-The Hindu Business Line The government must simplify and rationalise GST, kickstart rural consumption, revive agriculture and tackle the lack of credit for capital creation, says former PM Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an eminent economist himself, feels that the Narendra Modi-led government needs to come out of its habit of headline management and address the economic challenges which the country is facing today. “We cannot afford to deny that India is facing...

-The Hindu Business Line Home-grown payment systems corner over 60% of digital transactions New Delhi: India’s own Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) and RuPay cards have garnered over 60 per cent market share of the digital transactions business, pushing back global giants such as Mastercard and Visa. BHIM is a UPI-based payment interface that allows real-time fund transfer using a single identity, typically a mobile number or a name. Unified Payments Interface (UPI)...

-Livemint.com The problem escalated due to the government’s focus on infrastructure during 2002-09, especially with the efforts made to promote public-private partnerships The past two years or so have seen rapidly increasing stress in the Indian banking sector, with non-performing assets (NPAs) steadily climbing from under 3% to over 13% of total assets. Loan-loss provisioning for NPAs has seriously eroded the capital base of several banks, limiting their ability to make further...

-Livemint.com Close to 97% of the 8,370 respondents surveyed in Jharkhand’s Nagri block said they prefer in-kind food subsidies due to the hardships faced while withdrawing cash and accessing ‘rations’ New Delhi: An audit by the Jharkhand government of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) of food subsidy has found that most households prefer subsidised grains over cash transfers. Close to 97% of the 8,370 respondents surveyed in Jharkhand’s Nagri block said they prefer...

-The Hindu The judiciary doesn’t seem to fully appreciate the economic consequences of its judgments The number of legal disputes involving property, contract, labour, tax and corporate laws is bound to increase with an expanding economy. How they are adjudicated by courts not only has direct consequences for the disputants, but also shapes the behaviour of individuals and entities involved in production, commerce and banking. Judicial findings also influence decision-making of government...