National Stock Exchange of India

♦ The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) said it has crossed the milestone of 20 crore client accounts in October 2024. Among States, Maharashtra leads with the highest number of accounts at 3.6 crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh (2.2 crore), Gujarat (1.8 crore), Rajasthan and West Bengal at 1.2 crore each. 

♦ Together, these States account for nearly 50% of total client accounts, while the top 10 States account for approximately three-fourths of the total. Additionally, the unique registered investor base now stands at 10.5 crore, having crossed the 10-crore (100 million) mark on August 8, 2024.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

♦ The International Monetary Fund (IMF) maintained its projection for India’s GDP growth at 7% for the current fiscal year (2024-25). It also forecast India’s growth rate to moderate to 6.5% in the fiscal year 2025-26.

♦ The latest estimates, published in the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO).

♦ The report also updated the forecast for the US, raising its 2024 growth estimate to 2.8%, up from the previous forecast of 2.6%, and its 2025 projection to 2.2%, compared to the July estimate of 1.9%.

♦ Global growth remains steady at 3.2% for both 2024 and 2025. However, China’s growth outlook for 2024 was lowered to 4.8% from 5%, with no change to the 2025 projection of 4.5%.

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index

♦ According to the 2024 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report, approximately 1.1 billion people live in acute multidimensional poverty, with 455 million residing in conflict-affected regions. This report was jointly released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

♦ The report contains updated data from 112 countries and over 1,359 subnational regions.

South Asian countries in the MPI 2024 report:

♦ India: 0.105 MPI value, with 234 million people living in multidimensional poverty (23.8% incidence)

♦ Pakistan: 0.198 MPI value, with 93 million people living in poverty (38.3% incidence)​

♦ Nepal: 0.092 MPI value, with about 7.5 million people living in poverty (22.5% incidence).

♦ Bangladesh: 0.104 MPI value, with 41.7 million people living in poverty (24.6% incidence).
 

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

♦ The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) survey reveals that the average monthly income of rural households rose by 57.6% over a five-year period (2016-2021).

♦ The second ‘All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) 2021-22 found that the average monthly income grew by 57.6%, from Rs 8,059 in 2016-17 to Rs 12,698 in 2021-22.

♦ The survey also found that financial savings in rural households improved, with the average annual savings reaching Rs.13,209 in 2021-22, compared to Rs.9,104 five years earlier. A noteworthy 66% of households reported saving in 2021-22, up from 50.6% in 2016-17. However, the proportion of households with outstanding debt rose from 47.4% to 52%.

♦ Covering a total of one lakh rural households, the survey highlighted an improvement in household income. Alongside rising incomes, household expenditures also grew, with average monthly spending increasing from Rs.6,646 in 2016-17 to Rs.11,262 in 2021-22.

♦ The survey noted a rise in reliance on institutional loans, with 75.5% of agricultural households borrowing from institutional sources in 2021-22, up from 60.5% in 2016-17. Conversely, non-institutional borrowing among agricultural households decreased from 30.3% to 23.4%.

International Monetary Fund

♦ India has become the fourth economy in the world to surpass 700 billion US dollars in foreign reserves, joining China, Japan, and Switzerland. India’s foreign exchange reserves surged by 12.588 billion dollars to touch a new all-time high of 704.885 billion dollars for the week ending September 27. 

♦ In the previous week ended September 20, the forex reserves jumped by 2.8 billion to 692.3 dollars. 

♦ According to the latest RBI data, India’s gold reserves rose 2.184 billion to 65.796 billion dollars. The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund increased by 8 million to 18.547 billion dollars.