-PTI An Assocham survey shows the 35-40% reduction in gifts from corporate houses was in sync with low-key festivities due to slowdown concerns Lucknow: Reeling under disruptions arising out of demonetisation and goods and services tax (GST) rollout, corporate India is going rather lukewarm in Diwali gifts, slashing the budget under the head by at least 35-40%, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said. A survey by industry chamber...

-The Hindu Any aggressive attempt to widen the fiscal deficit will land India’s economy in problems The sharp deceleration in the growth of the economy as revealed by the first quarter estimate of GDP released a month ago has been widely commented upon. The policy prescriptions needed to reverse the trend depend on our understanding of the factors responsible for the slowdown. Among other things, one factor that stands out is the...

-NetworkIdeas.org A slew of numbers released recently point to rather peculiar and contrary trends in India’s Balance of Payments. Exports have revived but the trade and current account deficits widen, pointing to an excess of foreign exchange expenditure relative to earnings. While the widening current account deficit points to a weakening Balance of Payments position, foreign exchange reserves are at record levels. The foreign exchange reserve increase is funded largely by capital...

-The Telegraph Lucknow: Parents of some of the 30 children who died over the past two days at a Gorakhpur medical college have alleged that as soon as the oxygen supply stopped and the deaths began, police were sent in to throw them out and pre-empt protests. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his government continued to insist today that the halted oxygen supply did not cause the deaths but at least one...

-Livemint.com The RBI survey for June 2017 shows people are as unhappy with their income growth, employment and economic well-being as they were before the Narendra Modi government came to power Perceptions matter. The government of the day will be able to garner more support if people feel their incomes are increasing or their employment prospects have improved. True, non-economic factors matter a lot and, throughout history, the ability to stage circuses...