Page 12 - Economy

EPFO adds net 1.56 mn members; 841,000 new subscribers join workforce

Retirement fund body EPFO recorded a net addition of 15.62 lakh members in December 2023, according to payroll data released on Tuesday. An increase of 11.97 per cent has been registered in net member addition during December 2023 compared to the previous month, a labour ministry statement said. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's provisional payroll data highlighted that the net addition of 15.62 lakh members was up by 4.62 per cent compared to December 2022, it stated. This surge in membership can be attributed to various factors, including increased employment opportunities, a growing awareness of employee benefits, and the effectiveness of EPFO's outreach programmes, it explained. The data showed that around 8.41 lakh new members were enrolled in December 2023, up by 14.21 per cent compared with the previous month of November 2023. A noticeable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group, constituting a significant 57.18 per cent of the total new members ad

RBI net bought $2.07 billion in spot foreign exchange market in December

The RBI said it purchased $31.73 billion and sold $29.66 billion in the spot market. In November, it had sold a net $1.93 billion

Crude oil steadies as demand jitters counter conflict in West Asia

The March contract for U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, which expires on Tuesday, was up 7 cents at $79.26 in tepid trade while the WTI April contract slipped 13 cents to $78.33

Goldman raises global equities to 'overweight' on economic growth prospects

"We expect growth to become a more important driver of risk appetite and equity/bond correlations should be more negative this year," Goldman said in a note dated Feb 16

TN fiscal deficit at 3.44% in FY25, growth anticipated: State finance secy

Tamil Nadu's fiscal deficit in the Budget Estimates for 2024-25 stood at 3.44 per cent of the GSDP despite a decline in the State's Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) due to two successive natural calamities in December 2023 resulting in additional expenditure, State Principal Secretary-Finance T Udhayachandran said on Monday. The SOTR suffered a revenue loss due to cyclone Michaung and unprecedented rains in the southern districts. The state government had to spend more on flood relief, provide immediate relief measures besides initiate long-term relief measures, he said. "This budget has been prepared under this financial stress...Nevertheless, Tamil Nadu's economy is robust. We expect a 15 per cent growth in our SOTR through the Commercial Taxes Department," Udhayachandran told reporters here. The Registration department did not see the expected growth last year but next year the government hoped that it would fetch more revenue to the state, he added. Briefing the media on the Budget ...

'Thai economy shrinks, adds to rate cut case amid central bank, PM feud'

From a year earlier, GDP grew 1.7%, faster than revised 1.4% growth in the third quarter but slower than a forecast 2.5% expansion

At $365 billion, Tata Group's market cap more than Pakistan's economy

The market capitalisation of Tata Group stood at $365 billion, while the IMF estimated Pakistan's GDP to be almost $341 billion

Meghalaya needs to sustain 11.5% GSDP growth to become $10 bn economy: CM

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday asserted that the state needs to sustain 11.5 per cent annual GSDP growth to achieve the ambitious target of becoming a USD 10 billion economy by 2028. Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation of a Rs 100 cr bulk water supply project at Ballonggre in West Garo Hill district, Sangma said that the state is at present a Rs 45,000 crore economy and that needs to be improved. "It is a herculean task but the state government has charted out a roadmap to achieve the target," he said. The CM asserted that his government has a vision for the state and investments are being made to build better and sustainable infrastructure, create jobs through entrepreneurship and adopt innovative policies and programmes to increase farmers' income. He said a thrust has been laid on improving rural economy by focusing on enterprises that will leverage the potential of the rich natural resources of the state. He asserted that Meghalaya has won

Russian central bank holds interest rate at 16% after months of tightening

Russia's domestic demand was still outstripping production capacity, the bank said, with labour shortages still the key constraint on expanding the output of goods and services

German economy to shrink by 0.5% in 2024 on weak domestic demand: Report

A DIHK poll of more than 27,000 companies showed that of those surveyed, 35% expect business to deteriorate in the next 12 months with only 14% expecting an improvement

Japan growth data set to confirm its slip to 4th-largest economy last year

While the economy is seen returning to annualized growth of 1.2% in the fourth quarter after a bruising contraction in the summer

Fuel consumption rises 8.2% in January on strong industrial activity

Total consumption, proxy for oil demand, totalled 20.04 mn tonnes in January, up from 18.51 mn tonnes a year earlier, data from Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of oil ministry showed

