Revenue deficit of the state is the highest among Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
Many anticipate that by the 2021 assembly elections in West Bengal, the BJP may come to power, says Mohammad Sajjad.
If the fiscal deficit target of 4.9% of GDP has to be met for 2024-2025, which the government must in view of the uncertainties and challenges emerging both domestically and globally, the finance ministry may see in the composition of the current year's capex a sliver of hope, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Banerjee had last week sought an appointment with Modi.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is often accused of being parochial -- she has, on many occasions, been blamed for being tilted in favour of her home state of West Bengal, at least as far as railway projects are concerned.
Deliberating on the acute financial crisis the new government faced after taking over from the Left Front regime following Assembly elections, Banerjee said, "I have sought a financial package from the Centre to rejuvenate the economy.
No longer Bengal's finance minister, Amit Mitra, Mamata's principal chief advisor, will still advise and aid the 'chief minister and finance department on all matters relating to management of state finance', represent the 'state government in national and international events/meetings/committees' and examine 'important proposals/files and policy issues relating to financial matters referred to him for advice/views'.
He pointed out that wages under the NREGA have been increased from Rs 61 to Rs 100 which would lead to earnings of Rs 10,000 annually 'irrespective of qualification'. Mukherjee, who is the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief urged party workers to pinpoint failures in implementation of the scheme at the block and panchayat levels.
The asset quality of microfinance portfolios worsened in the quarter ending June 2024 due to the impact of heatwaves on borrowers' incomes and collections, coupled with rumours of loan waivers, according to Sa-Dhan. Jiji Mammen, executive director and chief executive officer of Sa-Dhan, said loans with 90+ days past due (dpd) rose to 1.2 per cent in June 2024, compared to 0.9 per cent in June 2023. The 90+ dpd also increased from 1.16 per cent in March 2024.
Following is the gist of the controversy over sudden transfer of West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who retired on Monday, to Delhi and related rules.
In an important step towards setting up of Tata Motors' small car project at Singur, the West Bengal government signed the land lease agreement with the auto major on Friday.
The situation has came to such a pass that the state finance minister Asim Dasgupta recently had to raise the VAT rates on luxury items by one per cent to 13.5 per cent.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party head Ajit Pawar on Monday said discussions were underway among the Mahayuti partners to finalise a formula for the new government formation in the state.
Mamata Banerjee has announced a Rs 500 crore relief package to assuage those who lost their money to the Saradha chit fund. As West Bengal is dancing on the edge of bankruptcy, this money will be raised from taxes on tobacco. Having already seen their savings go up in smoke the people of West Bengal must now puff away whatever is left, says T V R Shenoy.
Ms Banerjee's triumphal declaration of having attracted investments worth Rs 2.43 lakh crore at the summit, are numbers that no one but she and the enigmatic state finance minister Amit Mitra believe, points out Kanika Datta.
Many individual states experienced higher inflation than the all-India figures during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). Retail inflation figures in Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have been higher than national numbers every month of this financial year, shows a Business Standard analysis of state-wise figures, after the March inflation data was released on Friday. Experts noted that persistent high food inflation along with differences in the weights of rural and urban indices plays into the regional variation in inflation rates.
Several leading scientists, academicians, and agriculturalists have called for raising government support for research and development to make Indian agriculture future-ready.
Billionaire Gautam Adani's group has pulled out of a loan deal with a US agency to fund a port terminal in Sri Lanka, saying it will use its own resources for the project. In an exchange filing late on Tuesday, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) said the project "is on track for commissioning by early next year". "The project will be financed through the company's internal accruals and capital management plan," the firm said.
Trinamool Congress is the second highest recipient of political donations through electoral bonds.
The fitment committee under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, comprising central and state officials, has begun a rate rationalisation exercise afresh, checking the possibility of dropping some of the rates, particularly the 12 per cent slab, to achieve a revenue-neutral structure, a senior official with direct knowledge of the matter
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will seek Rs 15,000 crore from the Centre for building a "mini Chinese Wall" along the coastal area of the Sundarbans to protect the area's 4.1 million people from further cyclones and high tides. The area was recently hit by cyclone Aila.
The state government decided to provide the subsidy to bus, minibus and taxi operators in the state effective from August 1, Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta told the Assembly while speaking on the West Bengal Appropriation (No 2) Bill, 2010.
There were no proposals for additional resource mobilisation in her budget. But she has been helped by an all-time high annual Plan allocation of Rs 41,426 crore (Rs 414.26 billion) for 2010-11, up Rs 1,142 crore (Rs 11.42 billion) from 2009-10.
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) MPs, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest in Parliament premises on Wednesday over the alleged discrimination against opposition-ruled states in the Union Budget.
Moitra's electoral triumph not only secures her seat in Parliament, but also serves as a defiant retort to attempts to sideline her from the political arena.
'For the politics of patronage in West Bengal, it has always been important to have territorial control.'
Briefing reporters on her visit, state Finance Minister Amit Mitra said the Singapore Foreign Minister K Shanmugam has invited Banerjee to improve relations and she has accepted it.
'Look at the number of billionaires, the number of new billionaires in India.' 'Adani and Ambani are not the only ones.' 'What's wrong with people making money as long as it benefits us?'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has left no stone unturned this year after big industrialists, along with Union ministers, skipped attending the BGBS 2017.
State finance minister Amit Mitra said that attempts were being made to blame the government for not depositing the salary amount of employees 'which is totally incorrect as deposit is done by the first day of a month as announced by the state government'.
In his letter, Singh hinted since the Central Public Works Department's tableau already featured Bose, West Bengal's float was not included for the parade, without saying it in so many words.
Banerjee has fulfilled two key electoral promises: Ridding Lalgarh of Naxals and bringing peace to Darjeeling
West Bengal, the chief minister said, cannot be compared with other states and despite all hurdles it had an increased revenue generation over the last three years from Rs 21,000 crore (Rs 210 billion) to Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion).
They've proposed a sub-committee under the proposed GST Council or the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers to resolve any disputes in the tax's implementation.
Bihar deputy chief minister and finance minister Sushil Modi was on Monday elected the new chairman of the empowered committee of state finance ministers.
Lord Paul made reference to Caparo's factory in Singur.
Six activists belonging to Communist Party of India-Marxist and its youth wing Students Federation of India, including two women, were arrested in New Delhi on Monday for allegedly assaulting West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra outside the Planning Commission office two weeks back.
Here stood a man who embodied the legacy of whatever Brand Tata stood for, embellished it, and departed into the long night, leaving the brand legacy for others to further enrich, notes R Gopalakrishnan.
The Empowered Committee of state finance ministers is meeting under the chairmanship of West Bengal finance minister Asim Dasgupta to work out agreements on various aspects of the GST.
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