By K Raveendran

By K Raveendran The rupee hit a historic low this week. The immediate provocation was, of course, a signal from the US Federal Reserve that it will persist with high interest rates so as to try and control inflation. The dollar has been steadily climbing in recent times, driven by an exodus of capital into […]

The post A Historical Perspective To Rupee Falling To Its All-Time Low first appeared on IPA Newspack.

  By K Raveendran   A brief respite in retail inflation registered for July may not be of much assurance about price stability as another GST readjustment is threatening to push up prices of items of mass consumption.   Retail inflation was steady in June, although well above the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerance limit […]

The post Next Round Of GST Readjustment To Lead To More Price Increases first appeared on IPA Newspack.

  By K Raveendran   The acrimony between political parties, particularly Modi’s BJP and Kejriwal’s AAP, over freebies notwithstanding, it may be an appropriate occasion for a full-fledged debate on the issue as the nation celebrates 75 years of Independence. But the cold fact is that every interested party is running away from such a […]

The post It Is Time To Take Freebies Debate To More Fundamental Levels first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran   The rate of urbanisation in India has so far been slower than other emerging countries. But this is expected to change drastically in the coming decades. So much so that in the next two decades, the country is expected to add a new city of the size of Los Angeles every […]

The post Rapid Urabanisation To Reshape India’s Energy Consumption Pattern first appeared on IPA Newspack.

  By K Raveendran   With the Modi government increasingly citing ‘policy’ to justify what it is doing, the Supreme Court has felt compelled to deprecate this tendency.   A bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna, hearing a plea against the levy of GST on equipment such as wheelchair used by people with […]

The post Supreme Court Finds ‘Shackles Of Policy’ Put By Govt As Intimidating first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Parliament has been witnessing a standoff between the government and the opposition over the issue of price rise and inflation, with the opposition demanding urgent debate on the issue and the Modi government showing the inclination to go to any extent, including suspension of over a scores of members belonging to the […]

The post Modi Govt Continues To Run Away From Vexed Inflation Issue first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran A global crisis in the supply of lithium and other components is hitting the Indian EV industry even harder than other major markets. Apart from the high costs of imports, the relative low size of the Indian market is also affecting the industry’s capacity to negotiate. Although the EV sector in India […]

The post Global Supply Constraints Darken Indian EV Manufacturing Horizon first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Developments in Sri Lanka have served as an eye-opener to the inherent dangers of prodigal spending by governments and the implications of freebies model. Unprecedented visuals from the island nation — of people dropping dead while waiting in multi-kms long queue for petrol and diesel, a sea of humanity swarming the presidential […]

The post Arvind Kejriwal Beating Narendra Modi In His Own Game Of Sops first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Congress hasn’t done any credit to itself by criticising prime minister Narendra Modi‘s ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ call to hoist the national flag atop homes to mark the 75th year of India’s independence under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign. It was somewhat uncharacteristic of him at this instance to mention that the […]

The post Congress Discrediting Modi’s ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ Call May Be Suicidal first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Amidst global supply chain disruptions and the attendant cost escalations, there is some encouraging news for India’s merchandise trade. Oversupply of containers is forcing a correction in the second-hand container market prices in the wake of average container prices and leasing rates declining globally since October 2021. The current situation of oversupply […]

The post Falling Global Freight Rates Bring Respite To India’s Foreign Trade first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran It is becoming increasingly clear that the western sanctions against Russia for its Ukraine invasion is hurting Europe more than these were meant to harm Moscow. While a guaranteed energy crisis is staring Europe on its face due to the stoppage of gas flow from Russia, even creating the scare of rationing […]

The post Russia Surprises Sanction-Slappers By Exporting More Oil Than Before first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The rupee hitting new lows has become a monotonous regularity. The currency has fallen in the relentless climb by dollar, subjugated any resistance offered by other currencies, including the euro, which has fallen to its 20-year low, fast approaching the highly embarrassing parity in the wake of a crippling energy crisis brought […]

The post Rupee Slide Far From Over, More Ground Left To Cover first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran It was an open secret that the oil companies have been minting money on account of the rising crude prices, although they have been dishing out doctored numbers to show losses. Now that the government has decided to enforce a windfall tax on the companies for the undue profits that have accrued […]

The post Windfall Tax Lets The Cat Out Of The Bag Of Petroleum Companies first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The emergence of organised collection centres for scrap gold is introducing a new trend in the recycling of gold in the country. The new trend is spearheaded by major players such as MMTC-PAMP and Muthoot, which are setting up collection centres across the country. Organised scrap collection is, in fact, is eroding […]

The post Growing Share Sees Scrap Gold Evolve Into An Organised Industry first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran It is all very well that the petition moved by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for combining all the FIRs registered against her in different parts of the country for her offending remarks about Prophet Mohammed has been dismissed by a Supreme Court vacation bench in a two-line order. It goes a […]

