-The Hindu After India’s economy collapsed in the first quarter of 2020-21 following the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, some economic indicators from September and October, from power consumption to GST collections, suggest that things are improving. But is this a sustainable recovery under way, or just an expression of pent-up demand combined with India’s festive-season spending? In a conversation moderated by Vikas Dhoot, Naushad Forbes and M....
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What sold or didn’t in lockdown: Bread, jam up, ice-cream down -Pranav Mukul and Anil Sasi
-The Indian Express While the two-month national lockdown generally dampened spending, fast-moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies saw certain unusual trends in demand in certain product categories, company executives said. As India remained locked down in April and May to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, people bought more bread, cheese, coffee, and jams — but less fruity cakes. They expectedly bought a lot of hand sanitisers — but not so expectedly,...
More »The myth of India’s import dependence -Rathin Roy
-Business Standard/ NIPFP In the wake of the growing military tension on the India-China border, there have been calls for boycott of Chinese products. These have little impact on strategic reality. Equally, the plea that India cannot afford to do without Chinese imports is not a truism. If bilateral tensions escalate, then there may be a scenario in which India and China cease to trade. How would the Indian economy be hit...
More »Green shoots in rural India set the stage for economic revival -Gireesh Chandra Prasad and Suneera Tandon
-Hindustan Times Business leaders expect a normal monsoon, record sowing of summer crops, improved winter harvest and a raft of government measures to help farmers and boost rural incomes to boost demand for goods ranging from two-wheelers to tractors. Businesses are banking on a bumper harvest and high rural incomes to drive demand for goods after the coronavirus pandemic stunted growth in the country’s cities, where most of the factories and offices...
More »Jean Drèze, development economist and social activist, interviewed by Shreehari Paliath (IndiaSpend.com)
-IndiaSpend.com Bengaluru: Global economic output is expected to contract by 4.9% in 2020 owing to the COVID-19 lockdown. India announced a lockdown on March 24, 2020, which was extended over two months, and continues in pockets of states depending on the spread of the disease, which has now infected more than half a million people in the country. The lockdown impacted millions of inter-state migrant workers who form the bulwark of India’s...
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