Glossary · 111 terms
Economic Indicators
All economic indicators terms in the EquitiesIndia.com glossary — plain-English definitions written for Indian retail investors.
Adverse Selection
Adverse selection in financial markets refers to the problem that arises when one party in a transaction has better information than the other, leading to the systematic selection of the worst outcomes — exemplified by George Akerlof's lemons problem, health insurance death spirals, and IPO pricing where issuers know more about company quality than investors.
Asset Price Inflation(financial asset inflation)
Asset price inflation refers to a sustained rise in the prices of financial and real assets — equities, residential and commercial property, and gold — that is not captured in standard consumer price indices such as India's CPI or WPI.
Balance of Payments(BoP)
The Balance of Payments (BoP) is a systematic record of all economic transactions between the residents of a country and the rest of the world over a given period, comprising the current account, the capital account, and the financial account.
Budget Impact on Markets(Union Budget Market Impact)
The Union Budget's impact on Indian equity markets manifests through sectoral realignment as investors reprice earnings expectations based on changes in tax rates, tariffs, capital expenditure allocations, and regulatory frameworks announced by the Finance Minister.
Business Expectations Index(BEI)
India's Business Expectations Index (BEI) is derived from surveys of businesses — primarily the RBI's Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilisation Survey (OBICUS) and the Industrial Outlook Survey (IOS) — measuring forward-looking expectations of companies on production, demand, employment, and capacity utilisation.
Capital Account Convertibility(CAC)
Capital account convertibility (CAC) refers to the freedom to convert domestic financial assets into foreign financial assets and vice versa at market-determined exchange rates without restrictions, a status India has only partially achieved.
Carbon Credit(CER)
A carbon credit is a tradeable certificate representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), generated either through verified emission reductions or sequestration activities, with India developing a domestic carbon market framework through the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) under the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022.
Coincident Indicators(coincident economic indicators)
Coincident Indicators are economic variables that move broadly in tandem with the overall economy, providing a real-time snapshot of current economic conditions rather than a forward-looking or backward-confirming view.
Composite PMI (India)(Composite Output Index)
India's Composite PMI is a blended activity index combining the Manufacturing PMI and the Services PMI compiled by S&P Global, producing a single monthly reading that captures the overall pace of private sector economic activity.
Consumer Confidence Index(CCI India)
The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is a bi-monthly survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India that measures households' perceptions of current economic conditions and their expectations for the year ahead, covering general economic conditions, employment, income, spending, and price levels.
Consumer Confidence Survey(CCS)
RBI's Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) is a bi-monthly household survey conducted in major Indian cities that measures current and future perceptions of households on general economic conditions, employment, income, price levels, and spending intentions, providing a demand-side sentiment indicator for the economy.
Core Sector Output(eight core industries)
Core Sector Output tracks the combined production growth of eight infrastructure-intensive industries—coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity—which together have a 40.27% weight in India's Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
CPI(Consumer Price Index)
Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in the average price level of a basket of goods and services consumed by households in India, serving as the primary benchmark for retail inflation and the official target measure for RBI's monetary policy.
Credit Growth(bank credit growth)
Credit Growth measures the year-on-year percentage change in total bank credit outstanding in the economy, serving as a key indicator of financial sector health, investment momentum, and the broader credit cycle.
Credit-GDP Ratio(Bank Credit to GDP)
The Credit-GDP Ratio measures total bank credit outstanding as a percentage of GDP, serving as a widely used indicator of financial deepening and the degree to which the formal banking system supports economic activity.
Crude Oil Price Impact on India(oil price impact)
The impact of global crude oil prices on India is disproportionately large given India's import dependence exceeding 85 per cent of consumption, with every USD 10 per barrel increase in oil prices estimated to widen India's current account deficit by approximately USD 12–15 billion annually.
Current Account Deficit(CAD)
Current Account Deficit (CAD) occurs when a country's total imports of goods, services, and transfers exceed its total exports, reflecting a net outflow of foreign exchange and indicating reliance on capital inflows to finance the shortfall.
Current Account Surplus(CA Surplus)
A current account surplus occurs when a country's total receipts from trade in goods and services, primary income, and secondary income exceed its total payments to the rest of the world, resulting in a net positive balance on the current account of the Balance of Payments.
Current Account to GDP Ratio(CAD-to-GDP)
The Current Account to GDP Ratio measures the current account balance — trade in goods and services, primary income, and secondary income — as a share of GDP, with the threshold level signalling whether the external position is sustainable.
