Monetary Policy

India’s Economic Balancing Act Faces Tariff and Oil Test

RBI and government reforms aim to cushion growth, but crude and tariff shocks could tip India’s economy off its precarious tightrope.

Alok Kumar Mishra

Iti Vyas

October 2, 2025 at 11:55 AM IST

Fiscal Prudence Meets Growth Ambitions: Odisha’s GST Challenge

The success of GST reform in Odisha will depend on balancing industrial revival, fiscal prudence, and inclusive development.

Hemachandra Padhan

September 30, 2025 at 9:24 AM IST

Monetary Policy

RBI Should Stay on Hold in October to Preserve Stability

With inflation subdued and growth resilient but external shocks looming, the RBI’s wisest move in October is to pause and preserve stability.

N. Srinivasa Rao

September 30, 2025 at 4:01 AM IST

Anurag Vijay/CC

Moody’s Affirms India at Baa3, Flags Fiscal Constraints and Tariff Uncertainty

The global rating agency kept India’s rating at Baa3 with a stable outlook, warning that high deficits, weak debt affordability and steep US tariffs threaten to slow fiscal repair. Growth resilience cushions the economy, but structural constraints limit credit improvement.

BasisPoint Insight

September 29, 2025 at 10:13 AM IST

Retail Inflation Could Briefly Touch Zero in October

GST cuts and a favourable base effect may push India’s retail inflation near zero in October, posing a fresh test for the RBI’s rate calculus.

Datametricx

September 18, 2025 at 8:11 AM IST

IStock/RealPictures

India’s Households Signal Fragile Revival, Rural Tilt

Disinflation and policy support have created space, but without robust income growth the festive-season boost may fall short.

Dhananjay Sinha

September 16, 2025 at 7:53 AM IST

iStock.com

Moody’s: GST Reforms to Lift Consumption, Strain Revenues but Won’t Derail Fiscal Consolidation

BasisPoint Insight

September 11, 2025 at 7:06 AM IST

India’s Double Policy Act Faces Test of Transition and Transmission

Repo cuts and GST 2.0 are India’s shield against Trump’s tariff shock, but fiscal risks and weak transmission loom.

Babuji K

September 9, 2025 at 2:56 PM IST

What the GST Rate Cuts Cannot Cure

Can lower GST rates push India’s consumption story forward, or will structural problems like flat wages, joblessness, and shrinking savings blunt the impact?

Rajesh Mahapatra

September 8, 2025 at 1:44 PM IST

iStock.com

GST Overhaul Seen Adding 0.7-0.8% to GDP this Year

BasisPoint Insight

September 5, 2025 at 11:07 AM IST

The Unfinished Business of GST 2.0: EoDB

GST 2.0 has rationalised rates, but unless processes are simplified and mindsets modernised, the promise of genuine ease of doing business will remain elusive.

Srinath Sridharan

September 4, 2025 at 4:30 PM IST

iStock.com

GST 2.0 Shifts India’s Growth Strategy from Highways to Homes

India’s tax overhaul tilts growth strategy back towards households, but the bet on demand revival must not crowd out investment.

Madhavi Arora

September 4, 2025 at 3:13 PM IST

iStocks/triloks

India Hopes GST Rate Cuts Might Have Just Triggered Its Biggest Consumer Boom

India's GST overhaul delivers massive stimulus at ₹480 billion cost, hoping to bolster consumption.

Krishnadevan V

September 4, 2025 at 2:03 PM IST

iStock.com

Opposition’s Silence, Centre’s Smirk

GST Council drama fizzled as opposition states fell silent, leaving the Centre to claim consensus and race ahead with tax reforms.

North (Un)Block

September 4, 2025 at 7:04 AM IST

Finance Ministry

GST Reset Seeks Equity and Growth Amid Fiscal Knot

India’s GST overhaul shifts the burden from households to luxury and sin goods, but revenue losses raise questions over fiscal sustainability.

Dhananjay Sinha

September 4, 2025 at 3:26 AM IST

Finance Ministry

GST Reset May Leave States Largely Unscathed

Revenue fears from GST slab cuts seem overdone. With the compensation cess as a cushion, states face only a modest and manageable impact.

Datametricx

August 29, 2025 at 7:10 AM IST

gstcouncil.gov.in

GST Reboot Risks Fiscal Strain More Than it Promises Growth

India’s proposed GST rejig is being billed as a Diwali bonanza. The risk is that it leaves state finances stretched without delivering a real consumption boost.

N. Srinivasa Rao

August 23, 2025 at 6:59 AM IST

iStock.com

Independence Day, Interrupted by GST

What happens when Independence Day collides with tax reform? For reporters, a holiday turned into GST Day as North Block dropped its surprise two-rate blueprint.

North (Un)Block

August 21, 2025 at 8:53 AM IST

iStock.com

GST Reboot to Test Promise vs Reality

Prime Minister’s promise of a GST reboot has lifted markets, but the risks of patchy passthroughs, state resistance and fiscal strains could blunt the festive cheer.

Rajesh Mahapatra

August 19, 2025 at 6:22 PM IST

istock.com/natbits

India’s Bond Market Faces Harsh Reality as Fiscal Pressures Mount

GST rationalisation gives growth a fiscal lifeline but deepens deficit fears, leaving India’s bond market trapped in a “higher for longer” yield cycle.

Yield Scribe

August 19, 2025 at 4:00 AM IST

iStock.com

Digest

GST Reform Proposal lifts Nifty Auto, Consumer Durable; Fiscal Risks Drag Bonds

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them.

Richard Fargose

August 18, 2025 at 2:22 PM IST

Screengrab (PIB)

GST Rate Cuts and Simplification Must Go Hand in Hand

GST reform promises direct cost relief for manufacturers, while exports stand to gain from fixing inverted duty structures and quicker credit pass-through.

Nilanjan Banik

August 17, 2025 at 9:12 AM IST

IStock.com/paulprescott72

GST Reset Faces Revenue and State Test

The Centre’s bold push for a two-slab GST by Diwali promises relief for households and MSMEs, but consensus with states and revenue arithmetic will be the real test.

Najib Shah

August 17, 2025 at 6:17 AM IST

iStock.com

Centre Proposes Two-Slab GST, Lower Taxes on Essentials in Reform Push

The Centre’s proposal will now move to the Group of Ministers constituted by the GST Council, where an agreement will hinge on the state governments’ comfort with the potential revenue impacts of lower rates.

BasisPoint Insight

August 15, 2025 at 9:19 AM IST

iStock.com

GST Rate Cuts Can Lift Demand, But Fiscal Balancing Will Be Key

Cutting GST rates on essentials could spark a broader demand revival than past schemes, but fiscal space and state consensus will decide success.

Dhananjay Sinha

August 15, 2025 at 8:08 AM IST

istock.com/natbits

Monetary Policy

Monetary Policy

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The Bureau