Economy

At $626bn, Last Week’s Forex Reserves at Ten-Month Low: Report

India’s forex reserves last week stood at $625.871 billion, having declined for a sixth consecutive week.

New Delhi: India’s foreign exchange reserves as of January 10 amounted to $625.871 billion or Rs 53.8 lakh crore, having declined on a weekly basis by $8.71 billion or Rs 63,231 crore, data from the RBI’s weekly statistical supplement said.

Its total value of $625.871 billion was India’s lowest in ten months, while the $8.71 billion weekly decline was the country’s sixth in a row and the highest in two months, Reuters reported.

Of the total forex reserves, foreign currency assets as calculated by the RBI stood at $536 billion on January 10, registering a $9.469 billion decline compared to the week prior.

Gold reserves increased by $792 million to reach $67.883 billion in value, while special drawing rights slipped by $33 million to $17.781 billion. India’s reserve position in the IMF stood at $4.195 billion, having shed $4 million by the week.

The decline in India’s forex reserves was precipitated primarily by the RBI’s intervention in the foreign exchange market to curb the rupee’s fall against the dollar, the Business Standard noted.

Earlier this week the rupee breached the 86-mark against the dollar, and on Friday (January 17) it closed at a provisional 86.62 against the dollar, as per PTI, which cited traders as saying that a strongly performing dollar as well as rising crude oil prices weighed against the rupee.

Expectations of policy shifts effected by incoming US President Donald Trump have also been behind the rupee’s slide, Reuters said. It added that the rupee’s fall from 85 to the dollar to 86 occurred over twice as fast as its fall from 84 to 85.

Dilip Parmar, a forex research analyst at HDFC Securities, told the news agency that the rupee could slip further to 86.9 next week – when Trump will be inaugurated into office – but that the RBI was not likely to allow a further fall.

The currency had reached an all-time low of 86.6475 earlier this week, per Reuters.

The Union Government Must Move its Budget Focus Away From the Organised Sector

Renowned economist Arun Kumar delves into the pressing economic challenges India faces ahead of the 2025-26 Union Budget.

In the second episode of ‘Budget 2025: What’s at Stake?’, renowned economist and former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University Arun Kumar delves into the pressing economic challenges India faces ahead of the 2025-26 Union Budget.

With GDP figures slipping, slow bank credit growth, low consumption demand, stagnant private investment and declining production, what does this budget mean for the broader economy? Watch now for a critical and informed analysis of the economic crossroads India faces.

This series is a collaboration between the Centre for Financial Accountability and The Wire.

A Shift to Less Water-Intensive Crops May be the Key to Protecting Farmer Lives

According to a study, while farm subsidies may be contributing to groundwater depletion, MSP itself is not the villain here.

Bengaluru: With water-intensive crops being grown in water-stressed and scarce areas, subsidies offered by governments to farmers for buying crops at more than the market prices may have caused substantial declines in water tables in India, according to a recent publication in the journal Nature Communications by researchers from John Hopkins, Cornell and Stanford Universities.

However, farmer well-being and the environment need not necessarily be at odds with each other. Experts told The Wire that minimum support price (MSP) itself is not the villain here: it just needs to be re-thought creatively enough in a way that will provide price stability to farmers, and not only support farmer incomes but also increase them while ensuring sustainability at the same time.

Some ways to do that would be to bring in additional subsidies for crop diversification, and to promote more high-value crops and agricultural practices.

According to the publication’s analysis, subsidies to farmers have contributed to as much as a 30% over-production of water intensive crops like rice and wheat. For instance, in Punjab, the procurement of rice may have potentially accounted for at least 50% reduction in the groundwater table in the past 34 years.

Similarly, since the 2000s, the wheat procurement in Madhya Pradesh might have caused an increase in dry wells by 5.3 percentage points (pp) and consequently 3.4 pp in the usage of deep tubewells.

Also read: Amid Demand for MSP Guarantee, What Can Actually Protect Farmer Lives?

