ECONOMY

Badhta Bharat- Ubharata Bharat

DEMONETISATION

DIGITAL PAYMENT PROMOTION & LESS CASH ECONOMY

·         Mera mobile mera bank mera batua: BHIM app (based on United Payments Interface(UPI)), to promote cashless economy brings payments to people’s phones

·         125 lakh people have adopted the BHIM app so far. Total transactions in BHIM App is nearly 50 lakhs & amount transacted is Rs. 1407 cr since 30th December, 2016

·         BHP –AADHAR Platform launched by PM on 14^th April ,2017 on Ambedkar Jayanti at Nagpur

·         Cash incentives to promote digital payments – Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana

·         Aadhar enabled Payment system in place to promote less cash economy

·         Target of 2,500 crore digital transactions for 2017-18 through UPI, USSD, Aadhar Pay, IMPS and Rupay debit cards  

·         Provisions being made for sufficient number of PoS Terminals

• As on 19^th March 2017, more than 11 Lakh Point of Sale (PoS) have been deployed against the target of 10 Lakh PoS deployment by banks before 31st March, 2017
• Payments Regulatory Board to be set up within RBI
• Digital Jagriti Program
• More than 2 Crore citizens trained on usage of electronic modes of payments since 2^nd December, 2016
• Supported in on-boarding more than 16 lakh merchants

GST

·         One Nation, One Tax- One Nation-One Market

·         Passed by Parliament

·         To be rolled on July 1,2017

·         4 Tax Rates- 5%, 12%, 18%, 28%

·         Reduction in overall taxes on goods, estimated to be 25-30%

·         Lead to ease of doing business and increase in tax revenue collections.

Benefits of GST

Decrease in Inflation due to

·         Reduction in Cascading effect of Taxes

·         Overall Reduction in Prices

Ease of Doing Business due to

·         Common National Market

·         Benefits to Small Taxpayers

Decrease in “Black” Transactions due to

·         Self-Regulating on line Tax System

·         Non-Intrusive and transparent Tax System

More informed consumer due to

·         Simplified Tax Regime

·         Reduction in Multiplicity of Taxes

Poorer States to gain due to

·         GST being a destination based Tax

·         Consumer States to benefit the most

·         Abolition of CST

Make in India boost due to

·         Exports to be Zero Rated

·         Protection of Domestic Industry - IGST

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Inflation brought under control. CPI-based inflation declined to 3.65% in February 2017 from7.72% in May 2014.
• Inflation rate averaged 7.79 percent from 2012 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 11.16 percent in November 2013 and a record low of 3.69 percent in July 2015
• Economic Survey: CPI based Inflation likely to be below 5%.
• Food inflation down to 2.46%; it was 8.88% in May 2014
• Economy has moved on a high growth path.
• India’s Current Account Deficit declined from 1.8% in 2014-15 to 1.3% in Q3 2016.
• High GDP growth rate: 7%+
• Highest FDI ever: $63 billion
• Fiscal Deficit in control: 3.2%
• Current Account Deficit down from 4% in 2014 to almost zero
• Low inflation: Around 4% from high of 11% in 2014
• Rupee exchange rate in control

   

 GDP Growth Rate

·         India has been the brightest star in global economy since the Government came to power, and fear-mongering over demonetization was exposed by Q3 2016-17 growth of 7.1%

Year	Growth rate (%)
2012-13	5.48
2013-14	6.54
2014-15	7.18
2015-16	7.93
2016-17	7.11

GDP PROJECTION BY INTERNATINAL AGENCIES (2016-17 vs. 2017-18)

·         IMF : 6.6 % (FY’16), 7.2% (2017-18), 7.7% (2018-19) (As per WEO April 2017)

·         OECD: 7 % (FY’16) &7.3% (FY’17)

·         World Bank: 7% (FY’16) & 7.6% (FY’17)

·         UN ESCAP Report : 7.3% (FY’16) & 7.5%(FY’17)

·         ADB: 7% (FY’16) & 7.8%(FY’17)

·         Moody’s: 7.1 % (FY’16 & FY’17)

·         Fitch: 7.1 % (FY'16) & 7.7 %(2017 -18)

·         CSO: 7.1%

FDI (COMMERCE)

                         

·         Foreign Direct Investment goes up by 48% since NDA Govt. took over

                         

Year	Amount of FDI (US$ Billion)
2013-14	36.4
2014-15	44.9
2015-16	53.4
2016-17 (till December, 2016)	47.2

                                                             

·          India world’s most attractive investment destination

·         Will create jobs and benefit domestic consumers through lower prices and superior technology.

FOREX RESERVES (Commerce)

·         India’s Highest ever FOREX Reserves in 2015

·         Macroeconomic stability ensured with Forex Reserves $364 Billion (as on March 23,2017) compared to $312 Billion (May end, 2014)

·         Lowest point of Forex Reserves in this decade reached in September 2013 - $274 Billion, threatening macroeconomic stability

BUDGETARY REFORMS (Finance)

3 Major Reforms in Budget 2017-18.

·         Presentation of Budget advanced to 1st February to enable the Ministries to operationalize all activities from the commencement of the financial year.

·         Merger of Railways Budget with General Budget to bring Railways to the centre stage of Government’s Fiscal Policy and

·         Removal of plan and non-plan classification of expenditure to facilitate a holistic view of allocations for sectors and ministries  

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS (DIPP)

• Improved rank in Ease of Doing Business Ranking
• Self-certification
• Simplification of rules
• Scrapping of about 1200 obsolete laws
• Most of the regulatory processes put online.
• 60% of defence Items out of the licensing process
• Real Estate Bill passed to protect the interest of buyers and bring more transparency to the housing sector.
• Gas pooling for power and fertilizer sectors.

REVAMPING & RESTRUCTURING OF BANKS

• Merger of 5 State Bank subsidiaries into State Bank of India

REAL ESTATE BILL

·         Real Estate Bill passed to protect the interest of buyers and bring more transparency to the housing sector.

SOVERIGN GOLD BONDS

·         To provide a new financial instrument of investment to public at large and reduce the demand for physical gold. 3986 kg of Gold bonds worth Rs. 1044 crore subscribed.

INDIAN GOLD COIN SCHEME

·         Boost to indigenous gold coin scheme launched under Make in India

                                            

LABOUR REFORMS

ShramevJayate

• ShramSuvidha portal: unique labour identification number allocated, online registration of establishments.
• Unique Labour Identification number allocated to give permanent identity to labourers. EPFO issued 6.57 crores UAN out of which 2.5 crore have been activated through mobile phones.
• Amendments in Labour laws to exempt certain industries from returns, labour registration, inspection etc.
• Amendment in factories Act, 1948 to allow for: night shift for women, increased hours of overtime
• Apprentices Act, 1961 modified to ensure more apprentices. Stipend linked to minimum wages.
• Facility of Common online return in one year
• Reforms in BIS laws to improve the standards of goods and services
• National Career Service Project:  bringing employers, trainers and unemployed on single platform, 3.5 Crore aspirants registered till now.