Month: August 2018

India to exceed 7.5% growth in FY19, say economic affairs secretary

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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With 8.2 percent growth in the first quarter, the Indian economy has completed its recovery process and will exceed 7.5 percent growth rate in fiscal 2018-19, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said on Friday.

He also said the country will meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3 percent and expressed his belief that both oil price hike and rupee depreciation are temporary.

“With this quarter, I think the V-shaped recovery process is complete,” Garg told reporters.

As per an official data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the GDP at 2011-12 prices in the first quarter of 2018-19 registered a growth of 8.2 percent, up from 7.7 percent in Q4 of 2017-18 and 5.6 percent from a year-ago corresponding quarter.

“We predicted growth would be in the range of 7 to 7.5 percent annually. I think we are reasonably confident now that we might even exceed the higher end of our projection and therefore Indian economy would be performing robustly and will definitely be the highest growing economy in the world,” the Finance Ministry official said.

Sharing highlights of the GDP data, he said 13.5 percent growth in the manufacturing sector though on a low base of last year signals a very good turnaround.

“Another notable point is the robust capital formation. This quarter we grew by 10 percent building on the last quarter growth of 14.4 percent. This has started getting reflected in the ratio of the investment in the economy.

“We had 31 percent investment rate last year, it is now 31.6 percent thanks to the gross capital formation coming up very well,” he said.

On the possibility of touching double-digit growth rate, he said 10 percent growth might happen in a quarter but 10 percent for an annual growth is very ambitious and may not happen. In nominal terms, the growth in the quarter was 12.5 percent, he said.

Further, he said 8.2 percent growth in the first quarter over 5.6 percent growth in the corresponding quarter last fiscal cannot be simply explained by the base effect.

On fiscal deficit for April-July, which stood at Rs 5.40 lakh crore accounting for 86.5 percent of the full year’s target, Garg said the government deliberately follows a pattern of more expenditure and less revenue in the first quarter and more revenue and relatively less expenditure in the last quarter.

“So, the fiscal deficit of 86 percent in first four months does not indicate any severe fiscal stress. We are exactly on our plans as far as fiscal management is concerned. We are perfectly confident that the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 percent will not be exceeded at all.”

On rising crude oil prices and rupee depreciation, the Secretary said he hoped that both the factors are temporary and there will be little impact on inflation.

“The inflation number so far suggests a very moderate, well-controlled inflation. We had 4.17 percent inflation last month. Inflation in aggregate is in a very comfortable zone. However, I do recognise that oil price increase and rupee depreciation will have inflationary implications. I hope both these factors are temporary,” he said.

Garg also said the capital account performance of the economy was doing well with 13-14 percent hike in FDI in the first quarter and signs of reversal in FPIs.

“Therefore even in the capital account, we should have a steady performance going and that is what gives me confidence that with our reserves and the capital flows emerging, the temporary volatility you see in the rupee should be gone,” he added.

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US court may help recover dues from Nirav Modi, says union minister PP Choudhary

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Minister of state for corporate affairs, PP Choudhary said that US court may help recover dues from Nirav Modi as their law is very strict and operating for many years.

“We hope that substantial amount of money will be recovered once this resolution is over. I think Punjab National Bank (PNB) will be in a beneficial position,” Choudhary said.

He also said Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is inspecting six companies, namely, NuPower Renewables, Supreme Energy, Videocon Industries, Pacific Capital Services, NuPower Wind Farms and Echanda Urja.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, minister of state for corporate affairs, PP Choudhary, said that debt-ridden Jet Airways is also under the scanner.

Watch: Union minister PP Choudhary says SFIO probing 6 companies; Jet Airways also under scanner

According to Choudhary, time to time review is taken by the ministry with respect to working of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and is trying to stick to the timeline prescribed under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

A few days back, the ministry had ordered inspection of books and papers with regards to Jet Airways, Choudhary said.

Edited Excerpts:

Can you update us on the Nirav Modi PNB fraud case?

So far as the Nirav Modi case is concerned a petition was filed in the US under the US Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. In that petition, the government of India moved an application for impleadment as a party and that application was allowed by the US Court and PNB is also being treated as a creditor.

The US law is very strict and is in operation for last so many years, so we hope that substantial amount of money will be recovered once this resolution is over. I think PNB will be in a beneficial position.

