Apart from gross domestic product (GDP) and gross value added (GVA), another indicator which shows whether an economy is thriving or stagnating is the growth in bank credit. Credit is a critical input in the production of goods and services. It is generally the case that during prosperous times, economic actors, who are engaged in different sectors or in various industry, take up bank loans to invest. The provisional data...

-The Hindu Business Line Firms seen to be largely cooperating New Delhi: To clear confusion over the new prices of items under the Goods and Services Tax, the Finance Ministry is working to set up a National Anti-Profiteering Authority to curb any unwarranted price hikes. “The process for selection of members and the Chairman will start soon. We are working to ensure that the authority can be set up by early next month,...

-The Hindu Business Line High inputs costs, low price for produce and water scarcity are major challenges Mumbai: Despite the Rs. 34,000 crore farm-loan waiver in Maharashtra, farmers’ lives are unlikely to change for the better as they will continue to be up against familiar problems such as high input costs, low prices for their produce, and scant water availability, say farm sector experts. They are of the opinion that the core issues...

-The Hindu Business Line Using just wholesale price index as deflator could distort real GDP. Price indices for all inputs and outputs would work better Prior to the introduction of the all-India Consumer Price Index, popularly known as CPI combined (rural plus urban), the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was the most useful price index in India. It measured the weekly rhythm of price movement in the country. Since 2009, WPI has been computed...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Modi government's efforts to cap the price of cardiac stents exposed the nexus between stent companies and hospitals in looting the public by overcharging them. But no action has been taken against either companies or hospitals. None of them paid penalties or faced charges for colluding to cheat the public. Contrast this with the US government which has, over the years, fined the three biggest...