Addressing a massive public rally to celebrate the signing of the accord on January 27 that is expected to bring lasting peace to the troubled state, Modi said now the time was to work together for peace and development of the North-East.
Every option before the finance minister comes with a price tag, observes T N Ninan.
Excluding the pension outgo, the allocation in the Union Budget for the armed forces stands at Rs 3.62 lakh crore.
There are various estimates of India's debt to GDP ratio, but the consensus is that that it would be over 80 per cent at the end of the current fiscal year.
'The Budget numbers presented severely underestimate the magnitude of the unstated fiscal crisis that we went through in 2018-2019, which cannot be conceivably be fully reversed in 2019-2020,' points out Rathin Roy, director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
Experts have flagged issues regarding the levying of new cess/tax, especially those related to complications in administering the cess.
World Bank along with economic think-tank National Institute for Public Finance and Policy have strongly pitched for making finance commission a permanent body like planning commission, although government has some reservations on it.
The Finance Commission on Monday suggested a re-look into the issue of decentralisation in view of the lack of transfer of resources to local bodies, but said the exercise should not "rob" the autonomy of local governments.
Sales tax continues to top the state's largest source of income.
'There is a misconception that the Centre gives money for the development of Delhi'
A Bench comprising Justice S B Sinha and Justice S H Kapadia took a serious view of the non-allocation of funds by the 12th Finance Commission to enable the continuance of the FTCs.
'We will not compromise on it. We will not make any deferred payments or cuts.'
But it is disappointing to note that Sitharaman's third Union Budget continues to promote a few problematic ideas, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Budget has several small steps which will boost growth
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said the govt will extend a loan of Rs 551 crore to two civic bodies; and alleged a situation was being created through the ongoing strike to prepare grounds for imposition of central rule.
"A solution has been put on the table. It is for Andhra Pradesh to decide whether they want the resources or they want to make an issue (out of it)," he said.
'After the creation of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh has been left as an agrarian state.' 'Therefore, the special category status to this residual state was imminent and necessary for its development,' YSR Congress MP V Vijayasai Reddy explained in the Rajya Sabha.
Former Finance Commission chairman A M Khusro, who died in New Delhi on Sunday, was a distinguished academic, scholar and a towering personality. Besides heading the 11th Finance Commission, he was the chairman of IEG.
Shah said a BJP government would protect and promote the cultural heritage and values of tribals.
The losses in state elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh have put the ruling party under pressure to announce swift measures aimed at addressing rural distress and lack of employment.
The BJP MLAs -- Vijender Gupta, O P Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan -- were evicted from the House after they trooped to the Well and raised slogans.
State governments want the Centre to direct the 14th Finance Commission to compensate states for implementing pay scales, to be recommended by the pay panel.
On the proposed Grand Alliance of the Congress and other parties in the state, Shah said the Telugu people had not forgotten how the Congress had treated their leaders like former (undivided) Andhra Pradesh chief minister Anjaiah and former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao.
According to the report, Indian economy is headed for a "perfect storm" worse than 1991 because government's cashflow by March 2013 is threatening to be Rs 110,000 crore (Rs 1,100 billion) more in the red than the expected Rs 500,000 crore (Rs 5,000 billion).
On the present government's 'Make in India' campaign, C Rangarajan, former chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, says it is important to first ask for whom it is being made.
Increase of 10% to 12% likely in a bid to improve citizens' mood after demonetisation.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram will soon have to decide whether to stick by his predecessor's choice of former Reserve Bank governor Y V Reddy for chairmanship of the 14th Finance Commission, to be set up next month.
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.
Economists say there aren't many options with the government at present, given the drought-like situation which would only spur its spending.
The current estimate, however, largely covers only the cost of infrastructure such as pipes, construction of borewells, overhead costs among others and not the expenditure to be incurred on operation and maintenance.
'Let us hope that this Budget delivers.' 'It needs 10 per cent plus real GDP growth in 2021-22, the rebound year,' notes Omkar Goswami.
The government on Monday announced a one-time Rs 10,000 interest-free festival advance to all its officers and employees as part of plans to increase consumer spending to spur demand in the economy.
A closer look at the data reveals that a lot of the items are not part of this calculation. The notable ones include buffalo meat, marine exports, raw cotton, and plantation crops such as tea, coffee, rubber, etc.
The BJP's relations with some alliance partners, including its oldest ally the Shiv Sena, Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United, Akali Dal and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party of Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, have been somewhat tense, and Shah's comments are being seen as an attempt to smooth their ruffled feathers.
The need for co-ordinated policy between Centre and states was likewise foreseen and assigned.
If the protected growth in GST revenue is reduced to 10 per cent, the Centre would save more than Rs 25,000 crore in 2020-21 if none of the states show any revenue growth. This would nearly amount to 0.1 per cent of the gross fiscal deficit and help the government in avoiding fiscal slippage to some extent in subsequent years.
Rajya Sabha member Pravin Rashtrapal, who has been re-nominated by the Congress from Gujarat for the biennial elections to the Upper House, on Friday filed his nomination papers in Gandhinagar.
