In a first since last year's state elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday held a 'courtesy meeting' with Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari at her chamber in the state assembly, raising eyebrows in political circles.
The Centre has increased the premium rates for its flagship insurance schemes, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), for the first time in seven years due to "long-standing adverse claims experience", and to make them economically viable. The premium for PMJJBY would increase from Rs 330 to Rs 436 a year effective June 1, and the PMSBY premium would rise from Rs 12 to Rs 20, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement. PMJJBY provides life insurance cover worth Rs 2 lakh to all account holders aged 18-50 years.
"People ask me why I am wearing this white T-shirt, don't I feel cold. I will tell you the reason. When the yatra began... in Kerala, it was hot and humid. But when we entered Madhya Pradesh, it was slightly cold.
The Delhi government has included Vailankanni Church in Tamil Nadu to the list of pilgrimage sites under its free pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Wednesday.
India has put curbs on wheat exports through the government route, starting November last year. This comes amid a surge in domestic prices of the cereal. In December, India exported 391 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh and Bhutan. In November 2022, it had exported 375 tonnes of wheat only to Bhutan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that action against corrupt people in the country has resulted in a new polarisation in national politics, with certain political groups openly trying to get organised into a unit to save those facing graft charges.
Following are the highlights of the Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled in Parliament on Tuesday
Notwithstanding expectations of a pick-up in construction activity during a seasonally strong January-March quarter (fourth quarter) of 2022-23 (FY23), analysts are cautiously optimistic about the building material sector - encompassing paints, pipes, wood panels, tiles, metals, and cement - as volatile input costs, coupled with fears of a global slowdown, are making demand projections uncertain. Against this backdrop, analysts suggest investors stay selective and pick stocks of companies with stronger brand recall, expanding distribution network, diversified product profile, healthier balance sheet, and sustainable cash flow. "The government's various proposals under Budget 2023-24 (FY24) may lead to the building material segment growing between 8 per cent and 12 per cent for the next five years.
Old ideas contained in the heads of old economists still dominate. That's not good, asserts T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
A total of 22.05 crore applications were received during the period.
Prime Minister Modi last week called for optimal grain storage, fire audits and mock drills in hospitals as preparations for the harsh summer forecast by the meteorological department.
Why did Karnataka's economic prosperity fail to influence the nature of electoral promises made by political parties in the run-up to the assembly elections? asks A K Bhattacharya.
The Congress had moved the motion on Wednesday, targeting the Chouhan government over law and order, unemployment, inflation, corruption, 'discrimination' against the opposition legislators, atrocities against women and tribals, farmers' problems and other issues.
She is the first lady to be deployed on the Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield.
The government on Wednesday extended by three months its programme to provide free rations to the poor at a cost of Rs 44,762 crore as it looked to ease pain from high inflation and make political gains in the upcoming Gujarat elections.
On the other hand, the Yogi Adityanath government has 'completed nine lakh houses under the scheme and 14 lakh are under construction', Modi said, reeling out comparative figures.
In her first address to the joint sitting of Parliament as the Budget session began, she said 'Amrit Kaal', described by the government as the 25-year period culminating in the centenary of India's independence, is the time to build an India which is 'aatmanirbhar' (self reliant) and also fulfils its humanitarian obligations.
The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was launched in March 2020 to provide free 5 kg foodgrains per person per month to about 80 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to reduce their hardship during the lockdown period. This was over and above the general allocation under the NFSA.
Two years after the Centre's flagship village electrification scheme Saubhagya concluded with the government claiming 99.9 per cent success, several states have added close to 1.1 million rural households that remain to be connected to the electricity grid. This new list includes earlier unwilling households that have now agreed to have a metered connection and also those built or discovered in the states' surveys since 2019. Assam and Uttar Pradesh are the states that have the majority of such new additions.
Blame the voter, who invariably chooses the promise of hand-outs today in preference to a vague promise of, say, better schools tomorrow. Getting the Supreme Court to issue an edict, or Parliament to pass a law, is no solution, observes T N Ninan.
Public sector banks have lost nearly Rs 2.85 lakh crore on account of loan dues of 13 corporates even as the banks are used to bail out ailing financial institutions such as Yes Bank and IL&FS, United Forum of Bank Unions alleged on Monday. In a press release, UFBU's convener B Rambabu said the organisation calls for a two-day all India bank strike on December 16 and 17 protesting against Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021 and opposing the Centre's alleged move to privatise PSBs. According to the statistics given by the UFBU, the 13 corporates' outstanding dues were at Rs 486,800 crore and it was resolved at Rs 161,820 crore resulting in a loss of Rs 284,980 crore.