We hear that now Mehul Choksi has also applied for a Bankruptcy application in the US court. Again that is where PNB is again an aggrieved party in that case as well. Do you think India will now again move an application in that case?

I am of the view that because the same circumstances exist another case which you have referred to, in that case also the government of India will also move an application.

At the same time, I am also of the view that PNB will also move an application for treating them as a creditor so that they shall be in a position to recover those dues.

Allahabad High Court recently decided on the RBI February 12 circular. It is understood that now there will be further pressure on NLCT when it comes to the cases related to power companies etc. Today there is a high level committee meeting, how soon would you think NCLT would like to take over these cases and is it  strengthened enough to handle such a huge volume of the number of cases that are coming to it?

Time to time review is undertaken by our ministry with respect to the working of the NCLT – how many cases are being filed and how many cases are being disposed off. So, wherever there is the need of creating more benches, they are being created depending upon the workload.

Where there is the need to create more judges then we are also appointing those judges and everything is in pipeline. So, de-clogging the cases it is not possibly a reason being every time the cases are being filed and cases are being disposed off, it is a continuous process.

We can’t say that we can stop the cases, the NCLT is meant for that. So, that is why you can say that the time limit prescribed under the IBC to dispose of the cases that is required to be maintained and we are trying to maintain that.

Some more judges are being appointed and where more than one court is required at one particular place just like in Delhi and Mumbai, we have created more judges and more benches also.

A lot of SFIO reports are pending, SFIO right now is examining a lot of cases, Bhushan Steel, ICICI, Fortis, Religare, we are yet to see any substantial report coming in any of these cases. How soon can we see a report coming out because SFIO is the basic tool to prove that whether a serious fraud has happened or not, other investigative agencies are doing their bit, we get to hear time to time what are the movements on that but when it comes to SFIO we haven’t heard for past some time, what is it doing when it comes to these cases and how soon will it submit its report?

So, far as the working of the SFIO is concerned with respect to inspection of papers and documents in respect to all these companies is in process. Midway we cannot say that no report is submitted. The report is submitted to the government, so that is in progress. I think they are doing a good job and earliest possible the inspection and all the formalities will be completed by the SFIO.

Which are the cases which are currently under examination by SFIO?

Ministry has ordered inspection of books and papers of some of the companies under Section 206(5) of the Companies Act 2013. Some of the companies are NuPower Renewables, Supreme Energy, Pacific Capital Services, Videocon Industries, NuPower Wind Farms Limited and Echanda Urja Private Limited. Inspection with respect to all these companies are in progress.

This is specifically to the ICICI-Videocon and NuPower case?

Yes, all these inspections are in progress.

What about Jet Airways? Off late RoC has called for a formal inspection on Jet Airways, what is it meant to be?

For Jet Airways also ministry has already ordered inspection of books and papers and that is also in progress. Recently it has been done.

When was Jet Airways given to RoC?

I don’t know the exact date but it was a few days back.

When we talk of the recent report that was submitted to Minister of Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitely, by the ministry on de-clogging and de-criminalisation of NCLT, the report has suggested and introduced a set of new norms for commencement of business.

What is your view and how will it help in curbing the menace of shell companies?

So many other recommendations are there but with respect to the compoundable and non-compoundable offences. As far as the compoundable offences are concerned, in house mechanism is being created which is technology based.

So, unnecessarily the cases will not go out and it will de-clog the NCLT. As far as the non-compoundable assets are there no change has been recommended by the committee.

So far as the commencement of business is concerned because it is very essential, we have seen a large number of shell companies created on account of the fact that there was no declaration require for a commencement of the business.

Once the company is created then they are required to declare the commencement of that business. So, all these recommendations by the committee is there, those recommendations have been made to the government and government is examining those recommendations and we will take the decision very soon.

After taking a decision and finalising on the report how would you now incorporate these suggestions in the Companies Act?

These recommendations are related to the amendment of the Companies Act, so the government has to take a decision whether we should come out with the ordinance or we should come out with the bill directly in the winter session of the parliament.

