Indian stock benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher for a fourth consecutive day Economic

Indian stock benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher for a fourth consecutive day in a rangebound trading session on Thursday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of Union Budget.

It is widely expected that the government will amend several policies and undertake various reforms for delivering domestic growth and rural consumption in Budget.

Meanwhile, the Economic Survey 2019, which was tabled in Parliament today failed to excite the market, as it predicted the economy to grow at a healthy 7 per cent in FY20, up from 6.8 per cent in the previous fiscal.

The survey expects the general fiscal deficit at 5.8 per cent in FY19, as against 6.4 per cent in FY18 and forecasts a rebound in investment cycle in FY20

The Survey also said structural reforms of the last few years are on course, and the huge political mandate for the incumbent government augurs well for growth prospects.

The market remained rangebound during the session while other Asian peers closed higher tracking sharp gains on Wall Street as recent data suggested slowing economic growth in the US, boosting the prospect of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

It is widely expected that the government will amend several policies and undertake various reforms for delivering domestic growth and rural consumption in Budget.

 Indian stock benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher for a fourth consecutive day in a rangebound trading session on Thursday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of Union Budget.

It is widely expected that the government will amend several policies and undertake various reforms for delivering domestic growth and rural consumption in Budget.

Meanwhile, the Economic Survey 2019, which was tabled in Parliament today failed to excite the market, as it predicted the economy to grow at a healthy 7 per cent in FY20, up from 6.8 per cent in the previous fiscal.

The survey expects the general fiscal deficit at 5.8 per cent in FY19, as against 6.4 per cent in FY18 and forecasts a rebound in investment cycle in FY20.

The Survey also said structural reforms of the last few years are on course, and the huge political mandate for the incumbent government augurs well for growth prospects.

The market remained rangebound during the session while other Asian peers closed higher tracking sharp gains on Wall Street as recent data suggested slowing economic growth in the US, boosting the prospect of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

PSU Bank stocks remained in focus throughout the day and closed with gains on hopes that state run banks will receive a recapitalisation bonanza in the upcoming union budget.

BSE Sensex closed 68.81 points or 0.17 per cent higher at 39,908.06 while NSE Nifty ended at 11,938, up 21.25 points or 0.18 per cent.

Market at a glance

In the 30-pack Sensex, 19 stocks ended in the green and 11 in the red with YES Bank as the worst performer and Bharti Airtel best. Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank and Kotak Bank too joined Bharti Airtel on the gainers list, rising up to 2.53 per cent.

HCL Tech, Sun Pharma and Vedanta were among other Sensex stocks that declined.

The BSE Midcap index declined 0.19 per cent while the BSE Smallcap index ended 0.12 per cent higher.

BSE Telecom index recorded gains of 1.53 per cent followed by Realty index. While BSE Consumer Durables and Metal indices were among the worst performers.

In terms of index contribution, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel and ITC were the top support while HDFC Bank, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank were the top drag on Sensex.

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moves are another step in trying to take control of interest rates economic development

The market and the Federal Reserve are currently far apart when it comes to expectations of where rates are headed. Two candidates who President Donald Trump said he is going to nominate to the central bank could bring them closer together.

In a tweet Tuesday, the president said he plans on sending the names of Christopher Waller and Judy Shelton to the Senate as Fed governor appointees. Shelton was no surprise — Trump already has named her to a government post and previously indicated he’s interested in her for the Fed job.

Waller is a bit more of a cipher. As head of research at the St. Louis Fed, he’s maintained a low-key presence that makes it a bit more difficult to know where he’d try to take the broader central bank.

Taken together, though, they represent advancement of a key Trump belief, namely that the Fed needs to be a more complicit partner in pushing the economic expansion higher, and should be doing so through lower interest rates and looser policy overall.

For the president, these are people who would support his position,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC. “The president has the right to appoint people to the Fed who support his view on monetary policy. That being said, this is one area in particular where the Senate has rebuffed the president for various reasons.”

