Page 22 - Economic Growth

India slips one notch to 87th out of 165 nations on economic freedom index

India has fallen one notch to the 87th position out of 165 countries on the economic freedom index, according to a report released on Thursday. The country was at the 86th spot in previous year's rankings. The 'Economic Freedom of the World: 2021 Annual Report' by Canada's Fraser Institute has been released in India in conjunction with New Delhi-based think tank Centre For Civil Society. "From 1980 to now, India's rating has gone up considerably, from 4.90 to 6.62 but, our rank has fallen. This means while India is improving considerably in absolute terms but is not doing enough relative to other countries," it said. However, in South Asia, India is doing pretty well, as per the report. India reported marginal increase in the size of government (7.64 from 7.57) and and regulation of credit, labour and business (5.98 from 5.96), while it was down slightly in legal system and property rights (5.29 from 5.3) and freedom to trade internationally (6.19 from 6.27). A score closer to 10

Growth needs more electricity

Many states need a new electricity policy that can support high economic growth

Jobs more likely to be augmented than destroyed with Gen AI: ILO D-G

The latest ILO data highlights India's significant progress in enhancing social protection, says Gilbert F Houngbo, director-general, ILO

Europe's economic outlook worsens as high prices plague consumers

The European Union has lowered its forecast for economic growth this year and next, saying inflation is taking a heavy toll on people's willingness to spend in shops while higher interest rates are sharply restricting the credit needed for investment and purchases. The revised forecast Monday from the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, comes as fears of recession grow and as the European Central Bank faces a key decision this week on whether to keep raising rates, which are aimed at getting inflation under control. The 20 countries that use the euro currency are expected to see growth of 0.8 per cent this year instead of 1.1 per cent projected in the spring forecast, the commission said. For next year, growth expectations were lowered to 1.3 per cent from 1.6 per cent. For the broader 27-country EU, the forecast also was lowered to 0.8per cent from 1 per cent this year and to 1.4 per cent from 1.7 per cent next year. "Weakness in domestic demand, in particular consumptio

Rethinking growth

The economy will not grow in a socially desirable direction on its own

PM Modi to address B20 Summit India 2023 today in national capital

Prime Minister Modi said that B20 is among the most important G20 Groups, with a clear focus on boosting economic growth

B20 Summit India 2023: Taming inflation key to growth, says FM Sitharaman

Sitharaman says green shoots of private capex upcycle can be felt now

Investment in road, highways key to sustaining economic growth: Report

India's road and highway sector's growth is vital not only for economic development but also for creating a more inclusive and connected society, a report has said. The report, released at a CII conference here on the road and highways sector, also emphasised the crucial role of road infrastructure in stimulating economic growth, fostering investor confidence, generating employment, and enabling inclusive development, according to a statement. With a projected global infrastructure funding requirement of USD 3.7 trillion annually to keep pace with GDP growth, the significance of continued expansion and strengthening of India's road network remains paramount, the report stated. The report noted states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan have played pivotal roles in driving National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects and investments. Rural road development has also gained traction, with rural roads accounting for 71 per cent of the overall road ...

B20 Summit India: My priority is to tame inflation, says FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the government's priority is to tame inflation to ensure sustained economic growth. Addressing the B20 Summit India, being hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the minister said the GDP numbers for the first quarter, to be released this month, should be good. Observing that elevated interest rates for considerable time hampers recovery, Sitharaman said, "my priority is to tame inflation." Retail inflation soared to a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, mainly on account of spiralling prices of tomatoes and vegetables. On growth, she said that India has been able to accelerate the pace of economic reforms and the first quarter GDP numbers "should be good." The National Statistical Office is scheduled to release the GDP numbers for the first quarter on August 31. Sitharaman said that "green shoots' of private capital expenditure can be felt on back of the government's push for capital expenditure in the budget.

Manufacturing push can add 50-100 bps to GDP till 2030: UBS Securities

The aggressive manufacturing push, especially in the electronics space, driven partly by the relocation of Asian supply chain away from China, is unlikely to yield any tangible results to India's growth at least in the next three years, according to a foreign brokerage. Tanvee Gupta-Jain, the chief economist at UBS Securities India, said that if the country continues to benefit from the supply chain shifts away from China and structural reforms, GDP should rise to 6.25-6.75 per cent annually by 2030 under an optimistic scenario and generate up to 4 million jobs annually. In the most optimistic scenario, the growth is likely to be 6.75-7.25 per cent. According to Gupta-Jain, the present manufacturing push under the various PLI (Production Linked Incentive) schemes, particularly for electronics, is unlikely to yield any major benefit to GDP or exports. This is because at present, there is no economies of scale in the absence of a manufacturing ecosystem wherein components are also ..

