'The USA crossed 50,000 deaths in 23 days, Brazil in 95 days and Mexico in 141 days. India took 156 days to reach this national figure'
The GST Council might on Friday consider taxing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products under the single national GST regime, a move that may require huge compromises by both central and state governments on the revenues they collect from taxing these products. The Council, which comprises central and state finance ministers, in its meeting scheduled in Lucknow on Friday, is also likely to consider extending the time for duty relief on COVID-19 essentials, according to sources in the know of the development. GST is being thought to be a solution for the problem of near-record high petrol and diesel rates in the country, as it would end the cascading effect of tax on tax (state VAT being levied not just on the cost of production but also on the excise duty charged by the Centre on such output).
Though COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown left a trail of economic devastation on most countries, India can potentially build upon three positive aspects - push in the rural economy, stronger federalism and a huge consumption base, former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao Rao has said. In his foreword on a Telugu book titled "Maandhyam Mungita Desam" (Nation in Recession) authored by Tummala Kishore, he said the challenge for the government in the months and years ahead is clear: to put the economy back on a healthy growth trajectory and ensure that growth is inclusive, with lower income households too enjoying the benefits of rapid growth.
'It is going to be a tough balance for the RBI to manage economic stability and ensure smooth government borrowing.'
The growth in the contact-intensive portion of the economy trailed our expectation, highlighting how imperative it is for confidence to improve, either through accelerated vaccinations or otherwise, to drive a sustainable recovery in these sectors, asserts Aditi Nayar.
The apex court said that 'satisfactory progress' has been made by the Executive in identifying children who have either become orphans or have lost one of their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said by converging around shops, people are risking the spread of COVID-19, while asserting that Centre and state governments will ensure all essentials are available.
With cases hitting a new peak in several parts of the country, the demand for medical oxygen has increased as it is a critical component in the treatment of COVID-19-affected patients.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday urged state IT ministers to move swiftly and promote electronics manufacturing through pro-investment initiatives, in a bid to tap a "great opportunity" that now beckons India. Prasad, who interacted with state IT ministers through video-conference against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, told reporters later that eased connectivity norms to facilitate work-from-home, which were to end on April 30, have now been extended till July 31.
From Covid-19 essentials, such as Vitamin C supplements and thermometers, to bicycles, laptops, and personal weighing scales, demand for certain items galloped during last financial year as the pandemic altered what Indians used on a day-to-day basis. Imports of outdoor sports equipment, handbags for women, and dentures, among others, plummeted. With outdoor activities coming to a halt last year and schools functioning virtually, imports of sports goods witnessed a decline, while inbound shipments of laptops and battery chargers saw a sharp uptick, according to the import data for the financial year 2020-21.
The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 2,15,125, while 3,34,821 patients have been cured/discharged.
Arthi said she even sent an email to the Centre and State government, requesting them for reward and appreciation.
Arora, who is Director of INCLEN Trust, said it is not possible to predict any third wave at this time.
Speaking during a video interaction with Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana beneficiaries from Madhya Pradesh, he also said that there was 'vikriti' (distortion) in the system of the previous government.
Giving more details about the preparations, the senior official said 36 states and Union territories have concluded meetings of State Steering Committees and State Task Force, while 633 districts have concluded meetings of the District Task Force in this regard.
There are 17,60,489 more recovered people than the active cases.
'Guarding the borders in extreme weather conditions is not easy and most people don't realize it is a very tough job.'
Roiled by the pandemic, home prices in India fell 3.6 per cent in December quarter 2020, pushing down its global ranking to the lowest 56th as compared to 43rd in the year-ago period, while Turkey continued to lead the tally, says a report. According to international property consultancy Knight Frank, India was the weakest-performing housing market in October-December last year with a decline of 3.6 per cent year-on-year in prices. The Knight Frank global house price index tracks the movement in mainstream residential prices across 56 countries and territories worldwide using official statistics.
On Monday, Modi held a video conference meeting with chief ministers of all states to discuss the road ahead in India's fight against COVID-19.
