Page 9 - India Economy

A trillion dreams: Is this realistic, or are four states chasing a chimera?

The exchange rate will play a crucial role in this calculation and some assumptions must be made on this front

Keep in mind interest of poor: President to economic service officers

President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday asked a group of economic service officers to keep in mind the interest of the poor and backward sections of the country while taking any decision in their workplace. Addressing a group of probationers of the Indian Economic Service (2022 and 2023 batches), who had called on her at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here, Murmu said that economic growth is an important component in the country's development. "Macro and micro economic indicators are considered useful parameters of progress. Therefore, the role of economists is important in making government policies and schemes effective and useful," she said. Murmu told officers that as India is moving towards becoming the third largest economy in the world, they will get countless opportunities in the times to come to enhance their capabilities and utilise them to the fullest. She expressed confidence that they will make a significant contribution to the development of the country by taking proper advantage

UPA seized RBI to paint picture of rosy economy, says Anurag Thakur

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday alleged that the Congress-led UPA government "seized" the RBI to paint an illusion of economic growth during its tenure in office. Referring to the revelations made by former RBI Governor D Subbarao in his memoirs, Thakur said, "From 2004 to 2014, under the guise of governance, the Congress-led UPA orchestrated a grand illusion, turning Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji's thriving economy into a theater of economic despair." In his recent book 'Just A Mercenary?: Notes from My Life and Career', Subbarao has said that the finance ministry under Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram used to pressurise the RBI to soften interest rates and present a rosier picture of growth to shore up sentiments. The former RBI governor in his memoir also wrote that there was 'little understanding and sensitivity' in the erstwhile government of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on the importance of the central bank's autonomy. "They seized the RBI to hide th

Uncertainty over elections could risk Sri Lanka's economic recovery: ADB

The "uncertainty" over the impending elections in Sri Lanka will cause a possible downward trend in the country's economic outlook, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said. The island nation is set to face a presidential election in the last quarter of this year, while the parliamentary election is due mid-next year. However, political uncertainty prevails in the country as opposition parties have pledged to reverse the current IMF-linked reforms, which have proved to be unpopular with the masses. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has steered the recovery programme by going into a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a USD 2.9 billion facility, maintains that the island could once again face economic collapse if the IMF programme reforms are not adhered to. Outlining the economic risks Sri Lanka is facing, the ADB in its South Asian chapter's economic trends report released yesterday said, Among them the most important is uncertainty associated with the .

FMCG industry expects improving macro-indicators to drive consumer demand

Leading industry players expect improving macro-indicators and expectations of good monsoon and rabi crops to drive consumer demand for FMCG in the current fiscal. Consumer demand for FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) remained sluggish amid a subdued operating condition in the March quarter. The industry expects a mid-to-high-single-digit growth in value/volume in the January-March period, along with a continuation of the gross margins expansion trend, helped by deflation in input cost. The rural demand, which was sluggish in the last few quarters, has picked up pace from the January-March period, and some FMCG makers have reported a narrowing down of the gap with the urban market. Rural India contributes nearly 35 to 38 per cent of the FMCG sales in the country. Besides, further expansion of margins will help the companies to amplify their A&P (advertising & promotional) spending behind their brands, leading listed FMCG firms like Dabur, Marico and Godrej Consumer Products ...

India set for strong economic rebound seen in 2000s: RBI Dy Guv Patra

While private consumption remains pivotal, the economic resurgence will be fuelled by investments and exports, said Michael Debabrata Patra

India's richest 1% enjoy 22.6% of national income: Kharge in swipe at BJP

He added that the Congress, as part of the guarantees under 'Participatory Justice', will conduct a comprehensive social, economic and caste census

RBI board reviews domestic economic situation, outlook and challenges

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) central board on Friday reviewed the domestic economic situation and outlook, including the challenges posed by the global financial market volatility. The board also approved the bank's budget for the accounting year 2024-25, the central bank said in a statement. The 607th meeting of the Central Board of Directors of the RBI took place in Nagpur under the chairmanship of Governor Shaktikanta Das. "The Board reviewed the global and domestic economic situation and outlook, including the challenges posed by geopolitical developments and global financial market volatility," the RBI said. Further, the board also discussed the RBI's activities, including the progress made in digital payments, consumer education and awareness during the current accounting year 2023-24. Directors of the central board Satish K Marathe, Revathy Iyer, Sachin Chaturvedi, Venu Srinivasan, and Ravindra H Dholakia attended the meeting. Deputy governors Michael Debabrata Patra,

India's economic outlook for next fiscal positive, says finance ministry

The finance ministry on Friday said with an uptick in private investment and inflation trending down, India's outlook for the next fiscal looks positive. The Monthly Economic Review also said that inclusion of Indian bonds in Bloomberg bond index from January 2025 should bolster inflows. It said robust investment activity is driving growth amid a steady rise in consumption. "The continued focus on public investment seems to have crowded in private investment," said the February edition of the review by Department of Economic Affairs. The National Statistical Office (NSO) has revised upwards the GDP growth estimate for current fiscal to 7.6 per cent from 7.3 per cent. India grew above 8 per cent for three consecutive quarters, reaffirming its position as a standout performer amid sluggish global growth trends. Various agencies echo a similar sentiment revising the FY24 growth estimates of India closer to 8 per cent, the ministry said. "On the whole, India looks positively toward

India will become third top economy in few years, says FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said India currently needs economic freedom to achieve developed nation status by 2047 and assured that the country would move to the third spot in world economy from the current fifth position in the near future. Criticising those who compared India with China, Sitharaman said that certain things could not be replicated from them. "India should attain self sufficiency on economic matters. It should become an economic power. The country has come from 10th position to 5th in global rankings and a few years down the line we will achieve the third spot", Sitharaman said, after unveiling a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Shrimati Indira Gandhi College here. Appealing to the students gathered at the venue to contribute to the progress of the nation, she said, "It is through the efforts of students like you that our country will become a developed nation by 2047." Referring to people talking about how China has progressed and comparisons wi

