Assuming we still have a Modi-led majority government after May 2024, there is no guarantee that reforms will move at anything more than a snail's pace, though we must be thankful even for that, notes R Jagannathan.
Showing signs of financial strain, the government's fiscal deficit in the first five months of the ongoing financial year has already touched 74.6 per cent of the budget estimate.
The Congress feels there was no articulation of a bold vision of a statement of intent in the Budget, no articulation of a direction in which the economy has to go, and it lacks imagination. Renu Mittal reports.
'This prime minister thinks he knows everything.' 'He has to consult, he has to talk and he has to mobilise the best people, but having seen him function, I have no expectations from him.'
The Indian economy has been shaped by 22 finance ministers till date.
That "Rollback Budget" ushered in an era of rollback.
Manmohan Singh said Narasimha Rao can truly be called father of economic reforms in India.
To understand Modi, listen to what he does not say -- vide NRC, suggests Prem Panicker.
The Centre will outline several initiatives in the coming budget, which would enable Bangalore and other metropolitan cities in the country to draw additional resources for infrastructure development, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says a higher interest rate on Employees Provident Fund would depend on whether the Employees Provident Fund Organisation could afford a higher payout.
Who will be India's new finance minister, when Dr Manmohan Singh will take oath as India's 14th prime minister on Saturday? Tell us.
Modi said not a single leader of the opposition grouping INDIA has uttered a word against the "disrespect" for women.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed the Union Budget 2009-10, which was presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the floor of the Parliament on Monday.
Seven years after Modi took office, merchandise exports were lower in 2020-2021 than when he had taken over from Manmohan Singh, points out Aakar Patel.
The shift was sudden, quite unlike Shukla's departure from North Block, which had been anticipated for some months even before Singh''s first Budget.
The major focus of this year's Economic Survey was on pushing economic growth, which has been projected by the Central Statistical Organisation at 5 per cent for this fiscal, sharply lower than the original estimate of 7.6 per cent (+/- 0.25 per cent).
Announcing the resignation of Dinesh Trivedi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he regretted the departure of the railway minister who had presented a budget which promised the "vision" outlined by his predecessor Mamata Banerjee.
The meeting held on the eve of the resumption of the Budget session was convened by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari and attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with senior members from various parties.
Pranab on Sunday met the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed budget-related issues with him.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday lashed out at opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties over Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks against 'Sanatan Dharma', accusing them of insulting 'Sanatan Dharma' for votebank and appeasement politics.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said Dr Manmohan Singh's meeting with the finance ministry team, led by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, has been deliberately fixed for two days after the results of the assembly elections in five states are declared (for Jammu and Kashmir, the counting is on December 28), as the Congress leadership as well as the United Progressive Alliance members would have by then decided on the timing of the Lok Sabha polls
People like Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram, who as finance minister had fully supported the NPS, refuse to exercise their moral and political influence to try and stop Ashok Gehlot and others hell-bent on wrecking the states' finances, notes Virendra Kapoor.
To corner the Manmohan Singh government in the Budget Session of Parliament, a united opposition today demanded a debate on price rise on February 23, before the Railway Budget and the Union Budget are placed in the Lok Sabha.
The finance minister today grapples with the same fiscal worries of two decades ago
Amid speculation of a reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday met President Pratibha Patil and discussed the upcoming budget session of Parliament. A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said the meeting lasted 45 minutes, during which the two leaders discussed the current economic situation and various other issues. The issues included price rise, internal security and the budget session.
After bumbling for years since 2014, the Modi government seems to believe that massive government expenditure will lead us to prosperity supported by 'seat-of-the-pants' decision-making, observes Debashis Basu.
Budget-makers in North Block are looking to maintain this fiscal status quo, in spite of tax revenues nowhere close to where the government wants and in spite of possible higher expenditure commitments.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday described as "well-balanced" the Vote-on-Account presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, saying it portrays a "realistic picture" of the economic situation of the country.
Banerjee wants the two top leaders of the United Progressive Alliance to nudge the Planning Commission into including some of her most important initiatives in the Railway Budget.
Finance Ministers play a key role in shaping the economy of a country.
R Gopalan has been appointed as Secretary Economic Affairs. He will hold this position, in addition to his current charge as Secretary Financial Services.
Under attack from the opposition over the controversial VVIP chopper deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said that he was ready to discuss the issue in Parliament during the Budget session beginning Thursday.
The drive of the disinvestment department to move ahead with its plan to raise Rs 40,000 crore was often neutralised by the desire of the administrative ministries to get better valuation and better price for the shares of the companies put on the block.
The key question is whether the finance minister can aim for this by saying 'No' to all or most of the special interests, many of them very vocal.
The Centre has decided not to give a go-ahead to the Par-Tapi-Narmada river link project following strong protests against it by tribals, Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party president C R Paatil said on Tuesday.
Today, the finance minister received another oblique suggestion for the budget, though it is uncertain how he can accommodate it in his budget speech, which is already under printing in the basement of North Block. This was from Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with some young Members of Parliament from his party for a 'stock-taking exercise' on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme.
'One wishes that today's 'take no prisoners' brand of politics would give way to an understanding of the national interest that is shared by both government and Opposition.'
Replying to the general discussion on Budget in Lok Sabha, she said the former Congress chief was creating fake narratives but does not have patience to listen to replies on allegations levelled against the government.
The chief ministers and the governors of the north eastern state have expressed dissatisfaction over the 'continuous reduction' of budget allocations of the North Eastern Council in the successive five-year plan.
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