Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Raveen »

Rishirishi wrote: Most advanced countries like EU, USA etc have strong regulation in the farming sector...In a way the farmer becomes a contractor to the government for food. If there is bad harvests the farmers get compensated.
Decidedly not true as a blanket statement - if it were there wouldn't be crop insurance companies in the US. Now dairy, soy, and corn farmers enjoy more subsidies and benefits than most and maybe even cotton, but that is directly a result of lobbyists.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by vijayk »

https://swarajyamag.com/economy/five-fa ... -september
Five Factors That Helped Rural India Continue Driving Indian Economy In September
ractor sales continue to rise

A positive rural demand continued to drive sales of tractors in September. Mahindra and Mahindra reported a 17 per cent increase in tractor purchases last month. The company sold 43,386 tractors compared to 37,011 during the same period a year ago.

Escorts, another major manufacturer, reported a nine per cent rise in tractor sales. The company said it sold 11,851 tractors against 10,855 in September last year.

One of the new entrants in the markets, Sonalika Tractors reported a 46 per cent jump in its sales. The Punjab-based firm sold 17,704 tractors compared with 10,571 in September 2019.
Passenger vehicle sales surge 37 per cent
Manufacturing activities at 8-year-high
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by vijayk »

https://swarajyamag.com/infrastructure/ ... 5-trillion
How The National Infrastructure Pipeline Can Be India’s Ticket To Destination ‘5 Trillion’
The present government to address these issues launched the ‘National Infrastructure Project’ — which arguably has been the government’s most ambitious undertaking to revive the ailing Indian economy and transform India to a five trillion-dollar economy by 2024.

The project envisaged an investment of Rs 111 lakh crore into the infrastructure projects across sectors like energy, infrastructure, logistics, agriculture and telecommunications to give a new push to the ailing economy.

However, the exogeneous shock of Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the plans and the focus has shifted to lives from livelihoods.

The efforts of the government meandered from growth-led investments to actions aimed at containing the pandemic and support the flagging economy.

However, with the focus shifting towards economic growth once again, the growth debate has come to haunt the government. The question of ‘how do we get back on track with the National Infrastructure Pipeline and revive growth in the economy’ has come to the forefront.

The NIP project was allocated Rs 13.6 trillion in the present financial year and Rs 19.5 trillion in the subsequent financial years of 2021-22, 2022-23 with 80 per cent of these total estimated investments to be financed by the government.

However, with the pandemic spreading its wings across the country, things became messy. The 68-day strict lockdown has resulted in GDP contraction of 23.9 per cent and the fiscal deficit crossed 103 per cent of the budgeted estimate for the year 2020-21, leaving the government in no position to fund new projects amidst the health crisis.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Vips »

Power consumption shows double digit growth during October rst week as demand rises.

Power consumption in the country recorded double digit growth in the first week of October at 25.95 billion units (BU) amid buoyancy in industrial
and commercial activities. According to the power ministry data, power consumption grew by 13.65 per cent during October 1 to 7 to 25.95 BU, up from 22.83 BU in the same period last year.

Power consumption in the month of October last year stood at 97.84 BU. Thus, the extrapolation of one week data indicates that power consumption is likely to witness year-on-year growth this month. Experts said, power consumption has started showing an increase as commercial and industrial demand improved with easing of lockdown restrictions and is likely to improve further in the coming months.

The government had imposed nationwide lockdown on March 25, to contain the spread of COVID-19. Power consumption had declined in March onwards due to fewer economic activities in the country. The COVID-19 situation affected power consumption for six months in a row from March to August this year.

Power consumption on a year-on-year basis declined 8.7 per cent in March, 23.2 per cent in April, 14.9 per cent in May, 10.9 per cent in June, 3.7 per cent in July and 1.7 per cent in August. The data showed that electricity consumption grew by 11.73 per cent in February.