Sulphur-coated urea will improve fertiliser efficiency but needs efforts

Farmers will have to be educated and factories will require capital expenditure

No delay in disbursal of sops under PLI scheme for white goods: DPIIT

Applications of certain companies for claiming incentives under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the white goods (AC and LED lights) are under examination and there is no delay in disbursement, an official statement said on Wednesday. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said that investors were given the option to choose one of the two gestation period - up to March 2022 (one year) and up to March 2023 (two years). All 15 projects -- companies which have opted for gestation period 2021-22 -- have been commissioned. "Companies opting for one year of gestation period are eligible for PLI in the current year (2023-24) based on achieving the threshold investment and net incremental sales in 2022-23. Their online applications are under examination by the PMA (project management agency). The PLI will be disbursed by March 2024. There is no delay in PLI disbursement under the scheme," it said. The scheme has attracted a mix of multinational

Namonomics vs Manmohanomics: Modi or Singh, who has done better on economy?

Comparing economic management under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor, Manmohan Singh - a white paper

Sri Lanka debt restructuring makes slow progress even with 1.6% growth rate

The restructuring of Sri Lanka's external debt is to take much longer than expected, going by President Ranil Wickremesinghe's policy speech on Tuesday even though he signalled a positive shift in the cash-strapped economy with a surplus by the end 2023, first since 1977. Delivering the Statement of Government Policy' on the first day of the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament, Wickremesinghe said the finalisation of debt restructuring could be completed by the first half of the year, which is going beyond the earlier anticipation for it to be completed within the first quarter. The domestic debt restructuring plan has been successfully executed as the first step, and a policy agreement for restructuring has been reached with foreign creditors as the second step. Negotiations with private creditors are presently in progress, Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, said. By September 2023 our total debt burden was USD 91 billion. It will take a considerable period of time

India to mitigate slowing Apac growth on robust domestic demand: Moody's

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday said growth in Asia Pacific will decelerate in 2024 as a downshift in China's growth trajectory will spill over in the region through trade in goods and services, but India will be able to mitigate the challenge aided by robust domestic demand. In a report on Asia-Pacific, Moody's said the region is marked with a heavy calendar of elections in 2024, notably in India, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea and Bangladesh. "The election outcomes will either facilitate domestic policy continuity or lead to increased polarization, and have a bearing on geopolitical relationships," said a Moody's report titled 'Growth headwinds, tight funding and geopolitics will define 2024 conditions'. It said a downshift in China's economic growth rate and a cyclical slowdown in the US will weigh on Asia-Pacific (APAC)'s credit conditions in 2024. Peaking inflation globally will provide space for monetary tightening cycles to slow, but financial conditions will remain difficult

Bank of England keeps rates unchanged at 5.25%, may cut if inflation falls

The pound erased earlier losses and investors trimmed bets on the extent of Bank Rate cuts but still saw four reductions in 2024, a view that Bailey said he did not want to challenge

GST collections rise 10.4% to Rs 1.72 trn in January, second highest-ever

Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections jumped 10.4 per cent to over Rs 1.72 lakh crore in January, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. This is the second-highest monthly collection ever and marks the third month in this financial year with a collection of Rs 1.70 lakh crore or more. "The gross GST revenue collected in the month of January 2024 (till 05:00 PM of 31.01.2024) is Rs 1,72,129 crore, which shows a 10.4 per cent y-o-y growth over the revenue of Rs 1,55,922 crore collected in January 2023 (till 05:00 PM on 31.01.2023)," the ministry said. During the April 2023-January 2024 period, cumulative gross GST collection witnessed 11.6 per cent year-on-year growth (till 05:00 PM of 31.01.2024), reaching Rs 16.69 lakh crore against Rs 14.96 lakh crore collected in the same period of the previous year(April 2022-January 2023). The highest-ever monthly GST collection was recorded in April 2023 at Rs 1.87 lakh crore.

Retail inflation for industrial workers eases marginally to 4.91% in Dec

Retail inflation for industrial workers eased marginally to 4.91 per cent in December from 4.98 per cent in November 2023, mainly due to lower prices of certain food items. "Food inflation stood at 8.18 per cent (in December 2023) against 7.95 per cent of the previous month (November 2023) and 4.10 per cent during the corresponding month (of December 2022) a year ago," a labour ministry statement said. According to the statement, the year-on-year inflation for the month (December 2023) stood at 4.91 per cent compared to 4.98 per cent in the previous month (November 2023) and 5.50 per cent (December 2022) in the year-ago period. The All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) for December 2023 decreased by 0.3 points and stood at 138.8 points. It was 139.1 in November last year. On one-month percentage change, it decreased by 0.22 per cent with respect to the previous month compared to a contraction of 0.15 per cent a year ago. The maximum downward pressure in th