According to the economic survey and also the Mid Year Economic Analysis (MYEA), it is very important to increase investments in economy to increase the rate of development. The ratio of investments to the gross domestic product of the country in the year 2012-13 at current market value was 34.8%. This statistic is available only till 2012-13. The rate of growth of GDP in the year 20113-14 at constant prices and factor cost was 4.7%. In the first half of the current year (2014-15), this growth has been 5.5%.

String of measures taken to give a fillip  to economy

To bring back investment on rails and also to increase its speed, many steps have been taken in the central budget for the year. Some of the measures taken in this direction include strengthening financial health, stress on reforms related to expenditure, making tax regime progressive and more reasonable, giving attention to industries and basic infrastructure, taking concretes measure in the fields of electricity and transport, and to encourage more foreign direct investment in certain sectors of the economy. On the other hand, stress on ‘Make in India’ slogan across the globe is to catch the attention of investors in different parts of the world so that they are motivated to invest in Indian economy.  The main objective of this Make in India initiative is to introduce India as a very attractive destination for investment. It also aims to present India as a hub for designing and manufacturing. It is being hoped that this will make it easier for foreign companies to do business in India.  The quality of basic infrastructure relates services would go up and India would come up as an attractive investment destination.

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The RBI has said that it will carry out overnight repo variable rate auction for an amount of Rupees 50000 crore today i.e. 22 Dec 2014 between 4:00 PM and 4:30 PM. This auction will take place according to the revised guidelines that were issued on 13 Feb 2014 on the subject of Term Repo Auctions. Those who are successful will receive the amount as per their bid rates. Bidders bidding at or below the mentioned repo rate will be disqualified. Reversal of repo rate will be done on next day that is 23 December 2014.

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Mumbai, 19 December 2014. SBI, which is the premier bank of India, in a bid to make its customers more tech savvy, has announced opening up of Tech Learning Centers. These centers will enable customers to learn the latest technologies that they can use to avail online services by SBI. The scheme of TLCs for the customers was launched today by Mr. H R Khan, who is the Deputy Governor of the RBI. There will be 385 such centers located in different parts of the country. Employees of the bank will demonstrate these features in front of the customers in these centers.  Customers of the bank will learn and later use these technologies. These interactive classes will be conducted for nearly 15000 customers in the first phase of this program. The classes for the customers will be held on every 3^rd Friday of a month in the evening between 4PM and 6PM. This new initiative will complement the measures already taken by the bank to educate its customers through traditional means such as brochures, bank’s official website, and through customer care helpline.

Chairperson feels these centers would help customers and also ease pressure on branches

Shrimati Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson of SBI, speaking on the introduction of these TLCs, said, “Although there is significant growth in transactions through alternate channels of banking, it was felt that many customers still visit branches for their routine transactions because they feel electronic channels are complex or risky. In the TLC session of about 60-90 minutes, customers will be explained features of various alternate channels, shown live demos and will also be told about the security aspects of each channel”.

She revealed the new plans of the bank

She informed the gathering present at the function that State Bank of India has always endeavored to pass on the latest technology based features to its customers. She disclosed that SBI is planning to establish cash-re-cyclers all over the country. These recyclers will be 40000 in number and help the customers to not only withdraw but also deposit money. These new instruments will add to the tally of already present ATMs, CDMs, and recyclers. The bank is also installing 2500 Swayam, kiosks where customers will be able to print their passbooks. This is being done to ease the burden on banks with very high frequency of customers.

SBI branches today have Green Channel Counter. All internet banking features and mobile apps of the bank are constantly upgraded to provide value added services to the customers.  Today, SBI is leading all banks in India in terms of e-banking and its excellent payment gateway system. Its services are customer friendly which is reflected in the fact that over 4 crore financial transactions take place using SBI’s internet banking facility.

The new mobile app of SBI has become a huge hit

SBI launched ‘State Bank Anywhere’ app in March 2014. This app can be downloaded in smartphones to avail the services of SBI from anywhere. This app has become a huge hit among the customers particularly its feature called mPassBook. On this occasion, Shrimati Bhattacharya urged people to avail all the technology based latest features offered by the bank to enjoy financial transactions in totally safe and secure environment on a 24X7 basis.

