Copper is expected to sell around 498 levels with a stop loss placed above 510 levels for targets of 482 levels. Nickel is expected to sell around 970 levels with a stop loss placed above 1000 levels for targets of 930 levels.

Rupee at a record new low, breaches 67 mark against US dollar The rupee had ended down 194 raise at 66.24 against the US dollar after hitting an intra-day low of 66.30 in the previous session.

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Senate to vote on 'fiscal cliff' deal as deadline approaches !!!

The White House and Senate leaders struck a bipartisan deal on Monday to try to avoid a " fiscal cliff" budget crisis, although the agreement was likely to face stiff challenges in the House of Representatives. Senators were due to vote on the accord before midnight and independent Senator Joe Lieberman said it had strong support from the Democrats who control the chamber. The agreement still came too late for Congress to meet its own deadline of New Year's Eve to pass laws halting $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into force on Jan. 1. But with Tuesday a holiday, Congress still had time to draw up legislation, approve it and backdate it to avoid the harsh fiscal measures coming into force. That will need the backing of the House where many of the Republicans who control the chamber complain that President Barack Obama has shown little interest in cutting government spending to try to reduce the U.S. budget deficit. House Republicans are also likely to balk at planned tax hikes on household incomes over $450,000 a year that was part of the agreement struck between Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The House has convened a session for Tuesday at noon (1700 GMT). The deal would make permanent the alternative minimum tax "patch" that was set to expire, protecting middle-income Americans from being taxed as if they were rich. Indiscriminate spending cuts for defense and non-defense spending were simply postponed for two months. As New Year's Day approached, members were thankful that financial markets were closed, giving them a second chance to return on Tuesday to try to blunt the worst effects of the fiscal mess. There is no major difference whether a law is passed on Monday night, Tuesday or Wednesday. Legislation can be backdated to Jan. 1, for instance, said law firm K&L Gates partner Mary Burke Baker, who spent decades at the Internal Revenue Service. "This is sort of like twins and one being born before midnight and one being born after. I think the date that matters is the day president signs the legislation," she said.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013

Wishing you all a Very Happy & Prosperous New Year !!! - Team Merits.

RBI's credit policy today

The Indian market has been rangebound over the last many sessions. After a mildly bullish trade on Friday, the equity benchmarks witnessed lacklustre activity and closed marginally in the red on Monday. The Sensex closed down 73 points at 19,244.42. The Nifty ended at 5,857.90, 21 points below its previous close. The market will closely watch the Reserve Bank of India’s mid-quarter monetary policy review today. According to CNBC-TV18's poll, 70 percent of bankers and economist expect the Reserve Bank to cut cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 25 to 50 basis points. Only 30 percent expect RBI to keep the CRR unchanged. Most don’t believe the Reserve Bank will cut policy rates. Infact 90 percent said no repo rate cut. However, there is unanimity that rate will be cut atleast by January. Majority expect 25 to 50 basis of repo rate cut before the financial year ends.

Global & local cues that will impact Nifty today

In the US, the Dow and S&P 500 closed higher for the day and the week following an upbeat government jobs report and amid ongoing "fiscal cliff" negotiations, while the Nasdaq finished in the red, dragged by Apple's sharp decline. For the week, the Dow rallied 0.99 percent; the S&P 500 added 0.13 percent, while the Nasdaq fell 1.07 percent. The CBOE volatility index slipped And on economic data front, the monthly non-farm payrolls rose by a surprising 146,000 versus an expectation of 93000. The unemployment rate slipped to 7.7 percent in November. Meanwhile, the consumer sentiment index tumbled to 74.5 from 82.7 in a preliminary December. There are no signs yet of any breakthrough in the fiscal cliff logjam.. Instead in a clear indication of hardening of stance, house speaker and republican leader John Boehner said that President Barack Obama had decided to slow walk the US economy right off the fiscal cliff. European shares closed flat in volatile trading Friday following a pair of mixed economic reports from the US, while Germany’s lowered growth outlook put a lid on gains. In Germany, the central bank has cut its growth forecasts for the economy. The Bundesbank now expects the German economy to grow by 0.7 percent this year, down from its earlier forecast of 1 percent. The forecast for 2013 is more worrying. The Bundesbank expects growth of just 0.4 percent, down from the previous projection of 1.6 percent. Political uncertainty once again in Italy after Prime Minister Mario Monti said he is going to step down ahead of the end of this term. His decision to call for polls once the 2013 budget is approved after the party of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi withdrew their support from Monti's government. Berlusconi also said that he would make another run for Prmie Minister in the next polls. Monti did not say whether he would run in the next election. Greece's debt buy back offer ended over the weekend with bankers and officials saying that the deal went well. Athens offered to buy back around 30 billion euros in bonds as it saw to lower its debt levels. According to sources, Greece raised about 25-27 billion euros and may re-open the buy back for a short period for additional bids from Greek banks to make up for the short fall.

