Not amused by imposition of President's Rule by the Centre, Rawat termed it as the 'murder of democracy'.
India's latest GDP numbers do not signal robust economic growth in near term.
There isn't much Budget could do directly to help sectors.
Investors booked profits at higher levels after the Sensex and Nifty hit all-time highs in the previous session.
Members of Parliament on Sunday bid adieu to outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee.
'We have set out a timetable to reduce income tax rates for all incomes below Rs 50 lakh, and to progressively eliminate the surcharges on income above Rs 50 lakh, by 2024.' The Budget speech past CII president Naushad Forbes wants to hear.
As the Modi government enters the fourth year of its tenure, it is looking more confident, shedding its earlier inhibitions about offering sops or new opportunities to big business, says A K Bhattacharya.
In escalating ceasefire violations that continued on the night of October 7, Pakistani troops targeted over 40 Border Out Posts and 25 border hamlets with heavy mortar shells in Jammu sector and LoC areas in Poonch district, leaving 12 people including a JCO injured. Military officials of India and Pakistan discussed on the hotline the cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir but there was no signs of a solution.
The new Ministers of State sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in the Rashtrapati Bhavan include Virendra Kumar, Anant Kumar Hegde and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, former IAS officers Alphons Kannanthanam and R K Singh, former diplomat Hardeep Puri and ex-Mumbai police chief Satyapal Singh. Two other new faces are Ashwini Kumar Choubey, a member of the Lok Sabha from Bihar, and Shiv Pratap Shukla from Uttar Pradesh.
Sensex catapults 1,241 points and Nifty vaults 382 points in two sessions in a row.
'The finance minister has told the BJP's core voters we are hearing you and we are sensitive to your aspirations.'
A more vigilant Opposition and a more aware civil society including the media could have certainly helped keep a check on an unhealthy trend, says A K Bhattacharya.
The government on Monday slammed Congress leader Kamal Nath for his remarks that Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's decision on the issue of grant of Leader of Opposition status could be "flavoured" by BJP, saying it is "unfortunate" as the Speaker is above party lines.
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Gold prices have eased off in recent months after the formation of a new government bringing in positive sentiment back to the stock market.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to bring back former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi to face the law.
Dancer-Choreographer Astad Deboo met Queen Elizabeth, William and Kate at Buckingham Palace on Monday at the launch of India-UK year of Culture. He tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com that the Queen even did a cute little dance movement when he was presented to her.
K N Balagopal (Communist Party of India -Marxist) said the Congress and the BJP were acting as A-Team and B-Team and not allowing the House to discuss the bills.
Ahead of the budget session, PM Narendra Modi appealed to the opposition to allow Parliament to function. While his call was taken positively by most of the parties, the Congress signalled that disruption will be their main weapon to raise several issues.
The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission had in a report last year proposed a unified regulator for the entire financial sector -- markets, insurance, commodities and pension. It had, however, proposed to keep banking out of its purview for now.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com speaks to common folk in Tamil Nadu about whether they will invest in Arun Jaitley's gold monetisation scheme. Their reactions will not make the Union finance minister happy.
'If there is a vulnerable family anywhere in the world, it is the Gandhis,' notes Aakar Patel.
Accusing Defence Minister A K Antony of making a "false" statement on Poonch killings, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Wednesday said he should apologise as his remarks are intended to "exonerate" Pakistan as government wants to continue talks.
Opposition parties in Parliament on Monday vociferously protested the "snooping" on Rahul Gandhi, with the government dismissing their contention saying they were making a "mountain out of what is not even a molehill", leading the Congress to walk out of Rajya Sabha.
The United Progressive Alliance government's efforts to rein in the judiciary may come unstuck as its ambitious bill scrapping the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and high courts as the Bharatiya Janata Party is unlikely to allow the passage in the ongoing Parliament session.
NDA government has shunned populism.
The broader market outperformed with the S&P BSE Midcap down 0.3%, while the S&P BSE Smallcap was little changed.
Raghuram Rajan joked he wasn't expecting to win any votes or Facebook 'likes' in the position.
BJP sources said their party has consistently maintained that while it is committed to the formation of a separate state of Telangana, it also wanted the concerns of the Seema-Andhra region to be adequately addressed. Oddly enough, Sushma Swaraj did not press this issue in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Anita Katyal reports.
The apex court said there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the multi-billion dollar Rafale deal.
Suspended Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi has been banned for life by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Wednesday.
Can Jaitley's team hope to garner 17% more on personal income tax?
Cap on bank withdrawals to be reviewed after Dec 30, says finance secy.
The government on Monday came under sharp attack on the issue of crucial files of Coal ministry going missing, with the Opposition alleging that it was a conspiracy to save Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the coal block allocation scam and demanding an impartial probe into it.
Nearly three weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced junking high denomination 500 and 1000 rupee notes, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced a bill to amend the income tax law.
The session will have 20 working days for now.
While the BJP has the numbers to send its eight candidates to the Upper House, its ally, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, which has four MLAs in the 403-member UP assembly, holds key to the fate its ninth nominee.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley more than halved the central government's financial support.
The EC received complaints from five places that EVMs were connecting to external devices via bluetooth, but after inquiry, it was found that there was 'no substance' in the complaints.
'What the BJP will have to ensure in order to score an ideological victory is to demonstrate not only its commitment to the rule of law -- which is the first prerequisite -- but to introduce a sense of compassion,' says Amulya Ganguli.
The government on Tuesday said it may reconvene Parliament's Monsoon Session to get key legislations, including the pending GST bill, passed, maintaining it has an "open mind" on amendments to reform measures even as it began consultations with leaders of opposition parties.
