BUSINESS
Economic Survey 2021 pegs GDP growth at 11% in FY22, backs fiscal expansion to beat slowdown
The Economic Survey 2020-21 batted for a counter-cyclical fiscal policy, recommended a massive increase in healthcare spending in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and regulator for the sector, and criticised credit rating agencies, saying their assessment does not match India's fundamentals.
INDIA
Budget 2021 curtain-raiser: Nirmala Sitharaman faces her tryst with destiny
While Nirmala Sitharaman’s immediate predecessors - the late Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherjee - faced many economic headwinds during their time, the enormity of the challenges faced was perhaps not even close to what she sees in front of her right now.
BUSINESS
Budget 2021: Government to take another shot at privatisation
The bulk of divestment proceeds in 2021-22 are expected to come from privatisation of BPCL, Air India, Concor, Shipping Corp and IPO of LIC Ltd
INDIA
Explained: How to read the Union Budget
The finance minister's budget speech is one of the many parts of the budget documents, all of which are uploaded on indiabudget.gov.in within hours of the speech. We explain what you need to look out for in the documents.
ECONOMY
Wealth gap widens during lockdown, 17 million women lost jobs in April: Oxfam
While the findings of Oxfam and other similar agencies are not considered by policymakers, they come at a time when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will surely keep the urban and rural poor in mind while presenting her 2021-22 Union Budget, exactly a week from today.
ECONOMY
INTERVIEW | Budget should focus on MSMEs, infra push: Harsh Singhania, Vice Chairman, JK Papers
In an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol, Singhania also said that the Centre should come up with an urban jobs programme, and it should ramp up its privatisation plans, and the the trajectory of recovery in 2021 is expected to be a gradual upward slope.
ECONOMY
Govt to overhaul fiscal roadmap, may aim budget deficit at 4% of GDP by FY26
The fiscal deficit -- difference between Centre's expenditure and revenue - is expected to be in the range of 7-8 percent of GDP in 2020-21. From that, it may gradually come down to 4 percent of GDP by 2025-26. This means that the long-standing medium- term target of 3 percent of GDP, as mandated by the FRBM Act, no longer holds.
BUSINESS
Macro Minutes podcast | Budget 2021: HSBC Chief Economist Pranjul Bhandari pins hopes on higher tax buoyancy, privatization in FY22
Arup Roychoudhury talks to Pranjul Bhandari, Chief Economist of HSBC in India.
BUSINESS
EXCLUSIVE | Budget 2021-22 may spell out plans for new development finance institution
Such a DFI is expected to be partially owned by the government and would fund infrastructure projects that banks and other lenders are wary of funding due to long gestation periods. It is a possibility that the India Infrastructure Finance Company could be merged with the new DFI.
BUSINESS
Inflation cooldown comes as a surprise; industrial output disappoints
While retail inflation for December came down to within the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term inflation target after eight months, industrial production in November contracted after two months of expansion.
INDIA
COVID-19 vaccination | As Centre, states prepare for January 16 vaccine rollout, plans already on for the next stage
Once the frontline healthcare workers and senior citizens have been innoculated - primarily by states - the government will turn its attention to the urban and rural poor. These include the beneficiaries of the various pro-poor schemes of the government.
ECONOMY
Exclusive | Govt should reduce tariffs, push privatisation and recap banks, economists tell PM Modi
According to sources, economists who attended the meeting include former Rakesh Mohan, Ravindra Dholakia, Shankar Acharya, Arvind Panagariya, KV Kamath and Sonal Verma.
ECONOMY
US calls 'Google Tax' discriminatory, India defends equalisation levy
India, on its part to defend the equalisation tax aka Google Tax, said that its aim was to ensure a level playing field between local and foreign e-commerce companies, that the tax does not discriminate against any US company, and that it has no retrospective element.
ECONOMY
The team behind Union Budget 2021-22
We profile Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her budget-making team
ECONOMY
World Bank keeps India's FY20-21 contraction forecast unchanged
The World Bank has forecast India's real gross domestic product growth to be 5.4 percent for fiscal year 2021-22, primarily due to the low base effect of the current year. However, unlike most other agencies, the multilateral organization has not upgraded its forecast for 2020-21, and still projects India's economy to contract by 9.6 percent this year.
ECONOMY
EXCLUSIVE | Centre's FY20-21 fiscal deficit likely to be around 7% of GDP
It should be remembered that the fiscal deficit will be a percentage of a lower nominal GDP than the Rs 225 lakh crore that the last budget had assumed for 2020-21. The target for the year, set before the pandemic, was 3.5% of nominal GDP
COMPANIES
Govt to not extend Covid-19 relaxation for documentation by companies beyond December 31
These provisions include the Fresh Start Scheme of companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and a scheme related to relaxation in filing forms for creation or modification of charges.
INDIA
India's vaccination drive likely to start next week, says official
Authorities have made it clear that the vaccination drive will focus on about 300 million people, a priority group comprising of health workers, essential frontline workers, and those most susceptible to the coronavirus.
ECONOMY
GST collections for December highest ever at Rs 1.15 lakh crore
The previous record monthly GST collection was nearly Rs 1.14 lakh crore in April 2019. December 2020 revenue 11.6% higher than same month last year, the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year higher collections
BUSINESS
India's fiscal deficit widens, slowing government expenditure remains a concern
While the Centre has increased its capital and revenue spending commitments as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Gareeb Kalyan announcements, it is clear that some expenditure rationalization is taking place as well.
BUSINESS
Macro Minutes podcast | RBI should be allowed to monetize the most productive part of the deficit: Sabyasachi Kar
Sabyasachi Kar, the RBI Chair Professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, speaks on India's fiscal and monetary policy going ahead.
ECONOMY-MCMINIS
Arbitration ruling | Government examining Cairn judgement, sources say
The government has been asked to pay damages at the share value of Rs 330 in 2014, instead of the Rs 220-240 per share price at which it was sold by the Income-Tax Department in 2018, in tranches. The damages also include Rs 1,590 crore of tax refund due to the British company besides the legal fees.
INDIA
Through her public statements, FM Nirmala Sitharaman is preparing markets, rating agencies for an unprecedented budget
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seems to be preparing the markets for a budget with never before seen fiscal slippage and public spending outlay.
MCMINIS
Monetary Policy: RBI gets a breather
