S&P Global Ratings on Friday said it will watch the fiscal numbers for the next 1-2 years, besides pro-growth policies of the new government, before deciding on India's sovereign rating upgrade. S&P, which earlier this week upgraded India's outlook to positive while retaining the sovereign rating at BBB-, expects the new government to continue with pro-growth policies, infrastructure investment and commitment to fiscal consolidation.
Looking under the hood, I see India on the terrible, but commonplace, road to prosperity failure, warns Rathin Roy.
The incident goes back to last month when Sunak made a quick visit to his hometown of Southampton to launch a new government scheme for the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) to expand the role of high street pharmacies.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw points out how the adoption of information and communication technologies can provide India with a very effective health care tool.
India has flattened its Covid-19 graph and 146 districts have reported no new case of the viral disease in the last seven days, 18 in 14 days, six in 21 days and 21 districts in the last 28 days, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
The ministry of health and family welfare spent Rs 3,948 crore in May this year compared to Rs 7,816 crore in the corresponding month of the previous year. On the other hand, at Rs 12,930 crore, the expenditure had risen almost 200 per cent in April against Rs 4,327 crore in the corresponding month of 2019-20.
In 2019-20, the capital expenditure of Indian Railways (IR) increased 60 per cent over 2016-17. The draft National Railways plan envisages a further increase in IR's capital expenditure, but an analysis by Business Standard shows that IR has come to depend more on borrowings and budgetary support. In 2016-17, while 11 per cent of its capital expenditure (capex) was funded by internal sources, in 2019-20 the ratio dropped to less than 1 per cent. A 2015 Committee on Restructuring Railways had flagged that over-reliance on borrowings could exacerbate the financial situation of Railways.
Inequality in India has skyrocketed since early 2000s, with the income and wealth share of top 1 per cent population rising to 22.6 per cent and 40.1 per cent, respectively, in 2022-23, according to a working paper. The paper titled 'Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj' said between 2014-15 and 2022-23, the rise of top-end inequality has been particularly pronounced in terms of wealth concentration.
'It has been 14 years since I began living in exile and it's shocking that the situation in Balochistan has only worsened rather than improved.'
Even in terms of new single-day cases, Delhi reported the highest number of infections, followed by Kerala and Maharashtra.
'I found it unbelievable that L&T said 45,000 jobs were waiting to be filled because of unavailability of suitable skillsets.' 'So, when the Opposition sweepingly says there are no jobs, I'm sorry... I'm not saying it's raining jobs, but there are jobs. The (skill) gap has to be bridged.'
At least one commentator felt that both the BJP's reach and popularity had been underestimated in Kerala. They have shown systematic gain; one that seems personality-neutral and therefore institutionalised, explains Shyam G Menon.
He further said that stern action will be taken against people who do not wear masks and do not follow social distancing norms in the national capital.
RediffGURUS Ashwini Dasgupta, Anu Krishna, Dr Karthiyayini Mahadevan and Jinal Mehta answer queries from Rediff readers.
The United Nations, its top leaders and agencies have expressed horror and strong condemnation over the killing of hundreds of civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza, underscoring that attack on hospitals or civilian infrastructure is against international humanitarian law and called for holding those responsible to account.
Fresh meat and seafood delivery unicorn Licious is intensifying its talent acquisition endeavours as it pursues profitability and readies for an initial public offering (IPO) within the next 24 months. Delightful Gourmet, Licious' parent company, has named 39-year-old Karishma Gupta as its new chief financial officer (CFO). Her appointment aligns with Licious' drive for profitable growth through an omnichannel strategy.
The states will be asked to tap the Centre's JAM trinity.
He said though there is a spike in new cases, the situation is under control as not many people are developing severe disease or require hospitalisation.
Since Independence, Lok Sabha Speakers have been chosen by consensus.
'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
With the athletes bidding goodbye to Paris after another bone-tingling edition of the Olympics, Norma Astrid Godinho/Rediff.com, shares some interesting nuggets that made the Paris Olympics an event to remember!
Without naming Waze's accomplice, the National Investigation Agency said certain "incriminating material" was also taken out by someone from the joint locker of Waze and his aide, who is a suspect in the case, from a bank located in Versova area in Mumbai.
'Health will continue to be at the centre of the government's attention as it underpins economic recovery and our collective well being.'
Air quality in Delhi and its suburbs dropped to the severe category again on Wednesday morning, with smoke from post-harvest paddy straw burning in neighbouring states accounting for one-third of the air pollution in the national capital.
Indian pharmaceutical firms foresee minimal disruptions in trade with Israel despite escalating regional tensions. Rising crude prices and export shipping insurance premiums have raised concerns, but the pharmaceutical sector remains optimistic. Pharmaceutical exports from India to Israel in FY 2020-21 amounted to $32.5 million, which represents only a minor segment of India's overall pharma exports.
The Centre on Saturday night announced that the probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET will be handed over to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will set a record by presenting the sixth Budget in a row -- 5 annual Budgets and one interim -- a feat achieved so far only by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. With the presentation of interim Budget on February 1, Sitharaman will surpass the records of her predecessors like Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, who had presented five budgets in a row. Desai, as Finance Minister, had presented five annual Budgets and one interim Budget between 1959-1964. The interim Budget 2024-25 to be presented by Sitharaman on February 1, will be a vote-on-account that will give the government authority to spend certain sums of money till a new government comes to office after the April-May general elections.
'I tell those in their 20s that age is on their side and they should start exercising early.' 'Just like investing in good stocks, if they start early, they will get the multiplier effects of being healthy, fit and strong later in life.'
Leaders and members of the Hindu community rue the fact that they are not given proper representation and many are not even registered as voters.
Researchers found that India, along with China and Japan, were the three leading countries in Asia in terms of number of new cases and deaths, where they say cancer has become a more significant public health threat with 94 lakh new cases and 56 lakh deaths in 2019.
The lockdown, which was first clamped on March 25 and spanned for 21 days, had registered 10,877 cases, while the second phase of the curbs that began on April 15 and stretched for 19 days till May 3, saw 31,094 cases.
The NITI Aayog's views are in contrast to the National Health Policy.
Efforts of the government have been successful in reining in the growth of population, she said in a written reply.
NEET is a court-ordered examination, supposedly aimed at meritocracy. However, over the past years when the incumbent Narendra Modi government at the Centre began implementing it, it took on political and casteist colours, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
British nationals arriving in India, irrespective of their vaccination status, will have to undergo 10 days of mandatory quarantine from October 4 as part of the reciprocal actions initiated by the government following the vaccine certification row between the two countries.
A portfolio can be rebalanced by either selling a portion of the outperforming asset class or by buying more of the underperforming asset class.
However, he suggested that Ukraine was also somehow involved.
The death toll due to the viral disease has climbed to 5,31,300 with 42 more fatalities, including 10 reconciled by Kerala, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.
The scarcity of resources is particularly evident in the case of Rajasthan compared to many other states.
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