Indian economy

Subsidies- Cash Transfer of Subsidy Issue.

A subsidy is a benefit given by the government to groups or individuals usually in the form of a cash payment or tax reduction. The subsidy is usually given to remove some type of burden and is often considered to be in the interest of the public.

Direct Cash Transfer Scheme is a poverty reduction measure in which government subsidies and other benefits are given directly to the poor in cash rather than in the form of subsidies.

It can help the government reach out to identified beneficiaries and can plug leakages. Currently, ration shop owners divert subsidised PDS grains or kerosene to open market and make fast buck. Such Leakages could stop. The scheme will also enhance efficiency of welfare schemes.

The money is directly transferred into bank accounts of beneficiaries. LPG and kerosene subsidies, pension payments, scholarships and employment guarantee scheme payments as well as benefits under other government welfare programmes will be made directly to beneficiaries. The money can then be used to buy services from the market. For eg. if subsidy on LPG or kerosene is abolished and the government still wants to give the subsidy to the poor, the subsidy portion will be transferred as cash into the banks of the intended beneficiaries.

It is feared that the money may not be used for the intended purpose and men may squander it.

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) has already begun on a pilot basis in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka, Pondicherry and Sikkim. The government claims the results are encouraging.

Only Aadhar card holders will get cash transfer. As of today, only 21 crore of the 120 crore people have Aadhar cards. Two other drawbacks are that most BPL families don’t have bank accounts and several villages don’t have any bank branches. These factors can limit the reach of cash transfer.

Role of Commercial Banks

A Commercial bank is a type of financial institution that provides services such as accepting deposits, making business loans, and offering basic investment products

There is acute shortage of capital. People lack initiative and enterprise. Means of transport are undeveloped. Industry is depressed. The commercial banks help in overcoming these obstacles and promoting economic development. The role of a commercial bank in a developing country is discussed as under.

1. Mobilising Saving for Capital Formation:

The commercial banks help in mobilising savings through network of branch banking. People in developing countries have low incomes but the banks induce them to save by introducing variety of deposit schemes to suit the needs of individual depositors. They also mobilise idle savings of the few rich. By mobilising savings, the banks channelize them into productive investments. Thus they help in the capital formation of a developing country.

2. Financing Industry:

The commercial banks finance the industrial sector in a number of ways. They provide short-term, medium-term and long-term loans to industry.

3. Financing Trade:

The commercial banks help in financing both internal and external trade. The banks provide loans to retailers and wholesalers to stock goods in which they deal. They also help in the movement of goods from one place to another by providing all types of facilities such as discounting and accepting bills of exchange, providing overdraft facilities, issuing drafts, etc. Moreover, they finance both exports and imports of developing countries by providing foreign exchange facilities to importers and exporters of goods.

4. Financing Agriculture:

The commercial banks help the large agricultural sector in developing countries in a number of ways. They provide loans to traders in agricultural commodities. They open a network of branches in rural areas to provide agricultural credit. They provide finance directly to agriculturists for the marketing of their produce, for the modernisation and mechanisation of their farms, for providing irrigation facilities, for developing land, etc.

They also provide financial assistance for animal husbandry, dairy farming, sheep breeding, poultry farming, pisciculture and horticulture. The small and marginal farmers and landless agricultural workers, artisans and petty shopkeepers in rural areas are provided financial assistance through the regional rural banks in India. These regional rural banks operate under a commercial bank. Thus the commercial banks meet the credit requirements of all types of rural people. In India agricultural loans are kept in priority sector landing.

5. Financing Consumer Activities:

People in underdeveloped countries being poor and having low incomes do not possess sufficient financial resources to buy durable consumer goods. The commercial banks advance loans to consumers for the purchase of such items as houses, scooters, fans, refrigerators, etc. In this way, they also help in raising the standard of living of the people in developing countries by providing loans for consumptive activities and also increase the demand in the economy.

6. Financing Employment Generating Activities:

The commercial banks finance employment generating activities in developing countries. They provide loans for the education of young person’s studying in engineering, medical and other vocational institutes of higher learning. They advance loans to young entrepreneurs, medical and engineering graduates, and other technically trained persons in establishing their own business. Such loan facilities are being provided by a number of commercial banks in India. Thus the banks not only help inhuman capital formation but also in increasing entrepreneurial activities in developing countries.