FY24 GDP growth to be closer to 8% on higher activity in industry: CEA

India's real GDP growth in FY24 will be "closer" to 8 per cent on higher activity in industry and services verticals, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on Tuesday. Addressing a conference organised by ARIA (Association of Registered Investment Advisors) virtually, Nageswaran said the growth will be higher than the Ministry of Statistics' estimate of 7.6 per cent, and added that there is much reason to be optimistic in the near term about the prospects in India. "...unless the Q4 GDP numbers fall very significantly from the momentum that we have seen in the first three quarters, the GDP will be closer to 8 per cent rather than 7.6 per cent as the Ministry of Statistics is currently estimating," Nageswaran said. However, he stressed on the need to put heads down and work towards the goal without "succumbing to triumphalism and exuberance". "As a country, we should realize that we are in it for the longer haul, not for the short term," he said, adding that the ...

Nation first policy helped manage oil prices despite global conflicts: Puri

The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas said 85 per cent of India's crude requirements are met by imports, with the price of crude in the international market being the benchmark

Valley breathing freely and tourism flourishing: PM Modi in Kashmir

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said while he has a roadmap for the development of the country for the next 25 years, the opposition only has "anger and abuses" to offer and no solutions. Addressing a conclave organised by Republic TV, Modi highlighted the speed and scale of the work done by his government so far and said in the last 75 days, he has laid the foundation stone or dedicated to the nation projects worth Rs 9 lakh crore. "I have a roadmap for the development of the country for the next 25 years. But on the other side (opposition), there is only anger, abuses and disappointment. They neither have any issue to raise nor any solution to offer," the prime minister said. Modi said this decade is for strengthening the foundation of a capable and a developed India. This decade will be of India's high-speed connectivity, high-speed mobility and high-speed prosperity, he said. He said people of the country are "seeing and feeling" the scale and speed of his government's

India's surprise GDP driven by more than just one-off factors, says CEA

The surprise 8.4% surge in gross domestic product was largely due to base effects related to subsidies, which boosted the net indirect tax category, CEA V Anantha Nageswaran said

Needs to sustain growth to hit bottom echelons of developed country: Sanyal

Economist Sanjeev Sanyal on Wednesday said India needs to sustain the current growth momentum to reach the "bottom echelons" of being considered a developed world by 2047. Sanyal, a full-time member of the Economic Advisory Council, suggested that developing fast is imperative because by 2047, India would have aged and be in the same place as China is right now. "We still remain a very poor country. So, we have to sustain this performance for 25 years. Only then are we going to get to the bottom echelons of being a developed country in 2047 when we will be 100 years of freedom," Sanyal said while addressing the India Global Forum here. He said this is a window of opportunity before the country, and we ought to make it work by remaining focused on economic growth and not getting distracted by other things. Sanyal said it is essential that we continue to undertake reforms to realise the growth potential and listed out some essential priorities. He said the judicial side requires a l

'India targets 5-fold increase in share of global space economy by 2030'

Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said the Centre has set the target of increasing the share of the Indian space sector five-fold by 2030 - from the current 2 per cent to 10 per cent. Singh, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, made the statement after inaugurating "IN-SPACe Technical Centre' at the headquarters of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in Bopal area of Ahmedabad city. Addressing a gathering after the inauguration, he said there was a time when the world did not take India very seriously in the space sector, while it is the other way round now. "Our target is to take the space economy from 2 per cent to 10 per cent by 2030, a five-fold increase. And as per our vision document, we have mentioned 15 per cent by 2047. That is 15 per cent share in the global space economy," he said. "India's space economy today stands at a modest USD 8 billion, but our own projection is that by 2040 it .

Dysfunctional environmental clearance system should be shut down: Narain

India's system for granting environmental clearances is badly broken and should be completely shut down to dispel any illusions about their effectiveness, eminent environmentalist Sunita Narain has said. In an interview with PTI, Narain -- the director general of independent think-tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) -- suggested that the government overhaul the system to strike a balance between environmental preservation and development. Expressing concern over the decriminalisation of environmental laws in India, Narain said the current system for granting environmental and forest clearances, and penalising polluters is "so broken that it should be completely shut down so that we have no illusion of anything that is not working". Regarding environmental impact assessments, Narain pointed out the lack of accountability of committees granting clearances. "The panel lays down hundreds of conditions so that it is not held to account but there is no way to know if the ...

Best of BS Opinion: Sustained momentum, BJP's manifesto on defence & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Fiscal deficit at Jan-end touches 63.6% of full year target: Govt data

In the corresponding period last year, the fiscal deficit or gap between the expenditure and revenue was 67.8 per cent of Revised Estimates (RE) of the Union Budget 2022-23

India's growth, fast delivery new normal for world: PM at global summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the world no longer feels surprised at India's achievements as it has become a new normal now and they today realise the benefit of walking alongside the country. Earlier the world used to be surprised to see India has done something but it is no longer so and it has become a new normal for the world, Modi said at a global summit organised here by the TV9 News Network. "Growing trust in India has become the biggest recognition for India," he said. Modi also hit out at previous governments, saying those in power till 10 years ago did not have any faith in India's capabilities. It is very difficult to get victory with a mind that has accepted defeat, he added. "They were the people who called Indians lazy. If there is hopelessness in those in power, how can they inspire hope among the people," Modi said. "We have brought the country out of that era of hopelessness," the prime minister said. Now, decisions are taken fast and those decision