The need for finding options for proper functioning of Parliament is of paramount importance as the frequency of the passage of Budgets and other economic Bills without discussion or debate has only increased in the last few years, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Senior Trinamool Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee died while being treated for cardiac ailments at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
'Whoever whispered in his ears that go for demonetisation, misled him completely' and the PM lacked the sagacity to know that it would not work, Yashwant Sinha tells Archis Mohan.
Chidambaram also hit out at senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, saying his performance as finance minister.
With a tagline "Dui hajaar uneesh, BJP finish, the West Bengal chief minister met several opposition party leaders as well as Bharatiya Janata Party critics and in-house rebels.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday used her trademark 'bahi-khata', a ledger wrapped in a red-coloured cloth, to carry Budget documents as she arrived in Parliament House to present her third straight Budget. Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman finance minister, had in July 2019 ditched the colonial legacy of a Budget briefcase for the traditional 'bahi-khata' to carry Union Budget papers. She used the same last year and again on Monday.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy questioned the party's decision to suspend Kirti Azad over the DDCA row.
Prime Minister Modi saw a reflection of himself -- she does not come from a political background, has no lineage, and had a lifetime of personal struggle and sacrifice.
A three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph said that it was not their job to go into the issue of pricing of the fighter planes.
Former RSS ideologue K N Govindacharya on Tuesday sought to dissociate himself from the criticism by the BJP elders against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Bihar polls, and said the senior leaders should have discussed the matter internally.
Seeking to defend its leadership from the attack by its veterans, the BJP said the "healthy precedent" of collective responsibility for poll defeats was set by Vajpayee and Advani.
The much-touted Food Security Bill was taken up in Lok Sabha on Tuesday but the discussion was scuttled by disruptions over Telangana issue caused by Telugu Desam Party members storming the Well.
The controversial report of the JPC, which gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the 2G spectrum scam saying he was "misled" by the then Telecom Minister A Raja, was on Monday tabled in Lok Sabha amid pandemonium.
'If a lawyer can talk about finances, if a TV actress can be the HRD minister and if a 'chaiwala' can be... then why I cannot talk about economy?'
Broadly speaking, the expansion of the Council of Ministers sent out three major political signals.
This will be the first time since the presentation of independent India's first budget on November 26, 1947, that the documents containing income and expenditure statement of the Union government along with finance bill, detailing new tax and other measures for the new financial year, will not be physically printed.
The FM could scrap the secrecy around tax rates.
This is the first full-scale review of VIP protectees by the Union home ministry after the Modi 2.0 government took charge.
The government says MPs will be busy campaigning in Gujarat. The Opposition counters this, saying campaigning for elections in 5 states was held in the midst of the Budget session earlier this year.
"We are little perplexed that the two cases are listed on two different dates when the order was that these matters will be heard together," the bench said.
He said he has always held the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family in high-esteem.
"The fourth quarter results of GDP data showed a phenomenal 7.7 percent growth rate and has established India firmly as the fastest growing global economy. This trend, according to experts, is likely to continue for the next few years," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.
Bharatiya Janata Party veterans L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Yashwant Sinha, who had virtually revolted after Bihar poll debacle, met in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss the suspension of MP Kirti Azad and issues related to party leadership.
With the Biju Janata Dal backing the National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, the vote share of the ruling dispensation has now crossed 50 percent, virtually paving the way for her election as the first tribal President and the youngest too.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said Narendra Modi's Ram Rajya remarks at a rally were used for good governance as per Indian traditions and did not violate any law.
The committee has shared an online form consisting of 11 questions seeking comments of lay persons until March 31.
RBI will make a presentation on January 24 before the panel on the state of NPAs and stressed loans.
The trio said the top court had relied upon 'patently incorrect' claims made by the government in an unsigned note given in a sealed cover in the court.
The party says 23% of foreign investments should be by FIIs.
She posed for the traditional 'briefcase' picture outside her office along with her team of officials before heading to meet the President. She, however, was holding a tablet instead of a briefcase to present the Budget in a digital format.
Expressing concern over the situation in Afghanistan, a group of eminent persons, including former ministers K Natwar Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Wednesday urged the government to continue engaging with the Taliban and not allow any political party to use the developments in that country to communally polarise Indian society for electoral gains.
The Opposition on Monday demanded immediate release of all political detainees in Jammu and Kashmir, especially three former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.
'I had to get back into Parliament. Mamata has given me that opportunity.'
When it comes to running between the wickets -- which is exactly what an FM and a governor do -- Jadeja always defers to Dhoni's larger judgement of the situation and the needs of the team, observes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Shortage of ICU beds, oxygen, ventilators, vaccines, doctors, nurses and crematorium space in India has dominated headlines around the world in the past few weeks with Covid-19 cases surging beyond control and the government failing to deliver. Yes, election rallies, Kumbh Mela, blatant flouting of social distancing and mask protocols coupled with a messy vaccination process are said to be responsible for the health crisis of colossal proportions that India is facing today. But an analysis of Budget speeches made by finance ministers over 75 years also offers a glimpse of how low on the priority list healthcare has featured for the political class and policy-makers, which is a significant reason for the current situation.
Never before has the need for creating an ambience for economic policy reforms been as critical as it is now, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The Committee headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had proposed no tax on income of up to Rs 300,000 per annum; 10 per cent for Rs 300,000-10 lakh (Rs 1 million); 20 per cent, for Rs 10-20 lakh (Rs 1-2 million) and 30 per cent on annual income beyond Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million).
With the United Progressive Alliance-II's tenure coming to an end, France had wanted India to sign a pact to provide government guarantee for completion of negotiation for 126 fighter aircraft with Dassault company but Defence Minister A K Antony has refused to do so.
The government package for public sector banks, announced last Friday, has been welcomed by the stock market with the PSU banking index booking smart gains.
'Not just 12 MPs, but 22 former Shiv Sena MLAs as well as four MLAs who are still in Uddhav Thackeray's camp will be switching to our side gradually.'
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