7. Help in Monetary Policy:

The commercial banks help the economic development of a country by faithfully following the monetary policy of the central bank. In fact, the central bank depends upon the commercial banks for the success of its policy of monetary management in keeping with requirements of a developing economy.

Issue of NPA

A non performing asset (NPA) is a loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days.According to RBI, terms loans on which interest or installment of principal remain overdue for a period of more than 90 days from the end of a particular quarter is called a Non-performing Asset.

However, in terms of Agriculture / Farm Loans; the NPA is defined as under:

• For short duration crop agriculture loans such as paddy, Jowar, Bajra etc. if the loan (installment / interest) is not paid for 2 crop seasons , it would be termed as a NPA.
• For Long Duration Crops, the above would be 1 Crop season from the due date.

The Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act has provisions for the banks to take legal recourse to recover their dues. When a borrower makes any default in repayment and his account is classified as NPA; the secured creditor has to issue notice to the borrower giving him 60 days to pay his dues. If the dues are not paid, the bank can take possession of the assets and can also give it on lease or sell it; as per provisions of the SAFAESI Act.

Reselling of NPAs :- If a bad loan remains NPA for at least two years, the bank can also resale the same to the Asset Reconstruction Companies such as Asset Reconstruction Company (India) (ARCIL).  These sales are only on Cash Basis and the purchasing bank/ company would have to keep the accounts for at least 15 months before it sells to other bank. They purchase such loans on low amounts and try to recover as much as possible from the defaulters. Their revenue is difference between the purchased amount and recovered amount

 

Commodity Exchanges in India

Though there are about 25 commodity exchanges in India, the following are the major ones:

 

Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) – 2003 – Mumbai – MCX COMDEX index

National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) – 2003 – Mumbai

National Multi-commodity Exchange (NCME) – 2001 – Ahmedabad – first

Organizations & Their Survey/Reports

1.	World Economic & Social Survey	U. N
2.	World Investment Report	UNCTAD
3.	Global Competitiveness Report	World Economic Forum
4.	World Economic Outlook	IMF
5.	Business Competitive Index	World Economic Forum
6.	Green Index	World Bank
7.	Business Confidence Index	NCAER
8.	Poverty Ratio	Planning Commission
9.	Economic Survey	Ministry of Finance
10.	Wholesale Price Index	Ministry of Industry
11.	National Account Statistics	CSO
12.	World Development Indicator	World Bank
13.	Overcoming Human Poverty	UNDP
14.	Global Development Report	World Bank

 

Miscellaneous Facts:

 

1. India’s GDP per Capita 622 (US $ PPP). It is 684 US $ for Pakistan.

 

2. The top 3 countries with external debt are Brazil (235 billion $), China (193 billion $) & Russia (175 billion $). India is 9^th with 112 billion $.

 

3. Functional employment occurs when people change from one job to another & there is an interval. This can happen even in a situation of full employment. Structural employment happens when jobs exist for qualified persons but the unemployed do not have the matching qualifications. It also occurs when labour is available, but factors of production are missing. Cyclical unemployment arises out of cycles of recession. Disguised unemployment is when people are employed but their marginal productivity is zero.

 

4. The CSO is responsible for estimating the national income. It is assisted by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) which conducts large scale surveys.

 

5. The tenth plan has taken the figure of 26% population below poverty line for planning purposes. Out of the total 75% are in rural areas & 25% in urban areas. Orissa (47.5%) has the highest proportion followed by Bihar (42.6%), M.P & Assam.

 

6. WPI is a weighted average of indices covering 477 commodities & is a measure of inflation on an economy wide scale. Services do not figure in this. Base year is 1993-94. CPI is computed separately for three groups viz industrial workers (260 commodities), Urban non-manual employees (180 commodities) & agricultural labourers (60 commodities).

 

7. The GDP deflator is arrived at by dividing the GDP at current prices by GDP at constant prices in terms of base year prices (1993-94). This indicates how much growth in GDP is due to price rise & how much due to increase in output.

