Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

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Suraj
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Suraj »

Indirect tax collections suggest strong Q1 GDP growth:
Indirect tax collection up by 34 % in June quarter
The indirect tax collection in the state is up by a whopping 34 per cent to Rs 2392 crore in the April-June quarter compared to Rs 1792 crore mopped up during the corresponding period of last year. The growth in indirect tax realization is aided by the increased central excise collection which is up by 56 per cent in the first quarter of the Fy16 against the same period in Fy15.

The central excise collection has surged to Rs 1326 crore in the first three months of the current fiscal from Rs 850 crore realized in April-June,2014.

The service tax collection stood at Rs 550 crore in April -June, up 22 per cent from Rs 449 crore as on June 2014. However, the custom duty realisation for the period under review is up by a measly five per cent at Rs 517 crore against Rs 493 crore collected in the same period a year ago.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by M Joshi »

Suraj wrote:Indirect tax collections suggest strong Q1 GDP growth:
[url=http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 674_1.html]Indirect tax collection up by 34 % in June quarter
The indirect tax collection in the state is up by a whopping 34 per cent to Rs 2392 crore in the April-June quarter compared to Rs 1792 crore mopped up during the corresponding period of last year. The growth in indirect tax realization is aided by the increased central excise collection which is up by 56 per cent in the first quarter of the Fy16 against the same period in Fy15.

The central excise collection has surged to Rs 1326 crore in the first three months of the current fiscal from Rs 850 crore realized in April-June,2014.

The service tax collection stood at Rs 550 crore in April -June, up 22 per cent from Rs 449 crore as on June 2014. However, the custom duty realisation for the period under review is up by a measly five per cent at Rs 517 crore against Rs 493 crore collected in the same period a year ago.
The numbers are for Orrisa only. Otherwise they seem odd & too less for Pan India on first glance.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Suraj »

Yes indeed, does seem like Orissa only.
Theo_Fidel

Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Theo_Fidel »

nandakumar wrote:The sub sea pipeline is about 200 kilometre. Isnt this a bigger deal many times over?
No. For India economy pipeline is much bigger deal.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Mukesh.Kumar »

RamaY wrote:
Theo_Fidel wrote:^^^

Top priority has to be the Iran sub sea gas pipeline. Something people are forgetting once more.
Right now assets are cheap, know how is cheap, suppliers cheap. India could get this pipeline and lock in a $5/mbtu type price for the gas long term. Reliance built its KG gas deep sea pipeline in 16 months.
+1008

Looks like only you and I are keep repeating about this project for years.
RamaY: This would be a fantastic opportunity we should pursue. But one noobie question: How safe is a sub-sea pipeline? Won't it be easy to target given the proliferation of AUV's? Also, given that the pipeline has to border Pakistan's EEZ, the length of the pipeline will be a major issue. Refer Infographic below:
Image
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Mukesh.Kumar »

Quick edit.

Went back and had a look at the project presentation from SAGE.

For noobies like me it's worth a read.
nandakumar wrote:
Theo_Fidel wrote:^^^

Top priority has to be the Iran sub sea gas pipeline. Something people are forgetting once more.
Right now assets are cheap, know how is cheap, suppliers cheap. India could get this pipeline and lock in a $5/mbtu type price for the gas long term. Reliance built its KG gas deep sea pipeline in 16 months.
The sub sea pipeline is about 200 kilometre. Isnt this a bigger deal many times over?
@ nandakumar, if you have time, please go through the Project presentation. Length will be about 1300 km undersea from Oman to Porbandar.

@ RamaY: Sirjee, even at USD 7/mm Btu, the country will save USD 2/mm Btu. Thank you and Theo garu for stressing the point. learn something new on BRF everyday
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Suraj »

The GST pieces are falling in place:
Select panel arrives at middle ground on GST
Parliamentarians are understood to have recommended a mechanism to do away with the contentious issue of a cascading effect of one per cent tax over the proposed national goods and services tax (GST). A select panel of the Rajya Sabha is believed to have suggested the tax be made liable only in the case of inter-state supply of goods for a consideration, adding this be made explicit at the time of making the GST law.

It also accepted a demand by most states that the Constitution amendment Bill on GST provide that they be fully compensated for revenue loss for five years.

The committee, sources said, was also understood to have recommended moderate GST rates, with as many goods under it as possible. However, the rates would be decided by the proposed GST council and these wouldn't be part of the Constitution amendment Bill.

The Constitution amendment Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha earlier, has a provision of one per cent additional tax over GST for inter-state supply of goods to help producing states, as GST is a destination-based tax. However, this drew flak from industry and experts, who claimed it would lead to a cascading effect.

To balance the interests of the two sides, the panel is understood to have recommended the proposed GST law should say that inter-state movement of goods won't be taxable if it is without a consideration, which might mean the movement of goods within the same company.

