Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Theeran · Post by **Theeran** » 29 Mar 2020 03:56

M_Joshi wrote:

Strange activity. India not stocking at this low crude price juncture.

I don't understand that chart. Is India the base? And are the labels a percent of change?

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 29 Mar 2020 14:31

What is the source of this chart- I have feeling this is like a Top IMF saying 80% of Global economy slowdown is because of India. Or is it like our Nuclear stockpile, some interested players have no clue as to what our position and stock is and want public pressure to force GOI to show its cards.

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 29 Mar 2020 14:39

With lockdown in place and due to stay in force till April 13, does anyone know how the wheat crop is going to be harvested in Punjab, Haryana and Western UP? The harvest typically happens around the 14th. I know there are harvesters. But manual labour is not completely eliminated.

Kaivalya · Post by **Kaivalya** » 29 Mar 2020 20:45

^^^

Buildup of stock of oil reserves was on the cards 2-3 weeks ago. The graph seems dubious without source. Just like the stock market buying strategy now, it is hard to know when is the best/lowest price. That does not mean that the graph is true... I am hoping that oil price is going to be the hedge for absence of economic activity (for a month) for the next 6 months after we come out to lockdown

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/ind ... 85105.html

https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 772_1.html

Bart S · Post by **Bart S** » 29 Mar 2020 21:30

nandakumar wrote:With lockdown in place and due to stay in force till April 13, does anyone know how the wheat crop is going to be harvested in Punjab, Haryana and Western UP? The harvest typically happens around the 14th. I know there are harvesters. But manual labour is not completely eliminated.

The GOI has said clearly and repeatedly that agricultural activities and especially the crop harvest will be allowed to continue. Even if you don't believe official declarations, rest assured that it will be allowed, as a significant number of politicians own large tracts of farmland.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 29 Mar 2020 22:10

But given that labour in Punjab for instance was largely from UP, how does that happen with a lockdown in place?

Kaivalya · Post by **Kaivalya** » 30 Mar 2020 07:30

More on the oil demand

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... body-needs

Mukhi · Post by **Mukhi** » 30 Mar 2020 10:55

nandakumar wrote:With lockdown in place and due to stay in force till April 13, does anyone know how the wheat crop is going to be harvested in Punjab, Haryana and Western UP? The harvest typically happens around the 14th. I know there are harvesters. But manual labour is not completely eliminated.

It has already started in Gujarat and Police is allowing it without issue. The only challenge is, to keep each worker 6 feet a part while working and hassle you get on daily commute of the farmer from home, which is in village, to farm.

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 30 Mar 2020 12:22

Prasad wrote:But given that labour in Punjab for instance was largely from UP, how does that happen with a lockdown in place?

Not sure how they are going to do it. Perhaps the first phase of relaxation of lockdown after 14 might see some movement of agri labourer from UP, Bihar farm workers bring tested first and moved in quarantine stipulation. I am just guessing here, of course.

hanumadu · Post by **hanumadu** » 30 Mar 2020 12:38

Since other businesses are not functioning, there might be idle labour available for farming.

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 30 Mar 2020 13:16

hanumadu wrote:Since other businesses are not functioning, there might be idle labour available for farming.

I hope so. According to current estimate we are looking at 109 million tonnes of wheat output with bulk of it coming from Punjab, Haryana and Western UP.

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 30 Mar 2020 13:20

Mukhi wrote:
nandakumar wrote:With lockdown in place and due to stay in force till April 13, does anyone know how the wheat crop is going to be harvested in Punjab, Haryana and Western UP? The harvest typically happens around the 14th. I know there are harvesters. But manual labour is not completely eliminated.

It has already started in Gujarat and Police is allowing it without issue. The only challenge is, to keep each worker 6 feet a part while working and hassle you get on daily commute of the farmer from home, which is in village, to farm.

