Weekly Media Update - 13.06.2022

1. 670
(This document comprises news clips from various media in which Balmer Lawrie is mentioned, news
related to GOI and PSEs, and news from the verticals that we do business in. This will be uploaded on
intranet and website every Monday.)
World Bank trims India growth forecast
to 7.5%
The World Bank on Tuesday scaled down its FY23
growth forecast for India to 7.5% from 8%
predicted in April, citing the damaging impact of
rising inflation, supply-chain disruptions and the
Russia-Ukraine conflict. These headwinds would
offset “buoyancy in the recovery of services
consumption from the pandemic”, it said. With
this, the multilateral body has revised down its
India growth projection for a second time since the
Ukraine war began — it had cut its forecast by 70
basis points in April. The country’s GDP grew 8.7%
in FY22, albeit on a sharply-contracted base. In its
latest issue of the Global Economic Prospects, the
World Bank pegged India’s FY24 growth at 7.1%,
up 30 bps from its April forecast but slower than
the latest projected growth of 7.5% for the current
fiscal. It has also scaled down its global growth
projection by as much as 120 bps to just 2.9% for
2022.
The Financial Express - 08.06.2022
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/worl
d-bank-trims-india-growth-forecast-to-7-
5/2552071/
OECD cuts forecast to 6.9 per cent
The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and
Development Countries (OECD) has slashed its
growth forecast for India to 6.9 per cent for the
current fiscal against 8.1 per cent earlier. The
OECD follows the World Bank, which earlier this
week cut India’s growth forecast for 2022-23 to
7.5 per cent from 8 per cent earlier. The RBI on
Wednesday retained its growth forecast at 7.2
per cent. It said Russia’s war in Ukraine and the
energy and food crises will severely drag down
global economic growth and push up inflation
this year. China's “zero-COVID” policies that
have scrambled manufacturing supply chains
also are weighing on a world economy that was
just starting to rebound from the Covid-19
pandemic, the Paris-based OECD said,
becoming the latest institution to slash its
growth forecast and underscoring the dimming
economic outlook. The OECD, a club of largely
wealthy nations, expects the global economy to
expand 3 per cent in 2022, down from the 4.5
per cent that it predicted in December.
The Telegraph - 10.06.2022
https://www.telegraphindia.com/business/oec
d-cuts-forecast-to-6-9-per-cent/cid/1869241
After 2 years, Fitch raises India outlook
to ‘stable’
Fitch Ratings on Friday revised up its outlook for
India’s long-term foreign currency Issuer Default
Rating (IDR) to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’ after a gap
of two years. However, it has retained its
sovereign rating for India at the lowest investment
grade of ‘BBB-’ for 16 years now. The agency’s
improved outlook follows its assessment that
downside risks to medium-term growth have
diminished due to the nation’s “rapid economic
recovery and easing financial sector weaknesses”,
despite near-term headwinds from the global
commodity price shock. With , Fitch joins its peers
S&P and Moody’s in assigning similar ratings and
outlook for India. However, the rating agency
trimmed its FY23 India growth forecast to 7.8 per
cent from 8.5 per cent announced in March,
stating that elevated inflationary pressure
dampened growth momentum. This estimate will
RBI retains FY23 GDP growth forecast
at 7.2%
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday
kept unchanged its FY23 real economic growth
projection for the country at 7.2%, indicating
that risks are more or less evenly balanced
since its April forecast. It now projects the real
GDP growth in Q1 at 16.2%; Q2 at 6.2%; Q3 at
4.1%; and Q4 at 4%. The projection seems to
have factored in a waning favourable base
effect with the passing quarter of this fiscal. The
central bank had refrained from revising either
its GDP growth projection or inflation forecast in
May, when it announced an out-of-cycle repo
rate cut of 40 basis points. Stating that
economic activities are gaining traction, the
central bank suggested that rural consumption
would benefit from brightening farm prospects
following the forecast of a normal monsoon
season. Similarly, the on-going recovery in
contact-intensive services will likely bolster
WEEKLY MEDIA UPDATE
Issue 557
13 June 2022
Monday

2. still be way above the agency’s 3.4 per cent
median growth projection for similar-rated peers.
The Financial Express - 11.06.2022
https://indianexpress.com/article/business/econo
my/fitch-ratings-revises-india-outlook-to-stable-
7962011/
urban consumption. Investment, too, could be
aided by improving capacity utilisation, the
government’s capex push and rising credit flow.
Growth of both merchandise and services
exports is expected to sustain the good
momentum.