FDI in retail will benefit consumers, farmers, says PM Manmohan Singh !!!

A day after winning Parliament's approval to the decision of allowing FDI in retail, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the move will benefit farmers and consumers and help introduce new technologies in agri marketing. He also said the decision to allow FDI was "supported" by farmers' organizations in Punjab. Speaking as a chief guest at Punjab Agricultural University's golden jubilee function here, he said FDI in retail will help introduce new technologies in agri marketing, and will "benefit farmers and consumers". The decision to allow FDI was backed by farmers' organizations in Punjab, he said at the PAU function, where he was honored with a Doctor of Science degree. Government had yesterday won the approval of Parliament to its controversial decision of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail with a motion against it being defeated convincingly in Rajya Sabha, as BSP voted in favor of UPA. 123 members had voted against the motion while 109 voted in favor after a debate during which the Opposition had attacked the proposal to allow 51 % FDI in multi-brand retail, while the government had strongly justified it saying it was in the best interest of the country. Speaking at the University, Singh asked leading farm varsities like PAU to gear up to meet the existing and future challenges in the agriculture sector. He said agriculture supply chains in India are fragmented and stressed the need for development of efficient and vertically integrated supply chains. Stressing that investments in backend infrastructure can help cut down loss of perishable crops, he asked Punjab "to take the lead in best practices of crop management". Singh also hoped that Punjab will fare better as 12th five-year plan has for the country as a whole "targeted 8.2 growth in the GDP and 4 per cent in agriculture".

Supreme Court gives Sahara more time to refund investors !!!

In a partial relief to Sahara, the Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the Subrata Roy-led group more time to refund money to its bond investors. SC asked Sahara to deposit Rs 5,120 crore upfront to the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and pay the remainder in two instalments in January and February. Stating that Sahara has to repay Rs 17,400 crore with 15% interest in three instalments. SC told SEBI to take action if the group defaults on repayment. On Monday, a bench, headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, had made several adverse comments about the "conduct" and "intentions" of the company for failing to meet the November 30, 2012, deadline to pay the amount to Sebi which was to route it to investors. On Tuesday, when the bench reconvened, Sahara counsel Gopal Subramanium sought time till the afternoon to enable him to firm up his statement to court. Since the bench was on ly sitting in the forenoon on Tuesday, CJI Kabir adjourned the hearing till Wednesday. Sahara has been claiming to Sebi that all the money has been invested in its Amby Valley projects in 63 cities. It has also been claiming that it has paid off most of its small-time investors and only a balance of Rs 5,000 crore was left to be paid. Sahara has been denying any wrongdoing and has been insisting that it had offered the money to Sebi and accompanying papers about its investors, but Sebi has been refusing to accept it. It first approached the SAT to direct the market regulator to receive the Rs 5,000 crore and moved the SC after the Tribunal turned it away. A different bench had in a August 31 order asked two Sahara firms to pay the Rs 17,400 crore with interest to Sebi within three months. Sebi moved a contempt application before that bench when Sahara did not pay up, but the bench refused to act on it and directed Sebi to proceed against Sahara and implement the court order.