Power consumption has shown an improvement after lockdown was eased for economic activities from April 20 this year. After a gap of six month, power consumption recorded a growth of 5.6 per cent in September this year at 113.54 billion units (BU) from 107.51BU in the same month last year.
Power consumption in the month of October last year stood at 97.84 BU.

Earlier this week, Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh while addressing a virtual conference said, "In September, our power demand was higher than September 2019. So the growth started again. Despite the fact that COVID problem lingers, the growth in our power consumption and demand has started."

Peak power demand met, the highest supply of power in the country in a day, during October 1 to 7 was recorded at 170.04 GW (on October 7).
Peak power demand met for the month of October last year stood at 164.25 GW.

Peak power demand in September this year recorded a growth of 1.8 per cent at 176.56 GW, compared to 173.45 GW a year ago, the data showed.
Peak power demand met had recorded negative growth from April to August this year due to the pandemic. The peak demand met dropped to 24.9 per cent in April, 8.9 per cent in May, 9.6 in June, 2.7 per cent in July and 5.6 per cent in August.

In March, it was muted at 0.8 per cent.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by darshan »

Gujarat govt signs MoU with Vedanta Group for Rs. 10,000 crore Zinc Smelter Complex
https://www.deshgujarat.com/2020/10/14/ ... r-complex/
World’s biggest Zinc Smelter complex will come up in Dosawada in tribal populated Tapi district of South Gujarat, said the Government of Gujarat today in a statement, adding that MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for this project was signed today by State government with Vedanta Group.
....
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by V_Raman »

Why are power prices so high in India? Is it due to distribution losses or stealing/non-payment? Household consumption will go up like crazy with cheap power - A/C, Electrical Appliances, etc.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by vijayk »

https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online ... 07453.html
Academic studies have endorsed the benefits of demonetization

A study by International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics (Chodorow-Reich et al., 2018) acknowledges such confounding factors with the demonetization done by India in late 2016

Lahiri (2020) shows that India’s direct-tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio had been falling steadily from 6.4% in 2008 to 5.4% in 2016—a fall of 1% over the 8-year period. However, this declining trend reversed from 2017 and has steadily increased since then to 6% in 2019. Compared to the trend that prevailed, demonetization has increased the direct tax-to-GDP ratio by 0.2%, 0.8% and 1% amounting to ₹40,000 crore, ₹1.25 trillion and ₹1.89 trillion in direct taxes in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Lahiri also describes the effects on the digital economy: “Demonetization of November 2016 caused the volume of digital transactions to shoot up on impact, while simultaneously causing a drop in the volume of traditional transactions… digital transactions have consistently exceeded traditional transactions both in levels and growth rates since 2017."
Image


In sum, while demonetization imposed short-term costs, there have been important benefits via the above-mentioned increase in direct tax collections as a proportion of GDP, and the sharp, persistent rise in digital payments. As these represent long-term benefits from greater formalization, they will continue to accrue in a globalized economy that is undergoing a digitally-enabled Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Uttam »

Another green-shoot

India’s exports turn positive in September; up 6% at USD 27.58 billion
The country's imports contracted 19.6 per cent to USD 30.31 billion in September. It was USD 37.69 billion in the same month last year. The trade deficit narrowed to USD 2.72 billion, compared to a shortfall of USD 11.67 billion in the year ago-month.
.............

Taking merchandise and services together, the overall trade surplus for April-September is estimated at USD 17.74 billion as compared to the deficit of USD 49.91 billion in the year-ago period. The estimated value of services exports for September is USD 16.34 billion and that of imports is 9.49 billion.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Vamsee »

Forex reserves rise by $5.867 billion to lifetime high of $551.505 billion

We are quickly closing the gap with Russia. They are only $35 Billion ahead of us.

--Vamsee
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Rahul M »

vijayk wrote:https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online ... 07453.html
Academic studies have endorsed the benefits of demonetization
This article is a keeper ! It is the newspaper equivalent of an academic review paper that looks at the multiple factors resulting from demo.
Well referenced and easy to understand.
The only thing lacking is a graph showing the rocketing of digital payments post demo.