I was under the impression that Gujarat wheat crop is late Khariff season which means crop should come to the market by February. Perhaps there has been some delay this year. But in any case Gujarat is relatively a minor player as far as wheat is concerned and as such, labour requirements are not large.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 30 Mar 2020 13:36

nandakumar wrote:
Mukhi wrote:

It has already started in Gujarat and Police is allowing it without issue. The only challenge is, to keep each worker 6 feet a part while working and hassle you get on daily commute of the farmer from home, which is in village, to farm.
I was under the impression that Gujarat wheat crop is late Khariff season which means crop should come to the market by February. Perhaps there has been some delay this year. But in any case Gujarat is relatively a minor player as far as wheat is concerned and as such, labour requirements are not large.

Wheat crops in Punjab and Haryana are late these days. End of April Haryana starts (close to Delhi they start first) and the harvesting season goes till the end of May-1st week of June. Harvesting combines start from Western UP and then move to Haryana and to Punjab.

Labor issues will be there for other agricultural harvesting like fruits, sugarcane, vegetables, etc. These days labor is mostly involved in packing of the wheat that is emptied from the combines. Farmers usually manually harvest few fields so that they can get fodder (The golden stem of the wheat plant) for their animals.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 30 Mar 2020 19:35

This will have angered a whole lot of ameriki, cheeni and the EU gangs.

Amazon, Flipkart to pay equalization levy in India

Foreign-owned e-commerce players including Amazon and Flipkart will have to pay equalisation levy from the next fiscal. The levy, which hitherto was applicable only to digital advertising players such as Google, has now been expanded by way of a sweeping amendment to cover all sorts of digital e-commerce transactions into India, as well as those transaction which use Indian data.

Rakesh Jariwala, Tax Partner – Technology, Media & Entertainment, and Telecom practice, EY said: "This could potentially cover all digital business earning more than ₹2 crore of revenue from India or using Indian data to tax them at two per cent. E-commerce operator will not have the recourse to favourable tax treaty provisions."

"Unlike the earlier levy (on advertising), now the foreign e-commerce operator will be required to make compliances in India which could also raise potential challenges,” he added.

"One can also expect legal challenges on extra-territoriality as the provisions seeks to cover non-resident to non-resident transactions which use India data where OECD is still developing consensus on taxable nexus and allocation of taxing rights," he said.

Indian Finance Bill 2020 was passed in the Parliament on March 23. In a surprising development, the scope of equalisation levy has been extended to cover “e-commerce supply or services” (including facilitation) w.e.f. April 1, 2020.

The applicable tax rate is two per cent (plus a surcharge) on amount of consideration received/ receivable by an e-commerce operator

The levy, first introduced in 2016-17, is often referred to as “Google tax” and was applied on the payments for digital advertisement services received by non-resident companies without a permanent establishment (PE) here, if these exceeded ₹1 lakh in a year.

The companies using these services are required to withhold the tax amount.

Unlike equalisation levy in case of advertisement and related services, compliance obligation in this case is on the e-commerce operator (non-resident) and is required to deposit equalisation levy so collected on a quarterly basis and also file an annual return.

The provisions related to income on which equalisation levy has been paid being exempt from income tax continue to apply to e-commerce supplies on which equalisation levy has been paid, unless ecommerce operator has a PE in India and services so supplied are effectively connected to such PE, Jariwala said.

Published on March 24, 2020

Rahulsidhu · Post by **Rahulsidhu** » 31 Mar 2020 20:41

At a terrible time like this, let me say something which will not make me popular, but needs to be said in the interest of speaking the truth:

Many individuals and corporates are donating to the PM relief fund for virus prep/relief. This speaks very highly of the people and the companies. However, it does quite the opposite for the central govt. as it seeks rupee donations from its people at a time like this.

The crux of the matter is this -> the govt should be injecting money into, and not extracting-from, the pvt sector to slow down a very hard landing that is inevitable as a result of the lockdown. This means direct cash transfers to the needy, tax cuts, help to businesses so they may retain their employees, disease response and more. This should be financed by deficit borrowing. There is no need to worry about inflation at this time.

This is what pretty much every govt. is doing around the world. Are there any other examples of govt. seeking donations from its public? It is deeply counterproductive, will only make the coming recession/slowdown worse.