Global & local cues that will impact Nifty today

The US markets finished modestly lower across the board with the Dow and S&P 500 snapping a three-day winning streak, weighed by a weaker-than-expected manufacturing report, even as there are new details of a counter-offer from house republicans to avert the fiscal cliff. The CBOE VIX closed above 16. The European markets closed off their best levels following weak manufacturing data from US, however news that Spain had formally requested an EU bailout for its banks helped limit losses. Spain formally requested a bailout for its struggling banks to be disbursed on December 12. Asian markets are trading weak. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.30% or 5.83 points at 1,953.93. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.36% or 78.49 points at 21,689.36. Japan's Nikkei was down 0.12% or 11.28 points at 9,446.90. Singapore's Straits Times shed 0.29% or 8.96 points at 3,056.78. South Korea's Seoul Composite fell 0.46% or 8.99 points at 1,931.03. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted was down 0.77% or 58.50 points at 7,541.41. Back home, the Nifty closed 9 points lower to 5,870.

Nifty Impact:Parliament's winter session resumes

Parliament will resume today after no-show last week over the FDI storm. Voting of FDI in retail will take place in both houses this week. Parliamentary affairs minister is confident that all the important bills of the finance ministry will be passed in this session. In its bid to attract more foreign inflows the government has hiked the FII cap debt limit by USD 10 billion. Two new windows of USD 5 billion have been created in government-securities and corporate bonds. The ECB cap remains unchanged. The US markets ended narrowly mixed in lackluster trading on the final day of November, as investors were reluctant to make big bets ahead of the weekend amid ongoing fiscal cliff discussions. For the week, Dow rose 0.12%, S&P 500 rose 0.50% and Nasdaq rallied 1.46%. The CBOE volatility index finished near 16. The European markets ended mixed in choppy trading as German lawmakers approved a plan to ease the conditions on bailout loans to Greece and amid ongoing discussions over the US budget European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said that the eurozone crisis is far from over. Addressing top financial officials in Paris today, Draghi said that eurozone countries must tighten budgets and forge a banking union to leave behind the fairy world that allowed problems to grow. Asian markets were subdued in morning trade today. Meanwhile, China's November official services PMI inched up to 55.6 from 55.5 in October. At 7: 46 am (IST), Asian markets were trading higher. China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.19% or 3.83 points at 1,983.95. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.47% or 104.33 points at 22,134.72. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.80% or 75.16 points at 9,521.17. Singapore's Straits Times rose 0.44% or 13.38 points at 3,083.33. South Korea's Seoul Composite was up 0.36% or 7.04 points at 1,939.94. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted added 0.40% or 30.23 points at 7,610.40. Back home, it was a firm session for our markets on Friday. The Nifty gained 55 points to close at 5,879.

India's July-Sept GDP growth seen at 5.4%

India's economy probably expanded near its slowest pace in three years in the quarter to September, according to a Reuters poll, suggesting little signs of an early turnaround, despite reform steps taken by the government to lure back investors. Gross domestic product rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in the July-September period, slightly lower than the 5.5 percent increase in the previous quarter, and only just above the three-year low of 5.3 percent in the quarter to end-March, the median consensus of 39 consensus showed. Forecasts ranged from 5.0 percent to 6.2 percent. Asia's third-largest economy is growing faster than many other countries, but the pace is way below the 9 percent growth that the government has targeted to provide jobs for a booming young population. Data on factory activity showed slowing global demand hurt exports and falling investments weighed on the manufacturing sector, which has been the biggest drag on overall growth in the quarter to September. The next monetary policy review is due in December.