The Constitution amendment Bill is an enabling mechanism to allow the Centre and states to impose GST. After the Bill is passed, the new indirect tax regime would require another central law, as well as state laws on GST.

The select panel of the Rajya Sabha seemed to be of the view that compensation to states should not decline from the fourth year; the current Bill says states be fully compensated for their losses till three years; this would fall to 75 per cent in the fourth year and 50 per cent in the fifth.

On a GST rate, the committee is expected to have said the proposed indirect tax regime should be broad-based so that rates are moderate and non-inflationary. It is understood to have stated as petroleum was out of GST for all effective purposes, the rates were high. The Bill passed by the Lok Sabha says the proposed GST council will decide whether petroleum is included or not.

Earlier, a sub-panel of the empowered committee of state finance ministers had recommended a revenue neutral rate of 27 per cent, to be broken into state GST and central GST.

Currently, a committee headed by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian is looking into the issue. On Monday, Subramanian said the committee would submit its report in four-six weeks.

To be cleared, a Constitutional amendment Bill requires two-thirds of the members of the Upper House to be present and voting. Subsequently, it will have to be ratified by at least 15 of the 29 states. The government is hopeful that the Bill will be passed in the monsoon session so that the GST regime can be introduced by the deadline of April 1 next year.
Kharif production could touch new highs on the back of increased acreage
India is expected to harvest record production of pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals in this year's kharif season because of higher acreage under these crops so far despite the prediction of a deficient monsoon, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Monday.

"There has been a significant increase in area under pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals so far and we expect record production of these crops," Singh told PTI.

In a related development, data from the food ministry showed that around 25 states and union territories (UTs) have put in place stock limits on pulses, onions and potatoes to prevent their prices from spiraling, while Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura didn't have any stock limit, but have made a licence mandatory for those trading in these commodities.

The previous peak in coarse cereals and pulses output was 33.08 million tonnes and 7.12 million tonnes each achieved in the 2010-11 kharif season, while the record oilseeds output of 22.61 million tonnes was witnessed in 2013-14 kharif season.

India Ratings (Ind-Ra) in a report released on Monday, too, said production of kharif crops could touch a new record if rainfall during the rest of the monsoon season remains similar to that seen till mid-July.

The agency is basing its optimism on the higher sowing of kharif foodgrain this year, which led to an increased acreage under pulses and higher reservoir levels than in FY15.

Its optimism also comes from the 33 per cent more water in the reservoirs as of mid-July over the 10-year average. Reservoir level was only 12 per cent higher for the same period last year.

Kharif grains represent 49.6 per cent of the total food grain output in the country and the sowing of this crop was 63 per cent higher by mid-July this year over the same period last year, when monsoon was poor.
Bloomberg weighs in on the GST:
Modi Tries, Again, for India’s Biggest Economy Reform Since ’91
After a decade of political flipflops, lawmaker wrangling and leadership changes, India’s parliament once again meets to vote on unifying the nation’s 29 states under a single sales tax.

Failure to pass a bill in the session starting on Tuesday would make it almost impossible to implement the tax by a deadline of April 1, 2016. While Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is optimistic it will get through, his opponents have signaled they plan to disrupt parliament to protest corruption scandals.

One of the biggest reforms since India pulled down trade and investment barriers amid a crisis in 1991, the move could stoke confidence in Asia’s third-largest economy by removing the headache of complying with multiple levies across domestic boundaries.

While parliament’s approval is essential, how big a dividend the change will bring depends on the shape of deals Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration strikes with states to persuade them to ratify the legislation.

Parliamentary approval for the bill first proposed in 2006 would pave the way for the 122nd amendment to India’s constitution. It would then need to be ratified by at least 15 states before it becomes law.

Here are the biggest obstacles:

REVENUE-NEUTRAL RATE

While global GST rates range from 16 percent to 20 percent, some Indian states are demanding 27 percent. That’s too high, Jaitley told lawmakers on May 6, adding that the idea of a GST is to boost compliance using a reasonable rate and simple payment method.

He may finally settle on a rate of about 22 percent as a political compromise, according to Sumit Dutt Majumder, former head of India’s Central Board of Excise and Customs and the author of a book on the GST.

A higher-than-average rate risks encouraging tax evasion and nullifying the benefits of the GST. India’s tax-to-GDP ratio was 10.8 percent in 2012, higher than only 12 of about 200 countries tracked by the World Bank.

TAX COMPONENTS

To get the states to agree on a lower rate, Jaitley has promised to exempt several goods from the GST. These include alcohol and petroleum products, both high-yielding goods that account for about 30 percent of revenue in some states.

COMPENSATION
Indian states can broadly be classified into two categories: producers and consumers.

Producers include Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, which manufacture and export goods to other states after taxing the products at the point of origin. Under the GST, the power to tax will lie with the consuming states, prompting producers to seek compensation.

Modi’s government plans to reimburse producing states for 100 percent of losses for the first three years, 75 percent and then 50 percent over the next two years, Jaitley told lawmakers during the previous session of parliament.