Deepratan Singh Khara, assistant professor of economics, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Chandigarh, says, “The study highlights the significant impact of output subsidies, such as guaranteed crop procurement, on groundwater depletion, particularly for water-intensive crops like rice in Punjab and wheat in Madhya Pradesh.”

Khara wasn’t involved in the study but has researched on groundwater irrigation in Punjab and Haryana.

“It underscores the need to reform the existing subsidy framework to ensure both food security and the sustainable improvement of farmers’ livelihoods,” he says and adds, “The prolonged practice of unlimited procurement at the minimum support price (MSP) has played a substantial role in the decline of water tables, calling for a re-evaluation of these policies to prevent further environmental degradation.”

However, MSP itself isn’t a bad concept, says Avinash Kishore, senior research fellow based in the Delhi office of the International Food Policy Research Institute. The problem, according to him, is rice being procured from Punjab, Haryana and even Telangana – states that are water-scarce.

“These are not the regions where rice should be grown,” he says. “So the focus should shift to procurement from water-rich states like Odhisha and Chattisgarh.”

Governments – central and state – and agencies like the Food Corporation of India lean heavily on Punjab and Haryana as they produce a surplus – considering they are dominantly wheat-eating states – compared to eastern states.

“So, rice is a cash crop that is sold by these states,” says Kishore.

Also read: Punjab: 111 Farmers Join Jagjit Singh Dallewal in Indefinite Hunger Strike For MSP Guarantee

He thinks to keep the MSP going, procurement should be strengthened from the eastern states, thus, reducing dependence on crops from water-scarce areas. The failure to do so is not only the Union government’s accountability but also of the respective governments of the eastern states.

While there has been research on the impact of input subsidies like free electricity, there is limited understanding of the impact of output subsidies on usage of water locally.

This is because of the subtle nature of output subsidies indirectly determining cropping decisions, in turn impacting groundwater.

On the other hand, electricity subsidies directly enable usage of pumps to extract groundwater. By collating data since 1981 from different sources, this study contributes to our understanding of erosion of India’s groundwater by quantifying the role of output subsidy policy.

“Most, if not all subsidies, are well intentioned. But the externalities they have come to impose on the environment have broadly been ignored in policy design,” according to the joint response by the authors of the study.

“It provides new quantitative evidence of the way in which subsidies in the agricultural sector, specifically output subsidies via MSP, influence a resource that is critical to it,” they say.

To arrive at the quantitative evidence, the study compiled many district level datasets of crop production, area and irrigation. They also considered procurement of rice and wheat by the central and state agencies, levels and stress of groundwater and district level tubewell construction.

District-level weather and precipitation data for the cropping season was also constructed by the study.

Defunct and dry wells were used as two additional metrics of groundwater stress in addition to the district level average groundwater level data. This is because they give a better understanding of groundwater stress across different regions due to differences in aquifer types.

In Punjab, where groundwater levels persist and adjust gradually due the deep alluvial aquifers, groundwater depth is considered as a measure of stress. Hard rock and mixed systems deplete and replete annually in Madhya Pradesh.

To assess groundwater stress, the study maps changes in groundwater levels over shorter horizons by considering occurrence of dry wells and tube well construction.

The study finds active wells become defunct by a 6.37 percentage point across Indian districts and a 50% increase in tubewell construction with the increase in the rate of growth in area under rice cultivation between 1996-2015.

In Punjab, between 1973 to 2016, the average groundwater depth increased from 4.82 metres below ground level (mbgl) to 14.55 mbgl. By 1973, 78.6% of all dug wells that were active had become defunct. The study finds the main factor for this depletion is the adoption of high-yielding rice and wheat varieties during the Green Revolution of the 1960s.

Local wheat, cotton, maize and oilseeds gave way to the high-yielding ones, which required more intensive irrigation. This came from dug and tubewells, causing groundwater depletion.

MSP for rice and wheat, the assured government procurement, incentivised by cultivation of the high-yielding varieties even as there was surplus of these crops, underlined the groundwater depletion.

