Winning Bizness Economic Desk

Country’s Tourism Sector Could See 16-mn Jobs Created by 2035

India’s travel and tourism industry is poised for a big leap forward. It is well-placed on a trajectory of significant expansion with projections indicating its economic contribution is expected to touch Rs 22-trillion in 2025, up from the Rs 21-trillion of the previous year (2024).

This growth is driven by robust domestic and international travel, with domestic spending expected to touch Rs 16.8-trillion and international visitor-spending projected at Rs 3.2-trillion in 2025.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts that by 2035, the sector’s value could nearly double to Rs 42-trillion, creating nearly 16-million new jobs.

This expansion would elevate the total employment in the sector to over 64-million, underscoring tourism’s pivotal role in India’s economic landscape.

“India is well-placed to become one of the world’s most dynamic tourism economies, with its dynamic mix of heritage, natural beauty and modern innovation. This includes unlocking the potential of small and medium-sized enterprises which form the backbone of the sector and drive innovation across communities and regions,” the WTTC said.

Here, it is important to point out that India’s Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi has outlined ambitious plans to transform India into a major aviation hub, aiming to increase the number of airports from 157 in 2024 to 400 by 2047.

GST Revenue Collection in May Crosses Rs 2-lakh-cr for Second Consecutive Month

India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collection in May of this year has breached the Rs 2-lakh-crore mark for the second consecutive month.

Gross receipts increased 16.4 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) to Rs 2.01-lakh-crore, according to government data.

The point to be highlighted here is that this collection follows a record-breaking one in April, when GST revenues moved steeply northward to Rs 2.37-lakh-crore—the highest-ever.

Revenue from domestic transactions expanded 13.7 per cent to Rs 1.50-lakh-crore in May, while collections from imports climbed up 25.2 per cent to Rs 51,266-crore.

The gross Central GST (CGST) stood at Rs 35,434-crore, State GST (SGST) at Rs 43,902-crore and Integrated GST (IGST) at around Rs 1.09-lakh-crore.

The cess collections stood at Rs 12,879-crore. Here, it must be pointed out that in May of last year (2024), the GST collection stood at Rs 1.72-lakh-crore.

Net GST revenue after refunds came in at Rs 1.74-lakh-crore, marking a robust northward climb of 20.4 per cent as compared to the previous year’s number.

A point to note here is that refunds in May slid four per cent to Rs 27,210-crore.

States such as Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu posted collection increases between 17-to-25 per cent. The western state of Gujarat and the two southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana registered more modest gains of up to six per cent.

Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan reported a median growth of around ten per cent.

India’s May Palm Oil Imports Climb 87 Per Cent

India’s oil palm imports in May surged to a six-month high as lower inventories and tropical oil’s discount to rival soyoil and sunflower oil prompted refiners to up purchases, according to dealers quoted in a leading news publication.

Higher palm oil and soyoil imports by the country could perk-up Malaysian palm oil prices and US soyoil futures. Here, the point to note is that India is the world’s largest buyer of vegetable oils.

Palm oil imports in May surged 87 per cent Month-to-Month (MoM) to six-lakh metric tonnes (MT), the highest since November of 2024, according to dealers.

India imported an average in excess of 7,50,000-tonnes of palm oil each month during the marketing year that ended in October 2024, said the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEAI).

Palm oil slid sharply southward from the January-to-April period due to its premium over soyoil, which led to lower stock levels in India, a dealer Mr Rajesh Patel, Managing Partner at GGN Research was quoted in the news publication as saying.

“Since palm oil started selling at a discount last month, Indian buyers have gone back to palm oil,” Mr Patel said.

The country’s vegetable oil stocks declined to 1.35-million tonnes as of May 1, the lowest since July 2020, according to SEAI data.

Soyoil imports in May increased ten per cent MoM to 3,98,000-tonnes, the highest since January, dealers said.

Higher imports of palm oil and soyoil elevated India’s total edible oil imports in May by 37 per cent from a month ago to 1.18-million tonnes, the highest since December, according to dealers’ estimates.

India halved the basic import tax on crude edible oils to 10 per cent just a few days ago to reduce food prices and provide a boost to local refining industry.

India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

Karnataka Clears Investment Proposals worth Rs 17,183-cr

Karnataka in south India is set to receive a major boost to its industrial growth with the state government approving investment proposals worth Rs 17,183-crore in the last week of May, through two high-level committees.

These investments are expected to generate around 12,500 jobs across the state.

The 65th State High-Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC) chaired by Karnataka’s Chief Minister Mr Siddaramaiah, cleared projects worth Rs 15,441-crore at its meeting held at the Vidhana Soudha.

These approved proposals are expected to create employment opportunities for 5,277 people.

Separately, the State-Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC), chaired by the Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development, Mr M B Patil, cleared Rs 1,741.6-crore worth proposals in the last week of May.

These are expected to generate around 7,219 jobs across the state.

India’s GDP Growth Rate to Decline from 6.5 pc to 6.2 pc in FY 26, says Nomura Report

India’s real GDP growth this fiscal (FY 26) will move southward from 6.5 per cent to 6.2 per cent, leading Japanese brokerage Nomura stated in a report.

In its research report, the globally well-known Japanese firm said that there is a “divergence” between growth in GST collections and across other high-frequency growth indicators like auto sales and bank credit growth.

As per official data released by the Indian government, real GDP growth reduced to 6.5 per cent in FY 25 from 9.2 per cent in FY 24.

The country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sees growth sustaining at 6.5 per cent, the official data showed.

“Our baseline view assumes GDP growth moderates to 6.2 per cent in FY 26 from 6.5 per cent in FY 25,” the Nomura report stated.

An important point that needs highlighting here is that the Japanese firm said that it preferred domestic-focussed sectors against exporters given the global uncertainties and also expects the investment cycle to get delayed because of the global uncertainties.

Consumption stocks have underperformed during the market correction since the peak in September 2024, it said, adding that the current macro-environment marked by low inflation, interest rate cuts and income tax cuts presents tailwinds to consumption.