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Thanks again for your further update.  Well, I hope to receive your final report next week.

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Thanks again for your further update.  Well, I hope to receive your final report next week.

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Thank you for your Padlet and the articles are interesting and analysis relevant.  You may want to explain why the labour force participation rate for India is smaller as women are usually housewives.  In addition, they (the women) may not be as educated as the developed nations.  Well, look forward to your written report and have a good day ahead!  Mr Lee

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Thank you for your Padlet and the articles are interesting and analysis relevant.  You may want to explain why the labour force participation rate for India is smaller as women are usually housewives.  In addition, they (the women) may not be as educated as the developed nations.  Well, look forward to your written report and have a good day ahead!  Mr Lee

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Topic on GDP

"by neem-coating the fertiliser, it becomes unsuitable for diversion. This has already saved billions of rupees of diverted farm subsidies. We have also introduced Soil Health Card. This tells every farmer the condition of his or her soil and then enables him to choose the right crop, best quantity and mix of inputs"

The government efforts to help the farmers to increase their revenues. With lower production cost, the income of the farm would increase

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Topic on Keynesian Model

Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley stated that the government is looking at a number of reforms and resolution of pending tax disputes to attract investments.

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Topic on Keynesian Model

'Tax revenues are up and interest rates are down. The fiscal deficit is down and the rupee is stable.This success is the result of a series of concerted policies. We have entered, for the first time, into a monetary framework agreement with the Reserve Bank to curb inflation'

The government steps in and comes out with policy to help India's economy. Lower interest rate, companies are willing to borrow more for investment. Therefore, people has more spending power resulting in the total tax revenues increase.

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Topic on Keynesian Model

'his promise to provide economic growth and jobs, has said his target is to add a staggering 100 million jobs to the economy by 2022.'

This is a government intervention to increase jobs. This reduces unemployment rate thus creates spending. (Fiscal Policy on government increasing spending)

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Indian Economy: Overview, Market Size, Growth, Development, Statistics...IBEF

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Learn about the Indian Economy, incl. an overview of the major sectors, market size, growth, recent developments, stats, etc...By India Brand Equity Foundation,

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Topic on GDP and Inflation

India's GDP is expected to grow at 7.5 percent in 2015-2016 and is ahead of China as the fastest growing economy.

Some of the economic activities that has shown positive & significant growth are financing, insurance, real estate, business services, trade, hotel, transport services etc.

India will soon grow at a potential 8 per cent on average with greater access to technology, banking.

(Expenditure approach= C+G+I+(X-M))

India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate eased to 3.66 per cent in August 2015 compared to 3.69 per cent in the previous month.

India's consumer confidence continues to remain highest globally for the fifth quarter in a row which is a contributing factor to India's economy growth.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Moody’s Investors Service have forecasted that India will witness a GDP growth rate of 7.5 per cent in 2016, due to improved investor confidence, lower food prices and better policy reforms. Besides, according to mid-year update of United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects, India is expected to grow at 7.6 per cent in 2015 and at 7.7 per cent in 2016.

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Topic on Inflation

'Asserting that India was doing better than when his government took office 18 months ago, the Prime Minister said that the nation's GDP growth was up and the inflation was down, among other things.'

A decrease in inflation is also known as disinflation.

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Article 2 - India's GDP has gone up, inflation is down; FDI is up, CAD is down: Modi at ASEAN Summit

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Article 2 - India's GDP has gone up, inflation is down; FDI is up, CAD is down: Modi at ASEAN Summit

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Asserting that the time had come for India to make its mark in the resurgence of Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called the world leaders to come to India and witness the 'winds of change' as he pitched his 'Make in India' initiative on the global forum.

"I have been saying that the 21st century belongs to Asia. Together, ASEAN's ten member countries form an economic powerhouse. ASEAN has emerged as one of the largest economic zones in the world. Last fifteen years have seen your rapid and yet stable growth. Your macro-economic stability has been the main reason for growth and stability in South East Asia. With good governance, futuristic infrastructure and focus on new age technologies, you have created excellence," Prime Minister Modi said addressing the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit here.

Complimenting the leadership and people of ASEAN countries for what they have achieved, the Prime Minister lauded the developments of the nations and said that the "spirit of the people" was more responsible for progress than the "size of population".

Talking about the importance of reforms in India, Prime Minister Modi said that the nation was in dire need of reforms before his government took office.

"My government took office nearly 18 months ago. The Indian economy faced serious challenges. A high fiscal deficit, a high current account deficit, a large number of stalled infrastructure projects and persistent inflation were among them. We asked ourselves the question: "Is it a reform just to increase the measured rate of GDP growth? Or is it to bring about a transformation in society? My answer is clear: we must reform to transform," he said.