The Financial Express - 09.06.2022
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/rb
i-retains-fy23-gdp-growth-forecast-at-7-
2/2553395/
India 7th in FDI inflows: Unctad
India has moved up one notch to be ranked
seventh in the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development’s (Unctad) annual World
Investment Report despite a 30% decline in
foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country.
During 2021, FDI inflows into India were
estimated at $45 billion as large mergers and
acquisitions, especially in the digital technology
space, were not repeated in 2021. During the
previous year, companies such as Reliance Jio
received large investments from Facebook and
Alphabet. But India remains the preferred
destination for digital MNCs looking to invest
outside the developed world with the country
cornering 7% of deals due to the “thriving tech
start-up scene”. But Unctad also appeared upbeat
on the overall investment situation in the country.
“…a flurry of new international project finance
deals were announced in the country: 108
projects, compared with 20 projects on average
for the last 10 years. The largest number of
projects (23) was in renewables. Large projects
include the construction in India of a steel and
cement plant for $13.5 billion by ArcelorMittal
Nippon Steel (Japan) and the construction of a
new car manufacturing facility by Suzuki Motor
(Japan) for $2. 4 billion.”
The Times of India - 10.06.2022
https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-
share?article=10_06_2022_015_015_toikc_TOI
CAD to moderate to 1.96% in Q4 FY22:
Ind-Ra
India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) expects
the current account deficit (CAD) to have
moderated to USD17.3 billion (1.96% of GDP)
in 4QFY22, as against a deficit of USD23.02
billion (2.74% of GDP) in 3QFY22 (4QFY21:
deficit of USD8.2 billion, 1.03% of GDP) which
was at a 13-quarter high. CAD, in FY22, is
estimated to have been at USD43.81 billion
(1.38% of GDP) compared to the current
account surplus of USD23.91 billion (0.9% of
GDP) in FY21. The geo-political risks and the
slowdown in China due to the stringent
lockdown across various major cities owing to a
surge in COVID-19 cases has accentuated the
supply-chain disruption further, just when the
global recovery was taking an incipient shape,
the ratings agency said. The World Trade
Organisation (WTO) has projected merchandise
trade volume growth at 3% in 2022, down from
its earlier forecast of 4.7%. The stellar
performance of India’s merchandise exports in
FY23 (FY22: 42.4%, FY21: negative 7.5%)
would face significant headwinds by the clouds
of uncertainty and volatility in the global
economy.
Mint - 10.06.2022
https://www.livemint.com/economy/cad-to-
moderate-to-1-96-in-q4-fy22-indra-
11654788185002.html
Fiscal spending to drive India’s growth,
says FM
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on
Monday that India’s growth will be driven by fiscal
spending, in what was a clear signal that the
government is not going to go slow on its large
capital expenditure plan to boost demand. During
a meeting of BRICS finance ministers and central
bank governors, Sitharaman said the economic
growth will continue to be supported by fiscal
spending along with an investment push,
imparting momentum to the economy based on
the idea of growth at macro level, complemented
by all-inclusive welfare at micro level, an official
statement said. The Centre has proposed to
People-centric governance hallmark of
govt: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday
that people-centric governance and continuous
effort towards good governance have been the
hallmark of the government in the past eight
years, adding that through various schemes,
the poor have been given the respect they
deserve. He said a large part of the world is
looking at India for solutions and this has
become possible because the government
trusted in the common wisdom of people and
encouraged their intelligent participation in the
growth. "In earlier days, the country suffered
because of government-centric governance.

3. significantly step up the public investment by
raising capex by 35% to Rs 7. 5 lakh crore during
the current financial year. While the rise in prices
of key inputs such as steel and cement is bound to
put some pressure on the overall cost of these
projects, the government has indicated that it is
not looking to scale down its ambitions, especially
at a time when economic activity has slowed down
over the last four quarters. Based on the capex,
the government is hoping that companies would
expand their production capacity and create more
jobs, which Indian banks are ready to support
having cleaned up their balance sheet over the last
few years.
The Times of India - 07.06.2022
https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-
share?article=07_06_2022_013_008_toikc_TOI
But, today in the 21st century, the country is
progressing with the approach of people-centric
governance," he said, inaugurating a week-long
celebration as part of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'
(AKAM) from June 6 to June 11, 2022. The
week-long programme is part of celebrating 75
years of India's independence, organised by
ministries of finance and corporate affairs.
