In this week's wrapup, we will talk about production linked incentives, the fate of co-working companies during the pandemic, India's ambitious Ethanol project, China's policy on foreign trash and some highlights from RBI's Monetary Policy Meeting.

But before that, a brief on this week's Finshots Markets.


Market vs Economy

Why is the stock market rallying despite the economic slump?

It's a question that has confounded many people in the recent past and while we might not have all the answers, we still have a few hypotheses that might help explain this divergence. This is a story you wouldn't want to miss. Read the full draft here


Policy

Understanding Production Linked Incentives

On Monday, we discussed India's production linked incentives program for electronics. The government wants India to be  Atma Nirbhar and they've identified the electronics industry to be of strategic importance in attaining this goal. In India, electronics manufacturing has grown rapidly with a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of around 25% during the last 4 years. Moreover, the growth potential in the industry is immense. And so, the Government has been trying to attract large investments into the manufacturing sector.

And this effort has culminated into a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) program that's creating a lot of buzz. Read all about it here.


Business

What happens to Co-Working companies now?

On Tuesday, we talked about how co-working companies might be faring during the pandemic. Offices across India are empty. Work From Home is gaining traction. A recession is likely. So it looks like the co-working industry won't survive for long.

But the thing is, industries don’t disappear overnight. They simply evolve. So if you are looking to understand how these companies might look in the future, do read the full story here.


Policy

India's Ethanol Project

On Wednesday, we talked about India’s ambitious ethanol project. India has been working hard to reduce its dependency on foreign oil. The conventional solution would probably entail seeking resources internally, but considering the precarious nature of fossil fuels, that probably won’t happen. Instead, India is looking at an alternative — Ethanol.

Ethanol burns easily and clean, and in theory, we could produce enough of it to meet our needs. However there are still a lot of problems in adopting it as fuel and you can read about it here.


Business

The curious case of China and foreign trash

On Thursday, we talked about China's tryst with foreign recycling. In 2017, China proclaimed that it was sick of being treated as a global trash bin and asked countries like the US, UK, and Japan to simply recycle their garbage elsewhere. At the time, developed countries were not used to dealing with their own waste, and so they visibly struggled.

However, China, which heavily depended on foreign fiber and scrap metal for its manufacturing needs, was also impacted. So now, the Red Dragon seems to be re-evaluating its earlier policy.

A bit confused? Here's everything you need to know about this curious story.


Policy

The RBI's Assessment-Key Highlights from the Monetary Policy Meet

Also, the RBI held their monetary policy committee meeting this week. Although they kept the interest rates untouched, the governor had a lot to say about the central bank’s role in stabilizing the financial ecosystem. So if you are looking for a simple explainer on a few interesting bits from the meeting, we’ve got you covered here.


That brings us to the end of another wrapup! Have a great weekend.


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