Debt-to-GDP Ratio (Government)(Government Debt Ratio)
The Government Debt-to-GDP Ratio measures total outstanding government debt — central plus state — as a proportion of nominal GDP, indicating the fiscal burden and long-term debt sustainability of the sovereign.
Deflation(Price Deflation)
Deflation is a sustained decline in the general price level of goods and services in an economy, typically associated with a contraction in money supply or credit, weak consumer demand, or significant increases in productive capacity.
Demonetisation 2016 Market Impact(Notebandi Market Impact)
On 8 November 2016, the Government of India demonetised 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes, withdrawing approximately 86 percent of currency in circulation overnight, causing an initial market shock followed by a sector-specific divergence as cash-intensive industries suffered while digital payments and formal financial sector players benefited.
Digital Economy Indicators(Digital Payment Metrics)
Digital Economy Indicators for India encompass UPI transaction volumes, internet and smartphone penetration, e-commerce gross merchandise value, digital payments share of consumption, and fintech adoption metrics that together measure the scale and depth of India's digital economic transformation.
Digital India and Capital Markets
Digital India initiatives — UPI, Account Aggregator, e-KYC, Aadhaar-based authentication, and digital demat — have transformed access to capital markets, reducing account opening from weeks to minutes, enabling fractional investing, and connecting first-generation investors across rural and semi-urban India.
Disinvestment(PSU disinvestment)
Disinvestment refers to the process by which the Government of India reduces its equity stake in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) through share sales, strategic sales, or listing of government companies, generating proceeds that are used to fund fiscal deficits or public expenditure.
Disinvestment (Detailed)(CPSE Disinvestment)
Disinvestment is the process by which the Government of India reduces its equity stake in a public sector undertaking through a sale of shares to the public or a strategic buyer, with the objective of mobilising receipts, improving enterprise efficiency and reducing the government's role in commercial activities.
Ease of Doing Business(Doing Business Index)
Ease of Doing Business is an index formerly published annually by the World Bank that ranked countries on the regulatory environment faced by small and medium-sized domestic firms, covering parameters such as starting a business, getting credit, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.
Ease of Living Index(EoLI)
The Ease of Living Index is a composite urban quality-of-life ranking published by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for Indian cities, assessing liveability across governance, social, economic, and physical infrastructure dimensions.
Economic Survey of India(Annual Economic Survey)
The Economic Survey of India is an annual document prepared by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) and presented to Parliament typically one day before the Union Budget, offering the government's comprehensive assessment of the economy.
Exchange Rate Pass-Through(ERPT)
Exchange rate pass-through measures the extent to which changes in the rupee's external value feed through into domestic prices — particularly import prices, WPI, and eventually CPI — with complete pass-through meaning a 1% depreciation raises domestic prices by 1%, though India's actual pass-through is partial and varies by sector.
External Debt(sovereign external debt)
India's external debt is the total outstanding liability owed to non-resident creditors by the Indian government, RBI, banks, and corporates, categorised by maturity (short-term versus long-term) and residency of the creditor.
Financial Inclusion Progress (India)
India's financial inclusion journey has been accelerated by the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), which opened 50+ crore bank accounts, combined with Aadhaar, UPI, and government Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) — reducing the unbanked population from ~50% in 2011 to under 20% by 2023.
Financial Sector Value Added(Financial Services GVA)
Financial Sector Value Added measures the contribution of banking, insurance, mutual funds, capital markets, and related financial intermediation activities to India's Gross Value Added and GDP.
Fiscal Deficit(Budget Deficit)
Fiscal Deficit is the shortfall between the Government of India's total expenditure and its total receipts (excluding market borrowings), expressed as a percentage of GDP, indicating the extent to which the government relies on debt financing to fund its spending.
Fiscal Multiplier(government spending multiplier)
The fiscal multiplier measures the change in GDP resulting from a unit change in government spending or taxation; an Indian fiscal multiplier above 1 means government spending has a magnifying effect on the economy, while estimates below 1 suggest crowding out of private investment or leakages.
Fiscal Policy vs Monetary Policy(Fiscal vs Monetary Policy)
Fiscal policy refers to the government's use of taxation and public expenditure to influence economic activity, while monetary policy refers to the Reserve Bank of India's use of interest rates, money supply tools and liquidity management to achieve its mandate of price stability and supporting growth.
Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM)(FRBM)
The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, enacted in 2003, is India's statutory framework that mandates the central government to achieve and maintain defined targets for fiscal deficit, revenue deficit, and government debt, imposing legal discipline on public finances.
Food Inflation(food price inflation)
Food inflation in India refers to the rate of change in food prices as captured by the food sub-indices of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), with CPI food carrying a weight of approximately 39 per cent and being the primary input into the RBI's inflation targeting framework.
Foreign Direct Investment(FDI)
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an investment made by a company or individual in one country into business interests in another country, typically involving the establishment of business operations or the acquisition of a lasting ownership stake — usually defined as at least 10 percent of equity — in a foreign enterprise.
Foreign Direct Investment (Detailed)(FDI)
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) refers to cross-border investment where a foreign entity establishes a lasting ownership interest of at least ten percent in an Indian enterprise, and it is governed primarily by the Foreign Exchange Management Act and RBI/DPIIT guidelines.
Foreign Exchange Reserve Adequacy(Reserves Adequacy)
Foreign Exchange Reserve Adequacy assesses whether a country's foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to cover external obligations, measured through import cover months, the Guidotti-Greenspan rule, and RBI's own composite metrics.
Foreign Portfolio Investment(FPI)
Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) refers to the purchase by foreign investors of financial assets — such as equities, bonds, and money market instruments — in a domestic market, without acquiring a controlling interest in the issuing entities.
Forex Intervention(RBI forex intervention)
Forex Intervention refers to deliberate actions by the Reserve Bank of India in the foreign exchange market—buying or selling US dollars against the Indian rupee—to manage exchange rate volatility, build or deploy foreign currency reserves, and maintain orderly market conditions.
Forex Reserve Composition(FX reserve composition)
India's foreign exchange reserve composition refers to the breakdown of the RBI's total reserves into foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), and the reserve tranche position with the IMF, each serving a distinct purpose in external sector management.
Forex Reserves(Foreign Exchange Reserves)
Foreign Exchange Reserves (Forex Reserves) are the external assets held by the Reserve Bank of India, comprising foreign currency assets, gold, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), and the reserve tranche position at the IMF, used to support the rupee and meet external payment obligations.
GDP(Gross Domestic Product)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within India's borders during a specified period, serving as the primary measure of the country's economic size and growth.
GDP Deflator(Implicit Price Deflator)
The GDP deflator is a broad price index that measures the average change in prices of all goods and services included in GDP — consumption, investment, government spending, and net exports — and is used to convert nominal GDP into real GDP.
Gini Coefficient(Gini index)
The Gini Coefficient is a statistical measure of income or wealth inequality within a population, ranging from 0 (perfect equality, where everyone earns the same) to 1 (perfect inequality, where one person owns everything).
Global Competitiveness Index(GCI)
The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) published by the World Economic Forum assesses countries across 98 indicators spanning institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health, skills, product and labour markets, financial system, technology readiness, and innovation capacity.
Goods and Services Tax(GST)
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a comprehensive, multi-stage, destination-based indirect tax that subsumed multiple central and state levies from July 2017, fundamentally transforming India's indirect taxation architecture.
Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE)(GFCE)
Government Final Consumption Expenditure measures the value of goods and services produced and consumed by general government, including public administration, defence, health, and education services provided free or at nominal cost.
Gross Capital Formation(GCF)
Gross Capital Formation (GCF), comprising Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) and changes in inventories, measures the total investment in physical assets by all sectors of the economy — households, corporations, and government — and is the primary indicator of the investment cycle's strength.
Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF)(GFCF)
Gross Fixed Capital Formation measures net investment in fixed assets — machinery, buildings, roads, and equipment — within a given period, forming the investment component of GDP under the expenditure method.
Gross National Product(GNP)
Gross National Product (GNP) is the total market value of all goods and services produced by a country's residents and businesses — regardless of where they are physically located — over a given period, and equals GDP plus net factor income from abroad.
Gross Value Added (GVA)(GVA)
Gross Value Added (GVA) measures the value of goods and services produced in an economy after deducting the cost of inputs, serving as the production-side counterpart to GDP and enabling sector-specific economic analysis.
GST Implementation 2017 Market Impact(GST Market Effect)
The implementation of the Goods and Services Tax on 1 July 2017 replaced a fragmented multi-tier indirect tax structure with a unified national market, creating near-term disruption as businesses destocked ahead of the transition while delivering long-term structural benefits for organised sector companies at the expense of unorganised competitors.
