Listing of LIC will help bring in greater transparency, public participation and also deepen the equity market.
Ahead of a meeting of Group of Ministers, the rural development ministry sought to allay apprehensions of industries and infrastructure sectors over the controversial land acquisition bill, contending that the amendments in the legislation are investor-friendly.
In a big boost to farm sector, Finance Minister P Chidambaram proposed a whopping Rs 1.25 lakh crore increase in agri-credit target for next fiscal at Rs 7 lakh crore and raised allocation to the ministry by a handsome 22 per cent.
Super Rice, the newly-developed hybrid rice breed by Chinese scientists, has set a new world record in output, officials said.
Expect Modi to speak about internal security, terrorism, agriculture, the Triple Talaq Bill, the SC/ST Bill and, of course, the controversial NRC.
The stimulus package is expected anytime this week and will be aimed at the urban and rural poor; disadvantaged sections of society; MSMEs and some of the worst-affected sectors.
Kumaraswamy also ruled out any differences among JD-S MLAs over cabinet berths and allocation of portfolios.
Shringla began his two-day official visit to Nepal on Thursday. He was accorded a warm welcome on his maiden visit to Nepal which is happening at the invitation of Nepal Foreign Secretary Paudyal, amid a strain in bilateral ties following a bitter border row between the two countries.
From Sri Lanka's most popular political family to its most despised -- going by the voices on the streets calling for the Rajapaksas' ouster -- what went wrong for the clan? Veteran Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy offers an insight.
Rediff.com takes a look at the revamped Cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh:
Twitter on Wednesday said it has suspended over 500 accounts, and blocked access to several others within India as it partly acceded to a government order to curb spread of misinformation and inflammatory content around farmers' protests.
In many parts of central and north India, monsoon reaches only in July.
In a paper, EAC-PM accused Subramanian of "cherry-picking high-frequency indicators" to express his skepticism about the growth rates after 2011-12.
The commerce department has said that earnings through the new tax will equal the losses faced by Indian industry after the US tariffs on steel and aluminium.
The deadline for officers to decide on their career path in the biggest organisational rejig in the central bank's 85-year history ends on January 31. The immediate fallout could be its disruptive impact on the supervisory process for 2020 -- and beyond -- given the manpower shortfall, even as more entities are set to come under closer central bank scrutiny.
The meeting came days after Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to greet him on India's 74th Independence Day, in the first high-level contact after bilateral ties came under severe strain following issuance of a new political map by Nepal in May.
FinMin had objected and wanted existing cost-plus method retained.
The Asian Development Bank too had projected Indian's economic growth for current fiscal at 7.4 per cent.
India may be a largely agrarian economy; but the country remains a marginal player in world agricultural trade, says the latest annual report from the ministry of agriculture.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday favoured a compensation policy that ensures adequate return to farmers for giving up land holding rights in favour of any upcoming special economic zone project.
Sources said the rural development ministry has sought an additional Rs 20,000 crore for MGNREGA for 2019-20 over and above the budgeted Rs 60,000 crore for 2019-20. Though, all of the PM-KISAN savings may not be transferred to fund MNGREGA's extra needs, sources said a part of this could be transferred.
Agricultural incomes can be taxed without hurting farmers, as a substantial section - the small and marginal ones - will remain outside the tax net simply because their incomes are likely to be below the basic exemption limit of Rs 250,000 per annum that is extended to all taxpayers in India, finds out Ishan Bakshi.
The Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday the Charge d'Affaires of Pakistan High Commission was summoned and informed about the decision which was based on instances of involvement of Pakistani officials in 'acts of espionage' and 'dealings with terrorist organisations'.
The catch is the need for a supportive framework in place that allows free and fair use of such technology.
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has the task of bringing clean tap water to all households by 2024.
Terminal Markets Projects will be expedited in all states that have potential for such projects, said a conference organized by the agriculture ministry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a meeting to discuss the preparations for launching Doordarshan's 'Kisan TV' on May 26, to coincide with the first anniversary celebrations of the National Democratic Alliance government.
Lack of literacy is compromising the ability of farmers in India and China, two of the world's most populous countries with the smallest farm size, to raise productivity without losing soil fertility, says Kunal Bose.
Work is also progressing on 17 strategic highway-cum-airstrips, three of which have been completed, he said. Besides, work is on in full swing on the Rs 12,000 crore ambitious Chardham project for providing all-weather connectivity to Gangotri, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Badrinath.
The Union agriculture ministry plans to invite private investment in its project to promote hybrid rice to increase output, particularly in eastern states.
With certain quarters demanding privatisation of public sector banks in the aftermath of the alleged fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB), Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister chairman Bibek Debroy tells Sanjeeb Mukherjee, Ishan Bakshi and Indivjal Dhasmana that reducing government equity even to zero would not mean giving up of government control over these banks.
This year's kharif output may be higher than last year but it will be short of 2007 or 2008 levels.
Tamil nadu Chief Minister and All India Dravida Munetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa on Monday sacked three ministers and six district heads in the backdrop of her party's defeat in three Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Two days after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) witnessed Pawar-bashing at the hands of senior Congress leaders, the party once again attacked the Union Agriculture Minister, saying that prices were responsibility of the Agriculture and Food Ministry and "it is natural for the party to articulate the concerns of millions of people".
The crop is currently trading at Rs 22 a kg compared to Rs 12.50 one month ago.
Experts say it will make GDP growth target of 5.7-5.8% difficult to achieve, while ministries feel late resurgence will help in sowing of rabi crops.
'When you start distributing wealth, you end up distributing poverty.'
Farmers have been availing crop loans upto Rs 300,000 at 7%.
Warehousing law amendment on cards to allow farmers use storage receipts as security for bank loans
While the number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 7,409, as many as 764 people have been cured and discharged, and one had migrated, it said. Of the total 273 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 127 fatalities, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 36, Gujarat at 22 and Delhi at 19.
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