Roaring back from pandemic, Japan's economy grows by 6% in April-June

Japan's economic growth jumped at an annual pace of 6% in the April-June period, marking the third straight quarter of growth as exports and inbound tourism recovered. Real gross domestic product, which measures the sum value of a nation's products and services, grew 1.5% in the fiscal first quarter for the world's third largest economy, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday. The annualized pace shows what the growth would have been if what was marked during the quarter had continued for a year. The rate outpaced what analysts had forecast at 3.1% growth. The latest quarter showed the strongest growth since October-December 2020, when Japan's GDP grew 1.9% on-quarter, and 7.9% annualized rate. Exports grew 3.2% in the three months through June, according to the government. Auto exports have grown lately, after a period in which they had stalled on the shortage of computer chips and other parts. Production was crimped because of social restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also

Brazil's Lula unveils $200 bn infra plan as sceptics warn on spending spree

Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva on Friday unveiled a plan to spend 1 trillion reais (nearly $200 billion) on infrastructure, energy and transportation over the next four years, part of a larger effort to boost economic growth and employment in Latin America's largest nation. The Growth Acceleration Program, known under its Portuguese acronym PAC, has been met with scepticism from analysts and investors, who say previous, similarly ambitious programmes have included projects that never saw the light of day and opened the door to vast corruption schemes. Funding included in this year's PAC is expected to go towards infrastructure projects including new highways and ports as well as energy efficiency and urbanisation programmes in slums. More than a public investment portfolio, the new PAC is a collective compromise (...) born out of many conversations with governors and mayors," Lula said at an event in Rio de Janeiro attended by government ministers, state governors and

UK heads for 5-yr of lost economic growth as goal to 'level up' fails

The forecasts echo the Bank of England's gloom, which said last week that GDP would remain below pre-pandemic levels "in the medium term"

The Global South quietly revising economic rules written by US, West

The Global South sees a chance to chart its own future. Nirupama Menon Rao, a former Indian foreign secretary, points to her country's spreading of digital payments to developing nations

China or India? Where should investors put their money in coming Asia boom

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts expect India's share of global equity market capitalisation to quadruple between now and 2075-reaching 12 per cent, when it will be neck and neck with China's

PM's 'guarantee', cyclists, and the challenge of long-run economic growth

The important question is whether India can also get rid of multi-dimensional poverty - a modest concept that stipulates a bare-bones minimum income, education and quality of life, writes T N Ninan

India GDP to grow 6-6.3% in FY24, economic prospects brighten: Deloitte

India is likely to grow 6-6.3 per cent in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, Deloitte India said in its economic outlook, forecasting growth surpassing 7 per cent over the next two years if global uncertainties recede. With the probability associated with a recession in major industrial countries this year trimming, several economic indicators such as the tight labour markets and reduced risk spreads post the US banking crisis suggest that downside risks to global growth are subsiding. Yet, there remain significant uncertainties around the actions of the central banks of major economies and the oil price movements, the economic outlook said. "Amid continuing global uncertainties, India continues to see strong economic activity," it said. "Keeping in view the resilience shown by the economy, Deloitte is optimistic about the outlook and has put out its expectation for this year and the next. Deloitte expects India to grow between 6 per cent and 6.3 per cent in FY 202324, a

Stock markets and economic growth have little correlation, says Mukherjea

Saurabh Mukherjea tells that regardless of what happens to the global economy, this post-pandemic stock market rally will continue

Missing the real achievements: Why India needs introspection, not bluster

Neither is India the fastest-growing large economy any longer, nor the prime beneficiary of 'China Plus One', but it is surely a key emerging player with a market larger than others, notes T N Ninan

Citigroup downgrades US stocks amid recession risks, upgrades Europe

Strategists at the brokerage downgraded UK stocks on a lack of exposure to growth stocks and a stronger pound