But the measures, particularly in agriculture, may not be enough to revive the sector and double the farm income, says S Mahendra Dev.
Without cash flows, one can hardly aspire to better living conditions.
If approved, gas price will rise to $6.775 per million British thermal unit from $4.2 currently.
It was 55.3 per cent for the same period last year, and data shows the fiscal deficit for April-May was kept in reasonable check in spite of heavy frontloading of expenditure.
The government on Wednesday raised the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy marginally by Rs 72 per quintal to Rs 1,940 per quintal for the 2021-22 crop year, while the rates of pulses, oilseeds and cereals were hiked substantially. Among the commercial crops, the MSP of cotton was increased by Rs 211 per quintal to Rs 5,726 for medium staple variety, and by Rs 200 per quintal to Rs 6,025 for long-staple variety of cotton for the 2021-22 crop year (July-June). The decision taken by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will help farmers take a call on which kharif (summer) crop to grow as sowing picks with the spread of the Southwest monsoon in the coming weeks.
'There are two pre-conditions for big reforms. One, a sense of crisis and second, fairly concentrated levers of power.' 'India is growing at 7.5 per cent or something close to that.' 'Our levers of power are decentralised, not just between the Centre and states. Power is dispersed and there is no sense of crisis.'
The government has taken a number of steps to stem the depreciation of rupee including moderation in demand of non-essential imports and enhancing supply of capital flows, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.
This Budget signals a shift from a hand-out to a hand-up economy.
Budget-makers in North Block are looking to maintain this fiscal status quo, in spite of tax revenues nowhere close to where the government wants and in spite of possible higher expenditure commitments.
Being mandatory, these recommendations will have to be immediately built into the Budget for 2015-16.
Only three percent of Indians pay income tax; our tax-GDP ratio is among the lowest in the world. This must change. Our elites must realise that India's poverty has damaging consequences for them, and that they can help decrease it. The food security bill, with all its limitations, will hopefully contribute to generating such awareness, says Praful Bidwai.
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Chidambaram said he was particularly happy that agriculture growth has been estimated at 4.6 per cent for 2013-14.
'Success will require political skill, not just economic expertise'
Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian's interview.
India staring at first drought in six years.
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.
In the run-up to the Union Budget, expected to be presented on July 10, this paints a grim picture for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
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The catalyst is the run on emerging market equities, but many investors are just tired of waiting for India to get its act together.
A new formula for pricing natural gas in the domestic market was determined; the decontrol of diesel prices was announced; and the scheme that directly transferred subsidies to bank accounts of users of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders was modified and relaunched.
The challenge of achieving fiscal deficit targets for the next two years seems daunting.
Economists want the government to focus on jobs, farms, and fiscal consolidation. They also favour re-imposition of the long-term capital gains tax on listed securities and mutual funds.
The move is likely to force the government to take a faster decision.
'Those who are talking of adopting the Narasimha Rao-Manmohan Singh policy must understand now that what was a reform then is no longer a reform now,' argues Sukumar Mukhopadhyay who was associated with the 1991 economic reforms.
'You can't take money from Shaktikanta Das (the RBI governor) and give it to Nirmala Sitharaman (the Union finance minister). She will blow it away on Modi.'
Most farmers want to give Modi a second chance. They hope that the BJP loses at least 50 seats, so that it is dependent on its coalition partners who will then keep a check on Modi.
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.
The Centre will soon write to the states to bring uniformity in the Value Added Tax on oil products so that benefits of price cuts filter down to the masses.
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The CPI(M) on Thursday slammed the Planning Commission estimates on poverty levels in the country, saying these made "a mockery of life and death struggles" of the people, amidst continuous rise in prices and "massive" slashing of subsidies for the poor.
Moody's expect RBI to hold policy 'repo' rate steady to have a neutral stance in this growth
FM should avoid proposals such as to tax financial transactions and fringe benefits
In the run-up to the polls, a survey has revealed that better employment opportunities is the single most important issue for citizens and that the government has fared below average in this aspect.
The finance minister defended the change in the tax rates.
As per the Economic Survey for 2013-14, India's gross domestic product growth rate will improve to 5.4-5.9 per cent in the current fiscal after remaining at sub-5 per cent level for past two years.
'The road ahead for the government's fiscal management will be full of many new challenges,' warns A K Bhattacharya.
India's overall retail inflation eased to 4.41 per cent in September, helped by falling commodity prices, but rural inflation was at 5.05 per cent
The overdraft facility has been sanctioned in only 40,000 accounts
Curbing the federal deficit is the government's absolute priority on February 28.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the inflation index would determine the nominal growth figure, and it is better to set modest targets and outperform them.
Farmers find it difficult to source quality seeds or fertiliser on time from government agencies at subsidised rates.
The Duncans Goenka group is in a spot of bother over the death of workers and non-payment of dues to employees.
