The shortfall in GST compensation payable to states in the current fiscal is estimated at Rs 2.69 lakh crore, of which Rs 1.58 lakh crore would have to be borrowed this year. The Centre expects to collect over Rs 1.11 lakh crore through cess on luxury, demerit and sin goods which will be given to the states to compensate them for the shortfall in revenue arising out of GST implementation. The remaining Rs 1.58 lakh crore would have to be borrowed to meet the promised compensation to states under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
Social activist Anna Hazare said he won't be proceeding with the indefinite fast against the new farm laws and claimed that the Central government has agreed to some of his demands.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked stakeholders like the Centre, Niti Aayog, Finance Commission and the Reserve Bank of India, to brainstorm on the 'serious' issue of freebies announced during elections and put forth 'constructive suggestions' to tackle it, saying no political party will oppose such handouts or like to debate it in Parliament.
Only if the announcements made are implemented effectively.
Opposition members in the Lok Sabha on Monday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government's policies for the price rise and accused it of ignoring the plight of common people, saying kitchens will soon "see a lockdown" if the Centre does not take corrective measures.
Joydeep Ghosh takes stock of personal finances after the life-altering surprises of 2016.
We will find it difficult to exceed an average of 5 per cent growth in the medium term, warns Shankar Acharya, the former chief economic adviser.
Terming as "serious" the promise of "irrational freebies" made by political parties during elections, the Supreme Court on Tuesday wondered why the Centre was hesitant about taking a stand on the issue.
Ahead of the first due date of advance tax payment on June 15, the government is likely to release guidelines on what will be covered within the ambit of virtual digital assets (VDA). To remove any ambiguity in the recently established tax framework for asset holders, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is currently preparing guidelines, said government officials in the know. The apex direct tax body will define non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and whether or not they fall within the purview of VDA.
The government's regional connectivity scheme UDAN has witnessed a slow progress of implementation, as not even 50 per cent of the route have been operationalised and the second wave of the pandemic, which started from mid of March 2021, may impact it further going forward, according to a report. Rating agency ICRA in its report on Tuesday said that there is likely to be a further delay of two years in achieving the target of operationalising as many as 100 unserved and underserved airports and starting at least 1,000 RCS routes by 2024. Aimed at enhancing regional connectivity through fiscal support and infrastructure development, the maiden flight under the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Shimla for Delhi on April 27, 2017.
History would not see the institution kindly if it continues to avoid, as appears to be the case, hearing and deciding some of the most pressing issues of our time, asserts Aakar Patel.
'We have promised to ensure reduced tax rates.'
The tax authorities may tell banks and crypto exchanges to report transactions of virtual digital assets (VDAs) as the government begins taxing gains from cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens from April 1. So far, the tax department has relied on voluntary disclosures on transactions of VDAs. Once implemented, the sale and purchase of digital assets will reflect in the Annual Information Statement (AIS). The AIS contains details of at least 46 of the financial transactions done by a taxpayer in a financial year.
The Reserve Bank's growth projection for next financial year is lower than 8-8.5 per cent projected by the finance ministry in the recent Economic Survey which was tabled in Parliament on January 31. Unveiling the bi-monthly policy, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said, "Recovery in domestic economic activity is yet to be broad-based, as private consumption and contact-intensive services remain below pre-pandemic levels."
Presenting the budget for the sixth consecutive time in the Assembly, Sisodia said the Delhi government will implement the Ayushman Bharat Yojana of the Centre in the national capital.
Fitch Ratings has cut India's economic growth forecast to 8.7 per cent for the current fiscal but raised GDP growth projection for FY23 to 10 per cent, saying the second COVID-19 wave delayed rather than derail the economic recovery. In its APAC Sovereign Credit Overview, Fitch Ratings said India's 'BBB-/Negative' sovereign rating "balances a still-strong medium-term growth outlook and external resilience from solid foreign- reserve buffers, against high public debt, a weak financial sector and some lagging structural factors". The 'Negative' outlook, it said, reflects uncertainty over the debt trajectory following the sharp deterioration in India's public finances due to the pandemic shock.
'The finance minister said, the MSME is the backbone of the economy. My question is, what have you done for the sector?'
The PM-CARES fund, which has been set up to provide relief during the coronavirus pandemic, has contributed over Rs 2,200 crore for the first phase of vaccination drive, which is looking to inoculate frontline healthcare workers, the Expenditure Secretary said on Tuesday.
Indian economy about to take-off
While the likelihood of these states going the Lanka or Greece way may be an alarming assessment, the financial situation of some states such as Punjab and West Bengal is indeed quite weak.
From a location perspective, the last quarter saw Kolkata and Gurgaon as top regions for employment in these sectors and among roles, sales and office services stood out.
Without making any direct reference to the three new farm reform laws or to the three-month-old agitation by farmers, Modi said there is a need for expanding options for the country's farming community to sell agri produce.
Speaking after interacting with gram panchayats and pani samitis/village water and sanitation committees (VWSC) on the Jal Jeevan Mission, Modi said the mission is not just about bringing water to people but it is also a decentralisation movement that is village and women-driven.
The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the roll-out of the 'PM POSHAN in Schools' scheme that will provide hot cooked meal to students of elementary classes in government and government-aided schools across the country.
With this, India joins 60 other countries that collect PNR details of international passengers.
Ferrari have said they remain committed to Formula One after reports on Thursday that the sport's oldest and most successful team could walk away if a proposed budget cap for 2021 was set too low. Britain's Guardian newspaper suggested Ferrari were prepared to quit in a headline, later replaced, over an interview with team boss Mattia Binotto.
A general knowledge competition based on the 'Ramayana' will be organised at national and international levels, an official statement on Sunday said quoting the minister.
The government on Monday said it proposes to incentivise incorporation of one person companies, a move that will benefit startups and innovators.
Moody's on Thursday upped India's growth projection for the next financial year beginning April 1, to 13.7 per cent, from 10.8 per cent estimated earlier, on the back of normalisation of activity and growing confidence in the market with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccine. For current fiscal, the US-based rating agency expects the economy to contract 7 per cent, lower than its previous estimate of 10.6 per cent contraction.
The statistics ministry has proposed the new base year for GDP and IIP as 2017-18 while for CPI it will be 2018.
The Centre on Monday earmarked a separate Rs 2,217 crore for 42 urban centres to tackle air pollution and announced the much-awaited voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and polluting vehicles, even as it shrunk the budgetary allocation for the environment ministry from the last fiscal by nearly eight percent. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech for 2021-22, announced a total of Rs 2869.93 crore for the ministry, Rs 230 crore less than the last fiscal. Officials said the outlay has been lesser this time as the economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the White House website, his staff post a variety of proposals ranging from an "American First Foreign Policy" to killing former President Obama's climate action plan with agenda largely echoing his campaign website.
The opposition also made it clear that they have taken over the state-wide protest against SilverLine and would continue the agitation till the government withdraws from the initiative which they termed as "destructive" for the southern state.
Finance ministry sources have countered CAG audit finding of central government wrongly retaining Rs 47,272 crore of GST compensation cess meant for states, saying temporary retention cannot be termed as diversion.
Human Development -- a measure of a nation's health, education, and average income -- has declined for two years in a row.
Shortly after the Union Budget was announced, political leaders from across the spectrum reacted to it. Here's what some of our leaders said.
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.
The Centre on Friday said that no farmer died due to police action during the year-long protests by farmers.
'...for at least 6 months and give them peace of mind to get back on their feet.' 'Entrepreneurs are suffocating and not able to run their companies peacefully.'
