New Delhi: India has begun a detailed sector-wise analysis, drawing up multiple scenarios, to prepare for a possible increase in tariffs on product exports to the United States under the Donald Trump administration, multiple people familiar with the matter told ET. “Ministries and departments are examining various scenarios, apprehending such a move by the US and possible remedies,” one of the persons said. President-elect Trump on Tuesday had said the US will impose reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods because New Delhi imposes high tariffs on American goods. Independent experts said India could relook at import duty on specific products and…

Subscribers of retirement fund body EPFO and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation may soon be able to use the claim settlement amounts through e-wallets, a top official said on Wednesday. Replying to a question on EPF withdrawal from ATMs, Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment Sumita Dawra told PTI, “This is an area of great interest for the insured person, for a contributor. How can I withdraw my money more easily.” In cases of auto settlement… the money goes to the bank account and they in any case are able to withdraw it from the bank account, from any…

The economy will expand at a healthy pace in the coming quarters, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, terming the growth deceleration in the three months through September to 5.4% as a “temporary blip.” Replying to a debate on the first batch of supplementary demands for grants in the Lok Sabha, the FM also ruled out any “generalised slowdown” in manufacturing, growth in which had slumped to 2.2% in the second quarter. The lower house later approved the first batch of supplementary demand for grants for FY25, involving an additional net spending of ₹44,143 crore. Half the 43 manufacturing segments in…

India’s progressive sugar production during the ongoing 2024-25 sugar production season trails by 17% year-on-year due to higher diversion of sugar for ethanol and a late beginning of the sugarcane crushing operations in Maharashtra and Karnataka, said industry body Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers’ Association (ISMA). “Sugar production till December in the current season has reached 61.39 lakh tonnes, against 74.05 lakh tonnes produced last year on the corresponding date,” said ISMA. The increase in diversion of sugar for ethanol is one of the reasons for lower sugar production. “This year sugar diversion towards ethanol is estimated to be higher…

India’s business activity touched a four-month high of 60.7 in December, ending the year on a positive note with a rise in new business intakes, according to a private survey released on Monday. The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index, compiled by S&P Global, increased from November’s reading of 58.6. On average, the reading was 60.4 in 2024, compared with 59.6 in 2023. Both goods and services sectors reported increased output. The Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is a weighted average of comparable manufacturing and services PMI indices. The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI rose to 57.4 from a two-month…

There is no timeline for introduction of comprehensive regulatory guidelines for the Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) industry, Parliament was informed on Monday. Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) are by definition borderless and require international collaborations to prevent regulatory arbitrage. Therefore, any comprehensive regulatory framework on the subject can be effective only with significant international collaborations on evaluation of the risks and benefits and evaluation of common taxonomy and standards, Minister of State for Finance Pakaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Further, he said, the need to balance investor protection and innovation must be assessed in light…

New Delhi: India should diversify its IT exports to mitigate risks arising from potential tariffs under the Trump administration as a significant portion of India’s IT export revenue comes from the US, think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said Sunday. This is part of a five-pronged strategy to navigate a potential trade era under incoming US President Donald Trump. Lowering import tariffs, strengthening its data policies, rejecting the IPEF trade pillar and boosting Make in India are the other four suggestions for India. In a report, GTRI also highlighted that Mexico, Canada and the Asean benefited more from the US-China…

UPL-Sustainable AgriSolutions (UPL-SAS) is spearheading a transformative approach to Indian agriculture, leveraging technology, digital innovations, and a holistic strategy to address the complex challenges facing the country’s farming ecosystem, CEO Ashish Dobhal revealed in an exclusive interview. With agriculture spanning 400 million acres and involving 130 million farmers, 80-85 per cent of whom are smallholders, the company is reimagining its role from a crop protection product seller to a comprehensive solution provider. “Each state has its own nuance, cropping pattern, and cultural nuances of farming,” Dobhal explained, underscoring the intricate landscape of Indian agriculture. Emerging from a challenging period, Dobhal…

Mumbai: Bentley Systems, the Nasdaq-listed infrastructure engineering software company, does not see any slowdown in India’s infrastructure spending which will help its India business grow faster than the average of the company, said a senior company official. Bentley Systems develops, sells, and supports software for the design, construction, and operation of infrastructure. Their software is used in the building, plant, civil, and geospatial markets. “Even though a lot of infrastructure work is done by engineering firms and private companies, it is tied to public funding, and there’s no slowdown in public funding for infrastructure. Infrastructure investments are going to be…

New Delhi: Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) has provided Rs 2 lakh life insurance coverage to over 21 crore beneficiaries, ensuring financial security for families in times of uncertainty, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday. The Finance Ministry in a social media post on X added that the cumulative enrolment under the PMJJBY has recorded at 21.67 crore, and the cumulative number of claims received was 860,575, worth Rs 17,211.50 as of October 20 this year. PMJJBY is a one-year life insurance scheme renewable from year to year, offering coverage for death due to any reason. Persons in…

The group of ministers (GoM) on compensation cess will likely approach the GST Council, seeking an extension beyond the December 31 deadline to firm up its report, a person aware of the matter said. The 10-member GoM under Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary may need at least six more months to wrap up discussions and finalise the report, given the complexity of the matter, said the person. The GST Council will take a final call on the extension, most likely in its next meeting scheduled for December 21. The GoM was set up in September to make…

