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The <keyword id="19987636" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bihar-government" source="keywords">Bihar government</keyword> is making serious efforts to give a fillip to <keyword id="23049947" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="small-scale-and-medium-enterprises" source="Orion">small-scale and medium enterprises</keyword> which would play a crucial role in the overall <keyword id="352701" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-development" source="Orion">economic development</keyword> of the state, a top official of the Industries department said. Around Rs 2,900 crore have been disbursed to nearly 74,540 beneficiaries under two schemes, one of which was launched only last year, for promoting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ( <keyword id="19910977" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="MSMEs" source="keywords">MSMEs</keyword>) in the state, the official said. <keyword id="19903647" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bihar" source="keywords">Bihar</keyword> has a strong MSME base. To promote innovation ecosystem and unlock the enormous entrepreneurial potential of the state, the Mukhya Mantri Udyami Yojana (MMUY) and <keyword id="23049946" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bihar-Laghu-Udyami-Yojana" source="keywords">Bihar Laghu Udyami Yojana</keyword> (BLUY) were launched in 2018 and 2023 respectively focusing on promotion of MSMEs in the state. "A total of Rs 2,697 crore was disbursed to 34,441 beneficiaries from 2018 till now under MMUY. Similarly, till date Rs 200 crore of the first instalment has been disbursed to 40,099 beneficiaries under BLUY", Secretary, Department of Industries, Bandana Preyashi told PTI. On the one hand, Bihar is getting big ticket investments for major manufacturing units and on the other hand, the state government is also enabling an ecosystem where the MSMEs can thrive on the ground level for the benefit of the rural economy, Preyashi said. The Bihar Laghu Udyami Yojana aims to provide job opportunities to at least one member of poor families whose monthly income is less than Rs 6,000 a month, she said. The state government is providing Rs 2 lakh to each beneficiary in three instalments to set up and run micro and small industrial and processing units, Preyashi said. The government's objective is promotion of MSMEs through awareness, training and handholding support, the Industries secretary said. The state government is encouraging entrepreneurs and investors through the provision of a safe and sound work environment and basic infrastructural facilities which include land, roads, electricity, and water availability, she said. The Industries secretary further said, "With new policies of the state government, Bihar is witnessing significant investment promotion activities, reinforcing its position as an emerging business and industrial hub in the country. During the Bihar Business Connect 2023, 278 companies signed MoUs, committing to investments totalling Rs 50,530 crore." the secretary said. The state government has implemented the Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Policy (BIPP), Bihar Logistics Policy 2023, Ethanol Production Incentive Policy 2021 and Textile and Leather Policy 2022 to promote industrial growth and investment in the state. "Under these policies, stage-1 clearance was given to 481 applications, with a proposed investment amount of Rs 4,512.85 crore. A total of 175 units were given clearance for financial incentives with an investment of Rs 2,195.10 crore, an all-time high, since the inception of the state investment promotion policies," she said. In 2023-24, 255 startups were recognized in the state and a total of Rs 11.92 crore has been disbursed as seed funding to these startups. From April 2023 to January 2024, Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) allotted plots/sheds to 427 units having a total investment size of Rs 6,145 crore covering 492 acres of land and also creating 35,224 employment in the state, said the secretary. "Infrastructure development in industrial areas was given top priority. Funds of Rs 409.33 crore were approved under Part I and Rs 212.68 crore for construction of unity mall under special assistance to states in 2023-24. In the current financial year of 2024-25,149 units have been granted stage I clearance for a proposed investment amount in Rs 3,950.48 crore in Bihar State Investment Promotion Board", she said. At present, Bihar's proposal to establish a multi-sector Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Nawanagar and Kumarbagh has been approved by the Government of India. "Authorities concerned are also working on the establishment of Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) in Bihar that will help Bihari Exporters to expand their businesses to international markets", said the secretary. Bihar Chief Minister <keyword id="19907431" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nitish-kumar" source="keywords">Nitish Kumar</keyword> on August 3 this year laid the foundation stone for Rs 1,600 crore cement grinding unit of Ambuja Concrete North Private Limited, a subsidiary of Adani group's Ambuja Cements, in Warisaliganj block in Nawada district. This is considered the largest investment in the state by a cement industry player. "The project is expected to create 250 direct jobs and 1,000 indirect jobs on the site. The project will meet the growing infrastructure needs of Bihar. Adani Group has decided to invest additional Rs 5,500 crore in Bihar in various sectors, including cement manufacturing (in Muzaffarpur), logistics (near Patna) and projects related to agro-industry in Araria, Kishanganj and Begusarai. A total of 40,000 employment will be generated by these investments", said the statement issued by the CMO after the conclusion of the event on August 4.

