NEW DELHI, June 20: Indian companies need to focus on innovation to boost the manufacturing sector that will help the government to achieve inclusive growth, a senior official said today.
“We need to succeed in manufacturing. Success in manufacturing without innovation is going to be difficult,” National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) Member Secretary Ajay Shankar said here at a CII function.
NMCC was set up by the government to suggest ways to enhance competitiveness in the manufacturing sector of the country.
He said that companies should encourage junior employees to come out with new and innovative ideas.
The sector’s growth is fundamental for inclusive growth of the country, he added.
The government is taking several steps to boost manufacturing sector growth as it would lead to job creation and boost country’s economy.
The government had already announced a national manufacturing policy (NMP) that aims at raising the share of manufacturing to 25 per cent of GDP by 2022 from the current 16 per cent.
The NMP envisages setting up of national investment and manufacturing zones, which are industrial townships, benchmarked to the best manufacturing hubs in the world.
Manufacturing, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, declined 1.2 per cent in March against a growth of 4.3 per cent a year earlier.
During FY 2013-14, the sector’s output contracted 0.8 per cent as compared with 1.3 per cent growth previously. (PTI)

MUMBAI, June 20: The demand for cement in southern region is expected to rise by 5-7 per cent in FY’15 as compared to 1 per cent Y-o-Y growth in FY’14, a report said.
Cement plant utilisation trend in southern states is expected to pick up in the current fiscal as compared with the previous year, and overall demand in the region should go up by 5-7 per cent in FY 2014-15, as against 1 per cent Y-o-Y growth a year ago, Karvy Broking said in its report.
This along with limited capacity expansion in south should boost plant utilisation in the region, Karvy Broking Analyst Rajesh Kumar Ravi said.
Among southern states, Andhra Pradesh market demand is 21 million tonnes per annum and it is expected to grow at 10-12 per cent this fiscal, as against 6 per cent y-o-y in the previous financial year.
The demand in Tamil Nadu is 20 million tonnes per annum and is expected to grow at 4-5 per cent in FY’15, as compared to 4 per cent decline in the previous year.
Karnataka’s demand stands at 16 million tonnes per annum and is likely to increase by 3-5 per cent in FY’15. The cement demand in Kerala is 10 million tonnes per annum and expected to grow at 8-10 per cent in the current financial year, as compared with 5 per cent growth a year ago.
The expert highlighted that demand recovery in the southern region initially will be from infrastructure projects as political stability has set in the Andhra Pradesh region.
Both pending and new infrastructure projects in AP (combined) should boost double digit demand growth in the state. Post the bifurcation of the AP, Vizag, Vijayawada and Tirupati would emerge as key cities, Ravi said.
He expects Vizag to emerge as the main hub while Vijayawada and Tirupati would become commercial and IT hubs respectively.
These should boost cement demand from pick up in both housing and infrastructure activities in these regions. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, June 20: Copper rose by 1.04 per cent to Rs 413.20 per kg in futures trade today as speculators created fresh positions taking positive cues from the overseas markets.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, copper for delivery in June rose by Rs 4.25, or 1.04 per cent, to Rs 413.20 per kg in business turnover of 6,131 lots.
Similarly, the metal for delivery in August traded higher by Rs 3.50, or 0.85 per cent, to Rs 415.85 per kg in 542 lots.
Globally, copper for delivery in three months rose 0.5 per cent to USD 6,756 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange.
Market analysts attributed the rise in copper futures to a firming global trend.
Meanwhile, copper for delivery in three months rose 0.5 per cent to USD 6,756 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, June 20: HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, a joint venture of steel tycoon L N Mittal and Hindustan Petroleum, shut a small unit at its Bhatinda refinery after a minor fire.
No one was injured in the fire that was brought under control, HMEL CEO & Managing Director Prabh Das said.
The fire was reported today morning at one of the pipelines from the vacuum gas oil (VGO) unit, which removes sulphur from crude oil.
“It was quickly put-out,” he said, adding the VGO unit had to be shut down because of the fire but the rest of the 9 million tonnes a year refinery is operating normally. (PTI)