Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the Indian economy is witnessing a strong recovery after a long and strict lockdown. Addressing a press conference to announce more stimulus measures to boost growth, she said macro-economic indicators are pointing towards recovery. She noted that COVID-19 active cases have declined from over 10 lakh to 4.89 lakh with case fatality rate (CFR) at 1.47 per cent.
The NPR data will be used for schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ujjvala and Saubhagya for identifying the intended beneficiaries.
According to insurers, the premium is quite low, claims are very high.
The income-tax department on Thursday nudged black money holders to make "honest" disclosures under the tax amnesty scheme -- Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana -- warning that non-declaration could attract 77.25 per cent tax and penalty along with prosecution.
"The theme of tomorrow's meeting is 'Economic Policy Reform, Road Ahead'. The prime minister will make opening remarks. There are 15 invitees who will make their presentations before the prime minister," a senior government official said.
In the Union budget, Rs 65,011.8 crore has been allocated to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, up from Rs 62,659.12 crore in 2019-20.
Mutual fund houses hold Rs 3,400 crore of Yes Bank's 'riskier' bonds. Reliance MF, Franklin Templeton MF and UTI MF account for bulk of these exposures.
In a letter to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has outlined his concerns about the faulty implementation of the Indira Awaas Yojana in the state.
RuPay is working on how to increase offers to customers. It is also focused on technology innovation in the card payment system.
The change in policy for the three companies, from listing to merger, shows the level of discomfort within the government about their ability to take on the expanded load for insurance coverage with their current financial strength, including the massive premium and claim settlement cover under the proposed universal health coverage plan announced in Budget 2018.
The PM said that the Union Budget will accelerate the economic growth, financially empower every citizen and strengthen the foundation of the economy in the new decade.
Investment in infrastructure was necessary for the economy, as power shortages, inadequate transport and poor connectivity affect overall growth performance, as per the Economic Survey 2019-20 tabled in Parliament by Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "To achieve GDP of USD 5 trillion by 2024-25, India needs to spend about USD 1.4 trillion (Rs 100 lakh crore) over these years on infrastructure so that a lack of infrastructure does not become a constraint to growth," it said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced several reforms.
All eyes will be on what the prime minister says as his August 15 addresses have often been marked by big announcements, his government's achievements and bringing to people's attention what he believes to be the major challenges facing the country.
Government sources said the GoM on coronavirus crisis also reviewed various measures being initiated by concerned ministries to allow partial economic activity in 'non-hotspot zones' from April 20.
With the price of a cylinder touching Rs 800, it's becoming increasingly unaffordable to an already price-sensitive population, threatening to risk one of the most-celebrated campaigns of the Modi regime, reports Twesh Mishra.
Replying to the general discussion on Budget in Lok Sabha, she said the former Congress chief was creating fake narratives but does not have patience to listen to replies on allegations levelled against the government.
A swift recovery in oil demand in India is not only helping the stability of the global market, it is giving huge fiscal headroom to the government in terms of additional excise duty.
Experts say the party is undoing what it achieved through MNREGA by targeting beneficiaries
The new governments will have to spend much more than Rs 220 billion in Rajasthan, more than Rs 160 billion in MP, and nearly Rs 30 billion in Chhattisgarh.
The special package assistance would be used to augment irrigation structures in drought-prone areas to address the agrarian distress and drinking water crisis.
It was reported that the new amnesty scheme would allow gold hoarders a chance to come clean on investment made using black money by declaring their possession and paying tax on it.
Demonetisation is the biggest reason for the rise in preference for small savings.
Sitharaman also announced Rs 10,000 crore fund to support 2 lakh micro food enterprises for promoting health and wellness, herbal, organic and nutritional products.
Former RBI governors Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan have also expressed worry about the Mudra scheme, particularly government's target-setting practice and the rising bad loans.
Mamata Banerjee accused Modi of trying to mislead the people with half-truth and distorted facts.
In his first poll rally for the April 6 assembly polls, Modi rooted for the Tamil language, culture and invoked the welfare legacies of M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, late chief ministers and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam icons.
As India gears up to vaccinate people above 60 years of age and those over 45 years with comorbidities against COVID-19 from March 1, the Union health ministry on Friday said the facility of on-site registrations will be available so that eligible beneficiaries can walk into identified vaccination centres, get themselves registered and get inoculated.
The idea is to monitor centrally sponsored schemes, partly funded schemes, loans, programmes and any other endeavour into which funds are pumped.
The vaccination rate needs to go up by three to four times, assert Ajay Shah and Amrita Agarwal.
Taking a sceptical view of MUDRA program, Shiv Sena sought to know when the distressed farmers get help and how does the government plan to curb their suicides.
The best option to reduce farm distress in the state is that when the rains fail, the state -- the central and the state government -- provide a financial cushion for the farmer
Though the apex court opined that 'cost of the treatment should not be higher at the present time', it also said that court is not equipped to either regulate cost of treatment or say what should be the best model of treatment for patients infected with coronavirus.
While law-abiding customers are harassed for KYC and have to comply with endless paperwork even to open and close accounts, DHFL could easily open nearly 260,000 fake home-loan accounts, reveals Debashis Basu.
The Union government on Tuesday gave formal clearance to upgrade 2,803 km of roads in Gujarat at a cost of Rs 992 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee campaigning in tribal Paschim Medinipur district on Thursday for the coming state election asked "Marxist friends" not to vote for either the CPI-M or Congress, who are "cohorts of the communal BJP".
The BJP's manifesto speaks about the Prime Minister's vision of making 'Atmanirbhar Bihar'.
Referred to as 'Badlav Patr (document of change)', Congress leader Randeep Surjewala and All India Congress Committee's Bihar in-charge Shakti Sinh Gohil presented the manifesto that promises farm loan waiver and 50 percent subsidy in electricity bills to farmers up to 100 units of consumption. The manifesto also promised that it will reject the Centre's farm laws if voted to power.
Prime Minister Modi has said it is their small units that drive the Indian economy.
According to official statistics, half of India's GDP comes from as many as 420 million workers in the unorganised sector including street vendors, rickshaw pullers, construction workers, rag pickers, agricultural workers, among others. This massive workforce remains outside the purview of the formal banking and insurance industries.
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