Food security scheme
likely to get Rs 5,000 cr in Budget
The UPA-2 government’s most ambitious social security
programme, the national food security scheme, is likely to get Rs 5,000 crore
as initial allocation in the 2013-14 Budget, to be presented by Finance
Minister P Chidambaram on February 28. The programme will start in
2013-14 and the Budget would provide this allocation, said officials in the
know. “This sum has been kept aside for food security and will be different
from the usual allocation of food subsidy,” an official said. The Food
Security Bill, which seeks to provide legal entitlement for cheap grain to
almost 67 per cent of the population, has been vetted by a standing committee
of Parliament. The department of food and consumer affairs is preparing a
Cabinet note for a revised Bill, likely to be moved in the Budget session. Officials
estimate the yearly food subsidy at Rs 1,20,000 crore to Rs 1,40,000 crore,
depending on the quantity of food allocated under the Bill. The Budget had
provided for Rs 75,000 crore in 2012-13, but the requirement is said to have
swelled to more than Rs 95,000 crore. In the 2013-14 Budget, the finance
minister will try to strike a balance between various departments’ demands to
rein in the fiscal deficit at 4.8 per cent of GDP from the 5.3 per cent
estimated in the current financial year. The Bill, tabled in Parliament,
aims to give legal entitlement for cheap grain to 75 per cent of the rural
population and 50 per cent of the urban population. It has split beneficiaries
into priority and general categories. Each priority beneficiary would get seven
kg of grain a month, while a general category beneficiary would get three to four kg.
However, the standing committee of Parliament on food had recommended the
categories be merged. Each beneficiary should get five kg of foodgrain a month
at Rs 3 per kg for rice, Rs 2 a kg for wheat and Rs 1 per kg for coarse
cereals, it had said. Officials said the first version of the Bill would
have led to Rs 1,30,000-1,40,000 crore of food subsidy, while the parliamentary
panel’s recommendations would result in an outgo of Rs 1,20,000 crore. The
panel’s suggestions would mean a grain requirement of 50 million tonnes (mt), almost
the same as that under the current Targeted Public Distribution System. But the
subsidy bill will increase. The subsidy bill will go up due to a uniform
lower price, against the differential pricing for below poverty line and above
poverty line beneficiaries now. Had the first version of the Bill’s
proposal been kept intact, the requirement would have been 70 mt. All these
numbers exclude the eight mt required for welfare schemes such as the Mid-Day
Meal programme. Lately, the food ministry made changes in the Bill to
cover 90 per cent of the population in 13 states and 75 per cent in 250
identified districts. It was also proposed that the Antyodaya Anna Yojana
targeting the poorest of the poor, be retained as it has been performing well.
If these suggestions are incorporated, the government’s food bill could go up. Source: Business Standard
Markets trim losses, Auto and FMCG in
positive zone
Benchmark
indices have recovered from day's low and have turned flat led by renewed
buying among Auto and FMCG shares. By 14:35, Sensex plunged by 12 points at
19,485, and the Nifty down 7 points at 5,889 levels. On the global front,
Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Friday as investors pared exposure to
exporters and banks while awaiting the weekend G20 meeting. A deepening
recession in the euro zone also dragged down shares, and sentiment deteriorated
in late trade on news that a conservative, former finance ministry bureaucrat
is the leading candidate to head the Japanese central bank. The Nikkei closed
down 1.2 percent at 11,173.83 after falling as much as 2.1 percent. Back home,
BSE Realty and Oil & Gas indices have plunged by almost 2% followed by
counters like Consumer Durable, Metal, Healthcare, IT, Power and PSU, all
slumping by almost 1% each. Apart from FMCG, all the major BSE sectoral indices
are trading in negative zone. Index heavyweight Reliance Inds has dropped by
over 2%. According to reports, TCS today surpassed Reliance Industries to
become the country's most valued company as the IT major's market
capitalisation soared to over Rs 2.83 lakh crore on the back of a spurt in its
share price. Dr Reddy’s Lab is the top Sensex loser, down over 3%. Bank of
America-Merrill Lynch downgraded its rating on Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd to
"neutral" from "buy", saying "a slight" increase
in core profit estimates was being offset by a fading US drug pipeline and
moderating growth. Metal shares like Tata Steel, JSPL and Hindalco have fallen
between 1-2%. Auto shares like Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki and Hero Moto have
declined between 0.4-2%. Tata Motors is trading marginally in green. Other
notable losers include CIL, Infosys, Cipla, HUL and TCS. Among other shares,
LIC Housing Finance is trading lower by 3% at Rs 244, extending its Thursday’s
6% fall, on reporting disappointing set of numbers for the third quarter ended
December 31, 2012 (Q3). Meanwhile, BSE Midcap index plunged by 0.20% whereas
BSE Smallcap index is down 0.98%. The market breadth in BSE ended unhealthy
with 1,766 shares declining and 946 shares advancing. Source: Business Standard
Bharti Infratel
hits new low on heavy volumes
Bharti Inftratel has dipped 4% to
Rs 186 on BSE on back of heavy volumes. The stock opened at Rs 190 and hit a
low of Rs 181.80, its lowest level since listing in last year. As many as a
combined 1.15 million shares have already changed hands on the counter so far against
an average around 0.50 million shares that were traded daily in past two weeks.
The stock of India's leading provider of tower and related infrastructure has
underperformed the market by falling 13% in past two weeks compared to 2% fall
in benchmark Sensex. Bharti Infratel mobilized about Rs 4,200 crore via an
initial public offering (IPO) to install new towers and upgrade and replace
existing ones. The company had sold its shares in the IPO at Rs 220 per share,
got listed on December 28, 2012.Source:
Business Standard
Markets subdued,
selling pressure visible across the board
Markets
continue to trades on a subdued note in the noon deals on the back of selling
pressure visible across the board. The Sensex is down 70 points at 19,427 and
the 50-share Nifty has slipped 28 points to 5,869 levels. Meanwhile, the Asian
markets are also trading on a subdued note with investors turned cautious
as weak euro zone growth data presaged the G20 meeting in this session and on
Saturday in Moscow. Hang Seng was up 6 points at 19,434, Nikkei slipped 133
points to 11,173, Straits Times is down 12 points at 3,278 and the Seoul
Composite was flat at 1,981. Back home, Dr Reddy's Labs is the top loser among
the Sensex stocks, down 2% at Rs 1,839 after the Bank of America Merrill Lynch
downgraded the stock to neutral with a target price of Rs 1,975 after dismal
performance in the third quarter. Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Reliance Industries,
Jindal Steel, Cipla, Maruti Suzuki, Coal India, Infosys, Bharti Airtel
and Wipro are also trading weaker by 1-1.6% each. On the other hand, Tata
Power, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, NTPC, GAIL India, BHEL, ONGC and Sterlite
Industries are among the notable gainers. All the sectoral indices are in the
negative territory. The BSE realty index is the top loser, down 1% or 21 points
at 2,016. Oil & gas, IT, consumer durables, metal, auto and healthcare
indices are also down 0.4-1% each. The broader markets are also facing the heat
of selling pressure. The BSE mid-cap index is down 0.4% at 6,581 and the
small-cap index has shed 1% to 6,519 levels. The overall market breadth is
negative as 1687 stocks are declining while 788 are advancing. Source: Business Standard
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