-Livemint.com Barring sales of second-hand vehicles and new tractors, the auto industry remains badly hit. Vehicles used for transporting goods are among the worst-hit segments Will the Indian economy recover quickly from the June quarter lows? That’s the trillion dollar question facing investors today. One sector that offers vital clues in this regard is the automobile sector. Vehicle sales are among the key lead indicators of consumption and an important source of...

-The Hindu Two-wheelers continue to slide as virus adds to woes In a sign of reviving rural demand, tractor players M&M and Escorts posted a double-digit growth in sales in February 2020. M&M’s farm equipment sector (FES) said its domestic sales in February 2020 stood at 21,877 units, up 21% from the year-ago month. Exports, though, dropped 22% to 683 units, taking total tractor sales during the month to 22,561 units. This is a...

-The Hindu Business Line Noted Gandhian economist Dr Sudarshan Iyengar surveys the distressed agricultural landscape, pinpoints its weaknesses, and prescribes solutions with their roots in Gandhian agronomics. Edited excerpts from an interview to BusinessLine: * Given the agrarian crisis in India today, how relevant are Gandhi's economic principles based on the village economy, and equitable distribution of resources? They are relevant in the context of Gandhi's view of gram swaraj (village self-rule), which...

Among the measures announced by the Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 23rd August, 2019 to arrest economic downturn, the following are noteworthy: * Allow Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) vehicles (which are purchased till 31st March, 2020) to remain operational for the entire period of registration; * Government shall lift the ban on purchase of new vehicles for replacing all old vehicles by its various departments; *...

In the financial year 2017-18 when tractor sales touched new heights, it was said by many of the NDA (viz. National Democratic Alliance) government supporters that rural demand has revived on account of adequate monsoon rainfall and higher minimum support prices for crops. Many economists and newspaper columnists also denied the existence of any rural distress. An alternative perspective, however, was also presented by rural economists like Dr. Himanshu who teaches...