Also read: An Increase in MSP Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Fair Price for Farmers

Kishore advises doing away with free electricity. He points to a couple of pilot experiments being carried out in Pondicherry and Gujarat. In these, the farmers are paid an X amount according to the size of their land and the electricity they need to irrigate the crops. The payment is an alternative to the subsidy.

The only difference being that the farmers are charged for every additional unit of electricity they use. This makes the farmer think of electricity as a cost, which if they didn’t use would be savings.

“Farmers still don’t trust these experiments yet but something needs to be done,” he says.

In Madhya Pradesh, the government agencies didn’t procure either wheat or rice, historically. But from 2008, a bonus on top of national MSP was announced by the state government, and procurement of wheat was significantly increased.

Between 2007 and 2016, the state saw a 70% increase in wheat procurement (from 0.057 to 4 million tons). Growth in wheat-cultivated areas between 2000-2008 is partly attributed to improved irrigation systems. But the procurement started to add to the irrigation demand.

For instance, in Punjab, this was met by dug and tubewells, rather than surface water.

Doubling of the wheat post 2008 caused a 3.9 pp rise in depth of groundwater level and a 7.6 pp increase in occurrence of dry wells.

“For Punjab we find that rice procurement can account for about 50% of the total groundwater decline in the last three decades,” say the researchers.

“In Madhya Pradesh, that overlays different types of aquifers and where procurement started much later in 2007, groundwater stress has started to manifest in different ways. The policy has led to an increase in the number of wells becoming dry or defunct, and the need for deep tubewells to draw water within 8 years of the start of wheat procurement,” they add.

Khara considers this study to be a novel approach by quantifying the specific impact of output subsidies on groundwater depletion across various regions of India.

“Beyond relying on average groundwater level data, it introduces more comprehensive measures of groundwater stress, such as the percentage of defunct wells and dry wells, which provide a more robust and accurate assessment of the effects of these subsidy policies,” he says.

“This multifaceted analysis enhances the understanding of how such policies contribute to environmental stress.”

While the objective of most farm policies is to provide price stability and support to farmer incomes, as results of this study suggest, they can often lead to unintended consequences, counterproductive to the policy’s original goal.

One of the ways to counter this, according to Kishore, would be to introduce crop diversification.

Besides the environment, this would also help the farmers in increasing their incomes. Kishore said that there should be incentives for cultivating higher value agriculture practices like livestock, fruits and vegetables, fisheries and horticulture.

“Even current cropping patterns dominated by rice and wheat, if you look at the GDP, milk is more profitable than rice and wheat, and maybe even pulses combined in terms of valve,” he says. This is easier said than done.

But by investing in crop research, changing cropping patterns that reduce climate risks, production risks, and at the same time creating financial instruments and support systems, farmers could be encouraged to think of alternatives.

“These things require investment and new imagination,” says Kishore. “The subsidy sucks everything away and there is very little left to invest.”

Vrushal Pendharkar is an independent journalist covering the environment.

This study was published in Nature Communications on 5 October.

The Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules: Surveillance For Surveillance’s Sake

Rule 22 of the Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules opens the door for unchecked government surveillance.

The Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules released on January 3 paint a worrying picture. Though aimed at establishing a comprehensive data protection framework, the Rules fall short in crucial areas like enforcement and transparency, with a particularly troubling provision under Rule 22.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, enacted in 2023, granted authority to the Union government under Section 36 to demand information from data fiduciaries or intermediaries. Rule 22 has taken this a step further, allowing the government broad discretion to demand sensitive personal data from companies without the consent of individuals, with the criteria under the Seventh Schedule of the Rules for such requests remaining vague and undefined.

What does it mean for personal data?

Under the Rules, one of the primary grounds to demand data is “in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India or security of the State,” as outlined in the Seventh Schedule. This justification is alarmingly vague, allowing for potential overreach and arbitrary use without clear, enforceable limits.

