Every week, Plain Facts publishes a compilation of data-based insights—complete with easy-to-read visual charts—to help you delve deeper into the stories reported by Mint. The government is planning to raise its capital expenditure to ₹10 trillion in the next financial year to support growth, while its plans to launch sovereign green bonds in the second half of the current year could boost efforts to tackle climate change.
Every week, Plain Facts publishes a compilation of data-based insights—complete with easy-to-read visual charts—to help you delve deeper into the stories reported by Mint. The government is planning to raise its capital expenditure to ₹10 trillion in the next financial year to support growth, while its plans to launch sovereign green bonds in the second half of the current year could boost efforts to tackle climate change.
Raising Capex?
The government may be looking to increase its capital spending to about ₹10 trillion in the upcoming fiscal year to build ports, roads, and other infrastructure in a bid to spur growth as private investments remain weak, Mint reported. The plan is ambitious, but the government may find it difficult to raise the money amid high subsidy bills. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had increased capital expenditure to a record ₹7.5 trillion in the 2022-23 budget.
Going Green
Green bonds have become a tool to encourage companies to invest more in environment-friendly projects by offering funds at cheaper costs, in the worldwide effort to mitigate the effects of climate change. The bonds are gaining traction in India as well, with the government announcing its debut sovereign green bonds of $2 billion later this year. However, the performance in the first half of 2022 has been weak, with the issuance reaching only $2.2 billion.
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Tax Boost
₹1.52 trillion: That's the goods and services tax (GST) mop-up in October, the second highest this year. This is the second time GST collections have crossed the ₹1.5-trillion mark after a record mop-up in April because of high year-end sales. After disruptions because of the transition to new tax regime and also the impact of covid-19, GST collections seem to be stabilized. However, high inflation may have played a role in boosting collections.
Mismatch Mystery
The mismatch in trade data of India and China have left experts puzzled. While China claims that the trade with India this year has been $103 billion till September, India's data showed it was just $91 billion. Shipments from China to India were significantly, India's data showed, at $79.2 billion compared to $89.7 billion claimed by China. Experts have said the discrepancy could be because of under-invoicing of shipments by Indian importers to avoid import taxes, Mint reported.
Planned Reduction
India may cut its exports in the year through September 2023 to protect domestic supplies amid expectation of a rise in biofuel demand, Bloomberg reported. As India is the second-largest producer and exporter of sugar, the expected reduction in shipments could tighten sugar supplies around the world. Of late, the growth in sugar exports has been in double digits, reaching 69% in April-September 2020 and remained 44% in the same period this year.
Raising Funds
$2.34 billion: That's the amount state-run telecom giants, MTNL and BSNL, aim to raise through government-guaranteed bonds over the next few weeks, Reuters reported. The government had provided sovereign guarantee to the companies in September to raise the funds. Despite this, the companies will have to pay a higher yield because of current market conditions. MTNL is expected to issue bonds in November and BSNL at the end-November or early-December.
Vodafone Woes
The government wants promoters of Vodafone Idea Ltd to inject more funds before it converts the interest on spectrum dues of ₹16,000 crore into equity, Mint reported. The latest government move came as the telecom was unable to secure funding from investors. India's third largest telecom operator has been trying to raise ₹20,000 crore in debt and equity since 2020. Industry experts said additional equity from promoters could help arrest the downward trend in the company's stock.
Chart of the week: Fair bid?
While the BCCI's decision to award equal match fees for both male and female cricketers is a momentous first step, there is still a long way to go in closing the gender gap in cricket as women play far fewer matches and earn a lot less through their annual contracts.
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