The amendments to the six-and-half-decade law provides that stock holding limit on commodities will only be imposed under exceptional circumstances like national calamities, famine with a surge in prices, the minister said.
The government on Tuesday informed Rajya Sabha that GST compensation of Rs 17,176 crore is pending to states as on June 2022. Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the Centre is giving GST compensation to states for five years. He said even during Covid times when no GST was collected, the Government of India had given compensation to states after taking loans of Rs 1.1 lakh crore and 1.59 lakh crore during 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Several major cyclones have hit various parts of India over the last 10 years. Here is a look at the notable among them.
Relying on the private sector to undertake infrastructure investment may not be a realistic proposition.
Automotive (auto) major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which is readying to launch nine sport utility vehicles (internal combustion engine/ICE), seven Born Electric Vehicles (BEVs), and seven light commercial vehicles by 2030, has outlined an investment of Rs 27,000 crore in its auto business between 2024-25 (FY25) and 2026-27 (FY27). Over the next three years, the company will deploy Rs 37,000 crore, including its auto business, farm business (Rs 5,000 crore), and service business (Rs 5,000 crore).
The Budget presented by the FM was expected to be highly populist in nature, but on the contrary it has turned out to be broadly one, that is expected to push for higher growth.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs 11.11 lakh crore spending on infrastructure and vowed to continue reforms as she resisted resorting to populist measures in Modi government's last Budget before general elections, instead choosing to stay on the path of cutting deficit while bolstering measures for focus groups.
'We will see a lot of investments from the private sector.' 'As long as we are not impacted by some global events, I think we will be in a strong place.'
Modi held a "productive meeting" with his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed Ali on a day when BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders officially endorsed Ethiopia's entry into the bloc.
The government may not be able to put in place the Digital India Act, which aims to replace over 23 years old IT Act 2000, before the next general election, as there is not much time left for extensive consultation, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday. While speaking at the Global Technology Summit 2023, the minister, however, said the rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act will be out later this month for consultation and are expected to be notified by the end of December or early January. Chandrasekhar said the existing IT Act doesn't even have the word internet, and there is a consensus that it can be safely superseded and replaced.
Analysts and economists have hailed the fiscal projections in the interim Budget, saying the lower fiscal deficit forecast shows that the government, even in an election year, is serious about fiscal consolidation and that the numbers look achievable. According to Devendra Kumar Pant, the chief economist at India Ratings, the two broad themes of the interim Budget are fiscal consolidation and stepping up focus on agriculture/rural to course correct, to some extent, the differential benefits of the ongoing economic growth that's tilted in favour of upper-income bracket/urban households. The projected fiscal deficit numbers for FY24 and FY25 suggest that the government is serious about achieving the fiscal consolidation path of 4.5 per cent fiscal deficit by FY26, and given the nominal GDP growth assumption and revenue buoyancy, the target appears plausible, Pant said in a note.
The interim Budget proposals that will be presented on February 1 in the backdrop of the general elections scheduled in April/May 2024 are likely to have a hint of populism, believe analysts, but are unlikely to derail the government from its path of fiscal prudence.
In reflection of their growing congruence in areas of defence and security, the two sides, following the Modi-Mitsotakis talks, agreed to set up an institutional dialogue at the level of national security advisors, and boost defence industrial cooperation.
'The prime minister's comment on 'revdi culture' was welcome. But I am disappointed he did not follow up on that.' 'All political parties, including the BJP, have been guilty of this.' 'Now, Modi's guarantees, the Congress's 'nyay' path and both ruling and Opposition parties are vying with each other for freebies in my home state Andhra Pradesh.'
In a press statement, the foreign ministry here said 10 Nepali nationals lost their lives in the recent attack by Hamas in Israel.
'While every year presents new challenges, it also provides opportunities for better growth and performance.'
Municipal corporations penalise late property tax payments. 'Penalties can include attachment of properties, bank accounts, rent and other movable assets," says Anand Moorthy, co-founder, Square Yards.
