It's time India makes social, environmental impact like its global peers
All central government ministries and their Public Sector Undertakings were told to dispense with the requirement of interviews for selections at junior level posts.
It is time to take a few macroeconomic risks to kick start the growth.
With an aim of boosting manufacturing and exports amid sharp fall in the rupee, the government has decided to take a slew of steps, including enhancing steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes and raising textile exports by 30 per cent this year.
While the Constitution makes everyone in India eligible to work anywhere in the country, states have used legal loopholes to frame laws.
After Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented his fifth straight budget in the Lok Sabha, Bharatiya Janata Party members and ministers from the Cabinet reacted positively to the Budget. Here are some of the reactions.
In all, 25 Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) posts, 8 MD posts and 2 Chairman posts are lying vacant, according to a written reply by Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises P Radhakrishnan in the Lok Sabha.
The brand new bankruptcy process is being brazenly gamed by those with connections and money. The touts and fixers of the previous regime have been replaced by a new set close to this one, observes Debashis Basu.
In his first poll rally for the April 6 assembly polls, Modi rooted for the Tamil language, culture and invoked the welfare legacies of M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, late chief ministers and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam icons.
'The revival of household savings and investment is the litmus test of whether we are on the road to recovery,' says Nitin Desai.
Since December 2018, monetary policy has been eased substantially by RBI with policy rates being cut by 75 bps and policy outlook being changed to 'accommodative'.
'Overall, compared to the previous episode, we are in a better shape because the vaccine is already out there and vaccination drives are proceeding'
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has liberalised the procedure for facilitating the import of rough diamonds (termed roughs in the trade).
PSB chiefs tried to argue that liquidity is in surplus in the system and the problem was related to lack of demand in the economy, instead of banks' reluctance to lend, but 'the FM said it is a perception issue that loan is not available, which we need to dispel,', reports Somesh Jha.
Kumar said the Commission will follow the time-tested methods of consultations and consensus building in bringing about any reforms and will not shy away from tough decisions, according to an Election Commission (EC) statement.
These sectors have underperformed the wider market over the past year and are seen having far more upside potential if the economy picks up thanks to Modi's reformist agenda.
It was one of the toughest times in history to announce a budget, says Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Enterprises.
Modi govt must implement few policy measures which it announced in Budget 2015.
The proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, that are envisioned to protect consumer interests, may further compound the impact of multiplicity of regulations on the e-commerce sector, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) had told the ministry of consumer affairs. IACC, the apex bilateral chamber for Indo-US business, had told the government that the proposed amendments would increase compliance liabilities that risk severely impairing the growth of the sector.
Spare the serious entrepreneurs but don't allow the rogues to use the shield of secrecy, writes Tamal Spare the serious entrepreneurs but don't allow the rogues to use the shield of secrecy, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'For years, the RBI has been warning banks on probable frauds in bank guarantees and advised them to exercise due care.' 'PSB staffers feel their jobs are secured, hence there is no need to be vigilant and exercise financial prudence.'
The group has called for a retaliatory tariff action against India, if New Delhi does not roll back the 'unilateral and discriminatory' equalisation levy or Google Tax.
'The meanness of the board statement apart, it nowhere answers the most fundamental and damaging aspects of the deteriorating work culture among top company executives to which Narayana Murthy had been repeatedly drawing attention,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Multi-core loan default accused and promoter of Rotomac Group 73-year-old Vikram Kothari died in a freak accident at his Kanpur residence on Tuesday morning. According to reports, the erstwhile stationery czar sustained grievous head injuries after slipping in his bathroom and later succumbed to his injuries. He was reportedly alone at his Tilak Nagar residence at the time of the incident. Vikram, also known as 'India's Pen King', was accused in a bank loan scam worth thousands of crores pertaining to Rotomac Global, which exported writing instruments overseas.
The independent institute advising the PM on jobs seems to have missed the point that the challenge is to create net additional jobs, says Mahesh Vyas.
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan says the government should take advantage of the peaks in the Indian equity markets right now and sell stakes in PSUs while prioritising spending to get the economy back on track. The upcoming Budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1 should look to provide "relief to the poorer households and small and medium enterprises," he said. And then move on to getting the economy back on track.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday raised the personal income tax rebate limit, doled out sops on small savings and announced one of the biggest hikes in capital spending in the past decade as she did a tight rope walk in the Budget between staying fiscally prudent and meeting public expectations in the year before general elections.
'Allegations of Reliance benefitting by thousands of crores is a figment of imagination, promoted by vested interests'
An announcement has barred the entry of journalists in the finance ministry.
"The strategic divestment transaction of Air India successfully concluded today with transfer of 100 per cent shares of Air India to M/s Talace Pvt Ltd along with management control," DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a tweet. A new board, led by the strategic partner, takes charge of Air India, he added.
The Budget would have been the perfect vehicle to introduce some bold initiatives.
That opportunity has been lost through this Budget, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
'Unless the State is a welfare State, unless the State has more welfare measures, it will not be able to deal with these kind of sudden situations.'
'I find the RBI edict to the Kotak Mahindra Bank to reduce Uday Kotak's shareholding very unreasonable,' says Sudhir Bisht.
Even if Mudra steps in to play its main role of refinancing at some stage, the responsibility for the bad loans remains with the banks.
The gains came on expectations that the company will post strong growth given its presence in application to peer services and the fast-growing communication platform as a service segment.
'Rajan epitomised the best of his generation -- veneration for knowledge, for old fashioned morality of honesty and modesty.' Economist Devaki Jain, Padma Bhushan, salutes her brother who passed into the ages last week.
Had Finance Minister Sitharaman thought a little more about the middle class, disadvantaged sections, and the poor who are struggling, it would have been an inclusive Budget that would have made history, notes Ramesh Menon.
Sharad Pawar reckons that the NCP has value as a united, going concern, not as a gaggle of leaders in search of followers, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Tier-II and tier-III towns have a reason to rejoice.
Maharashtra has the opportunity to solve all these problems by voting for the Congress and NCP, he said.