Suraj, please consider this article for the first post of this thread or at least the Demo thread.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by disha »

V_Raman wrote:Why are power prices so high in India? Is it due to distribution losses or stealing/non-payment? Household consumption will go up like crazy with cheap power - A/C, Electrical Appliances, etc.
Stealing of electricity is factored into "Distribution losses" and is a big issue. The cost is borne by everybody. Further, the fuel sources for producing power are in one region and the power generation units are in another region leading to gross inefficiencies leading to higher power costs. Here the states themselves need to get out of their narrow political mindsets.

Thread on power sector is where we can discuss, however one major item missed by all eCONomists out there is India's one unified electricity grid. It is cheaper to generate the power at the fuel source and transmit electricity then transport the fuel source and then generate electricity somewhere else. Also moving electricity from surplus to deficit areas based on demand gaps can be addressed.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by disha »

The above two charts are a keeper. The sharp "V" trend was missed even by the staunchest supporters of DeMo!

One should also correlate with increased catching of corrupt officials. A 10 cr here and a 100 cr there. It adds up.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by V_Raman »

Indeed this was missed! I keep asking for how improve direct tax collections while this was staring at our faces!!
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Suraj »

RahulM, sure I will . I haven’t read that article in much detail but there were two major economic steps that occurred within months of each other then - demonetization and the GST entry into force . Both are drivers of economic formalization, and a corresponding improvement in tax/GDP . I haven’t looked at how the article separates the impact of the two. That’s not to say I don’t support demonetization; in general asserting the impact of just one particular economic measure is doomed to fail. Few policies are such clear cut cases hat their long term impact can be viewed in isolation.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Suraj »

Passenger Vehicle Sales Rise By 26 Per Cent In September YoY; Wholesale Sales Surge For Second Month In A Row
In a positive development, the passenger vehicle wholesale sales in the markets registered a whopping 26 per cent jump year-on-year (YOY) in the bygone month of September, surging from the figure of 2,15,124 units to 2,72,027 units, reports Hindu Businessline.

This marks the second consecutive month in which the sales have grown in the segment. In August month as well, the segment had posted robust growth in sales.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by vijayk »

Uttam wrote:Another green-shoot

India’s exports turn positive in September; up 6% at USD 27.58 billion
The country's imports contracted 19.6 per cent to USD 30.31 billion in September. It was USD 37.69 billion in the same month last year. The trade deficit narrowed to USD 2.72 billion, compared to a shortfall of USD 11.67 billion in the year ago-month.
.............

Taking merchandise and services together, the overall trade surplus for April-September is estimated at USD 17.74 billion as compared to the deficit of USD 49.91 billion in the year-ago period. The estimated value of services exports for September is USD 16.34 billion and that of imports is 9.49 billion.
Exports in September 2020 were USD 27.58 billion, as compared to USD 26.02 billion in September 2019, exhibiting a positive growth of 5.99 per cent,” the government said in a statement. During the April-September 2020 period, exports declined by 16.66 per cent to USD 221.86 billion, while imports fell 35.43 per cent to USD 204.12 billion over the same period last year.

Major export commodities that have recorded positive growth during September include iron ore (109.65 per cent at USD 303.42 million), readymade garments (10.22 per cent at USD 1.19 billion), rice (93.86 per cent at USD 725.14 million), and drugs and pharmaceuticals (24.38 per cent at USD 2.24 billion).

However, outbound shipments of gems and jewellery declined 24.67 per cent and Mica, Coal and other ores, minerals including processed minerals slipped 6.71 per cent. The data further revealed that non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in September stood at USD 21.27 billion, as compared to USD 19 billion in the same period previous fiscal, registering a growth of 11.94 per cent.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Suraj »

Continuing my efforts to keep with the Jal Jeevan Mission every month:
15 Oct 2020
Image

Almost 30% coverage now, starting at 17% when JJM began on Aug 15 2019. Here is the live dashboard.

