This includes an infrastructure push which may lead to the government spending more than its budgeted capital expenditure for 2020-21. There are also discussions on increasing the scope and quantum of direct cash transfers to the beneficiaries who need it the most.
In the concluding part of the series, Y V Reddy, argues that the proposal strikes at the functioning of federalism and the basic structure of the Constitution, which has served us well so far.
Good intentions and elaborate roadmaps apart, there is an urgent need for the Tamil Nadu chief minister to come up with branded schemes like MGR's meal scheme, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Calling for 'equal recognition of vaccines', COVAX on Thursday urged all governments to recognise as 'fully vaccinated' those people who have received COVID-19 vaccines deemed safe by World Health Organisation, saying any move that restricts travel of people based on the vaccines they have received is 'counter-effective, both in spirit and outcome'.
Following is the Facebook post of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on one-year of the BJP-led NDA government.
In a first, the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) officers reached out to several ministries in the last week of April as part of a confidence-boosting measure. The meeting brought the CAG officials and those from the ministries across the table to discuss the pain points in their relations. CAG of India Girish Chandra Murmu took this novel step because of growing tensions between those audited and the auditor.
The income inequality gap was found to be highest in South Africa and lowest in Denmark.
Dr Tamilisai Soundarajan has nominated Prime Minister Modi for launching the world's largest healthcare scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana - 'Ayushman Bharat' and also appealed to people to join her in nominating the prime minister.
'Modi looks to be an effective, result-oriented, purposeful leader, focused on bringing greatness and glory to the nation.'
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So it is best for his critics to give up their sniping and supplement his efforts,' asserts B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant who served three prime ministers.
IOC, BPCL and HPCL on Thursday afternoon stopped ATF supplies to Air India at six airports - Kochi, Pune, Patna, Ranchi, Vizag and Mohali - over payment defaults. AI flights from these places were tanking up from other airports.
As the country moves towards creating a spot gold exchange, markets regulator Sebi's whole time member G Mahalingam on Wednesday suggested routing all the imports of the precious metal through the exchange ecosystem in the future. Such a "funnelling" would ensure that gold monetisation takes place right at the source as the metal enters the country, he said while addressing a conference organised by industry lobby Ficci. However, he also noted that the issue has not been dealt with in the papers floated by Sebi.
The most immediate challenge for growth is the disruption of the global economy brought about by the Ukraine war and related sanctions, the Covid shutdowns in China and the rising tide of inflation, points out Nitin Desai.
Only 48.3 per cent of the rural households used LPG, while the figures were much higher in urban areas at 86.6 per cent, according to a NSO report.
No longer Bengal's finance minister, Amit Mitra, Mamata's principal chief advisor, will still advise and aid the 'chief minister and finance department on all matters relating to management of state finance', represent the 'state government in national and international events/meetings/committees' and examine 'important proposals/files and policy issues relating to financial matters referred to him for advice/views'.
It is worrisome that salaries are consuming as much expenditure as equipment.
Not needed, it says, with 4,600 staffers to retire over next 3 years, plus transfer of 12,000 to new subsidiaries
Speaking at length about the last two decades of Modi's political journey, Singh said, "A true leadership is identified by its intent and integrity and in both cases, Modiji is 24-carat gold. There is not a single stain of corruption on him even after being the head of a government for 20 years."
The journey of the prime minister in public office began on October 7, 2001, as the chief minister of Gujarat.
Last week, two BSF troopers from Rajasthan, members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Congo, were killed by protestors. Do we need to lose lives fighting in a country not ours, in a war that is not ours and for a cause that is not ours, asks Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd), who served in the UNPKF in Congo.
'I have personally been very keen on investing in lithium ion battery technology for some time.'
With the unanticipated floods across Tamil Nadu catching the unprepared administration unawares, Stalin finds that some of the early positives that had rubbed on his initiatives have been lost, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Congress and its erstwhile government in Puducherry, saying the V Narayanasamy led dispensation had 'different priorities' than public welfare and flayed party leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent 'north-south' remarks.
