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India will continue to be fastest growing economy, even perform better: FM Sitharaman

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New Delhi, June 30: India will continue to be the fastest-growing economy at the current rate of growth — or even better — and with the monsoon being good, agriculture will definitely come up with a more positive number, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

The GDP growth accelerated to a robust 7.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024-25, as result of which the growth rate for the full financial year works out to 6.5 per cent on the back of a strong performance of the agriculture, construction, and services sectors, according to latest RBI data.

In a series of posts on X social media platform, taken out from media interviews, the finance minister said this growth rate will continue, and may even become better with good monsoon around.

She further said that deepening of our markets is actually showing and “the retailers are benefitting, ordinary citizens are benefitting”.

“Our systems are transparent. They are digitised and can be accessed from home. Individuals are able to do it on their own rather than depend on others to help them out. These are signs of a very good dynamic economy,” FM Sitharaman emphasised.

According to her, it is clear from the policy that labour-intensive units will be given support.

“We have been specific that handicrafts, handmade goods etc will get succour. So there is no way in which we are choosing between one (labour) and the other (capital/tech). Manufacturing, whether it is employment-intensive, or requires automation, policy support will be given,” the Finance Minister highlighted.

Budget after budget over the past 11 years, this government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi “has made sure that we make some concrete policies that will help people, particularly the MSMEs,” she added.

Like the way PM Modi pushed the Aspirational Districts to meet saturation in most of the schemes, the Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana will make agricultural productivity the centre focus, and the value addition as the way in which farmers’ income can be increased even in these areas, she mentioned.

“So these are areas in which, in fact, I did suggest to the banks that in these 100 districts, banks should come up with tailor-made schemes for them,” said FM Sitharaman.

PM Modi has also been very keen that defence will not be left wanting.

“Defence’s requirements will be met. Since 2014, attention has been given to small and greater details of demands from defence, whether it is bulletproof jackets or getting the goods in time to the higher reaches,” she posted.

“Indian defence production itself has seen a different growth and today they are also becoming prominent exporters. Other than exports, the way in which domestic capacities have given us the advantage of buying from India for Indian purposes has actually marked the difference,” FM Sitharaman added.

Business

Banks Expect Increased Credit Demand Across Retail, MSME, & Agricultural Segments After GST Reforms

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New Delhi: With the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms, banks expect increased credit demand across retail, MSME, and agricultural segments as incomes rise and business investment picks up.

According to Ajay Kumar Srivastava, MD and CEO, Indian Overseas Bank, the reform will create a strong effect across the economy, leading to improved cashflows for distributors and retailers, greater working capital access for small businesses, and expanded credit requirements amid rising demand.

“Overall, this decision acts as a catalyst for inclusive growth and economic transformation aligning itself to India’s vision of Viksit Bharat”, said Srivastava. This move makes taxation more transparent and easier to follow. “We expect these measures will drive an estimated growth in consumption over 8-10 per cent in the next two quarters in rural markets, particularly benefiting farmers through reduced costs on agricultural products where GST has been brought down from the 12 per cent to 5 per cent,” according to Srivastava.

The price cuts on daily essentials like dairy products, household items, and consumer durables will provide more relief and reduce the burden to the consumers. The reduced GST on vehicles, electronics, and housing materials will create demand for these segments, while making insurance policies completely tax-free will enhance financial inclusion.

According to Sanjay Agarwal, Senior Director, CareEdge Ratings, GST rate cuts result in a decrease in the final price of goods and services, which enhances consumer purchasing power and could stimulate demand across various sectors.

The impact is generally visible in the consumer durables segment. Lower GST rates on automobiles, electronics, and appliances not only make these products more affordable but also expand the addressable market to include price-sensitive consumers who were previously priced out.

“Banks could see an increase in auto loans, personal loans for electronics purchases,” he mentioned. Outstanding housing loans, vehicle loans, credit card and consumer durables account for around 16.7 per cent, 3.5 per cent, 1.6 per cent and 0.1 per cent of banking credit, respectively.

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Business

Auto Stocks Zoom On GST Rate Cuts, Hyundai Tops Gainers As Market Anticipates Festive Season Boost

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Mumbai: On Friday, auto stocks saw a strong rally after the GST Council’s decision to cut tax rates on small cars and motorcycles. The BSE Auto Index rose by 1.30 percent, closing at 58,883.09 points. This surge came as the market responded positively to the new two-slab GST system — 5 percent and 18 percent — announced to take effect from September 22, the first day of Navaratri.

Hyundai Motor India led the auto sector gains, rising 2.69 percent on the BSE. Other top performers included Eicher Motors (+2.43 percent), Mahindra & Mahindra (+2.34 percent), and Ashok Leyland (+2.22 percent).

Maruti Suzuki also climbed 1.70 percent, while TVS Motor went up 1.28 percent. Smaller gains were seen in Sona BLW (0.80 percent), Bharat Forge (0.77 percent), Tata Motors (0.63 percent), Bajaj Auto (0.22 percent), and Hero MotoCorp (0.21 percent).

The reduction in GST rates from 28 percent to 18 percent on many popular vehicle categories is being seen as a major positive move. It affects petrol, LPG, and CNG vehicles with engine sizes under 1,200cc and length under 4,000 mm, and diesel vehicles under 1,500cc and 4,000 mm. Two-wheelers like motorcycles under 350cc will also now attract 18 percent GST, down from the current 28 percent.

Experts believe the decision will benefit first-time buyers and middle-class families, especially during the upcoming festive season. According to Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking, the move is ‘timely and will inject fresh momentum’ into the auto sector. Industry players say this will not only boost sales but also investor confidence in automotive stocks.

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Business

Indian stock market opens higher, Nifty above 24,700

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Mumbai, Sep 5: The Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Friday, buoyed by transformative rate reductions announced by the GST Council across sectors as buying was seen in the auto, IT and PSU bank shares in the early trade.

At around 9.38 am, Sensex was trading 140.72 points or 0.17 per cent up at 80,858.73 while the Nifty added 52 point or 0.21 per cent at 24,786.30.

Nifty Bank was up 4.05 points or 0.01 per cent at 54,079.50 The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,291.20 after adding 332.05 points or 0.58 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,704.70 after gaining 82.75 points or 0.47 per cent.

According to analysts, Nifty indicated an optimistic positive move, with anticipation of positive cues from the GST rate outcome, which would decide the further course of the market in the coming days.

“The index would need a decisive move past the important 50EMA level at the 24,800 zone, which can trigger a fresh further upward move along with the broader markets beginning to participate to support the benchmark indices,” said Vaishali Parekh, Vice President (Technical Research), PL Capital.

The 24,500 zone shall continue to remain as the important support zone for the index, she added.

Overall, the market is showing resilience within a consolidation range. With improving technical momentum and steady domestic inflows, the near-term bias remains positive, said experts.

“Traders should adopt a buy-on-dips strategy and focus on stock-specific opportunities in leadership sectors like banking, IT, and auto,” said Mandar Bhojane from Choice Broking.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, M&M, Trent, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Power Grid and Maruti Suzuki were the top gainers. Whereas, ITC, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Sun Pharma and HDFC Bank were the top losers.

In the Asian markets, Bangkok, Japan, Seoul, Hong Kong and China were trading in green.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones in the US closed at 45,621.29, up 350.06 points, or 0.77 per cent. The S&P 500 ended with a gain of 53.82 points, or 0.83 per cent, at 6,502.08 and the Nasdaq closed at 21,707.69, up 209.97 points, or 0.98 per cent.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers as they sold equities worth Rs 106.34 crore on September 4, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 2,233.09 crore.

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