Weekly Media Update_13_03_2023.pdf

(This document comprises news clips from various media in which Balmer Lawrie is mentioned, news
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Slowdown in growth temporary: Moody's
Moody’s Analytics on Tuesday said India’s
domestic economy, rather than trade, is its
primary engine of growth and the slowdown in
economic activity late last year will only be
temporary. The government data released last
week showed India’s gross domestic product
(GDP) growth slowed to a three quarter low of
4.4% in October-December,2022, mainly due to
contraction in manufacturing and low private
consumption expenditure. While the
manufacturing sector contracted by 1.1%, private
consumption expenditure slowed to 2.1% in the
October-December quarter of current fiscal. In its
report on emerging market outlook, Moody’s
Analytics said growth slowed substantially on a
year-ago basis, with private consumption lagging
overall GDP for the first time since the Delta wave
of Covid struck the economy in the second quarter
of 2021. India’s GDP growth slowed to a three-
quarter low of 4.4% in October-December, 2022,
mainly due to contraction in manufacturing and
low private consumption expenditure
The Tribune - 08.03.2023
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/business/slo
wdown-in-growth-temporary-moodys-486286
Economy on sound footing; Quarterly
growth numbers noisy
Indian economy is on a “sound footing” and
talks of slipping to a Hindu rate of growth are
“ill-conceived, biased and pre-mature”, said an
SBI Research report released on Tuesday.
“Quarterly growth numbers are noisy and
should be best avoided for any serious
interpretation,” it said, indicating the savings
and investment trends in the economy. The
potential growth rate of the Indian economy is
lower, but future growth rates of even 7% could
mean a decent number, it said. India’s growth
slipped to 4. 4% in Q3 of FY 23 on account of
base revisions, data released by the
government showed last week. However, the
government kept the 2022-23 forecast
unchanged at 7%. Emphasising on the reduced
incremental capital-output ratio (ICOR), the
research highlighted that only half the capital
was needed to produce a unit of output in 2021-
22 compared to 2011-12. “Reducing ICOR in the
current years reflects a relative increasing
efficiency of capital,” it said.
The Economic Times - 09.03.2023
https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-
share?article=09_03_2023_007_008_etkc_ET
Jan industrial output up 5.2% on mfg
boost
Industrial production rose 5.2% in January,
picking up pace from 4.7% in the preceding
month, as better-than-expected manufacturing
provided a boost. Manufacturing expanded 3.7%
in January compared with 2.7% in December,
while the other two major constituents of the
Index of Industrial Production (IIP) — mining (8.
8%) and electricity (12.7%) — also posted robust
growth in the month. “Encouragingly, the IIP
growth of 5. 2% for January 2023 recorded an
uptick both in sequential terms (+4.7% in Dec
2022), as well as compared to the tepid average
of 2.6% for Q3 FY2023, and stood at the second
highest level since July 2022,” said Aditi Nayar,
chief economist, ICRA. Growth for December was
revised up to 4. 7% from 4. 3% estimated earlier.
“India’s industrial output remained robust in
January despite a high base… In level terms,
Dividends from CPSEs may fetch govt
Rs 55k cr
Aided by robust dividend payout from energy,
power and commodity firms, the Centre’s
dividend receipts from Central Public Sector
Enterprises (CPSEs) will likely be around Rs
55,000 crore in the current financial year —
around 28% higher than the revised estimate
(RE) of Rs 43,000 crore. So far, the Centre has
received Rs 50,280 crore in dividends from
CPSEs. Fresh tranches are expected from
several CPSEs during this month, including
about Rs 668 crore from National Mineral
Development Corporation and Rs 517 crore
from the Power Finance Corporation. The Board
of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) will declare the
second interim dividend for FY23 on Friday,
which will be paid to the shareholder by March-
end. Unlisted CPSEs such as Nuclear Power
Corporation of India are also expected to pay
WEEKLY MEDIA UPDATE
Issue 593
13 March 2023
Monday

output was the highest since March 2022,” said
Rahul Bajoria of Barclays but cautioned the
“strength in manufacturing could be one-off." In
the first 10 months of FY23 (April-January),
industrial output was up 5.4% compared with a
13.7% rise in the corresponding period a year
earlier.
their dividends later this month. In the last two
weeks, dividend receipts were boosted by fresh
tranches from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(Rs 2,964 crore), Coal India (Rs 2,140 crore),
NTPC (Rs 2,106 crore) and Power Grid
Corporation (Rs 1,791 crore).