Prior statuses:
September 20 2020
August 15 2020
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Rahul M »

Why on earth are we still exporting iron ore ??


Suraj, the article says that various econometric techniques were used by the respective paper authors to separate out various factors and single out the effects of demo. It's one of the central points of the piece.
People more familiar with such techniques would be in a better position to judge.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by nam »

We got to push hard on manufacturing and white goods export. This is the area, which we need to degrade the Chinese as much as possible.

There are two areas of money spinners. Manufacturing & IT/BPO services. Chinis cannot take IT/BPO services from us, but with the right political climate and funding, we can capture Chinese white good exports.

Japanese, SK, Taiwanese companies should be brought in, no matter what it takes. Subsidize their move from China to India. Taiwanese component manufacturer should be given a special economic zone and long term visa to work in India. This will help them to have a alternate setup, in case Chinis attack taiwan.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by kit »

EU and US blocks IPR waiver for india for COVID VaccineThis really says it all ..isn't it ? .. Every country for itself. One can imagine where they ll sit when an India China conflict happens. Opportunists. Period.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by vijayk »

https://swarajyamag.com/insta/power-con ... l-activity
Power Consumption Surges By 11.45 Per Cent In The First Half Of October Driven By Industrial And Commercial Activity
A testament of the economic recovery, the nation's power consumption in the first half of the ongoing month (October) was recorded to have jumped by 11.45 per cent to a total of 55.37 billion units, reports Economic Times.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by vijayk »

https://swarajyamag.com/insta/gorakhpur ... t-industry
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that Gorakhpur will be developed into a textile sector hub.
Besides boosting the textile industry that also falls in the category of One District One Product (ODOP), it will also generate employment opportunities for the workers who have returned to the state from various places during the lockdown.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by srin »

kit wrote:EU and US blocks IPR waiver for india for COVID VaccineThis really says it all ..isn't it ? .. Every country for itself. One can imagine where they ll sit when an India China conflict happens. Opportunists. Period.
India has used compulsory licensing in the past, and when push comes to shove, it'll do so again. So, IPR waivers don't matter as much *to India*.
Where it matters and this is what the West is afraid of, is for other countries - especially in West (Africa may get a pass) - importing the cheaper Indian manufactured vaccines in lieu of the more expensive Western pharma ones.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by nandakumar »

The product patent regime that we agreed to did provide for compulsory licensing during national emergencies. Now, WTO itself has declared Covid 19, as a global pandemic. How can the Wedt object to India compulsory licensing which is actually a temporary suspension of product patent regime till the emergency lasts? At least that is my understanding. I am open to correction. As for African countries buying cheaper vaccines from India, that may be a grey area under the WTO.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by vijayk »

https://www.financialexpress.com/econom ... e/2076555/
APMCs losing trade share post reforms; crop arrivals fall as traders, farmers kick middlemen out


Signs of a weakening of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) networks are now evident across major farm production centres in the country.
Signs of a weakening of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) networks are now evident across major farm production centres in the country.

In Maharashtra, the traders have launched an open revolt against the APMC brass, refusing to pay the mandi taxes and opting for direct sales to bulk consumers outside the APMC ambit.

Signs of a weakening of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) networks are now evident across major farm production centres in the country, heralding an era of unfettered market access and bolstered bargaining strength for farmers.

On June 5, the Centre promulgated three Ordinances reforming the country’s agriculture marketing, and their impact on the trade has been rather sudden and material: During the June 6-August 31 period, mandi arrivals of crops –- from fruits and vegetables to cereals and pulses – have dropped dramatically. The fall was up to 49% for fruits, 57% for vegetables and 45% for grains (see chart).

