NITI Aayog Rejigged With 15 Ministers, Allies Find Place; IMF Revises India FY 25 Growth

Modi Govt Reconstitutes NITI Aayog With 15 Union Ministers Including Allies

The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has reconstituted the NITI Aayog, with four full-time members and 15 union ministers, including from BJP allies, as either ex-officio members or special invitees, Nusiness Standard reported.

PM Narendra Modi remains the chairperson and economist Suman K Bery will continue to be the vice-chairperson of NITI Aayog. The four ex-officio members will be Union Ministers Rajnath Singh (Defence), Amit Shah (Home), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Agriculture) and Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance). The special invitees in the reconstituted NITI Aayog will be Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, HD Kumaraswamy, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh. The other special invitees are Union Ministers Virendra Kumar, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, Jual Oram, Annpurna Devi, Chirag Paswan and Rao Inderjit Singh. Read more

IMF Raises India’s GDP FY25 Forecast To 7 Per Cent From 6.8

The International Monetary Fund has raised India’s growth forecast for FY25 to 7 per cent from 6.8 per cent projected in April, according to its World Economic Outlook released on July 16, Moneycontrol.com reported.

"The forecast for growth in India has also been revised upward, to 7 percent, this year, with the change reflecting carryover from upward revisions to growth in 2023 and improved prospects for private consumption, particularly in rural areas," the fund noted. It expects the economy to grow 6.5 percent in FY26—unchanged from April. In June, the Reserve Bank of India had revised India’s growth forecast upward to 7.2 from 7 percent earlier. More here 

Banks Hike Interest On Special Plans To Lower Gap Between Credit And Deposit Growth

Indian banks have intensified efforts to garner retail deposits through special plans that offer savers at least 25-30 basis points more than current commitments of comparable tenures, signalling policy interest rates will remain elevated for some time now, the Economic Times reported.

SBI, Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra have started deposit plans offering 7.25 per cent to 7.30 per cent on investments stretching from 399 to 444 days. These banks are offering an additional 50 basis points for senior citizens. The move to raise deposit rates comes within a fortnight of the Reserve Bank of India's interaction with banks. The regulator had directed bank CEOs to narrow the gap between deposit and credit growth. More here

NCLT Begins Byju’s Bankruptcy Hearing On BCCI Petition Over Sponsorship Dues

The National Company Law Tribunal has appointed a bankruptcy professional who will oversee Byju’s day-to-day operations while it hears an insolvency petition filed against it by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Livemint reported.

BCCI dragged the former sponsorship partner of the Indian cricket team to the bankruptcy court for allegedly defaulting on dues worth Rs 158 crore. Tuesday’s order was the first in the matter. The NCLT bench led by Justices K. Biswal and Manoj Kumar Dubey appointed Pankaj Srivastava as the interim insolvency resolution professional to oversee Byju’s operations until the matter is closed. Founder Byju Raveendran has lost immediate operational control of the edtech startup following this. More here

Decline In Foreign Students In India Leaves US$ 6 billion BoP Hole 

The growing demand among Indian students for education at foreign universities, coupled with the declining intake of foreign students by Indian universities, has gradually but steadily created a US$6 billion hole in India’s current account balance, Business Standard reported.

An analysis of the balance of payments data shows education-related travel by Indians more than doubled in 10 years—from US$2.46 billion in FY15 to US$6.3 billion in FY24. The rise in the income level of the Indian middle class and better employment opportunities with higher wages outside India are often cited as reasons behind such a trend. However, travel to India by foreigners for education has more than halved from US$519 million in FY15 to US$247 million in FY24. More here 

Tata Steel To Get UK Labour Govt Diktat On Jobs Before Funding

The new Labour government in the UK is expected to demand that Tata Steel protect local jobs at its Port Talbot plant, before it approves the 500-million ($635 million) lifeline offered by the previous administration for building a low-carbon facility, the Economic Times reported.

"Decarbonisation does not mean deindustrialisation," new UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told ET. "I will be working to safeguard jobs as part of negotiations, securing the future of steel-making communities for generations to come." In September 2023, Tata Steel announced plans for a new low-carbon electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Wales factory, to be commissioned in 2027. The project entails investment of £1.25 billion jointly with the UK government, and thus hinges upon final approval of the grant. More here