Weekly Calculus A period of parliamentary suspension, a rise in Indian students' overseas expenses, and a rise in loan demand

 Weekly Calculus A period of parliamentary suspension, a rise in Indian students' overseas expenses, and a rise in loan demand

The 17th Lok Sabha has already seen the most number of suspensions in the history of Indian legislation with one day remaining in the 2024 budget session. In the meanwhile, projections indicate that the cost of sending Indian students overseas is rising and would surpass US$ 70 billion yearly by 2025.

The Weekly Numerics section features three to five charts that highlight significant occurrences or noteworthy data points that came to light during the course of the week. These are some significant figures from the last seven days.

suspension that breaks records

The number of suspended Members of Parliament increased to 206, the greatest number in India to date, when the winter session was adjourned sine die one day early.

Only this winter session, 176 MPs were suspended for 'unruly behavior' in response to the opposition's December 13 demonstration calling for Union Home Minister Amit Shah to make a statement on the security lapse in Parliament.

The governing BJP used the suspension of roughly twenty percent of MPs as a chance to pass many significant laws in Parliament, including the Telecom Bill and three proposals to update the Indian Penal Code.

In actuality, no legislation were referred to parliamentary committees and a total of 17 laws were enacted by Parliament, 10 of which were submitted during this session and the remaining seven from the previous one. The percentage of legislation referred to committees in the current 17th Lok Sabha has decreased from 71% in the 15th Lok Sabha to 16% in the 17th Lok Sabha, according to PRS Legislative Research.

How many Indian students study abroad and how much they spend

It is anticipated that the number of Indian students studying overseas would rise from 11.8 lakh in 2022 to over 15 lakh in 2025. Their expenditure is anticipated to rise throughout this time, from over $50 billion to over $70 billion, according to a study that was just released. University Living is a marketplace for student housing, and One Step Global is a corporate planning organization that specializes in the education industry.

The bulk of Indian students studying abroad, according to the research, are concentrated in only four nations—the US, UK, Australia, and Canada—and make a substantial economic contribution to each of these nations. "In just four countries—the US, UK, Australia, and Canada—we estimate that approximately 8.5 lakh students pursuing their higher education abroad will spend around $34 billion in 2023," the research said.

About 60% of Indian students enrolled in international programs are working for master's degrees. According to state-level statistics, the states with the greatest percentage of students studying overseas are Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, with 12.5% of the total.

Loan demand rises as a result of the joyous season

This October's holiday season increased demand for bank loans. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) reported that scheduled commercial banks' loan disbursements rose by Rs 2.8 trillion (lakh crore) in the month. This is a significant increase above the Rs 1.5 trillion average growth from April to September of 2023.

The demand for credit from the personal and services sectors—including housing—led the credit expansion, with industry and agriculture following closely after.

October saw a 1.81 trillion rupee rise in bank credit to the services sector, which was much more than the 0.3 trillion rupee average monthly growth from April to September 2023. The bulk of the demand for services came from NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies) and wholesale commerce.

In the meanwhile, personal loans rose by a record Rs 1.76 trillion during the month, above the average monthly rise of Rs 0.3 trillion since April. This increase was primarily driven by a notable increase in demand for house loans, automobiles, and other personal loans as well as credit card outstanding. September 2023. Went.

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) June 2023 Financial Stability Report (FSR) states that between March 2021 and March 2023, the percentage of unsecured loans in total retail credit climbed from 22.9% to 25.2%. Compared to bank NPA (non-performing assets), which is predicted to drop to 3.5% by the end of current fiscal year, this figure, at 8% of total non-food bank lending, is noteworthy.

The RBI tightened capital standards in November as a result of this. The new standards might lead to higher borrowing rates since they especially impact consumer lending. Furthermore, banks have limited such services in an effort to slow the growth in unsecured personal loans, after reports indicating an increase in defaults on small personal loans and loans acquired in collaboration with fintech companies.