Chief economic advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran has advised India Inc against relying on a weak currency as a tool for boosting exports. He emphasised that productivity, investment in research and development, and quality should be the primary drivers of competitiveness, rather than weal currency.

RBI bulletin for November pegs India’s Q2 growth at 6.7%, lower from MPC estimate at 7% and 7.6% for Q3 (MPC- 7.4%). On Inflation the Bulletin cited that apart from the sharp surge in the momentum of food prices, core inflation has edged up. Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran believes that inflation in October 2024 was primarily driven by key commodities like tomatoes, onions, potatoes, gold, and silver. Retail inflation in October stood at 6.2%. These items, which make up just 3.4% of the CPI basket, accounted for over one-third of the 6.2% inflation rate.

A tight US labor market is still adding to inflationary pressures, though less so than it did in 2022 and 2023, according to research published on Monday by the San Francisco Federal Reserve. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey Quarterly Bulletin, unemployment rate in urban areas declined to 6.4% in September 2024 from 6.6% in June 2024. Labour force participation rate in urban areas increased to 50.4% in the September 2024 from 50.1% in the June 2024.