ECONOMY by VIVEK SINGH

2021-08-19 05:57:44 A very good article from Express on "Rice Fortification". The article is self explanatory but would like to clarify certain points.

1) Normal rice floor is mixed with micronutrients (iron, folic acid and vitamin B-12) and water is added to this mixture and then it is solidified and converted into rice kernels (nuts) by an "Extruder machine". These Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK) look very similar to the normal rice and are blended (simple mixing) with normal rice in the ratio of 10 gm FRK with 1 Kg normal rice.

2) The rice millers which will produce fortified rice, Govt. will provide them Rs. 0.6 per kg (which is basically the cost of producing fortified rice) and this cost will be shared by Centre and States. (Actually Govt. procures paddy from the farmers under MSP and then it is given to Mills for conversion to rice which is then distributed through various schemes. So, Govt. was already providing for the milling cost to the millers and now it will provide for the fortification also to the rice millers) Open / Comment

2021-08-18 08:06:46 Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP)
As you all know that Exports are zero-rated which means all the GST which is levied in the supply-chain of exported items are ultimately reimbursed by the Govt. upon submitting a proof that the items have been exported.

Then what is the purpose of RoDTEP??
There are certain products which are still outside GST and the taxes/duties/levies imposed on these products are still not refunded in case of exports even in the present GST regime. These taxes are VAT on fuel used in transportation, Mandi tax, taxes on electricity, petroleum products etc (which becomes embedded in the product price). Under the new RoDTEP scheme, even these taxes will be refunded to exporters. This RoDTEP is WTO compliant.
No need to read anything extra in this scheme. Open / Comment

2021-08-18 07:15:50 Source: RBI
Self Explanatory Open / Comment

2021-08-17 06:24:00 Oil Bonds:
During UPA (2004-14) period, when the prices of oil increased, Govt. gave subsidies to the people of India by reducing the prices of oil. So, let us say if the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) like IOCL/BPCL/HPCL were selling the Petrol at Rs. 90 (at that time), Govt. asked OMCs to sell the petrol at Rs. 80 and Govt would pay Rs. 10/liter to OMCs. But Govt. actually did not pay in cash, rather Govt. issued "Oil Bonds" to OMCs of the total value of subsidy, which meant Govt. would not pay at that time but at a later date (whatever maturity specified on the bond). These "Oil Bonds" are basically a kind of debt paper issued by GoI which are now maturing. So, the present Govt. (NDA) has to pay principal back and ofcourse it is already paying interest on these bonds since 2014 onwards. So, there is a burden on the present Govt. and hence the Govt. is not reducing the excise duty on Petrol/diesel even if the prices are high as these excise duties are being used to pay for the interest/principal on oil bonds issued during UPA. (This is what our FM is saying).

Gati Shakti (National Infrastructure Master Plan):
The economic hubs of the country will be connected through different modes (multi-modal) of connectivity like roads, railways, ports and airports. So Gati Shakti will be built on the already going NIP project which will lead to integrated and holistic development of the economy. Details regarding this project will be clear once its officially launched. This project was discussed by our PM in his independence day speech.

If on any particular date, there is no post on this channel then assume that there is nothing relevant for economy on that day. Open / Comment

2021-08-15 18:05:04 Just for Information:
New economy module course will not start soon and it may start only in Nov, but that is also not very sure.
All those who want can subscribe to the course started on 14th June 2021. Doubts can be asked through telegram or phone.
The link for the course is https://www.shubhraviraj.in/course-infomation/fbf22873-04cd-467a-8eb9-6100488af1dd Open / Comment

2021-08-15 05:55:46 Wish you all a very happy independence day. Open / Comment

2021-08-14 14:20:35 Open / Comment

2021-08-14 04:49:06 Aggressive Public infrastructure spending has the capability to boost the economy in the following two ways:

In the short term, the infrastructure construction activity boosts the aggregate demand (as construction workers get wages and demand gets created for steel/cement etc.) and crowds-in private investment.

In the long term, the supply side bottlenecks get removed and the built-in infrastructure feeds into the productive capacity of the economy and also making the economy more efficient.

It is in the context of numerous (interview) students asking what else Govt. can do to revive the economy. Open / Comment

2021-08-13 17:02:12 UPSC 2022 schedule. Civil Services Prelims on 5th June 2022. Open / Comment

2021-08-13 07:41:51 Govt finalising plan to monetise Rs 6 lakh crore infra assets: DIPAM secretary [12th Aug 2021]

Asset Monetization:
Asset Monetization involves creation of new sources of revenue by unlocking of value of hitherto unutilized or underutilized public assets. Many public sector assets are sub-optimally utilised and could be appropriately monetized to create greater financial leverage and value for the companies and of the equity that the government has invested in them. The objective of the asset monetization programme of the Government of India (GOI), is to unlock the value of investment made in public assets which have not yielded appropriate or potential returns so far, create hitherto unexplored sources of income for the company and its shareholders, and contribute to a more accurate estimation of public assets which would help in better financial management of government/public resources over time.

Asset Monetization can include:
* Selling of unutilized land of GoI/PSU
* Giving an asset (let us say Dedicated Freight Corridor) of a PSU/GoI to a Private Operator for Operation and Maintenance for a contract period (say 30 years) in return of one time money or annual payments
* Giving the already constructed NHAI roads to Private Parties on TOT (Toll Operate Transfer) model for a certain period in return for one time money [For details refer the book]
* Giving the Airports to Private Operators for a certain period on PPP model in return of annual payments (example.. Lucknow, Ahmedabad etc. given to Adani group)
* Giving the Transmission Assets of PGCIL, Oil & Gas pipelines of GAIL, IOCL, HPCL to private operators in return for annual payments for certain contract period.

"Disinvestment/divestment" generally means reducing the stake/ownership in a company/entity (where a company/entity can have several assets). But "Asset Monetization" basically means giving a particular (brownfield) asset of GoI/PSU to Private Parties in return of one time or annual payments. Open / Comment