LOK-SABHA-ELECTION
Indian election process is the gold standard- Ashok Lavasa
From assigning responsibilities for each task to stringent tests of EVMs to a year or longer of planning—an insight into the art of organising an Indian general election. The former election commissioner explains the gold standard of organising elections
PODCAST
What it takes to organize India's General Elections | Political Economy Episode 2
Indian elections are a case study for the world. As over 1.2 billion people gear up to cast their vote in General Elections 2024, Moneycontrol speaks to former election commissioner Ashok Lavasa to understand what does it take to organise an election. Did you know that 14 million people are involved in running the election process? And about Rs 10,000 cr are spent in organising elections. Listen in to find out more.
INDIA
India’s GDP Decoded: The drivers behind those peppy numbers
The reason for the growth spurt seems to be positive news coming from various sectors. However, India’s core sector grew only 3.6% in January — the lowest in 15 months.
PODCAST
How India rescued its banking sector? Reforms explained | Political Economy
In this episode of Political Economy with Shweta Punj, we speak to Prasanna Tantri of the Indian School of Business on restoring trust and balance sheets of banks, policies that aggravated the banking crisis in early-mid 2000s, how RBI tightened the screws around lending practices and more. Listen in.
BUSINESS
No case for MSP and other policy lessons from the Consumption Survey
The consumption survey shows that the policies targeted towards the bottom of the pyramid seem to have worked. Rural households have done better than urban ones. Expenditure on food has dropped across all sections, with a clear shift from spending on cereals to milk, vegetables and fruits
TRENDS
Analysis: Why the SC judgment on electoral bonds is a bigger blow to all opposition parties
However, some say the order turns the clock back on electoral financing, opening the floodgates for dubious ways of financing pols.
BUSINESS
MSP can be legalised, but at crippling cost to economy, environment
Making the MSP for crops a legal guarantee will distort India’s agriculture market, increase prices of crops by 25-30%, hurt government finances and lead to indiscriminate use of resources, experts said, adding it will be a regressive policy move
BUSINESS
High food prices and rural inflation remain major concerns in an election year
While combined inflation (CPI for rural and urban India) for January is at a three-month low of 5.1 percent, rural inflation at 5.34 percent continues to rule higher than urban inflation at 4.92 percent. This trend of higher rural inflation has persisted for nearly two years.
BUSINESS
FM is honest and correct, the figures speak for themselves, says NK Singh on Centre versus South
The Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission spoke to Moneycontrol on a range of issues from India’s fiscal commitments to the one nation, one election proposal
BUSINESS
India's fiscally conservative budget should lead to rating upgrade, says NK Singh
The former bureaucrat flagged concerns about the methodologies used by credit rating companies since they don’t apply common standards for all countries.
BUSINESS
Centre "fully honoured" 41% tax share formula, says 15th Fin Comm head NK Singh
On claims by certain states that their share in the tax pie is reducing due to Centre's increasing reliance on cess and surcharges, Singh said that one must be cognizant of the enhanced spending obligations of the central government given new and emerging geopolitical and security challenges.
BUSINESS
Would go with the best judgment of regulator, says NK Singh; skips commenting on Paytm specifically
The comment from the Chairman of the erstwhile 15th Finance Commission comes on a day when RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on February 8 noted that the supervisory action against Paytm was taken due to repeated instances of non-compliance despite providing ample time for corrective measures.
INTERVIEW
Won't do disinvestments just to fill gap in Budget, says Finance Secretary TV Somanathan
We are looking at a more integrated strategy where decisions are not taken based on short-term fiscal priorities, or to fill some gap in the budget by having to dispose of certain shares at certain points in time, Somanathan explained.
BUSINESS
India can sustain current levels of growth with or without private capex: Finance Secretary
Somanathan said that the 11-percent increase in capital spending for FY25 is infact significant given that it comes on the back of a lower nominal GDP growth of 8.9 percent in the current financial year.
BUSINESS
Need a fiscally fit India to become a developed nation by 2047, says Finance Secretary
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 in her interim Budget speech said, "we are working to make India a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. For achieving that goal, we need to improve people’s capability and empower them."
BUSINESS
Fiscal stimulus withdrawal a counter-cyclical necessity: Finance Secretary Somanathan
Somanathan said it is a matter of basic economic prudence to withdraw a stimulus
BUSINESS
Disinvestment decisions will not be driven by short-term fiscal priorities: Finance Secretary
However, the central government's overall policy on privatisation remains important and should continue, Somanathan added.
BUSINESS
Interim Budget makes no attempt to woo voters, says Harsh Gupta
Gupta was a part of a Moneycontrol panel discussion on the Interim Budget along with BJP spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam, political analyst Tehseen Poonawala and Congress leader Mohan Kumaramangalam.
BUSINESS
Budget 2024 made with 'Viksit Bharat' in focus says BJP MP Jayant Sinha
Sinha backed the FM's claim that the average real income of the people has increased by fifty per cent and noted that the government calculated it based on the changes in income over the last 10 years.
BUSINESS
Budget 2024-25 focuses on stepping up farm and rural incomes
Budget 2024-25 continued with its emphasis on farm sector and rural incomes with a mix of schemes including thrust on affordable housing and focus on improving agriculture output of high yield variety crops.
BUSINESS
Budget 2024-25 bets big on Modi ki guarantee
Modi government remains confident of coming back to power in 2024 elections, steers clear of freebies, flagship schemes see a modest hike
TRENDS
The big numbers to watch for in this budget
A vote on account is designed to be a presentation of the country’s fiscal accounts in an election year. With India’s inclusion in bond indices, the transparency of its macro numbers will be under greater scrutiny than ever before.
BUSINESS
Govt needs to balance capex and fiscal consolidation in Budget, say experts
A balance will have to be established, a path will be shown and investment prioritisation will continue to be the focus of the Budget.
BUSINESS
Union Budget may announce support for rural economy: Experts
Between the two routes of consumption or investment, it is the investment route which is more relevant for India at the moment.