FDI पर झुकी सरकार, अब चलेगी संसद

मल्टि-ब्रैंड रीटेल में एफडीआई के मुद्दे पर संसद में जारी गतिरोध खत्म हो गया है। सरकार संसद के दोनों सदनों में वोटिंग वाले नियम के तहत चर्चा के लिए तैयार हो गई है। विपक्ष खासकर बीजेपी और लेफ्ट पार्टियों की मांग के मुताबिक, लोकसभा में नियम 184 के तहत और राज्यसभा में नियम 168 के तहत चर्चा की जाएगी। सूत्रों ने बताया कि लोकसभा में इस मुद्दे पर 4 और 5 दिसंबर को चर्चा होगी। राज्यसभा में चर्चा की तारीख अभी तय नहीं हुई है। लोकसभा अध्यक्ष मीरा कुमार ने इस बारे में दिए गए नोटिसों को स्वीकार कर लिया है। राज्यसभा के सभापति हामिद अंसारी ने सर्वदलीय मीटिंग में सदन के भीतर वोटिंग वाले नियम के तहत चर्चा पर सहमति दे दी। राज्यसभा में बहस के बाद मांग के आधार पर वोटिंग होगी। मीरा कुमार के फैसले के तुरंत बाद संसदीय कार्य मंत्री कमलनाथ ने राज्यसभा के सभापति हामिद अंसारी को सरकार के रुख की जानकारी दी। उन्होंने कहा, 'मैंने कहा है कि हमारी पार्टी और सरकार संसद के दोनों सदनों को चलाए जाने के पक्ष में है और किस नियम के तहत चर्चा हो, इस बारे में सभापति का जो भी फैसला हो वह संसद को चलाने की दिशा में होना चाहिए।' एक सवाल के जवाब में कमलनाथ ने कहा, 'अगर सभापति मत विभाजन के बारे में फैसला करते हैं तो हमें वोटिंग के लिए तैयार होना पडेगा।' यूपीए सरकार को बाहर से समर्थन दे रही समाजवादी पार्टी के अंदर इस मुद्दे पर अलग-अलग सुर दिखाई दे रहे हैं। एसपी के नेता और महासचिव रामगोपाल यादव ने कहा एफडीआई पर मतविभाजन की स्थिति में उनकी पार्टी सरकार के खिलाफ वोट करेगी। जब उनसे पूछा गया कि निचले सदन में पार्टी का रुख क्या होगा, तो उन्होंने कहा कि लोकसभा के नेताओं से पूछिए। इस मामले में उत्तर प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री अखिलेश यादव ने कहा कि अभी हमने अपना रुख तय नहीं किया है। उन्होंने कहा कि नेताजी (मुलायम सिंह यादव) तय करेंगे कि पार्टी का रुख क्या होगा। इससे पहले, बृहस्पतिवार सुबह लोकसभा स्पीकर मीरा कुमार ने एफडीआई के मुद्दे पर मत विभाजन के प्रावधान वाले नियम 184 के तहत चर्चा कराने का नोटिस स्वीकार कर लिया। सदन की कार्यवाही शुरू होने पर मीरा कुमार ने कहा, 'मुझे मल्टि-ब्रैंड रीटेल में एफडीआई के मुद्दे पर नियम 184 के तहत चर्चा कराने के संबंध में 30 नोटिस प्राप्त हुए हैं। मैंने इसे स्वीकार कर लिया है।' उन्होंने कहा कि चर्चा की तारीख और समय का फैसला बाद में किया जाएगा। लोकसभा में विपक्ष की नेता सुषमा स्वराज ने अध्यक्ष की व्यवस्था पर धन्यवाद देते हुए कहा, 'सदन की भावना को ध्यान में रखने के लिए मैं आपका आभार व्यक्त करती हूं और आपको विश्वास दिलाती हूं कि अब सदन सुचारू रूप से चलेगा।' गौरतलब है कि एफडीआई के मुद्दे पर हंगामे के कारण 22 नवंबर से शुरू हुए संसद के विंटर सेशन में लगातार चार दिन कोई कामकाज नहीं हो सका। इस मुद्दे पर तृणमूल कांग्रेस ने सरकार के खिलाफ अविश्वास प्रस्ताव पेश करने की कोशिश की लेकिन संख्या बल नहीं होने के कारण यह प्रयास विफल रहा था। गतिरोध समाप्त करने के प्रयास सर्वदलीय बैठक बुलाई गई जो बेनतीजा रही, क्योंकि विपक्ष मतविभाजन के प्रावधान के तहत चर्चा कराने पर अड़ा हुआ था। बहरहाल, यूपीए के घटक दलों की बैठक के बाद संसद में जारी गतिरोध दूर करने का रास्ता निकल सका। मल्टि-ब्रैंड रिटेल में एफडीआई के मुद्दे पर चर्चा शुरू होने से पहले गुरुवार को संसदीय कार्य मंत्री कमल नाथ, गृह मंत्री और सदन के नेता सुशील कुमार शिंदे, लोकसभा में विपक्ष की नेता सुषमा स्वराज ने लोकसभा स्पीकर मीरा कुमार से मुलाकात की। कमल नाथ ने अब संसद की कार्यवाही गुरुवार को सुचारू रूप से चलने की उम्मीद जताई। उन्होंने कहा कि सरकार जब एफडीआई के मुद्दे पर वोटिंग के लिए राजी हो गई है तो कार्यवाही बाधित होने का प्रश्न ही नहीं है। यूपीए की सहयोगी डीएमके हालांकि एफडीआई के विरोध में है लेकिन उसने स्पष्ट कर दिया है मतविभाजन की स्थिति में वह सरकार का साथ देगी। बहुजन समाज पार्टी (बीएसपी) भी इसका विरोध कर रहे है लेकिन मतविभाजन पर उसका स्पष्ट रुख अब तक सामने नहीं आया है। सूत्रों का कहना है कि एसपी और बीएसपी मतविभाजन में भाग न लेकर अप्रत्यक्ष रूप से सरकार का सहयोग कर सकते हैं। सरकार को तृणमूल कांग्रेस के उस फैसले से भी राहत मिली है जिसमें उसने कहा है कि बहस किसी नियम के तहत हो, इसका चर्चा पीठासीन अधिकारी करे। हालांकि सरकार तृणमूल का समर्थन मिलने को लेकर आश्वस्त नहीं है। तृणमूल से जुड़े एक सूत्र ने बताया कि मतविभाजन की स्थिति में तृणमूल भी इससे दूर रह सकती है।

