Fiscal deficit at $65.7 billon for Apr-Nov: Govt

The fiscal deficit of India for the period between April to November stood at Rs 3.06 trillion ($65.7 billion), or 76.4 percent of the full-year target, the government said in a statement on Thursday. The tax receipts stood at Rs 2.33 trillion and a total expenditure stood at Rs 6.22 trillion for the first eight months of the financial year 2009/10.

In July, the government had forecasted fiscal deficit of Rs 4 trillion, or 6.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), for 2009/10.

The finance minister Pranab Mukherjee earlier this month had said that the fiscal deficit would not cross the target of 6.8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). With the prevailing trends in the receipts and expenditure, along with better than expected economy performance in the second quarter of the current fiscal, it is expected that the fiscal deficit will remain with the estimate of 6.8 per cent.

However, the direct tax collections by the government increased by a marginal 3.7% to Rs 1.83 lakh in the first 8 months of this fiscal. Further, in the personal income tax segment, the government collected Rs 70,262 crore, up 4.53% while in November, the tax collections were nearly similar to last year as the mop-up was Rs 10,375 crore.

Moreover, the corporate tax collections declined by about 30% to Rs 3,214 crore against Rs 4,561 crore last fiscal while in the April-November period, the collections by way of the Security Transaction Tax stood at Rs 4,349 crore, up 4.44%.

The Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, yesterday stated that the Indian economy cannot sustain a high fiscal deficit for very long and it is, however, still too early to pull out of the fiscal stimulus.

“We shall have to strike a balance between the requirement of the economy and also the capacity of the economy to bear this level of fiscal deficit and borrowing,” the Finance Minister said on the sidelines of a Corporation Bank event.

India May Lead the Second Wave of IT Adoption :)

As companies kept up investments in spite of the downturn and seemed more advanced than their counterpart globally it is said that India may lead the second wave of IT adoption.

IBM Corp. has come up with the concerned statement.

🙂

According to the IBM survey, 40% of Indian companies stated that they wanted to be first to take up a new technology, while 11% said they would wait till technology was widely available.

🙂

Moreover, companies have cut back less and have really continued their investments in India which is balanced to lead the second wave of IT adoption whereas small-and-medium businesses (SMBs) are the engines motivating the economic development.

🙂

On the other hand, recession forced 37% companies worldwide to decrease their IT budgets as compared to 15% in India.

🙂

Further, the IBM recognized India as one of its main growth markets and will continue to invest here along with Brazil, China and Russia.

🙂

Moreover, IBM plans to cash in on the business coming from SMBs representing more than 90% of all businesses employing over 90% of the world’s workforce in order to produce more patents than large firms.

🙂

Note : For More latest Industry,Stock Market and Economy News Updates, Click Here

44,000 Crores to be Raised by Indian Firms :)

Indian corporates raised Rs 21,691 crore through the qualified institutional placement (QIP) route during the first half of this fiscal and the funds raised through this route are expected to double in the second half.

🙂

Mr Jagannadham Thunuguntla, the equity head of SMC Capital, said: “As of now, about 48 companies have received requisite resolutions from either shareholders or their boards to raise the funds through QIP route. The total amount proposed to be raised by these companies is about Rs 44,000 crore.”

🙂

He further said: “As there is no requirement for the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for the QIP issuance. These companies are ready to offer their QIP whenever they are confident about the market conditions.”

🙂

“Some of the prominent names of the corporates that would be raising funds through this route include Tech Mahindra, Essar Oil, Hindalco, RCom, Omaxe, Pantaloon Retail, Jet Airways, Ansal, JSW Steel and L&T,” he said.

🙂

It seems that the Indian promoters have regained their confidence and enthusiasm for fund raising, he added.

🙂

It is turning out that corporates are raising funds through QIP route as a last alternative and not as a preference.

Most of the IPOs launched in the last seven to eight months had put up a flop show.

😦

The bank funds that are another source of funding are not available for most of the corporates.

Depending upon the sector and profile, banks are asking for premium over interest rates and for smaller companies, banks are not offering loans.

So the corporates that are looking for the expansions would opt for the QIP route to raise the funds, Mr Thunuguntla added.

🙂

Note : For More latest Industry,Stock Market and Economy News Updates, Click Here