The country's new home minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, today said he prefers a Congressman as his successor in the finance ministry, setting off speculation about the implication of his statement.
The target announced is 13.6 per cent higher than that set last year and 145.4 per cent higher than the revised target for 2013-14.
'Each state is unique, but when it comes to finance, the fundamentals cannot be different.'
Budget speeches have been replete with incomprehensible and even hilarious statements, says Rathin Roy.
The challenge is to convince productive sectors that a lower general rate would benefit all and remove the prevalent system of favours targeted towards narrow industry and service sector groups.
Congress sources have told rediff.com that Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram or External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will replace Shivraj Patil, who resigned on Sunday, as home minister. The announcement is likely to be made in the next couple of hours after the all-party meeting called to discuss the Mumbai terror attacks.
The office of former prime minister Manmohan Singh may have taken a special interest to try and keep afloat Vijay Mallya's ailing Kingfisher Airlines against the run of play, e-mails and letters claiming this and accessed by CNN-News18 indicate.
He argued that if inflation is low, stable and moving towards the 4 per cent target, why has the RBI not revised downward the bank rate fixed in June 2023?
Here are some facts related to the Budget presentation in independent India.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 will present a record eighth consecutive budget that is expected to contain measures to shore up weakening economic growth and ease the burden on the middle class struggling with high prices and stagnant wage growth while being fiscally prudent.
A Delhi court on Saturday took cognisance of the chargesheets filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate against former Union minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti in the Aircel-Maxis case and summoned them on December 20.
P Chidambaram was on Tuesday made the finance minister as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh undertook a minor reshuffle in portfolios in the Union Cabinet, necessitated by the exit of Pranab Mukherjee in June. According to the announcement, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde is the new home minister in place of Chidambaram.
Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman Finance Minister, broke away from the colonial tradition of carrying a Budget briefcase in July 2019, opting instead for a traditional 'bahi-khata', to carry the Union Budget papers.
Chidambaram complained of illness and pain in the stomach, the sources said, adding that he was treated for gastrointestinal-related problems.
'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
The finance minister was reacting to the steady decline of the Indian currency.
Congress leader and ex-finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the Union Budget was the "most capitalist" with nothing for the poor and farmers while sops were being provided to big industrialists turning India into a very "unequal country". At a press conference after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a Rs 39.45 lakh crore Budget, he said because of the ruling party's "brute majority" the Lok Sabha pass the Budget but people will reject it. He claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party was going to elections, scheduled in five states, not with their performance or with the promises and assurances to the people, but solely "with the agenda of dividing the country and bringing Hindutva back to power".
The 2G spectrum case has taken a wild turn with the release of a note that could be a game changer.
When former finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in August 2019, it was considered by some as payback from Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah who likely held his predecessor in the home ministry responsible for his own arrest nine years earlier, in July 2010.
With the fall of Congress, Chidambaram's political graph too started moving southwards.
Falling rupee, sluggish stock market is set to make his task more challenging.
Opposition MPs in India's Rajya Sabha raised concerns about US President Donald Trump's tariff threats, demanding the government clarify its response and engage in discussions with opposition parties. Leaders like P Chidambaram and Sagarika Ghose warned of potential economic repercussions, including depressed exports, lower FDI, and a significant tariff burden. The debate also touched on other issues such as the government's economic policies, demonetization, and the impact of GST on common citizens.
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
Tharoor also said he is honoured by the invitation of the government to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals to present the nation's point of view on recent events.
Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday nominated former home minister and Congress member P Chidambaram to the department-related parliamentary standing committee on home affairs.
As home minister, Chidambaram will preside over a vast empire. Although this is technically a lateral move, there is no doubt it is a "promotion" for him. The stock of the home ministry is so low that it will take very little effort to re-establish its credibility. But new ideas? That's the challenge.
P Chidambaram was conspicuous by his absence on the dais at the second day of the plenary.
Justice A K Pathak had asked Chidambaram to join questioning and cooperate in the investigation as and when called by the CBI.
"We did not abuse RBI governors," says Chidambaram.
Dr Murali Manohar Joshi, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, has demanded that Home Minister P Chidambaram should be dropped from the cabinet for his alleged misdeeds in leaking the PAC report, sending wrong data of most-wanted persons to Pakistan, his role in the 2G spectrum scam and for the rise in fuel prices when he was the finance minister.
How Kamal Nath left the Opposition leaders stumped... Why Montek Singh is avoiding the poverty line... Mamata Banerjee's newest enemy. All this, and more, in this week's Dilli Gupshup.
How Kamal Nath left the Opposition leaders stumped... Why Montek Singh is avoiding the poverty line... Mamata Banerjee's newest enemy. All this, and more, in this week's Dilli Gupshup.
India's opposition parties have sharply criticized the Union Budget, calling it inadequate to address the country's economic woes and accusing the BJP-led government of using it to woo voters in Bihar and Delhi ahead of upcoming elections. Leaders from the Congress, TMC, DMK, SP, and CPI(M) voiced their disapproval, highlighting concerns over inflation, unemployment, and the lack of substantial measures to support the agricultural sector and the poor. They also criticized the tax cuts for the middle class as insufficient and coming too late after years of high taxes and rising prices.
"His (Chidambaram) arrest is good news. He is now cornered from all sides," Indrani Mukerjea told reporters in a sessions court where she was produced to attend trial in the case of killing of her daughter Sheena Bora.
India needs another shot of difficult reform, of the kind only possible at gunpoint. Mr Trump holds that gun to our heads now. A drastic reduction in tariff protection, other elements of sarkari wet-nursing will force entrepreneurial India to become competitive again, argues Shekhar Gupta.
With the tablet carefully kept inside a red cover with a golden-coloured national emblem embossed on it instead of the briefcase, Parliament will be her next destination after the call on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Chidambaram had on Wednesday rushed to a trial court for protection from arrest in Aircel-Maxis case before approaching the Delhi high court in connection with the INX Media case, in which he has been asked by probe agencies to join investigations.
The CBI suspects that Chidamabaram and his son Karti also received kickbacks from other companies.
Bringing their differences into open, outgoing RBI Governor D Subbarao took a dig at Finance Minister P Chidambaram for his comment once that he would "walk alone" to ensure growth in the face of tight money policy of the central bank.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
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