Also present on the occasion was Shri H R Khan, the Deputy Governor of RBI. He said, “I am here because State Bank of India is very interested in creating awareness about electronic banking. Though human touch in customer relationship will always remain, the mode of delivery has to be increasingly these new methods of technology. It makes a lot of sense for the bank to move to these methods for the ease and convenience of the customers.”

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Axis Bank, which is the 3^rd largest private sector bank of India, has extended its popular loyalty reward point program called eDGE to its customers holding Current Accounts and also to those having its Travel Cards. The aim of this program is to reward the loyal customers of the bank. By extending this reward program to current account holders, Axis Bank has become the first Indian bank to do so. Till now, customers having savings accounts in Axis bank availed the benefits of eDGE loyalty rewards program. These customers had to maintain a minimum quarterly balance of Rs. 25000 in their accounts.

Loyalty Reward Program eDGE has become very popular

Axis Bank launched eDGE in 2013 and within a year this popular reward program has been extended to cover many kinds of transactions such as saving, investment, spending, and even borrowing. Customers can earn points under this program through any kind of relationship they have with Axis Bank. This is certainly very exciting as this feature of reward points is now applicable to people holding credit and debit cards and even to those who have travel cards from Axis Bank. No matter what kind of service you are availing from Axis Bank, you are entitled to receive reward points for your loyalty.

The program is available cutting across many banking relationships

To make its eDGE program readily accessible, Axis Bank has integrated it with its mobile banking app as well as internet banking facilities. Even those who make use of customer care and phone banking features are now eligible to receive their reward points for financial transactions in their savings and current accounts. Customers who receive their salary in their Axis Bank savings account can get their reward points and so can customers who make use of facilities such as Standing Instructions and ECS are eligible to receive these reward points. One can earn thousands of eDGE reward points by having different banking relationships with Axis Bank.

Mr. Rajiv Anand, who is the Group Executive & Head Retail Banking, Axis Bank, is feeling happy and excited. Addressing the audience, he said, ‘’The eDGE Loyalty Rewards have evolved from our Brand promise of being a true ‘partner in progress’ for our customers. While we continue to design and develop new products and services that meet our customers need, eDGE Loyalty Rewards offers customers an ocean of opportunities to earn reward points while Saving, Spending, Investing or Borrowing. The vast range of rewards and good online experience should further drive engagement and bonding with our customers.”

An Overview of Axis Bank

3^rd largest Indian bank in private sector, Axis Bank has carved a niche for itself among its clientele that include not only large and small corporate but also those involved with agriculture as well as retail business. The bank is known for its high quality services that are being provided through 1947 branches located across the length and breadth of the country. The bank has a presence in 1263 cities and it has a network of 11245 ATMs all over India. Axis Bank is able to serve its customers through wide ranging products and services. It also has offices in many foreign countries such as Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai.

One can learn more about the products and features of Axis Bank by visiting www.axisbank.com.

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The RBI has said that it will carry out overnight repo variable rate auction for an amount of Rupees 50000 crore today i.e. 22 Dec 2014 between 4:00 PM and 4:30 PM. This auction will take place according to the revised guidelines that were issued on 13 Feb 2014 on the subject of Term Repo Auctions. Those who are successful will receive the amount as per their bid rates. Bidders bidding at or below the mentioned repo rate will be disqualified. Reversal of repo rate will be done on next day that is 23 December 2014.

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Mid Year Economic Analysis is a document that gives an indication of where things stand in the midst of a financial year on different indicators of the economy. The following are some of the important points of MYEA 2014-15.

Macro-economy along with mood of the investors

Macro-economy of India has changed dramatically in the last few months, and so has the sentiment of the investors. There has been a reduction in inflation coupled with a corresponding decrease in fiscal deficit (current account). Inflow of capital has been increasing and the valuation of stock markets has been going up. Growth that was actually decelerating in the last few years has finally come out of a slumber and the world has started to sit up and take a fresh look at the initiatives of the new government. The change is palpable with the change in guard at the helm of affairs as the new government is not bound with the shackles of demands of coalition partners. This is why people expect this government to move ahead on economic front with a decisive and swift manner.

