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Sanjaya Baru's view on the Budget

Business Standard Editor Sanjaya Baru's views on the Union Budget

T N Ninan analyses the Budget

T N Ninan, Business Standard, analyses the Budget

'India FY10 growth to be around 7%'

Arvind Virmani, chief economic adviser at the Finance Ministry on Tuesday said that the Indian economy can expand 7 percent in 2009/10, and the central bank must weigh the trade-off between growth and inflation when it reviews policy settings later this month. The forecast for the fiscal year ending March is higher than 6 percent estimated by the central bank and private analysts, and the 6.3 percent predicted by government's Planning Commission.

FM opposes credit curbs

On the sidelines of a conference in Bangalore, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that the government opposes tighter monetary policy to curb rising food prices, as this would hit economic growth. Inflationary pressures have been building in recent months, worsened by a poor monsoon pushing up food prices, and economists and the government expect wholesale price inflation to top the central bank's 5-percent forecast for the fiscal year ending March.

Inflation back in positive zone

According to government data released on Thursday after remaining in negative zone for 13 consecutive weeks, India's annual rate of inflation was back to positive at 0.12 percent for the week ended Sep 5, a rise from minus 0.12 percent the week before.

Sensex near one-year high

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex at mid session on Wednesday surged over 434 points to 15,561.11, an almost one-year high-on aggressive buying by funds, on expectations that the government would jack-up spending in the Budget to boost economic growth.

Inflation falls to 0.48 per cent

Inflation declined to 0.48 per cent for the week ended May 23 from 0.61 per cent in the previous week even though the prices of essential food items like fruit, tea, cereals, and pulses continued to be expensive. Wholesale price-based inflation stood at 8.90 per cent in the corresponding week a year ago. During the week, the prices of the maize, arhar, spices and fruit went up while ragi and barley declined.

Telephone tariff to lower in coming days

The prospects of the further lowering of telephone tariff in India are imminent in the future. This was disclosed by Indian central Minister of Communications and Information Technology, A Raja on assuming his charged of the ministry in the national capital, New Delhi on Monday.

Economic recession in manufacturing units

Due to the ongoing global recession, the micro or the small industries in Tamil Nadu are affected by the economic meltdown. In the past recent years the city has emerged as the major hub for engineering industries, which consist of micro, small and medium engineering industries. These industries produce equipments from small spares to large machinery mainly for supplying to large engineering companies like Ashok Leyland, Maruti, Reliance, ISRO, BHEL etc. In this category the most affected are the micro industries.

GDP Shows signs of recovery in q4

Amid global recession, India's Gross Domestic Product made a significant recovery, growing by 5.8 percent in the January-March quarter as compared to 5.3 percent in the previous quarter. Though the percentage of recovery is small, it sends out an important message to the world economy.

India may grow below 6% in FY10: RBI

India may expand at a slower pace in the current financial year that began in April than initially thought and there are more rate cuts in the pipeline, a survey of 17 forecasters conducted by the central bank showed on Thursday. The survey is conducted by India's central bank, Reserve Bank of India every quarter since September 2007 and does not reflect its views. Forecasters have cut their 2009/10-growth forecast to 5.7 percent from 6 percent.

RBI cuts repo rates

The Reserve Bank today reduced the short-term lending (repo) and borrowing (reverse repo) rates by 25 basis points, a move that will signal further cuts in lending rates by banks for retail and industrial borrowers. Following the decision of the RBI, the repo rate and reverse repo rates will now stand at 4.75% and 3.25%, respectively. The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), the percentage of deposits that banks keep with the RBI, has been kept unchanged at 5 per cent, in the annual monetary policy unveiled by the RBI here.

Monetisation is not a benign solution

There was a long-term cost to monetising the budget deficit that needed to be considered despite the apparent short-term benefits of not tapping the market for funding, the Reserve Bank of India governor said on Monday. Duvvuri Subbarao said that government borrowing in the 2009/10 fiscal year would be significantly higher than the previous year.

Interview: P&NG regulator L Mansingh

Interview: Petro & natural gas regulator L Mansingh

Economy will recover quickly: Subbarao

Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao, Governor of Reserve Bank of India said that although it is uncertain as to when Indian economy will recover, when it does it will be sharper and quicker than other economies of the world. He expressed these optimistic views in the course of his address at a seminar hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industries in New Delhi on Thursday.

Meltdown adds to credit card woes

With a large number of people struggling to make credit card payments that has dampened the spirit of the banks to rope in new customers, the credit card business is at an all time low in Chennai. People are restricting unnecessary spending owing to the economic slowdown and consumer demand has gone down drastically. And as a result, credit card business has come down.

RBI to cut key rates

India's central bank RBI slashed its two key short-term interest rates on Wednesday in a bid to boost a weakening economy amid the slowest third-quarter growth in six years. The Reserve Bank of India reduced its key short-term lending rate for commercial banks, the repo, by 50 basis points to 5 percent, with the aim of encouraging banks to provide credit and maintaining liquidity.

Service tax, excise duty reduced

India cut factory gate duties and service taxes on Tuesday in an effort to boost demand and revive growth in Asia's third-largest economy as it reels under the impact of the global economic crisis. Warning of tough times ahead, the government, which is heading towards a parliamentary election due by mid May, cut the rate of central excise duty by 2 percentage points to 8 percent.

Mixed reactions to excise, service tax cut

Industrialists in IT hub Bangalore on Tuesday gave mixed reactions to central government's decision to cut factory gate duties and service taxes in a bid to boost demand and revive economic growth. Many welcomed the step saying it would help in fighting the current recessionary trend. On the other hand others said that the step was just a political gimmick ahead of general elections.

Gold touches record highs

Gold continued its record-breaking spree in India on Thursday as investor¿s poured money into the safe haven asset due to deepening global recession. But gold buyers stayed on the sidelines, as prices at record highs continued to hurt demand. Customers said social obligations forced them to buy gold or otherwise they would have postponed buying. Gold futures on the continuous charts was 0.70 percent higher at 15,670 rupees per 10 grams, after hitting a record of 15,706 rupees earlier in the session.