What really worries me right now is the state of state govt. finances. They have very limited borrowing powers and tax collections will be through the floor. What option will they have but to cut expenditures drastically? This has disaster written all over it, and i am not even talking about the virus.

Also, govt. employee salaries should not be cut. Not at a time like this.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 31 Mar 2020 21:21

I don't think the quantum of the contributions to PM CARES in any way is enough to be an economic blip. It's not intended to be an economic measure as much as a political effort to bring together a cohesive national response.

For the next 2-3 weeks at least, there's no reason to inject money into the system because the economy is under imposed lockdown. Rates have already been slashed dramatically, and that's equivalent to a substantial fiscal loosening - far more than anything collected by PM CARES.

Pretty much every economy is going to figure out 'what's the cost of switching our economy off for 1 month', in many different ways. There is very little short or medium term broad inflationary risk because the act of shutting down the economy is deflationary in nature.

Kaivalya · Post by **Kaivalya** » 31 Mar 2020 22:41

Rahulsidhu wrote:At a terrible time like this, let me say something which will not make me popular, but needs to be said in the interest of speaking the truth:

Many individuals and corporates are donating to the PM relief fund for virus prep/relief. This speaks very highly of the people and the companies. However, it does quite the opposite for the central govt. as it seeks rupee donations from its people at a time like this.

Rahulsidhuji- An event of this magnitude has so many implications. Please take a look at this corporate giving charts for the kinds of giving :

https://justcapital.com/reports/the-cov ... us-crisis/

The crux of the matter is this -> the govt should be injecting money into, and not extracting-from, the pvt sector to slow down a very hard landing that is inevitable as a result of the lockdown. This means direct cash transfers to the needy, tax cuts, help to businesses so they may retain their employees, disease response and more. This should be financed by deficit borrowing. There is no need to worry about inflation at this time.

I dont think it was an either or decision. NSji announced direct capital injection. The corporate giving followed. One isn't precluding the other.

Also, govt. employee salaries should not be cut. Not at a time like this.

It is generally thought if someone has a government job - they can afford to lose 1 day pay etc. I understand it is not true...but should be seen as a move to help others in an attempt to avoid national calamity. This could also be seen as a move of the salaried class giving up a little to help unsalaried class. Again this is on top what the central and state governments are planning/announced to do

One thing is sure - to your point, I dont think deficit management is playing into any of this. It is more like - we don't know how deep this is going to be...here are a few measures for day 1. Atleast that is how it seems to me

VKumar · Post by **VKumar** » 01 Apr 2020 01:22

So public donations in every calamity and war should be discouraged?

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 01 Apr 2020 02:40

India's February core sector growth at 11-month high of 5.5%

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 01 Apr 2020 15:21

Had seen this tweet earlier but it is also echoed by the govt of australia which has taken concrete steps to prevent the chinese from acquiring more of their companies on the cheap and is now mindful of the chinese infiltration into the sovereign domain of another country.

China already has large investments in australia which have turned detrimental to australian interests.

perhaps it is time that we also looked at such a scenario

RVAIDYA2000@rvaidya2000·Mar 30
Impt Alert: Normally reliable sources at Sing/HK/Mumbai tell me --Chinese companies using Tax Haven routes eyeing impt Indian companies /media Cos-- valued low to acquire--Pl stop it--If not we are under China:!!

Clampdown on foreign investments to prevent international raids on Australian assets amid coronavirus pandemic

March 29, 2020

All foreign investment in Australia will now require approval in a Federal Government move designed to prevent international raids on struggling companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Key points:
Every purchase application from foreign investors will now be scrutinised, regardless of value

The Government says the measures are necessary to safeguard the national interest

But it said the move was not an investment freeze

At the moment, foreign investors need to apply for approval before purchasing land or assets in Australia if the value is over a certain threshold.

For private investors from free-trading agreement partner countries, that limit ranges from $50 million to $1.1 billion, for land and non-land proposals.

But from Sunday, the Foreign Investment Review Board will scrutinise every single purchase application, regardless of its value.