Household Financial Savings(net household financial savings)
Household financial savings represent the portion of a household's income that is deployed into financial instruments — bank deposits, insurance, provident funds, equities, mutual funds, and small savings — as distinct from physical savings (real estate, gold), and serve as a critical source of capital for the economy.
Human Development Index(HDI)
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic published annually by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that measures a country's average achievement in three dimensions: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living.
IIP(Index of Industrial Production)
Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is a monthly indicator published by India's NSO that measures the quantum of industrial output across mining, manufacturing, and electricity sectors, reflecting the growth momentum of the industrial economy.
Index of Eight Core Industries(ICI)
The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) is a composite production index covering eight infrastructure-linked sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity — that together carry approximately 40 per cent weight in the IIP.
Index of Industrial Production (Detailed)(IIP detailed)
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is a monthly statistical measure compiled by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) that tracks the quantum of output across manufacturing, mining, and electricity sectors relative to a base year, providing a timely gauge of industrial activity.
India's Global Economic Position
India is the world's 5th largest economy by nominal GDP (~$3.7 trillion in 2024) and the 3rd largest by purchasing power parity (PPP), a G20 member and a leading voice of the Global South — growing at 6-7% annually with ambitions to become a $5 trillion economy by 2027 and a developed nation by 2047.
India's Trade Deficit(Merchandise Trade Deficit)
India's trade deficit is the gap between the value of merchandise goods imported and exported over a given period, and it is one of the most closely watched components of the current account balance.
Inflation Targeting(Flexible Inflation Targeting)
Inflation targeting is a monetary policy framework in which a central bank publicly commits to achieving and maintaining a specific inflation rate or range as its primary objective, using interest rate tools and communication to anchor public expectations.
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India(IBBI)
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) is the regulator and supervisor established under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 to oversee the resolution of insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings for individuals, partnership firms, limited liability partnerships and corporate persons.
K-Shaped Recovery(K-shaped economic recovery)
A K-shaped recovery describes a post-crisis economic rebound in which different segments of the economy recover at divergent rates — with higher-income households, formal sector workers, and large listed firms recovering rapidly while lower-income households, informal workers, and small unorganised businesses continue to struggle.
Lagging Indicators(lagging economic indicators)
Lagging Indicators are economic variables that change direction only after the broader economy has already shifted course, serving as confirmation signals that verify whether a turning point in the economic cycle has genuinely occurred.
Lead Indicators(leading indicators)
Lead Indicators are economic variables that historically change direction before the broader economy turns, allowing analysts and policymakers to anticipate future economic conditions rather than simply observe them after the fact.
Lead-Lag Indicator Framework(leading vs lagging indicators)
The lead-lag indicator framework classifies economic data series into leading (predictive of future GDP), coincident (moving with GDP), and lagging (confirming past trends) indicators, enabling analysts and policymakers to forecast turning points in the business cycle before official GDP data is released.
Make in India(Make in India initiative)
Make in India is a flagship government initiative launched in September 2014 to transform India into a global manufacturing hub by attracting domestic and foreign investment into 25 (later expanded) key sectors, with the twin goals of increasing manufacturing's share of GDP and creating jobs.
Manufacturing PMI(Manufacturing PMI)
India's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), published monthly by S&P Global, is a survey-based composite leading indicator that aggregates sub-indices on new orders, output, employment, suppliers delivery times, and input inventories to provide a real-time view of factory sector health, with readings above 50 indicating expansion.
Monetary Policy(Monetary Policy Committee)
Monetary policy refers to the actions taken by a country's central bank — in India's case, the Reserve Bank of India — to control the supply of money, manage interest rates, and achieve macroeconomic objectives such as price stability and sustainable growth.
Money Supply (M1/M2/M3)(M1 money supply)
Money Supply refers to the total stock of money circulating in an economy at any given time, classified by the RBI into narrow money (M1), M2, and broad money (M3) based on the liquidity and accessibility of the instruments included.
National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)(NIP)
The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) is a government of India initiative launched in December 2019 that identified over ₹111 lakh crore of infrastructure projects across sectors to be implemented between 2019–20 and 2024–25, providing a structured pipeline to attract both public and private investment.