Indeed, Trump has struck out on his last four Fed prospective nominees. The last two in particular, Stephen Moore and Herman Cain, fell out of the process amid complications from issues other than their views on monetary policy and regulation.

As it pertains to Waller and Shelton, the two candidates more likely would face a tussle tied directly to their views.

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Problems Facing Indian Economy india economic development Corporation and

Problems Facing Indian Economy

Since 1991, the Indian economy has pursued free market liberalisation, greater openness in trade and increase investment in infrastructure. This helped the Indian economy to achieve a rapid rate of economic growth and economic development. However, the economy still faces various problems and challenges, such as corruption, lack of infrastructure, poverty in rural areas and poor tax collection rates.

Despite rapid economic growth, unemployment is still an issue in both rural and urban areas. The fast rate of economic growth has left unskilled workers behind, and they have struggled to find work in growing industries. In 2017, the official unemployment rate was just below 5%. However, a report by the OECD found over 30% of people aged 15-29 in India are not in employment, education or training (NEETs). Livemint reported on March 6, 2017. WIth, little if any government welfare support for the unemployed, it leads to dire poverty.

2. Poor educational standards

Although India has benefited from a high % of English speakers, (important for call centre industry) there is still high levels of illiteracy amongst the population. It is worse in rural areas and amongst women. Over 50% of Indian women are illiterate. This limits economic development and a more skilled workforce.

3. Poor Infrastructure

Many Indians lack basic amenities lack access to running water. Indian public services are creaking under the strain of bureaucracy and inefficiency. Over 40% of Indian fruit rots before it reaches the market; this is one example of the supply constraints and inefficiency’s facing the Indian economy.

4. Balance of Payments deterioration.

Although India has built up large amounts of foreign currency reserves, the high rates of economic growth have been at the cost of a persistent current account deficit. In late 2012, the current account reached a peak of 6% of GDP. Since then there has been an improvement in the current account. But, the Indian economy has seen imports growth faster than exports. This means India needs to attract capital flows to finance the deficit. Also, the large deficit caused the depreciation in the Rupee between 2012 and 2014. Whilst the deficit remains, there is always the fear of a further devaluation in the Rupee. There is a need to rebalance the economy and improve the competitiveness of exports.

5. High levels of private debt

Buoyed by a property boom the amount of lending in India has grown by 30% in the past year. However, there are concerns about the risk of such loans. If they are dependent on rising property prices it could be problematic. Furthermore, if inflation increases further it may force the RBI to increase interest rates. If interest rates rise substantially it will leave those indebted facing rising interest payments and potentially reducing consumer spending in the future

6. Inequality has risen rather than decreased.

It is hoped that economic growth would help drag the Indian poor above the poverty line. However, so far economic growth has been highly uneven benefiting the skilled and wealthy disproportionately. Many of India’s rural poor are yet to receive any tangible benefit from the India’s economic growth. More than 78 million homes do not have electricity. 33% (268million) of the population live on less than $1 per day. Furthermore with the spread of television in Indian villages the poor are increasingly aware of the disparity between rich and poor.

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The Indian Economy: 70 years after Independence Indian US

The Indian Economy: 70 years after Independence

The defining feature of the economic programme of independent India’s first government was to accelerate the transition to a modern economy dominated by industry. Agriculture and related 

activities at that time accounted for around half of GDP and modern industry in the form of factory establishments for just above 6 per cent. Thus, colonial rule had made India the victim of the barriers to productivity increase typical of predominantly agrarian economies.

These circumstances influenced the Nehruvian vision that made rapid diversification in favour of manufacturing the principal economic objective. The ‘big planners’ of that time did recognize that this will not deliver the jobs needed to

 absorb the country’s large underemployed and unemployed labour force and address the extreme poverty and deprivation that colonialism had left behind. But those challenges it was argued could be addressed separately, so long as growth got going.

