West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Border Security Force (BSF), central agencies, and the BJP of fanning tension in Murshidabad by allegedly facilitating cross-border influx from Bangladesh. She also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep the Union Home Ministry under control. Banerjee has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of three people killed during the violence and directed the state chief secretary to initiate a probe into the role of the BSF.
The government has constituted a high-powered committee, headed by Planning Commission Member NK Singh, to set new guidelines for regulating film financing.
'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
The Finance ministry is believed to have thumbed down the proposals of waiving interest payments on loans taken by states from the Centre.
To deny visa to trade officials planning to scrutinise country's trade and industrial practices.
The Group of Ministers, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, met on Monday for discussion with Union ministry secretary-level officers.
The ministry of finance has assured the Planning Commission of at least 15 percent increase in gross budgetary support for 2010-11, over the 2009-10 budget estimates.
A cut in government spending would come at the cost of growth.
The Planning Commission has in principle agreed to discontinue seven Centrally Sponsored Schemes out of 80 such schemes recommended by the finance ministry, but has ruled out scrapping other schemes as they pertain to healthcare, education and rural
The department of telecom is considering a proposal to reduce the license fee and spectrum charges of telecom players to 2-3 per cent from the current six per cent in the Approach Paper of Planning Commission's 11th Five Year Plan.
'Additionally, the significant employment multiplier will boost direct and indirect jobs of up to 1.1 million.'
Forty-five specialists will soon be joining key posts of joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries in different central ministries as part of the Modi government's ambitious plan to infuse fresh talent to further improve ease of governance.
'Growth is predicated on the misery of large sections of people.' 'Maybe Hindutva will be used to suppress any such unrest.'
The government on Friday appointed noted economist Arvind Virmani as the new chief economic advisor in finance ministry.
Breaks self-imposed rule never to return to an office he has occupied in the past.
'If the current mood in North Block, headquarters of the finance ministry, is anything to go by, the government will now keep a closer watch on all kinds of schemes and projects undertaken by different central ministries. 'The next six months will determine which central schemes will have to be wound up and which ones will survive the axe,' says A K Bhattacharya.
The government may take a crucial decision on Saturday to withdraw from a score of small centrally-sponsored schemes and programmes whose annual budget is less than Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion).
The government's only programme to attack transmission and distribution losses - called the Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme (APDRP) - lapsed last year and the proposed "new APDRP" has been bounced back and forth between the ministry of power, Planning Commission and the finance ministry for the last few months.
'The Budget that Mr Jaitley will present on February 29 will be crucial.'
Despite rising subsidy bill, says fuel price action and other steps in contemplation would keep it at 5.3% of GDP, not more
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said investment in infrastructure should be doubled to about Rs 41 lakh crore during the 12th Five Year Plan ending 2017 from the prevailing level, and directed concerned authorities to work out the details.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who took additional charge of the finance ministry recently, has rejected a Planning Commission proposal to increase the upper limit for Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for infrastructure projects coming up under the public-private partnership model.
It's imperative for the govt to reassure investors: Montek Ahluwalia
Economy grew by 8.6 per cent in 2010-11.
The slide in India's growth rate over the last five quarters, with the figure for the current year (2012-13) now projected to touch a 10-year low of five per cent, has thrown those who used the gross domestic product benchmark in the past to claim exceptional performance into a tizzy.
A total of 112 government websites belonging to various state government agencies, Planning Commission and Finance Ministry were hacked in the three- month period ending February 2012, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
The Planning Commission has given its nod to state-owned Power Finance Corporation to raise capital through a public offering in which government is also likely to offload up to 10 per cent stake this fiscal.
The government is trying to promote infrastructure development through PPP projects and has suggested the state should pick projects under this mode in a big way.
Indian economic growth had slowed down to 6.7 per cent during 2008-09 due to the impact of global financial crisis from average of 8.7 per cent in the previous five years.
The government may for the first time in about five years raise price of natural gas produced by state-owned firms like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation after the finance ministry and the Planning Commission backed the proposal for a 30 per cent hike.
Central ministries as a whole are expected to get an increase of only 15 per cent in gross budgetary support for 2008-09, much lower than the 62 per cent increase they had demanded.
The DoP has moved a Cabinet note for the government to provide Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) as initial capital to India Post towards starting a bank.
Planning Commission is understood to have apprised Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee about the adverse impact that the reduction in budgetary support in the coming fiscal will have on the economy.
