BUSINESS
India's business activity rises to 13-month high of 61.2 in May, shows HSBC Composite PMI
The Indian economy is likely to come out stronger compared to others, with IMF expecting only a 0.3 percentage points drop in growth to 6.2 percent compared with 6.5 percent projected earlier
BUSINESS
Russia would prefer EU trade over US, its China pivot predates Ukraine War, shows data
The United States accounted for just 5 percent of Russia’s exports and 2 percent of its imports pre-war. Before the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union was Russia’s most significant trade partner, accounting for over 40 percent of both exports and imports
BUSINESS
Growth did not trickle down to wages in informal manufacturing
Informal manufacturing witnessed employee compensation decline in FY24, even as wages in private manufacturing corporations witnessed double digit growth
BUSINESS
India’s core sector growth slows to 8-month low of 0.5% in April
Crude oil output dropped 2.8% year-on-year in April, against a 1.9% drop in March, while natural gas production declined 0.4%, compared with a 12.7% drop in March.
BUSINESS
Households spending on alcohol and healthcare hit a new high in FY24
India’s households spend on alcoholic beverages and tobacco rose 15.7 percent in FY24 - highest since FY12 - compared to a meagre 1.6 percent rise a year ago, likely as people tried to step out of the pandemic lull.
BUSINESS
Indian ports could benefit from China+1 strategy, says Moody’s Ratings
Besides tariffs, geopolitical events were an additional stress for emerging markets, Moody’s highlighted, pointing to the recent flare up of tensions between India and Pakistan
BUSINESS
PMO to take stock of health insurance challenges amid slow growth and high GST burden
A significant portion of India’s non-life insurance portfolio comes from health insurance, but it is currently grappling with two major headwinds - rising premiums and a slowdown in coverage.
BUSINESS
Bangladesh has been increasing its China dependence; data shows India still a major player
Despite a lower share in Bangladesh’s imports than six years ago, the country’s reliance on cotton from India has increased. In 2023-24, 26 percent of India’s $9 billion exports to Bangladesh were in cotton compared with 20.2 percent a year ago
BUSINESS
Bananas and chillies contributing more to the economy than a decade ago
Trade in spices has risen 37 percent between FY18 and FY24, while banana exports have been up 391 percent during this period
BUSINESS
Jammu and Kashmir may take two years to return to normalcy
The erstwhile state of J&K was growing at an average 5.1% for five years prior to the Kargil war of 1999, but growth in FY1999-2000 and FY2000-01 was lower at 4.5% and 1.8% respectively.
BUSINESS
India's economy emerged unscathed from Kargil war
The Indian economy grew at 6.8 percent in 1999 against IMF’s prediction of 5.7 percent
INDIA
PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana complete a decade, see improvement in claim, gender ratios: MC Analysis
Subscriptions have increased manifold for both programmes. Atal Pension Yojana has seen subscribers rise 16-times since its first full year of operation
BUSINESS
Pakistan’s reliance on China for weapons deepens, while Turkey climbs to No. 3 spot
China accounted for 81 percent of Pakistan’s imports in 2020-24.
BUSINESS
Vegetarian thali cost falls to lowest in over a year in April: Crisil
A vegetarian home cooked meal cost Rs 26.3 in April, down from Rs 26.6 in the previous month and Rs 27.4 in the year-ago period
BUSINESS
Pakistan set to see a jump in defence spending over next 2-4 years as tensions with India rise
A Moneycontrol analysis shows that Pakistan’s defence spending jumps for two to four years after an escalation of tensions between the two countries
BUSINESS
Scope for improvement in internship scheme, but India a global pool of talent, say Ashish Dhawan & Manish Sabharwal
BUSINESS
Cosmetics and medical instruments offer $3 billion opportunity to UK in India
UK had 83 percent share in whiskies and 80% share in gin imports, 2.7% share in cosmetics
BUSINESS
UK-India FTA will likely boost UK’s share in India's trade back to 2009 levels
UK had a 2.4 percent share in India’s trade (both exports and imports) in 2009, but this had declined to 1.8 percent in 2024
BUSINESS
India’s remittances could reach over 4% of GDP by 2030: GATI Foundation founders Ashish Dhawan and Manish Sabharwal
India’s remittances, at around $129 billion, were almost double that of the second largest country Mexico at $68 billion in 2024
BUSINESS
Insolvencies take 58 percent longer, IBC admissions up 2.5x compared to 2020
By the end of 2024, it took 701 days to complete insolvency resolution, more than twice the time allowed by the IBC, which has mandated a resolution in 330 days.
BUSINESS
Moody’s Ratings cuts India’s 2025 growth forecast to 6.3%
The ratings agency flagged geopolitical stresses as potential downside risk to its global forecasts, citing India-Pakistan tensions and the China-Philippines' flare-up in the South China Sea among others
BUSINESS
India’s services activity rises to 58.7 in April
Manufacturing index had increased to a 10-month high in April, rising to 58.2 compared with 58.1 in the previous month
BUSINESS
India moves up three places to 130 on UNDP's Human Development Index
India’s latest score in the HDI ranking has improved from 0.685 from 0.644 a year ago, taking the ranking to 130 alongside Bangladesh on the scale.
BUSINESS
Pakistan more reliant on multilateral agencies for debt now than in 2019
The ratio of ADB in Pakistan’s external debt has increased to 18.4 percent from 14.7 percent in June 2019
