The IMF on Tuesday cut India's economic growth forecast by 0.5 percentage points to 9 per cent for the current fiscal year, with its chief economist Gita Gopinath saying that the slight downgrade is mainly due to the impact of the spread of the Omicron variant. "If you look at the 2021-22 fiscal year, we have a slight downgrade of -0.5 percentage points and for the next fiscal year 2022-23 we have a slight upgrade of 0.5 percentage points. So, growth for the previous fiscal year is now nine per cent and for this year now is at nine per cent. We moved it up slightly," Gopinath told reporters during a news conference in Washington. In its latest update of World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund has cut India's economic growth forecast to 9 per cent for the current fiscal year ending March 31, joining a host of agencies which have downgraded their projections on concerns over the impact of the spread of Omicron on business activity and mobility.
Assuming that demonetisation had not happened, the value of notes in circulation this year could have increased to Rs 19.3 lakh crore. But what we have, instead, by the end of August is a 20 per cent lower figure for currency notes in circulation, says A K Bhattacharya.
The UK voted to leave the European Union after 43 years.
'Yet the market didn't do all that badly because it was cushioned by domestic inflows.'
"Demand for gold is virtually zero," said Suresh Hundia, president of the Bombay Bullion Association. "People are taking profits and selling their gold back to jewellers for 2.5-3 per cent less than international market prices."
Economist Gandhi: The Roots and the Relevance of the Political Economy of the Mahatma by retired entrepreneur Jerry Rao provides insights into a hidden facet of Gandhi's personality -- his thoughts on economics and capitalism -- and also highlights some of his views on religion, ethics, human nature, education and society.
It will bear fruit in the next five years, which is why FDI is so strong. The foreigners clearly know what Indians don't, asserts T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
If the central banks act harshly now, the markets will crash and then rally. If they are hesitant, the pain will be prolonged, predicts Debashis Basu.
Vanita Kohli-Khandekar on why Indian media and entertainment quality will remain a national gripe and why we, the viewers, are not blame free.
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Eminent free market economist Arvind Panagariya has been appointed to run Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new Policy Commission, set up to modernise economic strategy after decades of Soviet-style central planning.
The Centre should privatise all public sector banks (PSBs), except the State Bank of India (SBI). This is because private banks have emerged as a credible alternative to PSBs with substantial market share. Also, government ownership hinders the ability of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to regulate the sector, according to a report by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday slashed India's GDP growth forecast for the current financial year to 9.8 per cent saying the second Covid wave may derail the budding recovery in the economy and credit conditions.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday slashed India's GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 7 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.2 per cent mainly on account of higher inflation and a tight monetary policy. India's economy grew 13.5 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022-23, reflecting strong growth in services, ADB said in its second supplement to Asian Development Outlook Report 2022 (ADO 2022). "However, GDP growth is revised down from ADO 2022's forecasts to 7 per cent for FY2022 (ending March 2023) and 7.2 per cent for FY2023 (ending March 2024) as price pressures are expected to adversely impact domestic consumption, and sluggish global demand and elevated oil prices will likely be a drag on net exports," ADB said.
While selling started in April, it has intensified this month, with FPIs pulling out $1.1 billion and $2.5 billion from equities and debt market, respectively
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was at 54.9 in February, up from 54.0 in January, signalling a stronger improvement in the sector's health. The February PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the eighth straight month. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
Let's take a look at some cities, including one from India, where owning a car in an expensive expenditure.
'Mr Modi would compliment a Nobel Prize winner, but members of his party or the government would not be restrained from either making unfair comments or criticising him for having offered advice to an Opposition political party,' says A K Bhattacharya.
The CIL disinvestment has been hanging fire because of opposition from the trade unions. Mayaram's statement that the coal major will have to pay a higher dividend comes as the government makes efforts to meet its Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) disinvestment target.
Experts say Indian students will have to accept that international space for them is shrinking.
Ajit Balakrishnan on how to arrest a worldwide decline.
Singapore retained its title as the world's most expensive city for the fourth consecutive year, while Hong Kong remained second, closely followed by Zurich at the 3rd place.