INTER-STATE LEVIES

Furthermore, producing states want to impose additional taxes on goods that cross their borders. Some states advocate a 1 percent levy, while others are demanding 2 percent.

While proposals so far call for the interstate tax to stay in place for two years, any extension risks undermining the whole purpose of the GST: to create a common market and tear down trade barriers within India.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Uttam »

Has there been any recent news about how well the Monsoon has progressed in India in July? I tried searching but haven't found any.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Kakkaji »

Bypassing Land Acquisition Trouble: Govt may use surplus PSU land for new projects
With political uncertainty dogging the Land Acquisition Bill, the government is moving ahead to finalise a policy to utilise over 2.35 lakh acre of surplus land lying with the state-run companies for infrastructure and industrial projects, including those under the plug-and-play mode. But the complexities involved may make the government’s job difficult in doing so.

Under the proposal being considered by the NDA regime, the government will ensure securing necessary clearances and required linkages for an acquired land before a project is awarded through a transparent bidding system. The trigger for doing so is the announcement made by finance minister Arun Jaitley in Budget 2015-16 on five new ultra mega power projects (UMPPs), each of 4,000 Mw, in the plug-and-play mode to help unlock investments of nearly Rs 1 lakh crore. Jaitley had also said the government would consider similar projects in roads, ports, rail lines and airports in the plug-and-play mode. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), which is learnt to be doing the due diligence in this regard is of the view that since acquiring land is a lengthy and tardy process, a relatively comfortable beginning can be made with the land available with Central PSUs, especially the sick ones. Since some of this land is within the vicinity of highways, railway network and ports, the developers in these sectors would be expectedly enthused to bid for a project which would be free of encumbrances, a senior DPE official told The Indian Express.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Uttam »

Uttam wrote:Has there been any recent news about how well the Monsoon has progressed in India in July? I tried searching but haven't found any.

I found the answer here:

El Nino has affected monsoon adversely: Govt
India has received 7% less rainfall than what is normal during the period between June 1 and July 20, said Harsh Vardhan

The El Nino has adversely affected the monsoon in the country so far and is expected to further affect the rainfall in coming months, government today said.

In a written response to a question in Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan said India has received 7 per cent less rainfall than what is normal during the period between June 1 and July 20.

"El Nino has adversly affected the monsoon so far as per the model forecasts. It is also expected to affect the monsoon in coming months.

"According to the latest status, moderate El-Nino conditions are persistent in the Pacific and latest forecasts indicate that the El-Nino conditions are likely to strengthen further during the remaining months of the monsoon season and post monsoon season," Vardhan said.

Elaborating on the overall rainfall received in the country, the Minister said all areas expect north west India has recorded deficient rainfall. The east and northeast has received minus 6 per cent, central India minus 15 per cent, south peninsula minus 12 per cent while northwest India has 9 per cent surplus rainfall against its normal.

The government has predicted a "deficient" monsoon this year with July and August expected to receive minus 8 per cent and minus 10 per cent rainfall respectively.

In response to another question, Vardhan added operational forecast for Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand are also provided with operational forecasts.
Theo_Fidel

Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Theo_Fidel »

There is no deficit monsoon so far. IMD is blowing hot air.

July first 2 weeks was 7% deficit.

But June was 60% surplus!

IMD is mentioning 2 weeks to minister but ignoring an entire month of June. Sad that minister falls for these babu's.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Uttam »

Theo_Fidel wrote:There is no deficit monsoon so far. IMD is blowing hot air.

July first 2 weeks was 7% deficit.

But June was 60% surplus!

IMD is mentioning 2 weeks to minister but ignoring an entire month of June. Sad that minister falls for these babu's.
Well, if you are correct then it is an awesome news. This should provide RBI a little more room to play in the interest rates. The drop in gold prices coupled with lack of increase in Indian demand for it is another welcome news. Hopefully this will help is reducing appetite for gold in the long run.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by member_29058 »

http://www.firstpost.com/business/sebi- ... 57568.html
Sebi cracks whips on organised syndicates, busts billion-dollar 'tax evasion shops'
Suspecting tax evasion of at least Rs 5,000-6,000 crore, regulator Sebi has clamped down on a large number of organised syndicates who had set up 'shops' to convert black money into legitimate-looking funds through the stock market platform.
"We have banned more than 900 entities and my guess is that the tax avoidance that has happened in these cases is more than Rs 5000-6,000 crore," Sebi chairman UK Sinha said.
"We have given all the details to the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) and we have told them that they should probe them," Sinha told
Talking about the menace of money laundering and other market-related manipulations, Sinha said the regulator is trying to curb such cases one-by-one very successfully.
"As far as markets are concerned, one by one we are trying to curb the manipulation very successfully -- be it IPO markets, GDR markets or secondary markets. But I must also say that this is an ongoing battle and I cannot say that we have controlled every thing," he said.
Giving a "complete picture" on this menace, the Sebi chief said, "In any country or in any market, there are always people who are trying to find loopholes and take advantage.
"These are the people who have criminal intent. They are not here to help in the growth of the country. They work with a desire to corner money with criminal intentions."
Giving example of the IPO market, Sinha said Sebi found "some people had virtually set up shops" there.
"If you want to raise Rs 200 crore, come to me, I will provide you the buyers, I will provide you the platform and I will provide you with a mechanism on how to go for the listing. They were manipulating the market after listing," Sinha said, while adding that Sebi was able to crack this.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Suraj »

