The government has extended the tenure of the 16th Finance Commission by one month till November 30. The 16th Finance Commission was constituted by the government on December 31, 2023, with former Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya as its Chairman.
The Twelfth Finance Commission is ready with its report and has sought time from the President to submit the recommendations, its chairman C Rangarajan said on Saturday.
Former Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, has been chosen as the new Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha. Gupta, a BJP MLA from Rohini, vowed to immediately table 14 CAG reports allegedly withheld by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government upon taking charge. His election is a foregone conclusion due to the BJP's majority in the Assembly.
This is due to the newly formed Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, which will get funds from the Centre's share, which means devolution will be for 28 states compared to 29 earlier.
Tax devolution shares, which threaten to create a north-south divide among states, may have more to do with per capita income, and not so much with population.
The party's national executive meeting chaired by its president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flagged price rise and unemployment as "burning issues"
'Union Budgets are often used as political instruments and that was the intention of this government too.' 'But while the exercise has settled two fronts, it has left open several others and this has the potential to aggravate with time,' predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said GST compensation to some states is delayed due to non-availability of AG's authenticated certificate, and that Kerala has not sent even a single such certificate since 2017-18. Replying to a supplementary question, she also said that Rs 86,912 crore has been released for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation payable to all states up to May 31, 2022. She said as per law, GST Council decides to whom the GST compensation is to be released, not by the central government.
The government on Tuesday informed Rajya Sabha that GST compensation of Rs 17,176 crore is pending to states as on June 2022. Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the Centre is giving GST compensation to states for five years. He said even during Covid times when no GST was collected, the Government of India had given compensation to states after taking loans of Rs 1.1 lakh crore and 1.59 lakh crore during 2020-21 and 2021-22.
The government, it would seem, is reserving its firepower to spend on big-ticket items that will be announced in the Budget, reports Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
There are several welcome standalone reforms, but these do not add up to a coherent strategy to achieve a $5 trillion economy or secure Aatmanirbharta, observes Rathin Roy.
It is believed that the commission in its report has suggested higher allocation to the states during five years starting from next fiscal.
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.
As India emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, the ninth budget under the Modi government, including an interim one, is widely expected to focus on boosting spending on job creation and rural development, generous allocations for development schemes, putting more money in the hands of the average taxpayer and easing rules to attract foreign investments.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said the govt will extend a loan of Rs 551 crore to two civic bodies; and alleged a situation was being created through the ongoing strike to prepare grounds for imposition of central rule.
'We might have lacked somewhere but our commitment was absolute. We might have made mistakes and fallen short to some extent. We might not have done something but what did you do'
The 12th Finance Commission report on sharing of funds between Centre and states, scheduled for submission by July end, is likely to be delayed due to the elections, C Rangarajan, chairman of the commission, said on Friday.
YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy has written to leaders of various parties seeking their support for the motion.
The 3 per cent target would now to reached a year later.
The losses in state elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh have put the ruling party under pressure to announce swift measures aimed at addressing rural distress and lack of employment.
Kumar also questioned the prime minister on various promises made by his government including return of black money, enhanced MSP to farmers and special status to Bihar among others.
Jaitley said focus is on larger expenditure on social sector.
On his maiden visit to Bihar after assuming power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said politics had hampered the development of the state and promised to give more than Rs 50,000 crore special package to the poll-bound state at the right time.
The finance minister said the economy had been slowing.
'After the creation of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh has been left as an agrarian state.' 'Therefore, the special category status to this residual state was imminent and necessary for its development,' YSR Congress MP V Vijayasai Reddy explained in the Rajya Sabha.
The time is ripe for debate on city governments in India.
The TDP supremo said he had not contacted any party yet but given the 'TDP's credibility' they were supporting the no-trust motion.
Chief ministers of states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka were among those who raised the issue of loan waver scheme for farmers.
Reform ideas do not occur overnight and evolve over the years.
Budget has several small steps which will boost growth
The government is following a path where it will not be irresponsible or profligate with public money but will intervene in the interest of the poor
The Budget sets out a comprehensive vision.
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