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GDP growth hits 2-year high: Here is what experts have to say

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Growth engines are firing once again and the economy is off to a flying start in the new financial year.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate has hit the magic number of 8.2 percent in the April-June quarter. This is the highest in the last two years. There was some impact of the low base because growth in the first quarter last year was at a modest 5.7 percent thanks to demonetisation and GST rollout. Nonetheless, 8.2 percent is much better than what the street was expecting.

The economy also fired on all cylinders – agriculture growth was at 5.3 percent, manufacturing was at a robust 13.5 percent, and construction growth was at 8.7 percent.

Capital formation is at a healthy 10 percent so, is this growth rate sustainable or is this too fast for our good.

Pronab Sen, former chief statistician, Sajjid Chinoy, senior economist at JP Morgan and Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic advisor of SBI, discuss GDP data with CNBC-TV18’s Latha Venkatesh.

Pronab Sen, is this a great number, 8.2 percent or is it that 5.7 percent takes away part of the glory, part of the sheen and it is really just about 7-7.5 percent?

Sen: If you correct for the base that is about right but the thing is 8.2 percent is a good number but there are good parts and bad parts. You already mentioned some of the good ones like agricultural growth, manufacturing, what you did not mention is construction.

However, there are some worrying signs as well. The first and the most important worrying sign is that services has come down way below what it has been maintaining over the last several years. I have no idea as to why that has happened. It is something we need to analyse because services have been a major driver.

The other one which I don’t think people have noticed is that public services, which is essentially government services, that has come down dramatically. It is about 11 percent off now and the likelihood is that going forward it is going to come down to somewhere around 6-7 percent.

So, while we should all be very pleased with these numbers especially because of agriculture and construction, we should be a little concerned that we don’t go into a state of euphoria. My own sense is next quarter we will be looking at something closer to 7.5 percent.

Sajjid Chinoy, your first thoughts from the numbers, the good, the bad if any?

Chinoy: I think we should accept that the glass is two thirds full but one-third is empty. Eight percent is in large part because you had a very weak base in the same quarter last year but we had all built that into our forecast of 7.5 or 7.6 percent.

The fact that it has surpassed market expectations suggests that growth is really strong.

Just want to clarify what Pronab Sen said, I think it is easy to read the numbers and say the industry is growing at 10 percent, services at 7 percent, this is all manufacturing and industrial led, my reading is exactly the opposite.

If you go back four quarters ago the 10 percent industrial growth was on a base of 0.1 percent. In fact, in our view, the upside surprise happened on the services side because it was contending with a base of 9.5 percent growth in the same quarter last year.

On that base of 9.5 percent to grow above 7 percent I think was very impressive. So, I draw the opposite conclusion that the high-frequency data had been telling us for a while that services has been surprising to the upside, the PMIs have been very strong in services, manufacturing has actually been a bit disappointing.

So, my interpretation is the opposite that the buoyancy that we are seeing on the ground is services which correlates much more with domestic demand. Industry sounds good in this report because it is a weak base but it is not firing as strong as these numbers suggested and in a way it is understandable because it is geared more to the exports cycle and exports have been a tad bit disappointing.

So, a good strong number helped by a good base in my view reflecting strong domestic demand but like Pronab Sen said, as the year goes on and as the base normalises, we should expect that year on year growth rates will begin to ascent down but even if they are above 7 percent, that will be a very good showing in a challenging global environment.

You said you would take away 0.5 percent for the base but I was trying to look at it as a two-year average. If you looked at FY17 number and you looked at the FY19 number then it is a 14.26 percent growth, so that would work out to 7.1 percent. That looks just about par for the course. Therefore is it very celebratory?

Ghosh: I tend to agree with you and I also tend to partly agree with Sajjid and what Pronab Sen said. I believe that on the overall headline basis if we calculate, as Sajjid was saying manufacturing is coming over a negative base and in manufacturing, this was expected because we had a very strong corporate GVA growth in Q1. So, that was expected.

However, my sense is that on the GVA numbers there could be actually 40-50 basis points impact but the impact on the GDP could be actually higher than what we have estimated and there your 7.1 or 7.2 percent conjecture comes.

So, GDP obviously has been helped by a stronger base much more than even the GVA base because we also had the indirect taxes and subsidies part which is contributing to that, that is the first point.