The Financial Express - 09.03.2023
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/di
vidends-from-cpses-may-fetch-govt-rs-55k-
cr/3002828/
Govt to bring all pension portals under
Integrated Pensioners’ Portal: Minister
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday informed
that the Department of Pension and Pensioners’
Welfare has decided to bring pension portals like
Pension Disbursing Bank portals, Anubhav, CGHS
under a single portal called Integrated Pensioners’
Portal to ensure ease of living for elder citizens.
Addressing the Bankers Awareness Workshop in
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, the minister said that in
tune with Prime Minister’s vision for an ‘Integrated
Approach to bring Ease of Living’, the move will
mitigate the problems faced by the pensioners
with the banks like change of bank, submission of
life certificate, submission of death certificate of
pensioners, pension slip and retrieval of pension
slip, income tax deduction data/form 16, pension
receipt information, and the websites of pension
disbursing banks will also be integrated with the
Integrated Pensioners Portal. “The task of
integration of Pension Seva Portal of SBI and
Canara Bank with Bhavishya portal is complete.
With this integration, the pensioners can now get
their pension slip, status of submission of Life
Certificate and Form-16 through the integrated
portal. All 18 pension disbursing banks will be
integrated in Integrated Pensioners’ Portal," Singh
added.
Mint - 06.03.2023
https://www.livemint.com/news/india/govt-to-
bring-all-pension-portals-under-integrated-
pensioners-portal-minister-
11678104817776.html
Provident Fund interest rate likely to
remain at around 8% this fiscal
Subscribers hoping for improved returns on
their retirement savings may have to wait for
another year. The rate of interest for the
Employees’ Provident Fund is likely to hover at
about 8% for the current fiscal. This will be in
line with the 8.1% interest rate declared for
2021-22. The issue is likely to be taken up at
the meeting of the Central Board of Trustees of
the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation
(EPFO), which is scheduled to meet on March 25
and 26. While the EPFO has sent a letter to the
trustees informing them about the date of the
meeting, the exact agenda and venue have not
been finalised as of now. Further
communication on the agenda is expected over
the next few days. Chaired by Union labour and
employment minister Bhupender Yadav, the
CBT, which is the apex decision-making body of
the EPFO, had last met on October 31, 2022. A
subsequent meeting planned for January did not
take place. The CBT’s key sub-committee — the
Finance Investment and Audit Committee
(FIAC) — which is responsible for monitoring
the EPFO’s investments, is also likely to be
reconstituted soon.
https://www.financialexpress.com/money/prov
ident-fund-interest-rate-likely-to-remain-at-
around-8-this-fiscal/3002635/
India's fuel demand hits 24-year high in
February: Report
As industrial activity in Asia's third-largest
economy is boosted by cheap Russian oil, the fuel
demand in India hit its highest level in at least 24
years in February, according to data showed on
Thursday. The consumption of fuel rose by more
than 5% to 4.82 million barrels pre-day (18.5
million tonnes) in February, its 15th consecutive
year-on-year rise. The demand was the highest
recorded in data compiled by the Indian Oil
Ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell
(PPAC) from 1998, Reuters reported. Viktor
PM Modi, Bangladesh PM Hasina to
virtually inaugurate first India-
Bangladesh cross-border oil pipeline
on March 18
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh
PM Sheikh Hasina will jointly inaugurate the
maiden cross-border oil pipeline between the
two countries on March 18 for diesel
transportation to this country, Bangladesh's
Foreign Minister has said. Speaking at a Ministry
of Foreign Affairs press conference here on
Thursday, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK
Abdul Momen said, “The two premiers will

Katona, lead crude analyst at Kpler said that the
strength highlights a combination of profitable
refining from record Russian crude imports in
February, total utilization for primary distillation
across India, and still-robust domestic
consumption. In March, the demand will be 5.17
million barrels per day (bpd) and then the
seasonal monsoon-driven slowdown will lead to it
dropping to 5 million bpd in April-May, Katona
forecasted.