Additional grounds for requesting data include “performing functions under existing laws, fulfilling obligations under any law in force, actions by persons authorised under applicable laws, and conducting assessments to designate certain entities as Significant Data Fiduciaries”. These broad and ambiguous criteria give government authorities almost unchecked power to access personal data whenever they see fit.

Notably, there is no requirement for a formal, written request by the authorities, who are themselves appointed by the government. This creates a system where government-appointed agents can demand sensitive information at will, bypassing the need for individual consent and raising significant concerns about privacy and misuse of power.

Second, Rule 22 permits the government to withhold information if its disclosure is deemed to jeopardise national security or sovereignty. The phrasing – “prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India or security of the State” – is alarmingly broad and could potentially be invoked broadly and without clear, enforceable limits.

Also read: Digital Personal Data Protection Law Raises Questions About Consistency With Right to Privacy Ruling

In the past, such vague language has been used to render the state’s actions hard to challenge, and this case may be no different.

Rule 22 also does not have any safeguards for when the government requests information, which grants it broad and unfettered power without clear limitations, exceptions or oversight. This provision bypasses the safeguards established by the Supreme Court in PUCL v. Union of India (1997), which held that intercepting communications violates the constitutional right to life and personal liberty unless done through a legally established procedure.

The judgment mandated specific safeguards, including oversight by a review committee and a requirement for requests to detail the intended use of the information. Rule 22 undermines these protections, allowing government authorities unchecked access to personal data.

The other, bigger problem with Rule 22 is that it does not have a requirement for an independent review mechanism to check the legitimacy or necessity of the government’s demands for data to ensure that they are reasonable, justified or proportionate.

This leaves room for arbitrary use. In fact, without proper oversight, the rule has the potential to enable covert surveillance programs that bypass checks and balances and can lead to excessive data collection and the monitoring of ordinary citizens by the government.

Finally, there is no mechanism to challenge such requests, and data fiduciaries and intermediaries may not have an effective way to challenge such data requests from the government, potentially resulting in a surveillance state without public awareness or recourse.

We have often seen how overbroad directions for censorship have been made and required to be kept confidential under Section 69 of the IT Act, 2000. Such an opaque framework has prevented social media users from challenging the takedown of their content before court and is at the heart of the judicial challenge in the Karnataka high court where X has challenged the Union government.

The lack of transparency and the over-collection of data allows for the broad, unchecked use of data and for its potential misuse by prosecuting agencies.

For example, in the case of FIRs where police often lack the information needed to identify suspects, the data collected by the government could be wrongfully used to implicate individuals. This eliminates the need for the police to seek out information, as they already have access to it through the government’s data collection, which could be used to target individuals unjustly.

What does this mean for our privacy?

The A.P. Shah Report stressed on the need for a transparent process that includes the disclosure of surveillance to those who have been placed under it. Access to information under Section 95 of the BNSS is subject to judicial oversight, as a court order must be issued before accessing information.

In a similar vein, the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in PUCL v. Union of India included oversight by a review committee and required interception requests to specify the intended use of the information.

However, Rule 22 appears to sidestep these safeguards entirely and bypass established protections by granting the state unfettered power under the vague grounds of the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.

Also read: Why the Personal Data Protection Bill Won’t Stop Data Proliferation in Digital India

Complicating matters is the fact that the broad definition of a data fiduciary means it could apply to anyone, including journalists. For journalists acting as data fiduciaries, Rule 22 has profound implications, particularly in terms of their ability to safeguard sensitive information, such as the identities of sources.

This raises serious questions about the future of privacy in India. As it stands, Rule 22 opens the door for unchecked government surveillance, with minimal accountability or transparency.

A first step toward correcting this would be to introduce clear, transparent processes, including a requirement for companies to inform individuals when their data is being requested by the state.

Such requests must also conform with the standards laid down in the K.S. Puttaswamy judgment, which held that while the right to privacy is not absolute, any state intrusion must meet a three-fold requirement. This includes legality, which necessitates the existence of a law authorising the intrusion; a legitimate state aim to justify the need for such intrusion; and proportionality, ensuring a rational connection between the law’s objectives and the means adopted, thereby preventing disproportionate impacts on individual rights.