As if taking the cue, the new government has embarked upon a series of programs and policies that include deregulation of diesel prices, increasing the natural gas prices, linking cooking gas with bank accounts, dampening inflation in commodities related to agriculture, encouraging more FDI by removing caps in certain areas such as defense and opening up railways, moving in the direction of deregulation, and increasing the pace of financial inclusion.  These initiatives by the government have coincided with a declining price of crude oil at the international level to boost the condition of Indian economy at the macro level. All this has helped in allaying the fears and doubts in the minds of business men and the investors around the country.

Situation at the fiscal front

Government has made its intentions very clear that it intends to reduce the fiscal deficit. This is reflected in the Mid Year Economic Analysis though there are challenges in front of the government that are as following.

1. Growth in revenue collection has been slow because of slow growth of economy
2. Revenue projections that were estimated are not materializing
3. Expenditures in the past are proving to be a burden
4. The fiscal deficit reduction targets are too ambitious especially when India is experiencing a slowdown of economy

Inflation

Results are good at the front of inflation because of several reasons. Corrective actions from government and the RBI, falling prices of agricultural products, falling crude prices, and slow growth of economy have favored decline in inflation. These forces that are both global as well as domestic have had a great effect on inflation and it is estimated that this downward trend in inflation may continue for some time to come.

Situation of exchange rate

It is clear to everyone that Rupee is having a free fall against the US dollar. But US dollar is also strengthening against other major currencies of the world. However, Rupee has appreciated against other currencies, which is a heartening trend. If India’s exports have lost their competitive edge, it is because of this depreciation of Rupee against the US dollar and also because of a surge in inflow of capital from other countries.

Challenge of growth

Deceleration in growth that was continuing for many years has now stopped. Dual forces of growth and improved investments are at work at present though there remains uncertainty about investments from the private sector. This is because of corporate sector is relatively weaker and boasts of high debts and small or negative profits. This is also because infrastructure model called PPP is in a state of limbo.  This is a condition has become a characteristic of Indian companies and referred to as balance sheet syndrome.

It is strongly felt that to take growth forward and upward, it is necessary to pump in public funds in addition to participation of private investments. It has also become imperative to finance projects that are essential rather than wasting money on useless projects.

Future of reforms

People are excited and hoping for a revival in growth of economy not only because of the initiatives of the government such as Goods and Services Tax introduction and introduction of direct transfers. It is fervently hoped that GST will help in increasing collection of revenues and also reduce corruption that is prevalent in indirect tax collection. GST will pave the way for a climate of investment that will provide a level playing field to the investors as it will remove hurdles in trade. Linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts will ensure that subsidies and other welfare benefits reach the end users and middlemen will have no role or scope to intervene.

However, it is a must that initiatives and programs stated by the central government are complimented and introduced at state level also. This will ultimately lead to a situation where India could become a role model in terms of a cooperative and competitive federal structure. In conclusion, it can be said that there is great hope for the revival of growth of Indian economy and no room for complacency at this critical moment of the reform process.

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New Delhi, December 15, 2014. Shri Arun Jaitley, the Union Finance Minister, is of the view that Indian Economy has the potential to grow at a high rate despite the fact that the world economy is undergoing a critical phase. ‘’The world economy is passing through a critical phase while Indian economy has potential to grow at a higher rate,’’ said the Finance Minister. He made a mention of infrastructure and manufacturing sectors of the economy in this regard as he feels that these two sectors have a lot of potential that still remains unexploited. He was addressing a group of students from Stanford University who had come to meet him today in his office.

Informed the visiting students about welfare measures and other initiatives

Speaking to these students, the Finance Minister told them about many welfare schemes launched by the government of India for the benefit of the people belonging to the weaker sections of the society. He said that these programs that were essential were going on well and achieving their social objectives. He made a special mention of education for all and the food security programs. He also informed the visiting students about other programs and schemes of the government of India that have been initiated to bring back Indian economy on rails.