Mint - 11.03.2023
https://www.livemint.com/news/india/indias-
fuel-demand-hits-24-year-high-in-february-
report-11678405349539.html
inaugurate the pipeline on March 18 (through
video conferencing),” the country's official news
agency, BSS, reported on Thursday. Delhi
would use the 130 km India-Bangladesh
Friendship Pipeline (IBFP), built from
approximately ₹3.46 billion, drawn from the
Indian Line of Credit (LoC), to export diesel to
Dhaka, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation
officials were quoted as saying in the report.
"Good news is India will send us diesel. The
pipeline has been completed,” Momen said.
The Hindu Business Line - 11.03.2023
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/n
ational/pm-modi-bangladesh-pm-hasina-to-
virtually-inaugurate-first-india-bangladesh-
cross-border-oil-pipeline-on-march-
18/article66603185.ece
India to ensure no breach on Russia oil
purchase sanctions
India will not breach Western sanctions on Russia
including the price cap of $60 imposed on
purchases of oil from Moscow, according to people
familiar with the matter. Government authorities
have asked banks and traders to adhere to the
rules, the people said, declining to be identified as
the information isn’t public. Indian officials have
not gone on the record to say they will support
sanctions and the price cap imposed by the Group
of Seven nations on Russia. India had a detailed
discussion with the US and other G-7 nations on
the sidelines of the Group of 20 nations meeting
recently and they seem satisfied with its dealings,
one of the people said. India and China have
emerged as the top buyers of Russian oil since its
war in Ukraine began more than a year ago.
Spokespeople for the government didn’t respond
to text messages seeking comments on the issue
outside of working hours. Over the past months,
import-dependent India has seized the
opportunity presented by discounted crude,
becoming a key tool for Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s bid to fight energy inflation.
Business Standard - 13.03.2023
https://www.business-
standard.com/article/current-affairs/india-to-
ensure-no-breach-on-russia-oil-purchase-
sanctions-123031200708_1.html
Rising marketing margins to lift OMCs
in fourth quarter
The blended marketing margin of oil marketing
companies (OMCs) such as Indian Oil Corp,
BPCL, and HPCL has turned positive after a gap
of more than a year amid improving refining
margins. This may result in higher profitability
in the March 2023 quarter compared with the
depressed operating profit in the first nine
months of FY23. It may support the
performance of OMC stocks in the near term,
which have underperformed by 16% over the
past 12 months compared with the Nifty 50
index. The marketing margin —which
represents the profit earned by selling fuels at
petrol pumps — on diesel rose to a nearly 14-
month high of ₹2.5 per litre. It had turned
negative in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal
year as retail prices were unchanged despite
rising crude oil prices. The margin on petrol
turned positive in the second quarter of FY23. It
is currently at ₹6.4 per litre. The blended
marketing margin in the fourth quarter so far
has reached around ₹2-2. 5 per litre compared
with a loss of ₹1.4 per litre in the previous
quarter. The current blended margin is close to
the long-term average blended margin of ₹2. 9
per litre.
Oil market has fully absorbed impact of
Russia-Ukraine war
What a difference a year makes. In the past twelve
months, the oil market has absorbed the impact of
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions
imposed in response by the United States, the
European Union and their allies in Asia. Russia's
crude and fuel exports have been redirected to
Barclays cuts 2023 oil price forecasts
on resilient Russian output
Barclays cut its 2023 oil price forecasts on
Wednesday, due in part to more resilient output
from Russia than expected, and said the market
could flip into a deficit in the second half of the
year due to growing demand in China. The bank
cut its average forecasts for the Brent and West

South and East Asia, while former markets in
Europe have been backfilled with crude and
products from the Middle East and Asia. The
United States and EU have imposed broad
sanctions on Russia's exports, including ancillary
financial and shipping services, but softened them
with significant exceptions and a relaxed approach
to enforcement. And a global slowdown in
manufacturing and freight activity has trimmed
consumption of diesel and other middle distillates,
easing the introduction of sanctions while avoiding
any physical shortages. As a result, benchmark oil
prices have retreated by nearly 40% from their
post-invasion high on March 8, 2022, after
adjusting them for core inflation. Following the
initial shock, crude prices have traded in a tight
range since late November, with spot prices,
calendar spreads and volatility all converging
towards long-term averages.
