Page 140 - Indian Economy

States debt cost falls 12 bps to 7.67% on receding appetite from issuers

States on Tuesday got some reprieve in their debt cost with the weighted average price falling by 12 bps to 7.67 per cent due to receding appetite from issuers as they received tax payouts from the Centre last week. Assam, Bihar, Karnataka and Punjab have raised Rs 8,800 crore from the market at the auctions, which is nearly 31 per cent lower than the Rs 12,800 crore indicated for this week. According to Icra Ratings, the states have been drawing less from the market as the Centre has released two instalments of tax devolution aggregating to Rs 1.2 lakh crore on November 10, which eased their cash-flow position, leading to some states skipping the auction. The additional devolution in November may continue to drive the trend of lower-than-indicated borrowings in the coming weeks, the agency said. As a result, at the auctions today, the weighted average cut-off declined by 12 bps to 7.67 per cent from 7.79 in the last auction, amid a stable weighted average tenor at 12 years, the ..

Indian IT, business services market grew 7.4% in first half of 2022: Study

The IT and business services market in the country was valued at $7.15 billion between January and June 2022, according to IDC

RBI likely to go for smaller rate hikes as inflation eases: Analysts

The RBI has already raised rates by 190 bps since May, to 5.90%, as it battles to reign in inflation that has stayed above its 2%-6% tolerance band for ten straight months now.

Finance ministry likely to give additional Rs 25,000 crore for MGNREGS

But asks rural development ministry to identify and remove inefficiencies

Retail inflation eases to 6.77% in October, lowest in three months

May make MPC less hawkish on rate hike; WPI inflation dips to 19-month low of 8.39% in Oct

Consumer sentiments to sustain elevated levels

Sentiments have neither collapsed, nor have they stepped down after the festive season. They seem to have sustained the elevated levels they had achieved during the festive season

Chatroom: 'Export incentives available on payments received through SVAs'

Export invoicing in INR is already allowed but the payment must come through Vostro Accounts maintained by foreign banks with a bank in India

India believes in peace but will give befitting reply if provoked: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that India believed in peace, but if provoked, then the country could give a befitting reply.The Defence Minister was addressing an event in Jhajjar, Haryana on Sunday, said a press release by the Ministry of Defence."India is no longer weak. We believe in peace, but if anyone tries to harm us, we will give a befitting reply. Our soldiers have proved this time and again. 2016 surgical strikes, 2019 Balakot airstrikes and the bravery shown by our soldiers during the Galwan Valley incident are proof of our prowess & preparedness," said Singh.Singh has assured the nation that the Armed Forces are fully equipped to give a befitting reply to anyone who casts an evil eye on India. Addressing an event in Jhajjar, Haryana on November 13, 2022, he asserted that safeguarding national interests is the main focus of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the military is being armed with state-of-the-art and indigenously-developed

Indian economy fast-paced under PM Modi's rule, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the country witnessed fast-paced economic growth under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and would achieve the USD 5-trillion economy goal by 2025. He said welfare schemes announced by the NDA government, including PM Awas Yojana for housing, and Swacch Bharat Abhiyan for construction of toilets and free electricity were driving the growth. Shah was speaking during the 75th platinum jubilee celebrations of N Srinivasan-helmed The India Cements Ltd here. Hailing the contribution of the cement-maker to the country, Shah said development of the country was based on its infrastructure and robust infrastructure is based on the quality of the cement used. "India Cements has become one of the top cement companies in the country. It has also forayed into shipping, mining, infrastructure, sports and so on... " he said. Shah noted that the company produces 15.5 million tonne of cement through its 10 manufacturing facilities across the

Expect next inflation print to be below 7%, says RBI Governor Das

Terming price rise as a major challenge, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Saturday expressed hope that inflation print for October will be lower than 7 per cent. Retail inflation in September increased to 7.4 per cent from 7 per cent in August on higher food and energy costs. He attributed the expected moderation in inflation in October to measures taken by both the government and RBI in the last 6-7 months. Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit, Das there is no need to change the goal post for inflation targeting as higher than 6 per cent inflation would hurt growth. The rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee headed by the RBI Governor has been mandated by the government to keep inflation within 2-6 per cent range. On the Indian economy, Das said the macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong and growth prospects are looking good. "We expect the October number which will be released on Monday to be lower than 7 per cent. Inflation is a matter of concern with which we are no

Experts say India marching towards becoming world's 3rd biggest economy: PM

India is marching towards becoming the third largest economy in the world according to experts, even when the world is going through a critical time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday. Speaking after dedicating a fertiliser plant to the nation and launching various projects here, Modi said experts have stated that the growth witnessed by the country after 1990, in the past three decades, will happen in just a few years due to the change that has happened during the past eight years. "For the past two or three years, the world has been fighting the corona pandemic. On the other hand, there are frictions, military actions are taking place and the effects of those are also impacting the country and the world," he said. "But under these critical circumstances also, all in the world are hearing one more thing. Experts in the world say that India will soon become the third largest economy in the world and is marching forward very fast in that direction," the Prime Minister ...

