Commercial banks have turned cautious in lending to smaller microfinance institutions (MFIs), which has compelled the latter to borrow from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) at much higher rates. Recently Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao slammed micro lenders for increasing their margins "disproportionately" and said these lenders were quick to pass on the increased cost to the borrowers but reluctant to pass on the benefits under the new regime, where margins are not capped.
The finance minister, in her Budget speech, should focus more on what she is directly responsible for, rather than on programmes where her role is largely supportive, notes Nitin Desai.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Sunday released its manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly polls, promising free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged 9 to 16 and and two optional leave days for women employees during menstruation.
The pace of lending to the infrastructure sector, including power and roads, fell sharply to 1.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in May, 2023 compared to 9.8 per cent in May, 2022. Within the segment, the growth in loans to the power sector was at 0.3 per cent YoY in May 2023, down from 9.3 per cent in May 2022. The RBI data showed that outstanding credit to power sector stood at Rs 6.17 trillion in May.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday took potshots at the rival Shiv Sena over its minister not finding a place in the reconstituted NITI Aayog.
'Binary fission will happen -- startups will lead to more startups.'
Fresh plans of privatisation or divestment in central public sector enterprises and public sector banks might take a back seat this financial year because these may require a large consensus among coalition partners.
Exporters on Thursday sought a fund of Rs 750 crore for three years to tap USD 25 billion export potential in the US, aiming to seize potential opportunities that may arise as the US President-elect, Donald Trump, has threatened to impose high tariffs on Chinese goods. In its pre-Budget meeting with the finance ministry, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ashwani Kumar has also demanded extension of the five per cent Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES).
It is possible to be blind to this and pretend to carry on as if nothing has happened but that will not change the reality, asserts Aakar Patel.
'As the city grows, so do its fire incidents.'
The micro engineering industries in Tamil Nadu have been affected by the ongoing global economic meltdown.
India Inc on Thursday pitched for lowering income tax burden on common man, increase in capital expenditure, and firm steps to contain food inflation in their nearly two-hour long interaction with finance minister Nirmala Shitharaman ahead of the Union Budget. During pre-Budget consultation with Sitharaman, the industry leaders and associations also urged the government to focus more on infrastructure development with a view to maintaining the economic growth momentum. The industry leaders also laid stress on boosting the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) sector, considered a backbone of the Indian economy and main employment generator.
Going by this Budget's estimate of government spending of Rs 48.2 trillion, the government has allocated a significantly lower percentage to defence -- 12.9 per cent.
The members of the cabinet committees included Union ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party and its National Democratic Alliance partners like Janata Dal-United, Telugu Desam Party, Janata Dal-Secular, Shiv Sena and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget proposals lay out a comprehensive road map for transforming India into a developed nation, focusing on key priorities that aim to generate ample opportunities for all citizens in "Viksit Bharat". It sets the stage for sustained economic growth, social development, and technological advancement.
An increase in the farmer income support scheme PM Kisan Nidhi, the introduction of a 'robot tax' to fund reskilling of people who lose their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI), and a reduced income-tax (I-T) to bring relief to the middle classes - these are some of the items in the Budget wish list submitted by Sangh Parivar affiliates to Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman. Representatives of the affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), such as the farmer organisation Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS); trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS); Laghu Udyog Bharati, which works for micro and small industries; and Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which works on economic and policy issues, met the FM and other officials over the last couple of weeks as part of the pre-Budget consultations.
Here is the complete list of ministers in Modi 3.0 and their portfolios:
Work on a dozen decisions to start by next week.
Indian space agency ISRO would significantly scale up outsourcing to industries to fuel the quantum jump in the programmes being undertaken by it and has mooted a risk-sharing model, its chairman K Radhakrishnan said.
Sources within the Congress, including those who have been members of the teams that drafted its 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha poll manifestos, said the Karnataka government decision lacked any empirical basis.
