-The Hindu We need to revisit the credit policy with a focus on the outreach of banks and financial inclusion Since Independence, one of the primary objectives of India’s agricultural policy has been to improve farmers’ access to institutional credit and reduce their dependence on informal credit. As informal sources of credit are mostly usurious, the government has improved the flow of adequate credit through the nationalisation of commercial banks, and the...
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Higher food prices accelerate retail inflation in October
-The Economic Times Consumer inflation touched a seven-month high in October denting hopes of rate cut when the Reserve Bank of India reviews the monetary policy next month. Retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) rose to 3.58% in October from 3.28% in September, data released by the government showed. “While we expect the RBI’s March 2018 projection to be revised down a notch, but October’s CPI and the likelihood...
More »One year after demonetisation: Credit card use up but balance due surges by 39 per cent -George Mathew
-The Indian Express In fact, card outstandings have shot up by 77.74 per cent in the last two years, from Rs 33,700 crore in September 2015. Mumbai: Nearly A year after demonetisation, credit card usage has seen a sharp rise with outstandings rising 38.7 per cent during the 12 months ended September 2017. The total credit card outstandings - money spent by card holders and not repaid to the card company or...
More »Gujarat is offering 0%-interest loans to farmers but its record on long-term support is patchy -Nitin Sethi
-Scroll.in The state’s expenditure on agriculture and irrigation has fallen since 2013-’14. In the run-up to the Gujarat assembly elections, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on October 16 announced that his government would offer interest free-loans to farmers who borrow up to Rs 3 lakh and pay the amount back on time. Many Opposition politics criticised this as a populist measure, aimed at garnering votes for Rupani’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Reducing the interest...
More »Narendra Modi gets a stellar economic advisory panel but will he listen to it in an election year? -Seetha
-Firstpost.com So, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has got his three wise men and one wise woman to advise him on managing the economy. The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) has been revived with Bibek Debroy as chairman and Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy and Ashima Goyal as members. Ratan Watal, a career bureaucrat, will be member secretary. No one can deny that it’s a great team with impeccable credentials, both as economists...
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