States have been told to prepare in advance to counter any impact of an adverse southwest monsoon.
Narendra Modi is India's most successful prime minister and the greatest global leader of current generation, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said on Wednesday as he flaunted his group Reliance Industries' Gujarati heritage and its over USD 150 billion (Rs 12 lakh crore) investment in last 10 years.
Consensus remained elusive on a common BRICS currency as business leaders from the five-bloc nations debated the pivotal issue at a business forum on the periphery of a summit of the five-member bloc being hosted here by South Africa. In their two addresses at the Summit so far, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have made no or scant references to the issue either. "The BRICS Business Forum discussed the international payments system in detail. "Participants also debated the question of whether a BRICS currency is possible or desirable, with strong views expressed both for and against and little consensus reached," Sim Tshabalala, chief executive of Standard Bank Group, told several hundred captains of industry from the partner countries and over 40 other nations across the globe at the Summit.
Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, the wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has filed a Rs 10 crore defamation suit against Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi for 'false' allegations of irregularities in a food processing project.
Days after JP Morgan announced the inclusion of government bonds in its emerging market (EM) bond index, a host of banks and other financial institutions (FIs) are set to tap the debt market. They plan to raise Rs 18,000 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and bonds. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) plans to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore via five-year social impact bonds on Tuesday, the first of its kind in India.
India's economy grew 7.6 per cent in the September quarter of this fiscal and remained the fastest-growing large economy, mainly due to better performance by manufacturing, mining and services sectors, the government data showed on Thursday. The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 6.2 per cent in the July-September quarter of 2022-23. India remained the fastest-growing major economy, as China posted a 4.9 per cent growth in July-September 2023.
Mobile phones and TV sets manufactured in India would become cheaper with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing cuts in Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on import of their components but smokers would have to pay more as the government has increased taxes.
'Whatever I did, I did for the farmers and whatever I am doing, I am doing for the country'
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy on Tuesday sought a massive central assistance of over Rs 31,000 crore (Rs 310 billion) for accelerating the development in various sectors in the state.
Adani Total Gas Ltd, the joint venture of billionaire Gautam Adani's group and French energy giant TotalEnergies, will invest Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore in the next 8 to 10 years to expand infrastructure for retailing CNG to automobiles and piping gas to households and industries, its CFO said. The company retails CNG to automobiles and pipes gas to household kitchens for cooking purposes in 52 licences that cover 124 districts of the country. It has 460 CNG stations in the country and about 7 lakh consumers of its piped cooking gas.
Could the MPCE survey results be used as a basis of reconstructing the Consumer Price Index with new weights, asks Madan Sabnavis.
'People in politics have lost the value of being connected to their own people.' 'Now it's all about vote share, vote bank, how many parties can you break and make them join you.'
Projecting a 7 per cent growth rate in 2005-06, government's pre-budget Economic Survey on Friday outlined reforms in tax and expenditure and labour laws as a priority in the budget.
While some states have kicked in their heat action plans, experts feel this is not enough to tackle the current extreme weather.
The Lok Sabha contest in Thiruvananthapuram is shaping up to be a significant battle involving key candidates like Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Panniyan Ravindran. This three-cornered fight highlights the political dynamics in Kerala's capital city, with each candidate bringing their own vision and promises for the region's development, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Senior citizens of 75 years and above having pension income and interest from fixed deposit in the same bank would not be required to file income tax returns for the financial year beginning April 1.
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.
After inaugurating development projects worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore for boosting the agri-economy in the Union territory, Modi said he was "elated to be among the wonderful people of Srinagar".
A provision of Rs 15,000 crore has been made in the budgetary estimate of 2016-17 towards interest subvention.
'The BJP's real weapons are Hindutva, organisation and finance.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party has released its manifesto for the upcoming Nagaland assembly elections, promising a special package for the eastern part of the state and establishment of a board for the holistic development of the region if the party returns to power for the second time in a row.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar was given the finance and planning portfolio on Friday, nearly two weeks after he broke away from the original party and took oath as Maharashtra's deputy chief minister.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances