To ensure enough food to the poor during the lockdown, the government last week started distributing free 5 kg of rice or wheat per person and 1 kg pulse per household under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to over 81 crore PDS beneficiaries.
ESI subscribers to get Covid unemployment allowance within 15 days of claim. Payment will be made into bank account of the insured and Aadhaar will be used for identification.
According to an Election Commission statement, the two have decided not to avail exemption from income tax on sumptuary allowance and to surrender two of the three Leave Travel Concessions (LTC) available each year.
To kick-start the work under MGNREGA after the lockdown is lifted, the government has already prepared plans and states have also submitted their work plans.
BJP general secretary Arun Singh said that during the course of the meet, discussions will be held on farm laws, Aatmanirbhar Bharat and upcoming state polls.
In times of global challenges, G-20 presidency gives an opportunity to strengthen India's role in the global order, she added. The government is implementing scheme to supply free foodgrains to poor under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) with expenditure of Rs 2 lakh crore from January 1, the finance minister said.
It was reported that the new amnesty scheme would allow gold hoarders a chance to come clean on investment made using black money by declaring their possession and paying tax on it.
The latest trend issued by the State Election Commission showed the BJD had already won or was leading in 762 Zilla Parishad seats, as compared to BJP's 46 and Congress's 36 seats.
India must be prepared to deal with climate disasters, geopolitical confrontations, and social strife linked to global events, asserts Jayant Sinha, chairman of Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance.
Given that the target was to reach 80.34 million families under PMUY - within three months starting April 1 - the government should have distributed at least 241.02 million cylinders by the end of June. It actually ended up distributing only 119.7 million cylinders.
"The Congress government and the chief minister should tell the people of Chhattisgarh what link they have with the accused in this scam sitting in Dubai," he said.
The finance minister has emphasised on the quick disbursal of additional loans to MSMEs, to simplify process, formats and documentation.
The relaxation would be available only to those beneficiaries who have been credited with the advance for buying the cylinder but have not been able to purchase the refill.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday promised 10-year punishment and Rs 1 lakh fine for those indulging in love jihad if it returns to power in Uttar Pradesh.
Migrant workers play a very vital role in building the nation and their rights cannot be ignored at all, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while asking the Centre to devise a mechanism so that they receive food grains without ration cards.
"The response (to the PMGKY) has not been so good...about Rs 5,000 crore of income was declared in PMGKY," Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said.
also made a case for the need to create a self-sufficiency fund for innovation, construction and manufacturing clusters to make use of the emerging opportunities in the wake of disruption in global supply chain.
This is the full text of the address to the nation by President Droupadi Murmu on the eve of India's 78th Independence Day.
This is the first Budget in Amrit Kaal, she said.
Government sources said the GoM on coronavirus crisis also reviewed various measures being initiated by concerned ministries to allow partial economic activity in 'non-hotspot zones' from April 20.
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 vaccination drive was only one important part of India's globally recognised pandemic management and response strategy, observes Dr Vinod K Paul.
Distributing chana is easier than other varieties of pulses as it only requires cleaning and sorting and can be consumed whole; it was also abundantly available with Nafed.
Taking both direct and indirect taxes, the gross collection is expected to grow 10.45 per cent to Rs 33.61 trillion in 2023-2024.
Whether it was the MGNREGS or the NFSA or the Aadhaar-based DBT scheme for cash transfer, the Modi government has built on the basic architecture created by the Singh government. Policy makers in the Modi government, instead of discarding them as products of the previous political regime, worked on them, expanded their scope and reach, and used new tools to improve their performance, explains A K Bhattacharya.
India's rice production could fall by 10-12 million tonnes during the Kharif season of this year, due to a fall in paddy sowing area, the government said on Friday. However, food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey asserted that the country will have surplus production in rice. He pointed out that the paddy acreage is lower by 38 lakh hectare so far this kharif season, because of less rains in many states.
Fiscal discipline has been maintained but toxic assets worth Rs 7 crore are a massive headache
But the government will present a second tranche of Supplementary Demands for Grants during the Budget session of Parliament in February, when it can seek additional spending.
Kumar said the Commission will follow the time-tested methods of consultations and consensus building in bringing about any reforms and will not shy away from tough decisions, according to an Election Commission (EC) statement.
The income tax department on Friday warned against indulging in cash transaction of Rs 2 lakh or more, saying that the receiver of the amount will have to cough up an equal amount as penalty.
Tax administration could be improved to reduce discretion and improve accountability
'We now look at divestment as an opportunity for maximising the value of public assets, not necessarily as a short-term resource-raising measure.'
Shah said Banerjee will not be in a position to oppose the implementation of the CAA as she will cease to be the chief minister after the assembly polls likely in April-May this year.
The BJP's challenge is whether it can again deflate a Congress, which now looks reinvigorated and has adopted sharper messaging around its 'guarantees', and several regional parties, especially in Bihar, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the impact of Covid-19 on the Indian economy and a possible second stimulus to boost sectors hit hard by the pandemic. Modi held discussions with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as the pandemic hit sectors from small industries to the aviation sector hard with millions of jobs at stake.
According to BJP strategists, PMJAY and the PM Ujjwala Yojana will form the nucleus of the Modi government's re-election campaign.
'The focus needs to shift towards the ability to collect payments, particularly in tier-3 to tier-4 areas where acceptance is still lacking.'
A head of its meeting, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) can take some solace from the softening food commodity prices. However, the events surrounding the last few weeks show that the fall may not be uniform across all commodities, and cereals like wheat and rice could be the outliers. A Reuters report said that local wheat prices jumped to a record Rs 23,547 per tonne on Wednesday. That is a 12 per cent rise from the recent lows that followed the government's surprise ban on exports on May 14.
This will cost the government Rs 3.1 trillion, about 10 per cent of its annual expenditure, and higher than any other spending item in its Budget.
The PMGKY will not allow declarants to use claims made for refunds for advance taxes paid, tax deducted at source and tax collected under the scheme.
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