India likely to remain fastest growing major economy: RBI Governor Das

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Saturday exuded confidence that India will continue to be the fastest growing major economy with a likely growth rate of 7 per cent in 2022-23 on the back of strong macroeconomic fundamentals and financial sector stability. Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit 2022, Das emphasised that the country's economy remains resilient, supported by the banking and non-banking sectors. Das said the entire world has withstood multiple shocks. "I call it triple shocks of COVID-19 pandemic, then the war in Ukraine, and now the financial market turmoil." The Governor said the financial market turmoil is mainly emanating from the synchronised monetary policy tightening across the world by central banks, especially those in advanced countries, led by the US Fed, and the spillovers are being felt by the emerging market economies, including India. He further said in this kind of successive turmoils, European Union is facing a recession situation, but there are

India to be one of top three economic powers in next 10-15 years: FM

India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world and is expected to be one of the top three economic powers globally over the next 10-15 years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday. Speaking at the US-India Businesses and Investment Opportunities event here, Sitharaman said, the global economic outlook remains challenging and the Indian economy is not insulated from the impact of global economic developments. However, she said, India has carved out its growth trajectory supported by the above-normal south-west monsoon, public investment, strong corporate balance sheets, upbeat consumer and business confidence and receding threat of the Covid pandemic. "India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world. It has recently surpassed the UK to become the fifth-largest economy in the world and is expected to be one of the top three economic powers globally over the next 10-15 years," she said. Listing out some of the ...

Moody's slashes India's GDP growth forecast for 2022 by 70 bps to 7%

Weak rupee, and high oil prices cited as reasons for the downward revision

Direct Tax collections rise 31% YoY at Rs 10.54 trillion till November 10

Refunds amounting to Rs 1.83 trillion were issued during 1st April, 2022 to 10th November, 2022

Industrial production grows 3.1% in September, mining output up 4.6%: Data

India's industrial production grew 3.1 per cent in September, according to official data released on Friday. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had grown 4.4 per cent in September 2021. As per the IIP data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the manufacturing sector's output grew by 1.8 per cent in September 2022. The mining output rose 4.6 per cent and power generation increased 11.6 per cent during the month.

Better tax collection to help meet FY23 fiscal target of 6.4%: Report

The Centre is likely to meet the key fiscal targets led by the deficit getting contained at the budgeted target of 6.4 per cent in the current financial year, mainly due to better tax collection, according to a report. Bank of America Securities on Friday said the key risks to budgeted fiscal deficit include higher subsidies, lower divestment proceeds, excise duty cut on petrol and diesel. But the offsetting factors include better than estimated tax revenue buoyancy, higher nominal GDP growth, and lower capex loan to states, it said in a report. Accordingly, the brokerage said it expects the government to meet the budgeted FY23 fiscal deficit target at 6.4 per cent of GDP despite upside risks. The report also noted that it was expecting the government to undershoot the fiscal deficit target when the budget was presented at 6 per cent. However, as the year progressed, the outbreak of the Ukraine war started to exert meaningful pressure on global commodity prices, particularly food,

BS Number Wise: Here's why India's poverty estimates are problematic

Traditional estimates of poverty in the country rely on indicators that are outdated or inaccurate

Current account deficit likely to be lower at 3% this fiscal: SBI report

State Bank of India has pencilled in lower current account deficit at 3 per cent for this fiscal as against the minimum consensus of 3.5 per cent, citing rising software exports, remittances and a likely USD 5-billion jump in forex reserves via swap deals. Every USD 10 increase in crude prices impacts the Current Account Deficit (CAD) to the tune of 40 basis points while the same on fuel inflation is 50 bps and also results in 23 bps decline in growth, according to Soumyakanti Ghosh, the chief economic advisor at SBI. CAD has a counter cyclical shock absorber, he said in a report on Thursday. Exchange rate is the major contributor to software exports growth and 40 per cent of its variation is explained by exchange rates. "If we translated these numbers in actual terms, every Re 1 fall against the dollar leads to an increase in software exports by USD 250 million". This, along with an expected USD 5 billion-forex reserve accrual by way of swap transactions and higher remittances, wi

Inflation likely slowed in Oct, still well above RBI target band: Report

Forecasts ranged from 6.40% to 7.35%, with three-quarters of respondents expecting a figure under 7.00%, well below the recent peak of 7.79% in April. The RBI's tolerance band is 2-6%.