India’s economic growth forecast for the financial year 2024-25 has been revised downward by Fitch Ratings, now standing at 6.4%, a drop from its earlier estimate of 7.0%. The downgrade follows the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) recent decision to cut its own growth projection for the same period to 6.6%, down from 7.2%. “Fitch forecasts India’s GDP to expand by 6.4% in the financial year ending March 2025 (FY25) and 6.5% in FY26, slowing from the 8.2% pace in FY24. However, India’s economic growth remains strong relative to that of global peers and supports our asset performance forecast.” the…

NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry Thursday said that the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) has so far acquired 22 accounts with an exposure of Rs 95,711 crore, and banks resolved 28 accounts worth Rs 1.28 lakh crore through other resolution mechanisms, subsequent to offers made by NARCL. The secretary, department of financial services (DFS), M. Nagaraju, chaired review meetings Thursday with stakeholders, including representatives from Public Sector Banks, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), and the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL). He urged Banks to strengthen synergies with NARCL for…

New Delhi: The government on Thursday sought Parliament’s nod for additional net expenditure of Rs 44,143 crore in the current fiscal, mainly on account of higher spending by agriculture, fertiliser and defence ministries. The first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2024-25 was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary to seek approval of Parliament to authorise gross additional expenditure of Rs 87,762.56 crore. Of this, proposals involving net cash outgo aggregate to Rs 44,142.87 crore and gross additional expenditure, matched by savings of the Ministries/ Departments or enhanced receipts/recoveries, aggregates to Rs…

NEW DELHI: The Union Agriculture Ministry has suggested that district administration should be involved in procurement of onion to ensure transparency and check irregularities in the purchase process. In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs B L Verma said, the Department of Agriculture constituted a fact finding committee to look into allegations of irregularities in the procurement of onions under Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) by National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED). The department, vide OM (office memorandum) dated 4th November, 2024, “conveyed the suggestions that concerned district administration should be…

The Labour Ministry is upgrading its IT systems for enhanced services to India’s workforce. EPFO subscribers will be able to withdraw from their provident funds directly from ATMs starting next year, said Labout Secretary Sumita Dawra on Wednesday. “We are settling claims quickly and are working to make the process easier to improve the ease of living. A claimant, beneficiary, or insured person will be able to access their claims conveniently through ATMs, with minimal human intervention,” Dawra said. “Systems are evolving, and every two to three months, you will notice significant improvements. I believe there will be a major…

Mumbai: Ahead of the GST Council meeting on December 21, payment gateway operators have made representations to the finance ministry against levying 18% GST on commissions earned on small-value digital payments up to ₹2,000, multiple people in the know said. Payment gateways have submitted that any tax levy will hurt the growth of digital payments as they will pass on the added burden to merchants. The council will consider a proposal on levying GST as the Fitment Committee sees payment aggregators as facilitators for card transactions. Currently, these firms charge a payment gateway fee of 0.5% to 2% on each…

India is likely to produce a record amount of sugar in the next marketing year from October after millions of farmers expanded cane cultivation, encouraged by ample water supplies and declining prices of competing crops, farmers and industry officials told Reuters. The rebound in production would allow the world’s second-largest sugar producer to resume exports in 2025/26, they said, after a lack of rain cut cane yields and led to two years of restrictions. Indian exports could cap global sugar prices, traders said, by increasing supplies in the world market at a time when dry weather is widely expected to…

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government can explore establishing a township for data centres along the Delhi-Mumbai expressway in the state, Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Monday. Addressing a session on manufacturing and industry 4.0 at the Rising Rajasthan Investment Summit here, Goyal said: “Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma said he is scouting for land between Delhi and Jaipur to establish an artificial intelligence city or a city for setting up data centres that support AI.” According to Goyal, this city could offer working opportunities to professionals or to students graduating from universities in the state. “This city…

Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in India is expected to decline to 5.5 per cent year-on-year in November, compared to 6.2 per cent in October, according to a recent report by Morgan Stanley. The report anticipated that the monthly index will register a sequential decline, primarily attributed to falling food prices. The report also pointed to a deceleration in core CPI, which includes goods and services excluding food and fuel, as a contributing factor. It said, “We expect CPI inflation to edge downwards to 5.5 pcY in November from 6.2pcY in October, aided by a moderation in food prices, even…

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will have to infuse more liquidity into the banking system through additional measures as the expected impact of the 50-basis-point cash reserve ratio (CRR) cut announced Friday will likely wane within a few months, economists said. The central bank will likely use other liquidity instruments, like open market operations (purchases), foreign exchange swaps, and long-term variable rate repo auctions (VRR), they said. The RBI in its policy statement on Friday said that it will continue to be ‘nimble and proactive’ in its liquidity management operations to ensure that money market interest rates evolve…

New Delhi: Industry body CII has suggested the government to stick to the fiscal deficit target of 4.9 per cent of GDP for 2024-25 and 4.5 per cent for 2025-26, cautioning that “overly aggressive targets” beyond these could adversely affect India’s economic growth. “India has been growing rapidly amidst a slowing global economy. Prudent fiscal management for macroeconomic stability has been pivotal to this growth,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, elaborating on suggestions for the forthcoming Union Budget. CII also highlighted the announcement in the Union Budget 2024-25 to keep the fiscal deficit at levels that help reduce the…