From All We Imagine As Light to Kishkindha Kaandam, these outstanding films deserved National Film Awards far more than several of this year's winners.
It is because dealing with a regulatory system that is largely headed by retired IAS officers then becomes relatively easy, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Congress party has strongly criticized the Union Budget, calling it 'lacklustre' and 'disappointing,' claiming it fails to address the needs of farmers, unemployed youth, and other key sectors.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday makes history as she presents a record ninth consecutive Budget that is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum, maintain fiscal discipline, and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.
Sitharaman took charge of the Finance Ministry on May 31, 2019, and has steered the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical turmoil, making India the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
Tough balancing act in the offing in the last budget of UPA-II.
P Chidambaram presented the Budget for the 9th time.
Tough balancing act in the offing in the last budget of UPA-II.
Savin Sa's 'Vaazha 2: Biopic of a Billion Bros' has officially joined the exclusive Rs 200 crore club, becoming the fifth Malayalam film to achieve this milestone and the first with rank newcomers in the lead, while also being ranked among the top five highest-grossing Malayalam films.
Inderjit Bindra, who raised Indian cricket on the world stage in the 1990s and early years of this century, passed into the ages on Sunday. 26 years ago, Mr Bindra spoke at length to Rediff about his vision for Indian cricket, an interview which we republish in his memory.
Here are some facts related to the Budget presentation in independent India.
'The preparedness of our defence forces and positioning of intelligence assets were very different in 2008, so we had to rebuild our assets and preparedness.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 will present a record eighth consecutive budget that is expected to contain measures to shore up weakening economic growth and ease the burden on the middle class struggling with high prices and stagnant wage growth while being fiscally prudent.
Congress leader and ex-finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the Union Budget was the "most capitalist" with nothing for the poor and farmers while sops were being provided to big industrialists turning India into a very "unequal country". At a press conference after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a Rs 39.45 lakh crore Budget, he said because of the ruling party's "brute majority" the Lok Sabha pass the Budget but people will reject it. He claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party was going to elections, scheduled in five states, not with their performance or with the promises and assurances to the people, but solely "with the agenda of dividing the country and bringing Hindutva back to power".
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
Higher Plan outlay in the Budget will provide stimulus to the economy and accelerate the growth process, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Monday. "The Budget for 2009-10 has been prepared with great skill and wisdom with the objective of stimulating the economy and returning to the high growth path," Chidambaram, who is also a former finance minister said in a statement on the Budget.
India's opposition parties have sharply criticized the Union Budget, calling it inadequate to address the country's economic woes and accusing the BJP-led government of using it to woo voters in Bihar and Delhi ahead of upcoming elections. Leaders from the Congress, TMC, DMK, SP, and CPI(M) voiced their disapproval, highlighting concerns over inflation, unemployment, and the lack of substantial measures to support the agricultural sector and the poor. They also criticized the tax cuts for the middle class as insufficient and coming too late after years of high taxes and rising prices.
The BJP has criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his explanation of decentralisation using a car and motorcycle engine analogy at a university in Colombia.
He argued that if inflation is low, stable and moving towards the 4 per cent target, why has the RBI not revised downward the bank rate fixed in June 2023?
Embark on a romantic escapade without worrying about the budget!
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies on Tuesday welcomed the Union Budget and said it focussed on youth, farmers, women, and has 'substantial allocations' for Maharashtra, but the opposition slammed the annual financial statement, claiming it neglected the western state and only seeks to please the saffron outfit's partners in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to create history when she presents her seventh straight Budget on Tuesday for the fiscal 2024-25, surpassing the record of former prime minister Morarji Desai. Sitharaman, who will turn 65 next month, was in 2019 appointed as India's first full-time woman finance minister when Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a decisive second term.
With the tablet carefully kept inside a red cover with a golden-coloured national emblem embossed on it instead of the briefcase, Parliament will be her next destination after the call on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Earlier, ratings agencies like Standard and Poor's and Fitch had threated to downgrade India's sovereign credit rating to junk grade in view of the worsening fiscal position of the government.
Interim Budgets are usually presented in an election year either just before the general polls or immediately after them.
The finance minister continues to be backed by the same policy team in charting out the broad strategy as in the few earlier Budgets.
Finance minister P Chidambaram assured a select gathering in New Delhi on Tuesday that Union Budget of 2013 will be presented on schedule. He expressed hope, that like it happened in 2004, it will not be passed without debating.
Investors would have much preferred a gritty, honest appraisal of the tough trade-offs.
The Opposition on Tuesday termed the Union Budget as a 'kursi bachao budget' driven by political compulsions and claimed that it ignored opposition-ruled states in a bid to 'appease' Bharatiya Janata Party's allies.
The 2013/14 Budget caps an intensive seven-month campaign by the energetic Chidambaram, who was appointed last August, to turn around the fortunes of Asia's third-largest economy after years of policy drift and global economic turmoil.
"The Railway Minister has presented a very responsible, practical and implementable budget," Chidambram told reporters outside Parliament.
Admitting there were challenges before the economy, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said at a post-Budget media conference that another set of decisions and measures would be announced during the Budget's passage in Parliament.
Indian industry expressed disappointment on Wednesday over Finance Minister P Chidambaram's Budget for 2007-08, raising concerns on lack of measures to increase productivity and for losing an opportunity to provide relief to the corporate sector.
Opposition MPs in India's Rajya Sabha raised concerns about US President Donald Trump's tariff threats, demanding the government clarify its response and engage in discussions with opposition parties. Leaders like P Chidambaram and Sagarika Ghose warned of potential economic repercussions, including depressed exports, lower FDI, and a significant tariff burden. The debate also touched on other issues such as the government's economic policies, demonetization, and the impact of GST on common citizens.
Dr Singh made this remark while releasing Chidambaram's book titled A View from Outside: Why Good Economics Works for Everyone in New Delhi on Monday.
Sheela Bhatt recounts the tension, suspense and disruptions during P Chidambaram's interim budget in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her sixth straight Budget ahead of the Parliamentary elections, matching the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Sitharaman in her pre-election Budget, which technically is a vote on account and popularly termed an interim Budget, will seek Parliament's nod for a grant in advance to meet the central government's essential expenditure for the first four months of the new fiscal year that starts in April. A new government elected after the April/May general elections will present the full Budget, likely in July.
Complimenting external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who also holds the charge of finance ministry, for the budget, Chidambaram said, "He (Mukherjee) had before him an unenviable task having to present an interim budget at the end of a difficult year caused by a global financial crisis.
