At nearly 82 per cent of GDP, India's public debt is very high, but the country doesn't face debt sustainability issue on account of high growth rate and higher share of local currency debt, NCAER Director General Poonam Gupta has said. Participating in an event organised by NCAER, Gupta said India's high debt levels are sustainable for now because of higher real or nominal GDP and as most of the debt is held in rupee. The states together hold one-third of the total debt, and in the 'business as usual' situation, their debt levels will only increase further over the next five years, Gupta said. "In a handful of states like Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, Debt-to-GDP ratio could increase by 50 per cent," Gupta said, adding that the states, including the most indebted ones, also don't face sustainability issue as they have implicit guarantee of the Centre and as states cannot hold debt in foreign currency or floating rate. Drawing a comparison between Punjab, one of the most indebted ..
There is a need for a shift in the taxation mindset from rates to revenue by moderating tax rates and widening base in order to achieve the goal of 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047, experts said. They underscored the need on transition from rates to revenue focused on lowering tax rates, enlarging the tax-paying base and thereby creating the means for financing of India's investment and development needs. "Conventional higher tax rates haven't resulted in significant tax buoyancy. Recognising this fact, governments in India since 1991 onwards have clearly batted for moderate tax rates leading to greater levels of transparency and compliance," EY India senior partner Sudhir Kapadia said. Time has come to bite the bullet for reforms in direct taxes, he said, adding, there could be one simplified rate structure for businesses and for individuals, there could be one simple three-rate structure with low or moderate rates, no surcharges and cesses and no significant deductions. On GST, he said, a
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) slim majority in Lok Sabha may delay more far-reaching economic and fiscal reforms that could impede progress on fiscal consolidation, Moody's Ratings said on Wednesday. NDA securing a majority in the general elections will give a historic third term for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India. "We expect policy continuity, especially with regards to budgetary emphasis on infrastructure spending and boosting domestic manufacturing, to support robust economic growth. "However, the NDA's relatively slim margin of victory, as well as the BJP's loss of its outright majority in parliament, may delay more far-reaching economic and fiscal reforms that could impede progress on fiscal consolidation," Moody's said in a note. India's fiscal outcomes will remain weaker than Baa-rated peers, even as the final budget for the fiscal year ending March 2025 (fiscal 2024-25) to be released in the next few weeks provides some indications of India's ..
A poll by Bloomberg revealed that economists expected the India's central bank to maintain the repo rate at 6.5 per cent for the eight consecutive time
Surpassing the 50,000-mark for the very first time, the index's ascent can also be attributed to robust Q4 GDP figures, and S&P recent upgradation of India's rating to positive
If the BJP secures over 400 seats in the Lok Sabha, it will be the second party to do so after Congress, which won 414 seats in 1984 after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
As studies in Finland, Ireland and Kenya have shown, Congress' promise of Rs 1 lakh to below poverty line women may not just be an experiment in populism
Government would decide in the FY25 budget whether the fiscal deficit target of 5.1 per cent of GDP can be lowered further to fast track India towards the fiscal glide path
In the previous quarter, GDP growth rate accelerated to 8.4%, it was 7.6% in the July-September quarter
Stock Market Highlights on May 31: Sensex, and Nifty indices closed up to 0.19 per cent higher ahead of exit polls, Q4FY24 GDP data
India's GDP growth rate accelerated to 8.4% in Q3FY24; FY24 growth estimate at 7.6%
The median forecast from a survey of 54 economists put GDP growth at 6.7% year-on-year for the three months, the fourth quarter of India's 2023-24 fiscal
To become an alternative to China, India has to address a big challenge -which is that the industrial base of India is too narrow, he said
India's GDP growth is robust on the back of solid investment demand which is supported by healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates, the government's focus on capital expenditure and prudent monetary, regulatory and fiscal policies, the RBI said on Thursday. The Reserve Bank's Annual Report for 2023-24 said that the Indian economy is navigating the drag from an adverse global macroeconomic and financial environment. Indian economy, the report said, is well-placed to step up growth trajectory over the next decade in an environment of macroeconomic and financial stability. "As headline inflation eases towards the target, it will spur consumption demand especially in rural areas," it said. It further said the external sector's strength and buffers in the form of foreign exchange reserves will insulate domestic economic activity from global spillovers. The report, however, added that geopolitical tensions, geoeconomic fragmentation, global financial market volatility, internation
"We forecast India's real GDP growth at 6.8 per cent this year, which compares favourably with emerging market peers amid a broad global slowdown," S&P Global Ratings said
RBI's MPC has sounded caution on sticky food inflation, Goldman Sachs says, owing to supply-side disruptions due to the ongoing hot weather conditions in many parts of India
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the BJP-led Centre on Sunday, asking why people have not prospered if the country's economy is growing at a rapid pace. Addressing her first Lok Sabha poll rally in Punjab in favour of Amar Singh, the Congress candidate from Fatehgarh Sahib, Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "speaking lies and making hollow promises to the public only to capture power". At another rally in Chandigarh, she countered the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) charge that the Congress is anti-Hindu, saying her party's philosophy is based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, which has taught people about truth, love, harmony and non-violence. In Fatehgarh Sahib, the Congress general secretary urged people to ensure Singh's victory in the June 1 polls. Hitting out at the Modi government, she claimed that 70 crore youngsters are unemployed in the country and the rate of unemployment is the highest in 45 years. Gandhi said 30 lakh posts are vacan
NSO to release Q4 growth numbers, FY24 provisional estimates on Friday
On Wednesday, the RBI announced a record Rs 2.11 trillion dividend transfer to the government
Domestic rating agency ICRA on Tuesday projected India's GDP growth to moderate to a four quarter low of 6.7 per cent in March quarter of 2023-24 fiscal. For the full 2023-24 fiscal, ICRA estimates GDP growth to come in at 7.8 per cent. The Indian economy grew 8.2 per cent in the June quarter, 8.1 per cent in the September quarter and 8.4 per cent in the December quarter of 2023-24. ICRA Chief Economist, Head-Research & Outreach Aditi Nayar said the lower volume growth coupled with diminishing gains from commodity prices dampening the profitability of some of the industrial sectors is expected to dampen India's GVA growth in Q4 FY2024. India's GDP expanded 6.1 per cent in the March quarter of 2022-23 fiscal, as per May 31, 2023 estimates. The growth for full fiscal 2022-23 was 7 per cent. The GDP numbers for the fourth quarter (January-March 2024) and the provisional estimates for the 2023-24 fiscal are scheduled to be released on May 31. ICRA, in a statement, said the gap betwee