Adapt and innovate – mantra for the jewellery industry
Posted: March 18, 2025 at 2:42 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Notwithstanding lower consumption trends, spending on gold jewellery jumped nine per cent to USD 144 billion in FY24. This meant that people were paying much more for the same piece of gold or for lower carat yellow metal. […]
Global Supply Chain Crisis makes India’s Aerospace Industry Soar
Posted: March 7, 2025 at 5:48 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Can India position itself as the factory of the world ahead of China?
Growth in manufacturing is both a necessity and an opportunity if India wants to reach the projected target of $20 trillion by 2047. Providing the impetus is the aerospace industry in India, which is witnessing a rapid transformation driven by increased demand for parts and services with major global economies seeking to diversify their supply chains.[…]
Tax rebate and interest rate cut towards boosting growth
Posted: February 24, 2025 at 2:38 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
While India’s economic potential and its status as the fastest growing major global economy remain unchallenged, there is a worry over the pace of its growth after a 5.4 per cent GDP growth stunner in the July-September quarter. This was the slowest in the last seven quarters and much below the expectations. […]
AI Relevance and Disruption in the Global Energy Sector
Posted: February 21, 2025 at 5:54 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the global energy sector by enhancing efficiency, optimizing resource management, and driving sustainability. AI-powered analytics facilitate predictive maintenance, reduce downtime as well as operational costs for energy infrastructure. Furthermore, smart grids leverage AI balancing supply and demand while seamlessly integrating renewable energy sources.[…]
Future Tense amid Shifting Tides in AI Race without Referee
Posted: February 18, 2025 at 3:57 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The release of DeepSeek refuelled the conversation about an emerging ‘Cold War’ bringing to focus the global race for AI dominance. And the 2025 AI Action Summit in Paris did little to allay the fears associated with a technology that is fast reshaping our lives. The fault line was wide open as the world leaders failed to broker a consensus on making AI inclusive, open, ethical and safe. […]
Fiscal-Monetary Tango Must Continue to Deliver More Rate Cuts
Posted: February 17, 2025 at 11:17 am | Author: Manish Marwah
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on the 7th of February cut its policy interest rate by a 25-basis point, marking the first reduction in nearly five years.
The ground for this rate cut was laid in the Budget for 2025-26 which was presented on February 1. In the Budget, the central government[…]
IMF, World Bank see India as a bellwether
Posted: January 29, 2025 at 1:30 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) see India continue to be the fastest-growing major economy for the next few years despite a slowdown and global uncertainties.
For 2025-26 and 2026-27, the World Bank has projected 6.7 per cent growth for the country while the IMF pegged it at a conservative 6.5 per cent. […]
Govt. spending, monetary policy could bring the spark back
Posted: January 27, 2025 at 12:17 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Q2 GDP slowdown could be partly a result of low government spending in 2024 as it was a long election year. This could reverse with higher public expenditure. Moreover, the monetary policy is also expected to take a fresh route now with the new Governor at the helm in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Together, the fiscal and monetary policy tweaks could be a gamechanger. […]
Small policy tweak can make Micro grow into Small and Medium
Posted: January 22, 2025 at 9:20 am | Author: Manish Marwah
Strengthening the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector is key to growth in the Amrit Kal to make India a developed nation by 2047, the 100th year of India’s Independence.
With approximately 30 per cent of the country’s GDP, 45 per cent of manufacturing output, and 211 million employees/workers […]
Opportunity for India to weave USD 100 billion Textile Exports Dream
Posted: January 14, 2025 at 10:23 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
India, which contributes USD 35 billion annually to textile exports, has set its sights on an ambitious goal of USD 100 billion by 2030 with the 5F vision of “Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign”.
After a 7.87 per cent decline from USD 37.16 billion in 2018 to USD 34.24 billion in 2023, India’s textiles sector has emerged as a beacon of resilience growing 7 per cent to USD 21.35 billion during the April-October period […]
Private sector holds key to high growth in 2025
Posted: January 2, 2025 at 1:11 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The thrust laid by the government on capital expenditure (investment) over the last few years aided post-Covid recovery and ensured support to the growth momentum.
Given the uncertainty amidst persisting global headwinds, the government’s thrust on public capex on physical, social and digital infrastructure will likely continue, but at a moderate pace in the coming years.[…]
Economist Manmohan Singh, whose time had come
Posted: December 31, 2024 at 3:20 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
A thinking man’s intellectual, Dr Manmohan Singh was one of the finest economists his era had seen; a gleaming example of a doer who silently did his job.
