After the Covid-19 pandemic that derailed the economy since 2019, the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal is back with an estimated 20-30 per cent jump in festive spending. Retail sector is the key contributor to the state's Durga Puja economy which was Rs 32,377 crore in 2019, according to a British Council study conducted for the state government. Retail accounts for 85 per cent of the total puja economy and the rest is shared among pandal making, decoration, illumination, entertainment, advertisement, food & beverage and others.
The noted economist said some of the bad loans are due to a slowdown in the economy and asset restructuring companies are part of the solution.
Export growth picked up mainly owing to rising global crude prices, which pushed up processed petroleum exports by nearly 40 per cent, apart from a broad-based improvement in exports of major foreign exchange earners such as engineering goods and gems and jewellery.
Raghuram Rajan optimistic about passage of GST
'If petro products are brought into GST, then there will be minor impact on the incidence of tax... and minor impact on prices. The price of petrol, diesel will continue to be driven by global factors'
Group of ministers to review progress every fortnight.
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.
'If because of El Nino, the monsoon is affected adversely in the current year, naturally it will affect income projections and consequently Budget numbers.'
On one hand, South Indian states have been complaining about denial of a proportionate portion of the sharable funds from the Centre, based on population. On the other hand, they stand to lose Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats that again are based on population, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'I want us not to underestimate Indian voters. They can tell good work from bad.'
Congress is opposing the GST bill in the current form.
Finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey on Sunday hinted that the government was working on another stimulus package but he refrained from giving a timeframe.
He also took potshots at opposition parties' decision to observing November 8 as a 'Black Day', saying the move displays their faith in cash economy.
Experts have flagged issues regarding the levying of new cess/tax, especially those related to complications in administering the cess.
Optimistic buying in blue-chip stocks ahead of release of industrial production data for July and retail inflation for August drove stocks higher.
Drabu said the GST regime will roll out in the state at midnight on Friday, making Jammu and Kashmir the last state to join the new tax regime.
Unlike the first two stimulus packages, this time the focus would be on boosting demand.
The rates of price rise in many services used by the common man, including hospital and nursing, cook, domestic help and bus (fare), among others, have also touched double digits during the last four years, putting a burden on disposable income.
7 key areas that the Budget must address to re-energise the infrastructure sector, suggests Vinayak Chatterjee.
The system has gone through three rounds of testing for its load-bearing capacity.
Aditi Phadnis predicts frequent stand-offs between the Centre and states in the future.
Financials were the top losers after sharp gains in the previous session along with ITC
Extending losses for 7th session, Nifty fell below the 8,000 mark for the first time since Nov 25
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is arriving in New Delhi on Thursday for a four-day visit during which she is likely to meet senior leaders and attend a Niti Aayog meeting on August 7, sources said.
The 30-share barometer remained up throughout and hit a high of 29,070.20, powered by a rally in RIL and other blue-chips. The index ended 215.74 points up, or 0.75 per cent, at 29,048.19 -- its highest closing since March 5, 2015, when it had closed at 29,448.95.
Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty soared to new peaks on Tuesday, driven by gains mainly in metal, financial and IT stocks amid firm global cues and sustained foreign fund inflows. Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 4.38 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel 4.37 per cent, Vedanta 3.50 per cent, Tata Motors 3.03 per cent, HDFC 2.46 per cent and Bajaj Finance 2.39 per cent.After surging to its record intra-day peak of 41,401.65, the 30-share BSE barometer settled 413.45 points, or 1.01 per cent, higher at its all-time high of 41,352.17. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rallied 111.05 points, or 0.92 per cent, to its record closing high of 12,165.
The surge in export, domestic demand and public spending in infrastructure projects might revive private investment during 2017-18.
For his first Budget in July 2014, Jaitley inherited a fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent of GDP. From 4.1 per cent, the fiscal deficit came down to 3.4 per cent by 2018-19, with two slippages from the budgeted targets, in 2017-18 and 2018-19, the former due to introduction of the GST, says Arup Roychoudhury.
BJP president Amit Shah is chairing the meeting attended by top party leaders from across the country.
Accounting for the first Advance Estimates for 2017-18, an additional planned borrowing of Rs 200 billion, the fiscal deficit could come in at 3.35 per cent of GDP.
The proposed bullion bank can help settle gold loan accounts in gold terms, and promote existing gold schemes, along with launching schemes including gold-recurring deposits.
The NSE Nifty settled the day 96.80 points, or 0.94 per cent lower, at 10,224.95
Jewellers in India, the world's second largest gold consuming country after China, have started receiving more inquiries for purchase of gold or silver immediately after the Reserve Bank's announcement to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes from circulation. However, there is no panic buying of the precious metal unlike the situation witnessed in 2016 during demonetisation, jewellers body GJC said on Sunday. In fact in the last two days, the actual gold purchase has been less in exchange of Rs 2,000 notes due to strict Know your Customer (KYC) norms although sources said some jewellers have started charging a 5-10 per cent premium, taking the gold prices to Rs 66,000 per 10 grams level.
As per practice a vote-on-account or approval for essential government spending for a limited period is taken in the election year and a full-fledged budget presented by the new government.
The Sensex recorded a significant rise of 919.19 points, or 2.65 per cent while the Nifty gained 213.45 points, or 1.99 per cent, in the week.
We have to wait and see whether Jaitley's Budget speech translates into actions and desired outcomes, says T N C Rajagopalan.
Call for fiscal autonomy to Union Territories with Assemblies may get louder with 'special status' to J&K in the Finance Commission, say experts.
He said, clothing, footwear and electronic sectors are large job creators and need big reforms.
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha did not see a debate on the Manipur violence, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah spoke on it during their addresses on the no-confidence motion.
To give impetus to the real estate sector, Goyal proposed to extend the period of exemption from levy of tax on notional rent on unsold inventories from one year to two years.
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