As Narendra Modi sharpened his attack on the government accusing it of failing to curb price rise, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday hit back saying the BJP's prime ministerial candidate will have to "unlearn" a lot before he learns about Indian economy.
The finance minister's assertion that industry should not expect any spectacular announcements in the 2024 interim Budget suggest that the electoral imperatives of more tax concessions or higher expenditure on welfarist programmes could be far less pronounced than they were before the 2019 interim Budget, expects A K Bhattacharya.
It was 55.3 per cent for the same period last year, and data shows the fiscal deficit for April-May was kept in reasonable check in spite of heavy frontloading of expenditure.
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Subbarao was appointed as the central bank chief on September 5, 2008 for three years and was later given an extension for another two years.
Don't be surprised if growth in the second half of the financial year drops below 4%, which is where it was in the year before the pandemic, warns T N Ninan.
'Investors should consider small and midcaps only if they can handle volatility and have a longer investment horizon.'
India's economy is projected to slow to 6.5 per cent in the fiscal year starting April but will remain the fastest growing major economy in the world as it fared better in dealing with the extraordinary set of challenges the globe has faced, the Economic Survey 2022-23 said on Tuesday. India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.5 per cent in 2023-24 compares with an estimated 7 per cent expansion in current fiscal year (April 2022 to March 2023) and 8.7 per cent in the previous year. Like the rest of the world, India too faced an extraordinary set of challenges in tightening financial conditions and supply chain disruptions from a prolonged war in Europe but "withstood them better than most economies", the annual document detailing the state of the economy said.
They expressed concern on taxation issues, the high fiscal and current account deficits, and sought removal of capital gains tax.
'Those trying to use these funds for quick gains should avoid them due to risk of being late to the party.'
It was primarily due to a higher trade deficit ($41.6 billion) brought about by a larger increase in merchandise import.
By taking the mutual fund route, investors can take exposure to gilts with small amounts. Over a decade or more, returns from these funds tend to be sound.
Growth in India is expected to remain strong and stable in 2015
CAD refers to the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange that has a bearing on exchange rate.
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Analysts worry that without more fundamental reforms, India will struggle to contain its record high current account deficit and hence support the rupee.
Domestic factors are a bigger constraint for India's shift to a faster growth trajectory than the global factors, CRISIL's chief economist says.
Now that the economy is growing at a higher-than-expected rate, it is time to accelerate the pace of fiscal consolidation, and the Budget could be a good starting point, argues Rajesh Kumar.
Gold imports surged by nearly four-fold to $4.17 billion in October to meet the festival season demand.
Government sources say India could consider raising the policy repo rate if the rupee falls towards 61-62 to the dollar.
"Under different scenarios, we see the impact of higher crude prices ranging from $25 billion to a maximum of $50 billion on the oil import bill. The increase in the oil import bill will also affect the current account deficit," economic affairs secretary S C Garg said in a conference on Friday.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget today.
The largest component in computing CAD is trade deficit. India's trade deficit widened to $13.35 billion in October as exports contracted 5.04 per cent and gold imports surged
The fiscal deficit situation during April-May of the last fiscal was 37.5 per cent of the Budget estimates.
On September 4, at a time when the rupee was the worst performer among Asian currencies, Raghuram Rajan took charge as RBI's governor.
'The government and the RBI have been playing a very good part in terms of inflation management.'
Any revision in gold import duty is unlikely to take place before the Budget, says finance ministry official.
Gold imports surged by 93.86 per cent year-on-year to $4.98 billion.
Still, it is not expected to gain much strength and will likely trade around Rs 63.00 to the US dollar by the end of April.
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The country has enough forex reserves to meet the demand.
Some type of global shock adds to the allure of the dollar.
Nepal's decision to ban the import of non-essential items amid depleting forex reserves may hit Indian exports. The country's central bank - Nepal Rastra Bank - last week instructed commercial banks not to open letters of credit (LCs) for importing non-essential items. This is to prevent further decline of the country's foreign exchange reserves. However, it has not issued any formal communication yet.
The contraction in imports helped narrow trade deficit to $7.67 billion in August 2016
The Budget estimate for the fiscal deficit in the year 2009-10 is Rs 3,32,835 crore (Rs 3,328.35 billion). Last year 2008-09, the first two months of the fiscal had accounted for 54.9 per cent of the year's Budget estimate.
For the first eight months of the current financial year, the figure stood at Rs 7.17 trillion.
'She delivers on promises, especially on security issues which is a core concern for India.'
India's exports grew by 67.39 per cent to $32.21 billion in May driven by healthy growth in sectors such as engineering, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products and chemicals, according government data released on Wednesday. Exports in May last year stood at $19.24 billion and in May 2019 it was at $29.85 billion, the commerce ministry's preliminary data showed. Imports in May rose by 68.54 per cent to $38.53 billion, from $22.86 billion in May 2020. In May 2019, imports stood at $46.68 billion.
The primary and immediate impact of a depreciating rupee is on the importers who will have to shell out more for the same quantity and price. However, it is a boon for the exporters as they receive more rupees in exchange for dollars. The rupee depreciation has wiped away some of the gains that would have accrued to India from international oil and fuel prices dropping to pre-Ukraine war levels.
The government has budgeted to cut the fiscal deficit to 3.3 per cent of GDP or Rs 6.24 lakh crore in 2018-19, from 3.53 per cent in the previous financial year.
Saying that the country was passing through a deep economic crisis for the first time since Independence, BJP president Rajnath Singh on Monday said that the country needed a 'realistic' prime minister and not an economist like Manmohan Singh.
Exports in May 2012 stood at $24.77 billion.
To offer additional support at the low end of the income ranges, the Centre will consider a large-scale jump in exemption rates under the old income-tax regime in the vote on account, or interim Budget, according to a senior official in the know. Those will include an extension of the income tax exemption rates close to Rs 7 lakh and additional measures for women farmers.
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