With External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee set to visit Iran on February 6, there will be more than one pair of eyes watching the visit closely.
Mukherjee said that the demand of the Bhartiya Janata Party for a Joint Parliamentary Committee, as he told L K Advani and Jaswant Singh, was not possible.
President Pranab Mukherjee has advised state governors not to undertake official visits outside their states as part of the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.
In the turf war between the battered Communist Party of India-Marxist and its arch rival, Trinamool Congress, veteran Congressman and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has found a new place of prominence.
Underscoring the need for the society to introspect and find ways to prevent crimes against women, President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday exhorted universities to meet the requirements of moral challenges faced by society.
Advani wanted a reassurance from the government that Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India.
United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee started their one-day visit to the flood-affected regions of Gujarat on Thursday morning.
'If the RSS should be saluted for choosing such a scholarly statesman to address its highly trained cadre, one must also praise Pranab Da's sagacity for having gracefully accepting the invitation, thus disapproving any ideological apartheid,' says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
Output of the manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, rose 8.5 per cent in January, compared to 8.1 per cent in the same month last year.
Leader of the Opposition Lal Kishenchand Advani raised the issue of the Chinese envoy's remark.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the rural spending would not be affected by the drought situation caused by delayed monsoon, but was likely to improve due to the government's flagship NREGS. He said there would be some revival in the third and fourth quarters though the overall growth would be moderate, with the current year recording a growth rate of 6 per cent.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee spelt out the details of the United Progressive Alliance's austerity measures on Friday, saying he has advised ministers to travel in the Economy Class domestically and in the Business Class during international travel. The Finance Ministry has asked the various ministries to ensure a 10 per cent cut in non- planned expenditure, except in expenses related to security.
"It is the job of Parliament to legislate. We (government) had several rounds of discussion with him (Anna Hazare) and his team. We know their viewpoints. About nine rounds of meetings have already been held with them. Thereafter also, through interlocutors some discussions also took place with them," Mukherjee told media persons at his south Kolkata residence.
Her letter, mostly in jest, also highlights the problems that women face in the country, particularly in the national capital.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday elicited the views of their junior cabinet colleagues and Congress leaders from Andhra Pradesh on the Telangana statehood demand, which has virtually divided the party on regional lines.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said surging food and fuel prices amid weak global economic growth are adversely impacting GDP growth of the country.
When the industrial crisis engulfed developed countries and the financial meltdown became a major financial crisis all over the world, it had its worst impact, the minister said adding that credit is required for investment, for carrying business and using it for productive purposes.
Amid recessionary fears in advanced economies, India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has called for channelising global surpluses to build infrastructure in developing nations to boost world economy.
G-24 grouping comprises 24 developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Diplomat-turned-politician Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday tore into United Progressive Alliance's handling of Anna Movement, which he said was a "Frankenstein monster" created by the central government itself.
Observing that Islam does not have any link with terrorism, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that sometimes religious texts are misinterpreted to commit terrorist activities.
The minister said at a time when banks in the US and Europe needed government support for survival, banks in India were strong enough to sustain on their own.
Sweden's backing to India was conveyed to President Pranab Mukherjee, who is in Stockholm on a state visit.
Justifying the hike in customs duty on gold in the Budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said its huge imports cause strain on the balance of payment and affect exchange rate, but it does not have any direct bearing on the forex reserve.
In his book, former governor Subbarao says Chidambaram, Pranab were piqued by his tight rate policy.
The OECD is a club of developing countries and has been playing a key role in reforming the international taxation system.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday made a strong case for Bangladesh granting transit and connectivity to India, contending that this can pave the way for greater integration in South and South East Asia.
Food inflation numbers have moderated every week since early November when it stood at double-digit.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday spurned Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's request for inputs on the proposed Lokpal Bill, arguing it would not be proper for a political party to submit its views to a drafting committee comprising civil society members as it would upset constitutional propriety.
The fiscal deficit, which is the difference between total expenditure and revenue, as percentage of GDP will come down from 6.9 per cent in the revised estimates for the current fiscal, he said unveiling the 2010-11 Budget in the Lok Sabha.
Asking the state finance ministers to resolve the pending issues expeditiously, the Centre on Thursday said introducing Goods and Services Tax was critical for economic reforms.
The launch of the intermediate range ballistic missile Agni-III should be seen as a stepping stone in pushing the country towards further advances in military technology, the defence minister said.
"Despite the global economic crisis, we grew by 6.7 per cent last year...This year, we are getting mixed signal," Mukherjee said, while noting that indicators are coming good from industrial production data and in terms of business demand and investor confidence.
The two also met corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid, who asked them to keep his ministry in the loop.
The new United Progressive Alliance government will prepare an approach paper to address the key issues of the economy against the backdrop of the global economic slowdown.
'I think we will be able able to inspire confidence in the minds of prospective investors,' says Mukherjee.
Although she felt "betrayed" by the Congress leadership many a time, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee describes the late Rajiv Gandhi as "the leader of our hearts" and Pranab Mukherjee as her brother.
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