Reserve Bank, in its mid term review of the monetary policy on Friday, decided to hike short term policy rate by 0.25 per cent after a gap of two years and ease liquidity by reducing the marginal standing facility rate for banks.
Holding their first comprehensive Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) in Beijing on Monday, India and China have reached an understanding to deepen bilateral investment cooperation, further open up markets to each other and improve the investment environment.
Modernisation of agricultural marketing is important, says Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Aviation Minister Praful Patel's outburst against Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia is perhaps not difficult to understand since most people think it was actually Patel who should have been keeping an eye on the delays at the Delhi airport.
"The word populist has negative overtones, but I am sure (the) finance minister will present a popular Budget. However, we should maintain the mystery of the Budget and you have to wait and see what comes out," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Alhuwalia said.
The weapon carrying security personnel pushed journalists, who retaliated with more pushes and shoves.
The government, which had set a reserve price of Rs 14,000 crore for pan-India spectrum broadly drawing from the basis used by Comptroller and Auditor General in calculating the loss in the previous sale in 2008, managed a meagre Rs 9,407.64 crore (Rs 94.07 billion) in the auction that lasted barely two days.
Plans to increase price progressively.
The Reserve Bank of India is slated to announce its monetary policy review on January 29, amid industry demand for lowering of interest rates to spur growth.
Steps to raise funds could include an across-the-board increase in railway fares, senior officials said.
Even as the flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme continues to face problems at the implementation level, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, ignoring suggestions by Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other economists, has refused to bring any major change in the scheme.
Pitching for more public-sector role in health, Planning Commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Monday health and education are two areas where the private sector is welcome to make investments but the government needs to be dominant.
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and former Planning Commission member Kirit S Parikh, who heads an expert committee on fuel pricing, may join the deliberations, official sources said.
Attacking the government over the issue of price rise, the Bharatiya Janata Party said on Wednesday if the United Progressive Alliance dispensation was sincere in addressing the "burning issue" they should agree on a discussion in Parliament under a provision that entails voting.
Private power producers wanted the sub-market domestic coal prices to be averaged out with international price of imported coal so as to have a uniform fuel price and remove the disadvantage new projects faced as compared to older ones.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday faced protests over death of an SFI member from Left activists who also heckled her Finance Minister Amit Mitra outside the Planning Commission office in New Delhi.
According to sources, Finance Ministry favours a meagre hike of around 6 per cent in the Plan expenditure for next fiscal over budget estimate of the current financial year.
According to the Approach Paper to the 12th Plan, the Commission has pegged a plan expenditure of Rs 5.83 lakh crore (Rs 5.83 trillion) for 2013-14, which is around 12 per cent more than the budgeted plan expenditure for the current fiscal.
"The rest of the world should pass a motion of thanks to India for keeping its emission at a level which actually is below the level required to achieve climate sustainability," says Montek Singh Ahluwalia, a key member of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's economic team.
Costlier food items, including vegetables, pushed the October wholesale inflation to 7 per cent, the highest in the current financial year.
Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath said on Monday he was forewarned that the Plan panel would not allow him to achieve a 20 km-a-day road-building target.
According to principal advisor with the Planning Commission and former chief statistician, Pronob Sen, there were 40-45 million more people in the age group of 15-59 between 2004-05 and 2009-10. The unemployment rate has correspondingly fallen from 2.3 per cent to 2 per cent of the labour force.
Even though present times were fraught with challenges, there is still inherent, vast and untapped opportunity in India, concludes the 10th India Business Conference at Columbia Business School.
His statement came against the backdrop of a controversy kicked off by his email to Ahluwalia.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission made a presentation in which he pointed out the detailed process through which these targets were finalised and the high level of ambition they represent.
Broad convergence on GST rollout in NDC meet.
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Thursday that inflation would go up and hover between 4 and 5 per cent by the end of this year.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of senior ministers on Tuesday to discuss the recommendations of the National Advisory Council on the Food Security Bill.
Replying to a question related to the possibility of additional fiscal stimulus measures in the forthcoming Budget, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said: "We have started some discussion with the finance ministry. This is related to what should be an appropriate size for planned expenditure for 2009-10." In the interim Budget announced in February this year, the planned expenditure for 2009-10 was budgeted at Rs 2,85,149 crore.
Besides Parikh, Singh sent letters of appreciation to V L Chopra, B Mungekar and Anwarul Hoda indicating that they may not find a place in the reconstituted body.
The committee is expected to submit its report soon.
His outburst has to rank among the most bizarre episodes of two arms of the government fighting in public.
Farm activists say low MSP is fine, if salaries revised under the Sixth Pay Commission are lowered.
Under attack over the Rs 32 per capita per day (in urban India and Rs 26 per day per person in rural areas) cut off for poverty line, the Planning Commission on Monday distanced itself from the controversial definition presented to the Supreme Court saying it did not represent its views.
The term of the members of the Planning Commission is co-terminus with the Prime Minister and they would be submitting their resignations once the new government is formed after the ongoing general elections next month.
Some reactions to RBI's monetary policy announced on Monday.
Food inflation rose to 18.32 per cent for the week ended December 25, because of rise in prices of food items like onion, milk and meat.
The Goldman Sachs report that suggests the stock market, Nifty, could grow 17 percent to reach 7,000 by December. At this rate the country will be second to Korea, and better than China.
The Planning Commission may suggest an increase in education fees for higher education to Finance Minister P Chidambaram this year. Do you think this hike is justified?
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