Bihar government disburses Rs 2,900 crore to 74,540 beneficiaries for promoting MSMEs: Official

Patna, Feb 1 () Industry bodies and entrepreneurs of the state have expressed a mixed bag of reactions on the Union Budget 2020-21.
 The Bihar Industries Association (BIA) hailed the Budget and termed it a "welfare budget" meant to benefit the common man.
 BIA President Ram Lall Khaitan said, "The Budget may not provide immediate benefits or reliefs but the measures announced in it will certainly help in picking up the growth momentum."
 The Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), which also welcomed the Budget, however sees the Budget as the one that may not help the country in getting out of the recession.
 BCCI President P K Agrawal said the Budget announcements would benefit farmers and people hailing from the small and medium category, but expressed disappointment on Bihar getting nothing in the Budget.
 PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Bihar unit Chairman Satyajit Singh welcomed the Budget 2020-21, saying it has tried to reset the economy for growth. 
 The Bihar Entrepreneurs Association also welcomed the Budget saying it will boost incomes and enhance purchasing power.
 "The focus of the Budget on the agriculture sector with pinpointed 16 action points to double farmers' income by 2022 is highly encouraging. The focus on agriculture will create tremendous demand in the economy, boost manufacturing and services sector activities and rebound the economic growth trajectory of the country," BEA Secretary General Abhshek Singh said. AR ANB KJ HRS

Bihar industry bodies give mixed reactions on Union Budget

New Delhi, Feb 13 () Coca-Cola India on Thursday launched 'Unnati Litchi' programme in Bihar to start a virtuous cycle of 'fruit circular economy' in the state. Started together with DeHaat, National Research Centre on Litchi (NRCL) and Kedia Fresh, the initiative is aimed at enhancing efficiency of the agri-value chain and farmers' capability building on high-density plantation, farmer training for Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) and creation of demo orchards through appropriate technology interventions, a statement said. The initial phase of this initiative has been launched in the districts of Muzaffarpur, Samastipur and Vaishali in the state, which are the major hubs for Litchi cultivation in the state. Unnati Litchi aims at educating and training over 80,000 farmers in the existing orchards, rejuvenating farms spanning over 3,000 acres, and introducing modern techniques like high density plantation to double Litchi productivity, it added.**** * Play introduces first AI driven noise cancelling wireless headset Gurgaon-based technology company Play has introduced AI driven noise cancelling wireless headset, claiming it is the first in the segment to launch such product. The company is looking at millennials, who are preferring popular OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, among others, the company said. Priced at Rs 14,999, PLAYGO BH-70 has Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven self-calibrating left and right earphones, hybrid active noise cancellation, smart-touch-&amp;-talk and auto-pause-&amp;-play features. The headphones, powered on the latest family of Qualcomm processor, boasts of Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and has 1,000 mAh battery, which allows consumer to use the headset for up to 24 hours. ***** KONE Elevator to increase service centres, focusing on eastern market KONE Elevator India, a fully-owned subsidiary of KONE Corporation, is increasing the number of service centres with a focus on the eastern market to strengthen its position in the segment. India plays an important role for KONE in its global strategy given the investments it has done here over the years, the company said. "We are excited to be part of the government's plan for growth in eastern India's infrastructure sector and look forward to providing premium experiences with our advanced products," KONE Elevator India MD Amit Gossain said. "In the coming years, the country will see an even bigger focus on smart cities and urban development, and our workforce is well equipped to lead this technological advancement and infrastructure development," he added. KRH RVK

