Business Today 26-Jul-20

Repeated, unexpected strikes on Chinese economic interests in India since March may have caught the dragon by surprise, but retaliation is inevitable. In fact, the lack of any retaliatory move so far is building up more intense anticipation. While it may have come to a head in the past few months — mostly fuelled by the rise of nationalism following the Chinese incursions and fatal face-offs — India has been erecting tariff and non-tariff barriers to reduce import dependence since 2017, when it had imposed anti-dumping duties on 93 Chinese products around the time the forces of the two counries were facing off each other in Doklam. With China+Hong Kong being India’s biggest trading partner, it hurts them the most. Particularly, when the duo together enjoys a $54.6 billion trade…

GROSS FINANCIAL SAVINGS TOUCH THREE-YEAR LOW… …THOUGH NET SAVINGS RISE A BIT IN Q4 * Net financial assets are gross financial assets less financial liabilities NET FINANCIAL LIABILITIES RISE SHARPLY IN Q4… …WHILE GROSS FINANCIAL LIABILITIES FALL IN FY20 HOUSEHOLDS PARK MOST ASSETS IN DEPOSITS AND LIFE INSURANCE Outstanding Position (at end-March 2020) % Share BANK LOANS ACCOUNT FOR A BIG CHUNK OF LIABILITIES Outstanding Position (At end-March 2020) % Share DEPOSITS RISE FASTER THAN BANK BORROWINGS IN Q4 Deposits and Borrowings of Households (₹Lakh Cr)…

A total of 113 companies out of 130 (87 per cent) which responded to a Nielsen survey have supported India’s fight against Covid Of these 113, 84 have made cash contributions totalling ₹7,537 crore, which can be classified as CSR spend; of this, 57 per cent was contributed to the PM CARES Fund The remaining 29 either contributed to other funds (₹373 crore), and/or facilitated voluntary employee donations (₹84 crore) that cannot be classified as CSR spend, or donated in kind (food and masks), for which assigning a monetary value is difficult Source: Nielsen CSR SPENDERS FOR COVID FIGHT…

TWO-WHEELER 14,19,842 1,59,039 (-89%) Source: Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations THREE WHEELER 51,430 1,881 (-96%) COMMERCIAL VEHICLE 80,392 2,711 (-97%) PASSENGER VEHICLE 2,35,933 30,749 (-87%) 34,053 8,317 (-76%) TRACTOR After nil sales in April, May is turning out to be only slightly better for the auto sector; overall vehicle registrations fell 88.9 per cent during the month At the end of May, out of 26,500 outlets, only 60 per cent showrooms and 80 per cent workshops were operational in the country…

Mumbai-based Vu Technologies is a relatively new entrant in India’s fast-growing smart TV space. But it has managed to hold its own against established rivals like Samsung, LG and Sony as well as a slew of Chinese companies like Xiaomi, Oppo and One Plus. The ₹1,000 crore company claims to be the largest maker of 4K TVs in India and a segment leader in India’s online marketplace. The company has not been impacted by India’s decision to discourage sourcing of electronic components from its second-biggest bilateral trade partner, China, through higher tariffs, but is not too happy about the frequent changes in tariffs and policies in the country. This, it says, prevents manufacturers from committing funding to build own manufacturing capacities. “From my perspective, the big challenge in government policy…

POLICY: Between 2014 and 2016, India reduced import duties on many electronic items and machinery EFFECT: Imports from China increased significantly between 2013 and 2018 for electronic goods, solar panels/modules and other machinery POLICY: To protect domestic industry, safeguard and anti-dumping duties imposed on steel from China between 2015 and 2016 EFFECT: Steel imports from mainland China and Hong Kong peaked in 2014/15; they have declined since then POLICY: India starts increasing import duties on mobile phones, LED and CRT TVs, computers, etc, from Budget 2016/17, and more significantly, in 2017/18 and 2018/19 EFFECT: Import of electronic items, machinery and solar equipment, which peaked in 2017/18, began declining after that. It coincided with a downturn in India’s economy IN STORE FOR THE FUTURE: On June 23, India imposed anti-dumping duty…