Indian Economy’s Signs of Improvement
Prof. Vivek Singh, Professor of Commerce, Political and Economic Analyst Most of the economic data pertaining to many sectors across the country are showing that the Indian economy is back on track. The pace of economic development in the country has gained momentum. There has been a 13.5% increase in earnings from Indian Railways on freight. In September, Indian Railways earned a revenue of ?9903 crore. In addition, Indian Railways had handled 885 lakh tonnes of freight in September 2019, which increased to 1021 lakh tonnes in September 2020. Thus, the amount of freight handled by the Indian Railways has shown an increase of 15.4% in September this year compared to the previous year. As far as GST collection is concerned, GST collection of ?91917 crore was done in September 2019, GST of ?95380 crore was collected in October 2019 which increased to ?103184 crore in December 2019. The government received ?110818 crore from GST in January 2020, the lowest being ?32172 crore in April 2020, ?90917 crore in June 2020, ?87422 crore in July 2020, ?84449 crore in August 2020 and ?95480 crore in September 2020 received as GST. In September 2019, the government received ?91917 crore from GST, which increased by 4% to ?95480 crore in September 2020. If we compare August 2020 to September 2020, the revenue from GST increased by 13%. ?84449 crore was received from GST in August 2020, which increased by 13% to ?95480 crore in September 2020. Demand for electricity registered an increase of 4.2% in the month of September, clearly showing that industrial production has increased. Maruti Suzuki, the largest company in the auto sector, managed to sell 160442 units in September 2020, with domestic sales registering a 32.2% of growth in September. In the month of September last year, the company’s total sales was of 122640 units. The sale of Petrol has also seen an increase. Petrol sales have increased by 2% in September 2020 as compared to September 2019. The country had sales of petrol close to 2456000 tonnes in January 2020, which reached 2419000 tonnes in September 2020. This makes it clear that we have reached the level of the Pre Covid19 situation. Increased sales of petrol is an indication of rapid pace of economic recovery. The Purchasing Managers’ Index – PMI has improved, indicating a sharp rise in production and economic activity.PMI was less than 52 in September 2019, the PMI increased to 56.8 in September 2020. For the first time since January 2012, PMI has reached such a high level. PMI points to increased production and business activities. A PMI below 50 indicates that there has been a contraction in the country and a PMI above 50 indicates an increase in business activities in the country. There is tremendous increase in UPI payment or digital transactions. Digital transactions were of ?1.51 lakh crore in April 2020, ?2.18 lakh crore in May, ?2.61 lakh crore in June, ?2.90 lakh crore in July and ?2.98 lakh crore in August 2020. The foreign exchange reserves had reached a record level of $545 billion in the week ending 18 September 2020. The volume of e-way bill was 5.74 crore in September 2020, which is 9.3% higher than in September 2019. Sonalika tractor sales were 10571 units in September 2019, which increased 51.4% and total sale was 16000 units in September 2020. The company exported 1704 tractors in September 2020, while in September 2019 the company managed to export only 1552 tractors. All the key economic indicators are clearly indicating that Indian economy is growth oriented. The Covid-19 Pandemic has no long-term adverse impact on the economy. The contraction in the economy was only for a very short period. The pace of economic development in the country has regained momentum. (Originally appeared in www.avenuemail.in)
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