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India’s industrial production rose 16.7 percent in January from 1 percent a year earlier, buoyed by continued growth of the manufacturing sector and a low base effect, official data showed Friday.

The output was a better-than-expected 16.8 percent in December 2009. In January 2009, the figure stood at just 1 percent.

The index of industrial production (IIP), which measures the country’s factory output, stood at 9.6 percent in the first 10 months (April-January 2009-10) this fiscal, against 3.3 percent in the same period of 2009, data released by the Central Statistical Organisation showed.

The December industrial output was revised up to 17.6 percent from 16.8 percent record growth.

Manufacturing, which has around 80 percent weight in the index, was up 17.9 percent in January, from 1 percent a year earlier. Mining generation grew 14.6 percent from 0.7 percent in the same period last year. Power output went up 5.6 percent in the period under review.

The consumer durables sector expanded 31.6 percent, the data showed.

“The strong figures in industrial production for January 2010 has been primarily contributed by manufacturing sectors. Capital goods and consumer durables led the higher growth trajectory of industrial output,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said the mining sector’s growth of 14.6 percent in January showed that manufacturing activities were growing robustly.

“The derived demand for metal from the manufacturing sector must have pushed up the pace of growth in mining sector. Strong performance of manufacturing harbours the potential to spread to the rest of the industrial economy,” said Amit Mitra, FICCI’s secretary general.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has raised farm gate duties by 2 percent, partially rolling back the 4 percent cut he made at the height of the financial crisis, saying signs of industrial recovery were now evident.

Industry analysts believe the sustained rise in industrial production could bolster the Reserve Bank to move further away from an easy credit policy adopted as part of the monetary stimulus, something that its Governor D. Subbarao has hinted in the past.

“Any increase in policy rates at this time will be counter productive to industrial recovery where a significant portion of the sector are small and medium enterprises,” said Banerjee.

“It is also worth noting that the performance of some of the labour intensive sectors such as jute and leather are still worrisome,” he said.

The State Bank of India (SBI) has plans to open 1,000 more branches across the country this year, SBI chairman O.P. Bhatt said Friday.

The bank had opened 1,000 branches last year and “this year too the same number of new branches are proposed to be opened”, Bhatt said after inaugurating a Rural Self-Employment Training Institute (R-SETI) here.

The bank has over 17,000 branches in the country.

The R-SETI will train the unemployed youth of Jammu and Kashmir who want to start small businesses of their own.

“In these centres SBI will train unemployed youth, mostly from below poverty line families. They will be provided training for various vocations,” Bhatt said.

He said the bank would set up R-SETIs in 10 out of 22 districts of the state within three years and hoped these centres would help bridge the rural-urban divide.

A benchmark index for Indian equities Friday closed flat, marking an end to a rather lacklustre trading week.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,176.02 points, shut shop at 17,169.48 points (provisional) — almost unchanged from its previous close at 17,167.96 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty closed at 5,138.8 points, against the previous close at 5,133.4 points.

Selling pressure was greater in broader markets with the BSE midcap index ending 0.32 percent lower and the BSE small cap index closing 0.51 percent down.

Tax collection has to be more humane, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said, asking revenue officials to consider tax payers as important stake-holders in nation-building.

“We have to administer taxes with a human approach. The shift in policy whereby tax payers are not seen as adversaries has resulted in a significant growth in tax collection during the past decade,” Mukherjee said, addressing the 63rd batch of trainee officers of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) here Thursday evening.

He said this very change had led direct tax collection to rise 10 times in the past decade.

“The share of direct taxes is now more than 55 percent. It was due to increased tax buoyancy and efforts by the revenue departments that the government was able to waive the loans to farmers amounting to Rs.71,000 crore,” said Mukherjee.

Former Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Rakesh Mohan has been appointed professor in the Practice of International Economics and Finance in the Yale School of Management from July 1.

The eminent economist will also serve as Senior Fellow in the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University, Richard C. Levin, president of the New Haven, the Connecticut-based Ivy League university, announced.

Mohan joins a Yale renowned faculty that includes former British prime minister Tony Blair, former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo, former US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte and Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“Rakesh Mohan has been among India’s most distinguished economists and admirably served the RBI and the central banking community during a period of unprecedented growth and challenges,” Levin said.

“I am pleased that Professor Mohan will bring his experience and knowledge to his teaching at Yale in training of the next generation of economists and international leaders.”

Rakesh Mohan stated: “I am honoured to return to Yale, this time on its faculty, because it was at Yale forty years ago as an undergraduate that I began my studies in economics. I have long admired the calibre and the talent of Yale’s students and faculty, and I am very much looking forward to again being part of this extraordinary scholarly community.”

Mohan received his BA in Economics from Yale University and MA and PhD in Economics from Princeton University. He also holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London.

He has been a member of the Yale President’s Council on International Activities (PCIA) since 2005. Mohan is currently the non-executive vice chairman of the Indian Institute of Human Settlements, and Global Adviser to the McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey and Company.

