The National Commission for Women (NCW) has submitted a comprehensive set of recommendations to various central ministries, outlining a survivor-centric framework to enhance care, justice, and rehabilitation for acid-attack victims.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's biggest challenge will be to find a new growth driver, particularly against the backdrop of a global economy ravaged by heightened uncertainty and fragmentation, financial markets on a precipice, and global commodity prices on a continued uptrend.
Government schemes such as the PM E-Drive initiative, with allocations of around Rs 2,000 crore for charging points deployment, are helping accelerate rollout
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
'To encourage the habit of saving, a portion of the incentive will be kept in a savings instrument of deposit account for a fixed period and can be withdrawn by the employee at a later date.'
Recognising job creation for the youth as the foremost challenge for the economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced a comprehensive Prime Minister's package to facilitate the employment and skilling of 41 million youth with a central outlay of Rs 2 trillion over the next five-year period. The package will consist of five schemes and initiatives - three focused on jobs and two on skilling.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 76,000 crore policy boost for semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country in an bid to position India as a global hub for hi-tech production. Announcing the decision of the Cabinet, IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw observed that electronics plays an important role in everyday life, and semiconductor chips forms a crucial part of electronics. Outlining the details of the scheme, he said the Rs 76,000 crore programme has been approved for the development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem.
Andhra Pradesh will establish two expansive integrated space cities in Lepakshi and Tirupati, spanning around 33,000 acres.
The Indian government has expressed its disagreement with the IMF staff's 'baseline' assumption that the 50 per cent US tariffs on its goods exports 'would remain in place indefinitely', based on which the staff pegged the country's GDP growth at 6.6 per cent this year, and pared its 2026-27 projection by 20 basis points to 6.2 per cent.
Opening up the corner office is fine, but will the government be able to attract talent without giving a market-rate salary?, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Lower rates effectively increase disposable income, strengthen purchasing capacity, and support broader consumption growth.
In a double-dose bid to boost growth and employment prospects, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Rs 2.07 trillion outlay for a research development and innovation (RDI) Scheme to fund private sector innovations, and an employment-linked incentive (ELI) to create over 35 million new jobs over the next two years.
There is a shortage of 24.7 million housing units in urban areas at the beginning of the 11th Five Year Plan. Admitting the flaws in the housing sector planning for the huge gap between demand and supply, Selja said unfortunately the private sector only focuses on high-end housing and ignores low cost units.
A Rs 23,000-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for electronic components may boost margins and enable a broader product mix.
Finance ministers of states demanded an increase in allocation under 50-year interest-free loan scheme, while fiscally stressed states like Punjab and Kerala pitched for a special package and borrowing flexibility, sources said on Friday. In a pre-budget meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, states have also urged for higher borrowing limits to support fiscal activities, besides additional funds for Jal Jeevan Mission.
Essential and strategic items such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, and energy products like oil, gas, coal and LNG are exempted from the 27 per cent import duty announced by the US on Wednesday, according to think tank GTRI.
'That way you're not hostage just to US sort of exports to India.'
The government may save over Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion) on capital and revenue expenditure allocated towards new schemes in the FY25 Budget that are yet to be implemented.
'I am optimistic about the Budget because of the fiscal discipline the government has committed to.'
Investment proposals under Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme take a hit as firms exit
Banks Board Bureau chief Vinod Rai has proposed performance-linked incentives for bank employees, but the staff unions are dead against the idea.
'The package will help in realising the true potential of employment generation in the textile and apparel sector.'
The government hopes that the PLI schemes would provide 200,000-300,000 direct employment over five years, according to sources in the know.
At the PMO, policies are framed by factoring in analytical perspectives, implications, sustainability, and other dimensions.
Government will give financial incentives to private companies to set up manufacturing units in India.