Additionally, the process should allow for a clear appeal mechanism and be subject to independent oversight.

At any rate, the provision as it stands now does not bode well for privacy in India.

Rubayya Tasneem and Injila Muslim Zaidi are fellows at the Internet Freedom Foundation.

Can Union Budget 2025 Save India’s Shrinking Middle Class?

The middle class, traditionally seen as the engine of growth, is struggling to sustain even modest consumption today.

The Indian middle class’s poor performance, crushed under the weight of rising inequality and stagnant opportunities, while the government continues to celebrate GDP numbers and rising billionaire-rankings, could be seen as a damning indictment of the Modi government’s economic track record.

India’s deeply divided middle class has for long been defined as the social strata who are not living their life hand to mouth but have a little to spend after their conspicuous spending. A closer look reveals they’re hardly rich by any real sense when the expenses of life take over.

The financial realities paint a worrying picture. Data from the income tax department indicates that individuals earning between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore annually constituted only 3.7% of all income tax filers in 2011-12. By 2022-23, this proportion had quadrupled to 16.2%, with these earners contributing nearly one-third of all taxes. While this increase might seem indicative of prosperity, a deeper examination reveals that the costs of maintaining a middle-class lifestyle have grown disproportionately, diminishing the financial stability of this group.

Simultaneously, the 2023-24 household consumption expenditure survey from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) highlights that approximately 65% of total expenditure in an average household is consumed by essential expenses like food, rent, education and healthcare. This leaves little room for savings or investments, leading to a steady decline in household financial reserves. Upon further examination of the same we saw that India’s household debt accounted for 17.4 % of the country’s Nominal GDP in March 2024, which, when compared with the ratio of 14.8 % in the previous year, signals a Y-O-Y increase and a concerning trend.

This framework offers a starting point to explore how growing household debt, combined with stagnant real wages and rising living costs, poses significant risks not just to individual families but to the broader economic stability of the nation.

Source: CEIC Data

Furthermore, retail inflation has exacerbated the financial strain on middle-class households, particularly through skyrocketing prices in essential categories. In 2024, food and beverages contributed to high retail inflation, peaking at 9.7% in October.

Vegetables alone saw a staggering 42% price surge compared to the previous year, making them a major contributor to the overall inflation. Inflation in staples such as cereals remained elevated at 9-10% for most months. Milk showed a price rise ranging between 4.6% and 6.3%.

Luckily, we did see housing inflation performing modestly at 2.7-3.6%, and health costs hovered around 4-5.5%. However, the broader trends in retail inflation seem to continuously erode disposable income. Amid these pressures, stagnant real wages further compound the challenges of maintaining a middle-class lifestyle.

The graph below illustrates a troubling trend: real wages in urban India have been declining and, for the first time last year, fell below the levels seen during the pandemic. With retail inflation persistently high, this wage decline has significantly weakened consumer confidence.

Source: Bloomberg.

As essential goods and services consume a larger share of household budgets, disposable income continues to shrink, leaving families with little room for discretionary spending or savings. This downward pressure on wages, combined with elevated inflation in food and healthcare intensifies financial strain which ultimately stalls economic mobility. The middle class, traditionally seen as the engine of growth, is struggling to sustain even modest consumption, highlighting the urgent need for policies addressing wage stagnation and restoring economic confidence.

India’s middle class has however in part has underwritten these economic challenges by embracing a mix of religious fervour, nationalism and short-term financial incentives. This dynamic has influenced electoral outcomes, favouring immediate gains over long-term stability.

Also read: Will the Modi Govt Fix the Economy With the Union Budget 2025?

In the recent Maharashtra elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party”s (BJPs’) ‘Ladki Bahin’s Yojana,’ offered direct cash transfers to women. This played a pivotal role in their surprise success and a complete electoral rout of the principal opposition – the INDIA bloc. This wasn’t an isolated incident; a similar strategy has been used in the Haryana and Jharkhand assembly elections as well. These policies of using targeted welfare schemes to win votes is far from losing momentum in the near future. Major political parties are already pledging similar schemes in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, further reinforcing this pattern.

