Measures that quickly boost demand and increase employment are needed to push up growth. Moreover, without announcing new planss, the government should strengthen schemes such as PM KISAN, MNREGA and programmes to build rural roads.
The first leg of the 35-day festive period, which ended with Dussehra, failed to bring any cheer for auto companies. While makers of passenger vehicles struggled to meet demand due to the persistent shortage of semiconductors, a recovery in demand remained elusive for two-wheeler manufacturers despite offers and schemes. The overall season, which ends two days after Diwali, is unlikely to bring any turnaround in either the supply or the demand scenario, said dealers and officials at auto companies.
'A strong foreign exchange reserve is the best safety net against global spillovers.'
Imports increased by 4.5 per cent, the highest growth in the last six months as crude oil and gold shipments shot up in the month.
The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has allowed business schools and institutions offering MBA and PGDM courses to admit students based on marks obtained in qualifying undergraduate exams.
If not contained quickly, it will have a knock-on effect in the world economy and disrupt global supply chains, Crisil analysts warned.
Three closed-ended equity schemes have been launched in the past month or so and another is set to open soon for subscription.
The global COVID-19 situation, rollout of vaccines, geopolitical trends, Union Budget and economic recovery would be the major factors driving investor sentiments in 2021 after a tumultuous year which saw both 'the worst of times and the best of times' for the stock market, said analysts. What a year 2020 turned out to be! From witnessing gigantic losses to record-shattering gains, investors went on a roller-coaster ride amid the coronavirus pandemic and massive stimulus measures. Markets closed 2020 with remarkable gains of around 16 per cent, but will the winning ways continue in 2021 as well?
According to a new report by international management consulting firm Arthur D Little, the worst of COVID-19's impact will be felt by India's most vulnerable in terms of job loss, poverty increase and reduced per-capita income, which in turn will result in a steep decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "Given the continued rise of COVID-19 cases, we believe that a W-shaped recovery is the most likely scenario for India. This implies a GDP contraction of 10.8 per cent in FY 2020-21 and GDP growth of 0.8 per cent in FY 2021-22," the report said.
A record GST tax collection, an overhaul of the income tax return filing portal and the landmark move to scrap retrospective taxation have set the stage for the next level of reforms in tax administration that include bringing a framework for cryptocurrencies and rationalising the GST rate structure. With tax reforms such as faceless assessment taking roots, 2021 will go down as the year that pivoted the tax administration in a country aspiring to become the world's favourite investment destination. The task ahead is going to be a tough one as the tax department would grapple with taxing cryptocurrencies, rationalising Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates to shore up revenues and post June 2022, the scenario of how the GST revenue plays out for states without the Centre's support of compensation.
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said on Monday it could not assemble a team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to the coronavirus outbreak and that its athletes should prepare for the Games to be postponed to 2021.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said for the first time on Monday that the Tokyo Olympic Games may need to be postponed if the event cannot be held in its 'complete form' due to the coronavirus pandemic. Abe said that while cancelling the Games was not an option, a delay was now on the cards if that was the only way to hold the event in its complete form.
If we work together with dedication, concentration and effort, we should be able to achieve our aspirational growth target of double-digits for a very long period of time, suggests K V Kamath.
Had Finance Minister Sitharaman thought a little more about the middle class, disadvantaged sections, and the poor who are struggling, it would have been an inclusive Budget that would have made history, notes Ramesh Menon.
'Aquaponics can effectively cushion the impact of a calamity like COVID.'
'India should start leveraging rather than banning crypto.'
Xi ordered the military to think about worst-case scenarios, scale up training and battle preparedness, promptly and effectively deal with all sorts of complex situations and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, without mentioning any specific issues that posed a threat to the country.
