In a significant policy shift aimed at boosting agri-productivity and rural prosperity, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced six new agricultural schemes while increasing the subsidised Kisan Credit Card loan limit to Rs 5 lakh from the existing Rs 3 lakh, benefiting 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen, and dairy farmers.
A massive outlay of Rs 11,000 crore (Rs 110 billion) has been earmarked this financial year for laying of rural roads, a key component under Bharat Nirman programme.
FinMin urges reduction not be weighed against Budget estimates.
Citing the steps taken by government for rural development and poverty alleviations, the finance minister said, 'these initiatives and other interventions of the government need people's involvement and continuous interface with the government institutions.'
Official death toll due to the cyclonic storm has been pegged at 21, nearly 12 million people affected.
Gadkari is credited with the construction of more than 90,000 km of national highways and 30,000 km of new roads in the country in the last 10 years.
Modi government has earlier faced criticism from the Opposition on a number of occasions for renaming the schemes including PURA launched by the UPA in past.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that th Pakistan air force's Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) airbases were targeted.
Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and several other party leaders were detained on Tuesday night as they held a dharna at the Union Rural Development Ministry office in New Delhi demanding a meeting with the minister and released around three hours later.
It will be interesting to see what shifts have been recorded in the last decade-and-a-half -- from the effects of demonetisation and Covid's second wave to the drop in fertility and increase in farm workers -- but we will only know this if and when the Census is conducted, points out Aakar Patel.
This is the fourth such recruitment drive proposed to be undertaken by the Narendra Modi government which had in 2018 initiated lateral entry.
The move comes after Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday resigned after he was chosen as the National Democratic Alliance's candidate for the vice presidential election.
These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
The Centre has denied political clearance to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for his visit to Paris to support the Indian Hockey team at the Olympic Games, an official source said on Saturday.
'India has the maths talent, academic institutions, and research institutions to do the next big thing.'
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers.
Withdraws petition from green tribunal, makes fresh plea for Lanjigarh project.
Free provision of food, cash transfers, and jobs in villages see enhanced flow of funds despite a precipitous fall in revenue. Till May, defence spend was nearly 30 per cent less than the previous year.
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.
The Maharashtra government has become the owner of iconic Air India building with the Union government approving transfer of the asset on Thursday. The Maharashtra government bought the Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore. "GoI has approved transfer of Air India building, Mumbai of AI Assets Holding Company Ltd (AIAHL) to Government of Maharashtra (GoM) at consideration of Rs.1601 cr. GoM has agreed to waive dues of Rs. 298.42 cr, which would have been otherwise payable by AIAHL to GoM for this transaction," DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a post on X.
A young Indian man was arrested in Pakistan after illegally crossing the border to meet a Facebook friend he wanted to marry. However, the woman told police she was not interested in marrying him. The man, Badal Babu, was arrested in the Mandi Bahauddin district of Pakistan's Punjab province on December 28. He had crossed the border to meet his Facebook friend, Sana Rani. Rani, in her statement to police, said she had been friends with Babu for the past two-and-a-half years but was not interested in marrying him. Babu's family has appealed to the Indian government to intervene for his release.
Agri experts are meeting FinMin ministry officials on Monday to give their inputs on the Budget.
The 28 new ministers who joined the Chouhan cabinet on July 2 include 20 of cabinet rank and eight ministers of state.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar was given the finance and planning portfolio on Friday, nearly two weeks after he broke away from the original party and took oath as Maharashtra's deputy chief minister.
'It has been an ongoing process, talking to the relevant ministries about eliminating leakages and curbing non-core expenditure in various schemes.'
As RBI governor, Sanjay Malhotra will have to give the highest priority to the interest of the economy while deciding on the growth-inflation trade off at Mint Street.
The ministry of minority affairs informed the Lok Sabha that in 2022-2023, it had been allotted Rs 5,020.5 crore (Rs 50.20 billion); in the Revised Estimates, it had got Rs 2,612.66 crore (Rs 26.12 billion); and had spent, until the end of March this year, Rs 712.5 crore (Rs 7,12 billion).
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the actual spending under the scheme in the fiscal year ending March 31 "would be highest".
'Efforts are on to make the data readily available so that it proves useful for policymakers.'
The Government of India has decided to launch a massive rural public works scheme, 'Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan', to "empower and provide livelihood opportunities to the returnee migrant workers and rural citizens". Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch this scheme on June 20 through video conference in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.
Nitin Desai, who has known Dr Singh from 1971, extends his 'deepest condolences to his wife Gurcharan Kaur and to his three talented daughters Upinder, the historian; Daman, the writer; and Amrit, the human rights activist.'
India appears poised to sustain its growth in a more durable way than before with the economy carrying the momentum from FY23 into the current fiscal year, the Annual Economic Review for 2022-23 released by the finance ministry on Thursday said. However, the report cautioned that escalation of geopolitical stress, enhanced volatility in global financial systems, sharp price correction in global stock markets, a high magnitude of El-Nino impact, and modest trade activity and FDI inflows, are factors that could constrain the pace of growth. "Should these developments deepen and dampen growth in the subsequent quarters, the external sector may challenge India's growth outlook for FY24," the finance ministry said.
Around 7.4 per cent of Indians aged 60 and above are affected by dementia. This number is expected to rise from the current 8.8 million to 17 million by 2036, marking a 97 per cent increase.
Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to acquire the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet in Mumbai. The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, also decided to waive off around Rs 250 crore unrealised income and interest on the property, an official said.
'Some of the astounding proposals, if translated into statutory provisions, would be suicidal.' 'This would not be a wonder cure for increasing insurance penetration and only result in mushrooming growth of players like paan kiosks with deleterious consequences.'
The health and family welfare ministry spent 70 per cent of its allocation till October. The ministry may need additional funds for the vaccination drive which is expected to be kicked off from January.
Condolences have poured in from across the globe, including from the United States, Canada and Sri Lanka following the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said his ministry can address the water woes faced in parts of the country.
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