(25 September 2023) Government Data Roundup: Reports by RBI, MoSPI, TRAI Among Those Released Recently

In this 38^th edition of fortnightly government data roundup, we look we look at the RBI Bulletin for September 2023 and draft master directions on treatment of wilful defaulters. RBI also released Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy 2022-23. We also look at some of the other releases by RBI and TRAI.

In this 38^th edition of fortnightly government data roundup, we look at the RBI Bulletin for September 2023 and draft master directions on the treatment of wilful defaulters. RBI also released Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy 2022-23. This is a compilation of 240 statistical tables covering macroeconomic and financial variables pertaining to national income aggregates, output, prices, money, banking, financial markets, public finances, foreign trade, and balance of payments as well as select socio-economic indicators.

In addition to these, we look at some of the releases by RBI and TRAI. Among the monthly reports, quick estimates of the Index of Industrial Production, CPI for rural, urban, and combined, CPI for agricultural and rural laborers were released. The explainer on key price indices can be read here.

Key statistics from these reports are as below.

• The All-India CPI-Rural for July 2023 stood at 187.6 points and for urban, it stood at 184.7. For August 2023, the provisional index for rural and urban stood at 187.6 and 184.5 respectively. These represent an increase compared to the August 2022 values, which stood at 175.3 and 173.1 respectively for rural and urban areas. The combined provisional CPI for August 2023 stood at 186.2 as compared to 174.3 in August 2022.
• The All-India Consumer Price Index Numbers for Agriculture Labourers for August 2023 stood at 1224, marking an increase of 9 points while for Rural Labourers, it increased by 8 points to stand at 1234. The significant factor driving the increase in the overall index for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers was primarily the food category, contributing 8.38 and 7.69 points, respectively. This was primarily a result of rising prices for items such as rice, wheat flour, pulses, milk, goat meat, sugar, jaggery, dried chilies, turmeric, garlic, onions, mixed spices, and more.
• For the month of July 2023, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2011-12 stood at 142.0. The sectoral indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing, and Electricity sectors for the month of July 2023 stand at 111.9, 141.2, and 204.0 respectively. The IIP for these sectors during July 2022 stands at 101.1, 135.0, and 188.9 respectively. Electricity sector grew higher, followed by Mining and Manufacturing during this period.
• EPFO’s monthly payroll data shows that EPFO has added 18.75 lakh net members in the month of July 2023. The increase recorded this month is the most substantial since the initial release of EPFO payroll data in April 2018, spanning from September 2017 onwards. The data highlights that roughly 10.27 lakh new members enrolled in July 2023, marking the highest number since July 2022. In a state-wise breakdown, the highest net member additions occurred in the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Haryana, accounting for approximately 58.78% of the total net member additions.

In addition to these monthly releases, some of the significant releases in this fortnight are below:

TRAI:

• Recommendations on “Issues related to Low Power Small Range FM Radio Broadcasting”.
• Pre-Consultation Paper on Inputs for Formulation of “National Broadcasting Policy”
• Recommendations on “Rationalization of Entry Fee and Bank Guarantees”.
• Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2023 (4 of 2023).
• Draft Registration of Consumer Organisations (Amendment) Regulations, 2023.
• Consultation Paper on “Digital Inclusion in the Era of Emerging Technologies”.

RBI:

• Data Quality Index for Commercial and Microfinance Segments by Credit Information Companies.
• Financial Inclusion Index for March 2023.
• Responsible Lending Conduct – Release of Movable / Immovable Property Documents on Repayment/ Settlement of Personal Loans.

RBI Bulletin- September 2023

Brief about the report:

RBI releases monthly bulletin consisting of research articles, speeches by RBI, and some current statistics. These are important as they provide different perspectives on the functioning of the economy. September Bulletin consists of five articles:

1. State of the Economy
2. Fiscal Cost of Reverting to the Old Pension Scheme by the Indian States – An Assessment
3. An Analysis of the Recent Performance of NBFC Sector
4. Inflation and Inflation Expectations: A Distributional Mapping
5. Private Consumption Drivers in India: A Thick Modelling Approach

Key highlights of the bulletin:

• In the midst of a global economic slowdown, the Indian economy is gaining momentum thanks to internal factors such as private consumption and increased investments, particularly in the public sector. There have been improvements in supply responses, and the inflation rate has decreased in August 2023 compared to the previous month’s peak.
• Regarding the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), the expected actual pension burden is set to grow approximately 4.5 times more than the estimated pension expenses under the National Pension Scheme (NPS). By 2060, this additional burden under OPS is projected to reach 0.9 percent of the GDP annually. Any move back to OPS by the states would not be financially sustainable.
• When it comes to the distribution of credit across sectors, government-owned Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in the middle tier primarily lend to infrastructure projects, while privately-owned NBFCs focus mainly on retail lending.
• The research findings demonstrate a strong connection between consumption and income, supported by a long-term co-integrating relationship between real private consumption, income (real personal disposable income), and wealth.

Draft Master Direction – Treatment of Wilful Defaulters and Large Defaulters

Brief about the report:

The draft Master Direction aims to expand the range of entities that can label borrowers as wilful defaulters while also broadening the definition of such defaults. It seeks to enhance the process of identifying wilful defaults, necessitating a review and resolution within six months of classifying an account as non-performing. The primary goal of these guidelines is to establish a fair and transparent procedure, in line with principles of natural justice, for lenders when designating a borrower as a wilful defaulter.

Key highlights of the draft:

• Lenders are prohibited from extending any further credit to deliberate defaulters or entities associated with them, and wilful defaulters are ineligible for credit facility restructuring.
• The restriction on granting additional credit facilities will remain in effect for a duration of one year after the lender removes the name of a deliberate defaulter from the List of Wilful Defaulters (LWD).
• All organizations overseen by the Reserve Bank, including “lenders,” are required to provide relevant information to credit information companies (CICs) on a monthly basis regarding significant defaulters.
• The lender’s Audit Committee shall regularly assess instances of deliberate default and suggest measures to prevent them and enhance early detection if they do occur.
• The lender will provide the information of these third parties to the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for documentation purposes. Using this information, the IBA will create caution lists of these third parties, which will then be shared with lenders.