The second point, where I like to differ with Pronab Sen is on agricultural growth rate. The growth of 5.3 percent is a very good but if you pull out it  and the allied activities growth rate, you will actually find a startling revelation that for the last three to four quarters the contribution, and this time if you strip out the allied sector activities, the agricultural growth rate actually comes to around 2.5 percent.

So, food grain is still stuck at 2-2.5 percent growth rate and that for me is a challenging thing.

The other factor in the agricultural sector which I just want to highlight is the deflator. If I calculate all the deflators, the agricultural deflator continues to remain at very low levels.

The way the prices are behaving, I am not sure whether this deflator will actually inch up from there and that to me is a matter of concern because the sector continues to be plagued by depressed prices and this could be a headwind going forward in my view.

Political headwind or aggregate demand headwind?

Ghosh: It could be a both, it could be a political or aggregate demand headwind because if we actually look to the aggregate bank portfolio, in the first quarter you will find that the agricultural NPA as a percentage of advances has risen for most of the banks.

So, that is a worrying sign, when we are actually having a correction in the asset quality cycle so that is moving the opposite way.

Should be worry about the fact that agricultural deflator is very low? In a way it is good if agriculture output is not much more than 2.5 percent because we are reaching some kind of self-sufficiency in food isn’t it?

Sen: That is what is being talked about is crop agriculture. As far as foodgrains are concerned it has always hung around 2-2.5 percent, I mean this is nothing, and practically all the growth in crop agriculture has come essentially from vegetables.

Leaving that aside, I think the point that Soumya Kanti Ghosh made is an important one. So, it is not just the 1.6 in agriculture. If you take the total GDP deflator and you go for the agricultural price increase what you are getting is enormous increase in non-agricultural prices, unacceptably high levels.

So, what he was talking about is not that farmers are making roughly zero addition of income they are actually getting negative real income. When you are talking about headwinds this is a big headwinds.

Would we be right in saying that now we are probably pushing upward in terms of potential growth? Potential growth had steeply fallen after that big growth from 2003 to 2010. Now do you think we have troughed out and maybe these are long-term trends that our potential growth is set to increase?

Chinoy: Itis a bit premature to say and for the simple reason that if potential growth had increased meaningfully in the last year or two then the growth we have seen in the last few quarters which have been upwards of 7 percent would not have been accompanied by higher core inflation.

So, if you are running at potential and you are not running above potential then core inflation would not have picked up from 3.5 percent in the middle of the last year to 5.50 percent earlier this year. And 5 percent because that is the proof of the pudding that if your potential has picked up you should be able to run at 7.5-8 percent growth and not stoke core inflation.

That is also consistent with the fact that as we have discussed in the past, investment to GDP in the last few years has trended down and that is not consistent with arguing that potential growth is picking up.

Now India is not alone in this. If you just take a larger view you step back after the global financial crisis and you see both for developed markets and for emerging markets potential growth has come down for different reasons. For the developed market it is because populations are ageing and productivity growth has fallen very sharply and for a variety of other emerging markets it is the same rationale.

So, this is not to say India’s potential will not go up in the future. It will, but for that to happen I think we need to see investment to GDP go up and capital deepening to happen which will stoke total factor productivity growth. The higher potential in the mid 2000’s was a direct consequence of much higher productivity growth.

Would you agree too early to talk about potential growth improving?

Sen: Yes, I don’t think potential growth is any more than 7.2 percent at this point. Which was roughly what it was in 2004.

Would you say the time has come to cool down aggregate demand a little more, a third back to back rate hike is warranted?

Ghosh: In terms of the growth rate I will say that. If you look into the RBI statements and its intervention patterns in the foreign exchange market in the last couple of days, I think there is a possibility in the central bank circles that more amount of forex intervention actually leads to increased cost and over a point of time that may not be beneficial for the economy because it leads to higher term structure of interest rates.

If that is the possible thinking and given the fact that RBI possibly has not been intervening aggressively in the rupee market in the last couple of days, the rupee is now close to 71, possibly it could breach that, possibly it could rebound.

I think not because of cooling down aggregate demand but because we had two successive rate hikes and that will play out over a point of time and also the fact that the inflation number this month could go well below 4 percent because food prices continue to remain significantly depressed.