Coca-Cola launches 'Unnati Litchi' programme in Bihar to help farmers

Nobel Peace Laureate <keyword id="83501" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Muhammad-Yunus">Muhammad Yunus</keyword> on Saturday said building rural economy is important to stop migration amid the challenges caused due to coronavirus pandemic. "Micro credit is about building rural economy. Corona crisis has given the industry an opportunity to aid in creating a strong rural economy. Creating a strong independent rural economy will not only halt rural to urban migration but in the years to come, the migration will be urban to rural," Yunus said at a webinar by <keyword id="477100" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="microfinance-industry">microfinance industry</keyword>. Microfinance institutions should create programmes like venture capital to create entrepreneurs in rural India, he said. There is a need for creating a national disaster fund for the sector and managed by the sector in India, Yunus said while speaking in the webinar organised by Sa-Dhan, a self regulatory organisation for the industry. Notably, India has been witnessing reverse migration of labourers and workers to their home states as lockdown imposed due to coronavirus pandemic affected them badly economically alongside huge number of job losses as well. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/with-233-fresh-cases-bihars-covid-19-tally-rises-to-4831/articleshow/76238545.cms">Bihar registers 233 new coronavirus cases with its overall tally rising to 4.831</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/noida-21-new-covid-19-cases-tally-591/articleshow/76238339.cms">Noida’s total coronavirus cases hit 591 with 21 new cases detected in the past 24 hours</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/342-new-coronavirus-cases-in-pune-district-six-deaths/articleshow/76239001.cms">Six more people die of coronavirus in Pune with 342 fresh cases</a>

Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus says building the rural economy is the key to halt migration

Patna, Feb 24 () Bihar clocked a growth rate of10.53 per cent in 2018-19 as against the national average of6.8 per cent, according to the state's Economic Survey for2019-20."Bihar recorded an average growth rate of above 10 percent in the past three consecutive years," Deputy ChiefMinister Sushil Kumar Modi said, while tabling the 14thEconomic Survey in the assembly.The main drivers of the economy which have helped thestate register a double-digit growth include air transport (36per cent), other services (20 per cent), trader and repairservices (17.6 per cent) and road transport (14 per cent), hesaid.Sushil Modi said the fiscal deficit was 2.68 per centof GSDP, revenue surplus 1.34 per cent and outstanding publicdebt liability of the state government 32.34 per cent of theGSDP during 2018-19.The total revenue receipt of Bihar was Rs 1,31,793crore and capital receipt Rs 20,494 crore, he said, adding,revenue expenditure and total expenditure were Rs 1,24,897crore and Rs 1,54,655 crore, respectively.Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) stood at Rs5,57,490 crore at current prices and Rs 3,94,350 crore atconstant (2011-12) prices in 2018-19, he added. ARRBT RBT

Bihar registered 10.5pc growth rate in FY19: Economic Survey

New Delhi, Feb 24 () GAIL India Ltd, the country's largest gas utility, will invest Rs 1.05 lakh crore over the next five years to expand pipelines, lay city gas distribution network and raise petrochemical production capacity, its new chairman and managing director Manoj Jain said on Monday.Gas pipelines are planned to take the fuel to the east and northeast regions as well as to consumers in the south as part of the government push to raise the share of natural gas in India's energy basket to 15 per cent by 2030 from the current 6.2 per cent, he said."We have planned a capex of Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 crore in laying pipelines, Rs 10,000 crore petrochemical capacity expansion and another Rs 40,000 crore for city gas distribution (CGD) business," he told reporters here.GAIL's push for infrastructure creation is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of creating a gas-based economy that is less reliant on polluting fuels for meeting its energy needs.India currently consumes some 160 million standard cubic meters of gas per day and the consumption has to rise to 600 mmscmd to reach 15 per cent share in the energy mix, and GAIL is laying the infrastructure to help achieve that.At present, GAIL operates 12,160-km of pipeline network and markets two-thirds of all-natural gas sold in the country. It will add about 7,000 km of pipeline length in the next five years, Jain said.The company is scaling up on liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity. Besides owning a part of Petronet LNG Ltd, India's biggest liquid gas importer, it also owns and operates a 5 million tonnes LNG import facility at Dabhol in Maharashtra."We have awarded the contract for construction of a breakwater at Dabhol to L&amp;T and this should get completed in two-and-half-years. The completion will help operate the Dabhol terminal at its full capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum," he said.Currently, operations are restricted during monsoon months as high tide could damage ships carrying gas in its liquid form.Also, the company has booked capacity at Adani Group's upcoming terminal at Dhamra in Odisha, Jain noted.Domestic gas production meets just half of the country's demand and the rest has to be imported.Pipeline projects at hand include the ambitious Urja Ganga Project to take gas to Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand as well as Kochi-Kootanad-Bangalore-Mangalore line; and Indradhanush North East Gas Grid.Besides pipelines, GAIL is also expanding city gas distribution (CGD) networks for retailing of CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to household kitchens, he said, adding investments are also planned for the expansion of Pata petrochemical plant in Uttar Pradesh as well as converting a LPG recovery unit at Usar in Maharashtra into 5,00,000 tonnes Polypropylene plant.GAIL is looking to put up 400 CNG stations and give out a record 10 lakh piped natural gas (PNG) connections to household kitchens in the next 3-5 years.The company is building a 2,655-km gas pipeline from Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, Bokaro in Jharkhand and Dhamra in Odisha. Jagdishpur-Haldia &amp; Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project, also known as the 'Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga' project, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in July 2015.GAIL has commenced city gas operations in all the six geographical areas (GAs), including in Patna and Bhubaneshwar, that was awarded to it along the Urja Ganga route, Jain said.The pipeline will be extended to Guwahati by laying an additional 750-km line. At Guwahati, it would interconnect with the upcoming 1,500-km 'Indradhanush' pipeline network conceived to operate in the northeast region by the public sector oil and gas majors.GAIL will also lay a 600 km Srikakulam-Angul natural gas pipeline. ANZ BAL