Asserting that India was doing better than when his government took office 18 months ago, the Prime Minister said that the nation's GDP growth was up and the inflation was down, among other things.

"Foreign investment is up and the Current Account Deficit is down. Tax revenues are up and interest rates are down. The fiscal deficit is down and the rupee is stable. Obviously, this did not happen by accident. This success is the result of a series of concerted policies. We have entered, for the first time, into a monetary framework agreement with the Reserve Bank to curb inflation," he added.

Expressing confidence that there was an increased sense of assurance within the nation, Prime Minister Modi said the IMF and World Bank have expressed even better hope for the Indian economy this year and after.

"The Economist magazine this week stated that India is in a healthier shape than any other big emerging economy. However, as I said, our aim is not mere reform, but reform to transform. Macro-economic stability is good. But to transform India, much more needs to be done. We have begun a series of concerted steps. These include structural and institutional reforms," he said.

Discussing the new reforms in India, the Prime Minister briefed the Summit about a series of simple but 'powerful structural' reforms launched by his government.

"There was a tendency to divert subsidised fertiliser for the production of chemicals. We have found a simple but very effective solution: by neem-coating the fertiliser, it becomes unsuitable for diversion. This has already saved billions of rupees of diverted farm subsidies. We have also introduced Soil Health Card. This tells every farmer the condition of his or her soil and then enables him to choose the right crop, best quantity and mix of inputs," he said.

"We have launched a housing program, one of the most ambitious in the world. It involves building 20 million urban houses and 29.5 million rural houses, totalling nearly 50 million. We have undertaken major improvements in the transport sector. Our major ports witnessed a 4.65% growth in traffic and an 11.2% increase in operating income, in 2014-15 despite a global contraction in trade volume," he added.

Praising the impact of his 'Jan Dhan Yojana' in India, Prime Minister Modi said in less than a year, 190 million new bank accounts have been opened.

"On Social security front, we have launched innovative and attractive schemes for insurance and pension. We have also set up MUDRA Bank to fund the small traders who were unfunded so far. More than six million small traders have already availed the loans. For the first time since banks were nationalised 46 years ago, private sector professionals have been appointed in key positions. We have started a major revamp of the power sector,? he said.

Wooing the world leaders for his 'Make in India' pitch, the Prime Minister said that his government has been working hard on the front of 'ease of doing business'.

'Reducing complicated procedures, making them available at one platform- preferably online, simplifying the forms and formats has been taken up on war footing. That is how we have jumped up by 12 ranks in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report of 2016. We are working in all ways to make India a global manufacturing hub,' he said.

He also stressed that India was committed to protect Intellectual Property Rights of all innovators.

"We have taken several initiatives for transparency and online processing in IP administration. A comprehensive National IPR policy is expected by the end of the year. We are moving fast to make sure that our tax regime is transparent and predictable. We are also keen to see that genuine investors and honest tax payers get quick and fair decisions on tax matters," he said.

Inviting the world leaders to come and invest, Prime Minister Modi said India was a 'land of immense opportunities' and that India should be given the opportunity to contribute in Asia's resurgence.

"Our democratic values and an alert judicial system ensure the safety of your investments. Most of the ASEAN economies have done their bit for Asia's resurgence. Now, it is India's turn. And we know that our time has come. I invite you to come and see the winds of change in India. When you come, you will get the wings of a new business environment. And once you are there, I assure you of my full co-operation," he added. (ANI)

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India's GDP has gone up, inflation is down; FDI is up, CAD is down: Modi at ASEAN Summit | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis

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India's GDP has gone up, inflation is down; FDI is up, CAD is down: Modi at ASEAN Summit - Asserting that the time had come for India to make its mark in the resurgence of Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called the world leaders to come to India and witness the 'winds of change' as he pitched his 'Make in India' initiative on the global forum.

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Topic on Unemployment

"The state government of Uttar Pradesh in north India advertised 368 peon vacancies last month, it was deluged by 2.3 million applications from young men desperate for the menial job."

"My son has an MSc in physics and has done a course in computers but he's been unemployed for two years. He's overqualified but it's a government job which is secure."

This shows that the number of unemployment in North India is high. (Structural unemployment)

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Article 1 - India's jobs shortage: PhDs, graduates among millions applying for menial

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Article 1 - India's jobs shortage: PhDs, graduates among millions applying for menial

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New Delhi: In the Byzantine hierarchy of an Indian office, the "peon" is at the bottom of the pecking order, a dogsbody who runs errands, fetches water, makes tea, carries files from one department to another and stands up abruptly to salute anyone senior passing by.

Yet when the state government of Uttar Pradesh in north India advertised 368 peon vacancies last month, it was deluged by 2.3 million applications from young men desperate for the menial job.

