EASE 2.0 INDEX RESULTS AND DOORSTEP BANKING SERVICES
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Why in news? Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs inaugurated Doorstep Banking Services by PSBs and participated in the awards ceremony to felicitate best performing banks on EASE Banking Reforms Index. EASE A common reform agenda for PSBs, EASE Agenda, launched in 2018, is aimed at institutionalizing clean and smart […]
FOREX RESERVES AT ALL-TIME HIGH
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Introduction India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves surged by more than 3.5 billion Dollars to touch a lifetime high despite the current Pandemic Situation. Although the Covid Pandemic is likened to one the worst crises that the country has faced, the current situation stands in stark contrast to the one in 1991, […]
GST REVENUE FALLS 12%, MANUFACTURING SECTOR COMEBACK
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Why in news? Goods and Services Tax revenue in August stood at just over 1% lower than the amount collected in July. On a year-on-year basis, GST collections dropped 12% from August 2019, according to data released by the Finance Ministry. India’s manufacturing sector activity re-entered the growth territory in August, […]
MERE GOVT. SPENDING WILL NOT HELP ECONOMY
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Introduction In the wake of the economic crisis, many have asked for higher government spending to bail out the economy. Why can’t the government just spend to revive growth? First, in all likelihood, temporary incomes coupled with job/income uncertainty will induce precautionary savings without any impact on growth. Second, the fiscal […]
GDP CONTRACTS BY RECORD 23.9% IN Q1: FULL COVERAGE
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Why in news? The Indian economy saw its worst contraction in decades, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrinking by a record 23.9% in the April to June quarter (Q1FY21) in comparison to the same period last year, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). (The numbers are the […]
ECONOMICS BEHIND INDIA’S GDP GROWTH CONTRACTION
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Introduction The collapse of gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 23.9% for the April to June period comes as an expectation given that the economy was under a strict lockdown for most of the time to contain the pandemic. Almost all the major indicators of growth in the economy — be […]
GST DUE: CENTRE ASKS STATES TO BORROW
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Why in news? The Centre wrote to States suggesting options of borrowing money to make up the ₹2.35 lakh crore shortfall in GST revenues expected in the ongoing fiscal. Kerala has rejected the two options for Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation mooted by the Centre at the 41st GST Council […]
JAPAN AND SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE INITIATIVE
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Introduction With COVID-19 and trade tensions between China and the United States threatening supply chains or actually causing bottlenecks, Japan has mooted the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) as a trilateral approach to trade, with India and Australia as the other two partners. The initiative is at the strategy stage and […]
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN GDP DATA?
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Introduction The National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) will come out with the GDP estimates for the first quarter (April, May, June) of 2020. What do we know about the current state of economy? RBI Annual Report The RBI’s annual year is different from […]
BORROW FROM RBI TO BRIDGE GST GAP
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Why in news? The Centre acknowledged that States are likely to face a GST revenue gap of Rs. 3 lakh crore this year, as the economy may contract due to COVID-19. Details At the GST Council meeting, the Centre distinguished between the shortfall due to GST implementation itself — claiming that […]