Kaivalya · Post by **Kaivalya** » 03 Apr 2020 09:20

Update on the supply side glut of oil

floating seems to be the choice now :https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/W ... e.amp.html

Sicanta · Post by **Sicanta** » 04 Apr 2020 00:02

Covid 19 just killed 10 million jobs in USA. India should take note. This sea change in the jobs scenario will impact us too.

https://swarajyamag.com/economy/covid-1 ... -india-too

Rahulsidhu · Post by **Rahulsidhu** » 04 Apr 2020 07:09

Addressing some pushback/questions on my last post:

Suraj wrote:I don't think the quantum of the contributions to PM CARES in any way is enough to be an economic blip.

It's true that the amount is relatively small, however (couple of k crores?) is not negligible either. Anyhow, my point was more about the DIRECTION of the flow. That the govt feels it appropriate to solicit donations is a window into their economic thinking, which is completely backwards, but entirely consistent with their historical actions.

It's not intended to be an economic measure as much as a political effort to bring together a cohesive national response.

If you say so. But I am generally skeptical of such 3D chess theories. When I see the govt asking for money, I assume it is because they want money.

For the next 2-3 weeks at least, there's no reason to inject money into the system because the economy is under imposed lockdown.

The purpose of fiscal stimulus is not to encourage people to go out and spend on discretionary items, nor to encourage new business investment. The purpose is to provide financial sustenance. For some households it could be as basic as being able to afford food and rent. For others it could be about continuing to pay EMIs. For businesses it could be about enabling them to service payrolls and debts.
While the real economy has been shutdown, the financial economy has not. Fiscal help is all about bridging the gap.

Rates have already been slashed dramatically, and that's equivalent to a substantial fiscal loosening - far more than anything collected by PM CARES.

Monetary stimulus is NOT equivalent to fiscal stimulus. It can only play a supporting role. If you doubt this, think about how lower interest rates or OMOs help the following types of people:

* An agri worker who cannot travel to find work and can barely afford food.
* A daily wage construction worker/SME worker/cab driver who has lost livelihood.
* A factory/shop owner who has seen revenue drop to zero and cannot pay employees nor service rent/debt.
* A big business like an airline hurtling towards bankruptcy.

Central bank actions are all about banking and financial market stability. They CAN do helicopter drops of money but we are far from that point. Personally think if helicopter drops are to be done, they better come through the govt.

Rahulsidhu · Post by **Rahulsidhu** » 04 Apr 2020 07:16

Kaivalya wrote: https://justcapital.com/reports/the-cov ... us-crisis/

Good to see, but how is it relevant?

I dont think it was an either or decision. NSji announced direct capital injection. The corporate giving followed. One isn't precluding the other.

The fiscal stimulus announced is not even close to being enough. And to top that, they are also negating whatever little they have done by absorbing the donations.

It is generally thought if someone has a government job - they can afford to lose 1 day pay etc. I understand it is not true...but should be seen as a move to help others in an attempt to avoid national calamity. This could also be seen as a move of the salaried class giving up a little to help unsalaried class. Again this is on top what the central and state governments are planning/announced to do

One thing is sure - to your point, I dont think deficit management is playing into any of this. It is more like - we don't know how deep this is going to be...here are a few measures for day 1. Atleast that is how it seems to me

It's not about whether people can afford to lose pay or donate. They clearly can, and are willingly donating out of the goodness of their hearts. The question is whether it's right for the govt to ask for donations, when it can fund the same relief efforts directly. People can be asked to directly support people/businesses in need that they know.

And i think it definitely has to do with fiscal deficit management. It is a result of not understanding economics, sorry to say.

saip · Post by **saip** » 04 Apr 2020 07:21

Is there a shortage of cash in India, in ATMs? My MiL gets family pension from Postal Dept. It is credited to her PO Bank account. But she can not withdraw. Today they told her they do not have cash to pay her the pension.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 04 Apr 2020 08:10

I have not faced any shortage at ATM, must be the corruption ecosystem still at play .

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 04 Apr 2020 09:56

Rahulsidhu wrote:
Kaivalya wrote: https://justcapital.com/reports/the-cov ... us-crisis/
Good to see, but how is it relevant?

I dont think it was an either or decision. NSji announced direct capital injection. The corporate giving followed. One isn't precluding the other.

