India's retail inflation for April 2024 witnessed a marginal decline, staying within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) target range for the eighth consecutive month. However, rising food prices continue to pose a challenge, particularly for rural households.
Large public sector companies in India spent over Rs 50,200 crore on capital expenditure in April FY25, 6.46% of the annual target of Rs 7.77 lakh crore. Spending was lower than in April FY24. The Finance Ministry expects spending to increase. Railways, roads, and oil and gas sectors drove the expenditure.
CII's business confidence index touched a 12-quarter high in Q4FY24, with 51% of firms expecting capacity utilisation of 75% and above. Moreover, 71% expect an improvement in private capex in the first half of FY25 compared with the second half of FY24.
The Indian government is expecting most manufacturers qualified under the revised production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware to start production this year, according to the electronics and information technology ministry secretary S Krishnan. About 17 out of 27 PLI companies will start production, with six-seven starting last year and two planning to start next year.
Among the three major industries, manufacturing and electricity recorded a faster pace of growth in March compared with the previous month, expanding 5.2% and 8.6% compared with 4.9% and 7.5% in February. On the other hand, mining activity eased sharply to 1.2% from 8.1% in the previous month.
The fact that India's exports between April and January of FY24 were $3.7 billion and its imports, primarily from Russia's crude oil imports, were $51.7 billion, is what worries New Delhi. Additionally, the bloc has free trade agreements with Iran, China, Vietnam, and Serbia; these agreements may have an effect on the competitiveness of Indian industry in any of the EAEU markets.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized the potential of eastern India as a growth engine, urging Jharkhand to tackle corruption for industrial development. She criticized the state's governance, highlighting lawlessness and migration. Sitharaman assured equitable treatment, citing increased budgetary allocations for Jharkhand's rail projects.
The startup ecosystem saw a 37% increase in the number of new companies, leading to a 14% surge in the number of jobs. More than half (53%) of all startup jobs are targeted at freshers. Production and manufacturing sector saw a 31% year-on-year surge in hiring.
The central government's fiscal deficit for FY24 is expected to be slightly better than revised estimates, thanks to higher-than-anticipated revenue receipts. Despite slower nominal growth, deficit-to-GDP ratio is estimated to improve. Direct tax revenue exceeded expectations, and expenditure remains on track. The government is prepared to manage potential capital inflows from JPMorgan's inclusion of Indian government bonds in its index.
In Eastern India there are hailstorms in some places, but many cities in other parts of the country are reeling under heat. The climate is changing drastically and heatwaves are going to affect you, me and the economy at large. Here is my view.
India extends duty-free yellow peas import until October 2024. In April-February FY24, the import of yellow peas was $235.92 million as against $0.14 million in FY23.
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