India needs to spread irrigation and do so against a backdrop of rising water scarcity and depleting groundwater resources
The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Tuesday announced 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in the judicial services, and the state-run law colleges and universities.
Many has termed the state government's move of considering 'third gender' a separate caste in the ongoing exercise as a 'criminal act'
The ban is also estimated to have prevented 18 lakh men in the state from becoming overweight or obese, it said.
With general elections on the horizon, the government's privatisation bandwagon has almost but stalled as a government wary of being accused of selling family silver opts for minority stake sales on stock exchanges over outright privatisation. The result -- the divestment target for current fiscal year is again likely to be missed. Big ticket privatisation plans such as that of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and CONCOR are already on the backburner and analysts feel meaningful privatisation can happen only after April/May general elections.
It further pointed out that the twin balance sheet problem -- at the end of banks and corporate -- more attractive interest rates for borrowers in the bond market and from non-banking financial institutions are other reasons for slow bank credit growth.
The unemployment rate for persons of 15 years and above in urban areas slipped to 8.7 per cent in October-December 2021 from 10.3 per cent in the year-ago quarter, showed a periodic labour force survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO). Joblessness or unemployment rate (UR) is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. Joblessness was high in October-December in 2020 mainly due to the staggering impact of the lockdown restrictions in the country, which were imposed to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The government on Friday approved an electric-vehicle policy, under which duty concessions will be given to companies setting up manufacturing units in the country with a minimum investment of $500 million, a move aimed at attracting major global players like US-based Tesla. According to an official statement, the companies setting up manufacturing facilities for e-vehicles will be allowed to import a limited number of cars at lower customs duty. The policy seeks to promote India as a manufacturing destination for EVs and attract investment from reputed global EV manufacturers, it added.
'Over the next 20 years, we would be adding almost 10 million people to the workforce every year!' 'And we won't be able to give employment to even 2 million out of the 10 million every year.' 'Don't forget, it keeps adding every year.'
India's real estate market is poised for growth across categories - residential, commercial, and rental. Currently valued at Rs 24 trillion, or about $300 billion, it is projected to surge to $1.3 trillion by 2034, and then grow further to $5.17 trillion by 2047, indicates a report by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (Credai).
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
'It would be reasonable to assume that Modi 3.0 would be more focused on projects and schemes which do not require any legislative change or which have the support of its coalition partners,' asserts A K Bhattacharya.
In order to achieve $5 trillion GDP by FY'25, India needs to spend about $1.4 trillion over this period on infrastructure, according to the Economic Survey. During financial years 2008-17, India pumped in about $1.1 trillion on infrastructure. However, the challenge is to step up infrastructure investment substantially, the Economic Survey 2021-22 said.
Make in India crucial for growth.
The survey, however, said that GDP is expected to revert to growth terrain next year, when it is likely to grow by 7.2 per cent.
Among the bigwigs are Union ministers Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and SP Singh Baghel (Agra).
'The more educated a young person is, the higher the chances of him or her remaining unemployed.'
'Rahul Gandhi is raising the issue of a caste census though his party has been doing injustice on this front from the 1950s.'
The encouraging news, however, is that India features among the top four countries out of 44 nations that projected a positive hiring trend.
Unemployment rate for all ages in urban areas rose to 9.3 per cent in January-March 2021 from 9.1 per cent in the same month of the previous year, showed a periodic labour force survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO). Joblessness or unemployment rate (UR) is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. The UR for in CWS (current weekly status) in urban areas for persons of age 15 years and above was 10.3 per cent in October-December 2020, the ninth Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) showed.
Gandhi said the Congress' slogan is 'count' because that would be the first step towards justice.
'Without a poverty line, how are we to know whether poverty is the same, or it has come down or it has gone up?'
'Sweden removed the inheritance tax because many of the rich were fleeing. For example, the owner of IKEA had migrated out of Sweden'
More than half (56 per cent) of chief economists expect the global economy to weaken in 2024, with most saying the pace of geo-economic fragmentation will accelerate, according to the latest "Chief Economists Outlook" released on Monday at the World Economic Forum (WEF). The report indicates that the global economic prospects remain subdued and uncertain. Challenges include tight financial conditions, geopolitical rifts, and the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday 56.13 per cent of those covered under the latest serological survey in the city in January have developed antibodies against coronavirus.
Indian companies struggle in face of a set of common challenges related to logistics, labour regulations, tax and tariff policy
The Economic Survey will remain a documentation of the government's resolve to not recognise the severe stress on the labour markets and on the livelihoods of Indian households arising out of the pandemic and the consequent lockdown, observes Mahesh Vyas.
'Modi knows the people here are opposed to this project, but he is using the might of government to push this port down our throats.'
Around two-thirds or 70 per cent of employers surveyed would either not allow employees, who refuse to get vaccinated to step into the workplace or ask them to quit the organisation. It also showed that 94 per cent employers and 87 per cent employees want people coming in to work to be vaccinated with at least a single dose.
For the first time, more than half of the CEOs surveyed by global consultancy PwC said they believe the rate of global GDP growth will decline. In comparison, the survey had found a record level of optimism among CEOs two years ago in 2018.
While 44-year-old Sunak was at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden on Sunday to promise to keep trying to "make the community proud", 61-year-old Starmer chose another north London Swaminarayan Temple in Kingsbury on Friday to reiterate his commitment to building a "strategic partnership with India".
The average age of the 125-billion strong Indian population will be 29 years in 2020, even younger than China and the US.
On the heels of the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), which revealed new demographic trajectories including the replacement level of fertility, the government will, on Monday, unveil extensive economic data related to health and the broader economy. New data will relate to per capita spending on health and proportions of the GDP to health spending. Health ministry sources said the NFHS-5 marked some areas for celebration but also some markers that should cause concern.
NITI Aayog has not said what the reasons were for having achieved or not having achieved what was sought to be achieved, or what lessons can be learned for the future, points out Aakar Patel.
'There is a great scope for enhancing the use of organic fertilisers'.
The bad loans of public sector banks were at 4.4 per cent in March 2014 compared with 2.09 per cent in 2008-09, it said, adding, the gross NPA increased by almost four times from March 2010 (Rs 59,972 crore or Rs 599.72 billion) to March 2014 (Rs 2,04,249 crore or Rs 2,042.49 billion).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress again of planning to redistribute people's property if it is voted to power, but stopped short of saying that the wealth would go to Muslims.
President Mohamed Muizzu on Wednesday said by bolstering the defence capabilities of the Maldives, the country will soon reach a point where there is no 'foreign' military presence, weeks after he sought the withdrawal of Indian defence personnel from the archipelago nation.
In Round 1, 62 per cent strongly supported the continuation of the lockdown and 24 per cent expressed some support.
From the Sensex basket, Power Grid, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and JSW Steel were among the major gainers. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Wipro, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank were among the laggards.