The Reserve Bank of India has already raised its key short-term rates by 25 basis points to cool inflation and many experts believe that it will make money dearer to tame inflation in its April 20 annual monetary policy announcement.
A controversial bill that sought to debar women in Jammu and Kashmir from their civil rights if they marry a non-domicile was dropped on Sunday from the Legislative Council after the government admitted a "technical flaw" in introducing the proposed law.
Failure to get elected by May 28, ie within six months of taking oath as CM, would have resulted into a Constitutional crisis for the Thackeray-led government, which was averted after the Election Commission announced elections to the nine seats in the Council.
The data further revealed that GDP growth rate was 9.4 per cent in the last quarter of 2009-10 and 8.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2010-11.
According to the IMF sources, the 27-member European Union bloc had asked the Chinese for support for Lagarde.
The session will have nearly 18 sittings, Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth Kumar said.
Conceding that the fiscal deficit could exceed the targeted 4.6 per cent of GDP for 2011-12 by up to one percentage point, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said such a situation need not be a matter of concern.
In September, industrial growth fell to just 1.9 per cent, its lowest in two years. Inflation is at 9.73 per cent, its 10th month above nine per cent.
A tweet in Malayalam by Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, soon after his meeting with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the Emirates, has gone viral on social media as several expatriate Malayalis shared it on their virtual platforms.
The Plan panel on Wednesday said it has appointed civil rights activist Binayak Sen, convicted for sedition, on the board of one of its steering committees to give input for 12th Plan (2012-17) on health related issues.
Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, is among 19 members chosen by UN chief Ban Ki-moon for a high-level advisory group on Climate Change Financing tasked with mobilising funds pledged during the Copenhagen meet to tackle global warming.
On one hand, South Indian states have been complaining about denial of a proportionate portion of the sharable funds from the Centre, based on population. On the other hand, they stand to lose Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats that again are based on population, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Current account deficit, which represents flow of money out of the country barring capital movements, stood at $4.5 billion in the first quarter of previous financial year.
India on Wednesday said it hopes the G-20 nations will pay heed to its call for a strong action on the issue of black money stashed in tax havens during their crucial summit in Cannes.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge will provide a much-needed lift for the troubled Commonwealth Games when he visits the site of the multi-sports gathering on Friday.
The Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Wednesday objections to the disinvestment progammes of the government can be sorted out through discussions. Although the government has expressed its commitment to offload equity in state-owned companies while retaining 51 per cent share, the supporting Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had raised objections to it.
"In China's 12th Plan, exports do not hold the same place. Besides, the Chinese will be vacating the lower end of value spectrum like textiles and leather...So who will replace them? Are we going to step in or will it be Vietnam or Turkey or Indonesia," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
Replying to a question related to the possibility of additional fiscal stimulus measures in the forthcoming Budget, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said: "We have started some discussion with the finance ministry. This is related to what should be an appropriate size for planned expenditure for 2009-10." In the interim Budget announced in February this year, the planned expenditure for 2009-10 was budgeted at Rs 2,85,149 crore.
Government sources in the PMO said Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other panel members will continue till the next Planning Commission is constituted by the prime minister. The apex panel plays a crucial role in the budgetary process. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to present the Budget in the first week of July. Though the recommendations of the Plan panel are not legally binding, the inputs are crucial in dealing with the planned expenditure by the government.
Government and the Planning Commission had earlier projected a growth rate of 9 per cent during 2011-12, up from 8.6 per cent in the previous fiscal.
Atishi will handle education, PWD, power and tourism departments, while Bharadwaj will look after health, urban development, water and industries.
Mainstream American newspapers, many of which had been sceptical of India's space mission and sometimes even made fun of it through cartoons, noted the great Indian achievement.
'The untimely demise of Shri Cyrus Mistry is shocking. He was a promising business leader who believed in India's economic prowess,' Prime Minister Modi said in a tweet.
The Planning Commission's term runs concurrently with that of the government. The commission, whose inputs are vital on important policy related matters, is likely to have new faces when the new team is announced, said a top government functionary who had earlier worked in the apex planning body.
I suggest we build a Vigyan Mandir (Temple of Science) with the ambience of a place of worship, so that it becomes a destination for pilgrims. We should embed on its walls bronze plaques describing each scientist mentioned here along with about a dozen of our ancient mathematicians, recommends Professor Kalyan Singhal, historian of science and technology.
The process of preparing approach paper to the 12th Plan has already been started and the panel wants that besides its experts and committees on different areas, the general people particularly youngsters share their views about how should the country should go about the next Five-Year Plan.
There had been a paradigm shift in international perception about India's economic policies and technological prowess, a United Nations official said on Wednesday.
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and former Planning Commission member Kirit S Parikh, who heads an expert committee on fuel pricing, may join the deliberations, official sources said.
Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut's article on North Indians has brought down the image of parliamentarians in the public eye, a Rajya Sabha Privileges Committee on Monday held.
Besides undertaking the routine work, Ahluwalia entrusted the task of revamping the Commission to new member Arun Maira, formerly with the Boston Consultancy Group. "We cannot work is silos. We need better lateral inputs," Ahluwalia had said at a recent internal meeting of the commission.
The committee is expected to submit its report soon.
The nation's highest policymaking body, the National Development Council, will focus on five key areas, including the Naxal menace, power reforms and water crisis, at its meeting on Saturday.
Freight corridor project slipping, needs supervision revamp, says Plan panel.
Ahead of the July 24 National Development Council (NDC) meeting, the Planning Commission will come out with a report on the problems in the Naxal-hit areas and the issues being faced by tribals.
The rupee will soon join the elite currencies like the US dollar, the euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity.
A report by a senior official in the Planning Commission has said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is heading towards bankruptcy, as its debt is set to increase five times in the next three years.
Reva, which had recently entered into an agreement with General Motors India for launching electric version of the compact car Spark, said it was also open to partnering other companies.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia says Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had warned him in advance that he was going to criticise the apex planning body in public.
