Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will have to do a tight-rope walk between staying fiscally prudent and general public expectations of lower taxes and a wider social security net, while at the same time firing the engines of the economy before general elections. Sitharaman will on Wednesday present her fifth straight Budget at a time when the economy is slowing due to global headwinds and specific sectors need attention. In the run-up to the Budget presentation, expectations are rife that she may tweak income-tax slabs to provide relief to the middle class and increase spending on the poor through programmes such as the rural job scheme while ramping up financial incentives for local manufacturing.
According to the global financial services major, after the BJP's 'historic' election victory on May 16, hope for structural reforms has gone up.
Stocks in the automotive, financial, cement, metal, and hotel sectors are likely to benefit if the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes back to power for a third time. The key investment themes have been identified after analysing the Sankalp Patra - the party's manifesto for the next five years - released on Sunday.
Days after completing a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC, billionaire Gautam Adani said his group has planned to double cement manufacturing capacity and become the most profitable manufacturer in the country. He saw a multifold rise in cement demand in India on the back of record-breaking economic growth and the government's infrastructure creation push, which will give significant margin expansion. In a speech made at an event to mark the completion of the acquisition on September 17, the Adani Group founder and chairman said the ports-to-energy conglomerate has in a single stroke become the second largest cement manufacturer in the country.
Modi held comprehensive talks with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on ways to enhance cooperation in key sectors including trade and investment.
The government will formulate a strategy to make India self-reliant in edible oils by boosting domestic output of oilseeds and launch a comprehensive programme to support dairy farmers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Thursday. India imports a large quantity of edible oils to meet the domestic demand. During the 2022-23 marketing year (November-October), the country imported nearly 165 lakh tonnes of cooking oils, valuing a whopping Rs 1.38 lakh crore.
India has the lowest labour force participation rate in South Asia and one of the lowest in the world, points out Aakar Patel.
At the same time China said that it does not mean China should "appease" India to prevent it from playing "little tricks".
'With a solid investment programme and sustainable development strategy, India can exceed 7 per cent growth per year, or a doubling of high-quality national income within a decade.'
Pitching for making the country's 7,500-km long coastline an "engine of growth", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India wants to mobilise Rs 1 lakh crore investment to enable port development and invited global community to invest.
The severity of the second wave of COVID-19 infections in India poses a key challenge for the FMCG industry and the spread of the virus to rural areas on a relatively higher scale as compared to the first wave is also expected to weigh on industry growth outlook, according to ITC Ltd. There is heightened uncertainty around the timing and shape of the recovery trajectory of overall economic growth in India due to the virus, the company said in its Annual Report for 2020-21. In terms of consumption, urban-led recovery may be relatively muted compared to the first wave as consumers switch to precautionary savings mode and rising healthcare costs eat into household spending, while rural demand may also be blunted by the large-scale spread of the virus to the hinterland in the second wave.
'A rigid or overly broad interpretation could lead to a chilling effect on investments and growth in sectors traditionally driven by private initiative.' 'Entrepreneurs may fear that their assets could be arbitrarily appropriated by the State under the guise of serving the 'common good' without sufficient legal safeguards.' 'The judgment thus supports a more nuanced view, one that balances individual property rights with public welfare objectives.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will push for stepping up global cooperation against the key issue of cross border tax avoidance and evasion at the G20 summit
India's exports may have touched an all-time high of $422 billion in 2021-22 but recession in key western markets and geo-political crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine war are expected to impact the growth of the country's outbound shipments in 2023. All the global trade promoting factors like political stability, movement of goods, adequate availability of containers and shipping lines, demand, stable currency and smooth banking systems are in disarray. Adding to the woes, COVID cases have again started rising in countries like China, Japan, South Korea and the US.
India's main hubs are bursting at the seams.
Long-term funding was a requirement for infrastructure projects, and asset-liability mismatch in the banking system, impacts the access to finance for infrastructure projects. One of the key challenges would, however, be to get private sector back into investing.
Major General S C N Jatar, who passed into the ages on Monday night, thwarted anti-national forces at the peak of the Assam agitation. Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) salutes this officer and gentleman.
'The semiconductor supply is constantly improving, with visible green-shoots in the situation as compared to earlier part of last year'
The prime minister's August 15 address was undoubtedly inspirational and outlined important economic and social objectives, such as making India a global hub for manufacturing, ensuring bank accounts for all poor families, major thrusts in sanitation and cleanliness, and a radical restructuring of the Planning Commission.