 

8. In WTO terminology, subsidies in general are identified by “boxes” which are given the colours of traffic lights: green (permitted), amber (slow down — i.e. be reduced), red (forbidden). For agriculture, all domestic support measures considered to distort production and trade (with some exceptions) fall into the amber box. In order to qualify for the “green box”, a subsidy must not distort trade, or at most cause minimal distortion. It includes amount spent on research, disease control, infrastructure & food security. Blue box subsidies are held to be trade distorting & include direct payment to farmers to limit production & certain government assistance to encourage agriculture & rural development in developing countries.

 

9. Tobin tax is the suggested tax (within 0.1% to 0.25%) on all trade of currency across borders intended to put a penalty on short-term speculation in currencies leading to crisis (Eg. Asian Crisis).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. In 1972, 107 companies operating in the general insurance business were nationalized into four groups – NIC, United India Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company & New India Insurance Company with GIC as the holding company. These companies can compete against each other in all areas except aviation & crop insurance which are the monopoly of GIC.

 

11. IRDA act 1999 has ended the monopoly of LIC/GIC in the insurance sector.

 

12. The only two national stock exchanges of India are NSE & OTECI (Over the counter exchange of India). BSE is a regional stock exchange.

 

13. At present the value of SDR is fixed in relation to a basket of five currencies – US dollar, German mark, British pound, French frank & Japanese yen.

 

14. Current Account Convertability – the holders of domestic currency have the right to convert the currency into foreign exchange for any current account purpose such as travel, tourism, trade. Transactions like those in assets are not permissible unless there capital account convertability.

 

15. Ceteris Paribus – ‘Other things remaining equal’. ‘Ad Valorem’ means as per value. Laffer Curve – hypothesis that when the tax rate is raised the revenue realized tends to fall. Monopsony – single buyer as opposite of monopoly where there is a single seller. Lorenz curve shows graphical representation of income distribution. The Phillips curve illustrates the relationship between inflation and unemployment.

 

16. Bretton Woods Agreement led to the establishment of World Bank & IMF. More developed a country greater would be its dependence on direct tax.

 

17. MODVAT (modified value added tax) was introduced in India in 1986 (MODVAT was re-named as CENVAT w.e.f. 1-4-2000). Increase in RBI credit to the government during a year represents Monetised deficit.

 

18. A high fiscal deficit leads to adverse effects on BoP, rise in interest rates & a high cost economy.

 

19. The reverse repo rate is the rate at which banks park their short-term excess liquidity with the RBI, while the repo rate is the rate at which the RBI pumps in short-term liquidity into the system

 

20. PNB is the oldest existing commercial bank in India. India’s short term debt is less than 10 % of India’s total debt.

 

21. The title of World Development Report 2005 is “A Better Investment Climate For Everyone”.

 

22. The 12^th financial commission recommendation would be applicable for the period 2005-2010. Minimum Alternate Tax is a tax on zero tax companies.

 

23. Press Note 18 requires that a foreign company in a joint venture with an Indian company cannot get into other wholly owned ventures without the domestic partner’s permission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

24. Domestic Commercial Banks contribute to the Rural Infrastructure Development fund to the extent of their shortfall in their lending to the priority sector lendings.

 

25. Capital adequacy ratio affects assets of banks, its share capital & its investment. International Finance Corporation essentially provides loans to boost private sector investment of member countries.

 

26. Zero-based Budgeting requires that a program be justified from the ground up each fiscal year. ZBB is especially encouraged for Government budgets because expenditures can easily run out of control if it is automatically assumed what was spent last year must be spent this year

 

27. The main source of revenue for the Union government in ascending order of importance are income tax, custom duties, corporate tax & excise duties.

 

28. Prevention of Money Laundering act is applicable to drug trafficking, mafia, gun running etc. Maintaining its increasing trend since 1990-91, except in 1998-99, the share of direct taxes in central tax revenues increased from 19.1 per cent in 1990-91 to 43.3 per cent in 2004-05 (RE) and further to 47.9 per cent 2005-06 (BE).

 

29. Trade Related Investment measures (TRIMS) under WTO apply that no restrictions will be imposed on foreign investment in any sector; all restrictions on foreign companies will be scrapped; Imports of raw materials by foreign companies are to be allowed freely.