National Monetisation Pipeline(NMP)
The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) is a Government of India framework to unlock value from underutilised brownfield public infrastructure assets by transferring operational rights to private operators for a defined period, while the government retains ownership.
National Statistical Office(NSO)
The National Statistical Office (NSO) is India's premier government statistical agency, responsible for the compilation and publication of national accounts data including GDP estimates, and for conducting major surveys that underpin economic policymaking.
Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER)(NEER)
India's Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) is a trade-weighted geometric average of the Indian rupee's bilateral exchange rates against the currencies of India's major trading partners, without adjusting for inflation differentials.
Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)(Open Commerce Network India)
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a government-backed open protocol initiative launched by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to democratise e-commerce in India by creating an interoperable network where any buyer app can transact with any seller app, challenging the dominance of platform-centric e-commerce models.
Per Capita Income(GDP Per Capita)
Per capita income is the average income earned per person in a country over a given period, calculated by dividing total national income (or GDP) by the total population, and is widely used as a broad indicator of a country's standard of living.
Phillips Curve(Expectations-Augmented Phillips Curve)
The Phillips Curve is an economic concept that describes a historical inverse relationship between the unemployment rate and the inflation rate in an economy, suggesting that lower unemployment was associated with higher inflation and vice versa.
Phillips Curve in Indian Context(India Phillips Curve)
The Phillips Curve posits an inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment (or the output gap), but in India the relationship is complicated by the dominance of food inflation — driven by supply-side shocks — and a large informal sector, making the MPC's task of managing inflation-growth trade-offs particularly challenging.
PLI Scheme (Production Linked Incentive)(Production Linked Incentive)
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme is a central government programme that offers financial incentives to eligible companies based on incremental sales from products manufactured in India over a base year, aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing capacity and export competitiveness.
PMI(Purchasing Managers Index)
Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is a survey-based leading economic indicator that measures the prevailing direction of economic trends in manufacturing and services sectors, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and below 50 indicating contraction.
Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE)(PFCE)
Private Final Consumption Expenditure is the total market value of goods and services purchased by households and non-profit institutions serving households, representing the largest single component of India's GDP.
Production Linked Incentive (Detailed)(PLI Scheme)
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is a government initiative that provides financial incentives to eligible companies based on incremental sales from products manufactured in India, designed to strengthen domestic manufacturing and reduce import dependence across fourteen targeted sectors.
Purchasing Managers Index (Services)(PMI Services India)
The Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI Services) is a monthly survey-based diffusion index compiled by S&P Global (formerly IHS Markit) that measures business conditions in India's services sector, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and below 50 indicating contraction.
Purchasing Power Parity(PPP)
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is an economic theory and measurement framework that compares the purchasing power of different currencies by equalising the cost of an identical basket of goods and services across countries, enabling more accurate cross-country comparisons of economic output and living standards.
RBI Policy Day Market Reaction(MPC Day)
RBI Policy Day Market Reaction describes the historically observed intraday and post-announcement price movements in Nifty 50, Bank Nifty, and the Indian rupee on days when the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee announced its interest rate decision and forward guidance.
Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER)(REER)
India's Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) is a trade-weighted index of the rupee against a basket of currencies of India's major trading partners, adjusted for relative inflation differentials, measuring the rupee's international competitiveness in real terms.
Real Interest Rate(Real Rate of Interest)
The real interest rate is the nominal interest rate adjusted for inflation, representing the actual purchasing power of interest earned or paid on borrowed or invested funds; it equals the nominal rate minus the expected or actual inflation rate.
Remittances(NRI remittances)
Remittances in the Indian context encompass inward transfers from the non-resident Indian (NRI) diaspora, which make India the world's largest recipient of remittances, as well as outward remittances under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).
Reserve Bank of India Annual Report(RBI Annual Report)
The Reserve Bank of India Annual Report is a comprehensive statutory publication released each May-June that provides a detailed account of the RBI's operations, the state of the Indian banking sector, monetary policy execution and the financial system's stability over the preceding fiscal year.
Savings Rate (India)(Household Savings Rate)
India's savings rate measures gross domestic savings as a percentage of GDP, disaggregated into household, private corporate, and public sector savings, with a further split between financial and physical savings within the household segment.
Services PMI (India)(India Services PMI)
India's Services PMI is a monthly survey-based diffusion index compiled by S&P Global (formerly IHS Markit) that gauges business activity across India's service sector, with readings above 50 signalling expansion and below 50 indicating contraction.