Of course, part of the decline can be attributed to the lockdown restrictions prevailing in large parts of the country and the crop damage or rotting of stored produce as in the case of onion, but the ceding of trade share by the once-all-powerful mandis indeed has much to do with the reforms. In many centres, particularly in states like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, the farmer community, organised as farmer producer organisations/companies (FPOs/FPCs), and the small traders/aggregators are giving the APMC markets a miss. In Maharashtra, some FPOs, which FE spoke to, narrated how a definite shifting is taking place in agriculture marketing. There is also anecdotal evidence of aggregators and food processing firms buying directly from the farmers on a scale seen never before.

In Uttar Pradesh, the aggregate fall in mandi arrivals of all crops was 32% on year during June and 64% in July. The state has collected Rs 172 crore in mandi tax/cess revenue during June-July, a drop of 36% on year. The decline in arrival will likely continue in August as well and market watchers believe that it could be in the range of 65-70% in the month.

“We have closed our outlets inside the local mandi and have started sourcing 100% of our requirements directly from farmers. Traders are now approaching farmers at their villages and getting the crops delivered at mills,” said Atul Agarwal, MD of Saket Foods at Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. Agarwal has already ordered machinery to add another rice plant to his existing three at Bahraich. “We are now looking for land to set up a food park within 20-km radius of Lucknow in which we will set up three units — solvent extraction plant, edible oil refinery and rice mill,” said Agarwal, who has also two pulses processing units.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by vijayk »

Image
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Mort Walker »

Suraj wrote:Passenger Vehicle Sales Rise By 26 Per Cent In September YoY; Wholesale Sales Surge For Second Month In A Row
In a positive development, the passenger vehicle wholesale sales in the markets registered a whopping 26 per cent jump year-on-year (YOY) in the bygone month of September, surging from the figure of 2,15,124 units to 2,72,027 units, reports Hindu Businessline.

This marks the second consecutive month in which the sales have grown in the segment. In August month as well, the segment had posted robust growth in sales.
The excess taxation on vehicles with larger than 1.5 liter displacement is most unfortunate. That should be changed to an excess of 3.5 liter displacement. There can be a huge export market for Indian SUVs, CUVs, and light trucks. Having success in selling them at home will prove successful for companies like M&M and Tata.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by V_Raman »

as always - our growth is stymied by our own internal inability - indians love automobiles - if only we had built good roads....
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by V_Raman »

domestic manufacturing of household appliances alone will be a massive industry - again with cheaper electricity - another infra issue
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by george »

V_Raman wrote:as always - our growth is stymied by our own internal inability - indians love automobiles - if only we had built good roads....
when you have a company like bajaj with decades old pedigree standing on the sidelines watching startups like ZTE and Huawei becoming behemoths, while they themselves release ads with captions like 'worlds largest EMI network' .... nuff said.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Uttam »

Somebody posted a news about this article in strategy forum. I gathered info from the article. Here it is:

Title: Comparison of the costs and benefits of the Clean India Mission

Journal: World Development (this is fairly well-known journal in the field of developmental economic, meaning it publishes high quality research.)

Highlights

This study reports the first economic analysis of the Clean India Mission (SBM).


Annual economic gains from household sanitation are worth US$727 per household.


The average price paid for a toilet is US$396, which is double the subsidy received.


Financial returns on household spending over 10 years is 1.7 times the cost.


Returns to society on total spending over 10 years is 4.3 times the cost.


The poorest have a financial return of 2.6 and societal return of 5.7 times the cost.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by VenkataS »

Suraj wrote:Continuing my efforts to keep with the Jal Jeevan Mission every month:
15 Oct 2020
Image

Almost 30% coverage now, starting at 17% when JJM began on Aug 15 2019. Here is the live dashboard.

Prior statuses:
September 20 2020
August 15 2020
Surprisingly Telangana is doing very well much better than AP/TN/KA in terms of percentage of households having tap connections! I wonder why?

