Page 69 - Indian Economy

Governance challenges for a coalition

If the concerns over risking political capital are overcome, the long-term gains for the Indian economy will be immense

'Modi retaining power under changed conditions to make reforms challenging'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi retaining power in the general elections under "changed circumstances" will make the implementation of critical reforms challenging, economists said on Tuesday. Economists said the results, wherein trends and leads showed the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) being set to win around 295 seats but Modi's BJP falling short of the halfway mark of 272 by itself, are a "negative surprise". "It is likely that Narendra Modi will return as PM for a third term. However, he will have to contend with changed circumstances," a note from the domestic brokerage Emkay said, adding that the broad direction of the economic policy is unlikely to change. Seeming to concur on the same, analysts at Swiss brokerage UBS said it expects the government to push supply-side reforms, including manufacturing, simplification of regulatory processes, labour law implementation, skill development and creating employment opportunities. "However, we think implementation of ...

Heatwave drags manufacturing growth to three-month low in May: PMI data

But the sector remains in expansionary territory in May. Manufacturing employment rose to one of the greatest extents seen since data collection started in March 2005

Cargo traffic across major ports rises over 3% to 72.04 mn tonnes in May

Cargo traffic across 12 major ports in the country increased by 3.75 per cent year-on-year in May to 72.04 million tones (MT) from 69.43 MT handled in the corresponding month of 2023 with nine such ports showing positive growth. Visakhapatnam Port registered the maximum cargo growth in cargo handling at 22.05 per cent during the reporting month followed by Chennai Port with 9.10 per cent, Cochin Port with 7.78 per cent and Mumbai Port with 5.89 per cent, according to data released by the major ports' apex body, Indian Ports Association (IPA). The 12 major ports are Deendayal (Kandla), Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore (Kamarajar), Tuticorin (V O Chidambaranar), Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) and Jawaharlal Nehru Port. According to the IPA, VO Chidambaranar Port saw a 5.59 per cent increase in its cargo handling during the previous month while Paradip Port 4.27 per cent, Deendayal Port with 3.49 per cent, New Mangalore Port with 1.87 per

Considerable uncertainty persists in US economic outlook: Candace Browning

Browning elaborates on the implications of US growth for financial markets

CBIC steps up its vigil over imports of unbranded gold jewellery

Amid spurt in seizures of gold jewellery; monitor gold shipments under free trade pact

Building blocks

Next govt must build on macro strengths

As order book grows, capital goods, engineering cos firm up capex plans

Nine of the large engineering and capital goods companies combined have a capex of roughly Rs 11,500 crore or more under way

GST collection soars 10% to Rs 1.73 trn in May, FY25 mopup at Rs 3.83 trn

Trend indicates tax collection to remain above Rs 1.7 trillion during the fiscal year

India Q4 GDP data: Big-bang ending for FY24

The data for the fourth quarter takes FY24's GDP growth to 8.2 per cent Y-o-Y, which is 0.4 percentage points higher than our projected estimate for the year

Reserve Bank of India cancels 10-year green bond auction for first time

Market refuses to pay greenium; rupee falls to 2-week low on poll jitters

India's fiscal deficit in FY24 improved to 5.6% of GDP: Govt data

A fiscal deficit arises when government spending exceeds revenue

Moody's projects 6.8% GDP expansion in 2024 on strong economic growth

Moody's Ratings on Friday projected India to grow 6.8 per cent in the current year, followed by 6.5 per cent in 2025, on the back of strong, economic expansion, along with post-election policy continuity. India's real GDP grew 7.7 per cent in 2023, up from 6.5 per cent in 2022, driven by robust capital spending by the government and strong manufacturing activity. High-frequency indicators, including robust goods and services tax collections, rising auto sales, consumer optimism and expanding manufacturing and services PMIs, have signalled sustained economic momentum in March and June quarter this year. "We believe the Indian economy should comfortably register 6-7 per cent annual real GDP growth and we forecast around 6.8 per cent growth," Moody's said in its update to Global Macro Outlook 2024-25. It said strong, broad-based growth will likely be sustained with post-election policy continuity. Moody's said this year's interim Budget targets capital expenditure allocation of Rs 1

Unsecured retail credit growth slows down in April 2024: RBI data

Credit offtake by services, industry stays robust

This is just a trailer of things to come, says PM Modi on GDP figures

Lauding the high GDP growth in 2023-24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said it underlines robust momentum in the economy which is poised to accelerate further. "As I've said, this is just a trailer of things to come," he said on X. India's economy clicked growth of 7.8 per cent in the January-March quarter, pushing the annual growth rate for FY24 to 8.2 per cent, mainly on account of good showing by manufacturing, official data showed on Friday. Modi said, "The Q4 GDP growth data for 2023-24 shows robust momentum in our economy which is poised to further accelerate. Thanks to the hardworking people of our country, 8.2% growth for the year 2023-24 exemplifies that India continues to be the fastest growing major economy globally.

India's FY24 fiscal deficit lower than full-year target, shows govt data

The fiscal deficit came in at Rs 16.54 trillion ($198.34 billion), or 95.3% of the estimate, even as the government continued its record infrastructure spending to boost the economy

Forex reserves snaps three-week gaining streak, ease from record high

The reserves fell by $2 billion in that week, after rising by a total of $10.8 billion in the previous three weeks

Rs 500 note now 86.5% of currency in circulation by value: RBI report

The increase in the share of the Rs 500 note coincides with the declining share of the Rs 2000 note, which was only 0.2 per cent at the end of FY23

Rs 2000 counterfeit notes more than double, says RBI annual report

Overall, the number of counterfeit notes detected in FY24 was lower than the previous year. There is a declining trend of counterfeit notes detected every year

RBI to allow opening of rupee account outside India to boost currency use

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday allowed the opening of rupee accounts outside India as part of its strategic action plan to internationalise the domestic currency. With emphasis on continuous synchronisation of the FEMA operating framework with the evolving macroeconomic environment, rationalisation of various guidelines will be of primary focus, the central bank said in its annual report. The RBI said it has finalised a strategic action plan for 2024-25 and envisaged liberalisation of external commercial borrowing (ECB) framework and 'Go-live' for phase I of software platform for ECBs and trade credits reporting and approval (SPECTRA) project. The RBI will permit opening of rupee (INR) accounts outside India by persons resident outside India (PROIs) as part of the 2024-25 agenda for internationalisation of the domestic currency. "INR lending by Indian banks to PROIs and enabling foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment through special accounts [special