Agriculture Ministry data showed that acreage under rabi crop stood at 652 lakh hectares (ha) as on 15th 2021 against 642 lakh ha during the corresponding period of last year, marking an increase of 10 lakh ha or 1.56%. Sowing reported under Wheat was at 337 lakh ha against 330 lakh ha area of last year i.e. increase in area coverage by 6.55 lakh ha or 2%.

Oilseeds are sown in 82.56 lakh ha against 79 lakh ha of last year, up 4.50%. Area coverage under Rapeseed & Mustard has been reported on 73.25 lakh ha compared to corresponding period of last year 68.64 Lakh ha, up 6.71%.

Pulses are stood at 162 lakh ha against 159 lakh ha area of last year i.e. increase in area coverage by 3.30 lakh ha or 1.90%. The acreage under Chana or Gram rose by 3.50% at 109.14 lakh ha.

Coarse cereals acreage fell sharply by 8.22% at 49.11 Lakh ha. The area under Maize and Barely slipped by 4.89% and 10.55% respectively.

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) stated in a latest update yesterday that a growth of 8.36% has been registered in the sales of Passenger Cars in December'20, as compared to December'19. Sales of Utility Vehicles increased by 19.75% in December'20, as compared to December'19. Sales of Vans grew by 41.06% in December'20, as compared to December'19. Sales of Passenger Vehicles witnessed an increase of 13.59% in December'20, as compared to December'19. Three-wheelers saw a dip in sales by 58.87% in December'20, as compared to December'19.

Sales of Two-wheelers grew by 7.42% in December'20, as compared to December'19. Total exports of Passenger Vehicles & Three-wheelers witnessed a decrease of 13.49% & 5.69% respectively in December'20, as compared to December'19. The total production of Passenger Vehicles, Three-Wheelers, Two-Wheelers and Quadricycle in the month of December’20 was 1,907,811 units, as against 1,750,347 units in December’19, witnessing a growth of 9%.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the pan India rollout of COVID-19 vaccination drive on 16th January, 2021 at 10:30 AM via video conferencing. This will be the world’s largest vaccination program covering the entire length and breadth of the country. A total of 3006 session sites across all States and UTs will be virtually connected during the launch. Around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each session site on the inaugural day.

This vaccination programme is based on the principles of priority groups to be vaccinated and Health Care workers, both in government and private sectors including ICDS workers, will receive the vaccine during this phase.

The vaccination programme will use Co-WIN, an online digital platform developed by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which will facilitate real time information of vaccine stocks, storage temperature and individualized tracking of beneficiaries for COVID-19 vaccine. This digital platform will assist programme managers across all levels while conducting vaccination sessions.

The provisional figures of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) revealed that the rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 1.22% for the month of December, 2020 (over December, 2019) as compared to 2.76% during the corresponding month of the previous year.

The Primary Articles index for this major group declined by (-3.11%) to 146.5 (provisional) in December, 2020 from 151.2 (provisional) for the month of November, 2020. The Fuel and Power index for this major group increased by (3.18%) to 94.2 (provisional) in December, 2020 from 91.3 (provisional) for the month of November, 2020. The Manufactured Products index for this major group increased by (1.40%) to 123.0 (provisional) in December, 2020 from 121.3 (provisional) for the month of November, 2020.

The Food Index consisting of 'Food Articles' from Primary Articles group and 'Food Product' from Manufactured Products group have decreased from 158.9 in November, 2020 to 154.4 in December, 2020. The rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index decreased from (4.27%) in November, 2020 to (0.92%) in December, 2020.

The Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) stated yesterday that a meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held through video conference. Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, chaired the meeting. The Sub-Committee reviewed the major developments in the global and domestic economy as well as financial markets that impact financial stability.

The Sub-Committee, inter-alia, discussed scope for improvements in insolvency resolution under IBC, utilisation of data with the Central KYC Records Registry and changes in the regulatory framework relating to Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) set up in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), among others.

The Sub-Committee also reviewed the activities of various technical groups under its purview and the functioning of State Level Coordination Committees (SLCCs) in various states / UTs. The regulators reaffirmed their resolve to be alert and watchful of emerging challenges to financial stability.

