Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the states were free to announce farm loan waivers if they had the fiscal space and that there would be no shortfall this year in divestment and non-tax revenues.
A day after deciding to nearly double natural gas prices to $8, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday hinted that power and fertiliser units may get gas at subsidised rates to keep electricity and urea costs down.
It was the rejection of the Congress' welfarist economics by voters that led to the party's drubbing, says Andy Mukherjee.
With facts and figures, the CAG report has highlighted how Gujarat was far from a role model for states across India, and that the progress made in this province in western India in improving agriculture, education, healthcare and empowerment of women and children, was not exactly creditable, says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
The manifesto, on the lines of the party's promise in Delhi in 2015, also says the AAP government will set up Aam Aadmi canteens at sub-division and district levels where one time meal will be available for Rs 5, and reduce the power tariff to half for usages up to 400 unit.
Is the Airtel Zero plan really a big blow for net neutrality? Will it end the 'free' internet as we know it? Amidst the hullaballoo over the issue, Sudhir Bisht provides a contrarian view.
The state is trying hard to improve ease of doing business by several notches.
After a 25-year stint at ICICI Bank, Mor suddenly quit as he wanted to add more value in the bigger areas of health care and financial inclusion.
India Inc will report good set of numbers in Q4.
With Narendra Modi about to make his first Independence Day speech, there is a buzz in Delhi that Modi will make some big announcements to signal major reforms and directional shifts. But we have to wait and see if it happens, says Mohan Guruswamy.
India's good fortune, experts in the US feel, is not the result of a fundamentally strong economy, but because it is the best of a bad set of options.
Dabhol's assets will be demerged into the power plant and the LNG terminal.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumr on Thursday jointly attacked the Centre calling it "anti-poor and anti-farmer" and asserted that the people will give it a "befitting reply".
An exercise to rationalise coal linkages which will optimize transport of coal and reduce cost of power is underway.
Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday came out with its manifesto for the December 4 Delhi polls, promising to enact Jan Lokpal Bill in 15 days if voted to power.
'Modi is likely to make more announcements to win or retain popularity, and put himself at the centre of things even more than now,' says T N Ninan.
Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian spoke on a wide range of issues -- from GDP growth and fiscal consolidation to job creation and GST.
In the December quarter, Sensex earnings had contracted 5 per cent.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan speaks to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
'The BJP has failed to protect cows.' Why doesn't the government say it is a government for cows, mandir and the Ganga?' 'Why don't they declare the cow as a national animal?
Delhi's inability to open up a new canvas with Pakistan and Sharif is symptomatic of its sluggish thinking. Jyoti Malhotra analyses
'There has definitely been a breakthrough in the nuclear logjam. It is good to see nuclear energy back on the rails,' says Dr Anil Kakodkar, former chairman, Atomic Energy Commission.
It is possibly the first time that a regional party with not even enough numbers to move a no-trust motion has taken the lead, and others are following it. The hints of a no-trust move first came from the YSR Congress, and the ruling TDP could not have stayed on together when the question is another version of 'Telugu atma gouravam' - an issue that fired its founder N T Rama Rao in the 1980s, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
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Crony capitalism will of course generate investment and ensure profit for private capital, but it won't give employment or income to the people. If you can make money by selling coal or speculating in land, why produce electricity, why invest in research and development, why even set up factories, asks Praful Bidwai.
Gujarat is a flourshing state but its business model is not so well accepted at national level.
With nearly a million identified slums, UP urgently requires housing for the poor
'We are against Alibaba investing in Paytm.' 'We are against the concessions given to Paytm.' 'In fact, we want Paytm to close down because of its alliance with Alibaba.'
Attired in his trademark half sleeves kurta and sporting a Rajasthani turban, Prime Minister Narendra Modi devoted a bulk of his 90-minute address on the occasion of the 70th Independence Day to presenting in effect a report card of his government's work particularly in boosting economic growth, ease of doing business and welfare schemes for the poor and farmers.
One may fault this government for incompetence, corruption, and delayed action but it cannot be faulted for lacking a vision.
The Congress,BJP and AAP have carved out clear constituencies for themselves. Some of them may overlap with one another, but they seem to have positioned themselves well, says A K Bhattacharya.
"Climate change is a major global challenge. But it is not of our making," Modi said.
'It's not as if power demand is falling. It's that generation has outpaced demand.'
Govt is keen to push reforms in the insurance sector.
As India's top designers including Tarun Tahiliani, Vikram Phadnis, David Abraham, Rohit Bal, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Wendell Rodricks gather in Varanasi today to try and give a boost to the Benarasi handloom sari, in an initiative by designer turned BJP politician Shaina NC, Rashme Sehgal outlines the crisis facing the weavers.
The last time Tamil Nadu seriously voted on pre-poll promises was in faraway 1967.
The new numbers did not apparently pass consistency checks with production, inputs, or movements in the National Stock Exchange.
The GST has been a great achievement, but it does suffer from weaknesses, says Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently completed one year in office, has, in an exclusive interview with Smita Prakash, editor, ANI, said the opposition alleging that his government is a "suit boot ki sarkar" is definitely better and more acceptable than being labelled a "suitcase" (ki sarkar), and satirically added, that after ruling for sixty years, the Congress has suddenly remembered the poor.
Vat Vrikshya -- banyan tree in Sanskrit -- helps tribal women, with absolutely zero formal education, set up businesses.
