According to the latest report from Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN), a voluntary effort started in March 2020 to mobilise relief for stranded migrant workers, almost 92 per cent workers, whom the group contacted between April 21 and May 31, had not received any money from their employer. This was after restrictions were imposed and work had stopped. The survey, which was conducted among 1,396 worker groups, adding up to 8,023 people that included 4,836 women and children, showed that 76 per cent of the workers had less than Rs 200 left with them.
In its appeal, the doctors' body said the government should promote universal free vaccination to all above 18 years of age without leaving the vaccines to the extent of 50 per cent to the states and private hospitals.
No longer Bengal's finance minister, Amit Mitra, Mamata's principal chief advisor, will still advise and aid the 'chief minister and finance department on all matters relating to management of state finance', represent the 'state government in national and international events/meetings/committees' and examine 'important proposals/files and policy issues relating to financial matters referred to him for advice/views'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party was committed to taking tough steps to rid India of corruption, nepotism and law and order challenges.
The Centre has ruled out door-to-door vaccination of people and said the inoculation will be done at identified COVID Vaccination Centres, both government and private, registered on COWIN for 'good, germane and rational reasons'.
Launching the Ayushman Bharat scheme via a video-conference to extend health insurance benefits to all residents of Jammu and Kashmir, he said the three-tier panchayat system has fully taken shape in the UT, describing it as a realisation of Mahatma Gandhi's dream of 'gram swaraj' (village self-rule).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of providing free inoculation to all adults will entail total spending of anywhere between Rs 45,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore. This is higher than Rs 35,000 crore that the government had budgeted.
The establishment of these medical colleges will add at least 15,700 MBBS seats in the country.
The Covid pandemic has left a question mark on how the central government manages its staff.
Women and children have been given short shrift with these crucial sectors facing substantive budgetary cuts, discovers Rashme Sehgal.
'This is a long haul, god knows where it will end.' 'So it is best to conserve all the funds right now for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.'
Free provision of food, cash transfers, and jobs in villages see enhanced flow of funds despite a precipitous fall in revenue. Till May, defence spend was nearly 30 per cent less than the previous year.
Rediff.com does a quick checklist on what the two manifestos have to say on hot-button issues of the day.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said the central bank's asset purchases, aimed at mitigating COVID-19-related liquidity stress in the system, did not dilute its balance sheet or compromise on core principles of central banking. In the wake of the pandemic, the RBI undertook several conventional and unconventional measures. "Unlike many central banks, the RBI's asset purchases did not dilute its balance sheet and hence, did not compromise on core principles of central banking," Das said while addressing an event organised by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce. These purchases were confined to risk-free sovereign (government) bonds including state government securities only, he said.
In his four-page letter in Hindi, the PM said that better infrastructure and rule of law are imperative for social and economic prosperity and only the NDA can provide that in Bihar.
"GOI's inaction is killing many innocent people," Rahul said.
The notion that the BJP gained its increased tally by wiping out the Left parties and the Congress is completely misleading. Equally misleading is the belief that the TMC held its ground in all its existing seats. A little more than a fifth of the seats Mamata Banerjee's party had won in 2016 was lost to the BJP this time.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting five measures to conserve money for the fight against COVID-19, including a complete ban on media advertisements by government and PSUs for two years and suspending the Central Vista beautification project.
That's a big change that was made possible due to corporate tax cuts. Corporation tax collection in FY22 will be lower than even the FY18 levels, reports
This step by the Modi government is in the right direction and will go a long way in safeguarding the interests of socially and economically backward communities, asserts Professor T V Kattimani, Vice-Chancellor, Central Tribal University, Andhra Pradesh, Vizianagaram.
Banks have collected about 1,500 kg of gold from temples and trusts under the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) since its launch last November.
With the flood situation in Assam remaining critical on Monday and affecting a population of nearly 43 lakh in 33 of its 35 districts, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed air dropping of food and other relief materials in areas where there is heavy inundation, officials said.
Govt may tighten presumptive taxation norms and also do away with some deductions.
The Congress won 77 seats or 42% of seats in the 2017 polls. How then can Gujarat be called a BJP bastion, asks Sanjeev Nayyar.
'A proposal to do away with labour laws is not feasible.' 'That's why we wanted to have a dialogue with the states.'
Critics argue that much more could have been done and that the government was slow to react to many events.
The health and family welfare ministry spent 70 per cent of its allocation till October. The ministry may need additional funds for the vaccination drive which is expected to be kicked off from January.
Of the 23 companies, eight have raised funds after Shark Tank India.
Each of the larger states may need less than Rs 10,000 crore each to finance the exercise.
"The way in which UP has controlled the second Covid wave and stopped its spread is unprecedented," the prime minister, who arrived at his parliamentary constituency earlier in the morning on Thursday, said while addressing a gathering.
I suggest we build a Vigyan Mandir (Temple of Science) with the ambience of a place of worship, so that it becomes a destination for pilgrims. We should embed on its walls bronze plaques describing each scientist mentioned here along with about a dozen of our ancient mathematicians, recommends Professor Kalyan Singhal, historian of science and technology.
As per the recommendations of the 2nd National Commission on Labour, the ministry is codifying existing 44 central labour laws into four codes by simplifying, amalgamating and rationalising the relevant provisions of the legislations.
Reserve Bank on Wednesday announced a slew of measures including loan restructuring for individual and small businesses hit hard by fresh COVID-19 wave. To augment supply of goods for COVID care, the central bank opened Rs 50,000 crore on-tap window to ease access to emergency health services to boost provision of immediate liquidity for ramping up COVID-19 related healthcare infrastructure and services in the country. This liquidity window is being opened till March 31, 2022, he said, adding that under the scheme, banks can provide fresh lending support to a wide ranging of entities including vaccine manufacturers, importers and suppliers of vaccine and medical devices, hospitals and dispensaries and suppliers of oxygen and ventilators importers and also patients for treatment.
It also opposed the suggestion that the contributions be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund.
This was the one Budget that required radical departures on all these fronts, when it had none, asserts, Shreekant Sambrani.
India does not have a stringent privacy or data protection Act.
Shortage of ICU beds, oxygen, ventilators, vaccines, doctors, nurses and crematorium space in India has dominated headlines around the world in the past few weeks with Covid-19 cases surging beyond control and the government failing to deliver. Yes, election rallies, Kumbh Mela, blatant flouting of social distancing and mask protocols coupled with a messy vaccination process are said to be responsible for the health crisis of colossal proportions that India is facing today. But an analysis of Budget speeches made by finance ministers over 75 years also offers a glimpse of how low on the priority list healthcare has featured for the political class and policy-makers, which is a significant reason for the current situation.
After assuming power in 2014 with a full majority of its own, the BJP-led NDA government started an ambitious process of reforming labour laws in the form of codes aimed at making the framework less cumbersome with a variety of alterations. It had planned four codes each for industrial relations, wages, social security and welfare, and occupational safety, health and working conditions. To this end, 35 central labour laws were to be converted into four codes that would have had the virtue of streamlining labour relations. But none of the proposed code Bills could be converted into a law principally because neither trade unions nor industry representatives came on board. They hold the key to India's low-growth-high unemployment paradigm but the government may struggle to push them through this time as well. Somesh Jha explains why
The Left party had favoured spending six and three per cent of GDP on education and health care sectors.
The indebtedness of Indian companies has had an adverse impact on the economy's investment climate apart from weakening their performance and seriously impairing the financial health of the banking sector. Unless both the problems are resolved, there is little chance of reviving investment and boosting growth on a sustainable basis, says A K Bhattacharya.
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