Kerala has become the 8th State in the country to successfully undertake “Ease of Doing Business” reform stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. Thus, the State has become eligible to mobilise additional financial resources of Rs.2,373 crore through Open Market Borrowings. Permission for the same was issued by the Department of Expenditure on 12th January, 2021. Kerala has now joined the seven other States namely, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, who have completed this reform. On completion of reforms facilitating ease of doing business, these eight States have been granted additional borrowing permission of Rs.23,149 crore.

The ease of doing business is an important indicator of the investment friendly business climate in the country. Improvements in the ease of doing business will enable faster future growth of the state economy. Therefore, the government of India had in May 2020, decided to link grant of additional borrowing permissions to States who undertake the reforms to facilitate ease of doing business.

Government of India (GoI) has announced the Sale (Re-issue) of (i) „4.48% Government Security, 2023‟ for a notified amount of ` 6,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction, (ii) „GoI Floating Rate Bonds, 2033‟ for a notified amount of ` 2,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction, (iii) „6.22% Government Security, 2035‟ for a notified amount of ` 9,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction, and (iv) „6.67% Government Security, 2050‟ for a notified amount of ` 5,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction. GoI will have the option to retain additional subscription up to ` 2,000 crore against each of the above securities. The auctions will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai Office, Fort, Mumbai on January 15, 2021 (Friday) using multiple price method. Up to 5% of the notified amount of the sale of the securities will be allotted to eligible individuals and Institutions as per the Scheme for Non-Competitive Bidding Facility in the Auction of Government Securities.

Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das noted in his foreward to the latest RBI Financial Stability Report that congenial liquidity and financing conditions have shored up the financial parameters of banks, but it is recognised that the available accounting numbers obscure a true recognition of stress. It is in this context that banks must exploit the congenial financial conditions and the conducive policy environment to plan for capital augmentation and alterations in business models that address emerging challenges for future expansion, while strengthening the capacity to absorb shocks and supporting the revival of the economy.

In spite of rising public commitments for mitigating the impact of the pandemic, fiscal authorities are also witnessing revenue shortfalls. The resultant expansion in the market borrowing programme of the Government has imposed additional pressures on banks. The borrowing programme has been managed smoothly so far, with the lowest borrowing costs in 16 years and elongation of maturity.

The corporate sector has also raised substantial funds from financial markets amidst easy financing conditions, which have been mainly used for deleveraging and building up precautionary buffers. As growth impulses take root, the private sector capex cycle should revive as existing capacities get utilised and new capacities are added. This will require the financial system to intermediate expanded growth requirements of Indian business.

As per the FSR Bank credit growth has remained subdued, with the moderation being broad-based across bank groups. The capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) improved to 15.8% in September 2020 from 14.7% in March 2020, while their gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio declined to 7.5% from 8.4%, and the provision coverage ratio (PCR) improved to 72.4% from 66.2% over this period.

Macro stress tests incorporating the first advance estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2020-21 released on January 7, 2021 indicate that the GNPA ratio of all SCBs may increase from 7.5% in September 2020 to 13.5% by September 2021 under the baseline scenario; the ratio may escalate to 14.8% under a severe stress scenario. This highlights the need for proactive building up of adequate capital to withstand possible asset quality deterioration.

Network analysis reveals that total bilateral exposures among entities in the financial system increased marginally during the quarter-ended September 2020. With the inter-bank market continuing to shrink and with better capitalisation of banks, the contagion risk to the banking system under various scenarios declined as compared to March 2020.

In the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, policy actions were geared towards restoring normal functioning and mitigating stress; the focus is now being oriented towards supporting the recovery and preserving the solvency of businesses and households.

Positive news on vaccine development has underpinned optimism on the outlook, though it is marred by second wave of the virus including more virulent strains.

Policy measures by the regulators and the government have ensured the smooth functioning of domestic markets and financial institutions; managing market volatility amidst rising spillovers has become challenging especially when the movements in certain segments of the financial markets are not in sync with developments in the real sector.