministries and departments have been directed to procure at least 20 per cent of their product and service requirements from micro and small enterprises. Of the 20 per cent, the policy has earmarked a sub-target of 4 per cent procurement from micro and small enterprises (MSEs) owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs. As per data from the ministry of MSME, some 133 PSUs submitted data on total procurement and the one from MSEs during 2014-15. Of these, only 43 central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) complied with the mandatory procurement guidelines. “A strong institutional framework with adequate bandwidth and resources, enabling IT tools and platforms and a robust monitoring mechanism must be created in order to effectively implement the policy,” a white paper prepared by CII said. The paper called for creation of a centralised database of MSE vendors in the country. It also suggested that the list of 358 items reserved for exclusive procurement from MSE vendors be updated and extended. As per the proposed measures, the MSME ministry should create a product-wise list of MSE vendors under the 358 reserved items in order to facilitate identification. “The ministry must undertake measures for training MSE vendors as well as PSUs and their procurement officers in order to inculcate sensitivity among them to efficiently deal with each other. Special measures must be undertaken by the ministry in order to identify and enlist the SC/ST vendors within the MSE category,” the paper stated.

It further suggested that testing labs be set up in states to ensure MSE vendors can meet the quality criteria of PSUs and pitched for inclusion of state-owned PSUs that are currently off the policy ambit. The paper also proposed that the qualification criteria need to be relaxed for MSE vendors to provide them with a level-playing field against their larger counterparts. It pitched for the government taking necessary steps to encourage MSMEs across the country to get them registered and consider bringing medium-scale enterprises under the purview of the policy.

Manufacturing, ecommerce to drive warehouse growthNew Delhi, 12th October 2016: Manufacturing and e-commerce sector growth is driving demand for more warehousing space in seven major Indian cities, according to a report, and the warehousing sector is set to grow 8 per cent annually to touch 839 million sq ft in the next 4 years. Investments to develop warehousing in the National Capital Region, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad, could see 10–24 per cent returns per annum, according to the report by property consultant Knight Frank India titled ‘India Warehousing Market’. The auto and auto ancillary and chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors are the largest demand drivers of warehousing space. Architecture firm C P Kukreja, Principal, Dikshu C Kukreja said, “The warehouse and Logistics business is a sunrise industry ready to take off in India. With huge demand in the agricultural sector, cold storage and consumer goods, the establishment of warehouses and logistics is taking shape across India in a major way.” Knight Frank said the biggest challenge that India’s warehousing market currently faces is the acquisition of a feasible land parcel. Land cost generally constitutes the largest component of a warehousing project. With investment returns of 22-24 per cent per annum, Pune offers the best investment opportunity in India. “The total warehousing space requirement in these markets is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8 per cent from 621 million sq ft in 2016 to 839 million sq ft by 2020,” the report said. Over the next four-years, an incremental 218 million sq ft warehousing space would be required and about 54 million sq ft will be required annually in these seven markets. At present, 17 million sq ft of space is transacted annually in these

30 / Nov 2016

seven markets. Requirements from the e-tail segment will also drive growth, more than doubling from 14 million sq ft in 2016 to 29 million sq ft by 2020, resulting in an annual growth rate of 19 per cent. In brick-and mortar retail, demand for space is expected to grow by 6 per cent annually to touch 154 million sq ft in 2020 from 120 million sq ft currently.

