BUSINESS
Telecom Bill 2023: Ground laid out for India telecom’s space take-off
Once voted into law, the Telecom Bill 2023 will replace three laws—the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950. It will also amend the TRAI Act, 1997, without diluting the regulator’s powers.
INDIA
I-Day speech: PM bets on middle class beyond metros to power next growth phase
India’s economic growth ambitions are predicated upon the emergent spending power of the neo-middle class, whose ranks, the Prime Minister said, has surged as development lifts millions out of poverty.
BUSINESS
Rupee takes cautious steps towards internationalisation as case for de-dollarisation strengthens
India is seeking to ride on bilateral trade pacts to internationalise the rupee and reduce dependency on the dollar. Besides tariff levels and the removal of measures and provisions that act as trade barriers, India has now thrown currency into this mix as a matter of strategic interest.
BUSINESS
India’s flag fluttering tall on the high seas of world trade
What has stood out is India’s ability to drive trade pacts as growth multipliers, thereby giving Indian artisans, goods makers and service providers easier barrier-free access to overseas markets.
ECONOMY
At 6.1%, India’s Q4 GDP faster than the biggest, but there are a few worry lines
Both consumption spending and government spending will have to quickly accelerate onto a faster lane and continue to expand consistently over the medium term to maintain India’s growth momentum
INDIA
Piyush Goyal the reformer shines through in India-UAE CEPA and other complex trade pacts
Trade negotiations are substantially about expanding the area of the possible, and gradualism is a given approach. Seen through this lens, the pace at which Goyal has piloted these, building personal rapport with his counterparts, are nothing short of big-bang
BUSINESS
Budget 2022| FM Niramala Sitharaman blends welfare needs with reformist intent
India’s official digital currency coming soon; gains from crypto assets to be taxed at 30 pc from April 1, 2021; capped the surcharge on long-term capital gains on any type of assets at 15 per cent; measures for use of big-data and drones in the farming sectors and incentives for agri-tech startups announced.
ECONOMY
Economic Survey 2022 pegs FY23 GDP growth at 8-8.5%
Economic Survey 2022: Calls for modifying IBC to make processes simpler; sounded a note of caution on the potential of the US Fed Reserve’s tapering on India; surging domestic inflation and rising oil prices remain as watch out areas; bats for A-I, drones for agri reforms
INDIA
Budget 22: Policymaking is more than just fiscal math in times of COVID and elections
FM Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget just ahead of crucial Assembly polls in UP and other states. The challenge for the finance minister will be to walk the talk on the government’s reformist intent without being on the wrong side of the political debate.
ECONOMY
Retro is not always cool
The Narendra Modi government’s decision to reverse retrospective taxes, after seven years in office, may have been precipitated by recent judicial reverses, particularly in the case of Cairn Energy
BUSINESS
RIL’s green foray will bring in scale and help mitigate risks for the sector
It will create confidence and will likely enable easier, and quicker, financial closure; will usher in scale in local manufacturing in India’s renewable energy sector—important to lower costs.
BUSINESS
Several worry lines showing up in inflation numbers
Rural inflation in May this year outpaced urban. There has been a sharp spike in inflation of protein-based products, and oil. Plentiful rains this summer is crucial not only to contain food prices but also to ensure to steady farm incomes in villages pummeled by the pandemic
TRENDS
Q4 GDP | Some numbers look pretty, but a rebound from the second wave could be several months away
India GDP: India’s ability to bounce back from the impact of the second Covid-19 wave will depend mainly on one factor: the pace of vaccination.
BUSINESS
GDP data | Guard against fitting trends from Q4 growth
The bigger question to watch out for is whether the slide in April-June this year turns out to be deeper than last year. The immediate past on the GDP front may actually mirror the opposite of what could happen in the coming months.
BUSINESS
$3-trillion market-cap: What are investors seeing differently in stocks that is not showing in the real economy?
Indian stocks will continue to command value, perhaps even more than now, depending on the pace at which the real economy canters back to normal activity. Until that happens, the risk of an asset bubble will always remain.
INDIA
COVID-19 | US support for waiving vaccine patents, India’s role and other questions answered
What does the US decision to support an initiative at WTO for temporary waiver of patent protection for COVID-19 vaccines mean for India? Below is a primer.
INDIA
COVID-19 second wave | Smash bureaucratic barriers, allow voluntary licensing for Covaxin immediately
Granting access to technology and know-how to Indian generic drug makers to produce Covaxin can quickly help fill the gaps in vaccine supplies.
CORONAVIRUS
COVID-19 | Are we staring at a potential vaccine supply crisis in the race to 1.4 billion doses?
The ability to carry out the world’s mass vaccination exercise in record time, will depend on keeping vaccine supplies of hundreds of millions of doses flowing uninterruptedly for months.
INDIA
COVID-19: Severe crackdown on Covidiots, massive scale-up in vaccination run-rate needed to contain second wave
Mass masking up, strict enforcement of COVID-19 protocols are the clearest ways to contain the spread. Otherwise, the cost for lives and livelihoods will be too prohibitive for the country to bear.
POLITICS
Opinion: Fear of being a minority at home defines Assam’s complex ethno-nationalistic politics
Elections aside, the lurking fear that illegal immigrants will determine the state’s political future continue to the occupy Assamese mindspace
INDIA
Opinion: Vaccine and mask hesitancy can scuttle India’s urgency towards rapid recovery
India cannot afford another hard stop to the economy. For the recovery to sustain, the top 15-20 cities that account for bulk of economic value added, need to keep their wheels running.
BUSINESS
Assam’s pumpkins may have reached Dubai, but state still lags far behind in export competitiveness
As Assam prepares for elections, a look at its economic indicators shows that it fared well in highway and rural road construction despite being ravaged by floods.
ECONOMY
Union Budget 2021 | FY22 nominal GDP growth pegged At 14.4%
The gross market borrowing for FY 2022 is pegged at Rs 12.06 lakh crore, while the net market borrowing (for FY22) is pegged at Rs 9.25 lakh crore.
BUSINESS
From saints to scientists, CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian digs deep into mankind’s vast knowledge pool in Economic Survey 2021
Krishnamurthy V Subramanian, chief economic adviser (CEA), takes recourse to wisdom spread over millennia from the Upanishads to Aristotle, from Gandhi to Einstein, from Subhashita to Thiruvalluvar and Tagore, to reinforce policy choices.