 

30. Participatory Notes (P-Notes) refers to investment in Indian securities by unregulated FIIs & Hedge funds. NCLT will replace the role of Company law board, BIFR & High courts. Fiduciary issue is the paper currency not backed by gold or silver.

 

 

Essential Extra Reference:

 

• Various Schemes launched by the government

 

• Capex in various sectors- telecom etc.

 

• Export Import Value with trade in Merchandise

Tax Reforms in India

Sience 1990 ie the liberalization of Indian economy saw the beginning of Taxation reforms in the nation. The taxation system in the nation has been subjected to consistent and comprehensive reform. Following factors arise the need for tax reforms in India:-

• Tax resources must be maximized for increased social sector investment in the economy.
• International competitiveness must be imparted to Indian economy in the globalized world.
• Transaction costs are high which must be reduced.
• Investment flow should be maximized.
• Equity should be improved
• The high cost nature of Indian economy should be changed.
• Compliance should be increased.

Direct & Indirect Tax Reforms

Direct tax reforms undertaken by the government are as follows:-

• Reduction and rationalization of tax rates, India now has three rates of income tax with the highest being at 30%.
• Simplification of process, through e-filling and simplifying the tax return forms.
• Strengthening of administration to check the leakage and increasing the tax base.
• Widening of tax base to include more tax payers in the tax net.
• Withdrawal of tax exceptions gradually.
• Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) was introduced for the ‘Zero Tax’ companies.
• The direct tax code of 2010 replace the outdated tax code of 1961.

Indirect tax reforms undertaken by the government are as follows:-

• Reduction in the peak tariff rates.
• reduction in the number of slabs
• Progressive change from specific duty to ad valor-em tax.
• VAT is introduced.
• GST has been planned to be introduced.
• Negative list of services since 2012.

		Direct & Indirect Taxes
	Direct Tax			Indirect Tax
	Corporation Tax			Excise Duties
	Income Tax			Service Tax
	Interest Tax			Central Value Added Tax (Vat)
	Expenditure Tax			Sales Tax
	Wealth Tax			Property Tax
	Gift Tax			Octroi
	Estate Duty			Customs Duties
	Land Revenue			Stamp Duties

Public Finance

Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics which assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achieve desirable effects and avoid undesirable ones.

It includes the study of :-

• Fiscal Policy
• Deficits and Deficit Financing
• Fiscal Consolidation
• Public Debt- Internal and External debt

Fiscal policy relates to raising and expenditure of money in quantitative and qualitative manner.Fiscal policy is the use of government spending and taxation to influence the economy. Governments typically use fiscal policy to promote strong and sustainable growth and reduce poverty. The role and objectives of fiscal policy gained prominence during the recent global economic crisis, when governments stepped in to support financial systems, jump-start growth, and mitigate the impact of the crisis on vulnerable groups.

Historically, the prominence of fiscal policy as a policy tool has waxed and waned. Before 1930, an approach of limited government, or laissez-faire, prevailed. With the stock market crash and the Great Depression, policymakers pushed for governments to play a more proactive role in the economy. More recently, countries had scaled back the size and function of government—with markets taking on an enhanced role in the allocation of goods and services—but when the global financial crisis threatened worldwide recession, many countries returned to a more active fiscal policy.

How does fiscal policy work?

When policymakers seek to influence the economy, they have two main tools at their disposal—monetary policy and fiscal policy. Central banks indirectly target activity by influencing the money supply through adjustments to interest rates, bank reserve requirements, and the purchase and sale of government securities and foreign exchange. Governments influence the economy by changing the level and types of taxes, the extent and composition of spending, and the degree and form of borrowing.

Deficit financing, practice in which a government spends more money than it receives as revenue, the difference being made up by borrowing or minting new funds.

Fiscal consolidation is a term that is used to describe the creation of strategies that are aimed at minimizing deficits while also curtailing the accumulation of more debt. The term is most commonly employed when referring to efforts of a local or national government to lower the level of debt carried by the jurisdiction, but can also be applied to the efforts of businesses or even households to reduce debt while simultaneously limiting the generation of new debt obligations. From this perspective, the goal of fiscal consolidation in any setting is to improve financial stability by creating a more desirable financial position.

