Exports jump to $30.21 billion in April; trade deficit at $15.24 billion

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India’s exports in April jumped nearly three-folds to USD 30.21 billion from USD 10.17 billion in the same month last year, according to commerce ministry’s preliminary data released on Sunday. Imports too rose to USD 45.45 billion last month as against USD 17.09 billion in April 2020. “India is thus a net importer in April … Read more

Unemployment rate likely to be 8% compared to 6.5% in March in India: CMIE

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The unemployment rate in India has shot up in the first two weeks of April and the monthly unemployment rate is likely to be close to 8% compared to 6.5% in March with lower absorption of labour in the market, says the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. As per CMIE data, unemployment rates in India … Read more

PLI: The first stepping stone on India’s road to global high table

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PLI is designed to identify and support upcoming technologies that are indicative of the largest economic opportunities of the next few decades. Synopsis In an increasingly interconnected world, manufacturing has been transformed into a series of dependent processes across countries, which together form large GSCs. With GSCs slowly shifting towards the East, and due to … Read more

IMF projects India’s growth rate to jump to impressive 12.5 per cent in 2021

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The IMF on Tuesday projected an impressive 12.5 per cent growth rate for India in 2021, stronger than that of China, the only major economy to have a positive growth rate last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Washington-based global financial institution, in its annual World Economic Outlook ahead of the annual Spring meeting with … Read more

View: Judge an expansionary fiscal policy by how quickly it props up the economy

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Instead, should countercyclical fiscal policy become part of our policy lexicon to be used judiciously, but unapologetically? The clamour for fiscal stimulus is, incidentally, not a product of the Covid pandemic. Synopsis ​​Thus, it might be prudent to go the extra mile to consolidate debt when the economy is booming. A way to formalise this … Read more

CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian explains the economic rationale behind Modi govt’s policy response to Covid

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How did India handle the previous two economic crises — the Asian and the global financial crises? What can we learn from them to understand the rationale behind GoI’s policy response to the Covid crisis? Start with three key propositions. First, when only aggregate demand is raised without any change in aggregate supply, both price … Read more

Surge in virus infections may impact biz recovery in near term: Nomura

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NEW DELHI: Resumption of business activities in India, which was on course to hit pre-pandemic levels, stumbled ahead of the finishing line in the last week of February amid rising cases of Covid infections in some pockets of the country, said economists at Nomura. The Nomura India Business Resumption Index (NIBRI) eased to 98.5 for … Read more

Unseen reasons for the fall in women’s labour force participation in India

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India is a country where less than a quarter of women have joined the labour force and only a fifth are employed. By Mitali Nikore,  In the year 2017, India achieved two milestones. First, it earned the moniker of the world’s fastest-growing major economy, maintaining growth rates above 7 percent consistently since 2011-12. The second … Read more

India’s high priority for now should be to grow at 7-8 pc: Former RBI guv Jalan

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New Delhi: Describing the Budget 2021-22 as “extremely good”, former RBI governor Bimal Jalan on Tuesday said that India’s high priority for now should be to grow at 7-8 per cent, and then give a “great preference” for employment rather than only investment. In an interview, Jalan further said it does not seem that India … Read more

India’s spending on growth to bring the economy on track leaves little for its vulnerable

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India has vowed to spend almost half-a-trillion dollars to bring the pandemic-ravaged economy back onto a growth path, but that risks leaving vulnerable sections that still need support without immediate help. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration sees a 26% jump in capital expenditure — money for creating or maintaining assets, including infrastructure — for … Read more