My sense is that if the central bank is not in favour of too much of depletion of foreign exchange reserves, it could look at other options to defend the currency if it continues to depreciate and against that background one of the possible options – text book prescription is a rate hike.

So, that we need to see whether that is the thinking or it wants to see some of the numbers play out before trying to stem the fall in the value of the rupee if it continues to do so.

Your thoughts Sajjid, isn’t it time to cool aggregate demand a little more – a October rate hike?

Chinoy: The October meeting will be a dilemma. I think the MPC moved in June and August precisely because it thought those back to back rate hikes would buy it some time. We all anticipated that inflation because of base effects would optically come down, the inflation number in fact was a surprise to the downside and in September you could get a sub 4 percent number but that is all water under the bridge.

We are seeing emerging markets with current account deficits come under sustained pressure over the last couple of weeks, if that pressure continues on emerging markets and on India for the rest of the month, it will be very hard for the RBI not to do something in October not matter what the inflation point says because we can’t be losing reserves at this pace.

There is no reason to panic, we have enough but what we are realising in this world is orthodox signalling from emerging central banks matters a lot.

Indonesia had to front load and that has helped calm some of those markets, Turkey and South Africa have not and they have paid a heavy price. So, RBI will have to look forward and say, we have had a depreciation which was healthy, that is going to have some inflationary consequences going forward, oil is now upwards of $75 and if the rupee is under sustained pressure, I won’t rule out a rate hike in October.

I think it will come down squarely to the rupee. If the rupee settles down and this is just a two week story, I think the October meeting will be a pause. If all of September we have this kind of stress, I think the central bank will have little choice but to move in October, you can’t wait three months for the next rate hike in the kind of turbulent global environment we are seeing.

We have been arguing for a while that some degree of currency depreciation is good, it is healthy and we have already begun to see that in today’s numbers.

We have had a 6 percent real depreciation in the first six months of the year and already in the second quarter the drag from net trade in today’s GDP number is meaningfully less, it is lowest in the last five quarters.

So, these things do pan out eventually. The more the exchange rate works, the less we have to curb aggregate demand to contain the current account deficit.

Pronab Sen, time to cool aggregate demand, another rate hike?

Sen: There is another factor which we haven’t taken into account and this is going to come into play in the last two quarters, is the election effect. Traditionally every time elections have happened the demand side has boosted by anywhere around 0.4-0.5 percent of GDP.

I see no reason to believe why it is going to be different this time around. It isn’t going to be different. So, if the RBI does factor it into account, they are potentially looking at a massive increase on the aggregate demand front and they may have to take measures at that point which would make for very interesting economics in the country.

So, what you are saying is for the rest of the fiscal not just one more but possibly two more hikes?

Sen: That depends. The election impact usually starts 4-5 months before, so it could begin in the third quarter or it may begin at the end of the third quarter and mostly in the fourth quarter. So, that is something that people will have to keep their eye open for.

What is the chance of a far more pronounced improvement in growth because we often tend to – there have been times when people underestimate the bounce up. You have a rupee depreciation effect which could increase growth, as you said an aggregate demand effect could increase growth, the NPA cycle is definitely ending, that could have its own buoyancy impact, do you think we are actually going to be surprised and although there is a big base effect for the third and the fourth quarter, is there a good chance that we are going to end the year as well with a 7.8 percent kind of growth?

Sen: The big problem in all of this is agricultural distress. You are talking about a very large percentage of the population whose real incomes are going down.

So, you have these other effects playing out but agricultural prices just continue to get weaker month on month and that is a worry. So, that is going to be major dampening factor. If construction keeps up, we are keeping our fingers crossed, yes we could have an upside.

How much would you revise up the growth forecast for the full year?

Chinoy: We are going to revise it up closer to 7.3 percent. There are some tailwinds you mentioned but also some headwinds. Oil at $77 this year is a negative in terms of trade shock and monetary conditions are beginning to tighten or have tightened in the last few months and may tighten more if the currency is under some pressure and the RBI has to move.

Deleveraging is progressing and that is going to have some dividends down the road but we are not seeing credit growth accelerate sharply. So, I think if we can end the year with 7.3 percent which is our current forecast, I think India will be doing very well in a turbulent global environment.

Your final number for the full year has it changed from what it was before you saw this Q1 GDP number?