What does Udhayanidhi's induction as minister mean? For the DMK, it indicates the future course, direction and leadership. It is continuity with change, and change with continuity, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Modi emphasised on deeper India-Africa partnership on clean energy.
A clear message was that the ongoing seven-decade-old model of agriculture, based on extensive reliance on subsidy by the government at every stage, was not going to work, said NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar.
The experts said adequate care must be taken before implementing what is being touted as a "game-changer".
As India gears up to vaccinate people above 60 years of age and those over 45 years with comorbidities against COVID-19 from March 1, the Union health ministry on Friday said the facility of on-site registrations will be available so that eligible beneficiaries can walk into identified vaccination centres, get themselves registered and get inoculated.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Terming investment in infrastructure "quintessential" to boost growth, the Economic Survey on Friday said post unlocking of the economy, infra sectors are poised for growth and construction of roads is expected to return to the high pace attained before COVID-19. The infrastructure sector will be the key to overall economic growth and macroeconomic stability, the Survey said emphasising that the year after the crisis (2021-22) will require sustained and calibrated measures to facilitate the process of economic recovery and enable the economy to get back on its long-term growth trajectory. "Basic infrastructure facilities in the country provide the foundation of growth. In the absence of adequate infrastructure, the economy operates at a suboptimal level and remains distant from its potential and frontier growth trajectory.
'In the course of my interactions with him, Modi insisted that he does not believe charisma alone can sustain people's trust for long.' 'That is why Modi consistently refers to Mahatma Gandhi to contextualise his politics.' 'He believes in taking his ideas to the masses and getting their acceptance as an index of approval.'
A revealing excerpt from Ajay Singh's The Architect of the New BJP: How Narendra Modi Transformed the Party.
It raises three major questions - the incentive compatibility issue, the fairness issue and fiscal challenge, said Panagariya.
Goyal also announced hiking of tax free gratuity to Rs 30 lakh from existing Rs 20 lakh for employees having service of more than five years.
The perception is rapidly gaining ground that though the chief minister is from the Shiv Sena, the government is being run by the NCP.
The joint statement was issued by retired DGPs Julio Ribeiro, Prakash Singh, P K Hormis Tharakan, Kamal Kumar, Jacob Punnoose, Sanjeev Dayal, Jayanto Choudhury and N Ramachandran.
Amid increasing popularity of virtual currencies in various parts of the world, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said it is open to exploring the possibility of a digital version of fiat currency. Host of private digital currencies, virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies have gained popularity in recent years, though Indian authorities continue to remain sceptical about them. "In India, the regulators and governments have been sceptical about these currencies and are apprehensive about the associated risks. "Nevertheless, the RBI is exploring the possibility as to whether there is a need for a digital version of fiat currency and in case there is, then how to operationalise it," the RBI said in its booklet on 'Payment Systems in India -- Journey in the Second Decade of the Millennium'.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
In a letter to the prime minister, the country's largest body of doctors said only an 'inclusive national solatium' for all doctors who have lost their lives fighting the pandemic would render justice to the sacrifice of their families.
'I had done 23 years of very satisfying service -- 10 years in the police and 13 years in the Enforcement Directorate.' 'I had done law enforcement and thought the next step should be towards contributing to make good laws.'
The going is not going to be easy for the DMK and its allies in Elections 2024. Despite the seats sweepstake in the 2021 assembly polls, the vote-share difference of 5.6% (DMK's 45.38% versus AIADMK-BJP's 39.72%) is not insurmountable on a bad day, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Faulting previous governments for not taking adequate measures to economically empower women in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his government was constantly creating an environment in which women self-help groups can connect villages with prosperity as he released Rs 1,625 crore as capitalisation support fund to over four lakh such groups. In a virtual interaction with the women self-help groups (SHGs) under the "Aatmanirbhar Narishakti se Samvad" (dialogue with self-reliant women) initiative, Modi said in a changing India, opportunities are increasing for women to move forward. The movement of woman SHGs has intensified in the last 6-7 years with over 70 lakh of them working across the country, a figure over three times more than earlier, he said, adding over eight crore women are connected with these groups.
