The eight core industries -- fertilisers, cement, steel, electricity, crude oil, coal, petroleum refinery products and natural gas -- have a combined weight of about 38 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production.
Cement production contracted by 2.7 per cent as against an expansion of 6.2 per cent in October 2016.
'What if Kim is alive as the latest reappearance suggests, but unable to rule?' 'Will his sister be installed as the leader to continue with the Kims's hereditary dynasty that began with the present ruler's grandfather?' asks Dr Rajaram Panda.
The Oil Ministry has proposed raising natural gas prices by at least 60 per cent, a move that will result in rise in urea as well as power costs.
An empowered group of ministers headed by Defence Minister A K Antony is to consider an Oil Ministry proposal of abolishing the priority ranking later in the day, according to which natural gas is first given to urea manufacturing fertiliser plants, then to LPG units, followed by power plants, city gas, steel and refineries.
Import segments which recorded negative growth include gold, silver, transport equipment, coal, fertiliser, machinery and machine tools. However, exports of oil seeds, coffee, rice, tobacco, spices, pharma, and chemicals reported positive growth in June.
The 1,967 MW plant has not been operating since August because of stoppage of natural gas supplies from domestic fields.
Bharat Krishak Samaj demanded that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana should be replaced with a new crop insurance and compensation scheme.
'It is just an excuse to say that the Centre has run out of money.' 'Pruning these schemes would mean hard time for the people of India.'
'It is so invigorating, nobody gets tired of it,' says Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilisers Srikant Jena.
Mayawati said the "chaiwala" prime minister has now turned "chowkidar" and this shows the "change" India witnessed under this government.
'It is almost certain that in the absence of note-bandi, the party would have lost in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh,' points out Amulya Ganguli.
These core industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production.
In October 2015, the sectors had witnessed a growth of 3.2 per cent.
Imports too tumbled by 58.65 per cent to $17.12 billion in April from $41.4 billion in the same month last year, according to the data by the commerce and industry ministry.
Other decisions piled up include rationalisation of GST rate slabs, correction of inverted duty on certain items and inclusion of petroleum products.
The finance ministry on Tuesday cited "green shoots" of recovery in agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors, and said the prompt policy measures taken by the government and RBI have helped reinvigorate the economy with minimal damage. Stating that the agricultural sector remains the foundation of the Indian economy, the ministry said that a normal monsoon, as has been forecast, should support the rebooting of economy.
Citing the May, 2010, Supreme Court ruling that upheld the government's right to frame gas utilisation policy, the ministry last week wrote to Reliance directing it to first supply natural gas from its KG-D6 fields to priority sectors like fertiliser and power, official sources said.
Reliance Industries has refused to give natural gas to new customers by cutting supplies to power and fertiliser plants.
Coal, refinery products, electricity and cement production registered a growth of 14.5 per cent, 8.1 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 11.3 per cent, respectively in November, as per the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
India's total fertiliser subsidy burden in the current financial year is more than double the budgetry allocation of Rs 24,500 crore (Rs 245 billion) as announced in the Budget.
This move is expected to benefit 22 lakh cancer patients in the country.
In its manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had criticised the Congress-led UPA regime for "policy and decision paralysis".
During April-September, the eight sectors grew by 4 per cent, against 5 per cent in the year-ago period.
Infra segment, refinery product impacted the most, even as contraction narrows in latest month.
'The big power struggle in faraway Europe erupted at a most critical juncture when India has been increasingly sceptical about American policies and statesmanship,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The size of the GDP in the second quarter of 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 33.98 lakh crore, as against Rs 31.72 lakh crore a year ago
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On June 27, the Cabinet approved a new formula that uses weighted average of the price of LNG into India and average price at major gas hubs.
The power and fertiliser companies should be prepared to pay higher prices of natural gas as the petroleum ministry favours economic pricing of the fuel, an official said on Thursday.
The Union ministry of chemicals and fertilisers has initiated a move to bring all essential medicines sold in the country under a price cap.
The problem lies in the fact that those in charge of telling the government's side of the story lack the three things that matter most, namely, the ability to comprehend, communication skills, and the tricks needed for good articulation, observes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
The Budget emphasises on capacity building and empowerment of marginalised sections of society including farmers.
Anil dared the oil ministry to cancel the production sharing contract with RIL if it was really aggrieved and not challenge third party agreements.
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.
Natural Gas production from KG-D6 block has dropped to below 20 million standard cubic metres a day this week, from over 63 mmscmd peak output achieved in August 2010.
The output had expanded by 4 per cent in March 2014.
The growth rate in September was highest since May when it was 4.4%.
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