Uttam wrote:Well, if you are correct then it is an awesome news. This should provide RBI a little more room to play in the interest rates. The drop in gold prices coupled with lack of increase in Indian demand for it is another welcome news. Hopefully this will help is reducing appetite for gold in the long run.
Please see the previously quoted articles reporting the huge increase in sowing area. That is an indirect reference to how much the rains have been in surplus this year. Ultimately what matters is the rain in sowing areas, as far as food production goes.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Atri »

It always rains in JyeshTha, AshaaDH, ShraavaN and Bhaadrapad months. In the years with Adhik-maasa (additional month for correction of the lunar calender), rains come late. Last month was "Adhik-Aashaadh". Beginning of normal AaShaaDH month brought rains. Same thing happened 3 years ago and also in 2005. Adhik-month saw no rains until 22nd july after which mumbai sank on 26th.

Indian calender is based on Indian Seasons (Ritu). One can get slightly better traction over season prediction by looking at this.

Of course, it is not substitute for satellite observations which are absolutely vital. But the mathematical models for climate-predictions are quite error prone.

Farmer in my region did not panic much due to not much rains in past month. Explanation given was - It is Adhik month, no need to panic. AashaaDH will bring rains, said the farmer in my village. And AshaaDH did bring rains.

our calender has evolved over continuous observations of monsoon for at least 5000 years (may be more). And those observations have been systematically percolated in the psyche of people through culture. It would be better if mathematicians modelling the satellite data for predicting monsoon study our panchaang and incorporate that understanding in their models. The very word "varsha" comes from "varshaa (showers, rains)" showing that monsoon was the "new-year's marker" since the word has been associated with concept of year (same with term samvatsara). Our ancestors, very rightly so, have studied monsoon very deeply using means available to them in that era.

When it is said, sun enters a particular nakshatra and his "vaahana (steed)" is buffalo or frog or mongoose or donkey - farmers make their sowing-strategy based on this even today and more often than not, IT WORKS. It is up to weather-scientists and monsoon-experts to re-discover the connection between seasons and monsoon in mathematical terms AND GIVE DUE CREDIT TO HINDU-SYSTEM AFTER DOING IT.

Frankly, IMD made fool of itself last month. I hope they make fun this month too and it rains normally.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by SaiK »

Deleted
Last edited by Suraj on 24 Jul 2015 02:05, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: please stop posting unrelated questions like this.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by disha »

Theo_Fidel wrote:There is no deficit monsoon so far. IMD is blowing hot air.

July first 2 weeks was 7% deficit.

But June was 60% surplus!

IMD is mentioning 2 weeks to minister but ignoring an entire month of June. Sad that minister falls for these babu's.
Saar, please not to blow hot air on Economy forum- it is tiring when you blow hokum and in the process castigate IMD and show the minister as a buffoon. If you want to., please argue with facts in the weather thread. The links are there.

Uttam'ji., check out the weather thread. It has links to the IMD website. Like one link you must follow

http://www.imd.gov.in/section/hydro/dyn ... /daily.jpg

Check out the expected vs. deficit. For eg. the deficit for East UP and Bihar is 23% (or -23% compared to the normal). That is an area size of Spain is 23% deficit. Now look at Kerala, Konkan, N. Interior Karnataka, Rayalseema, Marathwada, Madhya Maharashtra and Gujarat. And look at the deficits - from 24% to 51%.

For no other stupid reason does the CM of Gujarat offers prayers for better rain and end drought. Look at the spate of farmer suicides in N.I Karnataka. Approaching almost 100 so far. The drought is going to affect a region size of France, Portugal & Spain combined together.

It is immaterial if west MP has excess. With 40% of India non-irrigated., it is rain that counts.

Note that the monsoon lasts till August/September. And it will get worse. What the minister reported is an all India average taken together.

So here are the dire predictions:

1. Your dal prices will rise. Hang on to that toor, moong, arhar dal while you can.
2. Your onion prices will rise. There is no recourse here. Most of the onions come from Mah and they are into drought.

There is a silver lining., good snowfall in J&K. This will keep the waters in Punjab and Ganga, Jamuna and Brahmaputra well fed till 2016/2017. So the hindi heartland will be able to produce good wheat crops.

Overall good rainfall in MP., this will keep irrigated regions of Guj well fed till 2016 by feeding into Narmada/Tapti. Narmada will still be their lifeline.

Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery will also do well.

Overall monsoon will impact Indian economy., however thankfully it will not be dire. India dodged a bullet so far. Still there are two more months to go (till September).

Now for the next year., farmers need to follow Modi's recommendation. He mentioned it in Mann ki Baat. "More crop per drop".

If by 2016 May., the irrigation shortfall is say 20% that will be one major achievement. The Mah sarkaar is doing just that. UP/Bihar/Orissa needs to catch up.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by disha »

Atri wrote: Frankly, IMD made fool of itself last month. I hope they make fun this month too and it rains normally.
No saar., it was #mediapimps at it again. They took local anomalies and extended to IMD's India wide prediction.

Note that inspite of all the deluge in Mumbai., the konkan region is in deficit.

IMD's job is to provide both long term forecast and daily weather. The long term forecast are just that.

And yes, the traditional 5000 years of knowledge also has to be utilized. No two bones about it.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by nachiket »

Note that inspite of all the deluge in Mumbai., the konkan region is in deficit.
This much I can testify to based on several reports from extended family and contacts in the area. Large areas in interior Konkan remained dry even as Mumbai was drowning.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Vayutuvan »

disha wrote:The long term forecast are just that.
Until and unless there are resources to solve large-scale non-linear PDEs in general and Navier-Stokes PDEs in particular, forget long term (> 2 days ) weather forecasting for a country the size of India or a state the size of MH.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Suraj »

The market is beginning to price in the successful passage of the GST bill:
Barrons: India Rising? Modi’s Landmark Tax Bill Will Likely Pass, Says Eurasia Group
China’s loss is India’s gain. International investors are pulling out of China and plowed $705 million into India since June 12, sending the Sensex Index 7% higher.

But does India have any near-term catalysts?

The buzz on Narendra Modi‘s landmark reform Goods & Taxes Bill is back.

An important panel in the Upper House of the parliament, which Modi’s political party does not have majority in, already approved the GST bill. Now Modi just needs to get this bill passed in the Upper House.

But worryingly, the monsoon session of the parliament, which opened on Tuesday and will end on August 13, is mired in petty politics again. The opposition parties managed to successfully disrupt proceedings and adjourn the sessions this entire week.

Don’t worry, this all-important reform bill will pass, according to geopolitics research firm Eurasia Group.

This is because the parliament does not need to be that productive. “Government figures reportedly believe they need only a handful of uninterrupted days of parliamentary time in order to push through key bills,” wrote analysts Sasha Riser-Kositsky and Kilbinder Dosanjh.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Singha »

presently seems to be a retail onion deficit in blr.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Suraj »

Wholesale onion price soars 70% in a month
Wholesale onion price at Lasalgoan in Maharashtra, Asia’s biggest market for this kitchen staple, has shot up by 70 per cent in just about a month— hitting its highest level for the month of July in the past two decades.

Prices in July usually tend to be higher because the supply goes down and the onset of monsoon season also affects the onion quality.

The onion was being sold at Rs 25.50 per kg in Lasalgoan market today, while the retail prices are in the range of Rs 35-40 per kg here in the national capital. Lasalgoan accounts for a bulk of the supply in various parts of the country, including Delhi region.

The prices have shot up by 70 per cent since June 27 when the government increased the minimum export price (MEP) for the commodity. Spiralling prices could further fuel the food inflation in the coming weeks.

As per the data maintained by the Nasik-based National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), the average price at Lasalgaon stood at Rs 15 per kg last month. A sharp increase is being seen in the retail markets in most parts of the country. The prices in both wholesale and retail markets have been rising in recent weeks due to sluggish supply of good quality onion in the wake of the crop getting damaged in storage across major growing states, including Maharashtra.

Apprehending further increase in onion prices, the government has already increased MEP of the commodity to USD 425 per tonne and and extended by another year the ban on hoarding of the key kitchen staple beyond a prescribed limit.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by vina »

The Modi Govt is playing dangerous games with the proposed monetary policy committee. With 3 members from RBI and 4 members from the Govt (aka 4 rubber stamping baboons), with the RBI governor not having a veto, the govt is effectively taking away monetary policy away from the RBI.

Basically central banks world over are the custodians of monetary policy and have to be independent. India it is quasi independent, the Finance Minister can direct the RBI governor with a written note directing a rate cut or increase, but it has thankfully never been used. The Govt does have the power even now to do it, but will stink to high heavens if done. So why have a committee of rubber stamped baboons to do via stealth what you dare not do directly ?

The RBI MUST be independent at all costs and monetary policy must be the sole custodian of monetary policy. Any other way is the way to ruin and long term disaster . Consider fiscal policy which is firmly and solely the ministry's domain. That is such a god awful mess with commies and CongIes making that a toilet. Expect similar with monetary AND fiscal policy in future if monetary policy too is handed over to the Govt.

