Budget 2018-19

  Global food prices were up 33% in August from a year earlier with vegetable oil, grains and meat on the rise, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization show Whether for bread, rice or tortillas, governments across the world know that rising food costs can come with a political price. The dilemma is whether they can do enough to prevent having to pay it. Global food prices were up 33% in August from a year earlier with vegetable oil, grains and meat on the rise, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization show. And it’s not likely to get better as extreme weather, soaring freight and fertilizer costs, shipping bottlenecks and labor shortages compound the problem. Dwindling foreign currency reserves are also hampering the ability of some nations to import food. From Europe to Turkey and India, politicians are now handing out more aid, ordering sellers to cut prices and tinkering with trade rules to mitigate the impact on consumers. The issue ...

  Includes credit guarantee schemes, steps to revive tourism, strengthen health infra Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced the much-awaited fiscal package to revive the economy ravaged by the second pandemic wave, keeping the fiscal outgo limited for the current year. The Rs 6.28-trillion package included a new credit guarantee scheme for health, tourism and micro borrowers, besides expanding the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by half to Rs 4.5 trillion and extending the  Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana . “Measures announced by the FM will enhance public health facilities, especially in under-served areas, boost private investment in medical infrastructure and augment critical human resources. Special focus is on strengthening healthcare facilities for our children,” Prime Minister  Narendra Modi  tweeted. The new announcements include extending credit guarantees of Rs 2.6 trillion and schemes worth Rs 2.4 trillion, spread o...

  Sitharaman last week said the government would not go for lockdowns in a big way and only resort to local containment Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said she has taken inputs from various industry chambers on concerns of India Inc with regard to the management of COVID pandemic and the centre would continue to work with state governments to save lives and livelihood. She sought feedback from businesses to deal with the impact of the second COVID-19 wave on the country”s economy. It is to be noted that the economy contracted by a whopping 23.9 per cent in the first quarter (April-June) of the previous financial year due to the outbreak of the  COVID-19  pandemic. “Spoke on telephone with each of the following business/Chamber leaders. Took their inputs on industry/Association related matters. Informed them that GoI at various levels from @PMOIndia is responding to #Covid management. Working together with states for lives and livelihoods,” she said in a twe...

  Unemployment touched 8.6% for the week ending April 11, from 6.7% two weeks ago, showed data by CMIE. A fresh round of provincial lockdowns to curb the record rise in virus infections is leading to job losses in India, according to the latest employment data by a private research firm. Unemployment  touched 8.6% for the week ending April 11, from 6.7% two weeks ago, showed the data by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd. The hit is more severe in urban areas where it’s nearing 10% as local media shows images of workers fleeing cities fearing harsher curbs like last year. Asia’s third-largest economy is potentially on track to regain the second spot from Brazil after adding a record 168,912 cases in a day, taking the tally to 13.53 million cases. It is facing an escalating health crisis with the second wave overwhelming hospitals and forcing states to restrict activities. While wealthiest Maharashtra, the worst hit by the virus, is contemplating more curbs after ann...

  A new voluntary vehicle scrapping policy, to phase out old and unfit vehicles, is to be announced, to encourage fuel-efficient, environment-friendly vehicles New impetus for the manufacturing sector Production-linked incentive schemes to create manufacturing global champions have been announced for 13 sectors. Rs 1.97 trillion over a five-year period starting FY22 has been allocated for these sectors, to enable manufacturers to develop scale and become an integral part of global supply chains. A voluntary vehicle scrapping policy soon A new voluntary vehicle scrapping policy, to phase out old and unfit vehicles, is to be announced, to encourage fuel-efficient, environment-friendly vehicles. Vehicles will undergo fitness tests in automated fitness centres after 20 years in the case of personal vehicles, and after 15 years in the case of commercial vehicles. New development finance institution to be created A new development finance institution (DFI) is to be created to provide lon...

