A lot of the 100-day programmes would be 'milestone-based' with timelines for achieving targets for social-sector schemes.
Adding petrol and diesel to GST was a challenging task due to their significant role as revenue generators for both the central and state governments.
'The nominal GDP growth assumption for FY25 may be revised upwards on higher growth expectations.'
Increased production of pulses, oilseeds, and cereals will help boost domestic supplies and contribute to keeping inflation low in the coming months.
'The expeditious enactment of labour codes and strategic measures to bridge the skills jobs gap are critical.'
India's current account deficit (CAD) may dip further in the March quarter of FY24 as pressure from the negative net exports during the January-March period eased to an 11-quarter high. A part of the gross domestic product (GDP) data, net export- which is usually negative for India - captures the difference between exports and imports of both goods and services, while the CAD data, released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), also factors in private transfer receipts.
The Met department blamed the malfunctioning of sensors kept at the Automated Weather Station for the gaffe.
The rains after arriving over Kerala will quickly cover Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, but then might slacken a bit, which could delay its arrival over Northwest India.
High vegetable prices are expected to keep food inflation firm in the months to come.
'The prime minister's comment on 'revdi culture' was welcome. But I am disappointed he did not follow up on that.' 'All political parties, including the BJP, have been guilty of this.' 'Now, Modi's guarantees, the Congress's 'nyay' path and both ruling and Opposition parties are vying with each other for freebies in my home state Andhra Pradesh.'
Smartphones have been a key success story of the government's production-linked incentive scheme, helping India become the second-largest mobile phone manufacturing country, after China.
The government is planning to tweak its procurement policy to give a fillip to domestic manufacturing. The industry department has floated a proposal to raise the minimum local content requirement for public procurement for Class-I and -II suppliers from 50 per cent currently to 70 per cent, and 20 per cent as of now to 50 per cent, respectively.
Services provided by Indian information-technology (IT), marketing, and consulting companies to foreign clients may not always draw integrated goods and services tax (IGST) if a ruling by the Authority for Advance Rulings' (AAR's) Telangana Bench becomes a precedent. The AAR gave its ruling on a specific case of referral services provided by the Hyderabad-based Center for International Admission and Visas (CIAV) to foreign universities and colleges for admitting Indian students.
In a case related to Mumbai-based Jai Trust versus Union government, the court ruled that a gift is a consideration-less transaction, and hence, not liable for capital gains tax. It quashes the reassessment notice issued by the tax authorities alleging that a specific income has escaped assessment on transfer of shares as gift by the trust.
The state's economic health is in focus as it has consistently breached the fiscal deficit in eight of the last 10 years since Telangana's formation.
The government has extended the interim approval given to plant protection companies for use of drones for spraying specified pesticides. The approval has been extended for one more year starting from April 18, 2024. All other terms and conditions for the use of drones for spraying plant protection chemicals including the standard operating procedures etc. will remain the same.
It is in more than a decade that the IMD has predicted 'above-normal' rains in the country.
From toys, footwear and furniture to insulated flasks, smart meters, and air coolers - the Central government over the last decade has mandated higher standards for production and imports of such items. Sample this: Till 2014, there were 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 106 products. By the latest count, there are 156 QCOs on 672 products.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has commissioned a quality check on MDH and Everest products. This follows complaints that several popular spice mixes of the two leading brands contained traces of ethylene oxide more than the permissible levels, official sources said. This move by FSSAI comes after Hong Kong and Singapore recalled variants of the two masala majors' products in their countries.
Direct tax collection, net of refunds, moderately exceeded the revised estimates (RE) for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) on the back of personal income tax revenues, but corporation tax receipts fell short of the RE. Net direct tax collection stood at Rs 19.58 trillion in FY24, surpassing the RE of Rs 19.45 trillion by Rs 13,000 crore, or 0.7 per cent. The government had revised up FY24 projections for personal income tax by 13.5 per cent over the Budget estimates (BE) of Rs 9 trillion, at Rs 10.22 trillion.