The additional outgo to combat the impact of COVID-19 will significantly erode the fiscal consolidation achieved by the state governments in the past three years, an RBI report said on Tuesday. In its study of the state budgets of 2020-21, the RBI report which has dwelled on the theme 'COVID-19 and its Spatial Dimensions in India', said that Gross Fiscal Deficit (GFD) of the states would spiral during the current fiscal.
We understand the electoral compulsions, the desperate need for the BJP to have at least 50 per cent of the Hindus vote for them in Uttar Pradesh in a few months. For that, you need polarisation, put your own Muslim compatriots on the 'other' side. This is how your domestic politics runs contrary to your national, strategic interest, warns Shekhar Gupta.
This time, five states, including Tamil Nadu, have requested the Centre to delay the pay hikes.
The Raghuram Rajan committee report for evolving a composite development index of states, submitted to the finance ministry today, has a note of dissent from member Shaibal Gupta.
The Central government will borrow up to Rs 1.1 lakh crore on behalf of the states to bridge the shortfall in GST collections, the finance ministry said on Thursday. A slowdown in the economy since last fiscal has resulted in a drop in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections, upsetting the budgets of states which had given up their right to levy local taxes such as sales tax or VAT when GST was introduced in July 2017. To make up for the shortfall, borrowing from the market was proposed.
FinCom prescribes scrapping of effective revenue deficit.
Tamil Nadu's finances most stressed, with gross fiscal deficit estimated at Rs 31,830 crore.
Ahead of India's annual budget presentation next week, IMF's chief economist Gita Gopinath has favoured the extension of the pandemic support measures, thrust on investment in infrastructure and expanding health sectors programmes like Ayushman Bharat, and a very credible divestment path for commercially viable companies. The Indian government has provided a lot of schemes for small and medium enterprises, most of which is in the form of liquidity support, Gopinath told PTI on Tuesday. "And you want to revisit it and see how effectively that is working and see whether additional support may need to be provided," she said while responding to a question on her recommendations to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, ahead of her presentation of the annual Union Budget on February 1. It would be a good time for banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to raise capital given the attractiveness of financing conditions at this point, she said.
Ishan Bakshi studies the Budgets of six states, their expenditure priorities and outlays to understand the trend.
The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Maharashtra is expected to grow at 8.6 per cent during the year 2009-10 as against 3.4 per cent during the previous year, an economic survey said.
The BJP's manifesto for UP elections promised many things. But, given the state's precarious financial position, fulfilling these promises is likely to prove tricky, says Ishan Bakshi.
Mr Modi and Mr Shah will need him if they want to win UP again in 2022 and India in 2024. This signals a Yogi Adityanath-sized change in BJP politics, even under Mr Modi, Shekhar Gupta.
The Reserve Bank of India's observation that developmental expenditure in better-off states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa is declining as a percentage of gross state domestic product (GSDP), whereas such expenditure is rising in underdeveloped states like Bihar and Jharkhand, has invited criticism from analysts.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Saturday presented a tax-free budget for financial year 2010-11 with an outlay of Rs 1,13,675 crore (Rs 1.13 trillion) and a projected expenditure of Rs 1,13,660 crore.
If money allocations, investment commitments are a sign of better things to come, the state can be optimistic.
'Given the 50 per cent or thereabouts increase in borrowing that has been announced, it is a reasonable estimate to say that at this time, an increase of 1.7-1.8 per cent on the 3.5 per cent budgeted fiscal deficit target is being anticipated,' Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian said on Friday.
Political stability and a couple of big projects are pluses, but focus on medium and small industries is still missing.
'Look at the number of billionaires, the number of new billionaires in India.' 'Adani and Ambani are not the only ones.' 'What's wrong with people making money as long as it benefits us?'
Those who like to draw comfort from the fact that UP is the country's third-largest state in terms of the size of its economy should also note that its growth rate is one of the lowest, its per capita income is almost half of the national average and its poverty rate at 30 per cent places it at the twentieth rank among all the states, says A K Bhattacharya.
The question on who should borrow from the market and whether the borrowing will be under two buckets should be decided by the GST Council, and not by the Centre. If there is no consensus, there has to be a vote, says A K Bhattacharya.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank saw economic growth slowdown in February, prompting it to cut rates ahead of the curve and wondered why markets were surprised with the decision to pause rate reduction. Noting that there is a need for an "informed and objective discussion" on the country's economy, Das said the RBI would do "whatever is necessary" to address growth slowdown, spikes in inflation as well to ensure good health of banks and non-bank lenders. The apex bank went for five consecutive rate cuts starting in February this year, making it a cumulative reduction of 1.35 per cent.
The national per capita income in 2013-14 stood at Rs 87,748.
After the Kerala government declared the coronavirus outbreak as a 'state calamity', as the three positive cases were detected from Thrissur, Alapuzha and Kasaragod, tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran admitted that the sector had suffered a hit. The sector had aggressively launched promotional advertisements in the domestic and international markets after the floods to revive the sector. However, all the efforts took a beating, with mass cancellations of hotel bookings after the outbreak of the infection in the state was reported.
The Goa CM knows running a coalition government while pursuing a development agenda will require a fine balancing act.
The ripples from November 8 may be seen in next year's state budgets.
Bihar has ranked on top among the BIMARU states registering highest growth rate of 9.3 per cent
The 'Invest Odisha' mobile app is currently available on the Android platform.
Ahead of the assembly elections next year, the BJP has been wallowing in a welter of ideas that has resurrected the debate on populism versus pragmatism, as it has to pander to two important but incompatible constituencies, of the freebie consuming masses and Bengaluru's heavy hitters craving for even roads, pristine lakes and unbroken power supply, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Speaking at a programme at Kolaghat in West Midnapore district, the chief minister said, "We are against forceful acquisition of land. In West Midnapore district the Haldia Development Authority and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation have land banks. "We will allot land for projects from there."
Bengaluru dominates Karnataka's economy and its infrastructure mess compounds the problems, with policies lagging need and expectations.
West Bengal was the second-most industrialised state in terms of value added and first in terms of number of factories and employment even in the mid-1960s. With a severe and long process of deindustrialisation, it lost its primacy.
'The main reason people go to other countries is unemployment in Punjab'
Naidu vowed to hasten the process of securing clearances by industry.
She needs to find innovative ways to at least match the growth during Gehlot's rule.
Tamil Nadu says it's intriguing only BJP-ruled states top the list, while industrialised states are given a go-by.
Bihar expects transfers from the Centre to grow 28 per cent in 2016-17.
The Supreme Court-mandated ban on all mining operations in Goa -- the second in less than a decade -- will disrupt the livelihoods of tens of thousands in the state, points out P K Mukherjee.
A large chunk of the Rs 8.8 lakh crore of investments the Patnaik government had attracted is in uncertain territory.
The Nitish Kumar government has worked hard to help change the perception about Bihar by improving law and order situation and usher in development on several fronts, Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat told reporters.