  The country of 1.3 billion people, only 20 per cent of whom know how to use the internet, had to suspend field surveys during the lockdown, which led to gaps in reporting monthly retail inflation numb India is turning from man to machines to improve the quality and speed of its economic data, which has been criticized as inadequate, delayed or even confusing due to sharp and unexpected revisions. The Ministry of Statistics is ramping up use of  artificial intelligence  for collecting, analyzing and reporting data to better monitor the economy. The measures include a $60 million program with World Bank help using an information portal that collates real-time data. “Because of the changing landscape, there’s a growing need for more and more data, faster data and also more refined data products,” Statistics Secretary Kshatrapati Shivaji said in an interview. With end-to-end computerization, “this type of automation will enhance the quality, credibility and timeliness of da...

  Expects economy to grow 11.5% next year, which could slightly correct govt’s fiscal mathematics The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pegged contraction in India’s economy at eight per cent in the current financial year, higher than 7.7 per cent projected by the official advance estimates. However, it expected the growth to rise to 11.5 per cent in the next financial year before slowing down to 6.8 per cent, helping the economy regain its tag of the fastest growing large economy in the world in both the years. ALSO READ:  Mahindra, Reliance commit to WEF’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics In the World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, IMF said the second quarter GDP numbers for India surprised it on the upside. India’s economy declined by 7.5 per cent in the quarter, while most experts had expected it to be in the double digits. The Fund was also surprised on the upside by the growth numbers for Australia, Euro Area, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Turkey and the Unit...

  Companies plan to hire more, expect staff to return to offices in new year With a tumultuous year behind them, chief executive officers (CEOs) in India are eyeing the 2021 Budget to help kick-start the next wave of the investment cycle, which was hit by the pandemic. Backed by several steps taken by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) including the debt moratorium scheme, the CEOs are expecting the economy to show growth next fiscal year if India succeeds in its vaccination drive. A survey of 33 CEOs across India in December shows that almost 73 per cent of the respondents plan to invest more in the new year even because they expect their employees to return to work as the country rolls out vaccination in January. The Budget will be the key as CEOs are expecting the government to dole out more incentives. “The government was prompt in listening to industry after the outbreak of the pandemic, and its multi-billion-dollar economic package will be helpful in long-term...

  Curbs imposed by the finance ministry on more than 80 government departments and ministries earlier in the year to preserve cash were relaxed this quarter India is set to swing from being a cautious spender in 2020 to opening the fiscal floodgates as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to pull Asia’s third-biggest economy bank from the worst of the pandemic. Curbs imposed by the finance ministry on more than 80 government departments and ministries earlier in the year to preserve cash were relaxed this quarter. In addition, this year’s budget will be increased from its current 30 trillion rupees ($407 billion) when new spending plans are announced Feb. 1, according to people familiar with discussions, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public and subject to change. The developments will give a boost to much-needed spending to help weather the hit from the coronavirus pandemic. Government expenditures have barely hit the half way mark seven months into the fisc...

  The new figures firmly ensconced India’s position among the world’s worst-performing major economies, despite expansive government spending designed to rescue the thousands of small businesses China has come roaring back from the devastation of Covid-19, and the United States, Europe and Japan are finding their feet. But the hundreds of millions of laborers and shopkeepers who keep India’s economy running still can’t find relief. India’s economy  shrank 7.5 percent in the three months that ended in September compared with a year earlier, government figures showed on Friday. The data reflects the deepening of India’s severest recession since at least 1996, when the country first began publishing its gross domestic product numbers. The new figures firmly ensconced India’s position among the world’s worst-performing major economies, despite expansive government spending designed to rescue the thousands of small businesses severely battered by its long, hastily imposed lockdown....

This stimulus comprises production-linked incentives approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday for as many as 10 sectors Economy News:  Ahead of Diwali, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday rolled out 12 measures as the Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 stimulus package to boost the economy. She announced a package worth Rs 1.2 trillion. If Wednesday’s production -linked incentive package is added, the stimulus comes to Rs 2.65 trillion. Some measures include a credit guarantee support scheme for medium and small businesses across 26 stressed sectors with a specific call-out for the health care sector; employment generation in both formal and informal segments; tax relief for real estate developers and home buyers; ease of doing business by relaxing criteria of locking up capital in infrastructure contracts; and fertiliser subsidy to farmers. This stimulus comprises production-linked incentives approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday for as many as 10 sectors, which will be operation...