The fiscal stimulus announced is not even close to being enough. And to top that, they are also negating whatever little they have done by absorbing the donations.

It is generally thought if someone has a government job - they can afford to lose 1 day pay etc. I understand it is not true...but should be seen as a move to help others in an attempt to avoid national calamity. This could also be seen as a move of the salaried class giving up a little to help unsalaried class. Again this is on top what the central and state governments are planning/announced to do

One thing is sure - to your point, I dont think deficit management is playing into any of this. It is more like - we don't know how deep this is going to be...here are a few measures for day 1. Atleast that is how it seems to me
It's not about whether people can afford to lose pay or donate. They clearly can, and are willingly donating out of the goodness of their hearts. The question is whether it's right for the govt to ask for donations, when it can fund the same relief efforts directly. People can be asked to directly support people/businesses in need that they know.

And i think it definitely has to do with fiscal deficit management. It is a result of not understanding economics, sorry to say.

the recipient of donations is quite rightly the GoI.

Let them handle issues centrally, irrespective of criticism or praise.

People are most likely to donate to the govt rather than some ephemeral private entity on the make who most likely will skim the cream of the donations off the top for "staff and operational expenses" leaving the last few bucks of the donation to go around needy recipients.

More the donations to the GoI for the corona wars means more leftover in the govt kitty for appropriate deployment for other worthy causes.

One has been donating and will continue to donate to this govt but one may not be so generous towards any private entity asking for funds for any purpose.

this is precisely the time when scammers and snake oil sales persons are in full cry plying their trade in dulcet tones.

as for the economics of this govt, it is six of one and half a dozen of the other.

There is no pleasing all in a democracy where, as usual, vested interests fight to prevail.

tandav · Post by **tandav** » 04 Apr 2020 14:31

chetak wrote:
....Snipped....

the recipient of donations is quite rightly the GoI.

Let them handle issues centrally, irrespective of criticism or praise.

People are most likely to donate to the govt rather than some ephemeral private entity on the make who most likely will skim the cream of the donations off the top for "staff and operational expenses" leaving the last few bucks of the donation to go around needy recipients.

More the donations to the GoI for the corona wars means more leftover in the govt kitty for appropriate deployment for other worthy causes.

One has been donating and will continue to donate to this govt but one may not be so generous towards any private entity asking for funds for any purpose.

this is precisely the time when scammers and snake oil sales persons are in full cry plying their trade in dulcet tones.

as for the economics of this govt, it is six of one and half a dozen of the other.

There is no pleasing all in a democracy where, as usual, vested interests fight to prevail.

The issue is speed of deployment and speed of innovation... I find the private guys are able to move far quicker than govt in providing services...
I have donated to AkshayPatra (as I know they have all the wherewithal and logistic to cook lakhs of meals), I am donating to orgs like makers asylum who are making face shields for hospital and law enforcement personnel. The idea of supporting these organizations is to quickly get resources to them so that they can execute the work

https://www.akshayapatra.org/covid-relief-services

https://www.makersasylum.com/covid19/

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 04 Apr 2020 16:00

tandav wrote:
chetak wrote:
....Snipped....

the recipient of donations is quite rightly the GoI.

Let them handle issues centrally, irrespective of criticism or praise.

People are most likely to donate to the govt rather than some ephemeral private entity on the make who most likely will skim the cream of the donations off the top for "staff and operational expenses" leaving the last few bucks of the donation to go around needy recipients.

More the donations to the GoI for the corona wars means more leftover in the govt kitty for appropriate deployment for other worthy causes.

One has been donating and will continue to donate to this govt but one may not be so generous towards any private entity asking for funds for any purpose.

this is precisely the time when scammers and snake oil sales persons are in full cry plying their trade in dulcet tones.

as for the economics of this govt, it is six of one and half a dozen of the other.

