"Transparency is the key word and keep media in the loop about the Cabinet meeting decisions." That is the message from Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar.
Buoyed by the prospects of a good monsoon, the government today said inflation would halve to 5-6 per cent by December end and the economic growth would accelerate to 8.5 per cent during the current fiscal.
Pulok Chatterjee, a long time loyalist of the Gandhi family and Dr Manmohan Singh, is likely to succeed K M Chandrasekhar as the Union Cabinet Secretary from January 2010. Chatterjee has served as the district magistrate of Rae Bareli and later worked with Sonia Gandhi, when she was the Leader of Opposition, during the National Democratic Alliance regime. When the United Progressive Alliance came to power, Chatterjee was made the Joint Secretary in PMO.
The first indication that the United Progressive Government may opt to hold the General Election before schedule came on Tuesday, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed Ashok Chawla s secretary, economic affairs instead of picking up a full-fledged finance secretary.
The government on Monday said that the stimulus packages to perk up the economy during the slowdown are not likely to be withdrawn this fiscal and the exit when it happens will be a gradual one.
The Central Bureau of Investigation in association with Council of Europe organised a one-day conference on International Police Cooperation against cyber crime at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
To discuss ways of increasing lending to optimise stimulus package impact.
The government is understood to have decided to infuse additional equity in Air India and give a soft loan to counter the financial crunch, as a high-level committee on Saturday asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to move a note on the issue for consideration of the Union Cabinet. There was no official confirmation of the quantum of equity infusion and the soft loan the government could give to the national carrier.
As deaths due to swine flu continued to rise, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday discussed with Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar the situation arising out of the spread of the viral disease.The meeting, also attended by Health Secretary Naresh Dayal, came soon after two more deaths due to swine flu were reported in the country, and discussed the measures to contain further spread of the disease.
Airline asks for Rs 7,000 cr; may get half subject to conditions.
The Centre will set up a high-level committee of secretaries for processing the Sixth Pay Commission's report for its employees. The Empowered Committee of Secretaries will be headed by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said after the Cabinet meeting.
Some banks made it clear that banks have to make commercial decisions. "There is a limit to which we can reduce the deposit rates because of competing investment products such as small savings instruments," said a bank chief. With banks unable to lower deposits rates, lending rates were unlikely to drop significantly. A banker is said to have talked about the fact that companies that are unable to sustain themselves during the present downturn would face many risks.
"Overall we are beginning to see some hopeful signs. . . in a number of sectors we have seen some changes... cement, steel, capital goods... I don't think 5.1 per cent is what we are going to achieve," Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar said here at the CII Annual session in New Delhi.
Anil Ambani met Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, Expenditure Secretary Sanjiv Misra and Fertiliser Secretary J Sreedhara Sarma to drum support against RIL's proposed pricing formula for natural gas from KG-D6 block off the east coast.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is learnt to have asked Cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar to ensure that the supply of sugar, edible oil and pulses is not hampered during the ensuing Diwali and Navratra festivals.
Petroleum ministry rejects conclusions of two reports ahead of EGoM.
India is unlikely to see any large-scale job cuts as it has a strong domestic market to consume what it produces, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar said.
A new committee chaired by former Chief Economic Advisor Shankar Acharya will examine the feasibility of having a 'new financial year' to coincide with the calendar year.
The government may simplify Fringe Benefit Tax, rationalise tax structure and depreciation norms for research and development in the next Budget, apart from making efforts to raise the Tax-GDP ratio and garner more funds for development.
The govt is likely to announce the new Sebi chief by Feb 10 as interviews for the position is over. Six people have been interviewed.
In comments that may be seen as pointers to the forthcoming Budget, a senior government official said that raising tax rates was no more an option.
India is expected to sign Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties with more countries as part of measures to ensure smoother international trade, a senior finance ministry official said on Wednesday.
Export oriented units have approached the finance ministry for abolishing "sunset clause" in the Income Tax Act to get tax exemptions beyond March 2009, so as to attract more investments and maintain their competitiveness globally.
The central government should provide for free vaccination to all Indian citizens and greatly ramp up RT-PCR testing in both rural and urban areas, a group of former civil servants said on Thursday in an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The finance ministry on Monday defended the budget proposal on a sun set clause for tax sops to special economic zones, saying it is a normal practice in any kind of fiscal concessions.
A panel will examine the merits and demerits of various dates for the commencement of the financial year.
Shortage of ICU beds, oxygen, ventilators, vaccines, doctors, nurses and crematorium space in India has dominated headlines around the world in the past few weeks with Covid-19 cases surging beyond control and the government failing to deliver. Yes, election rallies, Kumbh Mela, blatant flouting of social distancing and mask protocols coupled with a messy vaccination process are said to be responsible for the health crisis of colossal proportions that India is facing today. But an analysis of Budget speeches made by finance ministers over 75 years also offers a glimpse of how low on the priority list healthcare has featured for the political class and policy-makers, which is a significant reason for the current situation.
'The skills and abilities of civil servants are still respected, even though they become whipping boys when things go wrong.'
At this point of time, the requirement of the economy is obviously more investment, which will create more jobs and increase purchasing power that will sustain a high level of production, says K M Chandrasekhar.
'Today, political formations seem to adopt an 'us' versus 'them' approach which shows up even in their attitude towards civil servants.'
'This creates an added layer of fear.'
'At a time when the economic situation in the country warrants the closest attention of the government, India can ill afford a situation where the citizenry and the government enter into confrontation on the roads'
History shows us that even effective vaccines could have unknown side effects that could develop over time, warns former Cabinet Secetary K M Chandrasekhar.
The panel also suggested that Know Your Client rules should be based on the risk profile of investors.
February 6 or 8 likely options; development will be the main theme
The new norms provide an operational framework for FPIs, a new class of overseas investors that club all existing class of investors like foreign institutional investors and Qualified Foreign Investors.
In a wide-ranging overhaul of rules to make India an easier, safer and attractive investment destination, Sebi on Tuesday unveiled a new set of streamlined entry norms for foreign investors, while putting in place checks against any wrongdoings by the company promoters.
According to the committee, single overseas investments of more than 10 per cent in a company should be considered as Foreign Direct Investment while those less than 10 per cent should be classified as foreign portfolio investment.
Revenue dept says changes in I-T Act require Parliament nod; new regime to wait till Budget in June-July 2014.
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