By ending the Shiv Sena's political untouchability, the Congress is creating a level playing ground for itself in the political battle of Hindu identity, explains Sheela Bhatt.
We have our own problems for sure and they are not trivial, but for now, our economy is in not too bad a shape, our politics is as personality-driven and authoritarian as that of most countries in the world. We must make the best of what we have and not be excessively unhappy looking at the grass on the other side of the septic tank which may not be greener after all!, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
UP is an important state to roll out the government's agrarian reforms and job growth policies.
'By 2020 around 34% of India's population will be in the 15-34 age group.' 'More than 70% of them live in rural areas.' 'Their energy and enthusiasm need to be tapped in order to meet their aspirations and transform agriculture and the rural economy,' says P K Joshi.
The ministry further stated that it was advisable to receive a complete schedule of the anti-coronavirus vaccine irrespective of past history of infection with COVID-19 as this will help in developing a strong immune response against the disease.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Manipur water supply project via video link.
Over the past three decades, a global labour market started taking shape.
Atul Bhatnagar, COO, National Skills Development Corporation tells us how we can effectively tackle the issue of unemployability and make our youth more employable.
The Omicron variant carries 'concerning' mutations that may make it more transmissible and allow it to evade immunity, scientists said on Monday, stressing that the one certainty in the uncertainty of the many things unknown is this -- COVID is not a short-term crisis and vaccines are still a critical tool.
Shortage of ICU beds, oxygen, ventilators, vaccines, doctors, nurses and crematorium space in India has dominated headlines around the world in the past few weeks with Covid-19 cases surging beyond control and the government failing to deliver. Yes, election rallies, Kumbh Mela, blatant flouting of social distancing and mask protocols coupled with a messy vaccination process are said to be responsible for the health crisis of colossal proportions that India is facing today. But an analysis of Budget speeches made by finance ministers over 75 years also offers a glimpse of how low on the priority list healthcare has featured for the political class and policy-makers, which is a significant reason for the current situation.
After the finance minister directed public sector banks to join the account aggregator (AA) ecosystem, 5-6 major ones, including State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Baroda are expected to go live by July-end. Sahmati, an industry alliance for the AA ecosystem, has been working with PSU banks to get them onboarded for quite some time now. So far, Union Bank of India and Punjab National Bank (PNB) have gone live on the AA ecosystem. While Union Bank has been live for a while, PNB went live earlier this month.
In a time of tight credit, the facility will support grants to bank and non-bank institutions for activities to increase access to financial services, such as savings, credit, payments and insurance, in rural areas in developing countries as profitable business lines, the World Bank said.
As the world awaits the end of the global pandemic, rural Bengal might be witnessing a recession unfolding in bits and pieces. With factories and tea gardens closing down, agricultural income falling and storm Aila ravaging a large part of deltaic West Bengal in 2010, migration gradually became a norm.
About one-third of the world's poor live in India but there are countries where 88 per cent of population is extremely poor.
Amrita Patel, chairman of National Dairy Development Board, and one-time protege of Varghese Kurien, has been silent till now on the raging controversy over the legality of Kurien's chairmanship at the Institute of Rural Management Anand.
PM extended some old schemes and finally said yes to one that was legally mandated for past 2 years.
One thing is for sure: It smacks of the regulator's lack of confidence in the bank's board, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Despite admitting to price pressures both from food items and input prices, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday hoped that a normal Southwest monsoon will have a "soothing impact" on inflation pressures and ruled out any wide variations in medium-term inflation forecast from what was given in April. In an unscheduled address earlier in the day amidst the raging pandemic, Das said the overall outlook for the economy is highly uncertain and is clouded with downside risks. He offered a slew of relief and liquidity measures to individuals and small businesses apart from a Rs 50,000 crore special liquidity window to the healthcare sector.
The Finance Commission has substantially increased the allocation of funds to panchayats, but a large part of it is apportioned by state governments.
Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have announced loan waivers for farmers, while Maharashtra has not despite Opposition pressure. Sanjeeb Mukherjee reports.
The President talked about demonetisation, electoral reforms and disruptions in Parliament.
Marriage is the most common purpose of migration, with 49 per cent migrating for marriage, followed by moving with households (15 per cent) and work/employment (10 per cent), discovers Devanik Saha.
The opposition in Lok Sabha on Monday tore into the controversial Land Acquisition Bill
'With over 50 per cent of medical seats reserved for those who have the ability to pay a fee ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore for a five-year MBBS course and quotas in accordance with affirmative policies in government colleges, the band of seats available for the not-so-rich and non-OBCs is very narrow.'
The first part of the study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revealed that 0.73 per cent of the population surveyed showed evidence of past exposure to SARS-CoV-2, and that urban slum population was the most vulnerable to the infection, ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said at a press conference.
Unanimously confirmed by the Senate last week, Panchanathan, 58, from the Arizona State University, replaces White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Dr Kelvin Droegemeier who served as Acting Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Long-term funding was a requirement for infrastructure projects, and asset-liability mismatch in the banking system, impacts the access to finance for infrastructure projects. One of the key challenges would, however, be to get private sector back into investing.
The expert noted that in India the pandemic is unlikely to be over in the months to come, and the number of people getting infected will continue to rise.
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.
'There will always be hiccups given that the Namami Gange programme is spread over different sectors and involves several agencies.'
Defence Research Development and Organisation Director General Avinash Chander on Saturday said that India's missile programme is purely aimed at peace in the country.
An important focus of the dry run will be on management of any possible adverse events following immunisation.
'When you need to revive the economy, when you need to revive aggregate demand, you cut taxes.' 'But what's this government doing?' 'It's increasing taxes for the middle class and the vast majority of the poor on fuel, which has a ratchet effect on most other products.'
Don't end up claiming tax by just referring to Section 80G. There are some sub-sections also.
India needs to come up with new ideas to make the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas more appealing to overseas Indians. The Diasporas talents should be used for the country's development, says Thomas Abraham, founder of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin
The branch managers have come out of their glass cabins and the sellers' market has transformed into a buyers' market, but there is no end to the harassment of customers, asserts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
This doctor couple put their faith in India. And in return India has put faith in them.
'Chinese experts estimate that the new US administration is 'at the crossroads of how to re-manage and control' Sino-American differences and strategic divergences and Biden's bottom line is that the US would have 'extreme competition with China, but won't allow competition to develop into conflict',' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The 61-year-old, who was administered the oath of office by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal at a simple function in the Raj Bhavan, also said he wants to accelerate development in the union territory, carved out of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir last year.
India on Thursday pitched for unleashing the "collective strength" of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj underlined the need for a South Asian Economic Union with greater connectivity and forward movement on pending agreements on rail and motor vehicles.