Two dedicated freight corridors -- Eastern and Western -- are in operation covering several states and districts.
India's state-level fiscal rules have improved headline deficits, but the gains are fragile and uneven with major states still grappling with high debt levels, a World Bank report submitted to the 16th Finance Commission (FC) said. According to the report, despite nearly two decades of adoption of fiscal responsibility laws (FRLs), debt levels have not converged.
The Election Commission released the names of deleted voters in West Bengal ahead of the publication of the draft electoral rolls for the upcoming assembly elections.
Amit Mitra may have stopped talking about relaxing rules for foreign investment in India, but there is no dilution of his commitment to the cause of fiscal consolidation in West Bengal.
The Congress party has strongly criticized the Union Budget, calling it 'lacklustre' and 'disappointing,' claiming it fails to address the needs of farmers, unemployed youth, and other key sectors.
Noted economist and senior Trinamool Congress leader Amit Mitra is likely to step down as the West Bengal finance minister and even retire from active politics due to ill health, party sources said on Sunday.
In a central govt report, the state only has figures from 2001-02 to 2003-04. But nothing after that.
Experts say moratorium on interest not a solution, debt needs to be restructured; state must look for avenues to increase revenue and curtail expenditure.
The Centre is working out a financial package for West Bengal to tide over the huge problems the new government has inherited from the Left Front administration, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday.
Trinamool Congress candidate and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce And Industry secretary general Amit Mitra, pitted against Communist Party of India-Marxist candidate and West Bengal Finance minister Ashim Dasgupta, is confident that his party is heading for a victory at the forthcoming Assembly elections.
Outlay for cultural activities increased, for social welfare schemes slashed
Bharat Electronics, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, InterGlobe Aviation, ICICI Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the other major gainers. Axis Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Trent and Titan were the laggards.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's biggest challenge will be to find a new growth driver, particularly against the backdrop of a global economy ravaged by heightened uncertainty and fragmentation, financial markets on a precipice, and global commodity prices on a continued uptrend.
Though no reason was officially cited for his absence, Trinamool Congress sources here said Mitra will attend a crucial parliamentary meeting of the party in Kolkata on Tuesday to discuss the Centre's decision to hike diesel price, restrict of subsidised cooking gas and allow FDI in retail and decide the future of the party's ties with the United Progressive Alliance.
The Forum is organised by Singapore Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, with the partnership of state-trade agency IE Singapore, the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
The state is now under pressure to revise the salaries of its 800,000 employees, which would add to the strain of an already debt-laden state exchequer.
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
The GoM of state ministers on GST rate rationalisation on Thursday accepted the Centre's proposal to move to a two-slab structure of 5 and 18 per cent. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and convenor of rate rationalisation GoM Samrat Choudhary said the six-member state ministerial panel has also accepted the proposal of removing the 12 and 28 per cent slabs.
West Bengal: Flood situation improves, alert still on
Satadru Dutta's rise was swift and ambitious. But that journey took a dramatic nosedive on Saturday.
Union Finance Minister and West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Pranab Mukheree on Sunday ruled out any further division of West Bengal.The minister said no problem could be solved by force and hoped that the GJM would call off its indefinite bandh in the Darjeeling Hills.
The bill will be discussed in the state Assembly on June 18.
I am inclined to believe that the Venezuela adventure is not an indication of American strength, alas, but rather of American weakness, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
West Bengal was the second-most industrialised state in terms of value added and first in terms of number of factories and employment even in the mid-1960s. With a severe and long process of deindustrialisation, it lost its primacy.
Notably, the present government has been vociferous about the high debt it inherited from the Left Front government
Opposition-ruled states warn of steep annual losses; Centre assures higher consumption will offset revenue hit.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has launched an integrated audit across 32 states and Union Territories to assess the ease of doing business for the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.
'Previously, contributing only 25 per cent of material costs, states now face burdens of 40 per cent to 100 per cent of total costs, ensuring poorer states will curb project approvals, directly stifling work demand.'
Victory wrested from regime that only listens when forced, the TMC said on GST exemption on insurance.
A policy-related problem that urgently needs to be redressed is the 'miniaturisation' of projects.
While the Trinamool government, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, tried its best to attract investors, including from Singapore, not much headway could be made.
The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to conduct a pan-India investigation into digital arrest scams and questioned the RBI about its lack of AI usage in detecting and freezing accounts used by cybercriminals.
'At COP30, the emphasis will be on unlocking climate finance, reinforcing the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and building resilience through inclusive transitions and the mainstreaming of adaptation.'
The EC also ordered the removal of Principal Secretary (Home) Atri Bhattacharya and Additional Director General, CID, Rajiv Kumar from their postings in West Bengal.
The Trinamool Congress won 211 seats.
Senior Congress leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee resigned as chief of party's West Bengal unit on Sunday citing "heavy government responsibilities", and Congress Legislature Party leader Manas Ranjan Bhunia was appointed to the post by Sonia Gandhi.
At present there are 12 major ports in India.
'The chief minister believes the poorest of the poor have the first right on government resources.'
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
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