There is no pleasing all in a democracy where, as usual, vested interests fight to prevail.
The issue is speed of deployment and speed of innovation... I find the private guys are able to move far quicker than govt in providing services...
I have donated to AkshayPatra (as I know they have all the wherewithal and logistic to cook lakhs of meals), I am donating to orgs like makers asylum who are making face shields for hospital and law enforcement personnel. The idea of supporting these organizations is to quickly get resources to them so that they can execute the work

https://www.akshayapatra.org/covid-relief-services

https://www.makersasylum.com/covid19/

private guys of the caliber, intent, efficiency, social commitment, the honesty of purpose, national pride and the laser focus of akshayapatra are very few and far between.

even using global standards there is no comparison between akshayapatra and say someone like oxfam.

Almost everyone I know donates to akshayapatra.

no one donates to peta, puta or pita type of private scamsters.

Kaivalya · Post by **Kaivalya** » 04 Apr 2020 20:34

^^^ Adding to the points above

The responsibility of the trustees in PM-CARES has been defined, unlike in the Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF). The latter has no provision of an advisory board. PMNRF has the PM, deputy PM, finance minister, Congress president and a representative of the Tata Trusts and industry representative chosen by FICCI, as members of the trust,”

https://m.economictimes.com/news/politi ... 956414.cms

There is nothing that prevents PMCARES fund to funnel resources into akshayapatra for example. Leadership has to galvanize and mobilize in these times of calamity. The process of raising funds and disbursing funds are decoupled a long time back.

Private parties like red cross have no obligation to actually contribute to the cause the money is donated. Hoping more organizations like akshayapatra step up.

Specific goals for leaders are towards removal of barriers so organizations can be successful. When we say suddenly increase mask production by 10,000 daily or productionalize sealant or make 100k ventilators where will the raw material, labor come from if we don't pay them right away. Mobilizing 10s of 1000s of crores takes time - every bit helps. I read all these efforts as "in addition to" not "instead of"

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 04 Apr 2020 23:19

Rahulsidhu wrote:Addressing some pushback/questions on my last post:

Suraj wrote:I don't think the quantum of the contributions to PM CARES in any way is enough to be an economic blip.
It's true that the amount is relatively small, however (couple of k crores?) is not negligible either. Anyhow, my point was more about the DIRECTION of the flow. That the govt feels it appropriate to solicit donations is a window into their economic thinking, which is completely backwards, but entirely consistent with their historical actions.
It's not intended to be an economic measure as much as a political effort to bring together a cohesive national response.
If you say so. But I am generally skeptical of such 3D chess theories. When I see the govt asking for money, I assume it is because they want money.

It sounds a little doctrinaire to me

The background behind the PM CARES fund (not the same thing as the general PMNRF) is the number of requests the PMO received from the general public asking how they can contribute to the efforts to combat the COVID-19 situation. The response, rather than to just say 'put it in PMNRF', was to set up something new that acknowledges the public interest.

In this thread we try to keep politics out of the discussion of political economy, but at a moment like this, there's a significant element of those at the very top needing to explicitly acknowledge that the public have indicated a desire to support the efforts, and to ensure that they feel they're heard and acknowledged.

Further below, you list several things that the government should do, in terms of ensuring that basic fiscal stimulus is made available. Those are true things. And yet the government can simultaneously set up a fund that accepts contributions from the general public wanting to support the anti-COVID`19 efforts, while simultaneously be tasked with ensuring that a basic stimulus and income replacement mechanism is in place.

To say that it can only be one way, is doctrinaire. It is analogous to the argument that a country should not offer aid while being a recipient of aid. In reality, most countries do both.

Rahulsidhu wrote:
For the next 2-3 weeks at least, there's no reason to inject money into the system because the economy is under imposed lockdown.
The purpose of fiscal stimulus is not to encourage people to go out and spend on discretionary items, nor to encourage new business investment. The purpose is to provide financial sustenance. For some households it could be as basic as being able to afford food and rent. For others it could be about continuing to pay EMIs. For businesses it could be about enabling them to service payrolls and debts.
While the real economy has been shutdown, the financial economy has not. Fiscal help is all about bridging the gap.

