India has achieved 100 per cent electrical connectivity, but 100 per cent electrification remains a long-drawn task, says Shreya Jai.
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.
Here are the key highlights of the Interim Budget 2019-20 presented by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Indian auto and pharma industries import several critical components and raw materials from China.
To prevent rise in air pollution levels, oil marketing companies and thermal power units were planning to procure stubble from farmers to make bioethanol and promote the central government's 'Agricultural Mechanization' for crop residue management. But both have seen minimal success.
But it is disappointing to note that Sitharaman's third Union Budget continues to promote a few problematic ideas, observes A K Bhattacharya.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India president Anurag Thakur, on Thursday, wrote an emotional letter to all state association stating that "in light of recent comments made against Indian Premier League, all members need to collectively decide, whether to stop this 'extravaganza'."
Move seen as countering fund houses' plan to sell life covers.
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.
This feat was achieved 25 years after the mutual funds industry was opened to private players. The industry now aims to achieve the next Rs 25 trillion in 5 years.
'Let us hope that this Budget delivers.' 'It needs 10 per cent plus real GDP growth in 2021-22, the rebound year,' notes Omkar Goswami.
The implementation of four labour codes in one go from April 1 next year will usher in a new wave of reforms in industrial relations and also help in attracting more investments but employment generation will remain a key challenge in 2021. This year has also been a challenging year for the work force as well as for employers due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government imposed a nationwide lockdown from March 25, which had an adverse impact on economic activities and resulted in exodus of migrant workers from large cities to their homes in the hinterland. Many migrant labourers lost their jobs and it took months for them to return back to their work places from their native places.
A first in 7 years, the combined institutional investor flow stands at Rs 69,000 crore in 2016-17
In the second policy review under Governor Shaktikanta Das, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee voted 4:2 in favour of the rate cut.
The government should now focus on governance and monitoring the supply side to manage inflation, says M V Subramanian.
Nomura expects the fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent for 2016-17 to be met and to be consolidated further to 3 per cent of GDP in 2017-18.
Investors pumped in more than Rs 37,000 crore (Rs 370 billion) in various mutual fund schemes in May taking the total funds mobilisation during the first two months of the current fiscal to Rs 1.44 lakh crore.
UDAN demonstrates that good policy-making can fulfill important public requirements without requiring budgetary support, says MoS for civil aviation Jayant Sinha.
The Code on Social Security, 2020 gives a lot of comfort to gig firms which recognise cab drivers or food delivery executives as 'independent contractors' who directly do business with customers with the help of their digitised platforms.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley counter Rahul Gandhi's attack over issues related to the JNU, intolerance, inflation and foreign policy.
As much as Rs 3,204 crore (Rs 32.04 billion) of bank deposits by mutual funds will move out of the banking system from mid-July following a new rule
We have to wait and see whether Jaitley's Budget speech translates into actions and desired outcomes, says T N C Rajagopalan.
Rose Valley is one of the biggest money businesses after Sahara.
The 0.5 per cent Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC) on all services increases the total tax chargeable on services to 15 per cent, making it expensive to dine out or travel.
For states like West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, where migration is high, the return of workers could be as much an opportunity as a liability. All states have launched portals to register migrant workers; additional fields like nature of employment and remuneration in the past 2-3 years are being added to help in skill mapping.
Dilip Kumar Jha explains what the buyers must do to protect their own interest.
Sluggish economy, high bullion prices and consumer shift towards cheaper gifting options such as electronic goods and mobiles have taken the sheen off gold
'The amount involved could as high as Rs 3,500 crore as there are a lot of depositors.' 'Yesterday, I met an investor who put in Rs 4 crore. That man doesn't have Rs 2,000 to spend on medicines.'
'Around 15 crore poor people have lost their money.'
'Whoever owns the best chip industry will be the Saudi Arabia of the era of data,' predicts Rajeev Srinivasan.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the fiscal deficit slippage this financial year (2017-18) was largely statistical.
How investors can tweak their fixed income investments to earn more in the current environment.
'The next fiscal year will be a good one.'
Even if the same party returns to power, what is important to debate is that having introduced an entitlement, how challenging it is to reverse such decisions, says Mukesh Butani.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
'The variables to watch include the monsoon, resolution of NBFC liquidity issues, GST collections, and NPA resolution.'
The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday passed a bill providing internal reservation of 10.5 per cent for Vanniyars, a most backward community in government jobs and in admission to educational institutions.
The G-20 leaders under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia's King Salman held an extraordinary video conference in which they resolved to use all available policy tools to minimise the economic and social damage from the pandemic that has killed over 21,000 people and infected more than 470,000 globally.
A combination of ELSS or PPF with a term plan offers better coverage and returns
Finance ministry maintains that all KYC requirements will be followed.
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