Industrial growth sluggish (Sushma Ramachandran, South Asia Monitor)

IN the midst of all the political tremors over surgical strikes, the economic scenario appears to be on a much more even keel lately. The appointment of the new RBI Governor, Urjit Patel, was not only widely welcomed as a thoughtful decision, he also went ahead with a long-awaited rate cut earlier this month. Besides, retail inflation has moderated considerably while exports seem to be finally emerging out of the morass of the past few years.The latest news about the steep fall in the index of industrial production thus comes as a dampener in the midst of all other positive indicators. The IIP has fallen to a 10-year-low in the first five months of the current fiscal from April to August. It is a negative 0.27 per cent, the lowest since 2007-8. This is even lower than the level reached during the Lehman crisis of 2009.

http://southasiamonitor.org/news/industrial-growth-sluggish/eco/19929

New policy up in the air (Sushma Ramachandran, South Asia Monitor)

The Civil Aviation Ministry has seen the entry of a new Minister of State, Jayant Sinha, shortly after the launch of a new policy which will have major ramifications for the industry. Mr Sinha’s shifting is being widely speculated on, as he was considered a perfect fit for his previous role in the Finance Ministry as MoS to Arun Jaitley, with his Harvard and McKinsey background. One theory is that his father, Yashwant Sinha’s public criticism of the Prime Minister’s policies has led to this shift.

http://southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=eco&nid=18154

Tremors in global markets (Sushma Ramachandran, South Asia Monitor)

http://southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=eco&nid=17884