Among the new entrants to the Union cabinet, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been given the agriculture and rural development portfolios, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda the health portfolio and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar the power portfolio.
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers.
Companies in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector may legally challenge the Haryana government's new law which mandates 75 per cent reservation of jobs in the private sector for locals. "We had earlier gone to the high court against this law, but the court said that it would hear the matter after the law was notified," said Manoj Tyagi, general secretary, IMT Industrial Association. Industries and associations feel that the law will not benefit the state and will hit MSMEs that are just coming out of the crippling effects of the lockdowns owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The beneficiaries of the second set of announcements are expected to be micro, small, and medium enterprises, farmers, women, poor, migrant workers, and other marginalised sections of the society, reports Arup Roychoudhury.
Over 100,000 small and medium-sized businesses are non-compliant with e-invoicing norms under the goods and services tax (GST) regime, a mandatory requirement for businesses with an annual turnover of over Rs 5 crore. E-invoicing provides real-time access to invoices that are prepared by the supplier on the purchase of goods, allowing faster accessibility to input tax credit, thereby limiting the manipulation of fake credit as it has to be generated before the transaction. "The default has been reported mainly in businesses with a turnover between Rs 5 crore and Rs 20 crore," a senior official informed
Driven by mega investment proposals from Tata Power, Adani group, Singapore's Sembcorp Industries and Leap Green Energy, among others, the two-day Global Investors Meet 2024 in Tamil Nadu is expecting an infusion of around Rs 6.64 trillion. This is likely to create around 2.69 million direct and indirect jobs in the state. "Due to our tireless efforts and your participation during this Global Investors' Meet, we have attracted an unprecedented Rs 6.64 trillion of investments.
'If you take any ministry of defence project, Nibe is up there, getting orders.'
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, minister for micro, small and medium industries Mahavir Prasad said the RBI had in September 8, 2005 issued guidelines relating to debt restructuring mechanism for SMEs, based on the 'policy package for stepping up credit to SMEs' announced by the Centre the same year.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Tuesday launched new industrial and MSME policies aimed at providing further impetus to industrial growth by attracting more investments and also offering sops for development in the industrially backward districts.
Investors can take heart from the first Cabinet meeting in the second innings.
As the triangular political contest in Telangana intensifies, many believe that for the regional major BRS, it is a battle for survival after being routed in the assembly polls held late last year. What is haunting the party this time is the scams, the 10-year anti-incumbency factor, and family dominance in the party.
Union Minister Virbhadra Singh on Tuesday resigned in the wake of a Himachal Pradesh court framing corruption charges against him.
Large retailers are allegedly importing apparel made of Chinese fabric from Bangladesh at nil duty, under our free trade agreement with the latter country. However, the same agreement does not permit duty-free export from here.
Special Judge B L Soni, who had reserved framing charges on conclusion of arguments on June 6 last said that sufficient evidence existed for framing of charges against Singh and his wife in the "infamous" CD case in which they were allegedly having a conversation with IAS officer Mohinder Lal and some industrialists regarding monetary transactions
Officials said several witnesses were heard on the impact of the pandemic. They added that this was the longest meeting of the panel without a break so far.
A two-decade-old graft case has proved to the nemesis of veteran Congress leader Virbhadra Singh who resigned as Union Minister on Tuesday, a day after charges were framed against him by a Himachal Pradesh court.
The NHRC said that it has received several complaints regarding the ongoing farmers' protest.
The Met department blamed the malfunctioning of sensors kept at the Automated Weather Station for the gaffe.
Govt has done away with the need to secure crucial permits.
Yet another first week of December brought familiar scenes of rain, storm, flooding, power outages, and fallen trees. When Cyclone Michaung wreaked havoc, leading to the heaviest rainfall in 47 years in the city, residents of Chennai drew parallels to the devastating floods of 2015. However, initial data on insurance claims suggests that the impact this time may portray a more optimistic scenario.
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