In the 2020-21 Budget, the prime minister and the finance minister are keen to stamp their narrative, after various rollbacks following the previous Budget, said top government sources. Besides the scheduled meetings, the sources said, the Prime Minister's Office is expected to hold several meetings with top secretaries and officials on various ongoing schemes, their performance and also how some of them could be tweaked for better results.
The five-time prime minister was re-appointed to the job on May 12 following the political circus precipitated by the unprecedented economic crisis in the island's history.
There have been growing calls for President Rajapaksa's resignation over the past few weeks over his government's mishandling of Sri Lanka's worsening economic crisis.
'It was beautifully played by an American band.'
The deal would allow Japan to export nuclear technology to India, making it the first non-NPT signatory to have such a deal with Tokyo. It would also cement the bilateral economic and security ties as the two countries warm up to counter an assertive China.
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh will walk a fine line between economic and political priorities next week when he unveils a Budget that could begin urgently needed tax reforms in Asia's third-largest economy.
Udayanidhi has handed over to the BJP one real issue to draw the line between it and the INDIA alliance, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
World soccer's ruling body added that the decision had been taken following a meeting between its President Gianni Infantino and PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir.
After nearly two days of political deadlock, the stakeholders are engaged in prolonged talks to try and appoint a successor to Mahinda Rajapaksa.
'But he was very quick and did a very stylish adab.' 'Of course, I didn't expect him to hug.'
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday fired Basil Rajapaksa from his post and invited the Opposition parties to join a unity Cabinet to tackle the raging public anger against the hardships caused by the economic crisis.
Parliament has cleared the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, recently. The objective of the Act is to invite investments from the private sector, including foreign companies, for mining minerals such as lithium and other critical minerals. Other than lithium, some of these minerals were classified as atomic minerals, including beryl and beryllium, niobium, titanium, tantalum and zirconium.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif will attend the SCO defence ministers' meeting in New Delhi on Friday through virtual mode, according to an official readout.
Gold, the safest haven amid the ongoing uncertainty, also emerged as one of the most lucrative investment options in financial year 2022-23 with an impressive return of 16.1 per cent in rupee terms, and 2.3 per cent returns in dollars. And, had it not been for the very high inflow of smuggled gold and the huge discount prevailing in the market due to high prices, the returns in gold would have been much higher, analysts said. The precious metal has consistently been delivering positive returns in India since 2016.
'The government know very well how to pass a bill in the Rajya Sabha with consensus.' 'They got consensus from Opposition parties on the 10 percent reservation for economically weaker sections.' 'In instant triple talaq, the BJP wanted to take sole credit.' 'They wanted to take credit and see that other parties suffer (political) loss.' 'Therefore, the bill got stuck.'
Digital campaigns compared to billboards or even print ads not only have the power to reach wider audiences but also reduce the campaign costs. The focus on social media by political parties at election time, therefore, is hardly misplaced.
'For our traditional membership base, it would be an access to disruptive ideas,' FICCI President Subhrakant Panda tells Asit Mishra/Business Standard.
The Government also defended the President's decision to enforce a state of emergency, that had given him sweeping authority to act in the interests of public security and preserving public order, including suspending any laws, authorising detentions and seizing property, saying it was declared after attempts were made to attack the President's Office and other public property.
The remarkable feature of those reforms unveiled in 1991 is that none of those decisions has been disowned by subsequent governments in the last 25 years.
Wickremesinghe is the first Sri Lankan president to be elected by Parliament following a vote.
The China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to revive diplomatic ties should not be a matter of concern for India as the pact would provide regional stability and would be beneficial for New Delhi's interests as well, Iranian ambassador Iraj Elahi said on Friday.
From note ban result to Delhi's next L-G, a few things to look forward to.
'It is never easy to run a campaign as a woman, particularly a minority woman, especially when you are bucking the establishment.' 'My entire campaign is an act of resistance.'
'We support the importance of a free press around the world. We continue to highlight the importance of democratic principles, such as freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief'
Senior leaders within the Congress now say the party could accommodate the government's argument that the GST rate cannot be stipulated within the Constitution.
Hope this film would be able to teach Indians the value of their rights and the perils of exchanging those for 'economic development' or promises of a better future by some populist leader, notes Utkarsh Mishra.
A day before her scheduled appearance before the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case, Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha led a hunger strike here on Friday seeking the passage of the long-pending Women's Reservation Bill in this Budget session of Parliament.
The anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka on Sunday continued to occupy the residences of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, a day after they stormed into the premises and set on fire one of the buildings protesting over the nation's severe economic crisis even as the island nation is still in the dark about the embattled President's whereabouts.
The 61-year-old MLA from Islampur seat of Maharashtra has been asked to depose before the federal agency in Mumbai on Friday, they said. Patil, a former minister of home and finance, is also the Maharashtra president of the NCP and is a seven-term legislator.
Eyewitnesses said that a section of the protesters had remained for the all-night vigil.
De-scaling of businesses, job losses and subsequent impact on disposable incomes has created negative sentiment among traders, business owners and workers alike, says Abhishek Waghmare.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to hold separate bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang and Russia's Sergey Lavrov at a beach resort in Goa on Thursday on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) amid rapidly evolving regional security situation.
The President had been moved out of his residence on Friday, in anticipation of Saturday's protests.
'With the appeal of both the Left and the Congress fading, Banerjee fears the saffron brigade's inroads into her citadel,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Various political parties and consumer organisations on Friday criticised cellular operators for misleading the consumers by hiding information about fixed charges to be paid for availing the facility of free incoming calls on mobile-to-mobile
Hakki Pikkis are a semi-nomadic tribe, traditionally of bird catchers and hunters, from Karnataka. Their knowledge of the forest and traditional medicine is extensive and is prized by the Sudanese community.
After Parineeti Chopra and Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha were spotted together on several occasions, rumours linking them have been doing the rounds.
The best, wisest, and fairest next step in strengthening our own cause is to restore statehood to Jammu & Kashmir and allow the resumption of robust political activity. That's a box that remains unchecked on the Modi government's report card as we approach the fourth anniversary of Kashmir's Constitutional shift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Wednesday elected as Sri Lanka's new President by Parliament, in a rare move that could provide continuity for ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout for the cash-strapped nation but a development likely to anger anti-government protesters who have been demanding his resignation from office for weeks.
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