A recent report of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) brings forth the dichotomy between digital divide and India’s transition towards a cashless economy. The rural-urban divide in access to computer and internet is quite stark, according to the report entitled 'Key Indicators of Household Social Consumption on Education in India, July 2017 to June 2018'.   The 75th round National Sample Survey (NSS) report on education finds that...

-The Indian Express "Domestic demand has slowed more sharply than expected amid stress in the non-bank financial sector and a decline in credit growth," India-born IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said. Citing a sharp economic slowdown in India and other emerging markets, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday lowered growth estimate for the world economy to 2.9 per cent for 2019. Besides, the International Monetary Fund also trimmed India’s growth estimate...

-The Telegraph More than half of the country's small and marginal farmers continue to be left out of the ambit of formal finance A recent report by the Reserve Bank of India found that despite a plethora of schemes aimed at financial inclusion, only 40.9 per cent of small and marginal farmers have so far been covered by the banking system. Small and marginal farmers are defined as those with operational land...

-Newsclick.in Data confirms an acute demand crisis in rural India and beyond. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s latest statement on millennials contributing to the auto industry slowdown by shifting their preferences—choosing Ola or Uber ride-booking services instead of buying cars—is feeding many a meme on social media. Even before her statement, sections of industry and the banking sector had been pushing this argument. Not just private banking giants, such as Uday Kotak, but even...

-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...