They might as well disband the RBI and send the staff home to save on costs.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Uttam »

Dishaji: Thank you for your perspective on Monsoon. I will certainly check the IMD website. I am no expert in agriculture but I have some knowledge of developmental economics. In the long run, we have to create more and better manage irrigation resources. No amount of subsidy and loan waivers will have a long term impact on the condition of farmers as a robust irrigation system can have. Also, the emphasis should be in improving irrigation technology such as drip irrigation, etc. 68 years after independence and we still largely depend on rain for agriculture points to the criminal mismanagement of resources over this period. I hope it changes sooner rather than later.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by disha »

vina wrote:They might as well disband the RBI and send the staff home to save on costs.
Not a bad idea! CongIs managed to screw the economy with the current RBI.

Point is simple., should RBI Gov have veto powers on rate setting? The answer is no. A single appointee - however much of yum-bee-ya and however much of e-CON-omy major should not have a veto power.

You are following the Fed bank in US and commenting on India based on your experiences with the US Fed bank. And the myth around US Fed bank is more than warranted. First they helped create the dot-com bubble by buying too much into the Y2K and then they tried to bust the dot-com bubble (when it was already busting on its own) and with 9/11 in tow created the asset bubble. The busting of asset bubble resulted in what I call the lehman crisis where the Fed was selective in saving its own crooks first. The fed has kept the interest too low for too long and has now tied itself into a bind.

Now you want RBI to be modelled on the (in)famous fed bank? As in "independent" RBI when there was no "independent" fed bank?
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Suraj »

The RBI Governor currently has the sole veto power in the rate setting process. As much as the new decision (voting panel with 4 govt agents and 3 RBI agents) dilutes the RBI Governor's power, it's closer to how the other central banks behave - where each member of the board votes and the majority vote carries through. What's more, their decisions are openly stated, as are their dissent notes. In RBI, Rajan is accused of deciding on rate cuts on his own, not even consulting the deputy governors. That is just as lopsided, and needed to change, because it associates Rajan or any other RBI Governor with some kind of bizarre cult of personality as an individual arbiter. Vina complains about 'intelligent men making top down decisions' like the 5 years plans, in the past. The veto power of the RBI governor is a vestige of those times.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by ShauryaT »

Suraj wrote:The RBI Governor currently has the sole veto power in the rate setting process. As much as the new decision (voting panel with 4 govt agents and 3 RBI agents) dilutes the RBI Governor's power, it's closer to how the other central banks behave - where each member of the board votes and the majority vote carries through. What's more, their decisions are openly stated, as are their dissent notes. In RBI, Rajan is accused of deciding on rate cuts on his own, not even consulting the deputy governors. That is just as lopsided, and needed to change, because it associates Rajan or any other RBI Governor with some kind of bizarre cult of personality as an individual arbiter. Vina complains about 'intelligent men making top down decisions' like the 5 years plans, in the past. The veto power of the RBI governor is a vestige of those times.
From the perspective of the RBI being distant from "political interference" in its affairs, this is a regressive and not a reformist step. Bringing about an artificial majority to a board that the government controls and can interfere with in its day to day functioning or key decisions, cannot be termed as something in line with how other central banks of major countries and economic zones behave.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Suraj »

I only care about the ends, not the ideal perfection of the means. I'll wait and see how well this system functions before making any judgement. As far as I'm concerned, my initial response to this step is a thumbs up - if they government thinks it can make processes work more efficiently through this change, they should try it out and see.

I'm not interested in having the most ideal system. I would rather see us try to have the most practical system in place. The RBI and its interest rate policy is nowhere near independent. They're in charge of implementing the SLR, which effectively mandates that banks must hold govt treasuries, which in effect makes the RBI an agent of government-driven policy, including rate policy. One small change in decision making process hardly matters. What's more, had Rajan fundamentally disagreed with this plan (which was proposed back in the budget) he would have resigned by now.

The current system is by no means perfect or even independent. Rajan or a RBI head coming up with rate changes via processes he never communicates with his own deputies, much less the FinMin, is an old fashioned system more suited to the times when RBI was directed from London, and the British appointee Governor was not beholden to his Indian deputies.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by ShauryaT »

Did not say the current system is perfect or has the benchmark of perfections. Will the new system, which would be executive controlled lead to better outcomes, time will tell. However the experience of other nations has been in a different direction. A better argument to make would be to say, why India needs to move towards tighter control of the RBI by the executive.

