Populism gains momentum during election periods, and this trend is evident in at least four states: Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

'There are occasions when the prices of individual items like food raise inflation; then supply-side measures must be taken.' 'But if there is continued inflation, it means liquidity is aggravating the situation.'

The interest charged on an inter-state loan given to a credit card holder without the use of a plastic card would not be subject to the integrated goods and services tax (IGST), a two-judge bench of the Calcutta high court has ruled. In this connection, it recently set aside a ruling by a single judge of the high court. The issue was a loan of Rs 650,000 granted by Citi Bank with an EMI of Rs 58,056 for 12 months and inclusive of integrated GST (IGST) on each installment of interest.

Rent paid for paying guest (PG) and hostel accommodations, which are not like residential dwellings, would attract 12 per cent goods and services tax (GST), the authority for advance rulings (AAR) in Karnataka has ruled. The AAR, while hearing a case of Srisai Luxurious Stay LLP, said that only rent for residential dwellings would qualify for GST exemption. There was earlier no GST on residential dwellings, as well as on hotels, inns, or guest houses where the rent is up to Rs 1,000 a day.

How is it that tomatoes recorded a price fall in official statistics when it remained unaffordable for the common person in June?

Economies of Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana may have grown at a slower pace than the national economy during 2022-2023.

'The actions of Indian monetary authorities will depend on how quickly they want the inflation to come down to 4 per cent.'

'If because of El Nino, the monsoon is affected adversely in the current year, naturally it will affect income projections and consequently Budget numbers.'

The state's revenue receipts might not afford various freebies announced by the parties, unless revenue deficit and hence fiscal deficit is widened.

'We should look at is full year's growth rather than quarter numbers.'

It would be a difficult task for the Indian economy to reach the $5-trillion mark a year before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projection of 2026-27. Pankaj Chaudhary, minister of state for finance, said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that the government is taking steps to make the country a $5-trillion economy at a date earlier than the IMF's projection. In that context, it would not be difficult to meet the projection in the third quarter of FY27.

According to the latest Budget papers, the staff strength of central ministries and departments is estimated to rise by 276,796 to 3.44 million at the end of FY23, it would be up by 109,266 to 3.55 million in March 2024.

'Government's focus should be on the expenditure side in this Budget, not so much on the taxation side.'

If that happens, India's economic size will be just shy of $20 trillion and its annual per capita income will be about $10,000, when the country celebrates its centenary of independence.

Various indicators make it amply clear that there are grave challenges facing the new government of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, reports Indivjal Dhasmana.

The staff at post offices misappropriated Rs 95.62 crore of public money between November 2002 and September 2021, the Comptroller and Auditor General has said. The money may seem small but it is what common citizen invested in post office savings, the oldest and the largest banking system in the country. The system serves the investment needs of urban and rural clients through schemes such as savings bank, recurring deposits, time deposits, national savings certificates, kisan vikas patras, public provident fund, monthly income account scheme, sukanya samriddhi accounts and senior citizens savings scheme.

Income-tax payers fear they will receive notices from the government because the annual information statement (AIS) provided by the I-T department in many cases is showing incomes in excess of their earnings. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has dismissed these fears as unfounded. The deadline for filing income-tax returns (ITRs) for the assessment year 2022-23 ended on July 31.

The impact of fiscal measures announced by the government to contain inflation will be seen in the next few months because of the base effect, reports Indivjal Dhasmana.

Moody's Investors Service has warned that India, along with the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are highly vulnerable to volatile food and energy prices in the Asia-Pacific region as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to disrupt supplies and raise the cost of agricultural products, especially cereals and vegetable oils, as well as fertilizers and other agricultural inputs. This is so because these countries have a higher weighting of energy and food prices in their consumer price index (CPI) baskets, Moody's said in its report released on Tuesday. The weighting of energy and food in overall Indian CPI stands at over 55 per cent.

The Union government will take a bit longer to introduce the much-awaited labour codes even as the majority of states and Union Territories (UTs) have framed rules on them. There were speculations that these would be introduced from July 1. While 30 states and UTs have framed rules on the code on wages, 25 of them have done so on industrial relations. Of the two remaining codes, 24 states and UTs have framed rules on social security and 23 on occupational safety, health, and working conditions (OSH), sources said.