Business Today 5-Sep-21

Three decades is a long time. For those of us who were in journalism thirty years ago, the changes India has witnessed in the business and economic environment over the years have been nothing short of dramatic. I remember, as cub reporters on the stock market beat, we would have to trudge every day to the crowded stock exchange to take a peek at the latest notices on the exchange notice boards, and would return to office thrilled if there was something big enough to warrant a story. Those were the days of open outcry trading, when the Securities and Exchange Board of India didn’t have statutory powers, and the brokers were often at loggerheads with an institution struggling to get regulatory teeth. That was then. Today, people trade at…

1 GDP On A Fast Track The gross domestic product (GDP) was ₹135.13 lakh crore in FY21, registering a CAGR of 5.7 per cent in the last three decades, from ₹25.41 lakh crore in FY92 2 GVA Sees a Sharp Spike Gross value added — output, less intermediate consumption — was ₹124.53 lakh crore in FY21, rising 432 per cent from FY92. Farm sector’s share halved during the period 3 & 4 Loosened Purse Strings The fiscal deficit is estimated to be ₹15.07 lakh crore, or 9.3 per cent of GDP, versus a deficit of ₹0.36 lakh crore, or 5.5 per cent of GDP, in FY92. It has been higher than 4 per cent during most years 5 Per-capita Income up 18 Times India’s per-capita GDP growth soared 1,783 per cent to…

AN EVENTFUL RIDE The BSE Sensex has risen 55 times in three decades; the key events JULY 1991 Dr Manmohan Singh’s budget APRIL 1992 Harshad Mehta Scam OCT. 1999 Sensex crosses 5,000 points 2008 Global financial crisis 2009 UPA wins second term 2014 NDA wins with Narendra Modi as PM 2017 GST is implemented 2019 NDA wins second term MARCH 2020 Covid-19 triggers crash JAN. 2021 Vaccine rolled out in India ₹20.6 LAKH CRORE Revenue of all listed companies in FY21, from ₹29,000 cr in FY92 ACTION PACKED Market Turnover up Almost 17 Times Since 1996-97 THE GREAT INCOME BOOST Profitability has seen a steep jump THE SIX SURVIVORS The other 24 companies in the 1991 Sensex are out of the benchmark index Hindustan Unilever 14.5 2,358.8 Larsen & Toubro…

Thirty years ago, the Indian economy famously liberalised itself and sailed into the rough seas of a fast-integrating global economy. It was a revolutionary move that transformed India into a serious business destination. Soon after, another revolution happened – the advent of Business Today, a magazine that has led the charts in business content delivery for three decades, by the chronicling and sharp analysis of the ebb and flow of India’s economic and corporate life. From the listing of Infosys on Nasdaq, to the split between the Ambani brothers, to the multi-billion dollar overseas acquisitions by Tata and Aditya Birla groups, to the more recent game-changing policy and taxation reforms such as GST, RERA and bankruptcy code, Business Today has presented sharp analyses of India Inc.’s strategic moves and the…

India of 2021 is dramatically different from the India of early 2020, not just because of the massive health crisis that we’re facing globally, but equally because of a generational shift that has happened over the last one year as a result of an explosive digital transformation. One of the most visible effects of digital adoption has been on businesses, both small and large, and con sequently on the Indian economy. We know that the pandemic has adversely affected business operations, but it’s also true that the digital forces unleashed over the last one year have made the economy more resilient, created new opportunities for business growth and are now paving the way for economic recovery. Several studies have shown that the economic impact of the second wave of the…

The performance of India’s economy during the past few quarters has been good, despite the considerable uncertainty created by the second wave of Covid-19. Notwithstanding these continuing challenges, the country looks set to register impressive growth this year. As the second wave wanes, vaccination drives accelerate and states gradually unlock, an all-round optimism is re-emerging. POLICIES AND REFORMS India will keep attracting investments and advancing steadily to become the manufacturing hub of the world as it continues with broad structural reforms to ease policy and infrastructure bottlenecks. The Centre’s emphasis on rural development and employment generation are well supported by programmes such as ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-sufficient India), ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’. It is no surprise that the latest Union Budget has included measures to support micro, small and…