-The Hindu All categories of manufacturing industries showed a contraction in production, with the worst affected being the automobile sector India’s factory output plummeted to record lows in March, with the Index of Industrial Production contracting 16.7%, reflecting the drastic impact of the countrywide lockdown that began on March 25. This comes after a positive growth of 4.5% recorded in February. Manufacturing sector output slumped 20% in March, while electricity generation shrank almost...

-The Hindu India slid into the pandemic crisis in the backdrop of economic downslide; fiscal stimulus has to be structured The impact of COVID-19 will be debilitating for the global as well as the Indian economies. Various institutions have assessed India’s growth prospects for 2020-21 ranging from 0.8% (Fitch) to 4.0% (Asian Development Bank). This wide range indicates the extent of uncertainty and tentative nature of these forecasts. The International Monetary Fund...

-The Hindu The economic crisis can be overcome only by raising the consumption of and investment for the poor Impoverishment among English workers during the early years of the Industrial Revolution had prompted Leicester framework knitters to frame this resolution in 1817: “… if liberal Wages were given to the Mechanics in general throughout the Country, the Home Consumption of our Manufactures would be immediately more than doubled, and consequently every hand...

-The Hindu Sharper contraction likely in Index of Industrial Production. Output at India’s core sector contracted by 6.5% in March, Commerce Ministry data show, reflecting the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent nationwide lockdown. The index of eight core sector industries, which form 40% of the weight of items included in the broader Index of Industrial Production (IIP), reflected a contraction in key parts of the economy in March, according...

-The Hindu The virus reveals how dependence on private sector-led economic growth has proved to be disastrous  Dr. Manmohan Singh’s 1991-92 Budget speech marked the beginning of the end of the ‘Licence Raj’ in India. The Budget also announced the reduction of import duties and paved the way for foreign-manufactured goods to flow into India. Following this, most of the manufacturing sector was opened up to foreign direct investment. India’s industrial policy...