A large $23 billion stimulus was announced the day before the lockdown began:
India outlines $23 billion stimulus to help poor hit by lockdown
Maybe you can offer something more specific to the context of what's already been announced and is being implemented, rather than general comments about 'need a stimulus', that seems to sound like the administration just announced a lockdown, turned off the lights and went home to dinner, which isn't anywhere near reality

Rahulsidhu wrote:
Rates have already been slashed dramatically, and that's equivalent to a substantial fiscal loosening - far more than anything collected by PM CARES.
Monetary stimulus is NOT equivalent to fiscal stimulus. It can only play a supporting role. If you doubt this, think about how lower interest rates or OMOs help the following types of people:

* An agri worker who cannot travel to find work and can barely afford food.
* A daily wage construction worker/SME worker/cab driver who has lost livelihood.
* A factory/shop owner who has seen revenue drop to zero and cannot pay employees nor service rent/debt.
* A big business like an airline hurtling towards bankruptcy.

Central bank actions are all about banking and financial market stability. They CAN do helicopter drops of money but we are far from that point. Personally think if helicopter drops are to be done, they better come through the govt.

It would help to dig into the details of the stimulus already announced, and understand to what extend it addresses these and other considerations.

Every government in the world today is dealing with what amounts to the first ever voluntary cessation of general economic activity in modern economic history.

Mollick.R · Post by **Mollick.R** » 05 Apr 2020 00:29

Deleted . Please don’t cross post content from the politics thread here.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 10 Apr 2020 11:32

Chinese companies have escaped the kind of scrutiny in India that their investments have attracted in the West, despite several high-profile investments and acquisitions. Besides the current emphasis on investments, another likely reason is the assumption that investments from the Chinese private sector are entirely different from state-led investments. But the separation between the Chinese state and private business is blurry.

Within China, the Chinese private sector, and particularly tech firms, work closely with the govt and the Communist Party in pursuing many of its goals at home. This is especially true of the technology sector, which is widely seen as playing a key role in the party’s enforcement of digital authoritarianism at home, from surveillance to censorship.

“Following The money: China Inc’s growing stake in India-China relations"

Mollick.R · Post by **Mollick.R** » 11 Apr 2020 22:04

Maruti Chairman Bhargava: Extension of nationwide lockdown will be a body blow for economy
Last Updated : Apr 11, 2020 06:06 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com

RC Bhargava, Chairman of Maruti Suzuki India, the country's largest passenger carmaker, has strongly recommended resumption of economic activity and voiced his opposition at any further extension of the lockdown period beyond April 14.

In an exhaustive interview with Moneycontrol, he outlined the measures the government should take to recover from this massive setback and said the onus of creating demand in post-COVID 19 era rests on both the government and industry.

"Any blanket extension of lockout is not logically required. It was required to identify the hotspots. In 21 days, the hotspots must have already shown up. In rest of the country, start the economic activity but with caution and if there is an inadvertent violation, treat it as a hotspot and cordon it off. But don't shut down economic activity," Bhargava told Moneycontrol.

Asked to detail his plan of action for resumption of economic activity, he said: "I am saying that seal all the hotspots and then open the areas which are free of infection. In those areas, anyone who starts an economic activity should be legally compelled to take certain safeguards related to employees, vendors, transporters and dealers. Point here is that safeguards have to come into play for next few months."

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In reply to another question on whether India Inc was ready to take up the challenge, he averred that there was no other option.

"Otherwise, if the industry is not found compliant, it should be penalised. People should be educated," he said.

Compliance will become much better, especially, if the Prime Minister says we are lifting the lockout but for your own sake and for nation's sake, this is what we have to do, prescribed Bhargava.

He asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi commands a unique respect among the citizens.

"I think it is quite unique because I have not seen this kind of rapport between a political leader and the people. Earlier, India's first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru had it. We are in the same situation now. The common man will follow PM almost blindly now," he said.

Bhargava sees merit in people's trust in PM being actually put to good use.

"That everyone becomes an eye for the government to ensure safety measures are being implemented and complain about lack of compliance, if any, at economic entities across the country," he said.

Asked to draw a balance between looking after the poor and offering fiscal stimulus to the industry, Bhargava said, “Just giving money to the poor isn’t the solution. If required, it can be done for a short time, but it cannot be done for a long time. We need to start the economic activity, especially those economic activities that will create productive employment. Because when more people find work, less people will require financial support.”

