False and acrimonious debates such as Modi versus Manmohan might allow for victories that are political and partisan. But the real loser is the nation, India and Bharat, notes Arvind Subramanian, former chief economic advisor to the Modi government in its first term.
The outcome is beyond the market's expectation and will be a sentimental boost, say analysts.
N R Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Information Technology giant Infosys, has lamented that economic activities in India were 'stalled' and decisions were not taken by the Manmohan Singh government in time in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance-era.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said in Amaravai on Friday that certain forces were conspiring to damage the sovereignty and integrity of India by provoking internal strife and expressed anguish over some recent incidents in different parts of the country.
More and more states are organising investor summits, Jaitley said.
PM says FDI decision shows 'unwavering' commitment to reforms.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs 11.11 lakh crore spending on infrastructure and vowed to continue reforms as she resisted resorting to populist measures in Modi government's last Budget before general elections, instead choosing to stay on the path of cutting deficit while bolstering measures for focus groups.
The finance minister's assertion that industry should not expect any spectacular announcements in the 2024 interim Budget suggest that the electoral imperatives of more tax concessions or higher expenditure on welfarist programmes could be far less pronounced than they were before the 2019 interim Budget, expects A K Bhattacharya.
Rising energy demand could tilt India's energy basket towards fossil fuels from coal to oil, natural gas.
Is it is necessary to play divisive politics to succeed in the next general elections? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
Mamata Banerjee, a former United Progressive Alliance ally, said 'from petrol to onions, from diesel to dollar, from fertilisers to day to day expenses, prices are skyrocketing.'
'Maybe, India will never be reformed and maybe India will continue to have a quagmire for the rest of history.'
It will be in Modi's interest to reinvent his party, read the writing on the wall that voters wrote, and move ahead. He has little choice now. The country is watching, asserts Ramesh Menon.
A government that confuses PowerPoints for policy is delaying structural change too much.
But use of that word -- privatisation -- is not encouraged. This seems to be a classic case of reforms through subtle signals, observes A K Bhattacharya.
He was reviled by critics in his party as a neo-liberal in disguise but till the end, he retained his belief in secularism and the humanity of Communism.
This columnist cannot pretend to be an economic expert but can certainly point out that the statistics being reeled out on a daily basis now, have added to the economic burden of the people, says Seema Mustafa.
UPA failed to undertake economic, social and administrative reforms to strengthen India's long-term development potential.
India Inc on Thursday pitched for continuation of reforms while ensuring tax and policy stability in the forthcoming Budget to prop up the economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the virtual pre-Budget consultation held with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, industry chambers said that government measures will help firmly entrench the nascent signs of recovery being currently seen in private investment. Capital expenditure by the government through enhanced infrastructure spending should in the meantime continue to support growth, CII president TV Narendran said.
'If we don't want to be the poorest large economy even in 2030, we need to be doing very much more than is being attempted.'
The agency said announcements by Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley after government formation 'signal a strong intention to pursue reforms'.
S&P earlier this week had said India faces 'one-in-three' chance of rating downgrade in the next two years
There is, between Rao's tenure as PM and the current Modi regime, a powerful resonance of how transition can be managed. Rao's tenure saw many scams -- one where he was supposedly approached by Harshad Mehta with a bribe for making the securities scam go away. The Opposition insisted on a JPC. Despite knowing a JPC report would undermine him politically, Rao agreed to one, saying he had 'nothing to hide'.
The report on the Economic Freedom of the States of India is the latest in a series of annual surveys on the economic freedom of Indian states, which started in 2004. The latest report takes 2009 as the period under review.
Why is the Bharatiya Janata Party opposed to FDI in retail? A day after promising to scrap FDI in retail, the BJP set about fine-tuning its line to ensure it did not fall foul of the middle-class.
Finance Minister pegs 2011-12 growth at 8.6 per cent, expects inflation to fall to 6-7 per cent by end of the financial year.
'The lack of a majority isn't the issue. He has enough in 240, especially as none of his allies can pull down his coalition.' 'That's why he's started as if this were just another, normal term. That pretence is vital for him.' 'The change for Modi 3.0 comes not from numbers, but from the new environment of contestation,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
Hospitality players want the government to accord infrastructure status to hotels to make investments on new properties more attractive rather than categorising them as luxury or even 'sin goods' in the upcoming Union Budget considering the sector's potential to play a key role in India's growth. They also want the government to consider incentives in the form of tax breaks or subsidies for adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices, while asserting that the upcoming budget must accelerate the tourism agenda saying it is an opportunity to make Indian hospitality the emerging engine for GDP growth and employment generation.
The government's annual Economic Survey on Friday strongly defended new farm laws, saying they herald a new era of market freedom which can go a long way in improving lives of small and marginal farmers in India. These legislations were designed "primarily" for the benefit of "small and marginal farmers", which constitute around 85 per cent of the total number of farmers and are the biggest sufferer of the "regressive" APMC-regulated market regime, the survey said. The pre-budget document defended the farm laws in the backdrop of long-running farmers' agitation at various borders of the national capital seeking repeal of these legislations expressing concern that they are pro-corporate and could weaken government regulated mandis, also called Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs).
Nearly eight out of 10 Chinese, who took part in a national poll said they believe China should stay on the path of political reform while according top priority to stability to avert a collapse similar to that of the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1991.
The two governments have already set a target of increasing bilateral trade in goods and services to $500 billion.
S&P in November ruled out an upgrade in the country's rating for some considerable period, citing India's low per capita GDP and relatively high fiscal deficit.
Gourav Vallabh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday hours after he quit the Congress, saying he can neither raise anti-Sanatan slogans nor abuse "wealth creators" day in and day out and was joining the ruling party due to his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda of "Viksit Bharat".
Few finance ministers announce any taxation measure that could upset the stock market. Ms Sitharaman decided to take that risk, observes A K Bhattacharya.
The economy is projected to clock 7.4 per cent growth.
In its essence, GST is a national level system of value added taxation of goods and services, says Shankar Acharya.
'China is struggling to get out of its property bubble.' 'Japan took 35 years to walk out of its equity bubble.' 'Bubbles can be difficult to forecast.'
The PFRDA is engaged in consolidating the initiatives taken so far regarding the full New Pension System and expanding the reach of distribution network.
Noting that the economic crisis had underlined an urgent need for reform in the international financial structure, member of parliament Saifuddin Soz called for a greater role for developing nations in norm-setting and decision-making bodies like the International Monetary Fund.
