Experts attribute the lower target to increased allocation under the credit guarantee scheme for small businesses. Out of the Rs 3.21 trillion worth loans sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) in the last financial year, Rs 3.12 trillion were disbursed to entrepreneurs, according to official data.
Farmer leaders on Saturday said the protesting unions stand firm on their demand of a complete repeal of the three agri laws and asserted that they are ready for talks with the government, but that should be held without any condition.
FMCG firms such as ITC, Parle Products, Marico, Emami, PepsiCo India and CG Corp Global on Wednesday assured uninterrupted supply of their products based on the learnings from the last year's lockdown, even as surge in COVID-19 cases in India forced Maharashtra to declare a 15-day curfew while other states also imposing various restrictions.
Top government functionaries, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended International Yoga Day events across the country on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a yoga event at the Prabhat Tara ground in Ranchi said everybody should practice the ancient Indian discipline lifelong.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said he had tried to contact Prime Minister Narendra Modi on phone regarding the oxygen supply for the state but the PM was not available since he was busy campaigning for the West Bengal elections.
India's GDP is within the striking distance of attaining positive growth, the Reserve Bank said observing that the letter "V" in the V-shaped recovery stands for vaccine. The Indian government launched the world's biggest vaccination drive on January 16 to protect people from COVID-19. "What will 2021 look like? The shape of the recovery will be V-shaped after all and the 'V' stands for vaccine," said an article on the 'state of economy' in the RBI's January Bulletin. India has launched the biggest vaccination drive in the world, backed by its comparative advantage of having the largest vaccine manufacturing capacity in the world and a rich experience of mass inoculation drives against polio and measles.
"I don't want Z category security. I want to be an A-category citizen, at par with you all. Why was UAPA not invoked against those who fired at me? ...I want to live, to speak. My life will be safe when the poor are safe. I will not get scared of those who shot at my car," he said in Parliament.
The finance ministry on Wednesday allowed all private sector banks to participate in government-related business, like collection of taxes. pension payments and small savings schemes. At the moment, only few large private sector are allowed to conduct government-related business.
Modi campaigned on the issue of national security, which cannot be ensured without a strong economy.
"Let me take a risk and say Chief Justice of India wants them (protesting farmers) to go back to their homes. Try to persuade them," the Chief Justice, who headed a three-judge bench said. "People are committing suicide. People are calling names. People are suffering in cold and pandemic situations. If not cold, farmers are in danger of COVID," the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, told lawyers appearing for the farmers union and asked them to persuade the protestors to go home.
In a communication to chief secretaries and director generals of police of all states, the ministry asked them to take action to allay apprehensions and maintain peace and tranquillity, and inform people about the availability of food, medicine and other essential commodities.
Indian two-wheeler majors Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto are the biggest beneficiaries of this surge and, between the two, they are estimated to control about half of the local market there
Cash-strapped telco Vodafone Idea's proposal for investment of up to Rs 15,000 crore through foreign direct investment (FDI) has been approved by the Union government, according to officials. A top-level group, comprising representatives from the ministries of home affairs, external affairs, finance and commerce and industry, took the decision. The nod, which is an enabling provision, would help the financially-stressed company raise funds to pay up some of its dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), reduce debts and use the money for operational expenses.
Sellers, especially the smaller ones, are planning to go to court as well as move CCI as they fear that Walmart could bring multiple private labels in India and flood the e-commerce platform with its own products.
December 2022 could be the last Christmas for Santha Bakery, a business drawing its lineage from the first Christmas cake baked in Kerala.
He also urged people demonstrating against the laws across the country to observe a day-long hunger strike at their respective protest sites.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws in Ghaziabad looked like it was going slim on Thursday but more protesters have joined the stir, following a mahapanchayat of farmers on Saturday in Muzaffarnagar, while supporters also joined in from Haryana and Rajasthan districts.
