Page 25 - India Economy

Monsoon rains will trigger growth of Rs 8,000 cr sector: NR Group MD

The NR Group, owner of the world's largest incense stick brand Cycle, on Thursday said monsoon rains will trigger the growth of the Rs 8,000-crore sector, though there are some concerns about normal rainfall as of now. "The sector's actual demand is driven in the second and third quarters of the year due to the festive season. With good monsoon, festivals are celebrated in a bigger way and so the demand for incense sticks and puja materials increases. Currently, there is some uncertainty about a normal monsoon, which is a bit worrying for us," Cycle Pure Agarbathi managing director Arjun Ranga told PTI. He was in the city to launch four new products unveiled by brand ambassador and former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly. Ranga said post-Covid, unorganised players have thrived, which is another headwind, albeit temporary, as they will eventually fade away. With the implementation of GST, most of the industry is becoming more organised as unorganised players are being wiped

Brics calls for nations to work together on post pandemic economic recovery

BRICS leaders on Thursday urged the international community to support countries working towards post pandemic economic recovery and address the high debt levels in some nations. At the end of the BRICS Summit in South African capital, the grouping released the Johannesburg II Declaration that stressed on G20 -- a larger grouping of world's biggest economies -- playing the role of the premier multilateral forum to seek solutions to global challenges. The leaders stressed on the importance of encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions, and sought strengthening of correspondent banking networks between the BRICS countries and enabling settlements in the local currencies. They tasked finance ministers and central bank governors to consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms. "We recognise the important role of BRICS countries working together to deal with risks and challenges to the world economy in achievin

India to clock highest growth among top 5 global economies: Finance secy

Finance secretary T V Somanathan on Thursday said India will continue to clock the highest growth rate among the top five economies in the world in the foreseeable future and asked Indian diaspora to act as a catalyst and supplement government efforts in making India the biggest opportunity. India is currently the fifth largest economy in the world. The top four are US, China, Japan and Germany. An S&P Global report had earlier this month projected India's economy to double to USD 6.7 trillion by 2031, from USD 3.4 trillion currently. "India is already the world's fifth largest economy and it is the largest country by population. India's rate of growth by any measurement is much faster than the top four. Today we can safely say that all four are likely to have lower growth rates than India in the foreseeable future. "... in terms of the size of opportunity, India is arguably the biggest development opportunity of the future because we are large and we are growing faster than the ..

Economy likely to expand by around RBI's projection of 8% in Q1, FY24

Various analysts that Business Standard spoke to put GDP growth in the range of 7 to 8.5 per cent for Q1 of FY24

India moves up to 11th position in global direct selling ranking: WFDSA

India has moved up to 11th position in the ranking of top markets of direct sellers, with retail sales of USD 3.23 billion (around Rs 26,852 crore) in 2022, global industry body WFDSA said in a report. Indian direct selling has registered a growth of 5.4 per cent over 2021 retail sales, said the World Federation of Direct Selling Association (WFDSA) report. On a constant dollar basis, the Indian market attained the highest Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 13.3 per cent during the last three years, it added. The global direct selling industry reported a decline of 1.5 per cent in 2022 to USD 172.89 billion. The top market in the list was the US with USD 40.52, with a decline of 5 per cent over 2021, it said. It was followed by Korea, Germany, China, Japan and Malaysia. Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) Chairman Rajat Banerji said: "India's direct selling market is growing steadily and has the potential to place itself in the top five global markets over the next

US treasury 10-year real yield exceeds 2% for first time since 2009

Benchmark rose as much as 6 basis points to 2%, before easing little under that threshold, extending rise from 1.5% since mid-July. 30-year real yield up 6.6 basis points to 2.14%, new peak since 2011

RBI nudges local banks to settle UAE trades in rupee, dirham: Report

India's trade deficit with the UAE was $21.62 billion in 2022/23, or 8.2% of its total deficit, government data shows. In July, the two countries agreed to facilitate trade in rupees instead of dollar

People favour stable govt because it boosts economy: MoS Khuba at G20 event

Union Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers Bhagwanth Khuba on Saturday said the Indian economy is growing because of the stable government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Khuba was addressing the valedictory session of 'India MedTech Expo 2023' here as part of the G20 Health Ministers' Conference, which is set to conclude during the day. "The Indian economy currently stands at USD 3.3 trillion and it will achieve the target of USD 5 trillion in the next four years. When India will be celebrating 100 years of Independence, the size of the Indian economy is expected to remain between USD 32 to 42 tillion. In that, the contribution of the health sector will be significant," said the minister. "Apart from having a young workforce, India currently has a stable government and people want to see a similar stable government in the future. Investors always favour a stable government. People of India have now understood that the economy will grow if we have .

