'Two consecutive quarters of negative growth are the technical definition of an economic recession, and for the first time in this generation's memory, we may be staring at one,' observes Aakar Patel.
In Jharkhand, the company is hopeful of starting work as soon as the mines issue is resolved, while in Orissa, consultants for the detailed project report (DPR) and the socio-economic survey have been appointed.
Privatisation of old oil fields to raise output and reduce India's import dependence was advised by the Economic Survey.
Criticising lack of "appropriate" pricing of petroleum products, the pre-Budget Economic Survey on Monday warned that the current practice of not passing on cost of production to consumers will have serious consequences and said non-resolution of sub
Buoyed by favourable policies, India has emerged as the fourth largest destination in Asia for foreign direct investment, attracting over Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) within the first six months of the current fiscal year.
The Economic Survey says that the number of strikes and lockouts have dropped to 456 in 2005 from 771 in 2000.
"We are on track to bring down fiscal deficit to 3.3 per cent this year and to three per cent in the next year and hopefully remove revenue deficit in 2008-09", Finance Secretary D Subbaro said while speaking at the launch of the OECD economic survey of the Indian economy in New Delhi on Tuesday. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act requires the government to reduce fiscal deficit to three per cent of the GDP and eliminate revenue deficit by 2008-09.
The decline in inflation was broad-based across major commodity groups except housing and fuel and light.
The biggest subsidy is on money orders with a per unit subsidy of Rs 25.80. This alone adds about Rs 287 crore to the postal deficit, the Survey said.
Today, with growth having slowed and macro-economic challenges in every direction, would the government have benefited from the advice of 'Harvard' economists? asks T N Ninan.
The 2005-06 Survey tabled in Parliament said the Indian industry needed to be unburdened from high level of taxes and distortive exemptions that provided perverse incentives.
Identifying the need for Rs 1,72,000 crore (Rs 1720 billion) investment in national highways, the Economic Survey on Monday asked the government to gear up policies and institutions to meet specific requirements while increasing the outlay for road s
Predicting a 2.3 per cent farm sector growth for 2005-06, the Economic Survey on Monday advocated development of alternative markets by shifting from the expensive public procurement and distribution system for better returns to farmers.
The three-month long Budget session of Parliament will commence on February 23 and the general budget would be presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on February 28.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her second Budget a little more than a month from now. Like any other FM, Sitharaman will depend on her team of bureaucrats and advisors to frame and present the Budget.
The Commerce and Industry Ministry has circulated a draft Cabinet note for inter-ministerial consultations.
"There have been discussions on implementing UBI in J&K -- not just as a pilot in some districts, but in the entire state, according to Drabu's proposal in the state's Budget," said an official. "Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is also supportive of the idea. A presentation will now be made at the PMO."
'The Jalan Committee has now provided very clear guidelines on how the (RBI's) balance sheet should be looked at, what kind of disclosures should be made, what are the principles on which the Contingency Risk Buffer should be maintained, what should be the revaluation reserves, and the market risk to the Contingency Risk Buffer.'
Buoyed by about 19 per cent jump in tax collection, the government may further moderate taxes in the Budget with the Economic Survey on Monday prescribing a tax reform mantra to unburden India Inc.
'The slide in growth has arisen primarily because we have an NBFC crisis on top of a banking crisis,' points out T T Ram Mohan.
In Budget 2015, the finance minister has opted to take the slow road and has doubled the cess on coal to "balance the need to tax pollution and the price of power" in his words.
Though the NITI Aayog did not give its estimates for the required GDP growth at constant prices, economists pegged it at 9 per cent, a feat not seen since the GDP series was revised with 2011-12 as the base year.
The adjusted gross revenue (earnings from sale of telecom services) of the top three telecom companies in India - Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular declined by 7.98 per cent, 5.14 per cent and 4.91 per cent respectively during third quarter of 2016-17.
It further pointed out that the twin balance sheet problem -- at the end of banks and corporate -- more attractive interest rates for borrowers in the bond market and from non-banking financial institutions are other reasons for slow bank credit growth.
The pre-Budget Economic Survey on Wednesday asked the government to enforce user charges and evolve a regulatory framework that fosters competition for attracting investment in infrastructure creation.
Questioning the relevance of the minimum support price regime in the politically sensitive farm sector, the Economic Survey on Wednesday recommended a broad-based agricultural development programme.
Reflecting an improvement in economic ties with the US, the bilateral trade has increased to $48.71 billion during April-December of this fiscal, Parliament was informed on Friday.
Is the Budget sufficiently prudent? It probably is but at the cost of substantial under-provisioning for the many grand sounding schemes announced in it, says Nitin Desai.
'The economy needed 3 or 4 major fixes. The major one was, of course, the direct tax structure, but we ended up complicating the existing convoluted tax structure,' says M R Venkatesh, chartered accountant and lawyer.
After remaining unchanged in the previous week, inflation fell to a 40-month low of 4.83 per cent during the week ended February 19 due to cheaper edible oils, vegetables and some of the manufactured products despite higher global oil prices.
Niti Aayog's plan to create a 'New India' in less than four years should invite scepticism, argues T N Ninan.
Sale of expensive sarees rose by 1,751 per cent while consumption of honey by 380 per cent.
"The simplistic assumption of 5 per cent power-intensity of aggregate output in the economy yields a supply-multiplier of 20 and an associated GDP loss of Rs 300,000 crore," the survey, which was tabled in Parliament on Monday, said.
The country has been clocking a sub-5 per cent growth for the past two financial years, mainly on account of slowdown in investments.
'Wasn't it the PM's duty to reach out to the daily wagers of whom he claims to have been a part?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
It also advocated adoption of technology platforms and innovative models.
He said that land, a state subject, was a big destination of black money while reform in political funding was also important
With danger signals flashed in the Economic Survey, the Budget is likely to contain certain bold decisions to cut fiscal deficit and spendings laced with tax sops for the salaried class.
With danger signals flashed in the Economic Survey, the Union Budget on Wednesday is likely to contain certain bold decisions to cut fiscal deficit and spendings laced with tax sops for the salaried class.