The recent agreement between the RBI and the Centre marks a significant step forward toward financial inclusion.
In his massive election rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi often caught voters fancy promising that each individual would get Rs 15-20 lakh in his bank account if he came to power.
About 17 lakh investors, mostly in West Bengal, who have lost crores of rupees in the Saradha chit fund scam are fast losing hope. The scandal continues to roil West Bengal political circles with several ruling Trinamool Congress leaders being implicated and some arrested. Even West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's name has been dragged into the sordid mess. Indrani Roy presents a FAQ on what the scam is about and the main players behind it.
India and Vietnam on Monday inked seven pacts, including one to enhance cooperation in the strategic oil sector, as they called for "freedom" of navigation in the South China Sea, a remark which could irk China, which has been claiming territorial sovereignty over the high seas.
A heavy agenda including the ordinance on the Food Security Bill awaits the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning on Monday amid expectations that the short sitting will be more businesslike and smooth as compared to the din and dust in the last few sessions.
In 1910 the who's who of Wall Street met in total secrecy in an American town to work towards the first draft of the bill that would finally give the United States a central bank.
Once these banks start showing losses, they will not be able to pay dividends to the government nor pay taxes, which will further aggravate the situation for the government as its return on investment as an investor would be very negligible for the next few years, says M V Subramanian.
There are still a few lingering issues towards the progress of India-China bilateral relations, the approach for dealing with each other seems to be quite different. With Modi-Xi bonhomie strengthening, it seems that India and China are ready to recalibrate their approaches towards each other, says Sana Hashmi.
'If you invest your entire capital in talks, you cannot abruptly change gear and decide on war.'
Reddy has worked to reform the economy.
Jaitley's team presents a quintessential mix of foreign-educated, intellectual technocrats and seasoned bureaucrats
The Narendra Modi-led government has issued around 50 fresh guidelines easing conditions for industry in about six months, beside launching an online system for applying environment clearances.
The full transcript of the exclusive interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has positioned himself as a credible partner for Bangladesh. He has scored by getting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to travel with him to Dhaka, says Srinath Raghavan
The original idea was to replace the existing schemes for scheduled castes and tribes.
As India gears up to honour its pravasis on January 9 to mark their contribution in the nation's development, rediff.com presents perspectives from eminent writers on the Diaspora. Kicking off the series is Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, who points out that the change of the Diaspora policy put in place by Rajiv Gandhi following the military coup in Fiji and his decision to stand by them, was the one defining moment in India's dealings with its overseas family.
Can Jaitley's team hope to garner 17% more on personal income tax?
'The voter thinks that the State is not going to impartially deliver services, provide justice, basic law and order, social insurance -- so as a voter it's very rational that I may choose a criminal who will help me navigate the State.' 'A weak State allows a criminal politician to be the person who provides that guarantee to mediate whatever problem the citizen has with the State.'
Ajit Balakrishnan recalls some lessons from the last time people talked of 'convergence' -- the mid-1990s.
If the drop in sales over the past two years is anything to go by, India's dream of putting seven million electric vehicles on road by the end of this decade has come a cropper.
A long crisis with a lack of sound short-term, long-term actions can result in sluggish growth in India, similar to that in Japan.
'Given that 95 per cent of rapes are committed by adults and only 5 per cent by juveniles, these 95 per cent of rapes will continue to take place, so what women's safety are we talking about?'
The industry players couldn't hide their disappointment.
'By not letting bankrupt banks fail, we have discouraged ordinary folk from taking precautions while choosing their bank or at least when they hear bad news about their bank,'says S Muralidharan, former MD, BNP Paribas.
D K Sarraf replaces Vasudeva, who turned 60 on Tuesday and is due to superannuate on Friday.
'A change of government will bring about a lot of changes because everything is frozen for the last two years. So, the frozen energies of India will be released.' Swadeshi Jagran Manch convenor Swaminathan Gurumurthy discusses the Modi phenomenon with Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com
'There has definitely been a breakthrough in the nuclear logjam. It is good to see nuclear energy back on the rails,' says Dr Anil Kakodkar, former chairman, Atomic Energy Commission.
Nitin Gadkari has seven portfolios, but does not seem weighed down at all by the many things on his plate. The minister is brimming with ideas...
With a sole mandate of inflation targeting, RBI wears many hats.
'There are major implications for India. Though there was a transparently thin attempt to project the troop reduction as intended to promote peace, the downsizing is actually part of plans to streamline and strengthen the PLA, capable of defending China's national interests at home and abroad,' says Jayadev Ranade.
E-vyapar.com to help small businesses manage inventory & accounts online.
Paris attacks took the centre stage at the G20 Summit on Sunday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for a united global effort to combat terrorism as world leaders joined a clarion call to eliminate ISIS network.
Xi Jinping has accumulated great power, but he faces trials that are just as great, says Claude Smadja.
Union Budget had projected the fiscal deficit at Rs 5.56 lakh crore.
Nifty snaps 10-day winning streak
I-T dept investigating black money angle; FM hints against bailout for bourse's investors.
The Budget chose to stick to an ambitious disinvestment programme for 2016-17.
Arun Jaitley had a tough fiscal hill to climb.
Here's a round up of some information the nation learnt from Parliament on Tuesday.
Manipur needs an integrated politico, military, socio-economic approach, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