Market watch: Nifty's direction today

The Indian market rallied around 2% on Tuesday. The Sensex gained 305.07 points or 1.65% to close at 18,842.08. The Nifty rose 91.05 points or 1.62% and ended at 5,726.95.

The US markets reversed early losses to finish near session highs following positive comments from President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner on the fiscal cliff issue. The CBOE volatility index ended below 16. GDP for the third quarter is expected to grow 2.8 percent while weekly jobless claims are seen declining to 390,000. Pending Home Sales Index may rise 1 percent for October. European markets pared losses to end flat on optimism that a deal on the US ‘fiscal cliff’ of tax rises and spending cuts could be reached. At 7: 42 am (IST), Asian markets were trading higher. China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.20% or 4.03 points at 1,977.56. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.56% or 121.44 points at 21,830.42. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.57% or 52.89 points at 9,361.24. Singapore's Straits Times added 0.49% or 14.81 points at 3,026.58. South Korea's Seoul Composite was up 0.87% or 16.62 points at 1,929.40. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted advanced 0.85% or 62.97 points at 7,497.90.

HAPPY GURU NANK DEV G BIRTHDAY

'Teri kismat da likha tere toh koi kho nai sakda, Je us di meher hove te tenu o v mil jae jo tera ho nai sakda!' HAPPY GURPURAB

Global & local cues that will impact Nifty today

It was a quiet day for the Indian market on Monday. The Sensex closed up 30.44 points or 0.16% at 18,537.01. The Nifty ended up 4.30 points or 0.08% at 5,630.90. The Euro zone reached a political deal on the disbursement of Greece. Euro zone finance ministers agreed to lower interest rates on bilateral loans by 100 bps, and deferred interest payments on EFSF loans by 10 years. According to Jean Claude Juncker, that will bring Greece's dent to more sustainable path. The country will get 34.4 billion euros for bank recap in December. Greece will reach debt-to-GDP ratio of 124% in 2020. European markets ended a five-day winning streak as a slump in Barclays after a shareholder sold warrants in the company resulted in it leading both financial stocks and the broader market lower. The US markets eased off their lows to close mixed. But gains were limited as there are concerns over the fiscal cliff. CBOE Volatility Index ended above 15. At 7: 35 am (IST), Asian markets were trading higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.36% or 79.56 points at 21,941.37. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.50% or 47.09 points at 9,436.03. Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.20% or 6.12 points at 3,010.62. South Korea's Seoul Composite gained 1.11% or 21.18 points at 1,929.69. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted added 0.37% or 27.22 points at 7,434.59. China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.41% or 8.34 points at 2,009.12.

