Business & Economy
   
Inflation touches 8 per cent,
PM says no cause for panic

What is India News Service, August 21, 2004, 2200 hrs IST

Driven by higher prices of oil and oil products, wholesale price index-based inflation surged to a four-year high of 7.96 per cent for the week ended August 7. The inflation figure for the week takes into account the oil price hike effective from August 1.

The government, however, said there was no need to panic. \93The recent cut in Customs and excise duties on oil products should take some pressure off inflation, and prices will start decelerating,\94 Chief Economic Adviser Ashok Lahiri told reporters today.

However, economists said the impact of the duty cuts would be marginal. \93We expect the duty cuts to have a first round impact of only about 0.3 percentage points on inflation,\94 said Subir Gokarn, Chief Economist, Crisil.

Finance Minster, P Chidambaram has said the government would consider additional measures, if required, to tackle inflation. He also said the government would ensure that there was adequate stock of essential commodities.

Top priority to taming inflation, says PM: The Congress-led UPA Government's "highest priority" was higher economic growth and enhanced investment with price stability, Dr Manmohan Singh declared on Saturday. 

NID, IIM-A in incubator deal: The National Design Business Incubator (NDBI) at the National Institute of Design (NID) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), to promote new enterprises. This will be done through collaboration in incubation, research, training, consultancy and other enterprise support.

Sun Pharma in patent infringement case: Despite the patent-challenge strategy for the US generic drugs market being fraught with litigation, Indian drug companies do not seem to have entirely given up this option.

Ministry sets up war room: With truckers showing no signs of calling off their strike, the surface transport ministry has set up a central control room to ensure that there is no disruption in the supply of essential goods and services.

Ellora Time to diversify into vitrified tiles, CFLs: Ellora Time Ltd, the world's largest manufacturer of clocks, has decided to diversify into vitrified tiles and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). The company is investing nearly Rs 350 crore in a new facility near Kandla Port in Gujarat.

Forex slips to $119b: The country's foreign exchange reserve has again slipped in a bid to check inflationary pressure. This was due to steady dollar supplies by the Central Bank in the forex markets through State-run banks to hold the rupee firm.

Foundry cluster in Chennai: A second cluster of non-ferrous foundries is to be set up in Chennai to cater to the needs of Ashok Leyland Ltd (ALL). The first cluster, called Chennai Castings Cluster Ltd, was formed early this month and would go on stream in September, said Mr S Srinivasan, director, Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF).

Jet Air starts Delhi-Patna flight: With a view to enhance connectivity to the Buddhist destination especially the famous Gaya, Nalanda and Vaishali in Bihar, Jet Airways has started a daily flight between Delhi-Patna.

Overall:

PM said he would tackle inflation: The 8 per cent increase in prices needs addressing, but there is no cause for panic, said Manmohan Singh. 

NID and IIM sign agreement: India's premier design and management institutes have tied up to promote new enterprises. 

Transport ministry set up war room: The state machinery is all set to take on the nationwide truckers strike.