September 2018

Lowering inflation is a major structural reform in India: IMF official

The Hindu, September 18, 2018

One major structural reform the Indian economy has witnessed over the last few years is lower inflation. For an economy where “higher than optimum level” inflation rates were a norm, current numbers tend to be closer to the Reserve Bank of India’s estimates, according to Andreas Bauer, Senior Representative – India, Nepal & Bhutan, International Monetary Fund (IMF). More…

IMF estimates ‘real’ depreciation of Indian rupee this year at 6 to 7 per cent

The Hindu, September 18, 2018

The real effective depreciation of the Indian rupee this year, compared to December 2017, is between six and seven per cent, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which warned that it would jack up the prices of imported goods such as oil and petroleum products, potentially putting an upward pressure on inflation. More…

Does FDI Promote Growth? Evidence from Indian Manufacturing Sector

EPW, September 8, 2018

The spillover effects of foreign direct investment in the Indian manufacturing sector are examined by analysing the financial performance of foreign firms with domestic business group firms and stand-alone firms for selected sub-periods during 2001–15. The study shows that the sales efficiency of foreign firms is not significantly different from that of the domestic firms in all the sub-periods studied, except during 2008–09. The operational efficiency of foreign firms is better than that of the domestic firms till 2009 and, for the later period, there is no significant difference in operational efficiency of domestic and foreign firms. More…

Why rupee fall remains a worry

Indian Express, September 4, 2018

Fuel prices jump as rupee hits another low, driven by rise in global crude prices and political uncertainty. How do these factors impact the national economy, what are India’s options for addressing the situation? More…