With inflation under control, the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC's) job is to support growth because the economy had recovered well from the lows in the initial months of the pandemic, according to the panel's members, who met in the first week of this month. The minutes of the meeting show the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor in his statement said: "Given the sharp moderation in inflation along with a stable near-term outlook, monetary policy needs to continue with the accommodative stance to ensure that the recovery gains greater traction and becomes broad-based." Ashima Goyal, external member of the MPC, said: "The current macroeconomic configuration and its expected future evolution imply there is space for the MPC to continue to support the revival of the economy with inflation remaining in the target band."
The wholesale price-based inflation rose for the second consecutive month in February to 4.17 per cent, as food, fuel and power prices spiked. The WPI inflation was 2.03 per cent in January and 2.26 per cent in February last year. After witnessing months of softening of prices, the food articles in February saw 1.36 per cent inflation. In January it was (-) 2.80 per cent.
The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to formulate within two weeks a national policy on admissions to hospitals in the wake of the second wave of COVID-19 and said no patient shall be denied hospitalisation or essential drugs in any state for lack of local residential proof.
No change in retail prices as oil marketing firms to absorb increase
The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the Centre and states to ensure implementation of the decisions taken in a meeting to curb air pollution, observing that it cannot get into the 'nitty gritty' and the bureaucracy has developed a 'sort of inertia' of not taking decisions which are left to the courts.
Amid record-high fuel prices, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said there is no proposal as of now to bring crude oil, petrol, diesel, jet fuel (ATF) and natural gas under the Goods and Services Tax (GST). When the GST was introduced on July 1, 2017, amalgamating over a dozen central and state levies, five commodities - crude oil, natural gas, petrol, diesel, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) - were kept out of its purview given the revenue dependence of the central and state governments on this sector. This meant that the central government continued to levy excise duty on them while state governments charged VAT. These taxes, with excise duty, in particular, have been raised periodically.
'I would like to reassure the general populace that your government, both Centre and state and the city councils are working at an accelerated pace.'
Earlier last week, the Election Commission had written to all national and state parties asking them to follow all COVID-related guidelines during public meetings, rallies and other activities.
"Stalin is the future of the party," said late Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam patriarch M Karunanidhi about six years ago at a party meet when his son was party treasurer.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday described her party Trinamool Congress's "landslide victory" in the state assembly poll as a vindication of its fight to protect communal harmony.
He also said that there were around 620 cases of black fungus or mucormycosis in the city, but there is a shortage of Amphotericin-B injections used in its treatment.
The government, however, dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people, saying it 'has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever'.
While Birla did not specify the financial implications of the move, sources said the Lok Sabha Secretariat can annually save more than Rs 8 crore with the subsidy coming to an end.
With 4,20,898 samples tested in the past 24 hours, it added, the Tests Per Million has increased to 11,485 and continue to maintain an upward trend.
Government-controlled oil-marketing companies (OMCs) have held back petrol and diesel price revisions for a week and are expected to continue doing so, ostensibly owing to political reasons. It appears that the Centre has informally conveyed to the three major OMCs to not revise fuel prices for the time being, two people in the government said. This informal directive follows the talks between the Centre and states on cutting taxes and bringing the auto fuels under the good service tax regime not fetching the desired results, so far.
'The CEA suggested that could be as high as 19 per cent.'
Created over the past 12-15 months, Niti's new Export Preparedness Index flagged the major intra-and inter-regional disparities in export infrastructure, problems in trade support and lack of unique exports as the main challenges hampering export growth.
High inflation print is the price that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will have to pay to nurse a fragile growth back, say economists. Wholesale Price Index-based inflation rose to a record high of 12.94 per cent in May, aided by low base effect, but also because of higher fuel and commodity prices. Retail inflation, too, surprised by rising to 6.30 per cent, while the core inflation, which is the non-food and non-fuel component, rose to an 83-month high of 6.55 per cent. These numbers are much above RBI's upper limit of 6 per cent inflation target, but there is very little that the RBI can do at this moment.
The two-member commission will be headed by former Calcutta high court Chief Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya. Former Supreme Court judge Madan Bhimrao Lokur is its other member.
"India is not a country to lose courage. We will fight and win," he said.
This is due to the newly formed Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, which will get funds from the Centre's share, which means devolution will be for 28 states compared to 29 earlier.
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