Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday sought to highlight his government's accomplishments at the meeting of the Planning Commission in New Delhi.
"The recent increase in diesel prices is an important step in the right direction," he said while addressing the meeting of the Full Planning Commission which was called to approve the 12th Five Year Plan document.
Faulty Jan data blamed on festival holiday; govt to form review panel
The government may take a crucial decision on Saturday to withdraw from a score of small centrally-sponsored schemes and programmes whose annual budget is less than Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion).
The growth projections for air passenger traffic suggest an additional requirement of 30 functional airports over the next five years and 180 in the next decade, according to Planning Commission estimates.
The Confederation of Indian Industry has pegged the requirement for investment at Rs 280 lakh crore ($4.7 trillion) for five years beginning 2014-15 to make the economy grow by seven per cent a year on an average.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday pegged India's growth this financial year at 6.5-7 per cent. He added the country had taken various steps to boost investment, the results of which would be seen in six months.
Terming the 5.5 per cent GDP growth as "good news", Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today expressed confidence that economy would rebound in subsequent quarters.
The Group of Ministers, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, met on Monday for discussion with Union ministry secretary-level officers.
Ministries seek more discussions, Cabinet defers decision.
The committee, to be constituted in a couple of months, would take a comprehensive view on the entire method of estimating poverty, including the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011.
Enthused by the estimated 8.1 per cent growth in 2003-04, Planning Commission on Friday said the targeted 8 per cent annual growth during the Tenth Plan period was now within the realms of possibility.
Interview with Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.
The government's decision to release the reports comes two days after over 200 scholars from across the globe issued a statement demanding release of all withheld reports produced by the NSO, including the household consumer expenditure survey that was junked.
A total of 112 government websites belonging to various state government agencies, Planning Commission and Finance Ministry were hacked in the three- month period ending February 2012, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
Holding their first comprehensive Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) in Beijing on Monday, India and China have reached an understanding to deepen bilateral investment cooperation, further open up markets to each other and improve the investment environment.
Differing with International Monetary Fund's growth forecast of 4.9 per cent for India during 2012, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said it has a statistical problem.
Raise diesel prices or else face a situation similar to the recent grid failure which led to complete blackout across 20 states for hours, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Friday.
The Indian economy grew by 4.9 per cent in 2013-14 fiscal.
Corporations and business associations must strengthen their direct communications and consultations with citizens - and earn the trust of society.
A fund, Essential Air Services Fund or EASF, will be created for paying the subsidy.
The Planning Commission on Friday said the economy is expected to grow between 6-6.5% in the current fiscal
The presidential election has really come as a boon to the four-month-old Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh, which received a largesse of nearly Rs 80,000 crore from the Centre on Wednesday.
Attacking the government over the issue of price rise, the Bharatiya Janata Party said on Wednesday if the United Progressive Alliance dispensation was sincere in addressing the "burning issue" they should agree on a discussion in Parliament under a provision that entails voting.
Despite rising subsidy bill, says fuel price action and other steps in contemplation would keep it at 5.3% of GDP, not more
Good intentions are best left to political parties, governments and religious establishments, suggests T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday the government will focus on modernising the agricultural marketing system and brining in private players to this sector in the 12th Five Year Plan beginning 2012.
The Full Planning Commission is all set to approve the 12th Plan document that seeks to raise the average annual economic growth during the five-year period ending March 2017 to 8.2 per cent from 7.9 per cent achieved in the previous Plan on Saturday.
The government is trying to promote infrastructure development through PPP projects and has suggested the state should pick projects under this mode in a big way.
The original reforms trio of 1991, which showed the way for the opening up of the Indian economy, is now back with a bang. At that time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was Narasimha Rao's finance minister, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia was his finance secretary and Rangarajan was the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. They set the ball rolling and became the "reform priests", a journey which has come full circle today.
Manmohan Singh will call a Cabinet meeting on Friday to take final call on extension of the Unique Identification Authority of India project, under which national identity cards are issued to entire population.
Home Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia rejected reports that they were locked in a turf war over the ambitious UIDAI project to give every Indian resident a unique ID number Aadhar.
Besides, the economic growth in the January-March quarter last fiscal was at nine-year low of 5.3 per cent.
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.
The CEOs, sources said, also discussed the steps to raise domestic production of coal.
There were reports that some Commission officials were against the Rajan panel's suggestion to replace Gadgil- Mukherjee formula with Rajan Committee's Multi Dimensial Index for allocation funds to states.
It is time to shrug off the ideological shackles about the way we work, play and live, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
