Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will set a record by presenting the sixth Budget in a row -- 5 annual Budgets and one interim -- a feat achieved so far only by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. With the presentation of interim Budget on February 1, Sitharaman will surpass the records of her predecessors like Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, who had presented five budgets in a row. Desai, as Finance Minister, had presented five annual Budgets and one interim Budget between 1959-1964. The interim Budget 2024-25 to be presented by Sitharaman on February 1, will be a vote-on-account that will give the government authority to spend certain sums of money till a new government comes to office after the April-May general elections.
Opposition parties on Monday slammed the government for ignoring the interests of farmers and said funds allocated in the General Budget for agriculture ministry were not sufficient.
Starting early will help departments to get funds faster.
A panel of Union ministers held a fourth round of talks with farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Sunday over their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP, as thousands of protesting farmers camped at the Punjab-Haryana border.
The government on Thursday imposed a 20 per cent export duty on non-Basmati rice except for parboiled rice to boost domestic supplies amid a fall in area under the paddy crop in the current Kharif season. According to a notification by the revenue department, an export duty of 20 per cent has been imposed on 'rice in husk (paddy or rough)' and 'husked (brown) rice'. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs further said the export of 'semi-milled or wholly-milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed(other than Parboiled rice and Basmati rice)' will also attract a customs duty of 20 per cent.
The 28 new ministers who joined the Chouhan cabinet on July 2 include 20 of cabinet rank and eight ministers of state.
Karnataka Minister for Sugar and Agriculture Marketing Shivanand Patil's statement that farmers wish for repeated droughts in the state so that their loans get waived has caused a stir, with the opposition on Monday terming it as an 'affront' to the farming community and seeking his removal from the Ministry.
The Indian crew onboard a crippled container vessel that collided against a key bridge in Baltimore last week is healthy , according to a nonprofit organisation that has been in touch with the personnel.
It seems time has come for foreign institutional investors and mutual funds to trade in bullion and energy Futures on commodity exchanges in India.
In an email sent to some journalists and two videos accessed by PTI, Pannun compared Mann with former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in a bomb blast on August 31, 1995.
The Centre on Friday said it will sell 'Bharat Rice' in the retail market at Rs 29 per kg from next week to give relief to the common man and has also directed traders to disclose rice/paddy stock, as part of its efforts to control prices that have risen by around 15 per cent in the last one year. In a press conference, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra exuded confidence that these two measures along with the various restrictions of exports will help in cooling down the prices. Seeking to dispel market rumours, he categorically said the government has no plans to lift restrictions on rice exports any time soon.
The fact that everyone but Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh is speaking on the issue only gives credence to the specious fears of farmers that this government is out to get them. Aditi Phadnis reports
The Agriculture Ministry has incurred an expenditure of Rs 67,99,750 on production of three promotional and two educational films on the farm laws for its wider publicity through electronic media, social media and webinars.
Elections are not won or lost by expounding on such macro-economic matters. For the aam admi, what matters in manifestos are promises that will improve their quality of life, notes Vinayak Chatterjee.
Gandhi's meeting with the wrestlers comes against the backdrop of a controversy surrounding the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
The distance between North Block and Mint Road has been growing for quite some time. The latest evidence of tension is the finance ministry's decision to introduce a clause in the Banking Amendment Bill allowing banks to trade in commodity futures, despite the central bank's reservations on the issue.
This is the fourth such recruitment drive proposed to be undertaken by the Narendra Modi government which had in 2018 initiated lateral entry.
Breaking a long tradition, the PMO has ensured that specific divisions in each ministry are allocated to junior ministers.
India has around 600,000 villages spread across the country.
The finance ministry on Thursday raised concerns over the possible impact of El Nio conditions on India this year, saying if recent forecasts came true, the country could see lower agricultural output and higher inflation. "Some meteorological agencies predict the return of El Nio conditions in India this year. "If these predictions are accurate, then monsoon rains could be deficient, leading to lower agricultural output and higher prices," the ministry said in its monthly economic review.
'In light of the events in Israel, Foreign Minister Cohen decided to cut short his diplomatic visit to India and return to Israel after the meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that will take place today'
Billionaire Gautam Adani to two Union Ministers and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis among others on Sunday hailed India crossing $4 trillion mark though there was no official confirmation if the country has achieved the landmark. The finance ministry and the National Statistical Office did not immediately comment on the viral social media post on India's GDP crossing $4 trillion. Highly placed sources said that the viral news was incorrect and India was still shy of that landmark.
The Centre, for the first time, has initiated a draft proposal for setting up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-like institute of national importance for animal health, education and research in Delhi to be called the All India Institute of Veterinary Sciences (AIIVS).
Its workers are on their toes to win over the voters once again, with idea of 'Amrit Kaal'.
The commerce ministry has endorsed India Inc's stand against signing a free trade agreement (FTA) with China until it becomes a market economy that follows transparent pricing of manufactured goods and services.
The Pakistan government on Monday appeared divided over resuming onion exports to India with the Agriculture Ministry not averse to lifting the ban but the Commerce Ministry has some reservations.
Maharashtra minister Dada Bhuse said the decision to impose export duty should have been taken with proper coordination.
After imposing 20 per cent export duty on non-basmati rice, the government has banned the export of broken rice with an aim to increase domestic availability, according to a government notification.
In a first, the Centre will start selling tomatoes at discounted rates in retail markets in the national capital and few other cities from Friday to provide relief to the consumers as the price of the kitchen staple is ruling high at over Rs 200 per kilogram in some parts of the country.
According to official sources, the scheme will support a new objective of asset creation along with its current job of funding project and schemes.
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.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Wednesday gave marching orders to cabinet minister Ashok Kumar Dohre for allegedly committing forgery and financial irregularities, it was officially disclosed in Lucknow.
The government has identified nine key focus areas in the AI national programme, including agriculture, education, Indian languages, smart cities, cybersecurity, transportation, and finance.
The Centre has taken a major step towards increasing efficiency in decision-making by empowering joint secretaries to report to secretaries directly, officials said on Wednesday.
Tomato prices are likely to touch Rs 300 per kilogram in the coming days and the prices of vegetables are also on the rise, according to wholesale traders. Kaushik, a member of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), said that vegetable wholesalers are facing losses as the sale of tomato, capsicum, and other seasonal vegetables has fallen drastically. He said that the prices of tomatoes have shot up to Rs 220 per kilo from Rs 160 per kilo in the wholesale market, owing to which retail prices can also go up.
The government has no plans to import wheat as it has sufficient stocks to meet the country's requirements, official sources said. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has enough stock for public distribution, they added. "There are no plans to import wheat into India. "The country has sufficient stocks to meet our domestic requirements," a source said.
Also, the monsoon this year may end up being the driest since 2015, which recorded a rainfall deficit of 13 per cent, they said.
The PM also said that the country does not face problems in farm production but in post-harvest losses and therefore efforts are being made to strengthen post harvest infrastructure facilities and ensure better income for farmers.
The Budget allocation for Ministry of Agriculture and allied activities has grown by 114% since 2010-11
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