Passenger vehicle wholesales in India declined nearly 4 per cent to 279,501 units last month, auto industry body SIAM said on Wednesday. Passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches from factories to dealerships in March 2021 stood at 290,939 units. As per the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler sales also fell 21 per cent to 11,84,210 units as compared with 14,96,806 vehicles in March 2021.
In a conversation with Vishal Chhabria and Hamsini Karthik, Gautam Chhaochharia, executive director & head, India Research, UBS, explains why implementing goods and services tax (GST) may not be as disruptive as many perceive it to be. But, he warns investors shouldn't have high expectations on corporate earnings.
An alert government in Delhi should have begun government-to-government discussions with Moscow the moment it came to know that Russians were developing a vaccine. That is to say, almost an year's time has been lost, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"Numerous rounds of talks have taken place with the Chinese counterparts to deescalate the situation without compromising on India's stand of 'complete disengagement and immediate restoration of status quo ante'," the defence ministry said.
Buoyed by an increase in public investment and incentives to boost manufacturing, India's economy is expected to grow by 8.3 per cent in the fiscal year 2021-22, less than the previous projection early this year before the country was hit by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank has said in its latest report. World Bank chief economist for the South Asia Region Hans Timmer told PTI here that when one looks at the high frequency data, they see that as a result of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the recovery paused, and some indicate that the recovery actually declined briefly. "We project for this fiscal year 8.3 per cent (growth rate for Indian economy) that is less than we projected early in the year before the health crisis caused by the second wave. "Given the sharp contraction of the economy last year, it might not look like a lot, but in my view, that is actually very positive news, given the violent second wave and the severity of the health crisis," he said on Thursday.
"A significant decline in the growth number for this quarter is highly likely, but for the fiscal year as a whole the decline may still be relatively moderate," Fitch Asia-Pacific Sovereigns Group Director Thomas Rookmaaker said.
Don't opt for the moratorium unless critical, advises Charlie Lee, founder and CEO, True Balance.
'The disruptions caused by demonetisation and GST will be behind us in another six months.' 'That should give growth a bounce; some coming quarters could well report 7-plus per cent growth.' 'But can that rebound be sustained, or will it be like the bounce of a dead cat?' asks T N Ninan.
The 21-day coronavirus lockdown in force since Wednesday has triggered a mass exodus of migrant workers across the country since the last few days.
A good agricultural harvest and a timely arrival of monsoon, besides a slew of government schemes, have also come as a bounty.
'With the June quarter GDP shrinking by nearly a quarter, there is an even greater economic imperative: Reduction of uncertainty,' observes Neelkanth Mishra.
'The situation is quite terrifying as you have no job creation and there will be loss of jobs.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reviewed the preparations for Cyclone Yaas including the evacuation of people on the high seas as well as in vulnerable coastal areas and the safety of COVID-19 facilities.
iPhone SE 2020 is one of the popular phones like Apple 11, which is the biggest seller in the domestic market.
EV players suggest a reduction in the goods and services tax on batteries from 18 to 5 per cent as it would help push demand.
When President Obama lands in New Delhi later this week, this spirit of accommodation must reignite a strategic economic relationship between the two countries.
Illustrious international thinkers met at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2021 and many discussions addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world at large.
Prime Minister Modi, who is in Japan on a two-day visit to attend a summit of the Quad leaders at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, penned an op-ed on the vibrant relations between India and Japan in the Yomiuri Shimbun.
Although the pact would focus mainly on the Pacific and the South China Sea region, any action designed to deter China with or without New Delhi's active participation is a welcome move, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
It said an estimated 42-66 million children could fall into extreme poverty as a result of the crisis this year, adding to the estimated 386 million children already in extreme poverty in 2019.
With nearly 100 countries closing national borders during the past month, the movement of people and tourism flows have come to a screeching halt. The contraction could be even higher if governments fail to provide income support and help boost consumer spending.
Working round-the-clock over the past few days, an Indian Institute of Science team is buildingan indigenous ventilator prototype for Covid-19 victims, and it is expected to be ready in the current month itself. A ventilator can be a life-saver for patients whose lungs are damaged by the Covid-19 infection. But India, like all countries grappling with this pandemic, is likely to face a large shortage of ventilators.
The trade impact of the coronavirus epidemic for India is estimated to be about 348 million dollars (approximately Rs 25 billion) and the country figures among the top 15 economies most affected as slowdown of manufacturing in China disrupts world trade, according to a UN report. Estimates published by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on Wednesday said that the slowdown of manufacturing in China due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is disrupting world trade and could result in a 50 billion dollar decrease in exports across global value chains.
Observing that the economic recovery was not yet fully entrenched, the RBI Governor said recovery is likely to be gradual.
Listening -- really listening -- to advisers in the government and outside would help. India has plenty of wise economists who have worked within the bureaucracy during previous crises, points out Rahul Jacob.
E-mobility is only one among the several fronts on which Mahindra is waging a battle of aspirations, to future-proof the $19-billion tractor-to-technology conglomerate, says Nikhil Inamdar.
Essar group, Bhushan Steel and JSW group likely to be impacted by changes
The US became the first country in the world to have more than one million cases of coronavirus. It accounts for nearly one-third of the 3.1 million cases globally.
The US and China have sparred over the origin of the virus for days, with a Chinese official promoting conspiracy theories.
Countering the opposition claim that farmers across the country are agitated over the three new laws, he said that those in just one state are being misinformed and instigated.
With the government asking the companies to operate with only 50 per cent staff strength, and exports dipping to almost zero, the truck and bus drivers idling at the petrol pump say they hardly have any work now. At a petrol pump on the deserted Bavla-Changodar highway near Ahmedabad in Gujarat, several trucks and buses are neatly parked in a row.
The agreement on pricing last month marks a significant step towards promoting energy security in the region, say Nisha Taneja & Samridhi Bimal.
Automation, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and virtual reality would demand more jobs.
NSO has pegged economic growth at 5 per cent in 2019-20 in its second advance estimates.
The pandemic helped many entrepreneurs including me realise the power of people who share your passion, says fashion entrepreneur Meghna Saraogi.
After years of disappointing growth, the economy and the markets are poised for a breakout, notes Akash Prakash.
Stating that COVID-19 has not yet been contained in India, the rating agency in a statement said the government stimulus package is low relative to countries with similar economic impacts from the pandemic. "The COVID-19 outbreak in India and two months of lockdown -- longer in some areas -- have led to a sudden stop in the economy. That means growth will contract sharply this fiscal year (April 2020 to March 2021)," it said. "Economic activity will face ongoing disruption over the next year as the country transitions to a post-COVID-19 world."
'You have to be a total anti-national bozo to shut down the Nokia plant in Sriperumbudur, which was the first large manufacturing plant for mobile phones in India.' 'Why was the unit shut down? Because of somebody's ego.'
'Terrorism continues to be the overwhelming threat to security and stability in the SCO region and therefore Dr Jaishankar strongly pitched for 'collective action',' observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Dharmendra Pradhan lays bare the next course of action for his ministry and says RIL will have to pay the same price at which it produced the volumes.
