The Budget would preserve macro-economic stability.
The ED carried out searches against two former auditor firms of IL&FS -- BSR and Associates and Deloitte Haskins and Sells -- on Wednesday in connection with its money-laundering probe into alleged financial irregularities at the infrastructure development and finance company, official sources said. The premises linked to the two auditors in Mumbai were searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added. The action came a week after the Supreme Court set aside a Bombay High Court verdict that quashed an SFIO probe against the two companies, both former auditors of IL&FS Financial Services, paving the way for action against them under the Companies Act and allowing the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to take forward its enquiry against them.
The Goods and Services Tax, proposed to be introduced from April 2010, would benefit the economy by at least $15 billion
Days after cutting the salaries and other allowances of MPs and ministers, the government has passed instructions to all departments to reduce their expenditure by as much as 60 per cent from their first-quarter spending plans.
An international seminar on accounting practices opened on Monday with Finance Commission chairman C Rangarajan asking the government to ensure better expenditure control for containing fiscal deficit.\n\n\n\n
The commerce ministry will approach the 13th Finance Commission next month suggesting measures to reduce the incidence of local taxes on exports. With the state levies accounting for 6 per cent of the cost of exporters' consignments, the ministry wants to ensure that these taxes are rebated on the lines of refund of Central levies through different schemes.
'The administration will come to a standstill because the governor will not cooperate with the finance minister.'
Terming India's fiscal decentralisation as 'flawed', the World Bank has mooted six broad strategies, including strengthening the state finance commissions, broadening tax base and greater devolution of power to Panchayati Raj institutions.
The unidentified youths shot Nijjar, a designated terrorist, inside the premises of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib, of which he was the head, at Surrey at 8:27 pm (local time) on Sunday, they said.
The government is targeting export of goods and services worth $2 trillion by 2030.
The finance minister defended the change in the tax rates.
Speaking after interacting with gram panchayats and pani samitis/village water and sanitation committees (VWSC) on the Jal Jeevan Mission, Modi said the mission is not just about bringing water to people but it is also a decentralisation movement that is village and women-driven.
Gujarat will host the next round of G20 meetings from March 27 to April 4, during which three conclaves will be held in the state on a range of issues, where delegates from different countries will converge for participation, an official said.
Increase of 10% to 12% likely in a bid to improve citizens' mood after demonetisation.
'There is a fiscal crisis building up, which might become apparent when the Finance Commission presents its report,' warns T N Ninan.
Every option before the finance minister comes with a price tag, observes T N Ninan.
Policymakers should aspire to restore the pre-Independence environment where the rupee was trusted and used all over South Asia, in Southeast Asia, in West Asia, and in East Africa, suggests Ajay Shah.
Consumers are paying an exorbitant 180 per cent tax on petrol, and 140 per cent on diesel in Delhi and in most other towns in India. Little wonder then that the central government expects a staggering Rs 3.46 trillion by levying excise duties on retail sale of the two fuels this year, and Rs 3.2 trillion the next. States would generally have had reason to cheer, as they command a 41 per cent share in Centre's tax revenues. But as the Centre has raised excise duties in the form of "cess," the revenue proceeds are by nature not shareable with states.
During a session titled 'Sustaining Democracy; Nurturing Democracy', he claimed that tightening the already stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a way that kept people like Siddique Kappan in jail for two years without bail is one of the many ways the current dispensation has 'managed to depart from the democratic spirit of the Constitution'.
As many as 386 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of more than Rs 4.7 lakh crore, as per a report. According to the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, which monitors infrastructure projects of Rs 150 crore and above, out of 1,505 projects, 386 reported cost overruns and as many as 661 projects were delayed. "Total original cost of implementation of the 1505 projects was Rs 21,21,793.23 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 25,92,537.79 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of Rs 4,70,744.56 crore (22.19% of original cost)," the ministry's latest report for July 2022 said.
State industries minister Uday Samant and party leader Ramdas Kadam gave information about the resolutions passed in the meeting.
This form of government, where secrets and major decisions are kept from the Cabinet itself, appears to be continuing, which is why the speculation around this special session, asserts Aakar Patel.
'Politics is a game of public perception and my father felt that by his long disappearances, Rahul Gandhi was losing the battle of perception.'
The top court drew parallel between driving and technology and said if one doesn't know how to handle technology then he or she can't be a judge and questioned the approach of some of the high courts.
The losses in state elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh have put the ruling party under pressure to announce swift measures aimed at addressing rural distress and lack of employment.
Ajay Banga was on Wednesday appointed the next president of the World Bank, becoming the first-ever Indian-American to head the global financial institution which said it looks forward to working with him at a time when it's tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries. "The executive directors of the World Bank today selected Ajay Banga as president of the World Bank for a five-year term beginning June 2, 2023," the bank said in a press statement. In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga, 63, to lead the World Bank because he is "well equipped" to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history."
Law Minister H R Bhardwaj told delegates that the Centre also plans to introduce a bill in Parliament to set up mobile rural courts known as 'Gram Nyayalayas' to make justice available at doorsteps to people in villages.
'Within a short span, it increased attendance, improved children's physical fitness, and led to a rise in the enrolment ratio.'
CM Stalin has a procedural problem. Nominating new ministers would entail his having to seek formal permission from governor R N Ravi. Stalin does not want to interact with the person of this governor, as far as possible, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
A 14-year-old girl was allegedly murdered and her body was burnt in a coal furnace in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district, the police said on Thursday.
She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received the highest civilian awards from 13 countries, including six with predominantly Muslim population.
Politicians and Twitter warriors around the globe have a new buzzword among them: Net zero. Everyone appears to be keen to state their commitment to net zero, with India providing an outlay of Rs 35,000 crore to achieve energy transition and net-zero objectives in its Budget for FY24, even as the latest and final report by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that current efforts are not enough to curb global warming. A number of small factory owners and businesses, however, have pointed out that the transition to net-zero emissions will cost them hugely.
The reason behind issuing new bank licences is to allow more private sector entities to set up banks
Niti Aayog has come out with an initiative to improve governance in states.
'Both the Centre and the states cannot say that they have been taking good care of public health.'
'The Budget numbers presented severely underestimate the magnitude of the unstated fiscal crisis that we went through in 2018-2019, which cannot be conceivably be fully reversed in 2019-2020,' points out Rathin Roy, director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
Suggestions made by the different experts have been noted and would be forwarded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The recommendation was for imposing a cess of Rs 60 a year for families above the poverty line and Rs 25 for families below the poverty line, its report said.\n\n