A controversy broke out on Wednesday over whether or not West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was gheraoed by Left activists on Tuesday, ignored an advice to enter the Planning Commission building through the VIP gate.
Manmohan Singh, who also heads the government's Plan think-tank, complimented the internal Planning Commission for starting the process of mid-term appraisal in 'right earnest.'
International agencies and foreign private companies have their own agendas and are in no way accountable to the Indian people, the Left said.
As China's ruling CPC appointed 'fifth generation' leaders headed by Xi Jinping, high-level Sino-India contacts are set to resume this month starting with the Strategic Economic Dialogue, which would be followed by a likely visit of National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon in Beijing.
He is, however, hopeful that impact of recent reforms initiatives will manifest in the data for the second half of the fiscal.
Bernanke's remarks about the possibility of scaling back of stimulus with improvement in economic conditions sent the global stock markets including that of India into tizzy.
The National Committee on Direct Cash Transfers will have 11 cabinet ministers, two ministers of state with independent charge, the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, the Chairman UIDAI and the Cabinet Secretary as its members.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board on March 6 cleared the Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia's bid to launch an airline in India by joining hands with Tata Sons.
Ahead of the general elections, a slew of states and also the Centre had doled out sops to the marginalised sections, including the farmers and the poor.
Says govt and Vodafone would have a reasonable compromise.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa may have walked out of the National Development Council meeting on Thursday protesting against 10-minute cap on her speech, but this time limit had already been communicated to the states on Wednesday.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday sought to assure prospective American investors that India is a 'welcoming investment' destination where the climate is 'totally conducive' to such actions.
'We want the PM to be aware of the autocratic behaviour of the bureaucracy,' says CPI leader D Raja.
Says insurance and pension bills will be taken up in the forthcoming Budget Session.
Ahluwalia asks sector to share and absorb risks associated with concession agreements under PPP model.
India's infrastructure sector is poised for a big leap and offers significant investment opportunities for US businesses and other investors, Planning Commission Member B K Chaturvedi has said.
The document also recommends setting up of a high-level committee with the task of examining the option and asking it to submit a report within six months.
Seeking to set at rest controversy over Aadhar, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said that UID is a number and not an identity card.
According to sources, Ahluwalia and Rangarajan separately briefed Singh about the economic situation.
He feels much of the problems arise at the level of state governments rather at the central government level.
Planning Commission has submitted a proposal to the finance ministry for raising Rs 70,000 crore
Hailing Reserve Bank's decision to cut key rates, Plan panel on Tuesday said it would boost investments and hoped the measures will have significant effect on long term borrowing rates.
Ahluwalia, who was part of the team under then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh that started reform process in 1991, is presently with the International Monetary Fund, a post which he is expected to relinquish next month.
Amid threats that India's credit rating could be downgraded and a slowdown in the economy, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the government is taking several steps to boost investor confidence and more such measures may follow.
According to Ahluwalia, if everything goes well on the economic growth front for the next three months, then one can say that the economy will be back on higher growth trajectory in the long run.
The Reserve Bank of India announced measures late on Monday to curb the rupee's decline by tightening liquidity.
During Vajpayee's tenure, he was there as an indispensable insider, witness to every action that had an impact on history: Pokhran-II (nuclear tests in 1998), the 1999 Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan, the Indo-Pak Agra Summit in 2001, intense engagement with the United States on nuclear issues besides the Kandahar hijack.
According to latest Central Statistical Organisation's estimates, the economy will grow at a rate of 5 per cent in the current fiscal -- the lowest in over a decade.
The political storm over foreign consultants in the Planning Commission took a new turn on Wednesday amid indications that experts from the World Bank, McKinsey and ADB
Left economists in various committees of the Planning Commission on Tuesday threatened to resign if the government did not reconsider the decision to include foreign experts in consultations for the Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Plan.
The Planning Commission has suggested an investment of up to $30 billion from the burgeoning foreign exchange reserves of over $100 billion in the country.
Says govt's focus is to re-assure foreign investors that India is wide open for business.
The Planning Commission will soon set up a core group to coordinate relief work in areas affected by the December 26 tsunami disaster that left over 10,000 people dead and damaged property worth $ 1.5 billion.