While such initiatives may appeal to voters, they place a significant strain on the state’s exchequer, diverting resources from critical long-term investments. This approach not only undermines fiscal discipline but also perpetuates economic inefficiency which ultimately comes out of the people’s pockets. It is both naive and short-sighted for voters to prioritise these schemes, as they often fail to address the systemic issues plaguing the economy.

Source: ICE 360 Survey, PRICE

Over the decades budgets have skirted around the middle class’s concerns. Taxing this group at a steep 30%, while offering little in return through public services, has compounded frustrations. While corporate tax cuts and GST were introduced as growth engines, neither has delivered as anticipated. Corporate tax collections remain sluggish and GST revenue, though improving, has not bridged the gap.

Yet, there is an upside: a well-timed tax cut in the upcoming budget 2025-26 targeted at the middle class could create a virtuous economic cycle. As macroeconomic principles suggest, reducing tax burdens on this income group will spur higher consumption. This, in turn, can increase GST collections and expand the base of taxable earners as more individuals move up the economic ladder.

The government today faces a pivotal moment. It’s time for bold, innovative rethinking to empower the ‘real’ middle class. This budget is an opportunity for the government to push for targeted tax reforms, creating an urban consumption demand pull, and a focus on targeted job creation in services that directly benefit the middle class. India can reignite its economic growth trajectory while addressing long-overdue grievances. The promise of a thriving middle class is the bedrock of shaping the Indian dream.

Deepanshu Mohan is a Professor of Economics, Dean, IDEAS, and Director, Centre for New Economics Studies. He is a Visiting Professor at London School of Economics and an Academic Visiting Fellow to AMES, University of Oxford.

Ankur Singh is a Research Assistant with Centre for New Economics Studies (CNES) and a team member of its InfoSphere initiative.

This is the second of a two-part series of macro-analyses by the InfoSphere team of Centre for New Economics Studies (CNES). Read the first part here.

Every Citizen Should Have 5 Economic Rights. Can This Govt Make Those a Reality?

This is the first episode of ‘Budget 2025: What’s at Stake?’ – which will look at the issues that need addressing in the days leading up to the Union government’s annual budget presentation.

In the first episode of ‘Budget 2025: What’s at Stake?’, renowned economist and former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University Prabhat Patnaik unpacks how the Union Budget 2025-26 is likely to reflect the government’s overarching economic strategy. Patnaik explores the budget’s role in addressing growth, inequality, and fiscal priorities, while critically analysing its alignment with broader policy objectives.

The government’s economic priorities and strategies, he argues, need an overhaul if we are to live in a society that is more equal. He talks about five economic rights he thinks every citizen should have, and how the government can raise the money required to make these a reality.

India’s Exports Fall Further, Imports Increase by 4.9% to Reach $60 Billion Mark

Exports of petroleum products saw a sharp fall of 28.6 per cent to only $4.9 billion.

New Delhi: India’s goods exports contracted one per cent year-on-year in December to over $36 billion while imports increased by 4.9 per cent to around $60 billion.

Gold imports comprised a significant portion of the imports, with the total import of the yellow metal being of $9.9 billion in November and $4.7 billion in December. This marked an increase of 55.4 per cent when compared to gold import figures of December 2023, reported The Hindu.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal tried to downplay the concerns about the fall in exports by reasoning that shipment have grown in every quarter through the first nine months of this financial year.

Petroleum imports increased by 2.2 per cent to $15.3 billion in December while exports of petroleum products saw a sharp fall of 28.6 per cent to only $4.9 billion.

Federation of Indian Exporters’ Organisation (FIEO) president Ashwani Kumar said that “urgent” measures in the upcoming Union Budget are needed to boost manufacturing and labour-intensive sectors, and resolve the trade finance issues that adversely impacts the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Hindenburg Research to Disband: Here’s Why it is Significant to India

‘The intensity and focus has come at the cost of missing a lot of the rest of the world and the people I care about,’ wrote Hindenburg founder Nate Anderson.

