Articles written by
k raveendran

By K Raveendran As the global oil markets digest the news about OPEC+ announcement of a 2 million barrels per day of crude output cut, more details emerging from market analysts should calm Indian nerves a bit as the impact may not be as severe as feared. The Brent price had touched $94 straightaway from […]

The post Sigh Of Relief As OPEC-Plus Cut Unlikely To Reach Declared Levels first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The government has raised the price of natural gas by an incredible 40 percent to take it to a new level, and the move comes like a bolt from the blue to consumers who are already finding their energy costs unbearable. Household budgets are expected to see further squeeze, with cooking gas […]

The post Higher Gas Royalty To Cause Ripple Effect, Squeeze Household Budgets Further first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Crude oil prices have now dipped below the level when Russia’s Ukraine war broke out, which means the market has not only absorbed the shock of disruption in supplies, but the end game is approaching for the oil cartel. The war, however, forced a tectonic change in the oil market dynamics, of […]

The post Oil Prices Below Level Before Ukraine War, But No Solace For Consumers first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The rampaging dollar has caused a bloodbath in the currency markets, with all other major currencies falling to multi-decade lows. The rupee has not done any better. The Indian currency touched historical lows, crossing 81 to the dollar, the lowest it has touched for all times. The dollar rampage, a by-product of […]

The post Gold Has A Tough Summer, Yet Holds Out Well Amidst Turmoil first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran Arvind Kejriwal seems to have come of age as a politician. The Delhi chief minister is apparently taking a page out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi book to speak the same language, same content and wear the same demeanor.  He needs to be given credit for his assessment that Modi’s language strikes […]

The post Kejriwal Follows Modi-Style Vote Catching And Succeeds first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran A major hurdle in the shift to electric vehicles has been the price disadvantage of EV units. But this is expected to change soon, as electric vehicles are expected to hit price parity with petrol and diesel engines by next year. The shift is being made possible in view of the increasing […]

The post Price Parity With Fuel Vehicles Next Year To Remove Major EV Hurdle first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The Supreme Court has kept its word in terms of protecting the rights of undertrials by granting bail to journalist Siddique Kappan, who has spent over two years in UP jails without trial in connection with the Hathras conspiracy case. The decisive action comes within weeks of the apex court having warned […]

The post Supreme Court Keeps Its Word For Protecting Rights Of Undertrials first appeared on IPA Newspack.

By K Raveendran The gap between time of booking and delivery of new cars is changing from months to years, which is causing frustration to buyers of new vehicles. During the pandemic, the industry was down in the dumps as demand dried up completely dried up. But as the industry rode out of the pandemic, […]

The post Frustrating Increase In Auto-Makers’ Delivery Timeframe first appeared on IPA Newspack.

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.