We seem to always do this great dance of committees, where the end decision either by majority or veto is really in the hands of the political executive but we love giving the appearance as if it is a great reformist step of where the process is "independent" The new Judicial appointments, where the govt holds the final power (which i support) is a case in point the other is the GST council, where again the center holds the dominant power is another case in point. Do not know, why we are not comfortable defining authorities and responsibilities clearly and without any ambiguities or appearances.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Suraj »

ShauryaT wrote:Did not say the current system is perfect or has the benchmark of perfections. Will the new system, which would be executive controlled lead to better outcomes, time will tell. However the experience of other nations has been in a different direction.
Other countries have different systems and their central banks work differently too. For example, BOJ is vastly different from PBOC.
ShauryaT wrote:A better argument to make would be to say, why India needs to move towards tighter control of the RBI by the executive.
I don't really agree. That's a means question and not an ends question. For me, in this matter, the ends justify the means. The current ends are not optimal, so I'm open to any other means and will wait to see what ends it leads to, rather than judge the means prematurely.

Meanwhile, the MAT standoff is drawing to a conclusion. The Shah committee has tabled its recommendations, but they are yet to be released.
MAT stand-off: Shah panel submits report to FM Arun Jaitley
The high-level Justice A P Shah Committee today submitted a 66-page report to the government on applicability of minimum alternate tax (MAT) on FIIs, an issue which had riled foreign investors.

Shah submitted the report, whose contents have been kept secret for now, to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at a time when foreign investors have dragged the government to court over applicability of MAT on capital gains made by them. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are hoping that the government will waive MAT prior to April 2015.

Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das later speaking to reporters said: “The government will examine and consider the report. The government will take a decision soon.”

Das said the government will not make the report public before it examines and accepts it.

The government had in May appointed the Shah Committee to examine the matter relating to levy of MAT on FIIs prior to April 2015. The committee looked into all related legal provisions, judicial, quasi-judicial pronouncements and other relevant aspects.

The panel, headed by Law Commission Chairman A P Shah, included former Chief Economic Advisor Ashok Lahiri and Chartered Accountant Girish Ahuja as other two members.

The Supreme Court is hearing a petition filed by Castleton on levy of MAT while there is also another case on the same pending in the Bombay High Court.

“The Committee being a government appointed one, we will give a lot of weightage to the report,” Das said, adding that the panel has gone through certain legal issues.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by member_29058 »

Suraj wrote:The RBI Governor currently has the sole veto power in the rate setting process. As much as the new decision (voting panel with 4 govt agents and 3 RBI agents) dilutes the RBI Governor's power, it's closer to how the other central banks behave - where each member of the board votes and the majority vote carries through. What's more, their decisions are openly stated, as are their dissent notes. In RBI, Rajan is accused of deciding on rate cuts on his own, not even consulting the deputy governors. That is just as lopsided, and needed to change, because it associates Rajan or any other RBI Governor with some kind of bizarre cult of personality as an individual arbiter. Vina complains about 'intelligent men making top down decisions' like the 5 years plans, in the past. The veto power of the RBI governor is a vestige of those times.
The process has to be transparent and open.
The votes should be announced.

May be 4 Govt. agents may be wrong thing. Should be 4 + 4

{Deleted}
Last edited by Suraj on 25 Jul 2015 11:00, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: No political verbal diarrhea here.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by A_Gupta »

Uttam wrote:Dishaji: Thank you for your perspective on Monsoon. I will certainly check the IMD website. I am no expert in agriculture but I have some knowledge of developmental economics. In the long run, we have to create more and better manage irrigation resources. No amount of subsidy and loan waivers will have a long term impact on the condition of farmers as a robust irrigation system can have. Also, the emphasis should be in improving irrigation technology such as drip irrigation, etc. 68 years after independence and we still largely depend on rain for agriculture points to the criminal mismanagement of resources over this period. I hope it changes sooner rather than later.
Arun Jaitley
http://www.cfr.org/india/arun-jaitley-r ... ise/p36625
QUESTION: Thank you very much for being here. I'm Jamie Metzel (ph). What more—what can be done to make Indian agriculture more efficient?

JAITLEY: I'll give you a two-point response.

We have examples of three regions in India, Madhya Pradesh, Andra Pradesh and Gujarat. These are three states which have made a significant investment into irrigation.

The pattern was different. Gujarat did it by minor irrigation projects like check dams to collect the rain water and then use it for agriculture the whole year.

Madhya Pradesh created a river grid. And both of them, Gujarat, which was a dry state with less rainfall, for almost a decade as a result of this campaign has a double-digit growth in agriculture.

Madhya Pradesh is the most fascinating experience, because it's considered one of the sick states in India, one of the least-performing states. And suddenly, it's turned around, on the backbone of agriculture. I've been repeating their figures. The last three years it was 18 percent, 20 percent and 22 percent growth.

And, therefore, if you grow at this kind of a pace by the river grids that they are creating, you can actually change the whole economy of the state.

I think the obvious answer is—Andra Pradesh also gained at a particular point when the Congress government was there, that they made, that one state, serious investment into irrigation projects.

Punjab conventionally had—and Haryana has conventional had strong agriculture, because from the British days they had the canal system. And, therefore, most of the areas were not rain fed.

