'When Prime Minister Modi met President Trump, they agreed to initiate a bilateral trade dialogue.' 'It makes sense to give these negotiations a chance.'
The Eleventh Plan draft document has built a strong case for relaxing foreign direct investment norms in key sectors like insurance, private banking, single brand retailing and broadcasting. The draft would be discussed at full Planning Commission panel meeting on Thursday.
The high point of the 19 Shastri months was the 22-day war that he fought against great odds and won in principle, even if military historians often call it a stalemate. Pakistan saw a great opportunity to conquer Kashmir and lost. It was the last time they had the relative strength militarily and diplomatically to take Kashmir. Shastri's resolve buried that dream forever, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Six Telugu film actors, including Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, and Vijay Deverkonda, along with 19 social media influencers have been booked for allegedly promoting betting apps. A businessman filed a complaint alleging that the celebrities and influencers were promoting these apps on social media through pop-up ads and other means. The police registered a case under relevant sections of the BNS, Gaming Act, and IT Act based on the complaint and are planning to issue notices to those named in the FIR.
'In a world which is full of categories, hatred and ideologies, there was this basic decency.'
The Full Planning Commission is all set to approve the 12th Plan document that seeks to raise the average annual economic growth during the five-year period ending March 2017 to 8.2 per cent from 7.9 per cent achieved in the previous Plan on Saturday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will preside over a full Planning Commission meeting on September 1 for the mid-term appraisal of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period (2007-12).
Besides, the economic growth in the January-March quarter last fiscal was at nine-year low of 5.3 per cent.
Rajiv Kumar, the 25th chief election commissioner of India, has demitted office after a nearly three-year tenure marked by both electoral successes and allegations of bias from opposition parties. Kumar oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, among other major elections. During his tenure, he implemented reforms across various aspects of the Election Commission's functioning, including structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation, and administration. However, he faced criticism from opposition parties and activists on several issues, including the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines, alleged fudging of voter data, and being "lenient" on the ruling BJP. While the Commission responded to the allegations, Kumar often defended himself and the poll authority through poetry. In his farewell address, Kumar expressed concerns about the timing of petitions raising doubts over poll processes and the impact of freebie promises on the fiscal health of the state. He also criticized the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels, calling it "nonsense". Kumar's tenure was marked by numerous controversies, with opposition parties and activists alleging bias and irregularities. While the Election Commission defended its actions, the allegations cast a shadow over his time in office.
One consequence of this shift will be that other sectors will see a reduction in the amount of resources allocated over the 11th Plan period. On the whole, the non-priority sectors, which accounted for 44.8 per cent of the total allocation during the 10th Plan period (2002-07), will now only get 25.3 per cent.
However, 10 per cent economic growth rate does not seem feasible, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters here, a day before full Plan panel is to meet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday took potshots at the rival Shiv Sena over its minister not finding a place in the reconstituted NITI Aayog.
"Second quarter will be worse (than 6.1 per cent growth in Q1) and may be Q3 also," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said today after the full plan panel meeting. However, he said the economic growth will rebound in the fourth quarter to enable the economy to clock 6.3 per cent for the entire fiscal.
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
Paris 2024 opening ceremony to start at 7.30 p.m. local time
ISRO's vendor policy and quality control processes are under scanner.
'The critical event signalling a new era for India was Dr Singh's 1991 Budget in which he quoted Victor Hugo to say that no power on earth could stop an idea whose time has come,' recalls T N Ninan.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Karnataka Planters' Association in Bangalore, he said the coffee sector had been allocated a sum of Rs 750 crore (Rs 7.5 billion) in the 11th plan (2007- 2012), up from Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) in the previous plan.
The Union cabinet on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind on simultaneous elections.
Life insurers shifted their focus to selling high-value policies in October as the transition to new surrender value norms, effective October 1, limited their ability to roll out all products in their portfolio. This led to a 40 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) drop in the number of policies sold in October. Additionally, distributors engaged in a fire sale of policies in September due to uncertainty about the impact of the new norms on their commission structures.
Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.
'I had to persuade him. I think he was a sceptic to begin with, but later on he was convinced that what we were doing was the right thing to do, that there was no other way out.'
Amid criticism over engaging experts from multilateral agencies like World Bank, Planning Commission on Wednesday asserted that none of the "outside bodies"
None of Adani group portfolio companies, comprising 11 listed firms, have been accused of any wrongdoing, conglomerate's CFO Jugeshinder Robbie Singh said on founder and chairman Gautam Adani's indictment on bribery charges in the US. In a post on X, Singh said the group would make a detailed comment on the US indictment once it gets counsel approvals.
The opposition on Thursday criticised as mere "fluff" and "gimmickry" the government's decision to restructure Planning Commission and rechristen it "Neeti Ayog" and voiced apprehension that it will discriminate against the states and help "corporates call the shots" in policy making.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for enhancing trade and investment ties between their countries and committed to further deepening their engagement in the Indo-Pacific. They discussed a full spectrum of bilateral relations, including key global and regional issues, and stressed the urgent need for reform in the United Nations Security Council. The leaders also underscored their commitment to ensuring the global AI sector can drive positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
The term of the members of the Planning Commission is co-terminus with the Prime Minister and they would be submitting their resignations once the new government is formed after the ongoing general elections next month.
'After his warm and affectionate farewell speech, the Chief of Staff of the formation asked me, "So, now you are off to Coorg to look after your coffee estates?"' For the last time, in Army uniform and much to his surprise, I replied, "Sir, I am not from Kodagu.".'
The Aayog has been mandated to serve as a policy think-tank for the central as well as state governments
Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company, is back on a growth path after six months of challenges as it posted better than expected earnings in the December quarter, brokerages said.
The airport, being developed by the Adani Group, is expected to start commercial operations early next year.
In a relief for foreign firms giving loans to Indian subsidiaries, tax authorities have said goods and services tax (GST) will not be imposed on them, subject to some caveats. Additional fees, commissions, or related payments - over and above the amount charged as interest - on these loans will attract GST at 18 per cent, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has said.
Arun Maira who worked for 25 years with the Tata Group, remembers his early years with Ratan Tata.
No government in the past initiated the process of policy making for its next tenure even before going in for elections. Once the Model Code of Conduct is enforced by the Election Commission, should the government of the day refrain from taking an active interest in policy making for the next five years and let that be the function of the new government?, asks A K Bhattacharya.
A severe drought has the potential to restrict the country's economic growth to 5.5 per cent, the Planning Commission has said.
Concerned over weaknesses in manufacturing sector, the Planning Commission on Thursday pitched for further liberalisation of FDI policy and improvement of business regulations to step up GDP growth rate to 9-9.5 per cent in the 12th Plan from 8.2 per cent in the current plan.
In two years, the start-up Overqualified Housewives has helped over 6,000 women across India find flexible-job roles across India from salaries ranging between Rs 8,000 to Rs 80,000, making them financially independent.
He also said that the BJP's defeat in Faizabad seat of Ayodhya, where the Ram temple has been built, shows the wisdom of voters.
The government must develop a legally tenable mechanism in order to restore the cycle of simultaneous elections.