'The Bharatiya Janata Party released its manifesto or “Sankalp Patra” for the Haryana elections on Sunday... The manifesto, which has 15 chapters and 248 points, has been termed by the BJP as its vision document for “The Haryana of My Dreams”. Khattar said the manifesto is in line with the principles of creating a “Ram rajya”... Since Haryana has earned the dubious distinction of becoming the state with the highest unemployment rate in the country at around 28%, the manifesto also makes promises for promoting industry and providing jobs to the youth...'
'A set of new surveys conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on consumer confidence in the economy, as well as how the country’s manufacturing sector has been impacted by the slowdown, reveals an unflattering picture. Taken together, they point out how the two major drivers of the Indian economy, investment and consumption, have indeed slumped over the last few months...'
'...Privatisation is being introduced in diverse ways. Some public sector enterprises are earmarked for outright sale, not just loss-making ones, but even those which make handsome profits. In others, the government intends to reduce its own share of equity below 51% through disinvestment. In still others, the idea is to break up the total activity into several different individual activities and to privatise some individual activities by divesting the public sector of those; this last route is what is being followed with regard to the Railways.
'Business and commerce is suffering one of the worst phases in Kashmir’s history, say trade leaders, as the ongoing crisis following the clampdown and communication blockade continues to cripple business leading to economic losses across sectors. The losses, as per the estimates of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industries (KCCI), have crossed over Rs 5,000 crore in the past two months after the Centre imposed restrictions on August 5, in the wake of abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories...'
'Oru Chaayakadakarante Mann ki Baat (Mind Matter of a Tea Vendor), an award-winning Malayalam documentary about the hardships of a tea seller after demonetisation, was supposed to be screened at the Kerala Club in New Delhi on Monday. The event was cancelled at the last minute, though, allegedly after Sangh parivar members threatened members of the club. According to The Telegraph, organisers were told not to screen the movie because it shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi “in bad light”. The screening was going to be followed by a discussion on the economic crisis...'
'India’s sagging economic growth has finally forced the government to relax its strict fiscal deficit targets, but even that may not guarantee a recovery. On September 20, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a reduction in the country’s effective corporate tax rate from around 35% to 25%. For companies that do not avail of any other incentive or commission, the effective tax rate would be just 22%. While India’s equity markets cheered the decision, the bond markets tanked on fears that the government may now have to borrow more to meet its expenses.
'...there is a case for autonomy [of central banks], for sure. And that autonomy is important for all institutions, and that autonomy in the central bank in India was dead, certainly, in November 2016, when demonetisation was announced. Because it was very clear at that time that this was a decision taken against the wishes of the RBI, imposed on the RBI, which then had to implement something, which it did very badly. Which it had absolutely no knowledge of, and no preparation for.
'It is ironical that the Narendra Modi government, which never tires of reminding everybody about their nationalism and patriotism, is actually following an economic policy of selling off the country’s national resources to foreign companies. It recently announced measures of easing foreign direct investment (FDI) in coal mining and associated infrastructure, contract manufacturing, single brand retail and digital media.
'Parle Products’ announcement that it may have to let go up to 10,000 employees has caused a stir as big as news of a recession in the auto sector. Demand has been falling and government policies have further exacerbated the crisis, says the company.
'...The Northern India Textile Mills Association (NITMA) – an association of textile mills located in Northern India – estimates 50 lakh job cuts owing to the economic slowdown in India. Several reports indicate that at least three lakh people have already lost their jobs in the automobile sector following a decline in the demand for cars across India. Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp and TVS Group companies Sundaram-Clayton Limited and Lucas TVS have already halted their production... A glimpse at the advertisements issued by NITMA makes it clear where the crisis lies.