West Bengal and the other states in orange are very low in terms of percentage!
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Mollick.R »

Few pages back it RBI draft proposal was posted here for setting up a rival to NPCIL.
Me thinks, the questions raised by Finance ministry to RBI is very valid.
Amazon (Bezoos) & Google Pay etc may totally dominate the market & it will be just like another Visa/Mastercard kind of domination. We need to go slow and very cautiously.

Government against umbrella entity for e-payments
By Sidhartha, TNN Last Updated: Oct 23, 2020, 10:17 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The government has expressed concern over the proposed new umbrella entity for retail payments resulting in a mechanism that is controlled by Indian or foreign corporate giants and undermining the efforts of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The entity will be tasked with crucial operating systems such as ATMs, point-of-sale machines, Aadhaar-based payments as well as remittances.

The finance ministry has conveyed its concern to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which had released the framework in August and has invited applications till the end of February, sources told TOI. The government is of the view that the payments system should be treated as a core government function like issuing voters’ ID or Aadhaar, and the private sector should be kept out.

On its part, the RBI is looking to ensure that the system is firewalled so that it does not result in a private player controlling the space, sources pointed out. The RBI opted for a rival outfit to avoid concentration of payments risk and the entire system being controlled by one entity, the NPCI. It had also said that competition would lead to innovation and increased efficiency.

Currently, the framework provides for a “for-profit” entity to be set up under the Companies Act with diversified shareholding. A single promoter will not able to hold over 40%, with the requirement to dilute it to 25% after five years of being in business. Like most aspects of the financial sector business, the “fit and proper” criteria will be used for directors.

Even within the RBI, there are apprehensions. In order to encourage digital modes of payments, many central bankers feel it is necessary to ensure they are available free of cost, which might not be the case if the provider were a for-profit entity.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... content=23
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Mollick.R »

Centre of Indian Trade Unions expresses concern over change in base year for CPI-IW
By Yogima Seth Sharma, ET Bureau Last Updated: Oct 23, 2020, 04:19 PM IST


The Centre of Indian Trade Unions has expressed concerns over the change in the base year of consumer price index for the industrial workers (CPI-IW) from 2001 to 2016, saying the exercise is arbitrary and deliberately designed to suppress the real impact of the price rise of essential items..........................

Read Full News Here//ET Link..........
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 827306.cms
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by KL Dubey »

VenkataS wrote:
Suraj wrote:Continuing my efforts to keep with the Jal Jeevan Mission every month:
Surprisingly Telangana is doing very well much better than AP/TN/KA in terms of percentage of households having tap connections! I wonder why?

West Bengal and the other states in orange are very low in terms of percentage!
I am not sure I really believe this data. GOI seems to be underestimating things, or interpreting data differently.

E.g., I doubt whether tap water connection coverage in KL is only 26% of households. Not that KL is a paradise, but this seems way too low given the level of urbanization. If you click the states you also get district-level maps, which in many cases don't make a lot of sense.

I think they may be just showing the number of metered connections ? A lot of people may be having "jugaadi" water connections/pilferage from the main line.
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by nachiket »

Urbanization by itself would not necessarily mean the houses/apartments have tap water connections. I'm not sure for example, if a housing colony gets water from a tanker, do they get counted? That map is really sobering. Even the supposedly developed and industrialized states of TN, MH and KN are at less than 50%. 70+ years after independence this is where we are. People often fondly recall the high growth years of the early-mid 2000's and compare them favorably to the last few. What doesn't get remembered is that all that high growth barely moved the needle at all in terms of people's access to basic infrastructure like water, toilets, cooking gas, banking etc. in rural and semi-urban areas. The only way your quality of life would have improved if you lived in these areas was due to access to mobile phones and perhaps better road connectivity to the cities.
nam
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by nam »

For regions like coastal KN & Kerala, which receive heavy rainfall, they generally have wells. It is only in urban cities, where water connections are provided. Framers running pumps for their field will probably not be counted under "tap water" head, but they have no shortage of water!

