President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the nation on the eve of India's 75th Independence Day. Here's the text of what he said:
From India's fight against COVID-19 to China face-off, Kovind spoke on several issues during the televised address.
'The pandemic had a significant impact on child trafficking.' 'With economic hardships, traffickers exploited the situation to target desperate parents and children.'
Sitharaman's Budget missed deficit target for the third year in a row, pushing shortfall to 3.8 per cent of GDP in the current fiscal as compared to 3.3 per cent previously planned.
MFs continue to find it difficult to attract and retain long-term money from investors
Instead of only focusing on the tenure for which the best interest rate is available, investors should also focus on their own investment horizon.
Those who have crossed 50 must show the greatest urgency. They need to achieve a corpus that can sustain them and their spouses for at least 25-30 years after retirement.
The Modi government's defeat on farm laws underlines the perils of governing an entire continent-sized, diverse and federal nation like the chief minister of a state, observes Shekhar Gupta.
While we have our wish lists ready, it's only on February 28 that the verdict will be out. We do hope the FM plays Santa and brings some good cheer in this financial year. Meanwhile let's take a moment and list our expectations.
The raising of the entry age in NPS has opened up an attractive new investment avenue for senior citizens, says Arnav Pandya.
'Given the possibility that our unstable northern and western borders may become 'live' at short notice, any major systemic change which impacts combat effectiveness should be brought about in a cautious and progressive manner.'
Fitch Ratings on Thursday said the resurgence of COVID-19 infections may delay India's economic recovery, but won't derail it, as it kept the sovereign rating unchanged at 'BBB-' with a negative outlook. It projected a 12.8 per cent recovery in GDP in the fiscal year ending March 2022 (FY22), moderating to 5.8 per cent in FY23, from an estimated contraction of 7.5 per cent in 2020-21. Fitch had in June last year revised outlook for India to 'negative' from 'stable' on grounds that the coronavirus pandemic had significantly weakened the country's growth outlook and exposed the challenges associated with a high public debt burden.
Nobody bothered to articulate the upsides; instead, the four-year tour of duty and denial of life-long pensions got played up.
Job-seekers for government and related opportunities found that their future was at risk, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
The Public Provident Fund is one of the safest and convenient modes of investment.
The patience, discipline, and resolve displayed by 125 crore Indians, will play a critical role in shaping the future of the nation for years to come, the PM said.
There is no dearth of political will today to act against corruption and officers should take action against the corrupt, however powerful, without any hesitation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.
The first tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22 will be open for subscription for five days from Monday, the finance ministry said in a statement. The bonds will be issued in six tranches from May 2021 to September 2021, it said on Wednesday. The subscription period for 2021-22 Series I will be May 17-21, and bonds will be issued on May 25.
'The road ahead for the government's fiscal management will be full of many new challenges,' warns A K Bhattacharya.
Broader markers outperformed their larger peers.
Investors should quiz them to understand the product, which options to invest in, and how to get the final payout
The finance minister has stayed true to her commitment to fiscal consolidation, even though the pace of the decline in the deficit could have been faster, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Strange souls see a research report on an Indian conglomerate as part of a vast conspiracy to Keep India Down. There is only one possible response to this: Grow up. Nobody in the West cares enough about India or Adani to put all the effort into creating a giant conspiracy that links together BBC documentaries and short-sellers, points out Mihir S Sharma.
None of the four benchmarks suggested by the RBI is ideal as banks in India create loan assets from their deposits and not borrowing from the regulator or market, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Interest rates on bank FDs have started coming down and rates on other fixed-income products will also decline. Investors should lock in to instruments offering higher returns.
But it is disappointing to note that Sitharaman's third Union Budget continues to promote a few problematic ideas, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Taking advantage of the RBI's different accounting year, the Centre had started demanding an interim dividend till the time the latter's final balance sheet is prepared (usually in August). To address this anomaly, an expert committee led by former RBI governor Bimal Jalan had recommended aligning the RBI's financial year with that of the government.
What is the lure of a government job? The answer is India's worst kept secret: Job security. And among the many government jobs desperately sought after is in the armed forces. Which is why the riots by aspiring armed forces job seekers against the government's Agnipath scheme should not really be surprising, points out Harishchandra.
'In May 2020-2021, nearly 10 crores (100 million) lost jobs. 'Covid is not the reason for the present crisis. It aggravated the crisis.'
Debt-ridden Future Group is now focusing on saving and rebuilding firms such as -- Future Lifestyle Fashions, Future Supply Chain Solutions, Future Consumer and Future Enterprises, after the Rs 24,713-crore deal with Reliance Retail was rejected by secured creditors, according to industry sources. However, Future Group's flagship firm Future Retail Ltd (FRL), which has nearly Rs 18,000 crore debt, is bound to face the corporate insolvency resolution process before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Other companies like Future Enterprises Ltd (FEL), Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd (FLFL), Future Supply Chain Solutions Ltd (FSCSL), Future Consumer Ltd (FCL) can sustain on their own and can be rebuilt by restructuring their liabilities with the help of current lenders and investors, said an industry source close to the Future Group.
Broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.8%-1%.
In a statement, the CBDT, which is the apex policy making body for direct tax policies, said it has never asked IRS Association or these officers to prepare such a report and no permission was sought by them before making the report public. 'It is unequivocally stated that CBDT never asked IRS Association or these officers to prepare such a report.
Virtually addressing a joint conference of the CVC and the CBI at Kevadia in Gujarat, Modi said no matter how powerful a person may be, stern action should be taken against those who work against the interest of the nation or its people.
Top officials said asking employees other than the fund management team to mandatorily invest a fifth of their salary goes against the principle of natural justice.
Many exemptions make little sense, such as a monthly exemption of Rs 100 for college education and Rs 300 for hostel fees.
'Nirmalaji's Budget announcements have long-term implications and are not backed by enough money when the short-term outlook looks bleak,' notes T N C Rajagopalan.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
Dear readers, we had asked you to send in your personal finance queries to be answered by Basis founder and CEO Hena Mehta. Here's the first batch of responses.
Hasty, ill-conceived steps show how isolated Mamata Banerjee had been from the national political trend. A fascinating excerpt from Sugato Hazra's Losing The Plot: Political Isolation Of West Bengal.
'The entire value of LIC is created by its shareholders because after the initial invest net of Rs 5 crores in 1956, the government has not given any additional capital to the LIC.' 'If the corporation has expanded and emerged as the biggest financial institution in the country, it is only because of the policyholders.'
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