Newsmakers: Raghuram Rajan on US Fed rate hike, General Motors to raise prices and more

Industrial output growth hits five-year high in October
Industrial output grew at its fastest pace in five years in October, powered by manufacturing, bringing some cheer to investors fretting about a gridlock in Parliament that has stalled vital reforms. Output at factories, utilities and mines grew 9.8 per cent on year, its fastest pace since October 2010, compared with a 7.8 per cent expansion forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll and sharply higher than an upward revised figure of 3.8 per cent growth in September.

Nomura sees India's GDP growth at 7.8% in 2016
India is in the initial stages of a business cycle recovery with gross domestic growth expected at 7.8 per cent in 2016 and 8 per cent in 2017, up from 7.3 per cent expectation for this year, Japanese financial group Nomura said in a forecast. "Under the new GDP series, we estimate India's potential ground at around 8 per cent, which implies that the output gap will gradually narrow over the course of 2016, before closing fully by Q1 2017," said Nomura in its Asian Economic Outlook presented to media in Singapore.

General Motors India to raise prices by up to 2% from January
General Motors India has also announced its plan to raise prices of its locally manufactured vehicles by up to 2 per cent with effect from January to offset impact of rising input costs and foreign exchange fluctuations. "GM India will increase prices of locally built Chevrolet vehicles by up to two per cent with effect from January depending upon various models and variants, in order to partially offset rising input costs and foreign exchange fluctuations," a company spokesperson said.

Google's Project Loon will interfere with cellular operations, says govt
Google's Project Loon, through which the online search firm plans to provide internet connectivity using balloons, will interfere with cellular transmissions of mobile operators in India, said the government. "The proposed frequency band to be used in the Loon Project of Google is being used for cellular operations in India and it will lead to interference with cellular transmissions," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Raghuram Rajan expects US Fed to hike rate by 25 bps; India well-prepared for any eventuality
RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said there is a 70-75 per cent probability of interest rate hike by US Federal Reserve in its policy meet to be held on December 15-16. Rajan expects Fed to hike interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) next week and said the Fed decision will impact global financial flows.