The interim Budget has attempted to tick all the boxes that could help the Modi government return to power, reports Archis Mohan.
According to official statistics, half of India's GDP comes from as many as 420 million workers in the unorganised sector including street vendors, rickshaw pullers, construction workers, rag pickers, agricultural workers, among others. This massive workforce remains outside the purview of the formal banking and insurance industries.
In its new avatar as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), it will directly be responsible for 'the welfare of traders and their employees'.
The revival of the phytosanitary protocol with China is expected to boost tobacco exports to China and prove economically beneficial to Indian farmers.
While some in the Congress were apprehensive that land grab allegations against her husband Robert Vadra could turn out to be Priyanka's Achilles heel, much of the BJP leadership opted not to bring up the issue at the current juncture.
Stronger the pitch of various states, the better for India as a country. The two states plan to showcase their improved 'ease of doing business rankings'.
Centre has already started work on developing a mechanism to ensure states producing any item in excess is able to transport it to other states where there is demand
The Swadeshi Jagaran Manch has pointed out that these firms pose a threat to domestic manufacturing and retailing as they do not pay relevant taxes such as GST, giving them a huge edge over local players.
Congress hopes to field upper caste candidates to eat into BJP voter base while SP-BSP focuses on consolidating Dalit-OBC votes in their favour.
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu is slated to meet senior executives of Apple on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month.
Private labels remain big business for e-commerce marketplaces. They comprise almost 15 per cent of the total business of such firms.
'In mocking him, Modi and Shah went horribly wrong.'
'It made Gandhi determined to fight to the finish, which now has the entire Sangh Parivar rattled,' says a Congress leader, privy to the repeated RSS outreach for a rapproachment.
Success in the Lok Sabha polls would help Twitter chart out its growth story in India.
'Urjit Patel was not quite the picture of courage, but even he turned, he had to turn.' 'Perhaps there is something that is far more sinister than what we are aware of, which is the reason for his resigation.'
In 2018, the BJP's rare successes in north-east India aside, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the party.
Simpler GST structure will be key poll plank, Congress sources tell Archis Mohan.
'His past as a cricketer makes it difficult for the BJP to question his nationalism.' 'He gets away by ridiculing Modi while something similar from most Congress leaders does not resonate as much.'
'With the top court's judgment declaring the Right to Privacy a Fundamental Right, the powers under the provision need to be looked afresh.' 'To utilise such sweeping powers in the right manner will also be a challenge.'
Several Congress leaders interpreted it as a dig at Prime Minister Modi who is yet to address a single press conference in his 54-month tenure.
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