To provide tap water, you need a large source of water, like rivers. Even in Bangalore there are two types of water supplies. Well & Kaveri.

Wells used to the primary source of water in Blore.
nachiket
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by nachiket »

Yes groundwater will be the most common water source in most areas. But outside of some coastal areas like Konkan with ample groundwater and a well in every backyard, wells will be shared by a large number of homes without electric pumps and a pipeline distribution system from that well. So you are left with people, usually women having to carry water from those wells which might be miles away. You see women carrying large containers of water on their heads all the time if you drive around in the countryside. I remember marveling at their ability to do that without using hands. That is the norm rather than the exception, even in the more developed states. I am hoping that by the time the Jal Jeevan mission ends, whenever that is, that sight will be far less common.

This is the kind of thing that will not show up on any economic indices directly, but will have a huge effect on the daily lives of people in the villages, especially women.

Of course, adding an electric pump and a pipe from the nearest well to each person's house is only the first step. Wells can dry up in summer so this is a partial benefit. Eventually a successor to the JJ mission will have to be a much larger undertaking to develop better water resources in rural areas to reduce dependence on seasonal resources like small wells. Large scale construction of dams, artificial reservoirs, canals etc. will have to be taken up along with other measures like rainwater harvesting and perhaps more desalination plants on the coast. But this will be a good start nonetheless.
Suraj
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Re: Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

Post by Suraj »

nachiket wrote:Urbanization by itself would not necessarily mean the houses/apartments have tap water connections. I'm not sure for example, if a housing colony gets water from a tanker, do they get counted? That map is really sobering. Even the supposedly developed and industrialized states of TN, MH and KN are at less than 50%. 70+ years after independence this is where we are. People often fondly recall the high growth years of the early-mid 2000's and compare them favorably to the last few. What doesn't get remembered is that all that high growth barely moved the needle at all in terms of people's access to basic infrastructure like water, basic sanitation and toilets, cooking gas, banking etc. in rural and semi-urban areas. The only way your quality of life would have improved if you lived in these areas was due to access to mobile phones and perhaps better road connectivity to the cities.
This has been generally true across a range of socio-economic markers. Access to road connectivity ? Toilets ? Bank accounts ? Electricity ? Food ? Cooking fuel ? Pick any such barometer and in 2014, the national level coverage was anywhere from 15% to 40%, at best. That's after 25 years of liberalization.

Here's the chart of sanitation (toilet access) coverage in rural India:
Image
For a long time I used to resent the western press arguing 'why don't you build toilets and keep your cities clean ?' The reality is that until a few years ago, the vast majority of the country didn't have access to toilets. Not even with a $2 trillion GDP.

There's no point in saying 'I don't believe that data on tap connections'. Maybe it has artifacts that are unclear, maybe its a lot of statistics. But we do have actual visible data - my rhetorical response here is a political result - when was the last time anyone won an election like GE2019 - with so many states giving an absolute majority to one party, and that too to an incumbent with a turnout never seen in national electoral history before ? Why did so many more people break a record for turnout to vote back in an incumbent ? There's no major election in recorded democratic history with such behavior. It only happens when a large number of people suddenly see benefits they've waited ages for - and they were quite vocal about it too.

It is because a large enough number of people got to experience basic quality of life gains, that I actually care to track the JJM. Until 2019, I used to look at the same websites for Swacch Bharat Mission and Saubhagya Mission and think the same way. But the reality of a political result made me question this perspective. Clearly something significant is happening. I don't care about the decimal-place exactness of coverage. The reality is that when the government says it's pushing something major like this, it is seriously moving the needle for a sizeable number of people. One can waste time on parochial 'I'm proud my state looks good / WTF, I don't believe that, I know my state is better', but that is just personal motive. I don't particularly care about any state in that map - I want to see it all turn deep blue reporting >80% coverage, as soon as possible.
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