Market watch: Cues that will set Nifty's trend

The Indian market closed flat on Friday after recouping losses in late trade. The Nifty fell just 1.15 points to close at 5,626.60. The Sensex declined 10.77 points to end at 18,506.57. However, the week was positive as the benchmark indices gained 1 percent. The US markets closed more than 1 percent higher in a holiday-shortened session, led by strength in big-cap tech stocks. Volume was thin following the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Major indices had their best week in over five months. For the week, the Dow rose 3.3 percent, the S&P climbed 3.6 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 4 percent. The CBOE volatility index fell to near 15. European markets had their best week so far this year, led by strong German business confidence data and growing expectations Greece will receive more aid. A big task lies ahead for the Euro zone finance ministers as they meet in Brussels today and try to make a deal for Greece. So far their track record has not been great. EU finance ministers will meet in Brussels to discuss a deal for Greece with talks over aid to Athens breaking down last week. On Friday, EU leaders failed to reach and agreement on their budget for the next seven years. So, question now is can the Troika bridge their differences and release the next tranche of cash for Greece today or will it end is tears again. France's finance minister says yes they can do it, but sticking points do remain key among a potential write down of Greece's sovereign debt which the IMF has maintained is vital for Athens to move forward. At 7: 41 am (IST), Asian markets were trading mixed. China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.32% or 6.44 points at 2,020.95. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat at 21,895.04. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.61% or 57.60 points at 9,424.30. Singapore's Straits Times rose 0.44% or 13.12 points at 3,002.40. South Korea's Seoul Composite was down 0.27% or 5.07 points at 1,906.26. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted added 0.74% or 54.04 points at 7,380.05.

एनटीपीसी के 9.5% विनिवेश को मंजूरी

कैबिनेट ने एनटीपीसी में 9.5 फीसदी हिस्सेदारी बेचने को मंजूरी दे दी है। एनटीपीसी का विनिवेश भी ऑफर फॉर सेल यानी ओएफएस के जरिए किया जाएगा। इसमें एनटीपीसी के 78 करोड़ 30 लाख शेयरों की नीलामी की जाएगी। विनिवेश के बाद एनटीपीसी में सरकार की 75 फीसदी हिस्सेदारी रह जाएगी। सरकार को उम्मीद है कि इस विनिवेश से 13,168 करोड़ रुपये जुटाए जा सकते हैं। एनटीपीसी के लिए एक और अच्छी खबर है। कंपनी से छीने गए तीनों कोयला ब्लॉक वापस लौटा दिए जाएंगे। साथ ही एनटीपीसी को अतिरिक्त कोयला ब्लॉक भी दिए जाएंगे। अतिरिक्त कोयला ब्लॉक से एनटीपीसी की उत्पादन क्षमता में 8500 मेगावाट की बढ़त की उम्मीद है।

Govt to launch direct cash subsidy transfer from Jan 1

Government will launch the payout of direct cash subsidy to people through the Aadhaar based system in 51 districts of the country from January 1, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today. He said the government intends to complete roll out of the direct cash transfer through the Aadhaar system in the entire country by the end of 2013. This will, among other things, facilitate the pay out of direct cash subsidies to the targeted beneficiaries. "We want the roll out (of Aadhaar-based subsidy transfer) to be completed by the end of 2013," he said at the Bancon conference here. The Finance Minister noted that the government spends "thousands and thousands of crores of rupees" on pension and various subsidies. "We are going to launch the ambitious programme of payout of direct cash subsidy to people through the Aadhaar system in 51 districts across 15 states", he said. Chidambaram said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will take a meeting of the cash transfer committee on Monday in the run up to the implementation of the scheme from the beginning of next year. Stating that the economy is in a slowdown mode, he said the economic growth is expected to be 5.5 per cent in the second quarter. "For us 8 per cent growth is not an aspiration. We must aspire for over 8 per cent growth", he said.