Ghosh: No. We have GDP GVA at 7.3 percent and GDP at 7.4 percent. One small observation I would like to make, today the credit growth number has also come and if we look into the data, credit growth is up only in the personal loans and the housing segment and it is down in all other segments.

So, that indicates that the demand growth which we are talking about is still not yet achieved within the economy. So, that will be one factor at the back of all the policy decisions going forward also.

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Law commission endorses proposal for simultaneous polls: Here’s what experts have to say

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies is a solution to prevent the country from being in constant election mode, the law commission on Thursday in its draft report and recommended changes in the Constitution and the electoral law to hold the mammoth exercise.

The draft report submitted to the law ministry recommended “holding of simultaneous elections to House of the People (Lok Sabha) and the State Legislative Assemblies (except the State of Jammu and Kashmir). ”

The commission said the country is perpetually in election mode and governance always takes a back seat. “If we want to save money, improve governance and reduce pressure on security agencies then simultaneous elections are the way forward,” it said.

The reports suggested three options in favour of the idea but it also adds that simultaneous polls are not possible under the current constitutional framework.

At least 13 parties have backed the idea and as many have opposed it. CNBC-TV18 caught up with Fuad Halim leader of CPI(M), Narendra Taneja, BJP spokesperson, T S Krishnamurthy former CEC, Rohan Gupta, spokesperson of Congress to discuss the law commissions report.

T S Krishnamurthy:  Theoretically it is a very attractive proposition from the point of view of the management of elections because these days there is too much of muscle power, money power, hatred and violence and this continues for every election.

If we can find out a method by which we can avoid this too much hatred, violence, money power and muscle power, it may be a good idea to have simultaneous elections. Unfortunately, the constitutional position as it is now, it is not possible to implement unless it is amended.

However, if we can have all the election reforms by which you can avoid muscle power, money power, violence and hatred, there may not be a need for simultaneous elections. It is justifiable on the ground that you will save time, it will allow the governments to function.

Rohan Gupta: If you see the Indian Constitution, we have a system of Lok Sabha election, we have a system of assembly elections and we have a system of local body elections. Why this system is in place is because each election is fought on a different kind of issues. Local elections are fought for local issues, state elections are fought on regional issues and Lok Sabha elections are fought on national issues.

When you are clubbing all the elections, there will be over focus on national issues and people who want good governance around them in form of smaller councillors or MLAs will lose that opportunity.

Narendra Taneja: The point is that when you attack institutions, I don’t really think it helps you or it helps democracy. You can have your points of disagreement, but the Law Commission is saying something you can also disagree. But don’t attack, don’t say that they are doing at the behest of any political party whether it is BJP or any other political party.

I don’t really think it helps democracy at all. Point is that the BJP has a certain point of view which we have talked about at various levels including with the Prime Minister.

We have our view, you have the right to disagree with it that is the democracy is all about. The election commission has come out with its own view. Different political parties are coming out with their own views. You can express your views and you can go to law commission, you could go wherever, you go to the biggest court – the people of India. That is how democracy works. But if you say that you disagree with us, you say that BJP is plotting something if that is what you are trying to say that is highly unfair. That is highly undemocratic.

Fuad Halim: Primarily, one has to understand that the Law Commission is an executive body of the government of India and it is formed by people nominated by the centre. It is neither an elected body nor a body which has been mandated by the people of India directly.

Hence, I see the opinion of the Law Commission of India being an extension of the political understanding of the BJP at this point if time. Now, this idea and attitude has a very dangerous logical end because if you are saying you want to reduce money power and muscle power in elections then the best way to actually it in elections to have no election at all.

It is very clear if you don’t have any elections then no scope for money power and muscle power. So, I think so this is a very dangerous attitude taken up by the political party and they are voicing themselves to the law commission.

The second point is one has to understand when India gained Independence we started off with a singular elections, the state elections and the central elections were held simultaneously. But why did this bifurcation happened? It happened because of the real situation on the ground.

We had times government in the centre which did not have the mandate of the people. We have had governments at the state level not enjoying the mandate of the majority of the people and hence the need for going for interim elections.

Now that is a very important constitutional right of the people. Because the government is formed after people exercise their opinion and their rights. Now that is going to be impinge. That is the singular focus of the law commission recommendations.

