Yacht parties better than capex.

"Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharama...said India's private sector appears to be holding on to 'passive investible funds' instead of deploying them towards new capacity creation, even as government capital expenditure (capex) continues to be the main driver of economic growth." CNBC. The government spends taxpayer money as it pleases without being held to account by a 'Godi (lapdog) media' (wikipedia) but companies have to account to shareholders and regulators. "Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in India have written off loans amounting to more than Rs 12 trillion between financial years 2015-16 and 2024-25, the finance ministry informed the Rajya Sabha on July 22." Write offs in the last five fiscal years (FY21 to FY25) exceeded Rs 5.82 trillion. The Wire. To create new capacity needs hard work, but "India's Gen Z billionaires are bored with business." "Today among the scions of some of the most affluent families of India, someone is an artist, someone wants to be a sportsman, someone wants to run a small restaurant." "It's the modern trend, people want to do their own thing," said Dilip Piramal, 75-year-old Chairman of VIP Industries. DH. "There was a time when being born into a business family meant inheriting responsibility before wealth." But, "Modern scions believe in passive income, aggressive networking and yacht parties," Harsh Goenka, Chairman RPG Enterprises. There are many reasons why companies are reluctant to invest. UBS Securities India said, "The lack of clarity on international trade is a significant factor hindering long-term capital expenditure by Indian companies." ET. The US and the European Union (EU) reached "a broad trade agreement yesterday that sets 15% tariffs on most European imports." By concluding the deal before 1 August the EU averted 30% tariffs. Mint. But, "As the window of opportunity for India to seal a trade deal with the US closes on Aug 1 -when tariffs are set to increase to 26% - New Delhi appears to be unfazed." CNBC. A report by Team lease "revealed that setting up and operating a standalone solar plant in India entails an astonishing  2,735 compliance obligations - a level of red tape that makes one wonder how India manages to grow at all. Remember, solar energy is a high-priority area for which the govt offers several incentives and subsidies," wrote Swaminathan Aiyar. To invest, businesses need workers. "Only 42.6% of Indian graduates were found employable last year, marking a decline from 44.3% in 2023, reveals a recent report by Mercer-Mettl, which attributes the drop primarily to a lack of non-technical skills." The Print. And, "L&T chairman says laborers are unwilling to work or relocate for jobs due to the availability of welfare schemes and a preference for comfort." HT. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi...said over 950 million Indians were now covered under at least one social security scheme." TOI. Mr Mohandas Pai "slammed tax authorities and the central and state governments for 'oppressing' taxpayers and hounding them with 'tax terrorism'." FE. Red tape, tax terrorism, unemployable graduates, unavailable labor. Why invest? Yacht parties better. Over to FM.