As 2025 begins, it’s heartening to read some good, optimistic news. According to the latest monthly report from the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the Indian economy is projected to grow by 6.5% in the fiscal year (FY) 2025, compared to 8.1% in FY 2024. The report notes that the Reserve Bank of India...
As consumer index-based September inflation data which were released on October 12 was low at 5.02%, albeit higher than the targeted rate of 4%, in hindsight the October 6, 2023 decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to maintain the policy rate of interest at ...
Despite signs of decline, inflation continues to remain stubborn, surpassing the targeted rates set by central banks in the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), the Eurozone (comprising 20 independent countries with a single currency), and India. In the USA, UK, and the Eurozone,...
From the first quarter of 2020, the fast-spreadingCovid-19 pandemic which was continuing unabated with the periodical emergence of new variants in the next 18 months, brought immense misery to the world. The international tourism sector became one of the most affected sources of external earnings fo...
As I pen this article, the news of the US dollar rising to` 82.24 by approximately 32 paise from ` 81.92 dominates the late evening headlines of July 28. The depreciation of the Indian rupee is attributed to outflows of hot money seeking higher returns in the world’s safest haven. This was trigger...
Now each central bank seems to act on its own. They do not seem to consider inflation as a common enemy anymore, unlike what they did when inflation rose to ravage the global economy from second half of 2021, but now seen receding. The United States Federal Reserve (the Fed), whose inflation t...
Without involving the US dollar, ten months ago, it seemed straightforward for Indian refineries to import petroleum crude from Russia at a lower price. However, the situation changed when the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, leading the US and its allies to prohibit Russia from exporting c...
The second fortnight of March witnessed four notable bank failures: Two of them were in USA with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) starting the scare a week earlier in regard to the value of bonds held as assets. The Ides of March confirmed its failure as there were heavy withdrawals. The assets held ...
India’s external sector is of some concern. Merchandise exports have not improved in recent months. India’s share of world exports has been below the average rate of 2% of the previous decade despite the slowing down in the global pandemic of Covid-19 in recent months. In the first quarter of 20...
The world is witnessing a strange contest between central banks: which will be the first one to raise its policy interest rate further to a next high; and by how many basis points more? Having missed the bus, the monetary authorities now feel so desperate that they have to stop the ...
