31 August 2024, The Indian EXPRESS
Farm, Services slowdown push GDP growth rate to five-quarter low of 6.7%
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GS3- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development
- India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slipped to a five-quarter low of 6.7 per cent in April-June 2024-25 due to slower growth in agriculture, government spending and services, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday showed.
- The quarterly GDP growth rate for Q1, which fell below the 7-per-cent mark for the first time in a year, came in much lower than the projection of 7.1 per cent given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and 7.8 per cent growth seen in the previous quarter and 8.2 per cent in the year-ago quarter.
- Manufacturing and construction sectors, however, showed firm signs of growth with growth rates of 7.0 per cent and 10.5 per cent, respectively, in April-June as against 5 per cent and 8.6 per cent growth in the year-ago period.
- Public spending was on the slower side, especially in the election phase, with government final consumption expenditure contracting by 0.2 per cent in April-June.
- However, Private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) — the proxy for consumption demand — picked up pace to record a seven-quarter high growth of 7.4 per cent in Q1 as against 5.5 per cent in the year-ago period.
India says its development projects in Bangladesh have been impacted
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GS2- India and its neighborhood- relations
- For the first time since the ouster of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, India said Friday that the “development projects” there have been impacted due to the law and order situation in the country.
- Also Friday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in remarks on the Bangladesh developments, underlined “we also have to recognise that there are political changes, and they can be disruptive”.
HAL, SAFHAL sign deal to develop high-power engines for helicopters
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Prelims Syllabus- Current Affairs
- State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Friday signed an airframer contract with SAFHAL Helicopter Engines Pvt. Ltd. (SAFHAL) to begin the joint design, development, manufacture, supply and support of a new generation high power engine ‘Aravalli’ for two helicopters which it is designing and developing.
- Aravalli will be powering the 13-ton Medium Lift class Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) and the Deck-Based Multi-Role Helicopter (DBMRH).
Cotton exports to Bangladesh hit as Dhaka’s Western garment orders dry up
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GS2- India and its neighborhood relations
- Even as production units in Bangladesh resume operations, with workers putting in extra hours to clear backlogged orders, Western garment and footwear firms have temporarily paused placing new orders in the violence-hit neighbouring country, industry sources told The Indian Express.
- The decline in orders from Bangladesh has had a spillover effect on the Indian textile industry, which supplies raw materials and other input items to Bangladesh. While fresh inquiries for garments are coming to India, Indian cotton exports to Bangladesh have begun to decline, industry executives said.
Bank credit growth picks up, deposit growth lags behind
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GS3- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development
- Non-food bank credit registered a growth of 15.1 per cent to Rs 162.92 lakh crore as of July 2024 as compared with 14.7 per cent a year ago, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s latest data.
- However, deposit growth of banks lagged behind at 11.3 per cent at Rs 213.28 lakh crore, RBI data shows.
- With deposits growth slowing down, banks are racing to mobilise funds through special deposit schemes and other innovative plans to meet the credit demand in the system.
- Many banks have reported a decline in deposits during the quarter ended June 2024 as customers are now looking at alternative avenues like the capital markets to park their funds at better returns.
DGTR recommends anti-dumping duty on aluminium foils imported from China
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GS3- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development
- The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday recommended the imposition of an anti-dumping duty on aluminium foils imported from China, after observing that Chinese imports had captured 30 per cent of the Indian market despite sufficient domestic capacity.
- This follows a request for an inquiry from Hindalco, one of India’s largest aluminium manufacturing companies, on the grounds of injury to domestic companies.
- Other applicants included Shyam Sel & Power Ltd, Venkateshwara Electrocast Pvt. Ltd, and Ravi Raj Foils Ltd.
India’s second nuclear sub
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Prelims Syllabus- Defence & Security
- India’s second nuclear submarine, the Arighaat, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on Thursday at Visakhapatnam.
- The submarine has undergone extensive trials over the last few months.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said at the commissioning ceremony that the Arihant-class submarine will “further strengthen India’s nuclear triad, enhance nuclear deterrence, help in establishing strategic balance and peace in the region, and play a decisive role in the security of the country”.
What commissioning of Arighaat means for India
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GS3- Defence production and capabilities
- The commissioning of Arighaat should make all Indians immensely proud. India is now firmly in a very exclusive club that possesses the capability to build a nuclear-powered, ballistic missile capable submarine.
- It is a huge achievement for India’s national defence-scientific community — Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) — as well as their industrial partners, both public and private, that have contributed to the building and operationalisation of the submarine.
