economic advisory council

The domestic savings rate which had fallen in 2008/09 is expected to pick up substantially in 2010-11. We estimate the savings rate at 34.3 per cent of GDP in 2010/11 and the corresponding investment rate will be 37.0 per cent. These savings and investment rates will further improve in 2011/12. These rates should enable the economy to grow in a sustained manner at 9 per cent Full Article

The government will sift through the financial data filed by companies with the Registrar of Companies to get a better picture of their investments and expenditure, helping it get better inputs for key policy decisions such as tax incentives. Financial details submitted with the RoC will be aggregated under various parameters such as investments, deposits and trade debt, a government official told. The initiative is driven by the ministry of corporate affairs. The RoC ha.. Full Article

Relaxation in the norms relating to infrastructure lending and 70 per cent loan loss coverage ratio are likely to top the agenda when bankers meet Reserve Bank of India on January 14, ahead of the quarterly policy review. "Banks will press their demand to relax the norms on infrastructure lending. They may also ask for some easing in the guidelines announced for banks to augment their loan loss coverage ratio to 70 per cent," Indian Banks' Association chief executive, K .. Full Article

The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, or PMEAC, has favoured asingle slab each for goods and services or one common rate for both under the proposed goods and services tax (GST), unlike the proposal mooted by the states.“The Centre could follow the pattern in which there is only one rate for goods and one rate for services, or one rate which is common to both goods and services,” PMEAC Chairman C Rangarajan said. Full Article

India will not tax foreign funds at their point of entry as the government believes the economy is resilient enough to absorb the dollar deluge. Such a tax on foreign inflows — called the Tobin tax, after its proponent, 1981 Economics Nobel winner James Tobin of the US — is being fiercely advocated by the EU and the UK, while Brazil has already imposed a 2 per cent levy. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, does not favour a tax on finances entering India. He .. Full Article