Sovereign Credit Rating(India sovereign rating)
A sovereign credit rating is an independent assessment by a global rating agency — S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service, or Fitch Ratings — of a national government's ability and willingness to service its foreign-currency and local-currency debt obligations, with India consistently rated at the lowest investment-grade notch (BBB-/Baa3/BBB-) since the 1990s.
Sovereign Wealth Fund(SWF)
A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment vehicle funded by government revenues — typically from commodity exports, fiscal surpluses, or foreign exchange reserves — that invested in a diversified portfolio of financial and real assets globally to generate long-term returns for the country's citizens.
Sovereign Wealth Fund Investment in India(SWF India)
Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) investment in India refers to the deployment of capital by state-owned investment funds such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Singapore's GIC and Temasek, and Norway's Norges Bank into Indian equities, infrastructure, real estate, and private equity.
Special Economic Zone(SEZ)
A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a geographically demarcated enclave in India where businesses enjoy a distinct regulatory, tax and customs regime designed to promote exports, attract investment and create employment.
Stagflation(Stagflation Risk)
Stagflation is an economic condition characterised by the simultaneous occurrence of high inflation, slow or negative economic growth, and elevated unemployment — a combination that defied traditional economic theory and posed severe challenges for policymakers.
Startup Ecosystem (India Detailed)
India is the world's third-largest startup ecosystem by count, with over 100,000 DPIIT-recognised startups, 100+ unicorns (companies valued at $1 billion+), and a maturing venture capital market — with sectors like fintech, SaaS, D2C, edtech, healthtech, and deep tech leading the charge.
Startup Ecosystem (India)(Startup India)
India's startup ecosystem refers to the network of early-stage and growth-stage companies, typically technology-enabled, supported by a framework of DPIIT recognition, angel and venture capital funding, regulatory sandboxes, and government incentive schemes, which collectively made India the third-largest startup hub globally by recognised entity count.
Tax-to-GDP Ratio(Tax Revenue to GDP)
The Tax-to-GDP Ratio measures total government tax revenues — central and state combined — as a percentage of nominal GDP, indicating the fiscal capacity of the state and its ability to fund public expenditure without recourse to debt.
Terms of Trade(ToT)
Terms of Trade (ToT) measures the ratio of a country's export prices to its import prices, indicating whether the prices of what a country sells abroad are rising faster or slower than the prices of what it buys from abroad.
Trade Balance(Merchandise Trade Balance)
Trade Balance is the difference between the value of India's merchandise exports and imports over a given period; a surplus indicates exports exceed imports, while a deficit (more common in India's case) indicates imports exceed exports.
Twin Balance Sheet Problem(TBS problem)
The twin balance sheet problem, as described by India's Economic Survey under Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian in 2015-17, refers to the simultaneous stress on bank balance sheets (high NPAs) and corporate balance sheets (excessive leverage), which created a mutually reinforcing drag on investment and credit growth between approximately 2012 and 2018.
Twin Deficit(Twin Deficits)
The twin deficit refers to the simultaneous occurrence of a fiscal deficit (where government expenditure exceeds revenue) and a current account deficit (where a country imports more than it exports), which are structurally linked through macroeconomic identities.
Unemployment Rate(Jobless Rate)
The Unemployment Rate is the percentage of the labour force that is actively seeking employment but unable to find work, serving as a key indicator of labour market health and economic slack in the Indian economy.
Union Budget Process(Annual Budget)
The Union Budget is the annual financial statement of the Government of India presented to Parliament under Article 112 of the Constitution, detailing estimated receipts and expenditures for the coming financial year and containing proposals for taxation and public spending.
Velocity of Money(money velocity)
Velocity of Money measures how frequently each unit of currency circulates in the economy during a given period, calculated as nominal GDP divided by money supply, and serves as an indicator of the intensity of economic activity per rupee in circulation.
WPI(Wholesale Price Index)
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) measures the change in prices of goods at the wholesale (producer or first point of sale) level in India, serving as a leading indicator of inflationary pressure in the supply chain before it reaches retail consumers.
Yield Curve as Economic Predictor(yield curve inversion India)
The yield curve — plotting government bond yields across maturities from short-term to long-term — serves as a powerful economic predictor, with inversion of the curve (short-term yields exceeding long-term yields) historically signalling recessions in advanced economies, while India's yield curve dynamics are influenced by distinct domestic monetary and fiscal factors.