The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council on Wednesday favoured more income tax sops as also a revision in indirect tax rates on consumer durables in Budget 2008-09 to fire up the economy.
Although the WPI-based inflation has been in the negative for two consecutive weeks, the Consumer Price Index, which measures movement in the prices that consumers pay, reported double-digit increase in May.
In 2007-08, the farm sector growth stood at 4.5 per cent, while it was 3.8 per cent and 5.9 per cent in 2006-07 and 2005-06, respectively. The report, which was released on Wednesday by outgoing council Chairman C Rangarajan, said the lower growth projection is in part due to the base effect of very high growth in 2007-08 and the weak South-West monsoon over peninsular, central and western India in July.
Earlier in the day, the ministry of external affairs "strongly advised" Indians to avoid travel to Iran until further notice, amid rising tensions and protests in the Islamic Republic.
The council wants the government to stick to its fiscal consolidation road map.
On an average, PMEAC said economic growth could be around 6.5 per cent.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
The Prime Minister's EAC is expected to give its outlook on economy for the current fiscal in a week's time.
Ranade was earlier removed from the position on September 14 by the then chancellor Bibek Debroy, after a fact-finding committee concluded that his appointment as the GIPE's VC did not conform to the UGC regulations on minimum qualifications for the appointment of teachers and other academic staff.
Debroy is expected to have a role and responsibility similar to the erstwhile chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council
The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council will on Wednesday release the outlook for the Indian economy for the current fiscal and is likely to scale down growth projection from earlier 8.5 per cent to 7.5-8 per cent.
The government on Tuesday appointed three external members -- Ram Singh, Saugata Bhattacharya and Nagesh Kumar -- to the RBI's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee for four years. The central government has reconstituted the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of RBI, the finance ministry said in a statement. Ram Singh is the director of the Delhi School of Economics, Saugata Bhattacharya is an economist, and Nagesh Kumar is the director and Chief Executive, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, New Delhi.
'Our problem is not a budget deficit but a trust deficit. We need to trust our institutions and industries to innovate and lead. That is the way forward for India.'
Taxing capital less may not lead to more investments but taxing more will drive capital away, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Friday said during a discussion on Inequality, Economic Growth and Inclusion. While it is easy to drive capital out, bringing it back is a lot harder, said Nageswaran.
CRR stand at 5.5 per cent after a 50 basis points cut in January.
Projecting acceleration in India's GDP growth to 9% for FY 2011-012, Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister seeks measure to address serious supply bottlenecks.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be briefed on the state of the economy and the growth outlook by his economic advisory council on Friday.
The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, headed by former Reserve Bank Governor C Rangarajan, had said that it was unlikely that the GDP growth rate would be lower than 6.25 per cent for the current fiscal; buy might reach 6.75 per cent despite the adverse impact of monsoon on farm sector output.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said he was confident that the economy will grow close to 8 per cent this fiscal, although the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council saw gross domestic product expansion slowing to 7.7 per cent.
Owing to uncertainties on higher inflation and muted growth in the United States (US), coupled with concerns around America's rising debt and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, the world's largest economy has become the epicentre of an unabated record rally in prices of precious metals.
Experts warn that air pollution in India is a major public health crisis, leading to a surge in undiagnosed airway diseases and cardiovascular issues. They urge for urgent action, early detection, and treatment.
The GDP growth for 2013-14 has been lowered to 5.3%, from 6.4% in April.
The government on Friday appointed Suman K Bery as the vice chairman of Niti Aayog, following the sudden resignation of Rajiv Kumar.
T Nanda Kumar, former food and agriculture secretary, shared his memories of working with former prime minister Manmohan Singh during some of India's most challenging times, highlighting Singh's compassionate leadership and commitment to ensuring food security for all Indians. Kumar recalled Singh's steadfast support during the 2008 global food crisis, where he championed a ban on non-basmati rice exports to secure domestic supplies. Singh's leadership, characterized by intellect and humility, left a lasting impression on Kumar, who considered him a mentor and guiding light.
With inflation still ruling above the 9 per cent mark, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Committee (PMEAC) on Wednesday suggested that the Reserve Bank should continue to focus on controlling the rising prices.
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed concern over information regarding USAID funding in India, calling it "concerning" and hinting at potential "bad faith" activities. Jaishankar asserted that India is looking into the matter and that the country should know who is involved in such activities. He also emphasized the need to expand India's security definition in the digital age, highlighting the influence of technology and narratives on public perception. The statements come amid controversy surrounding USAID funding for certain activities in India, with the US President Donald Trump questioning the agency's funding of voter turnout efforts.
The Reserve Bank should focus on making liquidity easier rather than cutting rates if the intent is to drive growth, Axis Bank's chief economist Neelkanth Mishra said on Tuesday. Mishra, who is also a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM, said the rate cut announced earlier this month or even the subsequent ones if they were to come will not end up increasing borrowings as the scarce liquidity will hamper transmission.
The outbound FDI is also expected to increase, resulting in net FDI inflow of $24 billion.
The chief adviser's decision to stay in office came two days after he told student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders that he was mulling resignation as he felt "the situation is such that he cannot work", citing difficulties in working amid the failure of political parties to find common ground for change.
Raise the price of diesel and restrict supply of subsidised LPG cylinder in a year to four per family, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Panel suggested on Friday.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of senior ministers on Tuesday to discuss the recommendations of the National Advisory Council on the Food Security Bill.
Government's cheap food distribution covers 68 per cent of the population.
Earlier the council's outlook was 7-7.5 per cent for the year. Even the revised forecast is yet quite optimistic compared to other agencies.
The report added that the rapid adjustments in the monetary and fiscal policies were well calibrated and not excessive, enabling the government to contemplate a return to fiscal consolidation in 2010-11 and an early normalisation of the monetary policy stance.
Chief Minister MK Stalin has shown that he is cut from a different cloth when it comes to embracing what is current, modern and absolutely necessary. Thus, even while retaining the spirit and content of the pan-Tamil, Dravidian socio-political and socio-economic ideology to the 't', his government has also acknowledged the need to accepting scientifically-proven facts in operational matters, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister's economic advisory panel chief C Rangarajan has described the dip in factory output in September as 'disappointing' and said industry may grow by just 6 per cent in the current fiscal, as against the earlier projection of 7 per cent.
'The focus of the legislation will be to minimise user harm and increase the accountability of platforms, while also promoting innovation.'
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (SAD), which led protests against Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has launched itself as a political party called the National Citizen Party (NCP). The new party, which aims to 'dismantle constitutional autocracy' and establish a 'second republic,' has pledged to create a 'solely Bangladesh-oriented' political system, with no room for 'pro-India and pro-Pakistan politics.' The NCP's inaugural rally was attended by representatives of various political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and envoys from the Vatican and Pakistan.
Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (PMEAC) Chakravarthi Rangarajan has resigned following the defeat of the Congress-led UPA in the general elections.
Subramanian's paper comes at a time when concerns have been raised in various quarters about the official economic growth numbers. The Economic Advisory Council-PM said the Base Year of India's income calculations were shifted to 2011-12 on the basis of recommendations of several committees with experts in national income accounting.
