India August Domestic Air Passenger Growth Highest Globally

“The industry has shifted gears downward. The pace of growth in passenger markets has dipped and the freight business is now shrinking at a faster pace. With business and consumer confidence continuing to slump globally, there is not a lot of optimism for improved conditions anytime soon,” said Tony Tyler, IATA director-general and chief executive officer. (www.iata.org)

Excerpts of The IATA Release

New Telecom Policy Rings In Nationwide Roaming

Communications Minister Kapil Sibal unveiled the draft National Telecoms Policy 2011 on October 10, 2011.

Pipeline Growth Hinges On Gas Sector Reforms

Latest data on eight core infrastructure sectors show that fall in natural gas output pulled down overall growth in these sectors. Here’s a peep in to the dynamics of natural gas industry in India and its impact on gas pipeline industry.

Hotels Check-Ins Up, But Margins Tight

With the hotel industry being seasonal in nature, it is likely to post a muted growth in profits during July-September. While sales are expected to rise at a healthy pace, surge in costs is likely to rein in profits. Financial performance during October-December is likely to be healthy, driven by festive demand and events such as the Grand Pix Formula-1 to be held for the first time in India.

Freight Rate Hike By Railways

A circular issued by Indian Railways last week shows that the season levy is increased to 10% from 7% announced in March 2011. This levy is in addition to normal tariff and is applicable to most goods transported during October-March that is considered busy season for railways. In March 2011, railways had levied a busy season charge of 5% on coke and coke group and 7% on all other commodities. Containerised cargo and certain automobile traffic continue to be exempt from this levy. 

Coal India Stir Further Tightens Supply To Power Plants

A temporary fall in production of coal has exposed the vulnerability of the sector to supply by a single company, namely Coal India. This dependence is likely to continue until the time the sector is deregulated and price gap between imported and domestic coal exists.

IATA raises airlines’ profit forecast for 2011

In its first look at 2012, IATA is projecting profits to fall to US$4.9bn on revenues of US$632bn for a net margin of just 0.8%. 

Export Promotion Scheme: DEPB

 

Delayed demise of DEPB scheme

A nice article that explains DEPB and duty drawback scheme for exporters.

An Interesting Read: The US sells chopsticks to China

Ajay Shah explains the theory of comparative advantage through an article on his blog, by referring to an interesting article in the Economist. An interesting read.

Production of Coal by Coal India

Coal India Limited (CIL)  has produced 431.32 million tonnes of coal in 2010-11 against the revised target of 440.20 million tonnes.