SBI economists on Tuesday sharply slashed their FY22 GDP growth estimates to 7.9 per cent - the lowest among all analysts - from the earlier projection of 10.4 per cent growth. The economists at the state-run lender seemed to attribute the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 infections as a key factor for the revision in the growth estimate, and pitched for faster vaccination. "... our analysis shows a disproportionately larger impact on the economy this time and given that rural is not as resilient as urban, the pick-up in pent-up demand is unlikely to make a large difference in FY22 GDP estimates, and hence it could only be a modest pick-up," they said.
More than 100 million users with 5G-ready smartphones wish to upgrade to a 5G subscription in 2023 while a majority of them are open to adopting a higher data-tiered plan in the next 12 months, a report by Ericsson Consumer Lab has shown. Titled "Promise of 5G in India", the study carried out in the second quarter this year reflects the views of 300 million urban smartphone users. According to the study, consumer 5G readiness remains one of the highest in the world.
The substantially increased economic dualism may exert lasting negative influences which could include a reduced potential for economic growth; the persistence of a very weak employment and poverty situation; rising social and political discord; and heightened vulnerability to geopolitical challenges, cautions Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
The World Bank said improved infrastructure, specifically rural electrification, has had far-ranging effects
Rapid strides in digital payments notwithstanding, the Indian economy will likely remain cash-dependent for many years to come, at least that's what the automated teller machine makers and cash logistics companies are betting on. After growing at over 20 per cent for most of 2020, currency in circulation growth fell to 8.5 per cent as of October 29 this year, shows data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The reason for the steep rise in currency last year was the uncertainties related to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, where people preferred to hoard cash to meet exigencies.
'The world is going to be more insular.' 'What India needs to do is develop the domestic market for domestic consumption.' 'The emphasis has to be on Bharat as against India.'
Experts said a dip in consumption expenditure indicated an increasing prevalence of poverty in the country.
'The large scale and widespread shrinking of the labour force in November, the peaking of unemployment in October and the fall in lead indicators in October and November point towards a worsening of the slowdown of the Indian economy in the third quarter of 2019-20,' says Mahesh Vyas.
The new push is being driven primarily by over 170,000 villages where household income is over Rs 1 lakh a year.
'The focus needs to shift towards the ability to collect payments, particularly in tier-3 to tier-4 areas where acceptance is still lacking.'
A good monsoon would translate into demand pickup across multiple sectors.
Recent data from market analytics firm Nielsen shows that the rural market in the country's 630,000-odd villages is pulling down the overall FMCG business.
Taking away free healthcare facilities, as recommended by the Aayog, would place a huge burden on the people, especially in rural areas, says Devanik Saha.
Falling incomes and longer winter to translate into lower demand for at least some months.
For the first time in the history of Budget-making in India, a single Budget will touch 65 crore Indians, says Shailesh Haribhakti.
From Jammu and Kashmir to Andhra Pradesh, consumers are facing power cuts ranging from 2 hours to 8 hours.
Urban and rural FMCG sales growth data for the last five quarters show the latter outperformed the former consistently.
The food security programme is not restricted to the poor and the population covered by it is about three times the number of people below the poverty line, Parliament was told on Thursday.
Led by falling cost of handsets and increased data consumption, new mobile subscriptions have grown the fastest in India with 18 million net additions in the third quarter of 2014, telecom gear maker Ericsson said on Tuesday.
'With the largest number of malnourished people on the planet, India is poised to be a nation that significantly under-performs as an economy.'
A BJP source admitted that a census will inevitably reconfirm the numerical majority of the OBCs. 'That will overturn social equations and consign the upper castes to a twilight zone of marginalisation. The RSS won't accept it.' Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that the United Progressive Alliance government's policies and programmes for rapid and inclusive growth are showing good results and the country has seen a record average economic growth in the last nine years.
Sugarcane, which is grown by no more than 1.1 million farmers, consumes 70 per cent of water available in Maharashtra for irrigation. In contrast, about 10 million jowar, pulses and oilseeds farmers get only 10 per cent of irrigation water, points out Abhishek Waghmare.
'When you need to revive the economy, when you need to revive aggregate demand, you cut taxes.' 'But what's this government doing?' 'It's increasing taxes for the middle class and the vast majority of the poor on fuel, which has a ratchet effect on most other products.'
India's network has expanded at a compound annual rate of around 4% which has added more than 4.8 km of additional roads since 1951, but even so the network remains badly underdeveloped
Finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey on Sunday hinted that the government was working on another stimulus package but he refrained from giving a timeframe.
There is lack of scientific basis in computing the poverty line, says govt.
The report also points out that a larger section of the poor and vulnerable households achieve middle-class status in urban areas in India despite the presence of a large urban informal sector.
Arthritis, cancer, blindness, erectile dysfunction... smoking can have adverse effects on your overall health, warns Dr Harish Chafle, senior consultant-pulmonology and critical care, Global Hospitals, Mumbai.
China's GDP took the worst hit since the disastrous Cultural Revolution in 1976, plummeting by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 as the country took unprecedented measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic that brought the world's second largest economy to a standstill. China's gross domestic product stood at 20.65 trillion yuan (USD 2.91 trillion, approx) in the first quarter of 2020 amid the Covid-19 impact, down 6.8 per cent year on year, China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has the task of bringing clean tap water to all households by 2024.
'The 24x7 power for all vision is inspiring, because as we've so often seen, where India leads, the world follows,' says Rajiv J Shah, President, The Rockefeller Foundation.
The revision of the consumer price index and GDP base years from 2011-12 and 2012, respectively, were dependent on the outcomes of the consumer expenditure survey of 2017-18 that the government decided to junk recently.
Congress campaign seeking to paint the ruling party as anti-poor and anti-farmer seems to have unnerved the BJP, feels T N Ninan.
While there is no denying that certain sections of the community deserve aid, the politics of reservation can be suicidal for India.
Aakar Patel looks forward to Prime Minister Modi's speech at the bhoomi pujan for the Ram temple in Ayodhya next week. It will be entertaining and stirring, predicts Aakar, and make lots of promises that he most likely won't be able to keep.
Urban markets account for the major share of total revenues.
'Wild animals lived in their natural environment.' 'So, viruses could not be communicated.' 'Then came mass production and mass quartering of animals -- whether it be poultry, pigs and cattle -- which gave rise to bird flu, SARS and the mad cow disease.' 'Vast amounts of animal produce are also being flown from one part of the world to another, which has helped to spread the virus.' 'All these changes have led to a new and deadly mutation of the virus that has immobliised human beings.'
'While the poor have little say in shaping India's intellectual or public discourse, they do have a significant role in deciding political outcomes,' points out Roshan Kishore.