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AirAsia CEO says the company is prepared to face slowdown in the aviation market: Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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AirAsia is prepared for an inevitable slowdown in the aviation market due to trade tensions, rising fuel prices and volatile currencies, the company CEO Tony Fernandes told CNBC.

The slowdown in the market is inevitable with trade sanctions and depreciation of currencies in emerging markets, accroding to Fernandes.

Fernandes said as of now AirAsia hasn’t seen an impact, but the the company is ready to weather any potential storm, as geopolitical developments such as the US-China trade war, the report said.

“We’ve been through a few of these cycles. Don’t forget oil was $130 at one stage. Generally, we’re a little bit inelastic in demand when it comes to recessions because people will trade down to a low-cost carrier from a premium airline if things slow down,” he told CNBC.

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Vikram Bhatt’s ‘Zindabaad’ web series to release on September 5

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Veteran film director, Vikram Bhatt, is playing the lead in a spy-thriller web show titled Zindabaad.

Vikram said, “It’s more like a revenge story. It’s a show I have written but it’s been directed by Sidhant Sachdev. We have previously worked together in Gehraiyaan and a couple of other projects. It was his conviction more than mine in Zindabaad.”

The writer-director’s shows Maaya, Twisted and Spotlight have registered views in millions, making him early exponents of the web series genre in India.

“With Zindabaad, we want to change the internet viewing landscape in India. You may say that Sacred Games has already done this, probably they have done it in terms of the cast and narrative, but we’re also trying to break new grounds in terms of grandeur and canvas. It’s a story that travels from Oman to Kuwait to Islamabad and New Delhi,” he said.

Talking on experience on a web series, Vikram said, “There are definitely two types of content available right now. One is your Sacred Games and Ghoul, which are meant for specific target audience. They appeal more to the educated class. The rest of the India also wants entertainment and the others cater to it. So, there is something for everyone.”

“The length of the content is different. A series has 4-5 hours of content as opposed to a 2 hour film. The viewing experience is also different, so it’s more like private viewing. Ultimately, it will come down to choose in between the TV and phone,” added Vikram.

The series casts, Sanaya Irani, Anirudh Dave, Sana Khan and Vikram Bhatt in important roles.

Directed by Sidhant Sachdev, Zindabaad is set to release on September 5, 2018.

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Base effect, lower crude oil production decelerate July core factory output

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Unfavourable base effect, along with a contraction in crude oil and natural gas production sequentially decelerated India’s eight major industries’ output in July 2018.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday, the Index of Eight Core Industries (ECI) showed a rise of 6.6 percent from a growth of 7.6 percent in June.

However, on a year-on-year basis, July’s growth was higher than the rise of 2.9 percent reported for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

“The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stands at 128.4 in July, 2018, which was 6.6 percent higher as compared to the index of July 2017,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Its cumulative growth during April to July, 2018-19 was 5.8 percent.”

The ECI index represents major sectors like coal, steel, cement and electricity. It carries 40.27 percent weightage of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which is the macro gauge for India’s factory output.

On a sector-specific basis, refinery products, which has the highest weightage of 28.03 percent, grew by 12.3 percent in July 2018 compared with the corresponding month of the last fiscal.

Electricity generation, which has the second highest weightage of 19.85, picked up by 4.8 percent.

Steel production, the third most important component with weightage of 17.92, inched up by 6 percent during the month under review, whereas coal mining, with a 10.33 weightage, edged higher by 9.7 percent.

On the other hand, extraction of crude oil, which has an 8.98 weightage, declined by
(-) 5.4 percent during the month under consideration.

The sub-index for natural gas output, with a weightage of 6.88, slipped by (-) 5.2 percent.

Cement production, which has a weightage of 5.37, edged higher by 10.8 percent in July 2018.

Fertiliser manufacturing, which has the least weightage — only 2.63 — inched-up by 1.3 percent during the month under review.

“The dip in the core sector growth in July 2018 relative to the previous month was modest albeit broad-based,” said Aditi Nayar, Principal economist at ICRA.

“The easing in growth of core sector output and automobile production, as well as an unfavourable base effect, suggest that a moderation in IIP growth in July 2018 relative to June 2018 is on the anvil.”

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