The mission of the Yale School of Management is to educate leaders for business and society. Founded in 1974, it is the youngest of Yale University’s professional schools.

Established in April 2009, the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs aims to inspire students to pursue careers in diplomacy and public service. Its faculty includes renowned scholars and practitioners of international affairs.

A benchmark index for Indian equities Friday opened in the green and was ruling about 66 points higher than its previous close, about half an hour into trade.

At 9.30 a.m. the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,176.02, points, was ruling at 17,233.74 points, 65.78 points or 0.38 percent higher than its previous close at 17,167.96 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,155.5 points against the previous close at 5,133.4 points, a gain of 0.43 percent.

Broader markets were also in the green with the BSE midcap index up 0.52 percent and the BSE small cap index ruling 0.7 percent higher.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday once again ruled out any move to privatise the country’s railroad network but said the corporate sector will be roped in the best possible manner to bridge the funds deficit.

Speaking on the debate on the railway budget for the upcoming fiscal in the Rajya Sabha, Banerjee said her medium-term focus for the ministry was well spelt out in the Vision 2020 document unveiled in December, which also speaks of private sector involvement.

“Let me assure the house there will be no privatisation of Indian Railways. I am proud of my department and I am proud of the 1,400,000 employees of railways. They also need some praise,” the minister said.

“But where will all the money come from? It won’t fall from the skies. I am not going to sell railway land. But there will be commercial utilisation of railway land through the public-private partnership mode,” she added.

Indian Railways runs the world’s second largest network under a single management with a network of 64,015 route-km to ferry 18 million passengers and some 850 million tonnes of cargo on 17,000 trains daily from 6,906 stations.

Banerjee said it was no mean achievement that her ministry was not only able to present two regular railway budgets in a spean of eight months, but also came upwith a Vision 2020 document that targets 25,000 km of double or multiple lines against 18,000 today.

She said safety, cleanliness, infrastructure, passenger comfort, potable water and tasty food will all be given due consideration, adding it was unfortunate that there were a few cases of accidents in the past which would be prevented.

“That’s why I have said within the next five years, we will have all the 17,000 unmanned level crossings manned — 3,000 during this fiscal and 1,000 next year,” the minister said, referring to the high number of accidents at such crossroads.

Banerjee, who has declined to support the passage of a bill to reserve 33 percent seats in the Lok Sabha for women, also evoked some humour in the house when she addressed some of the opposition members.

“I am trying to make friends with you. But you want to pick up a fight!” she remarked, in an obvious reference to her stand on the reservation bill, which is similar to that of some opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The minister had presented the railway budget Feb 24 that sought to spare passengers a fare hike, lowered freight rates for some essential items and announced 54 new trains along with the promise of a new model for private investment in expanding the network.

Leading telecom services provider Bharti Airtel Thursday announced the launch of its digital media business — its foray into entertainment — to deliver content to a range of users, including producers and media firms.

“There is a clear demand for secure digital distribution capability across multiple platforms. Airtel Digital Media Business will help establish India as an innovation hub for global content and format delivery,” said Sanjay Kapoor, chief executive of Airtel for India and South Asia.

The company will not produce any content, but market and cater to an array of users like animation, gaming firms, news channels, cinemas and banking institutions.

“Airtel’s digital media business is integrated with our global network of submarine cable systems, international points of presence (PoPs) and our content delivery network (CDN) services,” said Rajan Swaroop, executive director of enterprise services.

“It will now be able to deliver on a secure platform, high quality content across geographies,” said Swaroop.

According to a report by consulting and advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Indian media and entertainment industry is estimated to grow at 11 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from the current Rs.61,100 crore to Rs.92,900 crore by 2013.

A late rally helped the benchmark index for Indian equities close Thursday 113 points higher than its previous close.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,087.63 points, closed at 17,211.56 points (provisional), 113.23 points or 0.66 percent higher than its previous close at 17,098.33 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty shut shop at 5,148.2 points against the previous close of 5,116.25 points, a gain of 31.95 points or 0.62 percent.

Broader markets, however, closed on a subdued note with the BSE midcap index ending 0.05 percent lower and the BSE small cap index closing 0.44 percent down.

The market breadth was negative, with 1,083 stocks advancing, compared to 1,756 scrips on the decline, while 72 remained unchanged.

Most other Asian markets ended trade on a mixed note.

The benchmark Japanese index, Nikkei, ended 0.96 percent higher at 10,664.95 points, while the South Korean Kospi closed 0.34 percent down at 1,656.62 points.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shut shop flat at 21,228.2 points. The Chinese Shanghai composite index closed at 3,051.28 points, down 0.08 percent.

A benchmark index for Indian equities Thursday made a weak start and was ruling 36 points lower, about 28 minutes after the opening bell.

At 9.28 a.m. the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,087.63 points, was ruling at 17,062.37 points, 35.96 points or 0.21 percent lower than its previous close at 17,098.33 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,106.65 points against the previous close at 5,116.25 points, a loss of 0.19 percent.

Broader markets were flat at this time of the day.