I think India needs to make—and that's one of the determinations which I have, in the coming years India needs to make a concentrated investment into irrigation and into rural infrastructure.
I've cut Jaitley's answer short, but you can read it at the link above.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Kakkaji »

Is this throwing good money after the bad?

Sick PSU hope
New Delhi, July 26 (PTI): The government is planning to set up a finance corporation to utilise around Rs 2-lakh-crore surplus cash of state-owned enterprises lying idle in banks.

The funds may be used for purposes such as reviving sick PSUs and investment in infrastructure projects.

There are 70 ailing PSUs and the government believes 43 out of these can be revived.

"We are thinking of setting up a finance corporation to utilise the surplus cash with PSUs," Union heavy industry and public enterprises minister Anant Geete said.

The entity may be a joint venture company funded by seed equity from maharatna and other cash-rich central public sector enterprises to administer and manage sick state-run enterprises that can be revived.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by hanumadu »

Kakkaji wrote:Is this throwing good money after the bad?

Sick PSU hope
New Delhi, July 26 (PTI): The government is planning to set up a finance corporation to utilise around Rs 2-lakh-crore surplus cash of state-owned enterprises lying idle in banks.

The funds may be used for purposes such as reviving sick PSUs and investment in infrastructure projects.

There are 70 ailing PSUs and the government believes 43 out of these can be revived.

"We are thinking of setting up a finance corporation to utilise the surplus cash with PSUs," Union heavy industry and public enterprises minister Anant Geete said.

The entity may be a joint venture company funded by seed equity from maharatna and other cash-rich central public sector enterprises to administer and manage sick state-run enterprises that can be revived.
There ar three options for sick PSUs

1. close them
2. revive them
3. let them be sick while paying the staff for doing nothing.

Closing all or a bunch of them won't be palatable politically. So revive if possible and perhaps sell them at a later date at a better price. Those that cannot be revived need to be shut down or sold. Again, it depends on how much we are spending on reviving them. If it's a small sum its politically the right thing to do.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by hanumadu »

Madhya Pradesh is the most fascinating experience, because it's considered one of the sick states in India, one of the least-performing states. And suddenly, it's turned around, on the backbone of agriculture. I've been repeating their figures. The last three years it was 18 percent, 20 percent and 22 percent growth.
:roll:
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Yagnasri »

An interesting idea. Risky but doable. Will make lot of Com Mafia money vanish into thin air. Market may lose in near future but I am sure it will emerge as a cleaner one.
http://www.firstpost.com/business/closi ... 64636.html

This step along with removing - suddenly with little warning - 1000 and 500 rupee notes will go a long way to remove black money reserves of many in the country.
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by kenop »

Yagnasri wrote:An interesting idea. Risky but doable. Will make lot of Com Mafia money vanish into thin air. Market may lose in near future but I am sure it will emerge as a cleaner one.
http://www.firstpost.com/business/closi ... 64636.html

This step along with removing - suddenly with little warning - 1000 and 500 rupee notes will go a long way to remove black money reserves of many in the country.
Please to remind people that this idea was discussed by many including BRD.
I tweeted recently
https://twitter.com/kenopbr/status/625478938609913856
Suraj
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Re: Indian Economy - News & Discussion Oct 12 2013

Post by Suraj »

hanumadu wrote:
Madhya Pradesh is the most fascinating experience, because it's considered one of the sick states in India, one of the least-performing states. And suddenly, it's turned around, on the backbone of agriculture. I've been repeating their figures. The last three years it was 18 percent, 20 percent and 22 percent growth.
:roll:
Actually this does not seem like hyperbole. See the MP state agri survey:
Foodgrain output is up from 166LT in 2010-11 to 278LT in 2012-13, and probably over 300MT in 2013-14. The math does add up to ~80% growth in 3 years, which can be converted back into ~20% CAGR for 3 years.

MP also leads in irrigated area growth:
MP lessons for bumper agricultural growth
n 2003, when Chouhan first assumed charge, government canals in Madhya Pradesh irrigated just around 6.5 lakh hectares. Under his prodding, irrigation inched up. In fact, in the 2008 assembly elections, Chouhan reaped rich electoral dividends from farmers for his irrigation policies. So, in 2010, after sacking a corrupt official, Chouhan brought in Radheshyam Julaniya, known to be a dynamic, upright and pushy officer, to run the irrigation department. Chouhan promised him stable tenure and total support in stamping out political interference.

This move delivered. The area irrigated by government canals jumped from less than 10 lakh hectares in 2010 to 15.6 lakh hectares in 2011, to 20.2 lakh hectares in 2012, and 23.3 lakh hectares in 2013. In 2014, despite being a poor monsoon year, Julaniya expects the state will have 30 lakh hectares irrigated in canal commands, way more than the potential created of 28.3 lakh hectares.
They tripled the irrigated area in the past 4 years. It's not surprising yields grew dramatically as well. I know the press prefers to talk about the latest hot political scandal there, but there's great things happening there too.
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