New Delhi: Nate Anderson, the short-seller behind Hindenburg Research, which among other things published investigations that pointed to an alleged nexus between India’s securities watchdog and the Adani Group, has announced that he is disbanding the organisation.

“I write this from a place of joy. Building this has been a life’s dream,” Anderson wrote in a statement on Hindenburg Research’s website.

The note focuses on Anderson’s need to step back from the consuming exercise of running Hindenburg Research.

“The intensity and focus has come at the cost of missing a lot of the rest of the world and the people I care about. I now view Hindenburg as a chapter in my life, not a central thing that defines me,” he wrote.

Anderson also mentioned that he and his small team have all worked “extremely hard, with a focus on precision and letting the evidence dictate our words.”

“Sometimes this meant taking big swings and taking on fights that are much bigger than any of us as individuals. Fraud, corruption, and negativity often seem overwhelming. Early on, a sense of justice was usually elusive. When it happened, it was tremendously fulfilling. It kept us going when we needed it.”

Adani and SEBI

Two such big swings were undoubtedly its reports alleging that the Adani group had engaged in price rigging of company shares and then accusing Securities and Exchange Bureau of India (SEBI) chief Madhabi Buch and her husband of having held “stakes in both the obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.”

Hindenburg’s 2023 report accused the Adani Group, run by Gautam Adani, of “brazen stock manipulation”, an “accounting fraud scheme” and pulling the “largest con in corporate history” – which Adani denies. SEBI was tasked with investigating the group.

The report triggered a series of investigations into alleged irregularities by the Adani group, but was marked by little or no visible regulatory action in India. The allegations wiped off over $135 billion in market value from the Adanis’ empire.

The 2024 follow-up report shifted focus from Adani to SEBI.

In its aftermath, SEBI released a statement asserting that chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, had “recused herself in matters involving potential conflict of interest.” A Right to Information (RTI) request was filed, seeking details on cases in which Buch had recused herself due to conflicts of interest. SEBI responded that information on Buch’s recusals was “not readily available” and that compiling it would “disproportionately divert resources,” invoking Section 7(9) of the RTI Act. Experts noted that the body had been reduced to a position of zero credibility.

Multiple efforts in parliament by opposition leaders to engage the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in discussions over both revelations were summarily ignored.

Eros International

At the inception of Hindenburg Research, the firm’s first two critical research reports centred on then-US listed Indian film company Eros International. The reports alleged major accounting irregularities, including suspected undisclosed related party transactions, asset inflation and falsified revenue, among other issues. The company sued Hindenburg, but the lawsuit was dismissed. A third report in 2019 alleging “egregious accounting irregularities” followed. In January 2023, the company was delisted by the NYSE.

“Almost 8 years after our initial reports, Indian securities regulator SEBI corroborated many of our findings, identifying multiple illicit related party transactions involving the same entities and people. SEBI orders from June 2023 and October 2024 detailed evidence that “prima-facie indicated possible siphoning of funds and manipulation of books of accounts”. The regulator fined and barred Eros promoter and managing director Sunil Lulla,” the organisation wrote.

Punjab: 111 Farmers Join Jagjit Singh Dallewal in Indefinite Hunger Strike For MSP Guarantee

The 111 farmers belong to Dallewal’s SKM (non-political) forum, which has been leading the current farmers’ protests for close to a year now.

Chandigarh: Intensifying protests to press for a legal guarantee for minimum support price or MSP for crops, 111 farmers today (January 15) began a hunger strike for an indefinite period to support farmers’ leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, whose hunger strike has entered the 51st day.

Their protest began at Punjab-Haryana border in Khanauri, not far from where Haryana state’s border begins.

Haryana’s security forces were on high alert as the protesting farmers came close to the border. However, no confrontation took place and farmers have sat at the protest site peacefully.

