Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
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The first phase would comprise universal access to banking facilities. Under this, basic bank accounts with zero balance, RuPay debit card and financial literacy, will have to be completed in the next one year, officials said.
The Lok Sabha will start a discussion on the Budget on Wednesday.
Govt announces slew of schemes for rural India
New strategy for Infosys by October, says Nandan Nilekani. New chairman's other priorities: Hiring CEO, reviewing Panaya probe reports.
The Opposition on Monday charged the government with trying to promote crony capitalism, creating fear by giving "unbridled power" to taxmen, trying to snoop into people's lives through increased use of Aadhaar through the provisions of the Finance Bill.
Acquisitions are done to synergise with existing offerings of firms; to strengthen or enter new areas, platforms or geography; find new customers for its products; keep parts of the acquired organisation, perhaps the digital in the case of Mindtree, and to sell others to increase its own value. Never is it to grow the acquired organisation more than itself, says Pankaj Chandra.
'Modi's visit is path breaking in the sense that India has come out of the closet and is prepared to deal with Israel openly and in a host of fields, military as well as civilian,' says P R Kumaraswamy, one of India's leading experts on the Middle-East, currently in Israel.
One of the many contrasts that Kumar versus Nilekani highlights is that of a traditional career politician as against a highly successful professional entering politics for the first time. Rupa Subramanya reports
This alliance is for personal survival, not ideology-based support. This alliance is for power, not for the people. This alliance is for personal ambitions, not people's aspirations," the PM charged.
Recently, the government announced yet another ambitious scheme aimed at providing health insurance to 50 crore individuals.
We are certainly for digitisation. I do not have opinion about demonetisation. I still don't, says Bill Gates.
'Our priority will be to settle land disputes in Bihar, which I believe is the root cause of almost all crime in the state.'
For stressed loans, the need is to prevent disruption in cash flows from a systemic perspective, conserving employment and assets in untainted enterprises with the potential for recovery, says Shyam Ponappa.
Smart India Hackathon 2017 saw them build computer programmes or smartphone applications for 598 problems identified by different government departments.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw points out how the adoption of information and communication technologies can provide India with a very effective health care tool.
'When I came here in 2002, I said you can grow at 8%.' 'And I was told that was crazy, and (now) here we are.'
According to a PMO statement, Narendra Modi told banks this would be a source of immense satisfaction for them, and that he himself would recognise the achievements of the best performing branches.
A large number of people took out a 'solidarity march' in South Delhi on Sunday in support of Jamia Millia Islamia students and those facing police action during protests against the contentious law.
British banking major HSBC on Thursday announced a consolidation exercise under which it will almost halve the number of branches in the country to 26, which will lead to 300 job losses.
This is the first meeting chaired by Gandhi after relinquishing the post of Congress president last year.
How has Raj Thackeray, who is as much a businessman as politician, been able to pull it off, when most Opposition politicians live in fear of IT and ED and CBI, asks Krishna Prasad after attending a Raj rally in Nashik.
Ahead of completion of three years of the National Democratic Alliance, the Congress young brigade alleged that the government has failed on various counts including on issues like dealing with Pakistan, Kashmir policy, internal security, women safety and rising cases of rapes, atrocities on Dalits, high petrol and diesel prices, besides generation of jobs.
Good monsoon, farm loan waiver -- the two key reasons behind more customers in jewellery shops
It was widely expected that this time around, the government would be less likely to initiate fresh reforms and rather loosen its belt a little to give various segments of the economy, especially the multitudes that truly constitute India, something to smile about, says Sudip Bandyopadhyay.
Within the next two years, verification and scrutiny of returns will happen electronically through anonymised back offices manned by tax experts and officials. It will function without any personal interface between taxpayers and tax officers. Both the taxpayer and the tax officer will not know each other -- who is scrutinising whose return, and at which place, points out Kuldip Kumar, partner and leader personal tax, PwC.
'And if you think this is alarmist nonsense, you are helping it happen,' says Mitali Saran.
Praising villagers where he went to lay the foundation of a toilet for naming it as Izzatghar, Modi said, "I liked this word so much".
Gleaning lessons from Amit Shah's compendium of Chanakya-isms, the Samajwadi Party is keeping its operations low-key and working on an inclusive strategy.
While your insurer will help you open an e-insurance account at the time of buying a policy, existing policyholders must do so themselves
The two rival factions of the AIADMK may have merged, but there are problems staring at it on all fronts -- governmental, political, electoral and organisational, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Four specific areas will be watched carefully in the first half of FY16
Isn't National Intelligence Grid and UIDAI engineered by vested interests, asks Gopal Krishna.
'What do you think the Congress is today?' 'Is it a political party heading for a life-and-death battle?' 'Or an NGO, just doing its thing and hoping it will improve the state of the world?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
The NITI Aayog may want us to believe this is one of the easiest payment systems in the world, but Tinesh Bhasin decodes the many unanswered queries and concerns involving the United Payments Interface.
'Their vote bank has shifted to the BJP; the Congress is yet to realise it.'
'The CAA should be kept in abeyance, without making it a prestige issue.'
'Laying down a clear policy on the future of illegal migrants will dispel anxieties and help in implementing the CAA, NPR and also the NCR,' suggests former Union home secretary Dr Madhav Godbole.
Interview with V Balakrishnan, Former CFO and board member of Infosys and AAP leader
Despite lay-offs and the threat of automation, the industry will continue to be an important driver of growth in employment and GDP, says Ashok Soota.
All the fixes require either the enactment of a data-protection law, or the amendment of our existing competition law. This can take many years. However, there is an opportunity for the government to act immediately if it wishes to, says Sunil Abraham.
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