To propel demand, one should concentrate on indirect taxes and bring down the goods and services tax (GST) rates to a uniform 12 per cent as the Vijay Kelkar panel had recommended, said Ajit Ranade, chief economist at Aditya Birla Group.
Good intentions are best left to political parties, governments and religious establishments, suggests T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Economists praise Das for his pragmatism and willingness to face challenges head on. And in doing so with the finesse of an able administrator.
'Should the most important part of economic reform not comprise the way we look at the fiscal deficit?', asks T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
For those who think India's democracy is just fine and there has been no change in the last few years, perhaps it would be instructive to see what has happened on a few issues, observes Aakar Patel.
The current slowdown has lasted for over 18 months and is the longest incident of sluggishness since 2006.
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday (local time) raised interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) or three-quarters of a percentage point in the boldest move since 1994.
India's economy will do well once vaccination reaches a critical mass as pent up demand, global recovery and easy financial conditions will boost activities, RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Ashima Goyal said on Tuesday.
India's services sector activity continued to expand in September, supported by favourable underlying demand amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, but lost some momentum from August's 18-month high level, a monthly survey said on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell from 56.7 in August to 55.2 in September, but remained well above its long-run average. "Despite easing from August, the rate of expansion was marked and the second-fastest since February 2020," the survey said.
India's recently-enacted agri laws have the potential to increase farmers' income, but there is a need to provide a social safety net to the vulnerable cultivators, IMF's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath has said. Indian agriculture is in need of reforms, she said. There are multiple areas where the reforms are needed, including infrastructure, the chief economist of the Washington-based global financial institution said on Tuesday. The three agri laws, enacted in September last year, have been projected by the Indian government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.
Delhi government had introduced the scheme in 2016 seeking to check dropout of the students and improve education quality with special focus on the weakest students.
Confederation of Indian Industries said on Monday that the economy has shown clear signs of a turnaround over the last four quarters with sales
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday said the central bank will have to raise interest rates to tame inflation and the hikes need not be considered by politicians and bureaucrats as some "anti-national" activity. Known for his frank views, Rajan also said it was important to remember that the "war against inflation" is never over. "Inflation is up in India. At some point, the RBI will have to raise rates, like the rest of the world is doing," he said in a LinkedIn post.
From Covid-19 essentials, such as Vitamin C supplements and thermometers, to bicycles, laptops, and personal weighing scales, demand for certain items galloped during last financial year as the pandemic altered what Indians used on a day-to-day basis. Imports of outdoor sports equipment, handbags for women, and dentures, among others, plummeted. With outdoor activities coming to a halt last year and schools functioning virtually, imports of sports goods witnessed a decline, while inbound shipments of laptops and battery chargers saw a sharp uptick, according to the import data for the financial year 2020-21.
Indian-American economist Abhijit Banerjee and his French-American wife Esther Duflo along with their colleague Michael Kremer received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences on Tuesday for their work to alleviate global poverty that has helped millions of children in an experimental approach that favours practical steps over theory.
India may see a structural shift in supplies of crude oil with Russia emerging as a key source of fuels, a development that reduces New Delhi's dependence on West Asian oil, gives Indian refiners better bargaining power with price-setter Saudi Arabia, and improves overall energy security. The unexpected surge in supplies of Russian crude in the last few months, unthinkable until the war in Ukraine, may also deliver other unforeseen gains such as boosting exports of refined fuels to Europe, which historically has counted on Russian shipments. India has jumped on to the bandwagon of opportunistic buying of Russian crude but if calibrated carefully, Urals crude can be a long-term asset for India refiners.
Indian consumers are likely to get respite from rising prices just before the festival season. Some consumer companies, including automakers, have indicated that they are planning to pause price hikes just before demand picks up in August, while keeping a close eye on volatile raw material prices.
Economist Joydeep Mukherji, who tracks India and China for Standard and Poor's, has joined the minority of economists who believe that with a little more effort India can overtake the Chinese economy.\n\n\n\n