  20 top funds, India Inc brass to attend roundtable Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a virtual global investor roundtable on Thursday where he will engage and deliberate with top fund houses, business leaders, and policymakers on how to accelerate the growth of international investments in the country. At least 20 of the world’s largest pension and sovereign wealth funds with total assets under management of about $6 trillion will participate in the roundtable. “These global institutional investors represent key regions, including the US, Europe, Canada, Korea, Japan, the Middle East, Australia, and Singapore. They will be joined by key decision-makers of these funds,” an official statement by the Prime Minister’s Office said. It will also see participation from several Indian business leaders, including Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata group Chairman Emeritus Ratan N Tata, Kotak Mahindra Bank Managing Director Uday Kotak, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, Sun Ph...

  PM Modi spoke on a range of issues and called the latest labour reforms as very pro-worker Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday assured that everyone will be vaccinated and no one will be left behind. The statements came in an interview with The Economic Times, days after the BJP promised free vaccination in its poll manifesto in Bihar. “First and foremost, I would like to assure the nation that, as and when a vaccine becomes available, everyone will be vaccinated. None will be left behind, Modi said. Talking about the economy he said that India is on its way to economic recovery as farmers have broken all records of production along with record-high FDI inflows followed by auto and tractor sales that are either reaching or surpassing previous year levels. “We will take all measures needed to constantly stimulate the economy in a timely manner while ensuring overall macro-economic stability,” Modi said adding “we are still not over with the pandemic. Yet, our economy has shown ...

  Apart from helping the overall electronics ecosystem in the country, this move will turn Apple’s fortunes in India, according to analysts The Centre on Tuesday approved 16 proposals from marquee brands, including makers of Apple devices, under two new flagship schemes, in a move expected to fetch Rs 11,000-crore additional investments in local electronics manufacturing. In turn, this would imply production worth Rs 10.5 trillion over the next five years, giving a fillip to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India and Atma Nirbhar Bharat schemes. A statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said that of the total, Rs 6.5 trillion worth of electronic goods will be exported by 2025 under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) plan. As part of the newly introduced PLI scheme, five applications have been approved from international electronics manufacturing majors Foxconn, Wistron, Pegatron (all three makers of Apple products besides other brands), S...

  FM Sitharaman said the government has turned the crisis into an opportunity as directed by the prime minister and has brought in several systemic reforms Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the economic recovery in the second quarter has been “patchy” so far and it is difficult to say with any degree of certainty whether the upswing would hold going forward. Dismissing criticism that the government is unwilling to provide fiscal support to revive demand and consumer spending, Sitharaman said the government has an open mind on the issue and a decision on when to spend and how much to spend will be taken at the appropriate time. In an interview to Business Standard, the minister said the intensity of the problem is unique and the government has been engaging with all stakeholders. However, at this point, no firm assessment has been made on the additional fiscal support. Sitharaman said the government has turned the crisis into an opportunity as directed by the prime m...

  Five of the eight high-frequency indicators compiled by Bloomberg News gained last month, while two were unchanged and one deteriorated India’s economy showed signs of stabilizing in August with manufacturing and services gradually improving even as coronavirus cases escalated across the country. Five of the eight high-frequency indicators compiled by Bloomberg News gained last month, while two were unchanged and one deteriorated. That kept the needle on a dial measuring so-called animal spirits steady at 4 — a level arrived at by using the three-month weighted average to smooth out volatility in the single-month readings. A strong rebound is still a far way off though as a surge in virus cases continues to disrupt activity and has led many economists to downgrade their growth forecasts for the year. Business Activity Activity in India’s dominant services sector continued to pick up, with the main index rising to 41.8 in August from 34.2 in July. While that’s a marked improvement...