American brokerage firm Morgan Stanley on Thursday sharply cut its India FY23 real GDP growth estimate to 7.9 per cent, mainly due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on oil prices. Analysts at the brokerage also raised their inflation forecast to 6 per cent - the upper end of the tolerance band for the RBI - and flagged stagflation risks because of the ongoing events. "We believe that the ongoing geopolitical tensions exacerbate external risks and impart a stagflationary impulse to the economy," they said. It can be noted that stagflation involves a stagnancy in output or growth, coupled with high inflation.
The main factor boosting production was a sustained rise in new work inflows.
The employment situation remains dire. Whatever can be done to promote greater low-skill employment should be pursued aggressively, advises former chief economic adviser Shankar Acharya.
In May, Satpal Singh, who runs a dairy business with three buffaloes in Jewar, near Noida, was worried about the steep spike in input costs. Singh said dry fodder rates, which cost Rs 1,500-2000 per tractor trolley last year, were quoting at Rs 4,500-5,000. The price of other cattle feed ingredients (that include mustard meal and similar mixes) had also gone up from Rs 2,000 per quintal to Rs 3,100-3,200 per quintal.
In an address to the air warriors on the occasion of the 89th Air Force Day, the Chief of Air Staff also said that the IAF must demonstrate to the nation that external forces will not be allowed to violate its territory.
Indian companies continue to update benefit plans and and increase employee communication.
Both are finding it difficult to sell one each of their plants -- Chennai Maraimalai Nagar (Ford) and Talegaon near Pune (GM) -- and are finding the road blocked by employee severance snarl-ups, report Sohini Das and Shine Jacob.
This is the 22nd consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI has remained above the 50-point mark.
'Earlier-than-expected tapering from the US, followed by rate hikes, and locally, a potential third wave, which mimics the second wave in terms of severity.'
The preliminary processing of tax returns is already undertaken with the help of technology. There is now greater scope of using more technology to reduce the human interface even further, notes A K Bhattacharya.
'By November 2020, men recovered most of their lost jobs, but women were less fortunate: 49 per cent of the job losses by November were of women.' 'The recovery has benefited all, but it benefited women less than it did men,' notes Mahesh Vyas.
Nariman Point was ranked 30th on the top 50 rankings for global prime office properties.
Business activity contracted in Q2 FY20, the first contraction since 2013-14 and the second since the 2008 global financial crisis, report, Abhishek Waghmare and Anup Roy.
'For equities, inflation trending upwards but within the range of expectations can actually be a big positive as it helps earnings and may shift flows from bonds to equities.'
SBI data shows the per-capita payouts for scheme have shot up this year.
Supported by greater demand from both domestic and external markets, total new business rose at the fastest pace since March
Invest in stocks of export-oriented and capital-intensive companies, says Devangshu Datta.
67 companies with total debt of Rs 5.65 lakh cr were either loss-making or didn't generate enough profit to cover interest cost in FY15
Lower cost and easier termination may well be among the reasons that companies seek to have employees on contract. The share of employees on contract has increased to 57.3 per cent of the total workforce this year as compared to 53.7 per cent in the previous year.
According to the latest annual report for 2017-18, the percentage of the company's employees in the age group of 18-25, came down to 28.16 per cent, from 31.19 per cent in the previous financial year.
'The world has changed and nobody has the patience to start a project and wait for six months to look at the outcome.'
The HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers Index for the services industry fell to 46.7 in December from 47.2 in November, registering the sixth consecutive monthly drop in output levels, the longest period of continuous reduction since the 2008/2009 global financial crisis.
Mohammed Zaman denies manslaughter by gross negligence, perverting the course of justice and six food safety offences in relation to the death of Paul Wilson.
The $108 billion Indian IT-ITeS industry is also witnessing the rise of tier II and III cities like Kochi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata as product hubs.
Assocham expressed concern over the precarious situation that the manufacturing sector is in, observing that if the trend does not reverse with monetary and fiscal measures it would be difficult for the industry to generate jobs.
A reading above 50 means the sector is expanding, while a reading below 50 means contraction.
The government has to cover a lot of ground if it wants to achieve the target of generating 10 million new jobs in the sector over the next three years, says Shyamal Majumdar.
'The answer for a quicker boost to growth is simple -- run a much larger deficit, use the resulting public resources to ensure adequate price support for agriculture, subsidise wage costs of MSMEs and accelerate public sector construction-intensive activities,' advises Nitin Desai.
'Defence funding is channelled to State-owned research organisations where scientists are merely bureaucrats holding meetings and sending out minutes of meetings and press releases, but have long ago stopped any innovative work.' 'Unless this tragedy is fixed, India's chances to create world-conquering and job-creating new industries are slim,' says Ajit Balakrishnan.
And why markets could give up 25 per cent of all these gains made since March 2020
In five years, per-employee revenue for IT companies grew at 9 per cent each year.
'The top-most functionaries and destiny-makers of the nation have thrown away the pretensions of statesmanship.' 'They seem to have made a categorical announcement that the next general election will be fought on the solo plank of Hindutva, rather than on good governance, economic development, and employment to youth', says Mohammad Sajjad.
Here's a look at how key Tata group companies fared under Cyrus Mistry's stewardship.
'Inquiries and bookings are at quite a healthy level.'
'Breaking down silos and ensuring a more integrated governance process is just as important to performance.' 'It has been a major priority in the last six years, especially in national security,' External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar points out when delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture-2020: India and the Post-Covid World.
IT stocks have dropped about 3 per cent in the days since the Donald Trump administration took first steps toward visa reform and all of India's highest-profile technology tycoons have seen their net worth eroded. Saritha Rai reports.
Investors still seem to have a disinflation bias to their thinking.
Online learning platforms have become go-to places for those suffocated by the current curbs on movement.
Only double-income households can buy flats in India's top 8 cities, except Mumbai
Future strategy will not just revolve around EVs: Maruti Suzuki's Ayukawa. Maruti Suzuki's MD&CEO says electric vehicles cannot be a solution outside the cities.