One of the applicants was Ashok Sethi, 25, whose father, Ramesh, works as a cook in the Indian capital.

"My son has an MSc in physics and has done a course in computers but he's been unemployed for two years. He's overqualified but it's a government job which is secure," Mr Sethi said.

His son was not the only overqualified applicant. The applications included 250 from people with doctorates and 150,000 from graduates.

It"s not yet known how the Uttar Pradesh state machinery will handle the applications. Prabhat Mittal, the unfortunate man in charge of sifting through them in Lucknow, the state capital, said any government job in India always attracts a gigantic number of applications but 2.3 million is a record.

"One reason for the astonishing number is that government salaries have been rising for some years so the salary for this job, 16,000 rupees ($244) per month, is very, very attractive," Mr Mittal said.

He noted that, since it would take years to interview everyone, a subcommittee had been set up to suggest an "alternative model" for choosing the best applicants. "The committee has given its recommendation but I can"t reveal it until it has been approved by the cabinet," he said.

The number of applicants reflects the enduring appeal of a government job as against a private sector job. For one, it is lifelong because of labour laws that make sackings virtually impossible. For another, it comes with a pension which is invaluable in a country with no social security. Finally, it offers a cushy life (the word "cushy" itself comes from the Hindi word "khush" meaning happy, easy, pleasant).

Walk into any government office and you will see lower-rung officials arriving for work late, leaving early, chatting all day over endless cups of tea, playing cards or knitting, and looking aghast at the idea of doing any work.

But the more troubling reason for the 2.3 million applications is the dire shortage of jobs. Every month, about 1 million young Indians join the labour force which already has high levels of unemployment.

India is not creating the 1 million jobs a month it needs to absorb these new workers - workers, moreover, who have much higher aspirations than their fathers or grandfathers.

Every month, about 1 million young Indians join the labour force which already has high levels of unemployment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was swept to power last year with an unprecedented mandate based on his promise to provide economic growth and jobs, has said his target is to add a staggering 100 million jobs to the economy by 2022.

Mr Modi knows that this vast young labour force (half the population is under the age of 25) could be India's "demographic dividend", the much-touted phrase for the young, productive population that powered China's dazzling growth story.

This "demographic dividend" is one reason why economists predict that India, with a 1.2 billion population, will grow faster than China, whose population is now ageing.

But Professor Kirti Parikh, head of the Integrated Research and Action for Development think tank in New Delhi and a former member of the Planning Commission which draws up five-year plans for the economy, says the peon applications reveal a "sad state of affairs".

"This story indicates how the demographic dividend could become a nightmare with millions of jobless youths roaming the streets, creating social instability because their desire for a better life has been thwarted. Job creation is India's biggest challenge," he said.

Experts say that the services sector has seen the biggest growth in jobs but it is only the labour-intensive manufacturing sector that can absorb the millions of unemployed and this sector has been neglected.

According to government data for last year, about 8.6.per cent of India's workers are jobless; youth unemployment is even higher, at more than 10 per cent. One in three graduates up to the age of 29 is unemployed, according to last year's Labour Ministry figures.

Many of these graduates are happy to take blue collar jobs for want of anything better.

Even where jobs exist, employers say applicants are unemployable, with none of the skills they require. A 2013 survey by employability solutions firm Aspiring Minds found that 47 per cent of India's graduates were "unemployable" for any job - the result of a substandard university and school system.

"I am automating my plants because I cannot find workers with even basic skills. I hate to cut jobs rather than increase them but I have no choice," Rajendra Somany, chairman of Hindustan Sanitaryware in New Delhi, said.

For Ramdutt Tiwari, a Lucknow-based journalist, one curious aspect of Peongate is why peons exist at all. "Running errands and washing teacups belongs to another era. How come private companies don't have peons? Why not get rid of the job? Or upgrade it to include some real office duties?" he asked.

Mr Mittal says that outsourcing of peons was once considered by the Uttar Pradesh cabinet but rejected on the grounds that confidential files in the hands of non-government employees could jeopardise security.

"There is a bright side to this story," he adds. "In our ad, we said the applications had to be made online and they were. All of them."

Unable, as a good civil servant, to miss an opportunity to plug his government's achievements, he added "and that's thanks to our policy of handing out free laptops".

Using a laptop and internet connection to apply for a job making tea and carrying files ... yet another of the many strange juxtapositions to be found in India.
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India's jobs shortage: 250 PhDs, 150,000 graduates among millions applying for menial jobs

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New Delhi: In the Byzantine hierarchy of an Indian office, the "peon" is at the bottom of the pecking order, a dogsbody who runs errands, fetches water, makes tea, carries files from one department to another and stands up abruptly to salute anyone senior passing by.