Why should manufacturers invest more?Low capacity utilisation and low Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) main deterrentsThe special investment tax allowance offered to manufacturing projects since 2013-14 and softening interest rates over the last one year have failed to entice manufacturers to accelerate their capex plans. New projects are getting announced, but only a few are going under implementation. Also, a larger proportion of the projects that were already under implementation are getting stalled. The rate of implementation of manufacturing projects has fallen substantially in the last three years.Why manufacturers are being sluggish in expanding their capacities? Are they likely to get aggressive on capacity addition any time soon? The answer is no because of at least two reasons.First, capacity utilisation levels in the manufacturing sector have fallen substantially in the last five years. And, secondly, the return on capital employed has fallen sharply during this period.Manufacturers currently have enough capacity to cater to the demand for the next few years. And, it does not make much business sense for them to invest further, at least till demand shows clear signs of a pick-up.As per the OBICUS survey conducted by the RBI, capacity utilisation of around 1,000 manufacturers fell steadily from 83.2 per cent at the end of March 2011 to 72.5 per cent at the end of December 2015.Large manufacturing industries like cement, steel, sponge iron and aluminium worked at an estimated capacity utilisation of 65 per cent or lower in 2015-16. Automobile companies too have enough capacity to meet any increase in demand. The passenger cars industry is running at 63 per cent capacity utilisation level, two-wheelers at 76 per cent, commercial vehicles at as low as 37 per cent and tractors at 63 per cent. Capacity utilisation levels in industries like paper and textiles are also quite low.Return on capital employed (ROCE) for the manufacturing sector has fallen substantially in the last 7-8 years. From 11.7 per cent in 2006-07, the peak of the capex boom period, the ROCE of manufacturing sector fell to 3.8 per cent in 2014-15. While 2015-16 estimates are not available yet, it is unlikely that this trend has reversed. The fall was seen across all manufacturing industries, with the worst sufferers being metals, steel and automobiles.Falling returns and low capacity utilisation levels mean that there is not enough incentive for manufacturers to invest more in capacity creation.

Skill development for artisans underscoredSri.K L Ramesh, Regional Convenor, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), said that the council was organising seminars in all craft clusters of Hyderabad, Telangana, to upgrade the knowledge of artisans and crafts persons, tiny entrepreneurs and to find appropriate place in the international market. Welcoming the gathering at a seminar conducted by EPCH, Union Ministry of Textiles, here on Wednesday, he said the seminars were also aimed at improving the quality, designing and packaging of products and apprising the artisans on important issues like digital marketing and compliances to be followed.“In order to make Indian artisans more professional and to compete at the international market, they should be provided with skill development and technological up-gradation,” said P J Sudhakar, additional director-general, Press Information Bureau, Hyderabad. He underscored the need to provide financial assistance and marketing facilities for the artisans. He further said the central government was implementing various schemes like Skill India and Make in India and artisans should get benefit from these schemes.Sri.Sudhakar said foreign exchange could be earned by exporting handicrafts made by these artisans. “The country was famous for handicrafts right. The craftsmanship of Indian artisans is so great that they were able to make seven-ft sari that could be fitted into a match box,” he said. K N Tulasi, exporter of EPCH in southern region, explained how to become an entrepreneur and produce items that were in great demand overseas.Deepesh Kumar Sharma, regional co-coordinator, explained the objectives of the seminar. He said that the seminar would help artisans to become aware of new marketing technology, compliances and adopt new technology for design up-gradation to compete in the international markets. Around 70 crafts persons and artisans, Shilp Gurus, national award winners, representatives from NGOs, entrepreneurs and exporters were present.

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Product 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16Manufacturing 83.2 78.4 78 76.1 73.5 72.5Petroleum 104.9 95.6 101.7 101.8 101.2 98.4Cement 64.0 63.5 64.9 64.7 64.5 63.6Steel 72.5 66.4 63.4 61.3 52.8Sponge iron 64.0 53.9 50.0 49.2 46.1Aluminium 95.3 90.0 61.4 64.7 63.2Copper 70.6 71.8 67.5 79.9 82.8Engines 60.9 56.4 54.2 47.4 44.6 CV 45.1 50.7 40.0 33.5 33.5 37.4Cars 77.9 72.3 70.6 62.4 63.8 63.02 wheeler 81.3 80.3 76.2 75.2 77.7 75.63 wheeler 113.2 106.9 102.1 98.1 112.1 110.3Tractors 87.4 91.5 72.9 79.5 67.7 62.5Tyres 92.8 86.9 80.8 84.0 90.4 82.6Paper 53.7 53.0 54.2 55.1 54.5

