growth

Economy should be better next year: Jamshyd N Godrej

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Press Trust of India via Indian Economic Business News

Striking a positive note, Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company CMD Jamshyd N Godrej recently said the economy should be in a better position next year. “It is difficult to say (when the economy will recover). I think next year should be better,” he said. “The government is talking about six to seven per cent growth rate.” It was difficult to forecast the kind of growth, but if the government puts right policies in place, things would change for better, he said. Showing persistent sluggishness, India’s economy grew by 5.5 per cent in the April-June quarter, mainly on account of poor performance of manufacturing, mining and farm sectors. The gross domestic product had expanded by 8 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2011-12. Besides, the economic growth in the January-March quarter last fiscal was at nine-year low of 5.3 per cent.

Economy can grow around 6% in 2013: Kaushik Basu

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Press Trust of India via Indian Economic Business News

India’s economy could expand by around 6 per cent in 2013, World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik Basu said, attributing the current slowdown to global factors. Amid global slowdown impacting India, the government had lowered the country’s economic growth for the 2012-13 fiscal to 5.7-5.9 per cent from its earlier projection of 7.6 per cent. The GDP had expanded by 6.5 per cent in 2011-12, which was nine-year low. On India’s current account deficit (CAD) which widened to record 5.4 per cent of GDP in the July-September quarter, Mr. Basu said that though it is a cause of worry, there are market factors which will come into play to stabilise it. “India has proper floating exchange rate, it (CAD) is not as worrying because there are automatic market stabiliser which will begin to kick in,” he said. The CAD, which represents the difference between exports and imports after considering cash remittances and payment, was $18.9 billion in the same period of a year ago and $16.4 billion in the first quarter (April-June).

Indian economy to grow at 6.5% in 2013: Goldman

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Economic Times via Indian Economic Business News

The Indian economy is likely to grow 6.5 per cent in 2013 driven by favourable external demand outlook and domestic structural reforms push, a Goldman Sachs report said. According to a research note by the investment banking major, growth is likely to pick up gradually to 6.5 per cent in 2013 and further to 7.2 per cent in 2014. This is on the back of “easing financial conditions, in part driven by some reduction in policy rates, a continuation of reforms boosting confidence, and a normal agricultural crop’’, it said. The report further noted India’s GDP growth is likely to accelerate from 5.4 per cent in 2012 to 7.2 per cent in 2014, and remain high through 2015-2016, provided the Government continues with its reforms push. A continuation of structural reforms is an important assumption underlying these views, it said. “While allowing FDI in retail, the goods and services tax, direct cash transfer of subsidies, and dedicated freight corridor will help, we believe further reforms on fiscal consolidation, financial liberalisation and infrastructure growth will be needed to sustain an improvement in trend growth,” the report said.

Future Learning seeks international tie-up

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: The Hindu Business Line via PwC – EdLive

Future Learning, the education and skill development arm of the Future Group, is scouting for an international tie-up to run specific courses in visual management, sourcing, supply chain and even luxury retailing. The company, which was carved out as a separate entity four years ago, said it has identified 21 key sectors to impart skills in retail and services sector. Future Learning is affiliated to the Indira Gandhi National Open University and offers courses at four centres — Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

On its accreditation, Future Learning is interested in international tie-up as more international retailers are entering India. In places such as the US, the UK and Australia, where retail is highly developed, institutes are accredited and we are in talks for similar accreditation. According to industry sources, Future Group is understood to have an investment of 25 crore INR in Future Learning.

IELTS tops the list

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

PRNewswire, Cairo, March 2011

The International English Language Testing System, commonly known as IELTS, made its way to the top in the list of World’s most popular high stakes English Language tests. A record breaking 1.5 million tests were taken around the world in 2010 with the increase in the number of tests taken year-after-year since 1995. North America experienced the largest growth over the year followed by Philippines and Hong Kong. China, Australia and India continue to retain their positions as the largest markets for IELTS.

IELTS provides a reliable measure of a candidate’s ability across the four skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking. Candidates mainly take IELTS in pursuit of entry into an academic institution or immigration processes, mainly to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. IELTS is jointly owned by British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and the University of Cambridge (Examinations ESOL).