As many as 15 companies, including Adani Copper Tubes, LG Electronics and Wipro Enterprises, with committed investment of Rs 1,368 crore, have been selected as beneficiaries under the PLI scheme for the white goods sector, the government said on Tuesday. In March, the commerce and industry ministry had reopened the application window for its Rs 6,238-crore PLI scheme for white goods -- air-conditioners (ACs) and LED lights-- with an aim to accommodate more players as several firms had expressed interest in the initiative. Last year, as many as 46 firms, including Daikin, Panasonic, Syska and Havells, with committed investment of Rs 5,264 crore were selected in the first round the scheme.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced income tax relief for the middle class, a Rs 2 lakh crore outlay for job creation schemes over the next five years and a spending splurge for states run by her party's new coalition partners as she unveiled the Modi 3.0 government's first budget after the general elections.
The stocks are largely from sectors such as chemicals, finance and cement, which struggled earlier but the worse seems to be behind them.
Domestic supply of electronics is already less than half of domestic dem#8743 and although it is growing at 16 per cent already, demand is growing much faster.
With Tata Motors subsidiary taking over Ford's passenger vehicle (PV) manufacturing unit at Sanand in Gujarat, uncertainty over the future of Ford's Maraimalai Nagar unit in Tamil Nadu continues, with workers protesting on Thursday demanding a better severance package. There are over 2,000 employees working at the unit. On Thursday, there was a meeting between agitating employees and the state labour department. The workers started protests at the Chennai unit after Tata Passenger Electric Mobility signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding with Ford India and the Government of Gujarat for acquisition of Ford's PV manufacturing plant at Sanand.
There could be multiple measures announced in quick succession, not only by the finance minister but also other ministers regarding their respective sectors, and by the Reserve Bank of India. The total size of these announcements could rival that of other G-20 nations as a percentage of GDP.
To help revive the economy battered by COVID-19, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced a slew of measures, including Rs 1.1 lakh crore credit guarantee scheme for improving health infrastructure, and enhancing the limit under the ECLGS by 50 per cent to Rs 4.5 lakh crore for the MSME sector facing liquidity crunch. Sharing the details of stimulus package, the finance minister said this comprises eight relief measures and other eight measures to support the economic growth. She announced Rs 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme for COVID-affected sectors, including health sector, which includes guarantee cover for expansion or for new projects. Besides, she said, additional Rs 1.5 lakh crore limit enhancement done for Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) scheme.
Micron Technology, a global leader in memory and storage, is considering supplying Made-in-India chips from its Gujarat plant to one of its key global clients, Apple, whose vendors assemble iPhones in the country. Micron is setting up an assembly test marking and packaging (ATMP) plant in Sanand, Gujarat. Currently, Apple vendors import chips for manufacturing iPhones. Sources in the know say the aim is to use part of the production to supply to Micron's clients in India directly.
Unlike the previous visit, where TDP MPs accompanied Naidu to meetings, sources termed the current visit as "low profile", with one-on-one meetings with key Union ministers.
Govt announces slew of schemes for rural India
Computer storage chip maker Micron will set up a semiconductor assembly and test plant in Gujarat entailing a total investment of $2.75 billion (around Rs 22,540 crore), the company said on Thursday. Micron will invest up to $825 million in setting up the plant in two phases. Micron's plant has been approved under the government's "Modified Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) Scheme,".
The government on Thursday said it has extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to the health sector and 26 other sectors identified by the Kamath Committee. The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) has issued the operational guidelines for implementation of ECLGS 2.0 scheme, the finance ministry said in a statement. The scheme was announced by the government earlier this month as part of the Rs 2.65 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package.
Few finance ministers announce any taxation measure that could upset the stock market. Ms Sitharaman decided to take that risk, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Britannia Industries reported revenue growth of 4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in Q1FY25 and volume growth of 8 per cent implying price trends were adverse. Other operating income jumped 195 per cent, due to the incentive received for the Ranjangaon plant. The non-biscuit portfolio (rusk, cake, bread) remained key to growth and contributed 25 per cent of the total revenue.
According to an Andhra government statement, Naidu 'reposed confidence' in the PM's leadership.
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