Will Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget 2016 be able to put India on a growth trajectory?
A 21-year-old farmer was killed and a few others injured following a clash between security personnel and protesting farmers at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border.
Maharashtra minister Dada Bhuse said the decision to impose export duty should have been taken with proper coordination.
Billionaire Gautam Adani to two Union Ministers and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis among others on Sunday hailed India crossing $4 trillion mark though there was no official confirmation if the country has achieved the landmark. The finance ministry and the National Statistical Office did not immediately comment on the viral social media post on India's GDP crossing $4 trillion. Highly placed sources said that the viral news was incorrect and India was still shy of that landmark.
More needs to be done to boost farm growth
A provision of Rs 15,000 crore has been made in the budgetary estimate of 2016-17 towards interest subvention.
The department of personnel and training has asked the Union Public Service Commission to recruit such specialists through "lateral entry" mode in 12 government departments/ministries, he said.
Banks may become more cautious in extending loans, as more and more farmers may take loans, relying on the assurance that a debt relief commission will back them in the event of default.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presents the current National Democratic Alliance government's fifth and arguably his toughest budget.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh announced that the National Food Security Mission would be formally launched from Andhra Pradesh.
Elections are not won or lost by expounding on such macro-economic matters. For the aam admi, what matters in manifestos are promises that will improve their quality of life, notes Vinayak Chatterjee.
The Haryana Police on Wednesday fired tear gas shells to disperse farmers from Punjab at Shambhu and Khanauri border points as they tried to move towards barricades stalling their protest march to Delhi.
Digitisation can help improve procurement, streamline payments, converge producers with consumers and accelerate adoption and dissemination of new farm technologies.
Under attack for his recent observations on price rise, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar wondered as to how his ministry could be linked with the issue.
The Union accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of "shirking political responsibility" of resolving the crisis.
Tomar said the government is committed to "peaceful talks with farmers' leaders and does not intend to hurt farmers' sentiments".
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had sent in a request to the President for visiting Baramati in Maharashtra to see the all round development made in the areas of agriculture, irrigation and town planning.
By throwing food at poverty that is result of faulty economics and lack of jobs, one is only trying to suicidal path.
The ceremony was attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and the family members of Advani, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a post on X.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the government is close to reaching saturation in implementing social sector schemes designed to provide basic necessities to the poor. Addressing the students of Hindu College on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, she said the time has come for India to become economically 'aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) and march forward to becoming a developed nation by 2047. Regretting that 60 years since Independence passed without any sense of urgency, Sitharaman said, "We have laid the material foundation for a Viksit Bharat" and empowering people by providing basic necessities to all.
Two days after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) witnessed Pawar-bashing at the hands of senior Congress leaders, the party once again attacked the Union Agriculture Minister, saying that prices were responsibility of the Agriculture and Food Ministry and "it is natural for the party to articulate the concerns of millions of people".
After inaugurating development projects worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore for boosting the agri-economy in the Union territory, Modi said he was "elated to be among the wonderful people of Srinagar".
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Friday said he will take part in a protest planned in Mumbai to express support for farmers agitating against the new agri-marketing laws enacted by the Modi government.
The Union agriculture ministry plans to invite private investment in its project to promote hybrid rice to increase output, particularly in eastern states.
Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has urged Union agriculture minister and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar to resign from the Union cabinet and come to Maharashtra to protect the interest of farmers reeling under drought.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government has made a "solemn promise" for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood and will stand by it, adding the Centre was working very hard to create the right conditions.
'Had they agreed to our demands that we raised two years ago, we would have never started our agitation again.'
'If the central government does not give rights to the people of Ladakh, then it won't be good for our country.'
'The 2024 election results will lead to much intense targeting of Modi, more intense debates, many more breakdowns in Parliament and many more movements on the streets.' 'The results have hit Modi's standing, and the politics of the Opposition parties will be sharply focused to ensure that Modi doesn't get back his charisma of being 'invincible' with help of State power.' Sheela Bhatt looks at the political situation through the prism of 2024 Lok Sabha election results.
The Centre, for the first time, has initiated a draft proposal for setting up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-like institute of national importance for animal health, education and research in Delhi to be called the All India Institute of Veterinary Sciences (AIIVS).
Assuming we still have a Modi-led majority government after May 2024, there is no guarantee that reforms will move at anything more than a snail's pace, though we must be thankful even for that, notes R Jagannathan.
A television channel devoted to the agriculture sector would be launched before October 2 this year, Union Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh said.
'The prime minister's comment on 'revdi culture' was welcome. But I am disappointed he did not follow up on that.' 'All political parties, including the BJP, have been guilty of this.' 'Now, Modi's guarantees, the Congress's 'nyay' path and both ruling and Opposition parties are vying with each other for freebies in my home state Andhra Pradesh.'
The minister, in an eight-page open letter to farmers, said the Modi-government was committed to their welfare and stressed that the new legislations were aimed at benefitting small and marginal farmers.
The interim Budget proposals that will be presented on February 1 in the backdrop of the general elections scheduled in April/May 2024 are likely to have a hint of populism, believe analysts, but are unlikely to derail the government from its path of fiscal prudence.
Mamata Banerjee accused Modi of trying to mislead the people with half-truth and distorted facts.
The Centre on Friday said it will sell 'Bharat Rice' in the retail market at Rs 29 per kg from next week to give relief to the common man and has also directed traders to disclose rice/paddy stock, as part of its efforts to control prices that have risen by around 15 per cent in the last one year. In a press conference, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra exuded confidence that these two measures along with the various restrictions of exports will help in cooling down the prices. Seeking to dispel market rumours, he categorically said the government has no plans to lift restrictions on rice exports any time soon.
Reading out a reply to the government's talks offer during a press conference, farmers leaders said that they are ready for dialogue with an open mind if they get a concrete proposal, but made it clear they will not accept anything less than a complete repeal of the three agriculture laws and legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).
Barely days after imposing a 40 per cent export tax on onions to cool down soaring prices, which, in turn, triggered widespread protests across the main growing belts, the Centre on Tuesday sought to mitigate both political and economic tensions gripping parts of Maharashtra. It decided to procure an additional 200,000 tonnes of onions at Rs 2,410 per quintal for its buffer stock from farmers, a rate that is strikingly close to the price at which they were being exported before the 40 per cent duty was levied on August 19. The export price before the imposition of the duty stood at around $320 per tonne free on board (approximately Rs 2,650 per quintal).
