Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed CII’s 125th anniversary today where he said that the government has taken ample steps to revive faltering economy as alarm bells ring for Indian economy. Stating that he has confidence in India’s growth story, PM Modi said that he is sure Indian economy will revive on the back of entrepreneurs, frontline warriors, industrialists and others who are working ceaselessly in these dire times. Further, he also enumerated the government’s recent efforts towards making India a self reliant economy and improving India’s farm and MSME sector. Top industry leaders including Uday Kotak and Vikram Kirloskar also attended the event where the panel discussed ‘how to get growth back’. Meanwhile, as coronavirus continues to take its toll on the world economy, India is no different and rating agency Moody’s Investors Services has also downgraded its India rating from Baa2 to Baa3 for the first time in couple of decades and has maintained a negative forecast for this year. The recently released GDP numbers and manufacturing data have also not been promising with fiscal deficit also increasing to 4.6%.
PM Modi HIGHLIGHTS at CII: Coronavirus may have slowed economy, but India will get its growth back
PM Modi HIGHLIGHTS at CII: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing CII's 125th anniversary where he said that the government has taken ample steps to revive faltering economy as alarm bells ring for Indian economy.
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The decisions taken by the Union Cabinet on Monday will bring about positive changes in the lives of farmers, labourers and workers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said as his government enters second year in office. These decisions will bring tremendous benefits to the farmers, street vendors and micro, small and medium enterprises, he said.
Govt approved a scheme to catalyse a subordinate debt of Rs 20,000 crore, partly guaranteed by the government, for stressed MSMEs. It cleared setting up a fund of funds, with an initial official corpus of Rs 10,000 crore, to facilitate equity infusion of Rs 50,000 crore into well-rated units that have growth potential. Through the fund, the government will hold up to 15% in these MSMEs.
The Cabinet on Monday decided to further widen the definition of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to enable thousands of more units to take advantage of various official benefits, and cleared a slew of proposals announced as part of the government’s Rs 21-lakh-crore relief package to soften the Covid-19 blow to small businesses.
Moody’s downgrade of India’s sovereign rating to lowest investment grade is mostly being overlooked by investors and economists alike since the effect of the cut is expected to be short-lived on investment flows. Moody’s downgrade was impending and is somewhat largely priced-in by the markets and any knee-jerk reaction in foreign exchange and rates markets would thus likely be short-lived, Madhavi Arora, Economist, Edelweiss, said in a report. With global policy backstops having improved global risk appetite, any outflows associated with Moody’s downgrade alone could be modest, Madhavi Arora added.
The government further eases the definition of MSMEs to Rs 1 crore investment and Rs 5 crore turnaround for micro industries and Rs 50 crore investment and turnaround of Rs 250 crore in medium enterprises.
Govt announces Rs 10,000 crore funds for MSME to get listed in the stock market. Nitin Gadkari said that along with the other investment, this fund will reach Rs 50,000 crore.
Government launches PM SWAN Nidhi, Prime Minister Street Vendors Atma Nirbhar Nidhi scheme for street vendors.
In an effort to provide support to MSMEs, the government said that it will buy stake in MSMEs with good ratings.
Stressed MSME fund will invest up to 15% in equity of MSMEs with a strong track record of exports, GST filings, healthy turnover, says Nitin Gadkari.
Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar announced that the minimum support prices for 14 kharif crops will be increased, in a measure to provide relief to India’s farmers.
Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar announced that the minimum support prices for 14 kharif crops will be increased, in a measure to provide relief to India’s farmers.
Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar announced that the minimum support prices for 14 kharif crops will be increased, in a measure to provide relief to India’s farmers.
The Union Cabinet yesterday approved major economic support measures for MSMEs, farmers, agricultural sector employees and street vendors, in what the government claimed were ‘historic’ decisions. Among the decisions taken, MSME definition was relaxed, and easier loans for street vendors and farmers were announced. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar announced that the minimum support prices for 14 Kharif crops will be increased, in a measure to provide relief to India’s farmers. Eventually, the government has hiked MSP for sunflower seed to Rs 5,885/100 kg, jowar hybrid to Rs 2,620/100 kg, maize to Rs 1,850/100 kg, and tur to Rs 6,000/100 kg.
The coronavirus-led crisis in India has made many states to ease labour laws in order to give a fillip to the economy and attract more investment. After Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced relaxation in its labour laws, Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh government has come up with a mega amendment in its labour laws. The latest move by the UP government has exempted businesses from the purview of almost all the labour laws for the next three years. The laws that are relaxed include those related to settling industrial disputes, occupational safety, health and working conditions of workers, and those related to trade unions, contract workers, and migrant labourers.
Even as the Narendra Modi-led government rolls out a special economic package as big as Rs 21 lakh crore, the industry has called it insufficient and has demanded more heavy lifting from the centre to boost demand in the market. Given the major disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the industry has asked for increased government spending, direct cash transfers to consumers, and deferment of taxes. In a survey conducted by a national trade body with responses of over 100 companies, most companies said that the stimulus package of the government did not benefit them and it was ineffective, The Indian Express reported. Many companies also said there was little fiscal support either to the industry or to the poor.
