The GDP growth of 8.4 per cent in the third quarter shows the strength of Indian economy and its potential, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, asserting that the government will continue to make efforts to keep fast economic growth and help 140 crore Indians lead a better life and create a 'Viksit Bharat'. Beating estimates, India's economic growth shot to 8.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2023-24, mainly due to good performance by the manufacturing, mining & quarrying, and construction sectors. Modi said, "Robust 8.4% GDP growth in Q3 2023-24 shows the strength of Indian economy and its potential.

Growth in bank credit to industry decelerated to 7.8 per cent year-on-year in January compared to 8.7 per cent in the same month last year, according to Reserve Bank data released on Thursday. The RBI's data on 'Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit January 2024' also showed that credit growth to agriculture and allied activities improved to 20.1 per cent (year-on-year) in January 2024 from 14.4 per cent a year ago. Among major industries, growth in credit to 'food processing' and 'textiles' accelerated in January 2024 against the corresponding month of the previous year, while that of 'basic metal & metal products' and 'chemicals and chemical products' decelerated. Further, bank advances to the services sector grew by 20.7 per cent in January 2024 against 21.4 per cent a year ago. Among major contributors, growth in credit to 'trade' improved, while that to 'non-banking financial companies (NBFCs)' decelerated year-on-year in January 2024. Also, personal loan growth moderated to ..

Retail inflation for industrial workers eased to 4.59 per cent in January compared to 4.91 per cent in December 2023 mainly due to lower prices of certain food items. Food inflation stood at 7.66 per cent in January 2024 against 8.18 per cent in December 2023. Food inflation was 5.69 per cent in January 2023 a year ago, a labour ministry statement said. Retail inflation based on the consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW) was 6.16 per cent in January 2023. The All-India CPI-IW for January 2024 increased by 0.1 point to 138.9 points from 138.8 points in December 2023. The maximum upward pressure in the current index came from the Housing group contributing 0.48 percentage points to the total change. At the item level, House rent, Ladies Suiting, Casual wear, Saree Cotton, Woolen Sweater/Pull-over, Plastic/PVC Shoes, Tailoring Charges/Embroidery, Chewing Tobacco, Foreign/Refined Liquor, Pan Masala, etc. are responsible for the rise in the index. However, it stated that

The benchmark 10-year yield ended at 7.0764%, after closing at 7.0663% on Wednesday. The yield declined seven basis points in February, after falling 21 basis points in November-January

India demands end to customs duties moratorium on e-commerce, says it impacts developing countries

West Bengal's gross state domestic product (GSDP) is likely to grow 10.5 for the financial year 2024-25 over the preceding fiscal, state industry and commerce minister Shashi Panja said on Thursday. The Economic Review for 2023-24 indicated that the state GSDP to grow by 7.65 per cent, outpacing the National average of 7.32 per cent. Speaking at a CII event here, the minister said West Bengal currently holds the position of the fourth-largest economy in the country. "The GSDP of the state for 2024-25 is estimated to grow at 10.5 per cent over the preceding fiscal", she said. Panja said the manufacturing sector of the state grew at 7.8 per cent in 2022-23, surpassing the national average of five per cent. She said that there had been no incidence of strikes since 2010-11, the state has uninterrupted power supply and also serves as a gateway to South East Asia with a substantial consumer base. Additional chief secretary and CMD of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBI

Mizoram has registered a 13.5 per cent Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) growth in the 2022-23 financial year, according to an economic survey. The Mizoram Economic Survey 2023-24 also stated that the service sector continued to drive the state's economy, contributing to over 45 per cent of the Gross State Value Added (GSVA) in the 2022-23 fiscal. The economic survey, presented by Chief Minister Lalduhoma in the assembly on Thursday, said that the state's economy grew over the years, barring the pandemic period. The GSDP at constant prices (2011-12), which is the true indicator of growth without being influenced by factors such as inflation, is expected to grow to Rs 21,000.56 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal against the estimate of Rs 18,493.72 crore for the 2021-2022 fiscal, registering a growth of about 13.55 per cent over the previous year, the survey stated. Whereas the GSDP at current prices registered an increase of 17.99 per cent over the previous year, it said. The GSDP at .