The public debt is defined as how much a country owes to lenders outside of itself. These can include individuals, businesses and even other governments.public debt is the accumulation of annual budget deficits. It’s the result of years of government leaders spending more than they take in via tax revenues.

 

Monetary Policies

Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, often targeting an inflation rate or interest rate to ensure price stability and general trust in the currency.

Objectives of Monetary Policies are:-

• Accelerated growth of the economy
• Balancing saving and investments
• Exchange rate stabilization
• Price stability
• Employment generation

Monetary Policy could be expansionary or contractionary;  Expansionary policy would increase the total money supply in the economy while contractionary policy would decrease the money supply in the economy.

RBI issues the Bi-Monthly monetary policy statement. The tools available with RBI to achieve the targets of monetary policy are:-

• Bank rates
• Reserve Ratios
• Open Market Operations
• Intervention in forex market
• Moral suasion

 

Repo Rate- Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country (RBI in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. In the event of inflation, central banks increase repo rate as this acts as a disincentive for banks to borrow from the central bank. This ultimately reduces the money supply in the economy and thus helps in arresting inflation.

Reverse Repo Rate is the rate at which RBI borrows money from the commercial banks.An increase in the reverse repo rate will decrease the money supply and vice-versa, other things remaining constant. An increase in reverse repo rate means that commercial banks will get more incentives to park their funds with the RBI, thereby decreasing the supply of money in the market.

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is a specified minimum fraction of the total deposits of customers, which commercial banks have to hold as reserves either in cash or as deposits with the central bank. CRR is set according to the guidelines of the central bank of a country.The amount specified as the CRR is held in cash and cash equivalents, is stored in bank vaults or parked with the Reserve Bank of India. The aim here is to ensure that banks do not run out of cash to meet the payment demands of their depositors. CRR is a crucial monetary policy tool and is used for controlling money supply in an economy.

CRR specifications give greater control to the central bank over money supply. Commercial banks have to hold only some specified part of the total deposits as reserves. This is called fractional reserve banking.

Statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) is the Indian government term for reserve requirement that the commercial banks in India require to maintain in the form of gold, government approved securities before providing credit to the customers.its the ratio of liquid assets to net demand and time liabilities.Apart from Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), banks have to maintain a stipulated proportion of their net demand and time liabilities in the form of liquid assets like cash, gold and unencumbered securities. Treasury bills, dated securities issued under market borrowing programme and market stabilisation schemes (MSS), etc also form part of the SLR. Banks have to report to the RBI every alternate Friday their SLR maintenance, and pay penalties for failing to maintain SLR as mandated.

Inflation & Control Mechanism

inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. When the price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services.It is the percentage change in the value of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) on a year-on year basis. It effectively measures the change in the prices of a basket of goods and services in a year. In India, inflation is calculated by taking the WPI as base.

 

 

 

Formula for calculating Inflation=

(WPI in month of current year-WPI in same month of previous year)
————————————————————————————– X 100
WPI in same month of previous year

Inflation occurs due to an imbalance between demand and supply of money, changes in production and distribution cost or increase in taxes on products. When economy experiences inflation, i.e. when the price level of goods and services rises, the value of currency reduces. This means now each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services.

It has its worst impact on consumers. High prices of day-to-day goods make it difficult for consumers to afford even the basic commodities in life. This leaves them with no choice but to ask for higher incomes. Hence the government tries to keep inflation under control.

Contrary to its negative effects, a moderate level of inflation characterizes a good economy. An inflation rate of 2 or 3% is beneficial for an economy as it encourages people to buy more and borrow more, because during times of lower inflation, the level of interest rate also remains low. Hence the government as well as the central bank always strive to achieve a limited level of inflation.

Various measures of Inflation are:-

• GDP Deflator
• Cost of Living Index
• Producer Price Index(PPI)
• Wholesale Price Index(WPI)
• Consumer Price Index(CPI)

There are following types on Inflation based on their causes:-

• Demand pull inflation
• cost push inflation
• structural inflation
• speculation
• cartelization
• hoarding

Various control measures to curb rising inflation are:-

• Fiscal measures like reduction in indirect taxes
• Dual pricing
• Monetary measures
• Supply side measures like importing the shortage goods to meet the demand
• Administrative measures to curb hoarding, Cratelization.