Sector 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15Manufacturing 7.9 8.1 5.7 4.8 4.3 3.8Textiles 2.3 5.1 0.7 1.1 0.7 -0.2Petroleum 8.0 7.8 5.4 5.0 6.2 5.6Consumer goods 10.0 9.8 9.5 7.5 5.9 7.3Cement 12.9 6.4 7.3 6.7 3.8 2.4Steel 7.2 5.6 4.2 1.6 2.0 2.1Sponge iron 1.7 2.5 0.5 3.8 4.0 -3.2Aluminium 4.9 2.1 1.0 -2.1 3.0 4.8Copper 3.6 5.4 5.5 4.1 2.4 1.2Machinery 9.8 11.9 9.3 5.8 4.7 1.2CV 7.3 5.7 5.8 -1.1 -1.6 -10.4Cars 7.9 8.0 6.4 9.4 9.9 11.52 & 3 wheelers 39.2 46.0 39.3 33.1 30.7 27.7Tyres 12.2 5.4 3.4 5.6 6.6 11.1Paper 1.4 1.5 -0.1 -0.4 0.2 -0.7

Capacity utilisation (%)

ROCE of Manufacturing Sector (%)

Source: Annual Reports of companies; for Manufacturing, OBICUS survey by RBINote: The data for manufacturing for 2015-16 is based on the December 2015 survey

32 / Nov 2016

S.No Sector Major No of Industries

Investment (Rs. in Cr)

Total Employment

1 Food Processing 361 2168 225272 It (Services) 5 2648 223003 Pharma and Chemicals 169 4055 199104 Power 87 21856 101335 Plastic and Rubber 165 798 70146 Engineering 280 643 57397 Agro Based (Incl Poultry and Cold Storage) 195 408 54928 Electrical and Electronics 46 684 48779 Granite and Stone Crushing 166 322 308310 Paper and Printing 69 872 199211 Textile 63 168 175612 Cement 117 111 119713 Aerospace and Defence 7 477 116014 Others(Incl Automobile, Solar, Alcohol,

Wood)820 9581 53714

Total 2550 44791 160894

TSiPASS Sector Wise Industrial investment and Employment DetailsReport from 01 Jan 2015 to 01 Nov. 2016 Last Updated on : 31Oct. 2016

TSiPASS District Wise Industrial investment and employment DetailsS.

No.District

No.of Industries

Investment (Rs.in Cr)

Employ-ment

1 Medchal 490 2589 189972 Rangareddy 311 7169 686223 Sangareddy 227 4781 190044 Karimnagar 152 194 19985 Nalgonda 133 790 34786 Warangal Urban 99 145 15037 Medak 85 1638 55328 Nizamabad 83 100 11159 Khammam 81 83 125410 Yadadri Bhongir 78 303 169811 Siddipet 72 496 198112 Vikarabad 68 557 130513 Mahbubnagar 61 1313 351014 Adilabad 57 616 108715 Warangal Rural 54 90 89116 Rajanna Sircilla 49 41 59917 Bhaadradri

Kothagudem49 7351 5977

18 Mahabubabad 45 48 58819 Kamareddy 44 212 162820 Mancherial 41 62 36821 Suryapet 36 324 70122 Peddapalli 35 11010 271023 Jagtial 34 6 20724 Komaram

Bheem Asifabad26 24 214

25 Jangaon 25 3185 164126 Jogulamba

Gadwal24 827 12445

27 Nirmal 23 22 19228 Nagarkurnool 21 514 57129 Jayashankar

Bhupalpally21 21 289

30 Wanaparthy 16 158 54431 Hyderabad 10 122 245

Total 2550 44791 160894

Source: Commission of Industries, Govt. of Telangana.

S. No.

DistrictNo.of

IndustriesInvestment (Rs.in Cr)

Employ-ment

Source : VDP Associates

Hon'ble Chief Minister of Telangana Sri K. Chandrasekhar Rao once

again emerges as the most popular Chief Minister

"CONGRATULATIONS"

Medchal

Rangareddy

Sangareddy

Karimnagar

Nalgonda

Warangal

UrbanMedak

Nizamabad

Khammam

Yadadri Bhongir

Siddipet

Vikarabad

Mahbubnagar

Adilabad

Warangal Rural

Rajanna Sircilla

Bhaadradri Kothagudem

Mahabubabad

Kamareddy

Mancherial

Suryapet

Peddapalli

Jagtial

Komaram Bheem Asifabad

Jangaon

Jogulamba Gadwal

Nirmal

Nagarkurnool

Jayashankar Bhupalpally

Wanaparthy

Hyderabad