Per capita income has more than doubled to Rs 1.97 lakh in around nine years. Indian economy has increased in size from being 10th to 5th largest in the world in the past nine years. Seven priorities of the Budget, 'Saptarishi', are inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector.
NPS is a cost-effective instrument with low fund management and other fees. Unlike in mutual funds, investors get the benefit of tax-free rebalancing here.
Union finance secretary T V Somanathan recently said the Centre had saved Rs 10,000 crore in FY22 on interest payments after adopting new accounting mechanisms for central government agencies and centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) for state governments. Speaking at an event, Somanathan said due to these, there was an unspent balance of Rs 1.2 trillion with state agencies from CSS as on March 31, 2022. This means this amount will be reduced from the Centre's borrowing for now and it can be considered a short-term saving for the exchequer.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the price of domestic cooking gas cylinder has been raised by Rs 50 and that of commercial gas cylinder by Rs 350 at a time when every person in the country is facing the brunt of high inflation.
A video showing author and philanthropist Sudha Murthy bowing before the leader of a right wing outfit in Maharashtra has gone viral, evoking sharp reactions.
In the coming few weeks, agriculture markets in North and Central India will be full of wheat, mustard, and chana - the three main rabi crops grown in these parts. Not only will the price trajectory of these determine the course of food inflation in the months to come, but it could also have a wider impact on the rural economy in the main growing states for these crops. Wheat and chana are largely grown in Madhya Pradesh (MP).
The excise duty cut will translate into a reduction of Rs 9.5 a litre on petrol and Rs 7 a litre in diesel after taking into account its impact on other levies.
Announcing a Re 1 crop insurance scheme for farmers, the deputy CM said the government will bear the financial burden of Rs 3,312 crore.
When a former police constable was appointed Gujarat unit chief, everyone was surprised. Now workers are laying bets on when he will be elevated to the Union Cabinet, notes Aditi Phadnis.
The government on Monday ruled out making public the RBI report detailing the reasons why the central bank could not keep inflation within the targeted 6 per cent upper limit for the three consecutive quarters. "Yes sir, RBI has furnished a report to the central government, as mandated under Section 45ZN of the RBI Act, 1934 and Regulation 7 of RBI Monetary Policy Committee and Monetary Policy process Regulations, 2016," minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply. The said provisions of the RBI Act, 1934, and regulations therein does not provide for making the report public, he said.
Net direct tax collection in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal rose by 41 per cent to Rs 3,54,569.74 crore, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Lok Sabha. During the April-June period of 2021-22, the government had collected a net direct tax of Rs 2,50,881.08 crore. At the same time, net indirect tax collection including Goods and Services Tax (GST) and custom duty increased by 9.4 per cent to Rs 3,44,056 crore as against Rs 3,14,476 crore in the first quarter of the previous fiscal, he said in a written reply.
Alleging that a government working against the citizens is at the helm, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday announced a new platform 'Insaaf' to fight 'injustice' prevailing in the country and called on everyone, including Opposition parties' chief ministers and leaders, to support him in his endeavour.
"There has been a 0.05 percentage points decline in the share of allocation for child budget to the Union Budget from 2.35 per cent (2022-23 BE) to 2.30 per cent (2023-24 BE).
The middle class is a big force to fulfil dreams of a prosperous and developed India and our government has taken many decisions to empower it, the prime minister said.
The government on Thursday kept interest rates unchanged on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, for the second quarter of 2022-23 amid high inflation and rising interest rate. The interest rate on small savings schemes has not been revised since the first quarter of 2020-21. Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will continue to have an annual interest rate of 7.1 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively, in the second quarter of this fiscal.
The Union Budget on Wednesday outlined several initiatives to drive India's technology agenda and boost digital infrastructure, including new centres of excellence for artificial intelligence, National Data Governance Policy, and Entity DigiLocker.
He also said that infrastructure development in the country in the last eight years has been done with a human touch.
Migrant workers play a very vital role in building the nation and their rights cannot be ignored at all, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while asking the Centre to devise a mechanism so that they receive food grains without ration cards.
'For free supply of drugs and medicines itself, almost Rs 20,000 crores would be required.'
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