According to industry figures, the pre-Covid demand for liquid medical oxygen (LMO) before the pandemic was 700 tonnes per day across the country. Now, with the second wave, the demand has gone up more than seven times, reports Jyoti Mukul.
The Delhi police had on Saturday increased security arrangements by deploying additional personnel and placing more concrete barriers.
"So you will not have anything better... democracy loving, capitalist respecting environment... in India," Sitharaman said at the event hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in association with the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum.
Farmers reiterated that the agitation would continue till the Centre takes back the three farm laws, and said that if need be, they could go on till 2024.
Referring to the incident, a fresh plea has been filed for urgent hearing of the PIL, pending since March this year, saying "The right to freedom of speech and expression cannot supersede the right to life and if this protest is allowed to go in like this, the nation at large will be at a loss."
Finance secretary Rajiv Kumar was positive in formation of a committee consisting all concerned to address the issues arising out of the proposed merger of 10 banks including preserving the identity of all the banks.
Protesting farmers owing allegiance to different farmers' bodies blocked state and national highways at several places on Saturday, causing inconvenience to commuters.
With almost all opposition parties too backing the 'Bharat bandh' and many announcing parallel protests in support of the farmers, the Centre has issued an advisory directing the states and Union Territories to tighten security and ensure peace is maintained.
The Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs staged a walkout ahead of the voice vote.
As India goes into firming up trade deals with developed nations like Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the regional bloc, and the European Union (EU), it will have to be well prepared to negotiate on new-generation issues, such as data protection regulation, e-commerce, and environment. India is yet to negotiate pacts with its trading partners on these evolving issues since discussions between them have until now been largely focused on tariff and non-tariff barriers and the rules of origin. "We can no longer look at trade just as trade. We have to look at it in totality of global and regional conditions.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday allowed cinema halls and theatres to operate with more people while swimming pools have been permitted for use by all in fresh COVID-19 reopening guidelines.
Ever since the deal was announced of Walmart spending over $16 bn for a 77 per cent stake in Flipkart, the road to the takeover of India's biggest online marketplace has been quite bumpy
Farmer leaders on Monday started their day-long hunger strike against the Centre's new farm laws and said protests will be held at all district headquarters later in the day, even as more people are expected to join the ongoing agitation at Delhi border points.
Addressing the 74th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), she said the industry needs to imagine how Indian banking has to be in the immediate and long-term future. As far as the long-term future is concerned, she said it is going to be largely driven by digitised processes and there is a need for seamless and interconnected digital systems for a sustainable future for the Indian banking industry.
The country's exports grew 5.37 per cent year-on-year to $27.24 billion in January 2021, mainly driven by healthy growth in pharma and engineering sectors, according to provisional data of the commerce ministry. Trade deficit during the month narrowed to $14.75 billion from $15.3 billion in January 2020. It was $15.44 billion in December 2020. Imports in January 2021 rose 2 per cent to $42 billion.
Strengthening the portfolios of the home minister and the finance minister is a message that should not be missed, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The apex court, which observed that the Centre has made these laws 'without enough consultation', said the most serious concern is about any sort of violence and possible loss of lives.
Hundreds of farmers, chiefly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, continue to encamp Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border points of Delhi despite "a few" of them being removed after testing positive for COVID-19 and some symptomatic protesters undergoing medication.
Police personnel in adequate strength were deployed across the state to maintain law and order, officials said.
Irani has said she did not complete her Bachelor of Commerce (Part-I) -- a three-year degree course -- from Delhi University's School of Open Learning in 1994.
Bank unions - officers and workmen - had buried their differences and sat across the table on August 29 to work out a fresh deal with the IBA involving a 20 per cent wage hike.
Farmers protesting the Centre's three farm laws on Saturday blocked the six-lane Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway at some places in Haryana to mark the completion of 100 days of their agitation at the Delhi borders.
Later, there may be some tax relief aimed at the middle class and measures to benefit the sectors worst hit by Covid-19 and the resultant nationwide lockdown.
