The base effect that held inflation to near zero levels has ended. Higher inflation also coincides with a period when the government has changed the frequency of inflation reporting from weekly to monthly. Now, only the primary articles (fuel and agricultural products) are reported on a weekly basis. Manufactured products’ inflation will be available only on a monthly basis. October 2009 is the first month after the reporting frequency changed. Till now, inflation rates have been hovering around the zero mark and even turning negative, due to a high base effect in the previous year.
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Economic Stimulus
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Booster Dose #5: the final attempt, and a weak one at that
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The government is readying for elections. It has announced the final round of its fiscal stimulus package. With no signs of the measures taken till now leading to a recovery, the government is throwing everything it can at the slowdown. And, then it will leave the next government to clean up the mess –falling tax revenues, growing fiscal deficit and an economy that refuses to be kickstarted.
Filed under: Economy+Policy, Top News, Economic Stimulus, Government
Booster Dose #3: Govt lowers excise rates, big deal?
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This is the third instalment of the weekend stimulus package. The government has lowered the cenvat rate by 4% across all rate slabs: 14%, 12% and 8%. The ad valorem duty on cars has been reduced to 20% from 24%, but it is still higher compared to the highest cenvat rate.