Reuters -13.03.2023
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-
market-has-fully-absorbed-impact-russias-
invasion-ukraine-kemp-2023-03-09/
Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmarks by $6
per barrel (/b) and $7/b, respectively, to $92/b
and $87/b, respectively, to $92/b and $87/b. It
also forecast Brent would average $97/b next
year and WTI $92/b. The market could flip into
a deficit of 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the
second half of this year as China's reopening
from pandemic restrictions "matures" and as
supply growth from outside the OPEC+
producer group slows, the analysts added.
China's oil demand could increase by 500,000
to 600,000 bpd in 2023, Haitham Al Ghais, the
secretary general of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on
Tuesday at the CERAWEEK conference, with
global oil demand seen rising by 2.3 million bpd
in 2023. Barclays, meanwhile, revised its 2023
demand estimate 150,000 bpd higher due in
part to a somewhat improved growth outlook
for the United States and Europe.
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/
news/oil-and-gas/barclays-cuts-2023-oil-price-
forecasts-on-resilient-russian-
output/98505387
Mohanty, LIC MD, takes over as chief
The government has given charge of the
chairman’s functions at Life Insurance Corporation
of India (LIC) to managing director (MD) Sidhartha
Mohanty. In a notice to stock exchanges, LIC said
that with M R Kumar’s term as chairman ending
on March 13, 2023, the finance ministry has
approved Mohanty’s appointment. This will be in
addition to his current duties as MD and will be for
three months, with effect from March 14, 2023, or
till a regular appointee takes charge, or until
further orders.
The Times of India - 13.03.2023
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai
/mohanty-lic-md-takes-over-as-
chief/articleshow/98593231.cms
Shri V. Suresh joins NMDC as Director
(Commercial)
Sri Vishwanath Suresh assumed office of
Director (Commercial) at NMDC on March 1,
2023. He has been appointed as a Functional
Director on the board of NMDC, India's largest
iron ore producer. Prior to this appointment,
Shri Suresh held the post of Executive Director
(Coal Import) shouldering the responsibility of
procuring over 15 MTPA of imported coal and
also held additional charge of ED (Corporate
Materials Management) at SAIL.
PSU Connect - 08.03.2023
https://www.psuconnect.in/news/shri-v-
suresh-joins-nmdc-as-director-
commercial/36703
N. Srinivasa Rao appointed as Head of
Project of NTPC Sipatd
N. Srinivasa Rao, Executive Director, NTPC Sipat
has taken over the charge of Sipat Super Thermal
Power Station as Head of Project with effect from
06 March 2023. He has rich and varied experience
in Operations, Mechanical Maintenance, Ash
Business, P&S (Planning & System), Tech
Services, operation and maintenance, and R&M
(Renovation & Modernisation) etc.
PSU Connect - 08.03.2023
https://www.psuconnect.in/news/n-srinivasa-
rao-appointed-as-head-of-project-of-ntpc-
sipat/36693
Kartikeya Sinha appointed as Director
(Planning & Marketing) of NSIC
Kartikeya Sinha has been recently appointed as
the Director (Planning & Marketing) of National
Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC). Prior
to joining NSIC, he was working as General
Manager, BSNL. Sinha is an alumnus of IIT,
Delhi and University of Oxford, UK. He brings in
a vast experience of working with government
and industry. As per the organisation, Sinha
aims to enhance the outreach of NSIC schemes
as well as raise the competitiveness of Indian
MSMEs, increase the productivity level of each
sub-sector through adoption of best practices,
knowledge enhancement and digital

intervention which will help the MSMEs to
integrate with the global supply chain and
become future ready.
https://www.financialexpress.com/brandwagon
/kartikeya-sinha-appointed-as-director-
planning-amp-marketing-nsic/2998795/

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