Talking to the media, farmers made it clear that they would not march ahead and planned to execute their hunger strike at the site indefinitely until the Union government pays heed to their demand.

They added that they were ready to sacrifice their lives for the cause of farmers’ welfare, like Dallewal, who has so far refused any medical aid despite his health worsening amidst the fast.

Farmers on an indefinite hunger strike on the Khanauri border. Photo: By arrangement.

The 111 farmers, who wore black today, have also announced that they will not to take any medical help during the course of their hunger strike.

The 111 farmers belong to Dallewal’s SKM (non-political) forum, which has been leading the current farmers’ protests for close to a year now. The Sarwan Pandher-led Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) has also been in the forefront of these protests.

SKM (non-political) leader Lakhwinder Aulakh told The Wire that among protesters are farmers from 25 to 85 years of age. “Our leader Dallewal’s health continues to deteriorate, yet the centre is silent and not ready to engage in talks. Now more farmers have decided to put their lives at risk just like Dallewal,” he said.

Another forum leader Kaka Singh told reporters at the protest site that Haryana police officials told them that Section 163 of the BNSS (formerly 144 of the CrPC) had been imposed. “But we told them the farmers were not heading to Delhi and they would only be sitting on hunger strike,” Singh said.

“The administration is free to use force. They can lob tear-gas shells or lathicharge protesting farmers. But they will hold their protest peacefully in support of Dallewal,” he added.

Farmers on an indefinite hunger strike on the Khanauri border. Photo: By arrangement.

Early in the day, farmers cleaned the area and sat in ardas (prayer) before starting their protest. Aulakh said that all those participating today were also given a last minute opportunity to opt out before the start of the fast, but all chose to stay.

All eyes on January 18 joint forum meeting

Meanwhile, all eyes are on round two of the key meeting between various factions of the SKM on January 18 over the launch of a joint fight for farmers’ demands.

The first round of meetings on January 13 remained inconclusive but all forums were keen on forming a joint body to take on the Union government, on lines similar to the historic farmers’ protest in 2020-21.

SKM leaders, who successfully led the 2020 agitation against the now-repealed three farm laws, are not part of the current stir that has been going on at the Khanauri and Shambhu borders since February 13 last year.

Friction between various farm groups had led to a split in 2022. Dallewal formed his own front, the non-political SKM, and launched the current stir. But Dallewal’s protest had failed to move Punjab the way the 2020-2021 stir did.

Now, his deteriorating health and the Union government’s indifference has turned into a trigger for various forums to come together and plan a united fight.

Rupee Falls to All Time Low Beyond Rs 86 Per Dollar

Meanwhile, government data showed that wholesale price inflation (WPI) increased to 2.37% in December 2024.

New Delhi: The rupee surrendered its initial gains and slipped 2 paise to 86.55 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday (January 15). Despite a positive start, the rupee’s upward momentum was curtailed by elevated crude oil prices and significant foreign fund outflows.

Forex traders noted that a weaker American currency provided some support to the rupee at lower levels. The rupee opened at 86.50 and briefly touched 86.45 against the dollar before paring its gains.

On Tuesday, the rupee had rebounded from its record low, closing 17 paise higher at 86.53 against the dollar. The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of currencies, was down 0.03% at 109.07.

Also read: Wholesale Inflation in December Surges to 2.37% Even as Some Food Prices Ease

In the domestic equity market, the BSE Sensex rose 271.26 points to 76,770.89, while the Nifty gained 50.80 points to 23,226.85. However, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 8,132.26 crore on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, government data showed that wholesale price inflation (WPI) increased to 2.37% in December 2024, driven by a surge in manufactured products. Although food prices eased, the rise in inflation may impact the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision on interest rates in its upcoming monetary policy review on February 7.

Retail inflation, which declined to a four-month low of 5.22% in December, has fueled expectations of a possible interest rate cut by the RBI. The inflation rate, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has eased for the second consecutive month after breaching the RBI’s upper tolerance level of 6% in October.