Dismisses IMF's contention of ratio exceeding 100%

This is because investment, as a subject, falls outside the mandate of the WTO. Besides, India is fundamentally against plurilateral pacts on multilateral platforms such as the WTO

The government also expects inflation to further reduce due to measures announced to rein in food prices

An alliance between the US and India that seeks to facilitate women's economic participation in India by catalysing commitments from private sector, civil society and government leaders in both countries is being revitalised, a senior US diplomat said on Tuesday. The US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment will work across the board to harness the resources of the private sector and NGOs to foster commitments for women's retention, and stem employment and entrepreneurship, Deputy Chief of Mission in India Patricia A Lacina said. She was delivering the keynote address at the WEConnect International Empowering Inclusion-Advancing Value Chains Summit 2024. "...we are revitalising the US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment. A public-private partnership to enhance mentorship," she said. Last year, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), the US Department of State, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the George Washington University .

Non-resident external (NRE) deposits were at $97.69 billion in December 2023, up from $96.79 billion in November and $94.46 billion at the end of December 2022

Retail inflation for farm workers and rural labourers eased marginally to 7.52 per cent and 7.37 per cent in January as compared to the previous month, mainly due to lower prices of certain food items. In December 2023, Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) and Consumer Price Index-Rural Labourers (CPI-RL) was 7.71 per cent and 7.46 per cent, respectively. Food inflation stood at 9.67 per cent and 9.43 per cent last month as compared to 9.95 per cent and 9.80 per cent in December 2023 and 6.61 per cent and 6.47 per cent in the year-ago period, a labour ministry statement said. In January 2023, CPI-AL was 6.85 per cent and CPI-RL was 6.88 per cent. The All-India CPI number for AL and RL for January 2024 increased by 1 point each to 1,258 and 1,268 points, respectively. The CPI-AL and CPI-RL were 1,257 and 1,267 points, respectively in December 2023. The major contribution towards rise in the general index of AL and RL came from miscellaneous groups to the extent of 1

On why countries with low per-capita incomes, such as India, must focus on exports, Panagariya explained how the global export market was worth $32 trillion in 2022, almost ten times India's GDP

The outlook for the Indian economy appears 'bright' with GDP likely to clock 7 per cent growth rate next fiscal although the nation needs to keep a watch on global headwinds emanating from geopolitical tensions and volatility in international financial markets, a finance ministry report said on Tuesday. During the current financial year, the Indian economy is estimated to grow at 7.3 per cent. This would be the third year in the row when the GDP would grow in excess of 7 per cent. Driven by a better-than-expected performance in Q2 and above 7 per cent growth projection for FY24 (by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its first advance estimates), many global agencies have revised India's growth projection in the upward direction, the Monthly Economic Review released by the finance ministry said. This reflects the resilience of the Indian economy to sustain its growth path amidst ongoing geopolitical headwinds, it said, adding, the measures announced in the Interim

Receding inflation, dip in borrowing costs may support FDI in 2024

Earlier in September 2023, 950,527 subscribers had joined the EPF. This data is crucial as only the formal workforce enjoys social security benefits and is protected by labour laws

The government has fully exempted customs duty on import of extra long staple cotton, and has cut duties on specified varieties of imported blueberries, cranberries and frozen turkeys. In a notification, the Finance Ministry has slashed import duty on certain items of blueberries and cranberries from 30 per cent to 10 per cent in some cases and 5 per cent in other cases. Similarly, import duty pertaining to meat and edible offal of turkeys, were also reduced from 30 per cent to 5 per cent effective Tuesday. According to officials, the duty rate changes on frozen turkey, specified cranberries and blueberries and their processed products is to implement the recommendation of the Department of Commerce following a mutually agreed solution between India and the US. Nangia Andersen India Associate Director- Indirect Tax, Khushbu Trivedi, said, in pursuance of the bilateral agreement that took place in the recent G20 Leaders' Summit between India and USA intended at addressing the past .

India is not in favour of further continuation of moratorium on customs duties on e-commerce trade at the WTO's meeting in Abu Dhabi later this month as it is impacting the developing countries, an official said on Tuesday. The official said that there is a work programme on e-commerce trade and the members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) should continue to discuss the issue under that. "We are not in favour of extension. We are in favour of continuation of the work programme. There is a need to look at the subject from a development dimension and not from the eyes of big tech companies," the official said. There is a need to discuss the scope of moratorium as there are revenue implications because of it. As per estimates, the potential tariff revenue losses to the developing countries are about USD 10 billion every year. For India, it could be over USD 500 million every year. "There is a need for a clear definition of e-commerce trade. We need policy space for the sector,"

The outflows under the scheme were mainly driven by the international travel segment, equity and debt investments, maintenance of close relatives, among others

The tariff cut is unlikely to hurt the domestic market since this is an exclusive market that caters to a limited segment that wants to buy international products

Forward book turned positive after two months

Strongly defending his government's guarantee schemes, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said there was nothing called "Siddanomics" and he and his government believed in "good economics", which means taxing the rich in accordance with law and spending the money on the poor for their uplift. He also asserted that his government is working towards protecting the Constitution and making Karnataka "Sarva Janangada Shantiya Tota" (the peaceful garden of all communities) and alleged that the BJP believes in "Manuwad" and not the Constitution. The CM was replying to the motion of thanks to the Governor's address to the joint sitting of Karnataka Legislature, in the Legislative Assembly. The motion was later passed by the Lower House, even as opposition BJP and JD(S) staged a walkout, alleging that the Chief Minister was making a political speech ahead of Lok Sabha polls, instead of replying to issues raised, while no developmental work has taken place in nine months since .

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought the support of the country's women folk and said he wants to make one crore women in India "lakhpati didis". The prime minister lauded the beneficiaries of the Centre's major schemes in Jammu and Kashmir for setting an example for the rest of the country. He interacted with the beneficiaries during his visit to Jammu to ascertain how the schemes have transformed the lives of the people in the Union Territory. During a public rally, the PM encouraged a self-help group (SHG) head Kirti of Basohli area of Kathua district to leverage the loan scheme under livelihood scheme and contribute to the success of rural women. Kirti, whose SHG had purchased three cows and repaid the loan, has now a big cowshed due to the efforts of several women. She said, "The lives of women are changing and they are becoming the engines of change in rural India. The credit of the changes goes to such schemes gifted to us by the prime minister". Lauding Kirti for

Signs are pointing towards alignment with central bank targets, says RBI Deputy Governor Debabrata Patra

The finance ministry on Tuesday said that the Japanese government has committed a loan of 232.209 billion yen (about Rs 12,800 crore) for nine projects related to various sectors in India. The projects included North East Road Network Connectivity, Project for Promoting Start-up and Innovation in Telangana, Project for the Construction of Chennai Peripheral Ring Road, Project for Promoting Sustainable Horticulture in Haryana and Project for Climate Change Response and ecosystem Services Enhancement in Rajasthan. The road network connectivity projects aim to improve infrastructure development in India's north-east region, while the Chennai peripheral ring road project aims to alleviate traffic congestion and strengthen connections to the southern part of the state, the finance ministry said in a statement. The agreement to this effect was signed between Vikas Sheel, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, and Suzuki Hiroshi, Ambassador of Japan to India. "The project i

This is the first time New Delhi is pursuing private investment in nuclear power, a non-carbon-emitting energy source that contributes less than 2% of India's total electricity generation