1. India's GDP estimated to be 5.8% in UN report 'Global Economic Situation and Prospects-2023'
Tags: National Economy/Finance
In the last week of January 2023, the United Nations has projected India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to be 5.8 percent in FY 2023 in the report 'Global Economic Situation and Prospects-2023'. This is slightly lower than the 6.4 percent projected in 2022.
An overview of the news:
According to the United Nations, the main reason for the decrease in India's GDP growth rate is high interest rate, investment due to global economic slowdown, pressure on exports etc.
Whereas, the United Nations has projected India's economic growth to remain "strong" while the outlook for other South Asian countries is "more challenging".
The report attributed this to the situation arising out of the covid epidemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, due to which a food and energy crisis has arisen and a significant increase in inflation is being seen.
Report in Global Perspective:
The UN report states that global output growth is projected to decline from an estimated 3% in 2022 to 1.9% in 2023, the lowest in recent decades.
The United Nations estimates that global growth in 2022 was 3 percent. The report forecasts global trade to grow at 0.4 percent and the world economy at 1.9 percent in 2023.
Report prepared by:
The report has been prepared by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and the Regional Economic Commissions for Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, and Western Asia.
2. India to become $26 trillion economy by 2047: EY report
Tags: Reports Economy/Finance
An EY report states that the Indian economy is likely to reach $26 trillion by the year 2047, which will also be the 100th year of India's independence.
An overview of the news
The report also pointed out that the country's per capita income would cross $15,000, making it among the top developed economies.
The report also pointed out that despite maintaining a steady but modest growth rate of 6% per annum, India would still be able to become a $26 trillion economy by 2047–48, with per capita income six times higher than current levels.
According to the report certain factors have contributed to bring India to a position of high and sustainable growth.
These include accelerated pace of economic reforms in critical areas such as social inclusion, financial inclusion, fiscal, physical and digital infrastructure.
This has ultimately resulted in increased global competitiveness of Indian businesses and entrepreneurs.
An area with major potential is services exports which are set to grow by 14% over the past two decades to reach $254.5 billion in 2021-22.
Other enabling areas include 'digitalisation'.
Government’s efforts
Government's focus on increasing the country's digital infrastructure
Efforts towards e-governance
A strong digital payment ecosystem
Introduction of digital services in almost all domains
Large telecom subscriber base of 1.2 billion
837 million internet users, etc.
Focus Areas
macroeconomic stability,
more energy independence,
ease of doing business,
power sector reform
What is EY report?
Launched in 2011, EY Reporting is EY Global Assurance’s insights hub.
It provides thought leadership on the issues global companies face in communicating corporate performance.
3. India produces record over 5,000 lakh metric tons of sugarcane in sugar season 2021-22
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution a record more than 5,000 Lakh Metric Tons (LMT) sugarcane was produced during the 2021-22 sugar season.
An overview of the news
About 394 LMT sugar was produced from about 3,574 LMT sugarcane. Out of this, 36 LMT sugar was diverted for ethanol production.
During 2021-22, sugar mills received revenue of more than 20 thousand crore rupees from the sale of ethanol.
During the sugar season between October and September 2021-22, India has emerged as the world's largest producer and consumer of sugar.
India has also become the second largest sugar exporter in the world after Brazil.
Cane dues for sugar season 2021-22 are less than Rs 2,300 crore indicating that 98% of cane dues have already been cleared.
For Sugar Season 2020-21, about 99.98% cane dues are cleared.
Despite the record high international sugar prices, the domestic sugar prices are stable and are in the range of Rs 32-35 per kg.
The average retail price of sugar in the country is around Rs 41.50/kg and is likely to remain in the range of Rs 37-43/kg in the coming months.
The largest producer of sugarcane in the world
Brazil is the largest producer of sugarcane in the world. India is the second largest producer of sugarcane.
Brazil produced about 32 million tons of sugar in 2021-22.
Major sugarcane-producing states in India
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka account for nearly 80 percent of the total sugar production in the country.
The other major sugarcane-producing states are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Haryana, and Punjab.
Since 2010-11, India has consistently produced surplus sugar, comfortably exceeding the domestic requirements.