He argued for a simultaneous government attention to the poor and the industry.

"The government, while looking after the poor, must simultaneously think about what needs to be done to revive the industry. You have to look at those industries that create employment. Employment doesn't mean only in factories but employment means activating it in the entire ecosystem," he opined.

Drawing his recipe for creating demand, Maruti Chairman outlined his two pronged agenda for the business and the government.

The industry, itself, has to look at all ways of cutting costs –top management pay cuts – are among good steps and should continue for longer period, personally I should say forever. And that money goes back into the company, because these are all overhead costs.

All measures which will improve productivity so that production costs can come down – travel, entertainment expenses, advertising budgets - should all come down. All these will help reduce cost of production. The demand creation is a function of the price for the customer, he explained.

Everybody must take it up as national duty to cut down cost of production to cheer up demand. Bhargava’s agenda for the government (Centre and States) is to look at seriously reducing taxes that enable reducing cost of acquisition. “On a small car, a customer today pays about 40 per cent as taxes. Demand creation is essential and demand creation is to be done by not giving doles to people but by reducing cost of acquisition. This is the real stimulus.”

He recalled that the RBI had already reduced the repo rate and increased the liquidity. “RBI has done its best. What other stimulus can government do except reduce taxes?”

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/busin ... 32881.html

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 13 Apr 2020 00:47

With the stock markets globally reeling under the coronavirus impact, Chinese entities have been buying stakes in blue chips. Proactive intervention needed by
@SEBI_India and @FinMinIndia - Indian financial system and key industries should not get China-dominated.

CNBC-TV18@CNBCTV18Live · 13h.

@HomeLoansByHDFC Shareholding: People’s Bank Of China’s name appears in March shareholding with 1.01% stake

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 13 Apr 2020 01:18

Can members stop posting the entire articles on this thread and just post the required snippets. It makes the thread impossible to parse also you are opening BR to copyright violation lawsuits.

Kaivalya · Post by **Kaivalya** » 13 Apr 2020 18:26

A week or two before the slow release is contemplated, some manufacturing may be opened up

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-heal ... SKCN21V089

Kaivalya · Post by **Kaivalya** » 13 Apr 2020 18:31

20 Steps in 20 days
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-ne ... yEaGI.html

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 18 Apr 2020 18:10

Centre moves to block opportunistic takeovers of Indian firms

18th April 2020

Jonathan Ananda

NEW DELHI: The Government of India has swiftly moved to block deep-pocketed Chinese entities from mounting opportunistic takeovers of vulnerable, pandemic-hit Indian firms. On Friday, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry moved a notification amending its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, making government approval mandatory for any investment from countries sharing a "land border" with India.

The notification comes soon after several sections of the industry warned the Centre that heavily capitalised Chinese entities and funds were shopping for vulnerable Indian companies laid low by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Centre's amendment seems clearly aimed at preventing such takeovers by Chinese entities, since out of the seven countries India shares a land border with, investments from Pakistan and Bangladesh already required government approval. Excluding China, the rest -- Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar -- are insignificant sources of FDI into India and aren't generally perceived as financial national security threats.

The earlier policy had allowed FDI through the automatic route in over 1,000 categories, except for 16 sectors including defence and telecom.

The newly amended policy now says that "an entity of a country which shares a land border with India, or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated in… can invest only under the government route".

This condition shall also apply to the transfer of ownership of FDI, which "directly or indirectly" results in beneficial ownership falling to entities in one of these countries, said the notification.

The move comes after a series of developments and warnings from industry bodies to the Centre. For instance, March shareholding disclosures had revealed that the Chinese central bank now held a 1.01 per cent stake in one of India's biggest blue-chip financial firms: HDFC.

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 19 Apr 2020 05:15

There are still loopholes that need to be plugged. What is going to stop the Chinese from floating investments firms abroad and bring in the investment into India from Mauritius? That route has been open for long and has been used in some instances to whitewash ill gotten gains of ministers and industrialists.