'What happens in the real estate market is that once the prices go up it goes on to stay at that level.' 'It might not increase and at the same time the prices will not come down too.'
'Although mid- and small-cap funds have the potential for higher growth, they come with inherent higher volatility.'
India on Friday made a strong pitch for a sovereign rating upgrade with Moody's and also questioned the parameters based on which the US-based agency accords ratings, sources said on Friday. Ahead of its annual review of the sovereign rating, Moody's Investors Service representatives met Indian government officials during which the officials highlighted the reforms and strong fundamentals of the Indian economy. A higher rating for India would mean the nation is less riskier, translating into lower interest rates on borrowings.
After launching expressway projects worth almost Rs 1 trillion, the Uttar Pradesh government is now betting big on the aviation sector to propel the state's economic growth. Air travel, comprising both business and leisure, is expected to give a fillip to the socioeconomic landscape by attracting fresh investment. It would also ramp up infrastructure and create jobs.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) on Tuesday announced the acquisition of a 95 per cent stake in Gopalpur Ports in Odisha from Shapoorji Pallonji Group and Orissa Stevedores Ltd at an equity value of Rs 1,349 crore. In Gopalpur Ports, Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) firm SP Port Maintenance Pvt Ltd has a 56 per cent stake and Orissa Stevedores Ltd (OSL) has a 44 per cent stake. Gopalpur Port is an all-weather deep-water berthing port with a capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) situated in Ganjam district of Odisha.
Sensex firm on favourable GDP numbers for FY16.
Rajnath Singh outlined the major measures and initiatives taken by the Modi government to provide basic needs to people of India, including providing homes, building toilets to end open defecation, electricity, cooking gas and focusing on infrastructure development.
India is poised to be the fastest-growing major economy in the world and an engine of global growth despite global headwinds, says leading industrialist and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla. The economic activity in India has witnessed a sharp recovery to pre-pandemic levels on the back of a rapid and widespread rollout of the vaccination programme, Birla said in the latest annual report of UltraTech Cement Ltd. "A strong digital ecosystem, fiscal and monetary policy and various government schemes helped small and medium enterprises and the worst affected sections of the population to survive while reviving demand and bringing the economy back on track," said Birla while addressing UltraTech's shareholders.
The report cautioned that low capacity utilisation and stressed balance sheets of banks and businesses will prevent a strong investment revival in the short term.
Asian Development Bank on Friday said India can sustain 8 per cent economic growth but asked government to improve infrastructure and carry forward reforms to attain a higher growth of 9-10 per cent.
Better stick to equity diversified funds, says Larisssa Fernand
'We would like to develop Andhra Pradesh into a logistics hub not only for India, but also for South Asia.'
In the case of double-income couples, not more than 40 per cent of the net income of one partner should be the EMI for the property.
Eminent economist Arvind Panagariya has said India is on the cusp of returning to a high growth trajectory and voiced confidence that the country will become the world's third-largest economy by 2027-28. Currently, India is the fifth largest economy "so it's another five years.We are already in (the year) 2023. "So 2027-28, India should be the third-largest economy," Panagariya, Columbia University Professor and former Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, told PTI in an interview in New York.
'India's output contraction in the previous year was among the worst in the world!'
Narendra Modi had stressed need for shifting focus from port development to 'port-led development' model to maximise gains
Corporate leaders said a stable government at the Centre will help boost infrastructure spend, address agricultural distress, and encouraging employment.
Wishlist for new PM includes growth boosters, reining in inflation, faster project clearance and reversal of Land Acquisition Act
The Lok Sabha contest in Thiruvananthapuram is shaping up to be a significant battle involving key candidates like Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Panniyan Ravindran. This three-cornered fight highlights the political dynamics in Kerala's capital city, with each candidate bringing their own vision and promises for the region's development, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Observing that the economic recovery was not yet fully entrenched, the RBI Governor said recovery is likely to be gradual.
Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran has hailed the Budget proposals-2010-11 presented in Parliament on Friday. The minister said that these initiative for the textiles sector as a growth spurring initiatives , which dovetail with economic revival, infrastructure development, agriculture development, inclusive growth and restoring export growth.