4. 8th Annual General Body Meeting of Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE)
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
Union Minister for Tourism, Culture G Kishan Reddy and Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan co-chaired the 18th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati on 19 January.
An overview of the news
The Ministers reviewed the functioning of the Institute and discussed the way forward.
During the meeting, a holistic approach of the government for skill development in the North Eastern region was suggested.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan suggested that the focus should be on future skills and IIEs should work in tandem with multiple ministries at the grassroots level.
The institute should tie up with major centres of excellence like IITs and IIMs and provide degree courses for students in cutting edge courses like data analytics etc.
Both the ministers also co-chaired a meeting to review the preparedness of several activities under 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'.
Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE)
It was established in the year 1993 at Guwahati by the then Ministry of Industry (now Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), Government of India.
It is an autonomous national institute that conducts training, research and consultancy activities in small and micro enterprises with a focus on entrepreneurship development.
It aims to promote entrepreneurship and provide research and consultancy for entrepreneurship development.
5. Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority signs MoU with SBI
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority (WDRA) signed a memorandum (MoU) of understanding with State Bank of India to help farmers in getting low interest rate loans on 16 January.
An overview of the news
The objective of the MoU is to provide information on the benefits to the depositors besides carrying out further activities to improve agricultural finance in India.
It is envisaged that the product will have far reaching consequences with regard to acceptance of e-NWRs (electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt) among small and marginal farmers.
Combined with the inherent security and negotiability of the e-NWR system, the Produce Marketing Loan will go a long way in improving rural liquidity and increasing farmers income.
Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority (WDRA)
WDRA was constituted on 26 October, 2010 under the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007.
It is a Statutory Authority under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.
The Authority has its Headquarters in New Delhi.
The Authority consists of a Chairperson and two Members appointed by the Central Government.
6. Piyush Goyal launched MAARG portal for startup mentorship
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal launched the MAARG platform (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth) on 16 January.
An overview of the news
The portal would facilitate mentorship between startups and entrepreneurs across sectors, stages, and functions.
It will allow startups to connect with mentors and discuss their mentorship needs.
Startups can connect with academics, industry experts, successful founders, seasoned investors and others to receive personalised mentorship, clarity and practical advice on growth strategy.
Objectives of the MAARG Portal
To provide guidance and support to startups throughout their life cycle.
To establish a formal and structured platform that facilitates matchmaking between mentors and startups at large across diverse sectors.
Establishing a result-oriented mechanism that allows tracking of the progress of the mentor-startup engagement.
Key Functions of MAARG Portal
Tracking mentor and startup interactions to deliver impact.
Enabling video calls and communication through the platform.
Mobile friendly interface for ease of use.
Communicate recognition and benefits of mentor contributions.
Facilitate ecosystem supporters to host friendly events.
Providing feedback, query and complaint mechanism.
7. Startup India Innovation Week 2023
Tags: Economy/Finance Important Days National News
The 'Startup India Innovation Week' was organised by the 'Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade' (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry from January 10 to 16, 2023. 'National Startup Day' is also celebrated on 16 January.
An Overview of the news
The main objective of organising the Startup India Innovation Week is to engage the stakeholders of the startup ecosystem in the country and to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in India.
In this, knowledge sharing sessions are organised for entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs.
The sessions also included stakeholders from the startup ecosystem such as government officials, incubators, corporates and investors.
As a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, various startup related events were organised at more than 75 locations across the country to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation by engaging the startup community across the country.
These include dedicated workshops for women entrepreneurs, training of incubators, mentoring workshops, capacity building workshops, startup pitching sessions, etc.
National Startup Awards
To celebrate the National Startup Day, DPIIT organised a felicitation ceremony for the winners of the National Startup Awards, 2022 on January 16.
The felicitation ceremony recognized and rewarded the excellence displayed by startups and ecosystem enablers across various sectors, sub-sectors and categories.
World's 3rd Startup Ecosystem in India
In the last few years, India has emerged as a 'hotspot' for startups. India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world with 108 unicorns.