It is worthwhile to mention here that Indian economy grew at a rate of 5.3% in the quarter ending in September 2014. This is slightly more than the growth registered in the same quarter last year (5.2%).

Also present in the meeting between the Finance Minister and the visiting students were Shri Rajiv Mehrishi, Finance Secretary, and Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor.

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95.081 BCM is the water storage in 85 of the most important water reservoirs of India as on 18 December 2014. This is 61% of the capacity of the reservoirs. This water storage is 84% of the storage in the corresponding period in 2013 but close to 98% of average water storage in the last decade. The present level of water stored in these reservoirs is much less than water stored last year and also less than average water stored in these reservoirs over a period of last 10 years. Monitoring of water status in these reservoirs is carried out live by the Central Water Commission every week. 37 of these 85 reservoirs are filled using hydropower electricity utilizing 60MW capacity. 155.046 BCM is the total storage capacity of these reservoirs which is much less of 253.388BCM storage capacity that was planned to have been in place by now.

Condition of water storage according to regions

Northern region

This region comprises states like Rajasthan, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh. 6 reservoirs of Northern region have a combined storage capacity totaling 18.01BCM. Out of this capacity, water storage in these 6 reservoirs today is 9.82BCM. This means that only 55% of their capacity is getting utilized at present. Last year this storage was 69% of the capacity while the average storage in the last 10 years was 60%.  This means that water condition this year is not only less than storage last year but also less than average storage in the last 10 years.

Eastern region

West Bengal, Orissa, Tripura, and Jharkhand are the states making up the Eastern region. 18.83BCM is the total storage capacity of the 15 reservoirs located n the region. However, the present storage is only 76% of the capacity and amounts to 14.25BCM. This storage is much less than 89% that was recorded last year in the corresponding period. The average storage of these water reservoirs in the last 10 years was 71%. Thus, though water storage this year is less than last year, it is better than the average water storage in the last 10 years.

Western region

Maharashtra and Gujarat are states making up the western region. 22.54BCM is the storage capacity of 22 reservoirs situated in this region. But the status of water storage in this region is 15.02 BCM which means only 61% of the capacity is utilized. It was much better last year in terms of water storage (78%) while the average storage during the last 10 years has been 70%. This means that water storage status this year is not only much less than storage last year but also less than the average of the last 10 years.

Central region

This region is made up of states like UP, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. This region contains 12 reservoirs having combined capacity of 42.30 BCM. The present water storage is 70% of the capacity and amounts to 29.75BCM. This water storage was 78% in the same period last year and the average storage in the last 10 years was 51% of the capacity.  This means that present water storage condition is  less than water storage last year but much higher than the average water storage n the last 10 years.

Southern region

Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh are the states making up the southern region. The total storage capacity of this region is 51.37 BCM through 30 reservoirs located here. The present water storage condition is 26.25BCM that is only 51% of the capacity. The storage last year in the corresponding period was 61% while average storage in the last 10 years in this region was 66% of the capacity. Water storage status this year s thus less than storage last year and also less than average water storage in the last 10 years.

If one takes a look state wise, it becomes clear that states performing better than last year are Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. On the other hand, states performing poor this year are Rajasthan, Punjab, Odisha, Jharkhand, Gujarat, West Bengal, Tripura, UP, Maharashtra, MP, Uttarakhand, AP, and Chattisgarh.

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PPAC, the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, today revealed through its publication that average price of crude oil to India through all sources on 15/12/2014 was USD 60.10 per bbl. PPAC, that works under Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, had earlier computed the crude oil price to Indian basket as $60.38 on 12/12./2014.

International crude oil has become cheaper but Indian currency has become weaker

In terms of Indian currency, the international crude oil price to Indian basket as published on 15/12/2014 comes to Rupees 3765.27/bbl. This price per barrel stood at Rupees 3782.62/bbl on 12/12/2014. In the same period, Indian Rupee has become weaker against the US dollar as its value depreciated from Rupees 62.44 per USD on 12/12/2014 to Rupees 62.65 per USD on 15/12/2014.

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