The Economic Times - 07.06.2022
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/in
dia/people-centric-governance-hallmark-of-
govt-pm-modi/articleshow/92045923.cms
'Indian economy recovered strongly
despite 3 Covid waves'
he Indian economy has rebounded strongly
despite three significant COVID-19 waves, the US
Treasury has said in a report to Congress. India's
acute second wave weighed heavily on growth
through the middle of 2021, delaying its economic
recovery, the Treasury said in a semi-annual
report. "However, economic activity rebounded
strongly in the second half of the year as India's
vaccination rollout accelerated," the Treasury said
on Friday, as it praised India's vaccination efforts.
As of the end of 2021, about 44 per cent of India's
population was fully vaccinated, it said. After
contracting seven per cent in 2020, the output
returned to pre-pandemic levels by the second
quarter of 2021, with full-year 2021 growth of
eight per cent, it added. Since the beginning of
2022, India faced a third major outbreak driven by
the Omicron variant, but the number of deaths
and broader economic fallout has been limited, it
said. The Indian government continued to provide
fiscal support to the economy against the
backdrop of the pandemic in 2021, it said. The
authorities estimate that the overall fiscal deficit
will reach 6.9 per cent of GDP for the 2022 fiscal
year, which is higher than deficits prior to the
pandemic, it said. According to the Treasury, the
Reserve Bank of India kept its key policy rates
unchanged at four per cent since May 2020, but in
January 2021 it began to gradually unwind the
extraordinary liquidity measures designed to
support growth during the early part of the
coronavirus pandemic.
Millennium Post - 12.06.2022
http://www.millenniumpost.in/business/indian-
economy-recovered-strongly-despite-3-covid-
waves-481698
Land monetisation set to pick up pace
as govt firms up plan
The Centre has firmed up a plan to accelerate
monetisation of surplus land parcels held by
various wings of the government, including the
defence department, railways, salt
commissioner’s office and various Central Public
sector Enterprises. The move will complement
its efforts to raise more non-debt receipts to
expedite fixed asset creation in the economy
through monetisation of brownfield assets sans
ownership transfer under the National
Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) scheme. “Several
government departments have already
conveyed their willingness to the National Land
Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) to offer their
surplus lands for monetisation,” an official
aware of the matter told FE. NLMC, with a seed
capital of 150 crore, was incorporated last week
as a wholly-owned government company. The
entity will have a CEO from the government and
a chairman from the private sector, both of
whom are likely to be appointed by June-end,
the source said. A search and selection
committee headed by Cabinet secretary is
currently in the process of selecting the board
members of NLMC. To start with, NLMC will
likely get about 5,000 acres of land for
monetisation from a clutch of sick CPSEs
namely MTNL, BSNL, BPCL, B&R, BEML, HMT
and Instrumentation, among others. These land
parcels are located in urban as well as semi-
urban areas, good parts of which prime property
that could fetch a lot of value.
Financial Express - 13.06.2022
https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructu
re/land-monetisation-set-to-pick-up-pace-as-
govt-firms-up-plan/2558163/

4. Industrial activity jumps to 8-month
high in April
Industrial output growth scaled an eight-month
peak of 7.1% in April from a year earlier, with all
the use-based categories witnessing expansion for
the first time since August 2021. The rise in the
index was despite the spike in inputs costs in the
wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Though the
growth was aided by a somewhat favourable base,
it reflected renewed traction in manufacturing,
which moved up 6.3% in April from 1.9% in the
previous month, showed the official data released
on Friday. Both mining and electricity segments,
too, put up a decent show — the latter mainly due
to a scorching summer. The overall IIP was also
up 6.8% from the pre-pandemic period (April
2019). Given the favourable base in the wake of
Covid-related curbs during the second wave,
industrial output in May will likely record a double-
digit expansion, though a rise in the interest rate
can potentially weigh on the momentum, analysts
said.
The Financial Express - 11.06.2022
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/indu
strial-activity-jumps-to-8-month-high-in-
april/2556388/
Improve on professionalism, reduce
expenditure: Sitharaman to PSEs
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on
Thursday asked public sector enterprises to
improve on professionalism, reduce
expenditure and consider working with private
sector entities. She was addressing the heads
of various central public sector enterprises
(CPSEs) at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar
after inaugurating a mega exhibition on the
contribution of these government-owned
companies to nation-building as part of the
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. "It is
now time for PSEs to show that you are very
keen to improve on your professionalism as
much as you have done between 1991 and now.
And where possible, in order to bring down the
overheads, it might be worth looking at private
participation together with what you are
doing...you can benefit from the efficiency of
the private sector," Sitharaman said. Referring
to the new PSE policy announced in 2021, the
Finance Minister said PSEs need to be aware of
the competition they will face from the private
sector for whom the government has opened
the strategic sectors.