There were 471 startups in the country in 2016, which increased to 86,456 in 2023. There has been an astonishing growth of over 15,000% in the number of startups in India in 6 years.
There were more than 100 unicorns in the country as of 5 May 2022, with a total valuation of $332.7 billion.
Startup India Programme
The Startup India campaign was launched on 16 January 2016. DPIIT has recognized more than 75 thousand startups to coincide with the 75th year of independence.
DPIIT under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently launched the MAARG portal.
In this portal one can get an opportunity to connect with experts, industry experts, successful startup founders, investors as well as world class mentors and experts.
In addition, under India's G20 chairmanship, Startup20 Engagement Group has been established. The establishment of Startup20 Engagement Group will encourage innovations and recognize the role of startups in the changing global landscape.
8. Indian economy to grow at robust rate of 6.6% in FY24: World Bank
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
The World Bank projected the Indian economy to grow at a robust 6.6 per cent in 2023-24 (FY24), slowing down from an estimated 6.9 per cent in 2022-23 (FY23).
An overview of the News
According to the World Bank's latest “Global Economic Prospects” India's economic growth will slow to 6.6% in the next fiscal year from an expected 6.9% in the current year.
It said that the slowdown in the global economy and rising uncertainty will have an impact on export and investment growth.
After March 2024, India's potential growth rate is likely to return to above 6%.
According to the World Bank, India will be the fastest growing economy among the seven largest emerging markets and developing economies.
For the South Asian region, growth is expected to slow down to 3.6% and 4.6% in 2023 and 2024, respectively, due to weaker growth in Pakistan.
Global position
The World Bank has predicted a sharp, long-lasting recession globally, with global growth slowing to 1.7% in 2023 from 3% six months earlier.
Europe, which has long been a major exporter to China, will likely suffer from a weaker Chinese economy.
9. Centre approved ₹2,600 crore as incentive for banks to promote digital payments
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
The Union Cabinet on 11 January approved a ₹2,600 crore scheme for promoting RuPay debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions.
An overview of the news
Under the scheme, banks will be given financial incentives in the current financial year 2022-23 to promote 'Point of Sale' (PoS) i.e. payment machines and e-commerce transactions using RuPay and UPI.
The Cabinet has approved this incentive scheme to promote small amount transactions between individuals and merchants through RuPay Debit Cards and BHIM-UPI.
This will further strengthen India's progress in digital payments. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in the last budget, will continue to provide financial help to increase digital payments.
India has remained a cash-dependent economy since independence. India's Cash to GDP ratio is 13% while the global average is at most 8%.
Significance of the Incentive Scheme
The government had approved an incentive scheme in pursuance of the budget announcement for FY 2022 to promote digital transactions.
As a result, total digital payment transactions registered a year-on-year growth of 59 percent.
This increased from ₹5,554 crore in FY21 to ₹8,840 crore in FY22.
BHIM-UPI transactions registered a year-on-year growth of 106 per cent, from Rs 2,233 crore in FY21 to Rs 4,597 crore in FY22.
This incentive scheme will promote as a digital payment solution and enable further deepening of digital payments in the country.
10. 13th India-US Trade Policy Forum
Tags: Economy/Finance International News
Piyush Goyal was on an official visit to New York and Washington DC from January 9-11 to participate in the India-US Trade Policy Forum.
An overview of the news
The 13th Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting was hosted by US Trade Representative Catherine Tai in Washington on 11 January.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal at the forum urged the US to expedite the issuance of business visas so that people can make short trips to pursue their trade and business interests.
After participating in the forum, he said that the issuance of business visas in India is taking a long time and needs to be expedited so that investments are not affected.
His visit included delegation-level talks and a meeting with US Trade Representative Ambassador Catherine Tai.
There is an increasing movement of professionals, students, skilled workers, investors and business travellers between the two countries.
According to the commerce ministry, in 2021-22, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 119.42 billion as against USD 80.51 billion in 2020-21.
About the India-US Trade Policy Forum
It is a platform for continued engagement between the two countries in the field of trade and to further enhance bilateral trade and investment ties.
The 12th TPF Ministerial Conference was held in New Delhi on 23 November 2021 after a gap of four years.
