BUSINESS
Fin Min says concerns around India-Mauritius tax treaty tweaks premature
The IT department on April 12 said that the protocol facilitating the amendments in the tax treaty is yet to be ratified and notified under the Income Tax Act, and queries, if any, will be addressed as and when that happens.
BUSINESS
India's retail inflation eases to a 10-month low of 4.85% in March
The latest inflation data comes a week after the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on April 5 announced the decision to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent for the seventh consecutive time
BUSINESS
8th round of India-Peru Trade Agreement talks likely in June 2024
India and Peru recently concluded the seventh round of talks for a proposed free trade agreement that took place in New Delhi, India from April 8 to April 11, 2024, according to an official release on April 11.
BUSINESS
What voters should know – How Modi government fared on food prices
Food inflation in the last 14 months hovered around 7 percent on an average, with prices of key vegetables such as onions and tomatoes more than doubling. This has been an outcome of demand, supply mismatches even as the government remained pre-emptive in its actions with measures ranging from export bans to subsidising the cost of staples.
BUSINESS
CII chief R Dinesh bats for land, labour reforms to keep up economic growth
CII President prescribed higher spending on health and education, GST rationalisation, focus on MSMEs and an employment-incentive scheme to create jobs
LOK-SABHA-ELECTION
General Elections 2024: What is on the minds of India's women voters?
From religion to jobs to Brand Modi – several metrics have emerged as front runners on what clicks for India’s female voters.
BUSINESS
Das says RBI does not follow the Fed; economists think otherwise
Beyond the lack of clarity on US Fed action, there are two more risks to the RBI’s timeline on rate cuts -- the recent uptick in crude oil prices, and higher temperatures seen in April-June.
BUSINESS
Why is the rupee falling?
ANZ's Nitin Agarwal sees the rupee's move towards record lows to be a temporary phenomenon, if the Chinese yuan stabilises with INR expected to hover around 83.60-83.65 levels, assuming no further movement in global factors.
BUSINESS
MC Exclusive: The inside track on BJP government’s white paper on Indian economy
The decision to release a white paper on the Indian economy, which strongly criticised the UPA’s stewardship of the economy, was taken very close to the interim Budget and was put together in around a week.
TRENDS
ED, I-T actions on Kejriwal, Congress spark election conduct debate. Can the Election Commission step in?
Amid opposition concerns about their impact on fair elections, former Election Commission officials are of the view that the poll body is empowered to intervene if the actions of ED and income tax department substantially disrupt the level playing field.
BUSINESS
World Bank raises India's FY25 growth projection to 6.6%; pegs FY24 GDP at 7.5%
Growth in South Asia is projected at 6.0–6.1 percent in 2024–25, stronger than in other emerging market and developing economies, largely due to robust economic activity in India.
BUSINESS
Hand spectrometers to students rather than subsidies to chip makers: Raghuram Rajan
While the former central bank governor clarified that it is not that India should never make chips, "but with every nation trying to pursue the same, it would be a "ruinous race" to get into now."
BUSINESS
Model code may not impact capex pace; less than Rs 1.5 lakh crore needed to meet FY24 aim
Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist at Bank of Baroda, believes that the Centre should be able to meet the revised capex aim for FY24 since MCC norms do not impact ongoing spending, but he does question whether there are enough infrastructure projects to spend on.
BUSINESS
FTAs with UK, Oman may feature in Centre's 100-day agenda for next govt : Official
The government official added that since the Model Code of Conduct is in place, the trade deals will not be signed before the new govt assumes office and there are no plans to seek permission from the Election Commission to ink these FTAs while MCC is in force.
BUSINESS
CEA Nageswaran on Daniel Kahneman: An e-mail exchange and the science of human decisions
The Chief Economic Advisor recalled an e-mail exchange between him and Kahneman back in 2012 where the celebrated psychologist praised Nageswaran's review of his book ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’.
ECONOMY-2
India's current account deficit narrows to $10.5 billion in October-December
For the April-December period of the ongoing financial year, India’s current account deficit moderated to 1.2 percent of GDP from 2.6 percent in the corresponding period a year ago on the back of a lower merchandise trade deficit.
BUSINESS
In meetings with Fin Min, global investors shared plans to step up bond purchases post index inclusion
In meetings with senior finance ministry officials in February, top global investors communicated plans to step up their investments through the fixed income route once Indian government bonds are included in global indices.
BUSINESS
Electoral bonds: Subsidiary of BJP's top donor is Congress' second-biggest funder
Mamata Banerjee's TMC received more than half of its total donations from electoral bonds worth Rs 1,610 crore from Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR (Rs 544 crore) and Bengal-based Haldia Energy (Rs 281 crore).
BUSINESS
India's nominal GDP growth aim may be revised upwards in FY25 Budget: Govt source
Achieving a higher nominal GDP growth would be crucial in FY25 given that the Centre is looking to lower its fiscal deficit target to 5.1 percent versus a revised assumption of 5.8 percent in the current fiscal year
BUSINESS
Tesla and beyond: India bets on EV policy sops to attract global players
India has already taken steps to push for the adoption of EVs, including PLI schemes on advanced chemistry cells, automobiles and automobile components, even as the GST on EVs was reduced to 5 percent from 12 percent.
BUSINESS
India-UK FTA: Majority of outstanding issues moving towards resolution
"Both sides are actively engaged in talks, and both sides want a fair, equitable deal. Negotiators are still negotiating. We are waiting for talks to conclude," Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said.
BUSINESS
More than half of major Indian states are facing higher rural inflation vs urban
Odisha saw the highest combined retail inflation rate for February 2024 at 7.55 percent, followed by Telangana and Haryana. While, at 2.42 percent, India’s capital Delhi witnessed the least amount of price pressures among the major states and union territories.
BUSINESS
Modi, Sunak reaffirms commitment to conclude India-UK FTA talks at the earliest
India's commerce ministry on February 15 said that majority of the chapters in the India-UK FTA are either closed or are at advanced stages of negotiations
BUSINESS
India-EFTA trade deal may take at least a year to get implemented: Official
The delay is likely to be on account of the referendum that Switzerland may conduct, with its people voting on whether to clear the India-EFTA deal. The deal, which was first proposed in 2008, was finally signed on March 10, after 21 rounds of negotiations