Mint - 10.06.2022
https://www.livemint.com/news/india/improve
-on-professionalism-reduce-expenditure-
sitharaman-to-pses-11654771376265.html
Disinvestment not for shutting down
CPSEs, but to make them more efficient,
says Sitharaman
on Friday said the principle of the government's
disinvestment programme is not to shut down any
unit or company but to make them more efficient
and professionally driven. Highlighting that public
sector enterprises which were privatised between
1994 and 2004 are being driven by professionally
run boards, the minister said these companies
have only improved. Addressing the iconic week
celebrations of Department of Investment and
Public Asset Management (DIPAM) as part of
'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' here, Sitharaman said
privatisation of CPSEs is intended at ensuring that
these companies are run efficiently and cost
effectively."...The principle with which
disinvestment is happening now is not to shut
down a unit. The economy needs that many
number of such companies and many, many more
as well. "So if we want to have that activity done
professionally and open up spaces for people to
come and do it, our interest is not to shut down,
we want to prime it up, we want to have them to
run far more efficiently so that contributions can
be made to the economy," Sitharaman said in her
webcast speech from Bengaluru.
The Economic Times - 11.06.2022
India’s path to prosperity is rooted in
sustainability
The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting
2022 resonated with two themes that have
assumed indisputable prominence in global
discourse. One, the imperative of addressing
the looming and real danger of climate change
and the collective actions needed to move
towards a sustainable path of development.
Two, the growing consensus that India will play
a central role in driving global growth. These
two themes dovetail perfectly when one
considers that India is among the leading
nations to have adopted large-scale sustainable
development practices. India is building
resilient and sustainable socio-economic
infrastructure that is reducing our carbon
footprint even as it is uplifting millions of
citizens from poverty. Through tangible impact
on the ground, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has convinced the nation that ecological
sustainability and economic progress can go
hand-in-hand. This approach is at variance with
the traditional success stories of many western
and some Asian economic powerhouses which
were propelled by carbon-intensive industries.
The Times of India - 07.06.2022

5. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/eco
nomy/policy/disinvestment-not-for-shutting-
down-cpses-but-to-make-them-more-efficient-
says-sitharaman/articleshow/92135204.cms
https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-
share?article=07_06_2022_009_014_toikc_TO
I
India looks to increase oil imports from
Russia
India is looking to double down on its Russian oil
imports with state-owned refiners eager to take
more heavily discounted supplies from Rosneft as
global players turn down dealings with Moscow
over its invasion of Ukraine. State processors are
collectively working on finalising and securing new
six-month supply contracts for Russian crude to
India, said people with knowledge of the
companies’ procurement plans. Cargoes are being
sought on a delivered basis from Rosneft, with the
seller set to handle shipping and insurance
matters, they said. These supply agreements, if
concluded, will be separate and on top of
shipments that India already buys from Russia via
other deals. Details on volumes and pricing are
still being negotiated with Indian banks set to fully
finance all cargoes, said the people who asked not
to be identified as discussions are confidential.
Refiners will increasingly procuring directly from
Russian companies such as Rosneft, they added.
The Times of India - 07.06.2022
https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-
share?article=07_06_2022_013_001_toikc_TOI
Limited Discounts on Russian Oil for
Indian Refiners
Indian refiners are receiving lower discounts on
Russian oil compared to European counterparts
following the EU directive in March that bars
European traders from supplying to non-
European customers. Since the outbreak of the
Ukraine war, Indian state-run and private
refiners have significantly raised their intake of
Russian oil that’s been selling at a deep discount
to the global benchmarks. But average
discounts availed by Indian refiners on a
delivered basis have been in the range of $10
per barrel, much lower than what is believed to
be availed by refiners in Europe, said oil
industry executives. Proximity to Russia has
always meant lower delivered costs for Europe
but a reconfiguration of suppliers due to
sanctions has increased the advantage the
customers on the continent have over Indian
refiners.
The Times of India – 08.06.2022
https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-
share?article=08_06_2022_001_008_etkc_ET
India’s crude oil cost rises to a 10-yr high
India’s crude cost rose to $121. 28 per barrel on
Thursday, the highest since March 9, 2012 when
it had hit $125. 1. This has pushed the monthly
average in June to $118. 3 per barrel, a level last
seen in April 2012 when the price averaged
$118.6. The decade-high crude cost will further
shrink the bottomlines of state-run fuel retailers
as they keep pump prices frozen and squeeze the
government’s fiscal headroom harder by adding
inflationary pressure and jacking up oil import bill,
which impacts macro-economic parameters. India
imports 85% of its oil.
