In case MGNREGA is expanded, officials said the total expenditure on farming-related works could reach up to 80 per cent of MGNREGA budget, as against the current 67 per cent.
Among the states due for election next year are AP, Haryana and Odisha, which have a fair share of agri credit. If these states individually announced debt relief, the combined waiver would be at least around Rs 600 bn to Rs 700 bn. Clearly, this will be a frightening challenge for Indian banks.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had announced his party would waive farm loans within 10 of coming to power in the state.
The plea filed by an advocate has also sought issuance of guidelines for creation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to tackle such incidents and filling up of vacancies in forest forces across the country.
Barring stray incidents of violence like stone pelting, the shutdown called by the MVA allies Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party was largely peaceful.
The prime minister during his party's parliamentary meeting, said that the bill will be written in golden letters for people who are persecuted on the basis of religion
Sri Lanka's Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday imposed emergency giving him sweeping powers ahead of the key election on July 20 to pick a new President as he urged the political parties to put aside differences and form an all-party government, with the Opposition dubbing his decision as an 'undemocratic draconian act'.
He said farmers need to get good remunerative price for their produce.
With the general elections due in 2009, lenders to farmers will get cash compensation of Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) -- or almost 70 per cent of the waiver package -- in 14 months from July this year. Farmers whose debt is waived will become eligible for fresh credit after June 30, by which time the relief package will have been completed.
In these dark, divisive times, Ajitha's humanity gives us cause for hope.
The Congress has decided to hold its public rally against inflation in Jaipur on December 12 after the Delhi Police denied it permission to host the rally in the national capital.
That apart, farmers will get loans for post-harvest storage of their produce at a subsidised interest rate of 7 per cent for six months.
Cabinet sub-committee to review the situation and take necessary steps.
The 28 new ministers who joined the Chouhan cabinet on July 2 include 20 of cabinet rank and eight ministers of state.
In order to help farmers, the government has increased minimum support price for the last several years. This has made Indian rice uncompetitive for exports.
Following the Budget being announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, leaders across the political spectrum provided their views.
She also called upon the partymen to continue to put pressure on the union government to ensure that the daily rate of vaccination trebles so that 75% of the population gets fully vaccinated by end of this year.
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has said corruption is one the major factors behind farmer suicides in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, and the Jan Lokpal Bill will bring relief to the distressed peasants.
'I would like to convey the message to your readers that the prime minister himself is directly seized of the situation on the ground. He periodically reviews the situation on the ground and how it is moving forward, taking inputs from economists, business leaders, chambers of commerce.'
Currently, the Brahmaputra at Guwahati, Nimatighat in Jorhat, Tezpur in Sonitpur, Goalpara and Dhubri towns, while the Barak at AP Ghat in Cachar and Badarpurghat in Karimganj are flowing above the danger mark.
'The spirit of cooperation between the Centre and states has been diluted in many ways.' 'The level of consultation which used to be there earlier has reduced significantly.'
Flood victims have been fighting for survival and living in temporary shelters nearby railway tracks with lack of food items. They are yet to get any help from the government, reports M I Khan.
Cabinet sub-committee to meet to review the situation and take necessary steps. Sanjay Jog reports
The Bharatiya Janata Party, for whom the temple town sharpened its Hindutva plank, is facing a challenge particularly from the Samajwadi Party in the ongoing state polls.
If not for Palaniswami, it is hard to guess if the AIADMK would have been able to garner 33.3 per cent vote share as against the DMK's 37.7 per cent. AIADMK won 66 seats, its allies Pattali Makkal Katchi and Bharatiya Janata Party five and four seats respectively and proved yet again that the western region was its fortress.
As far as Hindus are concerned, the eclipse of Wokeism cannot come any sooner, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Speaking at industry association CII's annual session, PM Modi said the government has taken tough steps to fight the coronavirus pandemic and has also taken care of the economy. "On the one hand we have to safe the lives of our people and on the other hand we have to stabilise the economy and speed up the economy," he said. "Yes, we will definitely get our growth back," he asserted.
Without strong storage facilities, bumper harvest has resulted in price crash
In his short speeches at various places, Gandhi assailed Modi over demonetisation and a host of other issues.
The picturesque landscape of Pettimudi was flattened into a rough patch of boulders and mud with parts of asbestos and tin sheets seen scattered around.
As and when the pandemic recedes from these shores, rebuilding the economy will be the biggest challenge for Modi in the remaining three years of his term, observes Virendra Kapoor.
"Modi is a leader, recognised worldwide," it said.
This is not an election Budget in the sense that I might target the voter in the coming elections. But if you look beyond this round of state elections, and tilt the periscope to graze at the more distant horizon, see how the Narendra Modi government wishes things looking by the summer of 2024, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Governments make budgets to retain and consolidate their hold on power, not to please opponents or economists. They do so by trying to gratify as many as possible without causing harm to the others, says Shreekant Sambrani.
"India's middle class, small traders and farmers are the lifelines of its economic growth. By catering to these ambitions #Budget2019 infuses hopes for millions of dreams."
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents her fourth Budget in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Amitabh Bachchan has shared the 'arduous' process of procuring oxygen concentrators and ventilators for donation as he said every individual effort goes a long way in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Akhilesh said cases of graft involving new currency notes are already making news in some parts of the country.
According to officials, ten men and three women died and 28 head of cattle perished in cyclone related incidents despite authorities evacuating as many as 81,948 people to 471 relief centres in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Tiruvarur districts.
'If India is to emerge as a superpower, we must utilise our huge agricultural potential and not, as in past centuries, merely exploit our farmers,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
