The sheer speed of the decline could help revive demand and clean up the market quickly.
Terrorism and recession could do little or nothing to stop Indians from travelling. Here are the places that were most popular on the tourists' maps this year.
The gross domestic product growth rate during April-June 2009 at 6.1 per cent was higher than 5.8 per cent in the previous quarter, though it witnessed a decline when compared to 7.8 per cent economic expansion recorded during the corresponding period of the last fiscal. The government and Reserve Bank of India have been maintaining that the Indian economy will grow by six per cent growth with upward bias.
By the way, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said while the banking and financial systems will need to stabilise first, at the moment he is seeing "green shoots". About time, considering all the fertiliser scattered around.
The rating agency expects that key fiscal indicators of state governments -- revenue deficit and gross fiscal deficit - may deteriorate from 2009 though the impact will begin to be felt in the current fiscal. It further said that the adverse effect of lower revenue growth will be aggravated due to higher development and non-development expenditures.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) has said the current global economic crisis is turning into a human calamity as it has hit millions of poor people across the world.
The move comes almost a decade after lenders were seen encouraging customers to use alternate channels such as automated teller machines, phone banking and internet banking instead of branches in an attempt to cut costs. ICICI has started an initiative 'Just step in' aimed at establishing direct connection with the customers. A customer walking into an ICICI branches is now being greeted by placards and badges which says 'just ask'.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will preside over a full Planning Commission meeting on September 1 for the mid-term appraisal of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period (2007-12).
The 62-year-old Fuld, who run Lehman for nearly 15 years, is considering to launch a firm to advise small companies on financial and strategic issues. British daily the Financial Times has reported that Fuld plans a comeback and has told friends that he might launch a small advisory firm to harness his contacts in US companies.
'As for tricky relations with China, India needs less of summitry type event management and more anticipatory analysis and management of events,' says Ambassador Jaimini Bhagwati.
The global meltdown, coupled with economic recession and the terror incidents, has hit the tourism industry adversely. While there is a fall of foreign tourist arrival, hotel bookings are also witnessing many cancellations. Besides rationalisation of luxury tax, ministry has also sought seamless movement of vehicles meant for tourists.
Construction of India's Formula One track would not be affected by the global financial meltdown and it would be ready for its inaugural race in 2011, according to the head of the construction company building it.
The company has told its employees that there won't be wage hikes for the financial year ending July 31, 2009, due to tight demand in the US and Europe, declining volumes and the need to further tighten expenses across business divisions. In a harsher step, the company has slashed retainer bonus, which averages 10 per cent of an employee's salary, from April 1. Travel allowance has been sharply reduced, if not curbed, in most cases.
Sanjay Nayar is said to be joining Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co as its CEO and Country Head in the country.
In a statement before leaving for London to participate in the meeting of world leaders to discuss the economic meltdown, Singh also focussed on the need to ensure adequate flows of finances to the developing countries to overcome the reversal of international capital flows.
Calling upon the automobile manufacturers, realty firms and airlines to reduce prices, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday promised to consider excise duty cut for the sectors which are facing the heat of global financial meltdown.
RBI had made available a potential liquidity of Rs 5.60 lakh crore (Rs 5.6 trillion), nearly 9 per cent of gross domestic product, to help the country tide over the liquidity crisis following the global financial meltdown triggered by the collapse of America's iconic investment banker Lehman Brothers in mid-September.
Warning that the financial meltdown has exploded into a systemic crisis, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday asked world leaders to work on a coordinated fiscal package to tackle recession that is hitting India and other developing countries.
Power is one of the six major sectors contributing to the country's infrastructure in addition to cement, steel, coal, crude oil and petroleum products. The growth of these sectors account for more than a quarter in the IIP.
The monsoon rains may have failed and crop output may be lower but, after a small blip, the rural markets are back on track.
Issues raised by the industry, like rationalisation of the eight per cent central excise on jet fuel, still remain to be addressed. As a result of the government abolishing five per cent customs duty on aviation turbine fuel from Tuesday, state-run oil firms have cut jet fuel prices by Rs 2,100 per kilo litre, on top of the 17 per cent price reduction announced late last week.
Grappling with falling sales and a dropping bottom line, companies have had no alternate but to put cost-cutting measures in place. Infosys, for example, has cut variable pay, made appraisals more stringent and asked employees to make a one time saving of $10.
Imports of rough diamonds at $7,249.39 (Rs 32,839.73 crore) million in April 08 - February 09 have shown a decline of dollar term 20.12 per cent (11.31 per cent in rupee term) compared with $9,075.36 million (Rs 37,027.47 crore) in the same period last year. The marginal growth in exports of cut and polished diamonds in the year 2008-09 from the corresponding period of last year is due to increase in the trading activities of cut and polished diamonds.
The end game that the West is seeking in Pakistan and the region is different from the one that India seeks, despite certain congruence in their objectives. India will have to think more clearly about its strategic objectives vis-a-vis Pakistan and how best to achieve them. The barbarians are at India's gates, there is no time to lose.
Some modern-day officials and policy makers continue to behave like religious militants of medieval times, chanting those same mantras markets on their own will take care of everything.
Asian sports bosses remain confident they can ride out the global financial crisis despite conceding the region is not immune and they will have to start tightening their belts. Leading officials from soccer, cricket, golf, rugby and the Olympics are already bracing themselves for the possible flow-on effects of the global financial meltdown.
The increase in MAT from 10% to 15% is expected to increase the tax liability of the companies and thereby decrease their net profit figures.
Cinderella and the Global Financial Meltdown is not the sort of story you want to tell your children at bedtime.
Subbarao said he would be "ok" if a sovereign bond issue in foreign currency is done once just to test the waters, but cautioned against using the instrument regularly.
Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry has said that he would soon be introducing a legislation in the US Congress to triple the non-military aid to Pakistan to avert an economic meltdown.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday expressed confidence that India would emerge the least affected country of the world from the current global economic meltdown.
The Rupee on Thursday breached the 49-mark against the US dollar and fell by 52 paise in early trade following increased capital outflow by foreign funds due to melting stock markets.
The fact is evident from the conspicuous absence of advertisments on attractive offers by property developers in the print media here, which is relatively high during the current festive season. Developers Prakramsinh Jadeja and Pravin Patel admit to having fewer number of queries for buying as well as selling of both residential as well as commercial properties.
An effective settlements system has helped Indian stock markets face the challenges posed by the global financial meltdown, the Sebi chairman said on Wednesday.
New book goes deep into Buffett's heart and soul and finds value in both places
Issue tied in with review of foreign bank operations in India. RBI had earlier proposed to defer the review, which is meant to provide guidelines for the presence of foreign banks in India from April 2009 onwards, given the current economic meltdown globally and in the domestic markets.
The global economy on the other hand is slowly showing signs of recovery with many of the advanced nations, including Germany, Japan and France, climbing out of recession.
The Chinese economy expanded at a rapid rate of 8.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2009 as compared to the year-ago period, mainly boosted by increased infrastructure investment and stimulus measures.
With the festival of lights just around the corner, things this year are looking brighter and sweeter for the software majors compared to one that went by, when they were struggling to grapple with the effects of the global meltdown.
"We have zero cancellation from India. We have been working carefully. We sold $25 billion worth of aircraft in the last three years. Hundred more are to be delivered in the next five years which is valued at $17 bn," said Dinesh Keskar, the newly appointed president of Boeing India. Boeing's major buyers in India, Air India, Spice Jet and Jet Airlines have not made any cancellation, Keskar said.
