Author: Newsdesk

Amid the farmers protest at 32 locations in several parts of Punjab and Haryana, the Railways has lost revenue from freight to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore, the Railway Ministry said on Wednesday.

A railway spokesperson in a statement said the Railways continue to lose revenue as freight operations remain forcibly suspended due to the track blockages in Punjab.

“Till Date more than 2,225 freight rakes could not be operated upon carrying vital commodities. Loss already expected to have crossed Rs 1,200 crore already,” the spokesperson said.

He said that the agitators have continued dharna at platforms and near railway tracks. “Train movement again suspended due to operational and safety considerations as agitators have suddenly stopped some train movements and sporadic blockade continued at various places, especially around Jandiala, Nabha, Talwandi Sabo and Bathinda,” he said.

He said, as per the report at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, the farmers’ agitation was continuing at 32 places — 31 in Northern Railway and one in North Western Railway division.

Farmers are protesting against the three controversial Agriculture Bills that were passed in Parliament in September.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had written to Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on October 26 seeking assurance about the safety of tracks and running staff to resume operations.

The official said that due to the continued blockages at sections of tracks in Punjab, there has been a major adverse impact on the freight movement and, hence, on the availability of vital commodities for the farm, industrial and infrastructure sector as well.

He said that all passenger trains passing through the state of Punjab have been adversely impacted and till date more than 1,350 passenger trains have been cancelled, diverted or short terminated.

“All inward and outward goods transportation, including essential commodities have been affected adversely in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. Number of freight trains, including loaded trains remained stuck as such for periods upto 15-20 days,” he said.

The official also pointed out that many freight customers, after having suffered business losses, are getting diverted to other modes of transportation.

The farmers agitation started on September 24 in Punjab after blocking railway tracks and stations. From October 1 onwards all movements had to be suspended as agitation spread all over Punjab which affected complete train operations in Firozpur Division, partially in Punjab area of Ambala, Delhi and Bikaner Division.

The Railways resumed operation of limited goods trains on October 22. However, within two days the services were again suspended due to operational and safety considerations as sporadic blockade continued at various places, especially around Amritsar, Nabha, Talwandi Sabo, Firozpur, Moga, Jandiala and Bathinda.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the Virtual Global Investor Roundtable (VGIR) on Thursday.

The VGIR will be organised by the Union Ministry of Finance and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. It is a dialogue between leading global institutional investors, Indian business leaders and the highest decision makers from the government of India and financial market regulators.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and other dignitaries will also be present on the occasion.

The roundtable will witness participation from 20 of the world’s largest pension and sovereign wealth funds with a total assets under management (AUM) of about $6 trillion.

These global institutional investors represent key regions including the US, Europe, Canada, Korea, Japan, Middle East, Australia and Singapore. Some of these include funds like Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, Canadian Investment Fund, Korean funds, JBIC, Australian Super etc.

The event will witness the participation of key decision makers of these funds, i.e., the CEOs and CIOs. Some of these investors would also be engaging for the first time with the government of India.

Apart from global investors, the roundtable will also see the participation of several top Indian business leaders.

Addressing the media here, Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj said that Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Nandan Nilekani, Deepak Parekh, Uday Kotak and Dilip Sanghvi will be the major Indian business personalities present at the roundtable to provide the Indian perspective on investments and opportunities.

The event will focus on discussions around India’s economic and investment outlook, structural reforms and the government’s vision for the path to a $5 trillion economy.

The event will provide an opportunity to leading global investors and Indian business leaders to engage and deliberate with senior policymakers on how to further accelerate the growth of international investments in India.

Further, in the next two weeks, the Prime Minister will also meet global investors on a one-to-one basis virtually.

The upcoming roundtable and the following meetings are part of the government’s push to attract foreign investments and boost the economy.

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India’s merchandise exports in October 2020 fell 5.4 per cent to $24.82 billion, as compared to $26.23 billion in the same month last year as Covid-19 pandemic shrank global demand for oil, resulting in sharp contraction of petroleum products exports from the country.

Exports during April-October 2020-21 also declined 19.05 per cent to $150.07 billion as global economies remain subdued affecting trade.

The value of India’s merchandise imports in October 2020 was $33.6 billion, as compared to $37.99 billion in October 2019, a decline of 11.56 per cent. Merchandise imports during April-October 2020-21 were $182.29 billion, as compared to $286.07 billion during the same period last year, exhibiting a negative growth of 36.28 per cent.

India was, thus, a net importer in October with a trade deficit of $8.78 billion, as compared to trade deficit of $11.76 billion, an improvement by 25.34 per cent, a Commerce Ministry statement said.

As the ministry release, in October, the value of non-petroleum exports stood at $23.21 billion, registering a positive growth of 1.84 per cent over October 2019. The value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in October 2020 was $20.28 billion, as compared to $19.07 billion in October 2019, registering a positive growth of 6.34 per cent.

In October, oil imports were $5.98 billion, as compared to $9.73 billion in October 2019, a decline by 38.52 per cent.

Non-oil imports were estimated at $27.62 billion, as compared to $28.26 billion in October 2019, showing a decline of 2.26 per cent.

Major commodities of export which have recorded positive growth during October 2020 vis-a-vis October 2019 are: cereals (369.30 per cent), Rice (112.15 per cent), oilmeal (76.62 per cent), iron ore (73.89 per cent), oilseeds (54.06 per cent), carpet (37.67 per cent), ceramic products and glassware (34.62 per cent), drugs and pharmaceuticals (21.82 per cent), and spices (21.61 per cent) etc.

But, exports in the month largely remained affected due to negative growth recorded in October by petroleum products (53.30 per cent), cashew (21.57 per cent), gems and jewellery (21.27 per cent), leather and leather manufactures (16.69 per cent), man-made yarn/fabrics/made-ups etc. (12.82 per cent) etc.

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The Finance Ministry will soon come up with a fresh round of economic stimulus, Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj said.

Addressing the media at the national capital, he said that the Department of Finance has received suggestions and discussions are on in the ministry regarding the next set of measures amid the pandemic. It will be announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he said.

Bajaj’s statement comes just over a week after he said that the Centre is open for further measures to boost the economy.

Last month, the Finance Minister had also said that the Centre has not closed the option for another stimulus package.

In May, the government came up with the Rs 20 lakh crore ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ economic package. Both the rounds of stimulus so far have received more flak than appreciation from the industry and experts, as many are of the opinion that they are inadequate, more so in terms of boosting demand.

A recent Moody’s report said that that the second round of fiscal stimulus amounts to just 0.2 per cent of the country’s real GDP forecast for the financial year 2021 and in total, the two rounds of stimulus bring the government’s direct spending on coronavirus-related fiscal support to just around 1.2 per cent of GDP.

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