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Dear Readers,

On 6th April Bharatwasis will be celebrating Ram Navami to commemorate the birth of Lord Rama. Supreme Lord Vishnu incarnated in a human form as Lord Rama to rescue and liberate the world by killing Ravana, the brutal King of Lanka and establishing Dharma. Though being the Supreme, Lord Vishnu played the role of a perfect son, brother, husband, father and a ruler to his subjects. In life, one has to face all the troubles and pains along with facing the brutes and bullies. In spite of all the obstacles, one must perform his duties and should always be virtuous and righteous.

Hanuman Jayanti will be celebrated on 12th April in the country. Hanuman is regarded to be an ardent devotee of Lord Rama, He is regarded an incarnation of Lord Shiva. He is the bestower of strength, wisdom, boons and intellect.

During the month of April another culturally significant harvest festival is celebrated in many parts of the country having various regional names like Baisakhi in Punjab, Poila Boishakh in Bengal, Rongali Bihu in Assam, and others. Harvest festivals are an important event in India that commemorates the conclusion of one agricultural cycle and the beginning of another, showing gratitude for a plentiful harvest, promoting communal harmony and uphold cultural customs.

Indian Economy: India will be the fastest growing major economy in the world. It is expected to grow at a rate of 6.5% in FY 24-25 and FY 25-26. Various rating agencies expect it to maintain the same growth rate amidst a challenging global outlook. Global trade continues to be affected by uncertainty. Meanwhile, the Global Trade Policy Uncertainty Index rose to a record high of 237.4 in the 4th quarter of 2024. This is mainly on account of the tariff-related action-reaction developments in multiple countries which are bound to adversely impact global trade and investment flows. Private sector fears risk of investment and debt. Proposed changes in personal Income Tax may increase the consumption and savings which may get mobilized for investment. Lenders and authorities will have to reconsider dealing with recovery of

money from troubled borrowers by restructuring and allowing more time to repay. As their debt load decreased throughout 2023–24, private sector corporations in India saw improvements in both their operational and net profit margins across key industries, indicating their increasing financial stability. Tata group said that they would not expand by taking on more debt. Reliance and other corporates are also in the sphere of reducing their debt. Corporate borrowings from the bank have also reduced.

In its monetary policy review, which was released on February 7, 2025, the Reserve Bank of Indi (RBI) lowered the repo rate by 25 basis points, from 6.50% to 6.25%. But the banks are not in a position to lower interest rates on savings accounts and Fixed Deposit (FD) rates after the repo rate cut as they already face a crunch liquidity situation. The rate of interest on loan has not reduced yet.

India’s current account deficit (CAD) has widened in the third quarter of FY25 while infrastructure growth has slowed down.

In a recent warning, US President Donald Trump threatened to put even higher tariffs on Canada and the European Union if they work together to under-mine the US economy. The situation offers India both opportunities and challenges.

Auto component makers fear the US tariff will affect the exports to USA. In the automobile sector, Tata Motors is seen having a major impact having its one third sales coming from North America for its luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover.

Gross FDI inflows registered a growth rate of 12.4% approximately during FY25. India’s forex reserves stood at USD 658.8 billion as on March 28, 2025. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra acknowledged that there is a need to ensure that genuine investment flows do not get affected on account of safeguards against anti money laundering and terror financing and added that multiple laws and rules increase the burden on compliance. He recommends a risk-based approach though it is not perfect. He feels that it would have some false positives and false negatives, and thus risk assessment models need continuous refinement.

Private sector has to contribute considerably for the growth of the economy and employment. India has the world’s largest youth population (65% below the age of 35) who can be trained well.

Due to external factors an enterprise can get affected severely, but it can revive once the external factors wane away. Entrepreneurs having animal spirits invest with their own capital borrowed also either from friends or relatives thereon taking debt. Therefore, the government needs to support entrepreneurs so that they can withstand the temporary difficulties and recover to generate wealth, create employment and are able to service their debt, thereby fuelling overall economic growth.

India’s post-pandemic trajectory has demonstrated that capex growth is a significant driver of GDP growth. Therefore, fiscal consolidation must be done carefully to avoid slowing India down with budget cuts.

The government must maintain high capital expen-diture levels in order to achieve Viksit Bharat by 2047, and a shift in policy towards monitoring debt rather than aiming for a target fiscal deficit should be beneficial. The way forward to achieve the coveted Viksit Bharat status by 2047are favourable government regulations, technological advancements achieved domestically, increased adoption of climate-friendly practices, trained manpower (enabling realizing ‘demographic dividend’), a strong mobility ecology, and the correct mindset.

One of the most renowned Indian philosophers and spiritual leaders, Swami Vivekananda had predicted that India would be a major global power. As Swami Vivekananda famously said, “Arise! Awake! And stop not until the goal is reached.” This is a powerful message and is very inspirational. In order to propel the country toward greater unity and advancement, our Prime Minister has also urged young Indians to embrace virtues.