(08 April 2024) Government Data Roundup: Report on Boosting Exports from MSMEs, RBI Bulletin Among Those Released Recently.

In this 46^th Edition of fortnightly government data roundup, we look at NITI Aayog’s report on Boosting Exports from MSMEs, DARPG report on National e-Governance and way forward, RBI’s Monthly Bulletin, MoSPI data on GDP and Inflation Rates and IMD’s weather forecast report on Summer Season of 2024.

Boosting Exports from MSMEs

Brief about the Report

Often considered the backbone of the Indian Economy, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a vital role in employment, economic contribution, and growth. Overall, an estimated 6.4 crore MSMEs in India employ about 11 crore people and contribute to 27% of GDP, 38% of total manufacturing output and 45% of total exports.

Key Observations and Recommendations

• To Increase Exports: Nearly 6.3 crores out of 6.34 crore MSMEs are micro-enterprises which employ less than 20 persons and hence, are out of the regulation. By staying small, they miss the potential cost savings, increased efficiency, and enhanced competitiveness that come with expanding their operations. Contrary to popular belief, the domestic market size of MSMEs accounts for only 0-2% of the global market size. Despite high potential, only 0.95% of MSMEs are engaged in Exports. Therefore, exporting is a very crucial factor for MSMEs. Exporting facilities can lead 54 lakh MSMEs to expand their market, which in turn will lead to their increased revenue and profit.
• High Potential for Marketing: Indian manufacturing is better suited to low-skilled products which require a high degree of customization. This will serve in increasing merchandise exports and also help MSMEs to move from Small to Micro and micro to Medium enterprises. Certain industries such as ayurveda, herbal, wood, handloom, handicrafts, leather, etc. are a natural fit for exports. They present an ideal opportunity to expand to global market reach, especially through means such as e-commerce.
• Several Challenges Impede Exports: MSMEs are faced with numerous issues such as limited access to industrial facilities, power shortages, prohibitive cost of capital and scarce affordable investment, inconsistent policy implementation, limited access to technological advancements, competition from fierce domestic and international entities, etc. These hinder and pose significant challenges to MSMEs to expand and export of goods.

In the context of these prevailing issues, the report made salient recommendations such as creating easy and user-friendly national portals, equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI), which provides information about the international export market, unlocking e-commerce exports, introducing various administrative reforms, promoting ease of doing business, etc., among others.

National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) – Way Forward

Brief about the Report

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) formulated National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) to assess States/UTs and Central Ministries with regard to their delivery of e-services (electronic services) in seven sectors, namely Tourism, Environment, Education, Labour & Employment, Finance, Social Welfare including Agriculture, Health and Home Security, and Local Governance & Utility Services. The DARPG publishes monthly reports with an aim for improved delivery of e-services to promote faceless and suo-motu entitlement-based delivery of services, strengthening of unified service delivery portals, etc., among others. The monthly report for January and February is based on inputs provided by State/UTs.

Key Highlights in the Report

• 16,517 e-services are provided across States/UTs; Tamil Nadu provides 1,128 e-services, which is the highest. 5,288 e-services, which is the highest, are in the Local Governance & Utility Services sector.
• 1,528 out of 2,016 mandatory e-services (56*36 States/UTs) are available, making saturation at 76%. Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand have achieved 100% saturation of 56 mandatory e-services.
• 5 States namely, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Assam, and Odisha render 100% of their e-services through a Single Unified Service Delivery Portal i.e., tnesevai, e-UNNAT, e-Sevanam, Sewa Setu and Odisha One, respectively. Some states have developed several applications (Apps) and dedicated portals which offer particular types of services, exclusively.

RBI Bulletin, March 2024

Brief about the Report

The RBI publishes monthly bulletins which consist of research articles, speeches, and some important statistics on the economy. These provide various inputs, insights, and perspectives on the functioning of the economy. The March 2024 bulletin consists of the following articles & speeches:

Articles

• State of the Economy
• Pandemic-induced Policy Stimulus and Inflation: A Cross-Country Perspective
• Seasonality in India’s Key Economic Indicators

Key Highlights of the Bulletin

• The world economy is confronted with large shifts in structure and sentiments, which are either underway or impending with layers of uncertainty, exacerbated by geopolitical and extreme weather risks and other reasons. However, the Indian economy is experiencing a conducive macroeconomic configuration that can be its launching pad for a step-up in its growth trajectory. Over the period of 2021 to 2024, the growth rate has averaged above 8%; and the underlying fundamentals indicate that this can be sustained and even built upon.
• Overall, headline inflation’s momentum turned positive in February 2024, offsetting a favourable base effect. Accordingly, monetary policy has to remain in a risk minimisation mode, guiding inflation towards the target while sustaining the momentum of growth.
• The current account deficit is modest, external buffers are resilient and fiscal consolidation is into its third consecutive year even as corporations are deleveraging and improving their debt servicing capacity. Balance sheets in the financial sector are sound and healthy, providing the wherewithal for intermediating the productive credit needs of the economy.

Other Reports

MoSPI Data on Finance and Economics: The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has published data about Overall and Per Capita State Gross and Net Domestic Produce (SGDP/SNDP), at both current and constant prices, along with their year-on-year (y-o-y) growth rates, from the year 2011-12 to 2023-24. The data showed y-o-y growth in GDP across all the years for most of the stats, except the COVID-19 affected year of 2020-21 where most states have witnessed negative growth.

MoSPI also published data about Inflation Rates, Consumer Price Index (CPI), and Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) as of February 2024 with base year 2012 values. The data is categorized by Rural, Urban, and other categories. The combined results of Rural and Urban showed an increase in the inflation rates across most products, goods and services, such as Cereals and products, Meat and fish, eggs, Milk and products, Pulses and products, Clothing, Education, Transport, and communication, etc. The highest increase was in Vegetables at 30.25%. Only two products which witnessed negative inflation rates are Oil and Fats, and Fuel and Light, which stood at -13.97% and -0/77%, respectively.

IMD Forecast on Summer (Hot Weather Season): The IMD has been issuing seasonal forecast outlooks for temperatures over the country for both the hot and cold weather seasons, since the year 2016. As per the latest March 2024 report, the current hot weather season, during the period of March to May (MAM), is most likely to witness above-normal minimum temperatures over most parts of the country.