Against a turbulent and uncertain background, Budget 2017-18 hewed a steady, forward-looking course, says Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the government.
Nobody is clear what 'minimum government maximum governance' means.
Trade between India and Indonesia stands at $20 billion.
'Usually, the Left backed the Congress and other 'secular' parties on the justification of keeping the BJP out. In Bengal, the alliance targets a truly secular rival,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'Many of the players in IPL are the sons of men and women who are in ordinary jobs and not well off.' 'These players are the first in their family ever to move into another social class.' 'I think it is a very fine thing that young men from ordinary backgrounds get exposed to fame and money, and playing with legends from abroad and India,' says Aakar Patel.
'What Trump and Kim have demonstrated is that leaders need not remain prisoners of the status quo and they can, by showing the necessary will and courage, break out of the hang-ups and constrictions of the past and carve out a new pathway for themselves,' says B S Raghavan.
'Those who have seen the functioning of the Modi government in Gujarat know that the issues related to Hindutva and issues of economy and growth function simultaneously.' 'Modi's politics are based on the understanding of the middle-class consumer society which is in pursuit of material aspirations.' Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reveals the Modi government's economic and political plans for the year ahead.
Can Jaitley's team hope to garner 17% more on personal income tax?
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The latest macro-economic numbers confirm the economy trundles along in a low growth trajectory, while inflation climbs.
Even US equities are now back to end-2014 levels.
Congress insists on sending legislation to select committee, says will support it in winter session.
Five per cent growth is disappointing but only after having reached nine per cent. However, it is still not all that bad, says Andrew Michael Spence.
Demonetisation hit informal sector hard and caused job losses which was not addressed by the budget, Moily said.
'Modi's victory is his own victory. Now what he has done thereafter, it seems to me, leads us to believe that he was a bit too prolific with his promises.' 'One achievement of Modi's I will praise is that he has put the fear of God among his ministers and officials.' 'Indira Gandhi's sentiment of controlling everything, centralising power in to her hands is the quality that persists in Modi' Veteran journalist Inder Malhotra casts his experienced gaze on one year of the Modi Sarkar.
Manik Nangia, Director and Chief Digital Officer, Max Life Insurance emphasises the importance of child insurance plan.
'The finance minister and the government have met the immediate challenge. The wine this time is new and also in a new bottle, which, though not full, is less than half empty.'
'China was the elephant in the Oval Office and Trump would have sensed that Modi's foreign policy architecture has become disoriented sans the US' pivot to Asia,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The basics and history of India's tax policy suggests that increase in the number of taxpayers has occurred and so has compliance with a reduction of tax slabs and moderate rates of tax.
'The Congress era was already over anyway! The real question is: Has India opened a new, post-coalition era and I'm very doubtful about that,' Christophe Jaffrelot, author of several books on Indian politics, tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com, analysing Mandate 2014.
The event will be significant for the Congress and Trinamool Congress leaderships, cementing the proximity during the winter session of Parliament.
Given how the armed forces struggle to attract talent, they cannot rule out hiring half the population, says Nitin Pai
A reformed Planning Commission should reflect the diversity of Indian debate.
Institutions will wait till there is more clarity on Budget.
If the AAP wins 20 to 40 Lok Sabha seats, which is conceivable unless it botches up on governance in Delhi, it will become a significant bloc comparable in influence to or even bigger than several major regional parties, feels Praful Bidwai.
'We use the word "historic" perhaps too much, but the prime minister's visit certainly was historic in so many ways.'
'For now, the AAP is the conversation,' Lord Meghnad Desai tells Rediff.com's Sanchari Bhattacharya. 'Everyone is talking about the 'Delhi model'. They have made so much difference. They have changed politics.'
'The Modi government's lurch toward America has not brought it any dividends so far. The Western world is simply not in a position to make big investments in India... India needs to take a leap of faith vis-a-vis China.'
Ajit Balakrishnan recalls some lessons from the last time people talked of 'convergence' -- the mid-1990s.
Then chief minister Jyoti Basu once told an industrialist that capitalists were class enemies and he should expect no sympathy.
'If my understanding is correct, one has to file not less than 37 returns per year for every ordinary business, and that too per state.' 'If you are doing businesses in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, you have to file 37x3 returns every year!' 'The consequence of GST will be chaos, confusion and possibly economic crisis.'
It was the rejection of the Congress' welfarist economics by voters that led to the party's drubbing, says Andy Mukherjee.
'Overall, the Indian economy is doing well.' 'Our economic fundamentals are strong and the early signs of recovery are sustainable.' 'This is positive for the market in the long run.'
'The question of survival depends on several factors because this country is divided vertically and horizontally.' 'There will always be demands and ups and downs.'
"We are seeing the feel-good factor is back. It's only a matter of time before the entire economic engine starts working seamlessly," says Motilal Oswal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone to China with a bagful of initiatives, but not all seems to have been fulfilled given China's reluctance to go the whole hog with him
Some initial reactions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes with effect from midnight.
Reason must triumph over blind faith, says Praful Bidwai in this tribute to murdered rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
'The continuing crisis in agriculture, the inability of successive governments to provide secure jobs to millions of youths having varying degrees of skills, and fragmentation of politics have created a sense of despondency.'
'When he first came to office, my belief is that the PM's reading of the landscape was that, with a vanquished Congress and fragmented Opposition, he was looking at least at two terms in office. This reading perhaps allows for a more cautious, gradual approach.' 'It was only a matter of time before the government was forced to come face-to-face with a serious corruption scandal. This is not a commentary on the BJP, but a statement about India's political economy.' 'There is growing concern about the government's commitment to freedom of expression, religious tolerance, and an independent civil society. Thus far, the positive movement on strategic and economic matters has crowded out these concerns, but they are lingering beneath the surface.'
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