Amid slowdown, RBI-Govt gulf widens, growth to holding rates

MUCH BEFORE data released on November 29 showed that India's economic growth had slumped to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 per cent in July-September, discussions within the government had questioned RBI's up- ward revision of growth estimates to 7.2 per cent for 2024-25 and flagged worries about the cumulative impact of its prudential measures. There were apprehensions that these had begun hurting India's growth prospects and the RBI's decision to keep policy rates static because of food and gold/silver inflation, has made the effective real rate of interest for the non-food part of the economy very high now. 

Make farmer IDs faster: Ministry instructs states

THE MINISTRY of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (MoA&FW) has asked the states to organise camps to ensure a faster generation of Farmer ID. Known as Kisan Pehchaan Patra or Farmer ID is an Aadhaar-linked unique digital identity that is linked dynamically to the state's land records, besides having information like demographic, crops sown and ownership details. The database created through the Farmer ID will be known as Farmer' registry - one of the three registries under Agri Stack component of the Centre's Digital Agriculture Mission. The government aims to create digital identities for 11 crore farmers, out of which 6 crоге farmers will be covered in financial year 2024-25, three crore in financial year 2025-26, and two crore farmers in 2026-27. 

Prior sanction: what SC said on ED cases against public officials

CITING AS precedent a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress MP P Chidambaram moved the Delhi High Court, seeking a stay on their respective trials. Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, (CrPC) bars courts from taking cognisance of offences alleged to have been committed by a judge, a magistrate, or a public servant who was "acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty" while committing the alleged offence, un- less prior or "previous" sanction has been given by the government. This provision is meant to shield public servants from unnecessary prosecution. However, the explanation to the provision clarifies that "no sanction shall be required" when public servants are accused of certain crimes against women (such as rape, sexual harassment, stalking, and voyeurism), and other serious crimes such as human trafficking. 

Dargah Sharif of Ajmer

Ajmer, then referred to as Ajaymeru, was once the capital of the Chauhans, a Rajput clan that ruled parts of present-day Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh from the seventh to the 12th centuries CE. Ajaydeva is credited with constructing the city in the mid-12th century. The town was sacked by the Afghan invader Muhammad of Ghor after he defeated Prithviraj III (popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan) in the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192. The Ghurid army killed, looted, and "destroyed the pillars and foundations of the idol temples" in Ajaymeru, Har Bilas Sarda, an Ajmer-based jurist, wrote in Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive (1911). Subsequently, the city fell into a state of disrepair for almost 400 years, until it saw a revival during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605). 

HIT AND MISS

FROM LAKSHMIR BHANDAR in West Bengal and Ladli Behna in Madhya Pradesh to Maiya Samman in Jharkhand and Ladki Bahin Yojana in Maharashtra - all these women-targeted schemes, providing Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 per month to eligible beneficiaries, appear to have paid political dividends by helping re-elect ruling parties in their respective states. According to Axis Bank, 14 states now have income transfer schemes that cover roughly a fifth of India's adult female population, with an annualised spend of Rs 2 lakh crore. Fiscal purists may baulk at such transfers - even seen as a precursor to the Universal Basic Income outlined in the 2016-17 Economic Survey - but they may have eased the pain of inflation for those worst affected in these times.

A push for growth

INDIA HAS BEEN enjoying high economic growth even in the midst of global turmoil. After a strong growth of 8.2 per cent in 2023- 24, followed by 6.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2024-25, GDP growth has decelerated to 5.4 per cent in the second quarter. While growth was expected to moderate, as was indicated by some of the high frequency macro-eco- nomic indicators and muted corporate performance, the quantum of deceleration turned out much sharper than anticipated.

Industrial sector growth has decelerated to 3.6 per cent in the second quarter, com- pared to 8.3 per cent in the previous one. On the other hand, with a good kharif harvest, the recovery of the agriculture sector continued, while the services sector also maintained its broad momentum. 

Kharif procurement: Depts call for reforms beyond MSP hike to tackle agri concerns

FROM SEEKING implementation of non-price recommendations, a five-year plan for oilseeds to supply-side bottlenecks in procurement, two key financial departments, a top government think tank and a department responsible for most of the procurement in the country wrote to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, expressing concerns before the Cabinet meeting this June to clear the proposal to hike the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif crops for marketing season 2024-25. The procurement of kharif crops commenced on October 1 in line with the Cabinet decision dated June 19 which increased the MSP of 14 kharif crops such as paddy, jowar, bajra, ragi, maize, tur/arhar, moong, urad, ground- nut, sunflower seed, soyabean, sesamum, nigerseed and cotton. 

RBI policy: Why MPC is likely to keep the repo rate unchanged in December meeting?

THE RESERVE Bank of India (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which is scheduled to meet from December 4 to 6, is likely to keep the repo rate-the key policy rate- unchanged at 6.5 per cent in the meeting. This would be the 11th consecutive monetary policy, or for 22 months, that the repo rate would have been left unchanged. The rate-setting panel will meet against a backdrop of growing concerns over slowing economic growth and elevated inflationary pressures. These two factors will likely weigh on the MPC's decision in its. December 6 policy announcement. 

Post Nov 2022 SC ruling, EPFO issued 16,282 higher pension payment orders under EPS

AROUND 16,282 pension payment orders have been issued so far by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to members and pensioners who had applied for higher pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) after the November 2022 Supreme Court ruling. Even as the retirement fund body has rejected 2.6 lakh forms for higher pension, over 6 lakh applications for validation of option and joint options from employers and employees are still under examination by the EPFO's field offices. While the EPFO has not specified the total financial impact of the rollout of the higher pension option, it said the sample data of around 38,000 applicants for pension.

A twice-yearly shot could help end AIDS - only if it's available to everyone in need

IT'S BEEN called the closest the world has ever come to a vaccine against the AIDS virus. The twice- yearly shot was 100% effective in preventing HIV infections in a study of women, and results published show it worked nearly as well in men. In a report issued to mark World AIDS Day, UNAIDS said that the number of AIDS death last year an estimated 630,000-was at its lowest since peaking in 2004, suggesting the world is now at "a historic cross- roads" and has a chance to end the epidemic. The drug called lenacapavir is already sold under the brand name Sunlenca to treat HIV infections in the US, Canada, Europe and elsewhere.