Also, inflation has been falling faster than expected, and the labor market is cooling but not collapsing

India's electronics exports record 22.24% growth in the first nine months of FY24, with iPhones leading the surge

The consultant noted that diverse industries, including e-commerce, retail, and manufacturing, chose to outsource their supply chain operations to 3PL firms

With private investment still muted, the government is likely to maintain its momentum on increasing capital expenditure, especially for the infrastructure sector in the upcoming Budget to propel economic growth. Post COVID-19, the Budget has been laying special emphasis on capex. It has kick-started a dormant cycle for the economy. As a result India has witnessed over 7 per cent growth in the last three years, the highest among the large economies of the world. During the current financial year, the government has made a record high provision of Rs 10 lakh crore towards capex. During 2020-21, the government earmarked Rs 4.39 lakh crore which increased by 35 per cent to Rs 5.54 lakh crore in the subsequent year. Another 35 per cent hike in capex was done in 2022-23 to Rs 7.5 lakh crore which subsequently reached a high of Rs 10 lakh crore, an increase of 37.4 per cent. In the upcoming Budget too, the government is expected to earmark a large amount towards capex as such investment

The total loan guarantees extended by 17 major states to their entities have more than tripled to Rs 9.4 lakh crore by FY23 from Rs 3 lakh crore in FY17, says a report. While guarantees are contingent liabilities, they may pose a risk to states' fiscal health if a substantial proportion of the stock needs to be serviced by them, warranting robust guarantee monitoring and prudent extension of guarantees in the future so that the financial system as a whole remains resilient. States often sanction and issue on behalf of their various enterprises, cooperative institutions, and urban local bodies guarantees in favour of their lenders which are generally banks or other financial institutions. The total loan guarantees extended by the 17 major states to their entities have more than tripled to Rs 9.4 lakh crore as of FY23 from Rs 3 lakh crore in FY17. This is equivalent to the entire increase in such guarantees of these states during FY2017-22, Icra Ratings chief economist Aditi Nayar sai

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched a unique mission to develop region-specific smart agro-technologies for paddy in south India, besides for other crops, aiming to improve soil health and productivity and thereby enhance the farmers' income, a senior scientist said. This endeavour will help the Central government to introduce the use of automation, sensors, drones, and Artificial Intelligence gadgets for agriculture in the future. "This is one of the first of the mission mode projects that have been conceived and implemented on the ground," he said. The project envisages the use of Internet of Things (IoT) based sensors and drone-based hyper and multi-spectral imaging to generate a real-time precision database to develop knowledge on phenological and physiological indicators as influenced by micro-environment of various target crops being grown across different agro-climatic conditions of the country. A team of scientists and technologists from CS

While the Fed wants to guard against a re-acceleration of inflation, a further softening of price pressures risks making policy even more restrictive

In November 2023, the number of new monthly subscribers under the EPF decreased by nearly 10 per cent to 736,015 from 816,721 in October, according to the latest monthly payroll data

In the federal budget for 2023-24, the government had outlined a plan to purchase crude oil worth Rs 5,000 crore for caverns in the southern cities of Mangalore and Visakhapatnam

Suezmax ships - so-called for their ability to sail full through the canal that links Asia and Europe - are up about 50% to almost $70,000 a day

The government is aiming to narrow the fiscal deficit to 4.50% of GDP by the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year (FY) from 5.90% in the current year to end-March 2024

Brent futures settled 54 cents lower at $78.56 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 67 cents to settle at $73.41

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said he is resolute in leading the state to its ambitious target of becoming a USD 1 trillion economy as the state government secured investment MoUs worth Rs 3.53 lakh crore (USD 44 billion) this week at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. The state also received an expression of interest for an additional Rs 1 lakh crore investment, taking the total to Rs 4.5 lakh crore (nearly USD 57 billion) with a potential to create about two lakh jobs across sectors, including electronics, IT, data centres, gems and jewellery, agriculture, automobile and renewable energy, an official statement said. During his visit here accompanied by Industries Minister Uday Samant and several senior officials, Shinde signed 19 MoUs (Memoranda of Understanding). Presenting Maharashtra as the premier investment hub under the theme "Bringing Confidence during a changing World", Shinde held meetings with a large number of global political leaders, industr

The study by the state-run bank sums the number of employees of close to 3,000 companies in the corporate sector in the past five years

Skymet cites early trends, predict 'normal' monsoon in 2024

The chairman said the decline seen in e-NPS (voluntary accounts) was responsible for the slow pace of enrolments this year

Retail inflation for farm workers and rural labourers increased marginally to 7.71 per cent and 7.46 per cent in December compared to 7.37 per cent and 7.13 per cent, respectively, in November due to higher prices of certain food items. Food inflation stood at 9.95 per cent and 9.80 per cent in December 2023, compared to 9.38 per cent and 9.14 per cent, respectively, in November 2023. Food inflation for farm workers and rural labourers was 5.89 per cent and 5.76 per cent, respectively, in December 2022, a labour ministry statement said. According to the statement, point to point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL (Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers) and CPI-RL (rural labourers) stood at 7.71 per cent and 7.46 per cent in December 2023 compared to 7.37 per cent and 7.13 per cent, respectively, in November 2023. It was 6.38 per cent and 6.60 per cent for farm workers and rural labourers, respectively, during December 2022. The All-India Consumer Price Index Number for ..

The privatised highway construction model has been a flop, prompting reforms

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Chairman Deepak Mohanty on Friday said the total corpus under the National Pension System and Atal Pension Yojana has crossed Rs 11 lakh crore. The milestone of Rs 11 lakh crore asset under management (AUM) was achieved on January 10, 2024, he told reporters here. The AUM has increased from Rs 10 lakh crore to Rs 11 lakh crore in 4 months 18 days (August 24, 2023 to January 10, 2024), he said, adding the private sector AUM crossed Rs 2 lakh crore. The authority in September revised the AUM target of Rs 12 lakh crore for the current fiscal. The pension authority is working on a minimum assured pension plan, and it could become a reality in the next financial year if the guarantee issued is resolved. "There are a lot of complications in determining the rate of return, what to set as the bar for return. Fund managers are also thinly capitalised. So, you have to keep a check on their liabilities also," Mohanty said. Asked

India's forex reserves jumped USD 1.634 billion to USD 618.937 billion for the week ended January 12, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had declined sharply by USD 5.89 billion to USD 617.3 billion. The country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion in October 2021. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year. For the week ended January 12, the foreign currency assets -- a major component of the reserves -- increased USD 1.859 billion to USD 548.508 billion, the data said. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. Gold reserves were down USD 242 million to USD 47.247 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)