As India mourns the loss of Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed away on recently in AIIMS, New Delhi, there is a feeling of disbelief. If we could borrow a phrase from the former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel, Dr Singh was “a thinking man’s intellectual”. […]
Inflation remains an unfinished agenda for new RBI Governor
Posted: December 23, 2024 at 3:10 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Seen as an inflation hawk, Shaktikanta Das navigated India deftly through the Covid-19 crisis. But he has demitted office at a time when economy is slowing and a 4 per cent inflation target remains an unfinished agenda.
Shaktikanta Das’s eventful tenure as the 25th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ended this month. Seen as an inflation hawk, Das was the second longest serving central bank chief in the country[…]
EU Sustainability Law and its Overreaching Impact
Posted: December 18, 2024 at 2:56 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The wave of sustainability-related regulatory changes in Europe may soon breach Indian coasts. The EU is among India’s key export markets after the United States.
India’s bilateral trade in goods with the EU reached USD 137.41 billion in 2023-24, with imports at USD 61.48 billion and exports at USD 75.93 billion. While EU is India’s largest trading partner for goods, bilateral trade in services, in 2023 […]
India’s Green Transition through Undersea Race for Critical Minerals
Posted: December 12, 2024 at 7:47 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
India has dived deep into exploration and development of offshore mineral resources with the first tranche of 13 blocks, spanning across the Arabian Sea and Andaman Sea, put up for e-auction.
This auction and exploration is being touted as a historic step toward resource independence while strengthening the country’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070, a goal presented at COP26 in Glasgow.[…]
Q2 GDP growth slowdown: a shocker but there’s no silver bullets
Posted: December 4, 2024 at 4:15 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
GDP growth of 5.4 per cent in July-September is a seven-quarter low and is higher than anticipated. While the situation is expected to improve as government spending restarts, the road ahead is not easy amid inflation concerns, poor earnings outlook and Trump’s protectionist zeal. […]
COP 29 and the progress of the global climate action
Posted: November 28, 2024 at 2:59 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29 or the 29th Conference of the Parties), recently held in Baku, Azerbaijan, has come to a close, leaving a trail of mixed results.
Despite intense discussions and wide participation, one of the key areas—climate finance for vulnerable regions—remained unresolved. While developed nations pledged USD 300 billion annually by 2035 […]
India’s Big Dreams via Small Towns
Posted: November 21, 2024 at 6:18 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Will India be able to become the world’s third largest economy, overtaking Japan and Germany, by 2027? Will the impetus be on Tier 2 and 3 cities to push forward this growth story?
The leap from the 8th largest to the 5th largest economy over 10 years saw India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grow by 7 per cent CAGR in USD terms to USD 3.6 trillion. […]
The Trump conundrum and the Indian Economy
Posted: November 20, 2024 at 5:32 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Donald Trump administration’s protectionist stance and its ‘America First’ policy could potentially trigger tariff wars between the USA and other economies, say some. However, the China+1 strategy augurs well for emerging economies like India, argue others. It is still a mystery as to which side the camel would sit. […]
Clean Hydrogen to boost many sectors with growing climate consciousness
Posted: November 5, 2024 at 1:18 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The United Nations in early 2024 said that the world was on the verge of a climate abyss and the international target of 1.5C would be broken. Climate change is real and there is little alternative to replacing fossil fuels quickly. […]
Volatile crude oil prices caught between a war and demand concerns
Posted: October 14, 2024 at 3:32 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The ongoing West Asia conflict has sparked fears of supply disruptions resulting in an oil price rally while demand slowdown in China and India is raising fears of a likely crash in prices
Global crude oil prices have remained volatile for more than a month now, rising and falling sharply on both demand and supply concerns. […]
Fed’s outsized policy rate cut: a reason to cheer or fear?
Posted: October 4, 2024 at 3:33 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
While the Fed now wants to arrive at a compromise between inflation and growth, the decision is easier said than done. It will have to walk on a tight rope for next few months amid geo-political escalations that could spiral inflation again and potential recession if the high tax rate regime stays. […]
Geopolitics a bigger worry to Indian economy than fear of US recession
Posted: October 3, 2024 at 5:55 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The jury is still out on the probability of a US recession. The US Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points on September 18, for the first time in four years, in an aggressive start to a policy shift aimed at bolstering the US jobs market. […]