Basmati rice shipments helped the world's biggest rice exporter to garner a record $5.4 billion in 2023, up nearly 21% from the previous year, because of higher prices, government data showed

In the previous quarter, it was 7.6 per cent and 7.8 per cent in the July quarter

Discounts on Russian oil, which have already declined to around $3.5-$4 per barrel, are also expected to fall further as sanctions are seen as driving up freight costs

The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to a 15-month low of 3.6 per cent in January, on account of poor performance of sectors like refinery products, fertiliser, steel and electricity, according to the official data released on Thursday. The growth of eight core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 4.9 per cent in December. It was 9.7 per cent in January 2023. The previous low level of growth rate was recorded at 0.9 per cent in October 2022. Cumulatively also, the growth rate in the output of these sectors slowed down to 7.7 per cent as against 8.3 per cent in April-January 2022-23. The output growth of refinery products and fertiliser was in the negative zone. And the pace of increase in the output of coal, steel, and electricity decelerated during the month under review. However, crude oil, natural gas, and cement production recorded positive growth in January. The eight core sectors contr

Net tax revenues for the April-January period were 18.80 trillion rupees, or 81% of the annual estimate, compared with 16.89 trillion rupees in the same period last year, according to the data

India's refiners are keen to take more Russian oil, but there would need to be US approval for buying to ramp up again, the executives said, asking not to be identified because the information is priv

Two developing countries say there is no consensus on proposal and it can't be included in outcome document of ministerial conference

The government has fixed a conservative target of wheat procurement in the range of 30-32 million tonnes for the 2024-25 rabi marketing season, according to the food ministry. The lower target has been fixed despite the Ministry of Agriculture hoping for a record wheat production of 114-115 million tonnes in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June). The target was fixed after a deliberation with state food secretaries in a meeting chaired by Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra in the national capital on Wednesday. "After deliberations, the estimates for wheat procurement during the ensuing rabi marketing season of 2024-25 were fixed in the range of 30-32 million tonnes," the ministry said in a statement. Apart from wheat, the ministry has fixed a rabi paddy procurement target in terms of rice in the range of 9-10 million tonnes. The government has also set a procurement target of 6,00,000 tonnes for rabi coarse grains /millets (Shri Anna). In the meeting, the Centre has asked states and

"Some moderation is expected in October-December GDP growth, with softer growth in manufacturing sector," said Gaura Sen Gupta, an economist at IDFC First Bank

India is a consensus builder in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by playing a key role in the process but some countries are breaking that, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. He is here for the 13th ministerial conference (MC) of the WTO. The meeting started on February 26 to discuss issues such as agriculture and fisheries subsidies, dispute settlement and moratorium on customs duty levy on e-commerce trade. The minister's remarks came amid allegations by certain developed nations that India is blocking deals at the WTO. "Our stand is consistent... we have to see who are blocking the issues and who is responsible for not letting things of the WTO smoothly... It is proved that India in fact is a consensus builder and we are playing a key role in making consensus ...and certain countries are breaking that consensus on certain issues," Goyal told reporters here. He also said that India stands on strong principles of fair play, justice at the WTO and want

High frequency indicators reveal that the Indian economy remains resilient with Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) for services accelerating and manufacturing regaining momentum, economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said in report released on Wednesday. Further, NCAER said the composite PMI accelerated to 61.2 in January from 58.5 in December 2023. PMI for manufacturing activity accelerated to 56.5 in January from 54.9 in December 2023, reflecting an expansionary momentum while PMI for services went up to 61.8 in January from 59 in December 2023, it added. "The markers for the month like PMI and GST collections point to a resilient macroeconomic environment. "An encouraging signal comes from easing of inflationary pressure, especially the moderation in food price inflation," NCAER Director General Poonam Gupta said. The report mentioned about healthy GST collections which reached a value of Rs 1.7 lakh crore in January, registering a year-on-year

The report stated that organised retail in the country has consistently demonstrated faster growth, despite subdued performance in the recent quarters owing to potential headwinds

Under the new norms, banks must categorise bonds as "held-to-maturity" on a permanent basis, with the exception of 5 per cent of the portfolio that can be withdrawn throughout the year