GAIL to invest Rs 1.05 lakh cr to create infra for gas-based economy

New Delhi, Jan 22 () GAIL India Ltd, the country's largest gas utility, plans to invest over Rs 45,000 crore over the next five years to expand the National Gas Pipeline Grid and city gas distribution network to help push for greater use of environment-friendly fuel, its chairman Ashutosh Karnatak said.
The gas pipelines are planned to take the fuel to the east and northeast regions as well as to consumers in the south as part of the government push to raise the share of natural gas in India's energy basket to 15 per cent by 2030 from the current 6.2 per cent, he said.
GAIL's push for the creation of infrastructure is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of creating a gas-based economy that is less reliant on polluting fuels for meeting its energy needs.
"Before we transition to zero-emission technologies (for both automobiles and factories) say by 2040/2050, natural gas is best suited for tapering emissions from current levels," he said. "Natural gas is 'happy fuel' as it has a fraction of emissions compared to alternate liquid fuels such as diesel in automobiles and coal in power plants."
India currently consumes some 160 million standard cubic meters of gas per day and consumption has to rise to 400 mmscmd to reach 15 per cent share in the energy mix, he said, adding GAIL is playing its responsibility by creating the infrastructure for the same.
GAIL currently operates 12,160-km of pipeline network and markets two-thirds of all-natural gas sold in the country. It is currently executing more than 5,500 kilometers of pipeline projects and a similar length is at the planning stage.
Karnatak said the projects at hand include the ambitious Urja Ganga Project to take gas to Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand as well as Kochi-Kootanad-Bangalore-Mangalore line and the Indradhanush North East Gas Grid. "These pipelines will connect supply and demand centers envisaged under the National Gas Grid."
Besides pipelines, GAIL is also expanding city gas distribution (CGD) networks for retailing of CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to household kitchens. Investments are also planned for the expansion of petrochemical plants.
GAIL is looking to put up 400 CNG stations and give out a record 10 lakh piped natural gas (PNG) connections to household kitchens in the next 3-5 years.
The company is building a 2,655-km gas pipeline from Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, Bokaro in Jharkhand and Dhamra in Odisha. "Pipeline up to Patna has already been commissioned and the rest of the project will be completed by end 2020," he said.
Jagdishpur-Haldia &amp; Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project, also known as the 'Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga' project, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in July 2015. GAIL has commenced city gas operations in all the six geographical areas (GAs), including in Patna and Bhubaneshwar, that was awarded to it along the Urja Ganga route, he said.
The pipeline will be extended to Guwahati by laying an additional 750-km line. At Guwahati, it would interconnect with the upcoming 1,500-km 'Indradhanush' pipeline network conceived to operate in the northeast region by the public sector oil and gas majors.
GAIL will also lay a 600 km Srikakulam-Angul natural gas pipeline.
"Renewable power is set to grow to 227 GW by 2030 and gas has a complementary role in effectively addressing intermittency and supplying peaking load," Karnatak said, adding gas-based power generation can take over during the night or on not so sunny days in areas getting solar power and also supplement hydro and wind projects during downtime.
He said 20-22 GW of coal-fired power plants are obsolete and 25 GW of stranded gas power assets could be utilised to help meet the carbon emission objectives of India, he noted.
Gas can also be used as fuel in steel plants, oil refineries, industries, and transportation, he said, estimating that power sector alone would need 100 mmscmd of gas and 50-55 mmscmd each would go for city gas distribution and fertiliser plants. Steel plants and refineries can consume 70 mmscmd between them. ANZ BAL