Times of India - 11.06.2022
https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-
share?article=11_06_2022_008_002_toikc_TOI
Crude oil prices on fire again
Crude oil prices have surged to a three-month
high, with Brent rising nearly $10 per barrel
since the government slashed duties on petrol
and diesel last month to lower prices and cool
in ation. The rally in crude prices has occurred
despite forecasts of a sharp global economic
deceleration. With the trade deficit already at
record highs, elevated crude prices are a
significant risk to India’s growth and
macroeconomic stability. India imports more
than 85% of its crude oil needs.
The Economic Times - 12.06.2022
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industr
y/energy/oil-gas/crude-oil-prices-on-fire-
again/articleshow/92155030.cms
At $5 a gallon, nationwide average of gas
prices hit record high in US
The nationwide average price for a gallon of
gasoline has topped USD 5 for the first time ever.
Auto club AAA said the average price on Saturday
was USD 5.00. Motorists in some parts of the
country, especially California, are paying far above
that. The national average price has jumped 19
Demand slips as airfares take off on
high ATF prices
Domestic airfares have increased more than
20% on average since early April and are
expected to go up further, as airlines try to
offset higher fuel costs with price hikes, industry
executives said. “Right now, the fortnightly
price hike in ATF (aviation turbine fuel) leads to

6. cents in just the past week, and it's up USD 1.93
from this time last year. There are several reasons
for the surge in gasoline prices. Americans
typically drive more starting around Memorial Day,
so demand is up. Global oil prices are rising,
compounded by sanctions against Russia, a
leading oil producer, because of its war against
Ukraine. And there are limits on refining capacity
in the United States because some refineries shut
down during the pandemic. Add it all up, and the
cost of filling up is draining money from Americans
who are facing the highest rate of inflation in 40
years.
Business Standard - 11.06.2022
https://www.business-
standard.com/article/international/at-5-a-gallon-
nationwide-average-of-gas-prices-hit-record-
high-in-us-122061100394_1.html
an increase in fares. Airlines can no longer
absorb the additional burden of costs,” said a
senior airline executive, who didn’t want to be
named. “So, expect another hike (in airfares)
on 15th of June. And this trend will continue."
The higher cost of air travel has already started
affecting demand. Passenger traffic — that was
nearing pre-Covid levels — has slowed in June,
according to airline executives. “Rise in ATF
prices is a big concern for the industry and is
impacting forward bookings due to the high fare
environment,” said Gaurav Patwari, head of air
business at travel portal Cleartrip. Fares on
some of the busier sectors have increased by as
much as 40%, he said.
The Economic Times - 11.06.2022
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industr
y/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/demand-
slips-as-airfares-take-off-on-high-atf-
prices/articleshow/92138134.cms
India Inc’s registers record dividend payout in FY22; PSBs, IT companies lead drive
India Inc’s dividend outgo hit a record Rs 3.3 trillion in FY22, translating into a payout ratio of 37.6%.
The sharp rise in payouts was largely because state-owned banks resumed distributing dividends after
a gap of six years and other CPSEs and top IT players too became more generous with payouts on
improved profitability. Top 400 companies from the NSE500 have given out Rs 2.6 trillion in FY21, data
collated from Capitaline shows. The sample includes 400 companies from the NSE500 index, with a
minimum dividend history of five years. Along with SBI, other PSBs like Bank of Baroda, Bank of India,
Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India, also
announced dividends in FY22, totaling Rs 12,961 crore. The government is one of the major
beneficiaries of the higher dividend payout by state-run entities along with other shareholders,
including retail investors. Its receipts from CPSEs stood at Rs 59,000 crore in FY22, up 48% on-year.
The Centre’s total dividend receipts from CPSEs, RBI and banks/financial institutions were Rs 1.6 trillion
in FY22, up 65% on-year. While Punjab National Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra
announced zero dividends since FY16, SBI did so between FY18 and FY20. “After eight years, we are
declaring dividend of 32% to investors. I think it is a good sign,” said Atul Kumar Goel, MD & CEO of
PNB, after the announcement of Q4 results. State-owned banks had stopped paying dividends due to
their weak financial condition following the RBI’s asset quality review exercise in FY16. According to
BofA Securities, FY22 was a big year for PSBs with recovery in loan growth, steady deposit growth and
improvement in asset quality. “After a long asset quality cycle, their balance sheets are now healthy
enough to start growing again. Overall, this will likely drive system loan growth to improve sustainably
to trend 12-13% levels (from 10% now),” said the foreign brokerage in a note last month.
Financial Express - 13.06.2022
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/india-incs-registers-record-dividend-payout-in-fy22-
psbs-it-companies-lead-drive/2558022/