Current Affairs August 2018 - Economic

1 - Single Brand Retail Trade received FDI Equity of US$ 1,048.14 Million since 2006

Single Brand Retail Trading (SBRT) sector has received total FDI equity of US$ 1,048.14 million from April, 2006 to March, 2018. FDI policy on SBRT has been in operation since 2006. From 2006 till 29.03.2018, 112 brands have obtained the approval of Government in this regard.

After 29.03.2018, FDI up to 100% under automatic route has been allowed in SBRT for which no prior approval is required.

2 - Morgan Stanley projects India’s GDP growth to rise to 7.5% in 2018

Global financial services major Morgan Stanley has projected Indian gross domestic product (GDP) growth likely to clock 7.5% in 2018 and further 7.7% in 2019. It also predicted the Consumer Price Index to remain slightly above the inflation target of 4% and the Current Account Deficit below 2.5% of GDP.

In the January-March quarter, India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew at the fastest pace in seven quarters at 7.7% on robust performance by manufacturing and service sectors as well as good farm output.

3 - IMF forecasts India's GDP to grow at 7.3% in current fiscal

The International Monetary Fund has predicted India's GDP to grow by 7.3% in the 2018-19 fiscal and 7.5% in 2019-20 on strengthening of investment and robust private consumption.

IMF has further projected the headline inflation to rise to 5.2% in the fiscal year 2018-19, as demand conditions tighten, along with the recent depreciation of the rupee and higher oil prices, housing rent allowances and agricultural minimum support prices.

4 - India Rating and Research revised GDP of FY19 to 7.2%

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised down its FY19 economic growth forecast to 7.2% from 7.4% earlier. The key reason is the headwinds emanating from the (i) elevated global crude oil prices and (ii) government’s decision to fix the minimum support prices of all kharif crops at 1.5x of the production cost. Other reasons for revising rates are rising trade protectionism, depreciating rupee and no visible signs of the abatement of the non-performing assets of the banking sector.

India Ratings and Research is India's most respected credit rating agency committed to providing India's credit markets accurate credit opinions.

5 - PhonePe to partner with IRCTC App

PhonePe, fastest digital payment platform has entered into partnership with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to provide PhonePe as one of the payment options in IRCTC Rail Ticket booking Android app. IRCTC ticket booking customers can pay directly from their bank accounts using UPI, credit or debit cards and via PhonePe wallet. Customers can recharge their PhonePe wallet and book tickets online. Customers can enter their UPI id created on the PhonePe app for the payment.

PhonePe is financial technology company to provide a cashless and a seamless payment experience.

6 - BSNL launched VOIP Based WINGS Service

BSNL has launched first internet telephony service in the country that will allow users to dial any telephone number in India through its mobile app Wings’. To use the service, a customer needs to install a SIP client (soft app) which will act as SIP phone to make and receive calls from anywhere in India and abroad.

Wings can be provided over Internet Leased Line customer not having normal voice. Before this, a phone call on mobile apps was possible within users of a particular app and not on telephone numbers.

7 - Paytm partnered with Alibaba to launch Paytm AI Cloud

Paytm has entered into a partnership with Alibaba to launch AI-powered cloud computing platform, Paytm AI Cloud for India meant for Developers, Startups and Enterprises. It will process and store all consumer data in servers located only in India and conform to the highest security and privacy standards.

Paytm AI Cloud also offers in-built CRM, Campaign Management and easy to integrate payment solutions. Paytm is also planning to soon offer enterprise-messaging solutions in partnership with DingTalk.

8 - RIL becomes first Indian company to cross Rs. 8 trillion in market cap

Reliance Industries became the first company to cross Rs. 8 trillion in terms of market capitalisation (market-cap), becoming the country's most valued firm. The stock has rallied by over 38% in 2018.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second company in the list in terms of market capitalisation with m-cap at ?7.79-lakh crore. RIL reported 17.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in consolidated net profit at Rs. 94.59 billion in June quarter (Q1FY19).

9 - HAL is the first public sector enterprise to transact on TReDS

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) executed its first digitized invoice discounting transaction on RXIL TReDS platform when it accepted the digital invoice uploaded by Narendra Udyog, a Nasik based MSME (micro category) vendor. This makes HAL the first PSU to transact on TReDS across platforms. The transaction was financed by Bank of Baroda.

During October 2017, Government of India mandated all major PSUs to join TReDS platform to facilitate payments to MSME vendors. RXIL, India’s first TReDS platform, enables MSMEs gain control of their receivables with enhanced visibility and timeliness.

10 - Moody’s project India's growth at 7.5% in 2018, 2019

Global credit ratings, research, and risk analysis firm, Moody’s Investors Service expects the Indian economy to grow by around 7.5% in 2018 and 2019. Moody's has predicted country’s economy to grow at a higher rate of 7.7% in the first quarter of 2018.

According to Moody's, Indian economy is supported by strong urban and rural demand and improved industrial activity. PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) and the index of eight core industries (ECI) shows robust activity in the industrial sector.

11 - RBI projected India's economic growth rate to grow at 7.4% in 2018-19

The Reserve Bank of India projected India's economic growth rate to grow at 7.4 per cent in the 2018-19 from 6.7 percent in the 2017-18 on pick up in industrial activity and good monsoon.

The RBI’s monetary policy will continue to be guided by the objective of achieving the medium term target for retail inflation of 4%. Agricultural production is reported to remain strong, growth in industry are strengthening and all other major sectors are reporting robust sales and improvement in profitability.

12 - India's food-grain output to touch all-time high of over 284 mn tonnes in 2017-18

India's food-grain production is estimated to grow to an all-time high of over 284 million tonnes in the 2017-18 crop year of June 18, driven by record output in wheat, rice, coarse cereals and pulses after a normal monsoon.

Wheat output has been pegged at record 99.70 million tonnes, rice at 112.91 million tonnes and pulses at 25.23 million tonnes. Foodgrain output was 275.11 million tonnes achieved in the 2016-17 crop year. The foodgrain basket comprises of rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses.

13 - India’s FDI rises 23 % to about 13 bn dollars in first quarter of this fiscal

Foreign Direct Investment, FDI in India rose 23 percent, to 12.8 billion dollars during the April to June of 2018-19. The foreign fund inflows in April-June 2017-18 stood at 10.4 billion dollars.

Key sectors that received maximum foreign investment during the first quarter of the current fiscal include services 2.4 billion dollars, trading 1.62 billion dollars and telecommunications 1.59 billion dollars. Singapore was the largest source of FDI during April to June quarter with 6.52 billion dollars.