The BJP assessment -- or at least that of some of its leaders -- is that the Congress in Gujarat has peaked too soon, having already fired all its weapons and has nothing new to say.
Referring to visible indicators of green shoots, the finance minister said the forex reserve is at an all time high and the stock market is upbeat.
In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit -- the difference between expenditure and revenue -- was Rs 6.12 lakh crore during April-November 2017-18
However, economic growth in five years of the UPA and NDA cannot be compared because of the now complex back series data, reports Indivjal Dhasmana.
There were nearly 4,000 cabin crew with Jet when the airline was grounded; every fifth remains without a job to date. One cabin crew member with 10 years of experience has been forced to take up a teaching job; some have branched out into small businesses. Aviation jobs were scarce even before the Covid-19 pandemic arrived on Indian shores in early 2020. The situation has been exacerbated since.
BC Tripathi, who helms India's largest natural gas marketer and transporter -- GAIL, discusses last-mile connectivity to homes with Jyoti Mukul and Shine Jacob.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
Sandwiched between demonetisation, GST and other smaller policy changes, Gross Value Added or GVA may be a more reliable measure of economic activity over the next few quarters.
Welcomes measures include a road map for fiscal consolidation of 3% of GDP by fiscal 2016-17, GST roadmap by the end of the year.
This is mainly due to GST impact on manufacturing and subdued farm output.
From opposing the NPR and NRC to demanding special status for Bihar to staying out of the Union Cabinet on principle to showing the BJP who was boss in Bihar, Nitish Kumar has wasted no opportunity at cocking a snook at the BJP leadership. But how long can he continue, asks Gopal Krishna.
Stating that he had consistently held Singh in high respect, he expected the same from him.
Contentious issues such as the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, abrogation of Art 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir and enactment of Uniform Civil Code have been included in the Bharatiya Janata Party's election manifesto with the party making promises on them.
For banks, the package will limit the burden of provisioning for stressed loans. Besides, the proposed restructuring package for MSMEs with a credit of up to Rs 25 crore is expected to provide a breather to units from this sector.
Mittal said he discussed a plethora of issues with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and sought the government's support for faster clearances to streamline the group's investment plans.
He also lashed out at the Congress for its opposition to the GST and for dubbing it as 'Gabbar Singh Tax'.
'The AMs are a different beast and reflect the political play within the government.' 'Prime Minister Modi does not need to assuage any interest group to take the final call on any decision that belongs rightfully to the Cabinet,' points out Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
On the hike in fuel prices, she accused the government of profiteering and said it is turning a disaster into an opportunity to fill its coffers. She also alleged that the government is breaking the back of the poor, the farmers, and the middle class due to its 'insensitivity'.
Political observers say Banerjee is fast emerging as the face of the Opposition and would be a force to reckon with in the next general elections in 2019.
Govt may not announce any new concessions in excise duty
Maharashtra has the opportunity to solve all these problems by voting for the Congress and NCP, he said.
Jaitley said inflation has been under control for long and is likely to remain so on the back of good monsoon and unlikely spike in oil prices.
Participating in the debate on the budget, leaders of parties like the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Aam Aadmi Party and Left launched an all-out attack on the BJP government for allegedly selling off the country's assets and PSUs to big industrialists.
'I don't know how long the small-scale handmade sector can survive,' a shoemaker from Hisar tells Geetanjali Krishna.
'Under this government, tax laws have become more draconian, and the government itself is setting stiff, unrealistic targets for tax officials, who have got more powers to harass us,' points out Debashis Basu.
The finance minister is likely to announce the government's vision for a tax-friendly regime by raising the I-T exemption limit from the current Rs 250,000 per annum.
Of the seven surveys presented under Modi govt, predictions of three were quite close to the actual GDP growth rate, one saw the base year change in between, but the last three were way off the mark.
'After household expenses, we are left with nothing...' 'Sometimes I think it is better to shut the store...'
Raja clarified that he had only watched clips of the movie on his mobile phone and said he did not have the patience to sit through a two-and-a-half hour film.
Industrial output rose to nearly three-year high of 6.4% in August.
Modi said that in the last four years the government has worked for creating a New India by 2022.
The new tax regime has also been fuelling sale of SUVs, particularly the compact SUVs
Congress MPs approach PM to protest against Chidambaram's public remarks on blaming Mukherjee for economic crisis.
India is on the brink of overhauling its tax system, implementing the BEPS project and seeing a further evolution of the GST at the same time as a general election. This makes 2019 an exciting and challenging year, note Maulik Doshi and Jigar Doshi.
With a growing penetration of the Internet, which reaches to rural areas of the country, the retailers would be able to deepen their market
Particularly hit has been the apparel sector, where the time taken by the industry to adjust to the Goods and Services Tax regime, downward revision of export incentives, and a credit squeeze faced by small and medium scale enterprises, has pushed production downwards.
'The attempt to build a negative narrative about India's economic performance is disingenuous.' 'For the investors as well as the targeted beneficiaries of welfare schemes, the ground reality is very different,' argues Rajiv Kumar, vice-chairman, NITI Aayog.
Sector analysts opined that the northern, central and eastern markets were particularly hit
'If the Union Budget can provide incentives for animal spirits to come as well as induce demand stimulus and consumption, the Budget would have done a wonderful job.'
For a village in Azamgarh, Mubarakpur is an aberration. Its streets are clean, roads well-paved, and no open sewage drains are visible anywhere. Although a few houses look derelict, most bear signs of relative affluence, some even opulence. But that is not attributable to the village's marquee industry - silk saree weaving, which is sold as the "Banarasi silk saree" across India. Rather, it's because of the exodus of its residents and those of neighbouring villages to Saudi Arabia and the money repatriated back home.
