Winning Bizness Economic Desk

There is a high possibility of the country achieving an economic growth of eight per cent in FY 24 (year ending March 31, 2024), its Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Mr V Anantha Nageswaran said.

He would be happy if the country were to have a 9.5-to-10 per cent growth rate like that of China but the context had shifted, he said.

According to Mr Nageswaran, a 6.5 per cent-to-7 per cent growth rate was expected to continue in the coming years and it was important to maintain it.

India Will Be Third-Largest Eco Within a Year After PM Modi Secures Third Term, Says FM

India’s Finance Minister Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the country would become the third-largest economy globally in the coming year or so, after the incumbent Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi potentially wins the Lok Sabha election currently on in the country, for the third time consecutively.

“The Modi government will be formed again for a third term, India’s economy will reach the third place from the fifth place in the coming year or so, as per the Prime Minister’s announcement,” Mrs Sitharaman said at an event in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

The Lok Sabha election is currently on in the country with Mr Modi seeking a third term as Prime Minister in a row. Mr Modi won for the first time in 2014 and then followed it up with a bigger victory in the 2019 election.

Mrs Sitharaman went on to say that “for this we need Jharkhand’s contribution and to achieve this I would say vote for the well-being of the country and for corruption-free governance.”

Here, it is important to point out that just last month the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had upped India’s GDP growth forecast for this fiscal (FY 25) by 30 basis points (30 bps) to 6.8 per cent from its January forecast of 6.5 per cent, citing bullish domestic demand conditions and a rising working-age population.

Recently, India’s Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Mr V Anantha Nageswaran said that there was a high possibility of India’s economic growth touching the eight per cent mark in FY 24.

India Becomes Third-Largest Solar Power Generator in 2023, Overtaking Japan

India has now become the world’s third-largest solar power generator in 2023. It has overtaken Japan in the process, a new report said.

A report by the global think-tank Ember said that India ranked ninth in solar energy development in 2015.

Here, a point that needs highlighting is that solar produced a record 5.5 per cent of global electricity last year (2023).

Ember’s `Global Electricity Review’ said that in line with the global trend, India generated 5.8 per cent of its electricity from solar last year.

Solar maintained its status as the world’s fastest growing electricity source for the 19th consecutive year adding more than twice as much new electricity world-wide as coal in 2023.

An important point here is that India registered the world’s fourth largest increase in solar generation in 2023 behind China, the United States (US) and Brazil. Together, the four top solar growth countries accounted for 75 per cent of growth in 2023.

Solar’s contribution to electricity generation in India increased from 0.5 per cent in 2015 to 5.8 per cent in 2023.

According to Ember, the global solar generation in 2023 was six times larger than in 2015.

There is a pressing need for India to accelerate the transition to cleaner generation sources—this is imperative for the country to meet both its developmental as well as climate goals.

It must be pointed out here that electricity generation presently accounts for nearly half of India’s annual carbon dioxide emissions (1.18-gigatonnes in 2023).

India has committed to achieving a 50 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

According to Ember’s analysis, annual capacity additions need to significantly increase for India to meet this capacity target.

RBI Allows BoB to On-Board Customers Through Its BoB World App

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revised its earlier decision to impose restrictions on Bank of Baroda’s BoB World app, thus allowing the bank to now on-board customers through its BoB World app.

The bank has informed the stock-exchanges of the same.

According to BoB, the lifting of restrictions applies to the bank with immediate effect.

Here, it may be recalled that in October of last year, the Reserve Bank had directed Bank of Baroda to suspend further on-boarding of customers onto BoB World mobile application, citing “certain material supervisory concerns observed in the processes”.

The public sector bank has said that it has undertaken corrective measures to address the concerns flagged by the Reserve Bank and additionally, is further taking steps to plug any remaining gaps.

Bank of Baroda had launched its digital banking application BoB World in September 2021. It provides a virtual banking experience and has all its digital banking services under one roof for its customers.

Toy Exports Slide 14 Per Cent After Hitting the Peak in 2021-22

India’s toy exports have declined in the last fiscal (FY 24) after registering a spectacular northward climb in FY 22.

After touching a peak of USD 177-million in FY 22, exports of toys have been sliding ever since. As per data from the Global Trade Research Institute (GTRI), toy exports have receded to USD 152-million in FY 24.

There has been an increase in imports with toy imports having risen 81 per cent since FY 22 to USD 65-million.

It is felt that there are two reasons for the decline in exports—the first being the slowdown in major markets abroad like the United States and Europe and the second, the “cost disability” that Indian manufacturers face due to high subsidies given to manufacturers in China and Vietnam.

The introduction of higher import duties coupled with quality control measures has also impacted the toy trade in India with imports falling drastically from USD 304.1-million in FY 19 to USD 64.9-milllion in FY 24.

During the same period, exports registered a modest northward climb from USD 109-million to USD 177-million. However, by FY 24, exports have decreased by USD 152.3-million.

While the share of imports from China dropped from 87 per cent of India’s total toy imports in FY 19 to 64 per cent in FY 24, imports from other regions such as the ASEAN countries, Sri Lanka and the Czech Republic moved northward during the period.

The share of ASEAN countries in India’s toy imports at the end of FY 24 was 16.7 per cent, while that of Sri Lanka and the Czech Republic were 12.4 per cent and 4.7 per cent, respectively.

SBI Clocks a Record Rs 20,968-Crore Net in Q4

India’s biggest bank, the State Bank of India (SBI) has clocked a record quarterly and annual profit numbers with a 24 per cent growth in the March quarter earnings at Rs 20,968-crore—the highest in India Inc, including that of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

The State Bank of India’s quarterly net income at Rs 20,968-crore is much higher than that of the consolidated numbers of Reliance which for decades has been the most profitable firm in the country.

Reliance Industries’ Q4 net income came in at Rs 18,951-crore, down from Rs 19,299-crore a year-ago.

But in terms of annual earnings, Reliance still tops the chart with Rs 69,621-crore in consolidated earnings, while State Bank’s is lower at Rs 61,077-crore.

As against this, the largest software exporter TCS, a Tata group company, reported only around 60 per cent of SBI’s at Rs 12,434-crore for the March quarter which was a growth of nine per cent on-year.

Even from revenue from operations side, the State Bank of India has an annual revenue of Rs 1.11-trillion, up a full 19 per cent from Rs 92,951-crore it had reported a year-ago.