RBI MPC meet: A pause is most likely: Moneycontrol 30th September 2025

 https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/rbi-mpc-meet-a-pause-is-most-likely-13588571.html

The decision to be taken by the MPC will be interesting for several reasons. There have been several developments since the last policy was announced; and the uncertainty spectre still lingers. The tariff issue is still casting a shadow on global economic prospects. Amidst this environment the government has taken some aggressive steps to support the economy both in terms of aiding growth as well as bringing down prices through GST 2.0. Under these circumstances, one can logically argue for both a rate cut as well as a pause with compelling reasons. Hence, the majority view of the 6 members will be the clinching factor.

In the June policy, it was highlighted when the repo rate and CRR were cut that there are limits to which interest rates can support growth. That is true as no one borrows except if there is a strong reason which is growing demand. Therefore, the stance was changed to neutral indicating that this could be the end of this rate cycle. The bond market reacted with upward movement in the 10-years rate rather than a downward direction which should have been the case with the rate cut.

The GST cuts announced, however, changes the view now. With these cuts expected to raise consumption, there would be a tendency for capacity utilisation to improve leading to higher investment. A rate cut can then be justified on grounds of supporting growth.

The RBI forecast of inflation is quite benign at 3.1% for the year. With the GST cuts there would definitely be a downward revision for the year. As monetary policy is always forward looking, the inflation rate next year will be critical. For Q1FY27, the forecast was 4.9%. This will get moderated by 40 to 50 bps due to the virtual 10% cut in GST across a large basket of commodities; which means that it will be less than 4.5%. At this level, a rate cut can again be justified as inflation will still be within the acceptable limits. The logic here looks fair.

However, on the other side, there are compelling arguments for a pause. First, even at 4.5% inflation next year, the real inflation rate would be just 1%. This is the lower end of the thumb rule assumed for the real repo rate of around 1.5%. (This has never been defined but internal research of RBI had indicated a similar range). Second, heavy flooding in north and south west India has resulted in crop damage. Hence there can be some shock on the food prices front which will be known over the next two months. A pause hence makes sense. Third, a major reason for low inflation numbers is pure base effects which will automatically get reversed in the next cycle in FY27. Will we then be compelled to raise rates? Last, while transmission has taken place completely on the deposits side, there is still ample scope on the lending side. Hence, there should be more time given for such transmission to take place.

On balance, it does look like that a pause in rate cuts is what could be preferred by the MPC this time. Further rate cuts could always be considered whenever required given that the policy comes up every two months. Ideally, a rate cut, if at all is on the cards, should follow a change in stance which will provide the right boost to the bond market.

Liquidity Trap poses policy challenge: Business Line 26th September 2025

 

It’s all about the idea: Stories of successful startups and their strategies: Book Review in Financial Express 28th September 2025

 It is a well-known fact that most startups tend to fail within a few years of inception. Yet, there is a clarion call to give a push to startups because they bring in new ideas as well as have the potential to become what are called unicorn (companies valued at over $1 billion). There have been several instances of such unicorns spurting in India, which houses one of the largest numbers in recent years.

This is what is explored by Aditya Arora and Surya Pasricha in their book Startups of Bharat. They take the reader through different success stories and have certain lessons for those who wish to get into such ventures. There has been a tendency for several engineering and management graduates to get into something new; and with the spread of technology, has become easier. These startups have chosen the online route often to deliver new products and services to customers. In fact, as the authors show, most of these ideas germinate when they are studying in college and fructify as they end their courses and opt for this unconventional route rather than try for the placements. This is reflective of a very advanced level of intellect where students are already in this entrepreneurial role, albeit in the mind, from an early age.

The authors claim that this is not a book that teaches or preaches. It is more a collection of various ideas that have gone into creating startups that have worked. Hence, one cannot ask about those that have not worked. Each story covered in the book gives a gist of what the enterprise does and then traces how these ideas came up and were implemented. At the end of each chapter there are key takeaways. This would closely resemble a brief playbook that could be adopted by anyone thinking of such ventures.

Some of the questions that are posed relate to the business, while others are more behavioural, which will vary across persons. Hence when they talk of being resilient or dreaming big and being bold, the concept may look fairly nebulous. But talking on systems and not the product or focusing on communities and not just customers will be more specific thoughts that need to be pursued.

These stories of entrepreneurs have resulted into considerable amounts of money being raised in the market, with some achieving unicorn status. These startups have not just brought in new ideas but also created jobs. This is one way to go for the economy as conventional jobs become repetitive and probably scarce as technology-driven AI can create a certain modicum of redundancy of labour.

Trying to trace patterns in these enterprises, the authors conclude that there are essentially three prerequisites that have to be met for a successful venture. The first is the product or service (which they term as problem) should be one with a large potential market. This sounds logical because scale is important when bringing in any technology as otherwise there would be a levelling of demand. Along with size of the market, there must be what they call a ‘problem which is repetitive’ so that the venture can garner an income on a regular basis. This too sounds fair, because for the market size to be maintained over the years, there must be high growth registered continuously or else the idea will wane. Last, the product must be considered an essential and not of discretionary value. This is important because as economies progress there are business cycles. If products are not a necessity, then there will be reduction in demand in the natural course. However, if it is essential, then it would work well.

