The Congress, out of power in UP for 27 years is making a big pitch to bounce back, on a cocktail of caste politics and promises of agriculture debt waiver worth Rs 49,000 crore and power rate reduction for farmers hit by high input costs and diminishing returns., reports Amit Agnihotri.
Tata Starbucks had hiked the base price of one its coffee variant after the GST Council cut tax rates on restaurants from 18 per cent to 5 per cent with effect from November 15, 2017.
The industry is expecting double-digit growth on a year-on-year basis, helped by a possible price correction after softening of raw material inputs and factors such as positive sentiments, pent up demand and improving economic conditions. Besides, a shift in consumer behaviour from price consciousness towards technologically advanced premium products with quality, value proposition and safety aspects leading to a rise in demand for home automation products is making the industry upbeat. With the government's production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods, which has witnessed a committed investment of Rs 4,614 crore, in place, many manufacturers are gearing up to make the most out of the opportunity as well as take steps towards reducing their dependency on imports and make products more affordable.
While the likelihood of these states going the Lanka or Greece way may be an alarming assessment, the financial situation of some states such as Punjab and West Bengal is indeed quite weak.
Durable, automobile and real estate players have been lobbying hard for a tax cut, saying it will boost demand.
The agreement would divert China's attention and keep them busy in the Pacific theatre, probably resulting in a reduction in threat perception in our area of interest in the Indian Ocean, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Agri-enterprises are finding it hard to expand due to lack of commercial guidance.
Industrialists affirm their belief that the adverse effects of demonetisation and the goods and services tax are finally over.
GST will lead to consolidation of multiple indirect taxes
Sources said much has been done to ease the tax burden of the middle classes in the last five years, and that such a measure affects only a limited segment of people when the focus should be to put money in rural areas. Archis Mohan reports.
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday sounded a word of caution about the new government's 'Make in India' campaign that assumes an export-led growth path of China and said instead it should be 'Make for India' that will produce for the internal market.
What we want from spectrum allocation is access to broadband networks at prices that will result in productivity gains.
GST will yield 'better value for money' for car buyers, increasing automobile industry demand, says Sandip Neogi.
The key proposals from the IT industry that were not addressed included removal of dual levies on software products
'The CAA should be kept in abeyance, without making it a prestige issue.'
'Laying down a clear policy on the future of illegal migrants will dispel anxieties and help in implementing the CAA, NPR and also the NCR,' suggests former Union home secretary Dr Madhav Godbole.
It is far from clear that this GST will have the silver bullet effect that the "pure" GST would have provided, says Mihir S Sharma.
'By not letting bankrupt banks fail, we have discouraged ordinary folk from taking precautions while choosing their bank or at least when they hear bad news about their bank,'says S Muralidharan, former MD, BNP Paribas.
More, many market gurus expect the Sensex to reach 30,000 levels by December and 40,000-45,000 in three to four years.
NDA government has shunned populism.
M R Venkatesh, chartered accountant turned political commentator tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com that Modi's war is not against the opposition parties or the Congress but against the bureaucracy and the establishment.
Indian economy about to take-off
The government has provided a long-term vision.