Page 13 - Economy & Policy News

States' deficits run deeper than their Budgets, show CAG reports

CAG audits reveal that several Indian states understated their fiscal gaps in 2024-25 due to accounting practices, off-budget borrowings, and unrecorded liabilities

Eight coal gasification projects to draw ₹65,365 crore investment

The Centre says eight approved coal gasification projects are expected to attract investments of ₹65,365 crore and gasify around 12 million tonnes of coal annually

India's KAL attack drone eyes Gulf, global markets amid export push

IG Defence's indigenous long-range attack drone KAL has drawn interest from Gulf nations and is being readied for exports, subject to government approvals and export clearances

NHAI suspends toll collection on newly-opened Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway

NHAI suspends toll collection on the Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway until repairs are completed, while initiating action against the concessionaire and officials over quality lapses

Govt may impose gas levy to finance $42 billion strategic fuel reserves

The plan would ​extend India's strategic reserves beyond crude oil for the first time, with stockpiles designed to cover about two months of ‌crude and LNG demand, and around six weeks of LPG

Commerce ministry notifies norms for inventory-based ecommerce exports

The government recently allowed ecommerce firms, having foreign stakes, to keep inventory only for export purposes

Tax Bill proposes easier norms for data centres, incentives for electronics

Proposed amendments seek to simplify tax rules for data centres, improve ease of doing business and provide long-term certainty for electronics manufacturers and cloud firms

'Someone has to pay': RBI Governor on proposal to levy MDR on UPI payment

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra says digital payment infrastructure has costs as the Union government weighs bringing back MDR on high-value UPI merchant transactions

India's forex reserves jump to near three-month high of $692.9 billion

Reserves jumped nearly $10.5 billion compared to the previous week, in ‌their biggest surge since the week ended January 30

Services PMI falls to 53.3 in July, slowest growth in nearly 4.5 years

India's services sector expanded in July, but activity and new business grew at their weakest pace since early 2022, even as exports and hiring remained resilient

₹4,687 crore interest subsidy approved for ethanol projects: Govt

The government has approved ₹4,687 crore in interest subsidies for ethanol projects and released ₹2,075 crore to Nabard since FY23 to support capacity expansion

Centre auctions 6 coal blocks; mines to generate nearly ₹2,000 cr annually

Six coal blocks auctioned under commercial mining rounds are expected to generate ₹1,983 crore annual revenue, attract investment and create over 15,000 jobs

Reit, Invit investors to regain dividend tax break; SPV surcharge will rise

The government proposes restoring tax-free REIT and InvIT dividends while raising the surcharge on SPVs to keep the changes revenue-neutral

Bumper moong harvest revives Madhya Pradesh's farm procurement challenge

Farmers forced the state to raise summer moong procurement coverage to nearly 60 per cent as a bumper harvest, falling prices and limited buying avenues revived an old agricultural crisis

IMF estimates Indian economy will hit $5 trillion in FY29: FM Sitharaman

India is on track to become a $5-trillion economy by FY29, with the government betting on manufacturing, infrastructure, MSMEs and reforms to sustain growth

MPC meet: RBI may join global central banks on status quo bandwagon

All eyes on whether the policy tone turns less dovish

AI chipping away at India's outsourcing edge, says World Bank

MNCs, globally-linked firms hiring at a much slower pace than domestic peers as GenAI starts reshaping South Asia's labour market

Sitharaman tables Tax amendment Bill to ease rules for funds, data centres

Finance ministry says Bill aims to provide stable and predictable tax treatment, simplify compliance, and make India more attractive for global investment and manufacturing

India's transmission grid beat back summer surge, but capacity risks remain

Investments in transmission capacity, digital systems, grid-stability technology helped India manage record summer demand, though experts warn that generation reserves, distribution remain weak links

Expedite wastewater treatment projects in cities, panel tells MoHUA

Only 17% of sewerage and septage projects under AMRUT 2.0 completed: Panel