The government has hiked gold import duty to 15 per cent from 10.75 per cent to check the current account deficit (CAD) and rising import of the yellow metal. The duty changes came into effect on June 30. Earlier, the basic customs duty on gold was 7.5 per cent, now it will be 12.5 per cent.
Much of the rural recovery story is based on the premise of agriculture doing well. Even if it clocks a growth of 2.5-3 per cent this year, it is still just around 15 per cent of the overall GDP. The non-farm sector, which constitutes a bigger portion of the overall rural economy, is now hampered by disruptions and lockdowns.
Breaking a long tradition, the PMO has ensured that specific divisions in each ministry are allocated to junior ministers.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a tweet said the rights to peaceful assembly and expression should be protected both offline and online.
Recognising that peaceful protests are a hallmark of a thriving democracy, the United States has said that it encourages dialogue between the protesting farmers and the Indian government to resolve their differences.
The country's exports grew 5.37 per cent year-on-year to $27.24 billion in January 2021, mainly driven by healthy growth in pharma and engineering sectors, according to provisional data of the commerce ministry. Trade deficit during the month narrowed to $14.75 billion from $15.3 billion in January 2020. It was $15.44 billion in December 2020. Imports in January 2021 rose 2 per cent to $42 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain DoPT, Atomic Energy as well as all important policy issues and portfolios not allocated.
As oil marketing companies (OMCs) stare at huge under-recoveries, India is facing fuel shortage across the country with states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Haryana being the worst hit. The under-recoveries suffered by OMCs are around Rs 20-25 a litre for diesel and Rs 14-18 a litre for petrol, said sources. Government and state-run companies denied reports of any crisis or supply-side issues on the availability of fuel.
MNREGS labourers are usually engaged in irrigation projects.
A day after being sworn-in, the new ministers took charge of their portfolios. Here's a look at the various new ministers on their first day at work.
Coimbatore-based environmental activist R Manikandan, was named the South Zone Water Warrior by the Government of India's Jal Shakti ministry.
Government's objective is to bring down the cost of cultivation through efficient use of fertilisers and agro chemicals, and increase in realisation. It is, thus, planning to connect 200 agricultural mandis with electronic National Agricultural Mandis this year and 225 next year, to enable farmers to sell their produce hassle-free online.
The government also proposed promoting 'one product one district' for better marketing and export of horticulture crops. It also called on states for early implementation of three key central model laws on land leasing, agriculture produce and livestock marketing and contract farming.
Fresh guidelines were issued by the government on Wednesday for enforcing the second phase of the coronavirus lockdown, with the Union home ministry barring all kinds of public transport and prohibiting opening of public places during this period.
India is one of biggest producers and exporters of agri commodities.
The expansion was the first by Sarma since he assumed chief ministership of the state about 13 months ago.
Banks have started refunding borrowers the compound interest charged on specified loan accounts during the moratorium period. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had asked all lending institutions, including non-banking financial companies, to ensure that the scheme of waiver of interest on interest for loans up to Rs 2 crore for the six-month moratorium period is implemented by November 5.
Data compiled by National Collateral Management Services (NCML, a non-government body) shows a 6.3 per cent rise to 109 million tonnes (mt). The Union ministry of agriculture's first advance estimate was 100.5 mt, as compared to 102 mt in last year's fourth advance estimate.
The agriculture ministry also reiterated it is ready to find a "logical solution" to the issues raised by protesting farmer unions.
Agriculture ministry to prepare blueprint for purchasing onions directly from farmers and the expenditure on damages would be shared equally between the Centre and state governments.
'They attack standing crops and vegetables.' 'They don't attack people.' 'People are just panicking.'
British lawmakers will debate the issue of press freedom and safety of protesters in India next Monday in response to an e-petition which had crossed the 100,000-signature threshold required for such a debate, the House of Commons Petitions Committee confirmed on Wednesday.
In a letter to 40 union leaders, Union Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Vivek Aggarwal said the Centre is making all efforts with "an open heart" to find an appropriate solution to resolve all the concerns raised by farmers.
India summoned Canadian High Commissioner Nadir Patel, and told him that the comments made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others in his cabinet on the farmers' protest constituted an 'unacceptable interference' in the country's internal affairs and these actions, if continued, will have a 'seriously damaging' impact on the bilateral ties.
Hours after the Joe Biden Administration reacted to the farmer protests, India on Thursday said the comments must be seen in their entirety and compared reactions to the violence at the Red Fort with those seen after storming of the United States Capitol.
India has called the remarks by foreign leaders and organisations on protests by farmers as "ill-informed" and "unwarranted", asserting that the matter pertains to the internal affairs of a democratic country.
Revised draft model Bill clearly says an agriculturist for the purpose of agriculture won't be liable for registration under GST.
A group of Indian diaspora organisations launched a rose campaign on the occasion of Valentine's Day on Sunday in support of the farmers protesting against the new farm laws in India.
Prime Minister Modi arrived in Riyadh late Monday night on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia to participate in the high-profile financial summit Future Investment Initiative, dubbed "Davos in the desert", an initiative of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
It has decided not to levy the 2 per cent tax deducted at source (TDS) on cash payments above Rs 1 crore made through Agricultural Produce Market Committees.
He dropped those perceived to be non-performers or whose integrity came into question, and also where it was felt they needed to learn a lesson or two in humility.
A decision in this regard was taken in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Internet services remained disrupted for the fifth day at the site on Delhi's outskirts where protesters are occupying a stretch of the Delhi-Meerut highway since November, even as a Ghaziabad Police officer told PTI that online connectivity has been restored but there could be glitches.
Twitter has blocked several accounts and tweets after the government asked the microblogging platform to take action against 250 handles and posts for containing 'false and provocative content' related to the ongoing farmers' agitation, according to sources.
During the meeting, the leadership of the India Caucus, which is the largest country-specific caucus in the House of Representatives, condemned the violence on January 26 in Delhi.
As far as possible, investment in the agriculture sector must be from the government, and not the private sector, states Santushti Raj Thapar.
After the Gujarat and Himachal elections and the municipal polls in Mumbai and Delhi, Karnataka, Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh will elect new assemblies next year leading up to the Lok Sabha election in April-May 2024, points out Virendra Kapoor.
To prevent rise in air pollution levels, oil marketing companies and thermal power units were planning to procure stubble from farmers to make bioethanol and promote the central government's 'Agricultural Mechanization' for crop residue management. But both have seen minimal success.
The US on Thursday raised concerns over India's Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill and draft non-personal data governance framework, claiming these could potentially threaten innovation and economic growth. In its latest 'Special 301' Report, the US Trade Representative (USTR) kept India on the priority watch list, maintaining the country remains one of the world's most challenging major economies with respect to protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP). In December 2021, a joint parliamentary committee released a report recommending changes to the PDP Bill, 2019, that could undermine important IP protections in India.
But the measures, particularly in agriculture, may not be enough to revive the sector and double the farm income, says S Mahendra Dev.
