Economist Abhijit Sen, a former Planning Commission member and one of the country's foremost experts on rural economy, died on Monday night. He was 72.
Abhijit Sen committee, appointed by the government to look into the impact of futures trading on farm commodity prices, has got an extension of two months.
He was involved in fraudulent dealings in Aurobindo Pharma shares.
Experts say the party is undoing what it achieved through MNREGA by targeting beneficiaries
In a blow to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the high court on June 22 ruled that the legislation enacted by her government to recover the land leased to Tata Motors in Singur for its small car project was constitutionally invalid.
Attributing the steep hike in petrol prices to declining value of rupee, Planning Commission on Wednesday said it will have immediate impact on the price situation but things will stabilise in the long run.
Bankers on Thursday said the status quo in the monetary stance of the Reserve Bank is largely on expected lines taken after considering the tight liquidity situation and overall cooling inflation numbers.
Planning Commission Member Abhijit Sen on Wednesday said food inflation is expected to decline to 4 to 5 per cent by November from the current over 16 per cent after the arrival of Kharif (summer) crops.
On whether the futures trading policy of the government has resulted in the extremely high inflation (as seen some months ago), he said the committee to study the impact of futures trading on the prices of agricultural commodities could not draw any strong conclusion. The latest inflation rate as on December 6, measured by the wholesale price index, stood at 6.84 per cent. The rate of inflation had touched a high of 12.91 per cent on August 2.
The agriculture growth slowed down to 2.4 per cent in the April-June quarter this year from 3 per cent in the same quarter last year.
India's leading national commodity exchanges have asked the government to immediately lift the ban on futures trading on certain agricultural commodities.
India's national commodity exchanges will have to now wait longer for the government nod for foreign direct investment.
Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen on Wednesday said growth in the next fiscal may reach seven per cent due to the stimulus packages already introduced. On deflation he said, "I personally do not see any threat of generalised deflation, though it (might happen) in some sectors."
The panel has also decided to increase the weight of manufactured items and the fuel group in the new index. Accordingly, the new WPI series, with a revised base year of 2004-05, will see the weight of manufactured items go up to around 65 per cent from 63.75 per cent in the present series.
After 14 months of deliberation, the five-member Abhijit Sen Committee on futures trading has failed to reach a consensus on whether to support or oppose the ban on futures trading in all farm commodities. Earlier, the committee had planned to recommend continuation of the existing ban on futures trading in some farm commodities and had included it in its draft report. The government had suspended futures trading in tur, urad, wheat and rice last year.
Weights of the fuel group are set to rise in the revised Wholesale Price Index.
The term of the committee that the Manmohan Singh government has set up to study the impact of futures trading in agricultural commodities on price rise is being extended.
Amid spiralling prices of essential commodities in the country, the government is planning to revamp the method for measuring inflation with the help of World Bank's technical assistance.
All members of the Planning Commission have submitted their resignations to the Prime Minister's Office paying the way for reconstitution of the institution.
The government's decision to release the reports comes two days after over 200 scholars from across the globe issued a statement demanding release of all withheld reports produced by the NSO, including the household consumer expenditure survey that was junked.
The term of the members of the Planning Commission is co-terminus with the Prime Minister and they would be submitting their resignations once the new government is formed after the ongoing general elections next month.
Experts said a dip in consumption expenditure indicated an increasing prevalence of poverty in the country.
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The growth has not been very robust in the first two financial years of the 12th Plan.
According to a senior Planning Commission official, according to the new criteria evolved by members Abhijit Sen and Mihir Shah, henceforth BRGF amounts will be allocated on the basis of backward blocks and not just districts.
Finance Commission has got new team who are committed to growth initiatives.
The bank's profit is buoyed by robust growth in its commercial banking and mortgage businesses.
Since 2004, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, one of the commission's longest serving deputy chairmen, has been trying to mould it to fit into the new economic order, without much to show for his efforts.
The panel will also recommend a fiscal consolidation road map for the central and state governments, study the impact of GST on the divisible pool, and propose performance-based incentives for states.
It is not just about meeting performance goals, say hiring managers.
The 64-year-old Planning Commission, a vestige of the socialist era, will soon become history.
There is a churning going on among Muslims, and Mehmood Madni should be credited for breaking the silence. He has initiated a debate on the options before Muslims to look beyond the Congress yoke and fear of the BJP, says Ehtasham Khan
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