If the fiscal deficit for the year can be maintained at Rs 7.04 trillion, the deficit as a percentage of GDP will slip to 3.44 per cent
Of the seven surveys presented under Modi govt, predictions of three were quite close to the actual GDP growth rate, one saw the base year change in between, but the last three were way off the mark.
When almost the entire political class was engrossed in the Bihar polls, the Congress shahzada was holidaying in a hill station. As the Bihar contest and other by-elections have shown, a large number of states have become Congress-mukt, fulfilling the Hindutva brigade's dream, notes Amulya Ganguli.
Here are 8 factors to watch out for, says psephologist Yogendra Yadav.
Urjit Patel, Binny Bansal, Nirav Modi and Rahul Gandhi personify the big trends that defined 2018. Well, almost...
Students and social activists held a protest against the act and the NRC at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, while a large number of people gathered for a pro-CAA rally at the historic August Kranti Maidan, where a massive protest against the Citizenship Act was held last week.
No nation is fully sovereign to do what it wants to do in the face of opposition from others, points out Aakar Patel.
'You just make the bureaucracy honest and make them function with integrity.' 'Everything will be taken care of after that.' 'But this Mission Karmayogi does not even mention these two words -- honesty and integrity.'
If Amit Shah is likely to take to the home ministry like a duck to water, Nirmala Sitharaman's handling of finance will show whether she will justify the confidence which Modi has placed in her.
While Governor Das was sanguine on government walking the fiscal prudence path--which was missed three out of the five budgets of the Modi government--Acharya pointed to the fiscal slippages as a worry.
'An explanation perhaps lies in the culture of revisions that has grown deep roots in the government data collection system,' notes A K Bhattacharya.
The BJP still does not have a majority in Upper House of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, and this will pose hurdles to the party's legislative reform agenda
One India is doing great against the coronavirus, lauding the gains of the lockdown and thanking the government, and the other lacks commitment, says Sumit Bhattacharya.
The country's new economic roadmap highlights the importance of creating a virtuous cycle of investment, savings and exports in order to sustain rapid economic growth over the next five years.
'The hour is very late, and the choice between triumph and tragedy knocks at our door,' says Ajay Shah.
Thousands of unlisted companies registered with RoCs will soon go under watch on lines similar to the oversight by the Securities and Exchange Board of India of listed companies.
The Opposition must understand that while 2024 may draw mileage from the growing resentment towards the BJP, the real battle and proof of how well India learnt from its disastrous dalliance with the Right-wing, will be in 2029, observes Shyam G Menon.
The major task of the country is to move as fast as it can to achieve a higher standard of living, said former RBI governor C Rangarajan.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha teams up with the Madhya Pradesh CM. What's cooking?
Dubs Modi government a "one trick horse" which will make the Hindu-Muslim issue the dominant one in political discourse; asks Opposition to field one candidate in every seat against BJP nominee in 2019 polls.
Trump had said a comprehensive trade agreement with India would take much longer to finalise than earlier expected.
'I have exited at least six WhatsApp groups because I am tired of your bhakts who impose their views on your behalf.' 'Why can't I have a healthy discussion about my nation's future without being called deshdrohi?' asks Divya Nair.
Why has Mumbai's cyber police taken no action against these WhatsApp groups who everyday, commit offences under the Indian Penal Code? The police cannot be unaware of their existence, observes Shruthi Marathe.
Rediff Labs analyses who's been making the most buzz in the 5 poll-bound states.
At the expense of his latest victims who were too petrified to pronounce the biggies he threw at them, Shashi Tharoor had a good laugh on Twitter recently, says Veer Arjun Singh.
Gadkari said that the MSME sector contributes significantly in pushing the country's economic growth and creating employment.
Never have I been so thankful for my decision to quit my life in Mumbai and shift to Santiniketan as I have been in these times of the coronavirus.
FinMin has already sought inputs from different central ministries for the Budget speech, which would be the last Budget of the current BJP-led NDA government before the 2019 general polls.
'Behind the BJP's anti-Congress crusade is an attempt to divert attention from the Ladakh standoff,' explains Amulya Ganguli.
'The Maharashtrian Congressmen's decision to break away from their reluctant leaders in Delhi to side with the Shiv Sena is seemingly the first sign that the 'high command' is not as powerful as is believed,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Oil sank to the lowest level in a month after shedding all of its gains from the US-Iran clash as traders waited to see whether any further hostilities will disrupt exports from the East Asia.
Before 2019, an estimated 22 million individual income-tax returns did not have to pay any taxes. But after the change in the exemption level, another 13 million individual tax returns did not require to pay taxes. Thus, of about 58 million returns, as much as 63 per cent or 35 million went out of the direct tax net, A K Bhattacharya points out.
'If an election promise has to be credible, silence on practical questions doesn't help matters,' notes T N Ninan.
Had India agreed to join the trade pact, Indian markets would have been flooded with cheap Chinese products.
'In this season of inspired mean-spirited campaigning, it still seemed remarkable that we are more likely to learn civics lessons from school children than our leaders,' says Rahul Jacob.
'Non-separation of religion from politics is India's most daunting challenge'
Is there an understanding between the two parties on critical issues?
How Swaroop Sampat paved the way for hubby in the BJP.
'Three successive failures can tarnish the image of invincibility.' 'Once this happens, Chanakya can fall prey to his adversaries outside and inside the party,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
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