At first it appeared that success was at hand. The years after 1951, and especially after 1956, did see large and rapidly rising investments in industry and infrastructure. But, it is clear, with hindsight, that the process lost momentum rather early. The share of manufacturing in GDP did rise 

from around 9 per cent in 1950-51 to 16 per cent in 1961. But it did not cross the 18 per cent mark for a little more than a decade after that, and touched 20 per cent at its peak in 1996. This was well short of what had been achieved in many other comparable economies. In 1971, manufacturing’s share in GDP stood at 29 per cent in Brazil and 35 per cent in China. In 1996, the figure was 27 per cent in Korea, 28 per cent in Malaysia and 26 per cent in Thailand. The contribution of manufacturing to employment in India was, as expected, was even more dismal. 

There were two principal and proximate factors responsible for this shortfall relative to targets in a country that showed much promise as a candidate for successful industrialisation. One was the failure to grow the mass market for manufactures, through appropriate measures, and

 especially through the implementation of land reforms that helped raise the incomes of the majority among the agriculture-dependent population. The other was the inability of the state to mobilise the resources to finance the expenditures needed to drive and facilitate the process of industrialization.

Agrarian reform was needed to break down land monopoly, which by facilitating rack-renting by absentee landlords, who also earned surpluses from usury and control over poorly-paid, bonded labour, dis-incentivised productive investment in land on the part of semi-feudal and feudal land owners. It also, on the other hand, deprived the

 tenants who cultivated the land of the means and the incentive to invest. Productivity enhancing investments were thus limited. Further, land concentration meant that whatever increases in agricultural income did accrue, were not distributed in a manner that encouraged the expansion of demand for manufactured mass consumption goods.

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Economic History of India Economic History of India

Economic History of India

Indus valley civilization, which flourished between 2800 BC and 1800 BC, had an advanced and flourishing economic system. The Indus valley people practiced agriculture, domesticated animals, made tools and weapons from copper, bronze and tin and even traded with some Middle East countries. 

Agriculture was the main economic activity of the people in the Vedic age but with the second urbanization a number of urban centers grew in North India. This gave a major fillip to trade and commerce. The ancient Indians had trade contacts with far off lands like the Middle East, the Roman Empire and the South East Asia. Many Indian trading colonies were settled in other countries. 

Most of the Indian population resided in villages and the economy of the villages was self-sustaining. Agriculture was the predominant occupation of the populace and satisfied a village's food necessities. It also provided raw materials for industries like textile, food processing and crafts. Besides farmers, other classes of people were barbers, carpenters, doctors, goldsmiths, weavers, etc. In towns and urban centers trade took place through coins but in villages barter was the main system of economic activities. 

The system of castes and sub-castes ensured division of labor and functioned much like guilds, providing training to apprentices. The caste system restricted people from changing ones occupation and aspiring for an upper caste's lifestyle. Traditionally, there was joint family system and the members of a family pooled their resources to invest in business ventures. 

Products like the muslin of Dhaka, calicos of Bengal, shawls of Kashmir, textiles and handicrafts, agricultural products like pepper, cinnamon, opium and indigo were exported to Europe, Middle East and South East Asia in return for gold and silver. 

With the coming of Europeans in the 16th century trade and commerce was completely transformed. The Europeans concentrated mainly on spices, handicrafts, cotton clothes, indigo etc. Of all the European powers the British proved most strong and drove their competitors out of India. Slowly and gradually the British acquired political supremacy and hold over India and subverted the Indian economy according to their own needs. With the establishment of British rule in India the drain of wealth from India began. There was poor industrial infrastructure when the British left India. 

After independence, India opted for planned economic development. The key concern was to develop thrust and heavy industries. With this there began rapid industrialization. 

Here, it is important to note that our economic policies were socially oriented and controlled by the state. India began to follow a mixed economy pattern. But in the late eighties and in the beginning of the 1990s, the Indian policy makers realized that state controlled economy was not able to produce desired results in almost 45 years.

 It was decided to pursue economic policy based on liberalization, privatization and globalization. In this era of liberalization, privatization and globalization, India has witnessed rapid growth in some sectors of economy, even though better results were expected when India began to follow the new economic policy.

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