Citing the impact of the second wave of the pandemic over the economy and consumer sentiment, Swiss brokerage Credit Suisse has lowered its nominal GDP growth forecast by 150-300 bps to 13-14 per cent, but expects a stronger recovery in the second half as it sees the lockdowns having limited impact on tax collections. Last month, Neelkanth Mishra, the co-head of equity strategy for Credit Suisse Asia Pacific, and India equity strategist, had told PTI that he expected the real GDP to fall to 8.5-9 per cent in FY22 due to the more severe pandemic attack. The virus case load has crossed the 25-million mark, death toll from the same is nearing 2.9 lakh mark, which is one of the highest in the world as the test positivity rate has been around 15 per cent for long.
Here are some areas where costs have grown, and where income that had been expected will not materialise.
RBI is expecting the rupee to stay close to Rs 75 to a dollar, as COVID-19 forces foreign funds to withdraw from emerging markets.
Installed at a cost of Rs 450 crore in Pune and Noida, the two supercomputers are set to fundamentally alter the weather forecasting scenario in India by enabling the IMD to forecast severe weather conditions up to the sub-district or block level.
Two cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in Karnataka, the Union government said on Thursday while asking people not to panic but follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated without delay.
Over 51% per cent of users feel they will probably continue virtual dating even after they will be able to meet up safely.
Notwithstanding how the current impasse is solved, at some point in the future, Russia will realise that just as centuries ago it developed the paradigm of securing its heartland's safety through annexing vast buffer zones between itself and the enemy, a more modern security is possible only through friendly relations and sustainable peace, observes Shyam G Menon.
In the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel was the top performer, surging 4.61%. Other gainers included ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, L&T, Sun Pharma, RIL, HDFC duo, Tata Motors and M&M -- climbing up to 3.69%.
The Confederation of Indian Industry will organise a round table on investment.
'There was so much grace, depth and serenity in him.'
India Inc has weathered many a storm during Covid-19: from supply chain disruptions to demand dips, steep increase in input costs to shortage of key raw materials. As most companies navigated unprecedented challenges on multiple fronts, realisation dawned also about the criticality of employee welfare in the survival of the business. And it was the human resources (HR) department that faced the greatest test on this front.
As the coronavirus outbreak enters its fifth month, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) requested $1.6 billion to support its humanitarian response for children impacted by the pandemic. The health crisis is 'quickly becoming a child rights crisis. And without urgent action, a further 6,000 under-fives could die each day', it said.
This could be attributed to the attractive valuation of the Indian equities after the sharp correction during the first quarter of calendar year 2020 and significant depreciation of the Indian rupee against USD, which provided them a rather good entry point.
Admitting that a vaccine or drug-based treatment is the only feasible long-term solution, he said the UK has accelerated this with promising vaccine development programmes and a collaboration between Oxford University and pharma major AstraZeneca was a vital step that could help rapidly advance the manufacture of a Covid-19 vaccine when it is ready.
There are also signs that the private sector investment cycle is slowly coming back, as capacity utilisation figures across industry continue to slowly creep up. A pickup in investments will front load profitability, says Akash Prakash.
Given the recent weakness in the rupee and the high forward premium, information technology companies can prove to be good defensive stocks with low downside risks in the prevailing market conditions, Moses Harding, head (global markets group), IndusInd Bank, tells Puneet Wadhwa.
Despite taking a hit on profitability amid the pandemic, companies with strong balance sheets are gaining market share because of consolidation in their respective sectors.
'People are already sending congratulatory messages. But I have said, "Please don't until the trials are over".'
While efforts are being mounted on a war footing to arrest its spread, COVID-19 will impact economic activity in India directly through domestic lockdown. The second-round effects, it said, would operate through a severe slowdown in global trade and growth.
AIFF plans to go ahead with the 2020-21 I-League season even if the clubs' star foreign recruits are unable to make it due to the coronavirus-forced travel restrictions.
India has flattened its Covid-19 graph and 146 districts have reported no new case of the viral disease in the last seven days, 18 in 14 days, six in 21 days and 21 districts in the last 28 days, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday.
Analysts caution a non-BJP government is not an impossible scenario. In case of a Modi-led coalition, they advise investors to focus on discretionary consumption, select private banks and financials, RIL, housing, and IT.
Cloned journals have become more rampant in the post-pandemic world.
