'More a show that you are doing something in the Budget even if that something never actually comes to pass,' notes Nitin Desai.
The trio, 'twin shocks' of demonetisation and GST, 'twin balance sheet' problem that has been weakening India's banking system and the 'twin deficit' problem will continue to challenge economic management and performance in the year ahead, says Shankar Acharya.
Expressing serious concerns over the current account deficit touching a record 4.8 per cent in 2012-13, India Inc on Thursday asked the government to take all policy measures, including boosting exports and foreign exchange inflows to bring down CAD.
In the context of RBI's view that the real interest rate, defined as the repo rate less "look forward" CPI, should be around 150-200 basis points.
'I have been advising investors since the last couple of months to at least take their capital out.' 'Most of the people have made 50-60 per cent in the market, if not more, they must at least take their capital out.'
CPI-based inflation on a (year-on-year) basis has come down from 8.59 per cent in April 2014 to 7.80 per cent in August 2014.
Fitch had last upgraded India's sovereign rating from BB+ to BBB- with a stable outlook on August 1, 2006.
Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said the government's target of reducing the current account deficit (CAD) to $70 billion or 3.7 per cent of the GDP in 2013-14 is "imminently reachable".
India will have to devise policies to ensure overall growth in FY16.
FM should avoid proposals such as to tax financial transactions and fringe benefits
IMF believes it is mostly cyclical, not structural, but because of the financial sector issues, recovery will be not be quick. IMF said, it saw an opportunity with the strong mandate of the new government to reinvigorate the reform agenda to boost inclusive and sustainable growth.
In IT, the two-way flow of investments and intellect has been central to the growing linkage, which provides a great opportunity for both nations to improve the quality of life of their citizens, says Raman Roy.
Petrol price was on Friday cut by Rs 2.42 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.25 a litre after an excise duty hike limited the benefit of global crude prices slumping to six-year low.
Sources said much has been done to ease the tax burden of the middle classes in the last five years, and that such a measure affects only a limited segment of people when the focus should be to put money in rural areas. Archis Mohan reports.
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The Reserve Bank is scheduled to unveil its first quarter review of the monetary policy on July 30.
Business houses expect rate cut in next RBI policy.
India's manufacturing sector activity contracted for the second consecutive month in September as both output and new orders witnessed a decline, an HSBC survey said.
Nearly 20 lakh jobs will be up for grabs for those having skill such as IoT, mobility solutions, telecom infrastructure, network architectures, sales among others.
The fall in international oil prices had resulted in six consecutive reduction in petrol prices since August and two in diesel in the last one month and there was possibility of another round of cuts this weekend.
The repo rate has been unchanged since January, when the RBI increased it by a quarter percentage point.
There are tell-tale signs of a slide in the quality of Budgets presented by the current administration, says Parthasarathi Shome.
The use of RBI capital to strengthen public sector banks will have many positive implications for the economy -- and a few manageable downsides, points out R Jagannathan.
Thomas Isaac has been in and out of the national news in his role as Kerala's finance minister since 2018 for various path-breaking tax initiatives. But it is 2020 that he has become more prominent, principally in the GST council.
Coal India would open 60 new mines soon, the minister said.
The Budget would preserve macro-economic stability.
Growth in India is expected to remain strong and stable in 2015
The decline in inflation was broad-based across major commodity groups except housing and fuel and light.
'Tax cuts will have only marginal effects in the short run and significant positive effects in the medium term,' says Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
Credible fiscal consolidation has been a consistent pre-condition to easing the monetary policy stance as far as the RBI is concerned.
'The Chinese made their point repeatedly after August 5. They backed Pakistan more overtly than in the past.' 'Kashmir is not completely off their radar. But in order to keep the atmosphere surrounding the Chennai meeting, they did not discuss Kashmir.'
The government on Monday slashed import tariff value on gold and silver to $408 per 10 grams and $617 per kg respectively, in view of weakness in bullion prices globally.
The increases, which follow similar hikes in mid-November, seek to take advantage of a slump in world oil prices to shore up government revenues without stoking inflation.
In Singapore, gold prices have risen by 0.46 per cent to $ 1,294.20 from $ 1,288 per ounce in last one fortnight.
It won't be an easy ride for the markets, reckon experts, considering the multiple state elections in 2018 and general elections next year.
Any revision in gold import duty is unlikely to take place before the Budget, says finance ministry official.
She said 30 basis points (0.30 per cent) rate cut has already happened.
As a percentage of the aggregate Budget expenditure, it is 12 per cent.
Government's objective is to bring down the cost of cultivation through efficient use of fertilisers and agro chemicals, and increase in realisation. It is, thus, planning to connect 200 agricultural mandis with electronic National Agricultural Mandis this year and 225 next year, to enable farmers to sell their produce hassle-free online.
Reducing policy rates is not enough. The key is to ensure banks lend to credit-constrained borrowers.