GAIL to invest over Rs 45,000 cr to create infra for gas-based economy

(Eds: Combining related stories) New Delhi, May 15 () The nationwide tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases crossed 85,000 on Friday with more people testing positive for the deadly virus infection from Kashmir to Kerala and from Karnataka to Bihar, even as indications emerged about greater relaxations in the fourth phase of the lockdown beginning Monday to contain economic costs of the pandemic. Going by the numbers declared by different states and union territories, India has now surpassed China's official tally of 82,933 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Though some new cases have emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan -- the epicentre of the deadly virus -- less than 100 people are now undergoing treatment across China, which recorded 4,633 deaths due to COVID-19 but more than 78,000 have been discharged after recovery, as per their official data. Globally, more than 3 lakh people have died and nearly 45 lakh have tested positive for the deadly virus since its emergence in Wuhan last December. While China and several other countries have begun reopening their economies, fresh concerns have begun mounting about a possible re-emergence of the virus. India is now the 11th most affected nation in the world, but each one of the top-ten have one lakh or more cases. The US tops the charts with more than 14 lakh cases, followed by Russia, UK, Spain, Italy and Brazil with over 2 lakh cases each; and France, Germany, Turkey and Iran having over 1 lakh cases each. In its morning 8 AM update, the Union Health Ministry said the death toll due to COVID-19 across India has risen to 2,649 and the number of cases has climbed to 81,970, registering an increase of 100 deaths and 3,967 cases in the last 24 hours since Thursday morning. There are more than 51,000 active cases, while nearly 28,000 have recovered, giving a recovery rate of over 34 per cent. However, a tally of numbers reported by states and UTs, as of 9 PM, put the total number of confirmed cases across the country much higher at 85,538. This also showed at least 2,679 deaths and nearly 30,000 recoveries. Jammu &amp; Kashmir, Bihar and Karnataka breached the 1,000-mark in terms of the number of people having tested positive, while testing and containment measures were ramped up in places like, Kerala, Goa and Manipur that were being seen as being mostly virus-free till a few days back. Even a quarantine centre had to be sealed in Manipur. On the other hand, large numbers of cases continued to get detected in big urban clusters. Maharashtra, the most-affected state, reported 1,576 new cases to take its tally to 29,100, while its death toll rose to 1,068. Tamil Nadu crossed the 10,000 mark with 434 new cases, while Gujarat saw 340 more people testing positive to push its tally to 9,932. According to the Union Health Ministry, 30 municipal areas account for 79 per cent of India's coronavirus infection caseload. At a meeting of a group of ministers chaired by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, it was stressed that the focus of COVID-19 management strategy needs to be on the states with the highest number of confirmed cases and fatalities. Also, focus is needed on treatment and case fatality management, for which timely detection and contact tracing were the best way forward. The Finance Ministry in the meantime unveiled the third booster dose, mainly consisting of measures aimed at helping farmers and for reforms in agriculture and allied sectors, of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 20 lakh crore 'special package' for making India self-reliant in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Modi said the third tranche will help the rural economy and boost farmers' income. India has been under a lockdown since March 25, which was initially scheduled to end on April 14 but has got extended twice -- first till May 3 and then till May 17 with some relaxations. A final decision on the fourth phase is expected soon, but officials said there could be greater relaxations and more flexibility for states and union territories while measures being explored include gradual reopening of the railways and domestic airlines. Schools, colleges, malls and cinema halls may not be allowed to open anywhere in the country, but salons, barber shops and optical shops may be allowed everywhere barring COVID-19 containment areas. E-retailers may be allowed to deliver non-essential items too. Final guidelines will be issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after going through the suggestions of various state governments. During his last interaction with chief ministers, Modi had asked them to submit their suggestions by May 15. According to officials, Punjab, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Assam and Telangana want the lockdown to continue, while some states have sought powers to decide the zoning of districts -- green, orange and red -- as per the COVID-19 situation. This request of the state governments may be accepted so that they can restrict or allow movement of people or economic activities in a particular place depending on the ground situation, an official told . Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation on Monday, had said that the lockdown 4.0 will have a "completely different form", with new rules. "No state wants complete withdrawal of lockdown but all want gradual resumption of economic activities," the official said. Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka are among some states which are not in favour of complete resumption of train and air services, at least till May-end. The railways have already started special trains to 15 destinations from Delhi and have been running several hundred 'Shramik Special' trains from different parts of the country to various places for transportation of migrant workers stranded due to the lockdown. Air India is also engaged in evacuation of thousands of Indians stranded abroad during the lockdown under the 'Vande Bharat Mission'. However, there have been cases of people testing positive after reaching their native places using these trains and flights. Officials said local trains, buses and metro services may start running with limited capacity in non-containment areas of red zones. Autos and taxis are also expected to be allowed in all zones with restrictions on the number of passengers, barring areas identified as 'containment zones'. Maharashtra has favoured strict lockdown measures in Mumbai, its suburbs and Pune, and a complete ban on inter-state and inter-district transport. However, Gujarat wants resumption of economic activities in major urban centres. Delhi, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have also favoured opening up of economic activities. Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, which have seen a spike in the COVID-19 cases after arrival of migrant workers, want the lockdown to continue with strict curbs on movement of people. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has urged Modi not to open state boundaries for the next few months, except for migrants or essential services. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the state has written to the Centre urging extension of the lockdown by two more weeks. Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said the Centre may announce many relaxations in the lockdown after May 17. The Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to resume state transport bus service to various destinations from May 18, while the Haryana Roadways has already resumed bus services on select routes within the state. PLB PM ACB SKC DP MJH ANZ TR KSU UPL SUN VSD ENM NAB BJBJBJ