The post Controversial Remarks Not Part Of Vacation Bench’s Order first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Enthused by the sudden crash in crude prices, oil bears are daring to imagine oil at $50 a barrel. Their optimism is boosted by tanking stock markets, soaring inflation and mounting recession fears. Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, oil prices have maintained a steady climb, hitting $127 per […]

The post Oil Bears See $50 Barrel As Within The Realm Of Possibility first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The ground on which the conspiracy charge has been thrown out in the in the appeal filed by Zakia Jafri in the Supreme Court challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to Narendra Modi and 63 other state functionaries in the Gujarat riots case leaves no scope for ambiguity, but some […]

The post SC Remarks On Gujarat Riot Case Liable To Be Misused As Condoning Of Failures first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran India is leading the switch in the flow of Russian crude oil, hit by sanctions in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, from its traditional market Europe to Asia. According to latest estimates available with Rystad, in the four months since the start of the Ukraine invasion, Indian imports of […]

The post India Reaps Maximum Benefits From Sanctions Against Russian Oil first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Another thoughtless decision and the country is burning again. Knee jerk reactions by the government have not succeeded and the violent protests are continuing, gaining intensity by the hour and spreading to new territories. Beginning primarily in the north Indian states of UP and Bihar, the protest against Agnipath has spread to […]

The post Aftermath Of Another Haphazard Modi Government Decision first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Like it or lump it: the Chinese have more influence on you and me than what we are ready to admit. Apparently, the world is increasingly revolving around China, a proposition that the West used to boast. Whether it is the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan that brought the world down, or […]

The post China Retains Its Overbearing Influence On Global Economy first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Like all other investment instruments, weaker investor interest has affected gold prices as well.  There has been bi-directional equity volatility in recent times, but this has failed to support gold prices as short term momentum waned. Gold fell 3.8 percent  in May this   year  leaving it just under 2 percent higher on […]

The post High Inflation, Rate Hikes Add To Gold’s Appeal Both As Hedge And Asset first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The Narendra Modi government might in all probability be able to bring the friendly Arab governments round to softening their initial response to what they consider to be the most sacrilegious remark by BJP leaders against Prophet Mohammed. The government has already intensified the firefighting, with special efforts being made to explain […]

The post Narendra Modi Govt’s Image Has Got A Big Jolt In Gulf Nations In Last Few Days first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The world believes that the success of western sanctions against Putin’s Russia depends on just two countries: India and China. On the face of it, it would appear to be a straightforward positioning. For, much of the Russian oil that has been made redundant by the sanctions is expected to flow to […]

The post New Delhi Holds Its Own On Discounted Oil Imports From Russia first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The remark by two judges of a Supreme Court vacation bench on the need for senior advocates to enrol and train at least 15 juniors is set to breath new life into the long-drawn controversy about the abuse of the system of designating senior advocates. “We want the young generation of this […]

The post Renewed Focus On Skewed System For Designating Senior Advocates first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Car companies in India are already creating waves about the launch of electric vehicles, with nearly a dozen brands expected to hit the road in a year’s time. Joining the EV bandwagon are all major automakers, including Hyundai, Tata, Mahindra, Mercedes etc. But even as the euphoria continues, the EV industry is […]

The post Ukraine War Fallout Takes The Clock Back On Shift To Electric Vehicles first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri has attributed the excise cut in petroleum products to Prime Minister Modi’s ‘considered and very well thought through assessment that the burden on the common man, the Aam Aadmi, needed to be addressed. He was speaking to television channel in the wake of the […]

The post Modi’s Sensitivity And The ‘Game’ Petroleum Companies Play first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The decision by the Supreme Court this week that the powers of the Centre and the States to legislate on GST-related issues are equal debunks the idea that the Centre can ride roughshod over the states, as it has been happening to a large extent. The court’s judgment also strengthens the cause […]

The post Supreme Court Stress On Cooperative Federalism A Slap On Centre first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Given the hype and build-up for LIC’s Rs 21,000 crore dream IPO over a long time, the listing of the shares has turned out to be an anti-climax. Of course, the first day price is no indication of how the stock is going to perform over any term. But the debut has […]

The post Anti-Climax In LIC’s Listing On Stock Market Forms Part Of Trend first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The seismic shift in the global crude oil market has begun to take effect. This is expected to manifest in tightened crude markets as well as unprecedented shifts in trade flows, most notably of Russian oil from Europe to Asia. Russia is expected to redirect as much volume as possible to alternative […]

The post India A Key Player In Seismic Shift In Global Crude Oil Market first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The Narendra Modi government has received a real snub from the Supreme Court, which has overruled the Centres’ objections and stayed all proceedings in sedition cases. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana also directed on Wednesday that all pending cases, appeals and proceedings with respect to charges framed for […]

The post Supreme Court Sees Through Govt’s Game On Seditions Law first appeared on IPA Newspack.