India’s core sector output contracted 38.1% in the month of April, reflecting how India’s economy has taken a toll as the country fights the coronavirus pandemic with a nation wide-lockdown. The core sector had expanded by 5.2% in the same period a year ago while it shrank 9% in the previous month. “In view of nationwide lockdown during April 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, various industries viz. Coal, Cement, Steel, Natural Gas, Refinery, Crude Oil, etc experienced a substantial loss of production,” the official release said. This is the biggest ever fall in the core sector data ever recorded.
The country’s fiscal deficit widened to 4.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2019-20 mainly on account of poor revenue realisation, according to official data. The deficit, which signifies the gap between government revenue and expenditure, is higher than the revised estimate of 3.8 per cent for the fiscal.
India’s economy in Q4 FY20 grew at a mere 3.1 per cent on-year, hurt by coronavirus pandemic and a nationwide lockdown that followed. While agriculture and mining sectors saw decent growth, manufacturing and construction activities contracted in the fourth quarter. Even as the GDP growth estimates surpassed most estimates made by various economists and rating agencies, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has mentioned that the data flow from the economic entities has been impacted due to the pandemic and therefore the quarterly and annual estimates are likely to be revised.
The NITI Aayog has proposed 17 measures to improve competitiveness of India’s external trade. The measures include establishment of a national trade network (NTN), improving information flow and making customs processes and IT systems more efficient. The government think-tank said time has come to set up an NTN on the lines of the GSTN (for goods and services tax), integrating all departmental data flows into one integrated system to enable all export-import related compliance online.
Terming the Rs 20 lakh crore package a “major step” in making the country ‘Atamnirbhar’ (self-reliant), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India will set an example of economic revival to the world which is currently fighting the menace of coronavirus. The package for Atamnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan would usher in a new era of opportunities for every Indian, be it farmers, workers, small entrepreneurs or youth associated with startups, the Prime Minister said in a letter to citizens on the occasion of completion of the first year of the Modi 2.0 government.
The manufacturing activity and business optimism in May stood at the second-weakest level on record in May even after the Narendra Modi-led government allowed businesses and industries to resume operations. The manufacturing PMI marginally increased from 27.4 in April to 30.8 in May despite the partial lifting of lockdown restrictions. Weaker demand in the market led to a slow output after April’s complete lockdown and consequently, firms cut staff numbers at the quickest pace since data collection began over 15 years ago, said the IHS Markit report released today. The coronavirus-led lockdown has led to a sharp deterioration in business conditions during May.
Our Reforms are systematic, planned, inter-connected and futuristic. For us, reforms means, taking bold decisions, says PM.
Have taken steps to bring relief to farmers via amendment of APMC Act. Farmers will now be able to sell their produce in their own terms, says PM.
PM Modi urges industry to come up with a detailed study of every sector and build consensus on reforms. We will undertake reforms across sectors based on the recommendations, he said.
India can increase exports & create jobs in furniture, ACs, leather, footwear. Urge industry to partner with rural india to create opportunities, says PM Modi.
Govt is providing infra to create agro processing clusters near rural areas. Govt considers the private sector a partner in nation building, says PM ModiPM
We will take structural reforms that will change course of the country; we will together build self-reliant India: PM Modi to industry
"Our government considers the private sector as an important partner of the government in its path to the self-reliant India," says PM Modi.
Self-reliant India is about -- Strong enterprises; generating employment; empowering people to come out and find solutions. Now, the need is that we make those products that are made in India, but made for the world. We have to cut our imports, says PM Modi.
"But, self-reliant India doesn’t mean that we remain dependent on others for our strategic needs. We don’t want to remain in that situation now" -- PM Modi.
Speaking at the CII event, PM Modi said that now the industry has a clear path - self-reliant India. "This means that we embrace the world with even more strength. Self-reliant India will be integrated more with the global ecosystem," he said.
India sent medical supplies to more than 150 nations, helping them fight coronavirus pandemic. You take two steps ahead, and the government will take four steps to support you. -- PM Modi
MSMEs will be able to grow without any concerns or fears. Now our MSMEs will not have to find ‘other ways’ to keep their ‘MSME’ status. The industry’s demand for updating MSME definition for a very long time. This demand is now fulfilled. -- PM Modi
'Now the government is doing things for which people had given up all hopes. We are also undertaking labour reforms, as well as agriculture reforms. 9 strategic sectors opened up where private industries were not allowed earlier'. -- PM Modi
PM Modi has said that five things are utmost important to make India a self-reliant economy. These are Intent, Inclusion, Investment, Infrastructure and Innovation.
We have to save lives from coronavirus, but on the other hand, we also have to stabilise and speed up the economy.
Modi congratulates CII for completing 125 years since inception. 'It is a very big thing to be in existence for 125 long years. You must have faced many challenges along the way.'
Stating that India will get its growth back, PM Modi said that he is confident India will be on growth trajectory soon becuase of its entrepreneurs, industry leaders.