In this book, Arora and Pasricha provide several case studies to drive home this point. The first thought that comes to us would be education, which is something that is large given the demography of India. Several startups have focused on this field and derived fair returns over time.

Providing a platform for cattle is another rather novel idea. We are aware of a second-hand automobile market which is conducted online by several such enterprises. But trading of cattle is different which eschews the bother of going to cattle fairs. Besides the platform and other technical issues that have to be in place, there is a need to give wide scale publicity to these ideas so that a market is created.

They talk of another venture that created India’s largest student community where one can come and learn new skills and network with peers. Another example provided is of a property management app that helps landlords and property managers automate rent collection and streamlining tenant onboarding.

They also provide some guidance on how one finds mentors as this is something that is useful for sure. Similarly, they pose and answer questions on the funding aspect of such ventures as well as on where to register the company. Raising money is always a challenge for any individual, especially if the idea that is being worked on is new and not tested. These are useful tips where the suggestions are not based on any theoretical basis, but practical experience of how various entrepreneurs did the same.

The 15 chapters that are included here are what the authors quite appropriately call the 15 levels of simulation as each level has advice based on a specific company’s experience. This book will surely be of interest to anyone who is looking to do something new as it does do some hand holding from the stage of ideation to making the project work. For those who are not of this variety, the book provides interesting reading as it talks of how things got done for all these companies (the names have not been mentioned in this review as it would take the fizz out from reading the book).

Startups of Bharat: Stories of India’s Million-Dollar Founders Under Thirty
Aditya Arora, 
Surya Pasricha
Penguin Random House
Pp 240, Rs 399

Can’t Bet On Gold To Continue To Rise At The Same Pace: Free Press Journal: 22nd September 2025

 Global uncertainty caused by either war or any extreme policy, which can surround crude oil prices or tariffs, generally causes excess volatility in all markets. With a plethora of developments taking place in the current context, it is hard to conjecture whether currencies will decline or get stronger. The bond markets remain in flux as central banks evaluate the situation before taking a call on interest rates. The same holds with stocks, which get more volatile and can change direction daily depending on the sentiment. It has been observed that in the last two years or so, one asset which moves in a single direction and tends to thrive in such chaos is gold. This has actually been the story ever since Covid, as it has gained in strength for a variety of reasons.

From an average of $1462/ounce in 2019-20, the price has gone up to $2585/ounce in 2024-25. This is an increase of around 76% over 5 years. However, in 2025, due to the tariff issue, there has been a substantial rise from $2709/ounce in January to $3532/ounce in the first week of September, which is an increase of 30%. This comes at a time when stocks have been volatile, bond yields rising, and currencies moving in no particular direction. How can this be explained? And more importantly, can this be expected to continue?

First, gold is considered to be a safe haven and always does well when there is uncertainty. In the last five years, there have been several periods of uncertainty, including the pandemic, wars, political changes and, more recently, the tariff issue. Therefore, investors diversify their portfolios to include gold. The fact that one can invest through financial instruments makes it even easier from the point of view of transacting in the same. There may be no compelling reason to buy physical gold. The derivative market is active both overseas and in India, and the ‘future’ momentum gets reflected in the physical market too.

Second, gold ETFs have received a fillip as large institutional investments flow into these funds. As ETFs do maintain a backup of physical stock of gold, there has been an increase in demand for the metal, which has kept the price rising in the market. In fact, this has been one of the major sources of demand in the last five years, which was not the case earlier.

Third, central banks have been a big purchaser of gold. Ever since the Ukraine war erupted, there has been talk of de-dollarisation. Central banks have been picking up gold in parallel from the market to build their reserves. As gold does not belong to any country, it is a very good way of diversifying foreign exchange reserves. Some of the central banks, which have bought progressively more gold in the last few years, are from India, China, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Poland, etc. When central banks buy gold, it tends to be of considerable quantity and value, which adds to the price momentum.

Fourth, at the individual level, a boom in prices becomes self-fulfilling as individual households rush in to buy jewellery, trying to beat the cycle. By doing so, they contribute to the spiralling demand, which in turn pushes up the price. India and China are the two biggest consumers of gold. In fact, with interest rates declining in India, there is more reason for households to prefer to buy gold as a long-term investment. There was a gap in spending during the first phase of the pandemic, when there were lockdowns across the globe and it was difficult to buy jewellery. However, subsequently there was the pent-up demand phenomenon, which led to an increase in purchases, leading to the price increase.

The question to ask is how will the price go? The past track record has been impressive in the last five years. But there were periods when gold remained quite grounded. From roughly 2007 to 2015 the CAGR, over a ten-year period, tended to be in double digits every year. This was the period following the Lehman crisis, which acted as a good prop for gold.