Using all platforms to flag non-tariff barriers impacting trade: Official

India is using all multilateral and bilateral platforms including G20 to flag concerns with regard to non-tariff barriers (NTBs) which are impacting the free flow of trade, a top government official said on Friday. India has already raised its concerns on issues like the European Union's (EU) carbon tax on different platforms, including the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Such measures by G20 member countries are likely to figure in the trade ministers' meeting of the grouping next week in Jaipur. "Definitely, we are discussing those NTBs and we are also discussing how to find a good solution, how to find a platform where we can coordinate on these issues and we can understand these issues," Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters here. The two-day Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting (TIMM) is scheduled on August 24 and 25 in Jaipur. The secretary also said that on the sidelines of TIMM, several high-level bilateral meetings will be held with countries such as the UK

Moody's affirms India's sovereign ratings, retains stable economic outlook

India's long-term local and foreign-currency issuer ratings and the local-currency senior unsecured rating remains at Baa3, while the other short-term local-currency rating stands at P-3, it said

RBI bought net $4.50 billion in spot foreign exchange market in June

The RBI purchased $7.79 billion and sold $3.28 billion, the bulletin showed. In May, the central bank had bought a net of $7.37 billion in the spot market

Economy gathering momentum in Q2, inflation remains concern, says RBI

Indian economy is gathering momentum in the second quarter, though inflation would continue to average above the central bank's comfort zone of 6 per cent, said an article in the RBI's monthly bulletin released on Thursday. The consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation shot up significantly to 7.44 per cent in July, from 4.87 per cent in the preceding month, mainly due to soaring prices of tomato, vegetables and other food items. In his address to the nation on the Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to take more steps to contain price rise. The uptick in inflation in its June reading mutated in July, with the unprecedented shock to tomato prices spilling over to prices of other vegetables, said the article on 'State of the Economy'. "While core inflation witnessed a moderation, headline inflation is expected to average well above 6 per cent in the second quarter," it said. The article has been authored by a team lead by Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Michae

Rural growth outpaces urban demand, trend to continue 6 months: Pidilite MD

Rural growth, which was lagging after the pandemic, has outpaced urban demand and this trend is likely to continue over the next six months led by a good monsoon, Pidilite Industries Managing Director Bharat Puri said. Moreover, as the inflationary pressure cools down after two years of volatility, Puri said now he sees 'stability' in input prices, which is providing him with a lot more elbow room to invest back into the marketplace. Puri says he is "increasingly optimistic" as he looks forward as there is clearly increased construction activity, leading to good demand. The company, which recently entered into the Paints market and has a presence in 2-3 states, would expand further to other markets based on consumer responses. It is an organic business for Pidilite, which will grow steadily, he added. When asked about the current quarter (July-September), Puri said there has been disruption at some places due to rains. "Q2 up to now has been a very unnatural quarter simply because

Govt to come up with 60 QCOs to curb imports of sub-standard goods

The government will come up with 60 quality control orders (QCOs) this year for products such as consumer goods, rubber, paper and light engineering items with an aim to contain imports of sub-standard goods and boost domestic manufacturing, a senior government official said on Friday. Secretary in Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh said they are issuing these orders "fairly extensively" and so far 33 QCOs for over 127 products such as ACs, refrigerators, pipes, and safety valves have been issued. "Right now, we are processing 60 new QCOs in association with BIS. These are crucial not only for the safety of consumers but also to improve quality standards," he told reporters here. Speaking at the media briefing, Joint Secretary in DPIIT Sanjiv said these orders are issued for goods like smart meters, nuts, bolts and fasteners. Violation of the law can attract a penalty of up to two years of imprisonment or with fine of at least Rs 2 la

Govt expects PLI payouts to rise Rs 13,000 cr this year: DPIIT official

Under the $24 billion scheme, the federal government pays local manufacturers when targets such as sales are met, aiming to boost investment in manufacturing. Targets differ from sector to sector

India starts importing tomatoes from Nepal amid record spike in prices

The first lot of imports are likely to reach by Friday in Varanasi, Lucknow and Kanpur cities in northern India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the parliament

Govt curbs import of personal computers, laptops over 'security risk'

Move coincides with India's efforts to become a major electronics maker

LIVE: 3-member panel to monitor social media, says Haryana Home Minister

Get latest news updates from around the world here

India's overall unemployment rate falls in July due to farm demand

The total joblessness rate fell to 7.95% in July, from 8.45% in June, according to data released by private forecaster Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy

12th round of India, UK free trade agreement talks to begin from August 7

As India and the UK are close to concluding negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA), chief negotiators of both countries will hold the 12th round of talks from August 7 here, an official said. Both sides are looking at concluding the talks before the end of the year. The main issues which could come up for discussions in this round include investment treaty, reduction of duties on auto and whiskey and matters pertaining to services, the official said. The 11th round of talks was concluded last month. For that round, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal visited London and took stock of the negotiations. Out of the total 26 chapters in the FTA, 19 have been closed. Investment is being negotiated as a separate agreement (bilateral investment treaty) between India and the UK and it would be concluded simultaneously with the free trade agreement. In the rules of origin chapters, product specific rules are being negotiated whi