Of the seven surveys presented under Modi govt, predictions of three were quite close to the actual GDP growth rate, one saw the base year change in between, but the last three were way off the mark.
The defence ministry stressed that the purchase of 36 Rafales was 'strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects.' However, the DPP-mandated process had not been gone through when Modi announced the agreement on April 10, 2015,' observes Ajai Shukla.
Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf traces the journey of PM-CARES from its founding to finally admitting it is not a government fund.
The Covid pandemic has left a question mark on how the central government manages its staff.
While those who attended 'Livelihoods in Lockdown' learnt a lot, was anyone from the government listening?
Ambassador Venu Rajamony, who served as press secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee during his tenure, salutes the statesman and political legend, who passed into the ages on Monday.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech on Monday, announced a new dispute resolution mechanism for such companies who are in confrontation with the taxman's action.
The government appears serious about its intent to do away with the sore points in the taxation laws.
'Will Mr Jaitley listen, or is that expecting too much in pre-election season?' asks T N Ninan.
'The significance and timing of the PM's start of the campaign journey from Silchar is a clear message that the Barak valley is a priority in his scheme of things,' notes Subimal Bhattacharjee.
The real battle for NEET abolition can take much more time and energy, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The country's Sports Ministry worked closely with the International Cricket Council's (ICC) ACU during the process of drafting the bill.
The BJP has 165 first-time MPs. Are we to expect such utterances from all 165 of them? Or only those from a rural background? Because that is the explanation given by the PM, says Jyoti Punwani.
The Congress vice president also alleged that the National Democratic Alliance government was delaying the Winter Session of Parliament as Modi was not ready to discuss the Rafale and Jay Shah issues in the House before the Gujarat polls.
India moving in right direction on GST, says Panagariya.
Given the importance of equipment modernisation, the overall defence budget should rise at least at the same pace as salaries and pensions, so that equipment modernisation is not hit.
Taking advantage of the indifference of passengers, the Indian Railways routinely indulges in several unfair trade practices, says S Pushpavanam.
'The government must provide more funds to enable the armed forces to fight and win tomorrow's wars,' states Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is all set to take Punjab's close business as well as people-to-people relations with Canada to the next level, with a one-to-one meeting with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday, said an official spokesperson.
The RBI holds its next policy meeting in early June.
Going on the counteroffensive, the Congress will be giving privilege motions against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in Rajya Sabha on Friday
The new mining policy must be rock solid
'I could have joined the BJP in 2014, the doors were open.' 'I stayed on with the TMC, a party I was involved with since its very inception.' 'But today enough is enough.'
The proceedings were washed out over various issues including the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and roster system for reservation in educational institutions.
This means taxpayers might continue to enjoy exemption on maturity of their investments
Prime Minister Modi has entrusted Amit Shah with the task of coordinating all the agencies with their power to monitor movement and phone calls, says R Rajagopalan.
'The arrests of Sanatan Sanstha members for committing murder and stockpiling explosives with the alleged intent of committing mass murder must be embarrassing to a majoritarian government,' notes Devangshu Datta.
Calling Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES) a rare opportunity to make a "fresh start", Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday asked those in trade and industry to seize the offer, even as he made it clear that tax evaders would eventually be "reached".
Congress leader Anand Sharma said the scheme was coming in the way of MPs discharging their duties and not being able to attend the meetings of Parliamentary Committees due to it.
The Bhzaratiya Janata Party on Monday filed a complaint with the Election Commission against opposition Congress, accusing it of levelling "baseless allegations" against it without evidence.
Opposition-ruled states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu opposing the Bill as they fear losing some of their powers
The 62-year-old premier remains defiant despite the prospect of a no-confidence vote after Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading Tory Brexiteer, piled on the pressure by submitting a letter of no-confidence to the chair of the Conservative's influential 1922 Committee on Thursday.
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Cabinet likely to pave way for the 'super-rich' tax today.
The noted publisher of Hindu religious and spiritual texts, which has seen tough times in the recent past, hopes the new UP CM's spiritual background will boost sales.
Economic reforms seem to be on a slow train, while good old fiscal populism is alive and flourishing.
'I would like to convey the message to your readers that the prime minister himself is directly seized of the situation on the ground. He periodically reviews the situation on the ground and how it is moving forward, taking inputs from economists, business leaders, chambers of commerce.'
The Akali Dal, an ally of the BJP, has written to the parliamentary committee opposing certain clauses in the land acquisition bill. A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com speaks to Akali Dal MPs to find out why they oppose the controversial legislation.
Taxpayer satisfaction is a part of the matrix of key performance indicators of the administration.
'A member of the house referred to me as 'terrorist'. It is an attack on my dignity as a member of parliament'
Still to recover from their electoral rout, defeated Congress members of Parliament and ministers are now faced with the heart-wrenching job of moving out of their official houses, says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal
