Week 31

Global 🌍

February 06, 2021

Good Morning,

Welcome! I hope you have your “Subah Kee Chai” ready and you're excited to read your weekly 10-minute digest. 

This week saw the release of the new Budget, continuing farmers' protests, vaccine roll-outs, and the England test opener! On a side note, and completely separate from Subah Kee Chai. I started my very own podcast on Youtube titled Off Topic. A new video is out every Wednesday. Go subscribe, give my videos a like, share them with your friends, and tune in! 

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Now let’s get into the news.

Markets

Markets

For a fifth day straight, Indian

continued their winning streak after BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 jumped approximately 100-150 points on Friday. Market certainty grew significantly after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the Indian Budget for the year 2021. In addition, the Reserve Bank of India kept interest rates unchanged and continued its stance on a revival of economic growth. SBI was the top gainer, on Friday, rising over 10%, followed by Kotak Bank, Dr. Reddy's, ITC, and HDFC Bank. On the contrary, however, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, and Maruti were the top losers. Asian and European markets mirrored Indian equities, as both markets finished in the green as well. Lastly, the price of gold tanked 4%, while the price of crude oil rose by 1%. 

On an international scale, India's

grew 5.37% year-on-year to USD 27.24 billion in January 2021 due to steep growth in the pharmaceutical and engineering sectors. Similarly, India's imports rose 2% in January to USD 42 billion. As a result of the growth, India's trade deficit narrowed to USD 14.75 billion from USD 15.3 billion in the previous year. 

COVID-19

With the vaccine roll-out programme running smoothly, here's a COVID-19 statistic that is pretty eye-catching! According to an ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) survey

of the population showed evidence of past exposure to COVID-19. The survey was conducted in the same 700 villages in 70 districts in 21 states between 7th December 2020 and 8th January 2021. The Indian Government, however, stated that there is still a large portion of the population that is vulnerable to the infection. 

Budget 2021-22

India's long-awaited

is finally here! Proving to be probably the toughest budget for India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he is tasked with steering India's 2.7 trillion-dollar economy out of an unprecedented recession while also ensuring the country has resources to fight against the worst pandemic of the century! Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised a budget aimed at boosting the economy, let's break it down and see if it will do the job.

Key Takeaways

1. A 137% increase in health care spending from INR 94,452 crore to INR 2,23,846 crore. 

2. INR 35,000 crore will be spent on the production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. 

3. Senior citizens aged above 75 years old with only pension and interest income have been exempted from filing tax returns. However, there has been no change in the personal income tax brackets. 

4. Affordable housing projects can avail a tax holiday for one more year until 31st March 2022. In addition, the government has boosted home-buyers by deducting interest for a loan taken to purchase an affordable house. 

5. Projects for building 8,500 km of highways will commence from March 2022, primarily focusing on states that have the highest capacity of toll booths. 

6. The voluntary-vehicle scrapping policy will phase out old and polluting vehicles, as personal vehicles will undergo a 'fitness test' after 20 years. Similarly, commercial vehicles will undergo the same test after 15 years. 

Who benefits?

Hospitals, real estate, metal makers, state-run banks, and textile manufacturers are the

of the newly proposed budget. Each of these sectors either saw an increase in overall spending or a significant deduction in overdue payments. 

Who lost? 

On the flip side, however, government bonds, exporters, farmers, and IT firms suffered due to the new Budget proposals. A higher-than-expected USD 164 borrowing plan hit India's sovereign bonds, which dropped in value following the announcement. In addition, India raised import tariffs on a number of items, including mobile phones and solar equipment. India's protectionist agenda is a negative for individuals in the export sector. Moreover, the Indian Government failed to address the ongoing unrest at the Delhi borders, and there was no significant budget allocation to boost rural consumption and production. Lastly, no announcements were made to boost the future of information technology. 

Global Coverage

International Celebrities

Last week, I covered the growing tensions between the Farmer's Union and the Indian Government over three new agricultural laws that the Indian Government has proposed. A surge of violence on Republic Day, resulted in the Indian Government suspending the supply of water and electricity to areas near the Delhi border, where the majority of farmers are currently protesting. A number of

such as Rihanna and Greta Thunberg voiced their concerns and called for action against the Indian Government for suppressing the farmer's protests. However, foreign celebrity involvement was not welcomed nicely by Indian authorities and a handful of Indian celebrities, as they claimed the global coverage is misleading and is a direct threat to Indian sovereignty. If it is India's problem, India will deal with it. What do you think of that? When something happens in the USA or any Western country, Indian's are first to comment and provide their opinions, so why the call for greater 'sovereignty' now? On the contrary, it is also important to provide accurate and true information about the situation without falsifying facts. 

The Indian Government on Thursday informed the Delhi High Court that 43 FIR's had been filed in connection with the Republic Day violence. Singhu and Ghazipur border remain closes with heavy police presence near the Delhi borders. 

Additional Income

While the farmers express their outrage at the new agricultural laws, the Indian Government stated that they will provide an

to farmers. The additional income will be generated by converting waste into energy. The government has already initiated a scheme to procure ethanol worth INR 20,000 crore which will help increase farmer's income. 

Sports 

India v England: 1st Test 

With an impressive performance from England's skipper Joe Root, England reached a comfortable 263-3 on the opening day. Joe Root, scored 128 runs in 197 balls, becoming the ninth player in the history of cricket to score a century on his 100th appearance. One of India's finest, Jaspreet Bumrah picked up two wickets (2/40), while Ishant Sharma was heavily tested by the veteran England batsmen. Test 1 will conclude on the 9th of February, with 3 more Test matches to be played throughout the month of February. 

Good luck to our Indian cricket team, let's bring another Test win home! 

Other News

1. After taking Amazon from an online bookstore to a USD 1.7 trillion dollar business, Amazon Founder,

stepped down as CEO of the company and will transition into the role of executive chairman. 

2.

will stop offering domestic payment services in India from the 1st of April. The company will instead focus on enabling more international sales for Indian businesses. 

3. The Indian Government eliminated the

through small price increases. 

4. After months of contention, Amazon won the court case against

to freeze the USD 3.4 billion deal the company had with Reliance Industries. 

5.

properties, such as boutique offices, are witnessing a growing demand, as the work-from-home scheme still continues. 

Quiz

Quiz time! Let's see if you can get it...

Always old, sometimes new. Never sad, sometimes blue. Never empty, sometimes full. Never pushing, always pulling. What am I?

Think, think, think! 

See you next week!

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Quiz Answer: The Moon 

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Written by: Adnan Bahrainwala (Founder of Subah Kee Chai)