The country can only derive the digital dividend of faster growth, more jobs and better services by expanding affordable Internet access to all. The World Banks recently released World Development Report (WDR) Digital Dividends provides some answers. The WDR finds that digital technologies have spread rapidly throughout much of the world, but their digital dividends the broader development benefits from using these technologies have lagged behind. The contrast with China At the end of 2014, India had 227 million Internet users, compared to 665 million in China. Fewer than two out of every five Indian businesses had an online presence compared to almost two-thirds of firms in China. The cost of a 1 Mbit/s residential broadband service in India is 610 times higher than in China. And by most accounts, the digital divide across age, gender, geography and income within India is significantly higher than in China. Thanks to its successful digital ID programme, Aadhaar, India scores higher than China in digital adoption by governments, but the need now is to use the platform that Aadhaar provides more widely and effectively. KEY REASONS The slow pace of improvement of the quality of basic infrastructure expressways, logistics, storage, postal delivery system and reliable supply of electricity have also hampered the growth of e-commerce in India. And the excessively cautious approach of Indian regulators towards disruptive technological innovations such as mobile money or ride-sharing services has
made it difficult for digital start-ups to enter new markets and
achieve scale. Making the Internet accessible, open and safe for all Indians is an urgent priority. The cost of mobile phone access is already low by international standards. And with a supportive policy environment involving smart spectrum management, publicprivate partnerships, and intelligent regulations of Internet markets, the same can be achieved for Internet access. Zero-rated services for mobile data access have become controversial, though they could be an intermediate step to fully open and affordable Internet access for the poorest, provided that the choice of selecting services is transparent and inclusive. QUESTIONS 1. How can we improvise the digital transformation in India? 2. What learnings can be taken from China which has undergone massive digital transformation? 3. What are the governmental contributions to be taken to increase the digital revolution in India?
In a bloody carnage on Dalal Street, market benchmark Sensex plunged by 807.07 points on Thursday, its biggest fall in six months, to settle below 23,000-level after 21 months as fears of a global slowdown and disappointing quarterly numbers combined to batter investor sentiment.
and Tata Steel were the top losers. Cipla and Dr Reddys Lab, however, ended with mild gains. Among BSE sectoral indices, realty suffered the most at 5.94 per cent followed by power (4.81 per cent), PSU (3.90 per cent), oils & gas (3.82 per cent), metal (3.81 per cent), banking (3.81 per cent), capital goods (3.57 per cent) and auto (3.53 per cent).
QUESTIONS 1.Who were the top losers in the stock market fall?
3. Why 7.6% growth is hard to square
Questionable changes in methodology and databases
have enlarged the size of the private corporate sector and contracted the size of the household sector in the new GDP calculations, rendering the growth projection unreliable. Why have the GDP estimates become unreliable after the revision? To be sure, early on, Indian national income estimates were not without blemishes. But the revision seems to have worsened the situation with widely questioned figures. Though the absolute GDP size for 2011-12 in the new series is marginally smaller (than that in the old series), its institutional composition has changed significantly. The private corporate sectors (PCS) share in the GDP has expanded to 34 per cent now (23 per cent in
the older series); and household (unorganised or informal)
sectors share in the GDP has shrunk to 45 per cent in the new series (from 56 per cent earlier). How could this happen? It is the result of changes in methodologies and the databases used. QUESTIONS 1. What is the GDP forecast for this year? 2. How is the GDP varying as compared to China? 3. What is the current situation of Manufacturing Sector? 4. Why have the GDP estimates become unreliable after the revision?
Banks balance sheet clean-up imperative for growth, says
Raghuram Rajan The ongoing clean-up of bank balance sheets will help spur economic growth and improve the lenders profitability, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday. The RBI had conducted an asset quality review (AQR) of banks and identified specific accounts, which banks have to identify as non-performing in two quarters, October-December and JanuaryMarch. As a result, bad loans have hit banks profitability in the third quarter with most of them posting heavy losses. On the current decline in share prices of banks, Mr. Rajan said: Part of the reason is that some bank results, mainly public sector banks, have not been, to put it mildly, pretty. Clearly, an important factor has been the Asset Quality Review conducted by RBI and its aftermath.
There are two polar approaches to loan stress. One is to apply
band aids to keep the loan current and hope that time and growth will set the project back on track, he said. An alternative approach is to try to put the stressed project back on track rather than simply applying band aids. This may require deep surgery.
Capturing the Digital Economy—A Proposed Measurement Framework and Its Applications: A Special Supplement to Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2021
Guidelines Issued Under Section 36 (1) (A) of The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 - Implementation of The Provisions of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010