MFIs flag rural borrower distress to RBI
Context: The pandemic’s second wave is affecting rural households far more than 2020, with a large number of microfinance staffers, borrowers and their families hit by COVID-19, impacting many more livelihoods than during the first wave. The trend, which poses a higher risk of loan delinquencies if the rising infections don’t taper off by the […]
PMI services drops to three-month low in April
Context: India’s services activity slowed to a three-month low in April 2021, with an escalating second wave of coronavirus pandemic and localized lockdowns across the country forcing services firms to curtail operations. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Growth and Development of Indian Economy, Mobilization of Resources) Dimensions of the Article: What is Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)? […]
Core sector output up 6.8% in March
Context: Driven by base effect-led uptick in production of natural gas, steel, cement and electricity – the output of eight core sectors grew by 6.8% in March 2021. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Growth and Development of Indian Economy, Mobilization of Resources) Dimensions of the Article: What is Index of Industrial Production (IIP)? What is Base-effect? […]
India’s GDP to grow at 11% this fiscal, says ADB
Context: The Indian economy is projected to grow at 11% in the current financial year amid the “strong” vaccine drive, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its report – Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2021. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Growth and Development of Indian Economy, Mobilization of Resources) Dimensions of the Article: Highlights of Asian […]
A patently wrong regime: COVID Vaccine
Context: In 2020, India and South Africa submitted a joint petition to the World Trade Organization (WTO), requesting a temporary suspension of rules under the 1995 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The request for waiver has, since, found support from more than 100 nations. But a small group of states — […]
RBI report on Growth of ARCs
Context: According to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report on Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs), the growth of the ARC industry has not been consistent over time and not always been synchronous with the trends in non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Growth and Development of Indian […]
India 3rd highest military spender: SIPRI Report
Context: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently published the latest data on the military spending across the world – which has increased to USD 1,981 billion in 2020, during Covid-19 pandemic. Relevance: GS-III: Internal Security Challenges (Security Challenges & their Management), GS-III: Indian Economy (Budgeting) Dimensions of the Article: About SIPRI India-Specific Highlights of […]
ADB sees India grow by 11%, adds caveat
Context: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised its forecast for India’s growth in 2021-22 to 11%, from 8% earlier, even as it warned that failure to control the resurgence of COVID-19 cases including April’s exponential jump poses a “considerable downside risk to the recovery”. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Economic Growth and Development, Important International […]
Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate: An idea that is worth a try
Context: United States Secretary of the Treasury’s proposal for global coordination of corporate taxation has huge implications – If the major world economies agree and the U.S. Congress approves the increased tax rates, it would constitute a reversal of the trend in tax policies since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc 30 years back. Relevance: […]
Inflation – Why RBI continues to target GDP growth?
Context: Rising Covid-19 cases, faltering growth and rising inflation have brought India’s central bank to square one, as it was clear to everyone that India’s GDP growth rate will plummet when the nationwide lockdown was announced. This raises the question – Will the price level in India fall, or rise or rise at a slowing […]