The challenge thrown by the youth movement creates the opportunity for a more consequential debate on India's economic trajectory because it must remain centered on India's youth as its driving impulse, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
A research paper by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) recommends that Bihar revoke its alcohol ban, citing its failure to reduce violence against women and a rise in illicit drug and alcohol consumption. The report suggests that reinstating the liquor excise tax would significantly increase state revenues and decrease enforcement costs.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday night at the age of 92. He was brought to the emergency department of AIIMS Delhi in critical condition after "sudden loss of consciousness."
Andy Burnham has officially taken office as the new UK Prime Minister, pledging to make politics more about problem-solving and usher in a 'circuit breaker' moment for the country with significant political and economic changes.
The Indian government has approved the introduction of one billion polymer banknotes in Rs 10 and Rs 20 denominations for field trials, aiming to enhance durability. This move comes as the Finance Minister also addressed Parliament on declining retail inflation, GST reforms, and other fiscal measures taken to support the economy and household consumption.
The Lok Sabha introduced four significant bills on Monday, including amendments to mines and minerals regulations, the establishment of a National Tribunals Commission, and the renaming of Kerala to Keralam, all while facing continuous protests from opposition members demanding a discussion on the July 20 police crackdown on students.
'We can integrate AI and tech into education, but that is just a means and not an end.' 'Ultimately, we need to control what happens in a classroom and we need to let teachers innovate their teaching style to suit the needs of Gen Z and beyond.'
Singapore's Fullerton Fund pumps more into China, cuts exposure in India
A parliamentary committee is actively working to establish a mechanism for implementing the 'One Nation, One Election' reform, with its chairperson, PP Chaudhary, indicating that it could be fully operational by the 2029 general elections. Chaudhary highlighted that nearly 99 per cent of civil society stakeholders consulted have supported the proposal, which aims to mitigate an estimated Rs 7 lakh crore economic loss due to frequent polls.
'We have to pull 80 million workers out of agriculture and go back to where we were in 2014. That itself is going to be a huge task.' 'We have already lost time, and that is a catastrophe impending.''
His statement comes in the wake of a Supreme Court order halting divestment in two oil PSUs.
As India marks a decade of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the focus is shifting towards enhancing efficiency through artificial intelligence, data sharing, and process simplification. The reform, which unified India's indirect tax system, has significantly broadened the tax base and boosted revenues, with future plans including a streamlined two-tier rate structure and continued technological integration to reduce compliance costs and combat evasion.
'Policy consistency combined with timely and calibrated reforms are expected to ensure that India not only maintains macroeconomic stability, but also emerges as a globally competitive and inclusive economy.'
Brokerage Bernstein has warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India risks squandering recent economic gains unless it accelerates structural reforms, particularly in jobs, manufacturing and innovation.
Despite aggressive expansion, India's solar power sector faces significant hurdles from rising regional disparities in installed capacity and a looming manufacturing glut due to overcapacity in domestic solar equipment production, potentially leading to consolidation and pricing pressures.
Ashok Lahiri, a distinguished economist with experience in government, the private sector, and electoral politics, has been appointed as the new Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, tasked with strengthening India's reform trajectory and policy-making.
Britain hopes that after the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections the next government will carry forward the economic reforms process that should see India emerging as the third biggest economy in the world over the years to come.
For India, the guiding principle should remain clear: Engage Bangladesh as a sovereign nation and society rather than through the prism of any individual leader or political party, suggests Manoj Mohanka.
A NITI Aayog report outlines India's potential to scale its bioeconomy to USD 691 billion by 2035 and USD 2.6 trillion by 2047, creating over 30 million high-value jobs. The report stresses the need for coordinated national execution, regulatory reforms, a strengthened talent pipeline, and a significant BioEconomy Growth Fund to achieve this vision, positioning India among the top biotechnology powers globally.
India's Finance Minister P Chidambaram has described the country's banking sector as the driving force of economic reforms, though New Delhi is still to fully open the sector to foreign financial institutions.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has picked former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, Harvard University economics Professor Raj Chetty and Microsoft XBOX CEO Asha Sharma to be part of task forces constituted to examine the central bank's approach to monetary policy and propose transformational changes.
Hindutva is being conflated with good governance and economic performance in a determined bid to promote Narendra Modi, says Sonali Ranade
After Congress, the United Progressive Alliance on Thursday endorsed government's recent tough economic decisions and discussed the need "to do more reforms".
Notwithstanding the economic complementarities and the host of agreements for deepening economic relation on a host of areas, both sides share common viewpoints on the foreign policy domain and seek common grounds to serve as a counterweight to China, notes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet secretaries of key Union ministries and departments to review their performance, focusing on ease of living, ease of doing business, and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives, amidst strong speculation of an impending Cabinet reshuffle.
Chinese state media on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic reforms have achieved "little progress" and asserted that the Chinese economy was five times bigger than the Indian economy.
The Congress escalated its campaign against alleged examination irregularities by marching to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, transforming the issue into a direct challenge to his political authority and demanding the resignations of top government officials.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino's ambitious plan to sell a 20% stake in a commercial entity managing the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors has been abandoned following widespread opposition, including a boycott threat from UEFA.
Popular anguish over the slow pace of economic reforms has grown more intense in the last few weeks even as Congress President Sonia Gandhi takes charge as the head of the National Advisory Council and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's grip on the policy-making apparatus of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government appears to get weaker.
Asking the state finance ministers to resolve the pending issues expeditiously, the Centre on Thursday said introducing Goods and Services Tax was critical for economic reforms.
'Markets never fully lose hope. But an important shift could come if the Strait remains closed -- moving from high prices to no prices.'
India's government is working to resolve tax and regulatory hurdles to bring Formula One back to the Buddh International Circuit on the outskirts of New Delhi in 2028, more than a decade after the race was dropped.
Following Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation amidst widespread student protests over the NEET paper leak, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated the youth, calling it a crucial step for education reform, and urged broader public action to hold the government accountable, demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'Why not aspire for 8 or 9 or even 10 per cent?'
India too can rise to the top if the 1.4 billion Indians back home are given better opportunities to use their innate talent and capacity to work hard, with right incentives in a more meritocratic rules-based system, asserts Ajay Chhibber.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday assured the industry that momentum of economic reforms will continue to make India a hotspot of global investment. India has turned the crisis created by COVID-19 pandemic into an opportunity to push the economic reforms, which remained pending for decades, she said while addressing the National MNC's Conference 2020 organised by industry chamber CII.
