'The answer is not for me to give. The answer either way has to be heard from the industry itself. Tell us why not if you are not doing it; tell us if you are doing it -- why should this question remain unanswered?'
Let's take a look at the growth of the middle class in India and around the world.
The White House website had a new look with the bold banner headline 'America is back' seconds after Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday.
The BJP coined a new word for AAP, 'Aapda (crisis)', which Modi repeated constantly during the election campaign to show how Delhi residents's lives had become miserable under AAP's 11-year rule.
'Stay disciplined, and remain invested.' 'Volatile times are the best to invest in structural opportunities at the right price.'
'During his stint as prime minister, he got 270 million people out of poverty.' 'This, according to the World Bank, is the fastest compression of poverty anywhere in the world.' Arvind Mayaram, the former finance secretary, recalls his encounters with Dr Manmohan Singh.
Here are some facts related to the Budget presentation in independent India.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday lashed out at home minister P Chidambaram for his remarks that the middle class is ready to pay for mineral water and ice cream but can't bear an increase of Re 1 in price of wheat and rice, saying he has shown insensitivity towards them and ridiculed them.
The growth of the middle class is going to be fundamental to sustaining economic performance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that there have been no attempts from abroad to stoke trouble in India ahead of the Parliament's Budget session, which begins on Saturday. Modi's statement comes as his government prepares to present its first full-fledged budget in its third term. He expressed confidence that the Budget session will infuse new confidence and energy in attaining the goal of 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047, and said his government has been working in a mission mode for an all-round development.
In Kerala's society, known for its high material standard of living, plunging into a state of having nothing overnight can be terrible for one's social standing and sense of self-esteem. Rehabilitation entails piecing a community back together after a disturbance and while its aim is noble, the act of reassembling will bring alive disparities and inequalities, explains Shyam G Menon.
EPS has had its way on most things, alliance-wise. A week earlier, he reiterated that he would not re-admit OPS and Sasikala Natarajan back in the party. It was a message not just to detractors in the AIADMK. It was even more so for the BJP leadership in Delhi. Even more important for the AIADMK was their demand for accepting EPS as the chief ministerial candidate of any alliance that the party would form, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
It is time he stood up and assured the middle class that they can count on him as one of their own, says Dr Sudhir Bisht.
US President Barack Obama urged the Congress to extend the middle class tax cut that is set to end this month.
The party had won 67 seats in the 2025 assembly polls and 62 in the 2020 elections.
'I have always looked at people and said, 'You just have to accept. You just have to love. You just have to let this person be and the trouble would be less.' 'But we keep complicating things, and that is the tragedy -- our desire not to understand.'
Budget 2025-26 delivers a carefully calibrated strategy-stimulating demand and investment while keeping fiscal discipline intact. In an environment marked by global trade disruptions, and a softening in urban consumption, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has taken a measured approach.
Following the overwhelming response of its poll promises of 'own your home' for housewives in urban Gujarat, the Congress on Wednesday promised to extend the scheme, with free 100 yards plots, to the rural middle class of the state.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 will present a record eighth consecutive budget that is expected to contain measures to shore up weakening economic growth and ease the burden on the middle class struggling with high prices and stagnant wage growth while being fiscally prudent.
At present, China and India are important parts of explosive growth in global middle class, but they differ significantly as the transition to the middle class is occurring earlier and faster in China than in India as incomes have risen sharply. The middle class population in India, which is on the rise currently has expanded from 1 per cent in 2,000 to 5 per cent today.
It is a testament to some of the policies that were put in place to raise fuel-efficiency standards
"Democracy cannot be sustained in the absence of a stable and growing middle class. The growth of India into a regional and international economic power occurred, not coincidentally, as its middle class exploded into a huge economic and political force," Bhutto wrote.
There are few periods in human history that have seen worldwide expressions of middle-class angst like the current one has.
'...to think apna time aa gaya after the 2024 election.'
Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of newly sworn-in Vice President JD Vance, has made history as the first Indian-American and Hindu Second Lady of the United States. Usha, a lawyer and daughter of Indian immigrants, held the Bible during Vance's oath of office, signifying her role in supporting her husband's political journey. Her background and her husband's rise to the Vice Presidency highlight the growing political influence of Indian Americans and their increasing representation in national politics.
The BJP's hyper-local campaign targeting the AAP's loyal base among the poor, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's depiction of Delhi's ruling party as "AAP-da" (disaster), proved decisive in the Delhi assembly elections. This victory marks the end of a 26-year drought for the BJP in the national capital. The BJP's campaign highlighted perceived failures in governance and corruption allegations against the AAP, while emphasizing its own welfare schemes. The party's focus on local issues resonated with voters, particularly the middle class and poor who were disenchanted with the AAP's performance. This win is a major setback for the AAP and the INDIA bloc, which has been on a losing streak after its strong performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
'I've walked 1 hour, 25 minutes to work,' says Nalini Kudalkar.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government plans to raise capital gains exemption limit on certain financial assets to Rs 1.25 lakh per year for middle and upper middle class.
'... That they should emerge as role-models to be emulated by the fellow countrymen; and that the middle classes should not stick only to hate-filled and scornful criticism and condemnation against the state of affairs,' remembers Mohammad Sajjad.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
Netflix has announced a thrilling line-up for 2025.
The party said it is "considering opposing" the proposal for taxing the PF corpus in Parliament.
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections have turned into a fierce battleground of slogans, one-liners, and AI-generated memes between the three main contenders: AAP, BJP, and Congress. From the AAP branding the BJP as the "Bharatiya Jhootha Party" (Indian Liar Party) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the AAP "AAP-Daa" (disaster), the war of words has taken center stage. With the poll results set to be announced on February 8, the elections are being viewed as a referendum on the AAP's governance model, which emphasizes free welfare schemes. The ruling party faces stiff competition from a resurgent BJP that is seeking to return to power in the capital after a gap of more than 25 years. The Congress, although a long shot, hopes to regain its lost ground.
'Pro-incumbency worked big time for the ruling party.' 'It has never happened in the past of pro-incumbency working so much for the ruling party.'
The United Kingdom extracted USD 64.82 trillion from India over a century of colonialism between 1765 and 1900 and USD 33.8 trillion of this went to the richest 10 per cent -- enough money to carpet London in notes of 50 British pound almost four times over.
'I am pursuing my PhD (finance) now. You will be interviewing me as Dr Venkatesh Iyer next time!'
'Spending by the middle class is limited with a focus on savings. However, there is buoyancy at the top-end.'
'The Bengali middle class, who never fully embraced Mamata Banerjee's policies, are now expressing their deep-seated frustration by spilling out on to the streets.'
'The finance minister missed yet another opportunity to simplify the income tax structure in the Budget.' 'This was an opportune moment to get rid of the old tax system entirely and move fully to the new system,' asserts M Govinda Rao, member of the 14th Finance Commission.
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