However, it is only the upsurge in 2024-25 that has pushed the CAGR once again to the region of around 8%. During the interim period, the price tended to be volatile without any significant movement in either direction. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that the price will continue to increase by leaps and bounds, as has been witnessed in the last 18 months or so.

In the last 10 years, on four occasions there was high double-digit growth in the price of gold, while there were 3 years of negative growth. Hence, it cannot be assumed that the price will increase every year. While it can reasonably be assumed that the global environment will remain volatile for the next year, due to the realignments taking place in global trade and hence currencies, conjecturing beyond may still be tough. Besides, with the price of gold at a level of $3500/ounce, a sharp increase from now on would not look likely in the absence of a major shock.

While the theory of gold delivering good, steady returns would still hold over the longer term, the annual increases could be muted. A lot will also depend on how the ETFs and other investors look at gold as an investment when it comes to buying the metal. The central banks’ acquisition is always in a gradual manner and can be expected to tick along as they continue the diversifying act over the next five years.

How hungry and able is consumer: Economic Times: 16th September 2025

 

Why corporate borrowers need to track the credit default swap rates: Mint: 14-15 September 2025

 https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/sovereign-ratings-india-credit-p-moody-s-fitch-government-bonds-cds-brazil-south-africa-israel-insurance-swaps/amp-11757666673267.html

Why targeting headline inflation is essential to control inflationary expectatio...Forbes September 9 2025

 The credit policy targets headline inflation, which is the practice in almost all countries. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also targets the same in India as this has been the mandate from the start and not changed when it was reviewed after running for the first term. However, each time the policy is announced, there is the economist’s debate on why core inflation should be targeted as, in the last year or so, it has run lower than headline inflation. The reason is that, last year, food inflation was high, which increased headline inflation while core inflation was relatively low.

An ideological issue is whether policy should narrowly focus on core inflation, which is theoretically what can be targeted by monetary policy. The logic here is that food prices cannot be influenced by policy. There can be no argument here as prices of pulses or cereals are not dependent on interest rates but supplies. Therefore, core inflation makes more sense. Or so goes the argument.

The argument here is that monetary policy deals with the entire economy and not just the ‘core inflation’ sectors. Policy is to impact inflationary expectations and adjust the real interest rate accordingly. After all, the rate influences not just lending but also savings and, hence, cannot ignore the broader macros. Therefore, the headline inflation number should be under focus.

Now let us look at how inflation has behaved in the last 15 years or so since the CPI index was instituted. The average headline inflation has been 5.8 percent since 2012-13. In the last 10 years, which is roughly when the MPC was actioned, it was 5 percent. And in the last five years, it was 5.7 percent. The corresponding numbers for core inflation were 5.6 percent, 5 percent and 5.2 percent. Therefore, we can see convergence of the two series inflation averages. The differences are mainly due to the food segment, which kept the headline numbers higher in general. Hence, if one went by pure numbers, the rate action should have largely been unaffected on almost all occasions, though monthly trends could have led to different outcomes. Quite surely, the MPC would have looked at these trends when coming to a decision.

An issue which comes up here is that if the core inflation argument is based on the premise that interest rates do not affect food prices, does this hold for core inflation at the theoretical level? Clothing and footwear (weight of 6.5 percent) is rarely financed by loans, though credit cards are used. Normally, purchases are based on need, which can be a festival where interest rates may not matter.

The same holds for, say, housing rent (10 percent), household goods (3.8 percent) which is rarely based on leverage. This can also be said about education (4.5 percent), personal care (3.9 percent), health (5.9 percent), recreation (1.7 percent). A part of transport inflation (1.3 percent) may be affected by policy, though prices are rarely affected by demand conditions.

Therefore, when one looks at policy targeting, it has to be headline inflation as this is what drives decisions on savings as well as investment. The repo rate has to be aligned with real interest objectives, which may not be overtly stated. Just like it is said that some minimum inflation is needed for industry to produce, as there has to be profit made, the same holds for savers where there needs to be an incentive. Further, even industry looks at both interest rates and inflation when taking decisions. Foreign funds look at comparable real interest rates when taking a decision to invest. High inflation economies can be a deterrent, especially if monetary policy is not aligned. Last, targeting headline inflation is essential to control inflationary expectations.

Based on these arguments, it stands to reason that monetary policy should continue targeting headline inflation. Should it target wholesale price inflation instead, where manufacturing has a higher weight and so does core products? This can be a different discussion as the WPI (wholesale price index) is more susceptible to excess demand forces, which can be influenced by interest rate policy. But this is not the mandate of the MPC, which looks logical, too, for two reasons. The first is that the WPI is incomplete as it excludes services. The second is that it does not represent the major segment of the economy: The consumer.

Hence, the present practice of targeting CPI headline is appropriate. It can be argued which number it should be and whether 4 percent or the band is appropriate. But, quite certainly, the argument for targeting core inflation is not convincing. As a consolation, for those who favour core inflation targeting, as pointed out in the beginning, there has been a tendency to converge with the headline numbers and would, hence, not have changed the outcomes.