JP Morgan: India's lowest growth in 5 years, 5.8%, worrying; recovery may be slow

By Rajiv Shah
Commenting on India’s January-March 2019 GDP growth, which "surprised sharply to the downside, printing at a 5-year low of 5.8%", JP Morgan, the American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in New York City, has said that it has not just "dragged down full-year growth also to a five-year low of 6.8%".
It underlines, "The GDP undershoot reinforces the discernable slowdown that is currently underway. Growth has largely been flying on one engine in recent years – private consumption – and that has gotten progressively exhausted."
Worse, in its commentary, authored by Sajjid Z Chinoy and Toshi Jain, who are with the top MNC's Emerging Markets Asia Economic and Policy Research wing, say, even this is "buffeted by sustained rural distress and a significant tightening of financial conditions amongst the Non Bank Financial Companies (NBFC), which have largely been financing consumption."

Continue the JP Morgan experts, as for public investment, it suffers from "lack of fiscal space with the total public sector borrowing requirement rising to almost 9% of GDP", and while exports bounced back strongly in 2018-19, they "are likely to slow meaningfully as global uncertainty rises (especially after the US has opened up a second flank in its trade war) and global growth momentum slows."

Giving figures on how Gross Value Added in agriculture and industry have been going down over the last one year, JP Morgan predicts, "Slowing consumption growth at home along with a cloudy outlook for exports, creates the worrying prospect of some hysteresis and suggests growth is likely to recover only slowly in the coming quarters."

Comments

Countrywide protest by gig workers puts spotlight on algorithmic exploitation

By A Representative A nationwide protest led largely by women gig and platform workers was held across several states on February 3, with the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claiming the mobilisation as a success and a strong assertion of workers’ rights against what it described as widespread exploitation by digital platform companies. Demonstrations took place in Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states, covering major cities including New Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Mumbai, along with multiple districts across the country.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

CFA flags ‘welfare retreat’ in Union Budget 2026–27, alleges corporate bias

By Jag Jivan The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has sharply criticised the Union Budget 2026–27 , calling it a “budget sans kartavya” that weakens public welfare while favouring private corporations, even as inequality, climate risks and social distress deepen across the country.

'Gandhi Talks': Cinema that dares to be quiet, where music, image and silence speak

By Vikas Meshram In today’s digital age, where reels and short videos dominate attention spans, watching a silent film for over two hours feels almost like an act of resistance. Directed by Kishor Pandurang Belekar, “Gandhi Talks” is a bold cinematic experiment that turns silence into language and wordlessness into a powerful storytelling device. The film is not mere entertainment; it is an experience that pushes the viewer inward, compelling reflection on life, values, and society.

Budget 2026 focuses on pharma and medical tourism, overlooks public health needs: JSAI

By A Representative Jan Swasthya Abhiyan India (JSAI) has criticised the Union Budget 2026, stating that it overlooks core public health needs while prioritising the pharmaceutical industry, private healthcare, medical tourism, public-private partnerships, and exports related to AYUSH systems. In a press note issued from New Delhi, the public health network said that primary healthcare services and public health infrastructure continue to remain underfunded despite repeated policy assurances.

The Epstein shock, global power games and India’s foreign policy dilemma

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The “Epstein” tsunami has jolted establishments everywhere. Politicians, bureaucrats, billionaires, celebrities, intellectuals, academics, religious gurus, and preachers—all appear to be under scrutiny, even dismantled. At first glance, it may seem like a story cutting across left, right, centre, Democrats, Republicans, socialists, capitalists—every label one can think of. Much of it, of course, is gossip, as people seek solace in the possible inclusion of names they personally dislike.

Gujarat No 1 in Govt of India pushed report? Not in labour, infrastructure, economy

By Rajiv Shah A report by a top Delhi-based think tank, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), prepared under the direct leadership of Amitabh Kant, ex-secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India, has claims that Gujarat ranks No 1 in the NCAER State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI), though there is a dig. N-SIPI has been divided into two separate indices. The first one includes five “pillars” based on which the index has been arrived it. These pillars are: labour, infrastructure, economic conditions, political stability and governance, and perceptions of a good business climate. It is called N-SIPI 21, as it includes a survey of 21 states out of 29.

Gujarat agate worker, who fought against bondage, died of silicosis, won compensation

Raju Parmar By Jagdish Patel* This is about an agate worker of Khambhat in Central Gujarat. Born in a Vankar family, Raju Parmar first visited our weekly OPD clinic in Shakarpur on March 4, 2009. Aged 45 then, he was assigned OPD No 199/03/2009. He was referred to the Cardiac Care Centre, Khambhat, to get chest X-ray free of charge. Accordingly, he got it done and submitted his report. At that time he was working in an agate crushing unit of one Kishan Bhil.

Planning failures? Mysuru’s traditional water networks decline as city expands

By Prajna Kumaraswamy, Mansee Bal Bhargava The tropical land–water-scape of India shapes every settlement through lakes, ponds, wetlands, and rivers. Mysuru (Mysore) is a city profoundly shaped by both natural and humanly constructed water systems. For generations, it has carried a collective identity tied to the seasonal rhythms of the monsoon, the life-giving presence of the Cauvery and Kabini rivers , and the intricate network of lakes and ponds that dot the cityscape. Water transcends being merely a resource; it is part of collective memory, embedded in place names, agricultural heritage, and the very land beneath our feet. In an era of rapid urbanization and climate-induced land–water transformations, understanding this profound relationship with the land–water-scape is strategic for sustainability, resilience, and even survival.

Search This Blog