COVID-19: India surpasses China tally with 85,000 confirmed cases; Bihar, K'taka, J&K cross 1k mark

The crushing defeat of NDA is likely to moderate the pace of economic reforms and there is even a possibility that the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax bill (GST) could face a setback, something that the <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> government has been keen in pushing in the Parliament. 
 
"A victory for the Grand Alliance is only going to increase the resistance to legislative business in Parliament," said a senior official in the finance ministry, who did not wish to be identified. 
 Notably, officials in the finance ministry were awaiting the verdict of the Bihar assembly polls to get a sense of how fast the Narendra Modi government can push the <keyword id="387846" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="GST-Bill">GST bill</keyword> in Parliament. 
 The government lacks a majority in the Rajya Sabha, and may find it extremely difficult to push through legislative changes with an emboldened opposition. The government's plan to gain the numbers advantage in the Rajya Sabha through victories in state elections has also suffered a setback and is likely to hurt legislation. While the government has said it will press ahead with reforms, the <keyword id="483288" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bihar-election-results">Bihar election results</keyword> add an element of doubt, experts say. 
 
"Indian financial markets were cautious ahead of the election results, and a result against the BJP should lead to market weakness. We feel that today's results — the BJP's big defeat — could be a material sentiment dampener in Monday's early trade as this might be perceived as an additional stumbling block to the central government's reform agenda," said Sidhartha Sanyal and Rahul Bajoria, economists at Barclays Bank. 
 
Finance minister Arun Jaitley had hoped to roll out GST by April 1, 2016 but that looks difficult to achieve, considering the government still has a lot of ground to cover to push the most ambitious indirect tax reform since Independence. With assembly elections due in Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, the road ahead may be rocky. Similarly, the pace and direction of labour reforms could also face roadblocks. 
 
The winter session of Parliament, which was expected to see progress on GST, may be stormy as the opposition is likely to step up its attack on the government on various issues. The NDA government has taken several steps to boost sentiment and growth but an overwhelming view has been that the speed of economic reforms has not kept pace with the need of the economy. Economists said the government should focus on the farm sector and address rural distress. "The focus should shift away from foreign tours, FDI and bullet trains to what are happening in the farms and rural space," said Ashok Gulati, Infosys chair professor at ICRIER, an economics think tank. 
 
(Image credit: BCCL)

You Searched For "Bihar economy" and got 9 results

Bihar government disburses Rs 2,900 crore to 74,540 beneficiaries for promoting MSMEs: Official

PTI

Bihar industry bodies give mixed reactions on Union Budget

PTI

Coca-Cola launches 'Unnati Litchi' programme in Bihar to help farmers

PTI

Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus says building the rural economy is the key to halt migration

PTI

Bihar registered 10.5pc growth rate in FY19: Economic Survey

PTI

GAIL to invest Rs 1.05 lakh cr to create infra for gas-based economy

PTI

GAIL to invest over Rs 45,000 cr to create infra for gas-based economy

PTI

COVID-19: India surpasses China tally with 85,000 confirmed cases; Bihar, K'taka, J&K cross 1k mark

PTI

NDA's defeat may delay GST rollout, decelerate pace of reforms

BI India Bureau

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