Faced with criticism for her latest Budget not doing enough for the poor, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 2013 comment of poverty being a state of mind, and asked if this is the poverty she was supposed to address.
'Like every Budget, this time, too, there is chatter around tinkering with the long-term capital gains tax.' 'Investors may not want to jump into the markets until there is clarity on this front.'
The government will come out with a White Paper on the mismanagement of economy prior to 2014 with an aim to draw lessons.
India has already become the world's fifth largest economy in the 75th year of Independence and will reach the $3.5 trillion mark by end-March, said the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. In real terms, the economy is expected to grow at 7 per cent for the year ending March 2023. This follows an 8.7 per cent growth in the previous financial year.
This is the full text of the address to the nation by President Droupadi Murmu on the eve of India's 78th Independence Day.
In his valedictory address at the two-day National Executive meeting of the BJP in the national capital on Tuesday, Modi spoke about areas where the party needs to be strengthened ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The electoral battle in Varanasi, according to locals and political experts, is not about whether the PM will win for a third successive occasion, but if he will increase his share of the votes polled and his win margin.
Stocks in the automotive, financial, cement, metal, and hotel sectors are likely to benefit if the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes back to power for a third time. The key investment themes have been identified after analysing the Sankalp Patra - the party's manifesto for the next five years - released on Sunday.
A session of both Houses of Parliament will be held from September 18-22 without Question Hour or private members' business, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha secretariats said on Saturday.
Underlining the contribution of non-resident Indians, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said remittances sent to the country by overseas Indians were about $100 billion for the year 2022, an increase of 12 per cent in one year. Speaking at a session during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city, she described NRIs as the "real ambassadors of India" and appealed to them to use made in India products and services as far as possible so that the country's individual brand can be promoted across the globe. Sitharaman also said that after the "China plus one" policy, the world is now talking about the "European Union (EU) plus one" policy.
Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session.
So how do you rate the Modi government's 11th budget?
Veteran actor Junior Mehmood, who was battling with stage four cancer passed away in Mumbai on Friday.
Modi said in the last few days, "we have seen an increase in the common consciousness of the love for the nation".
Debate on the motion of thanks on the President's address to continue.
"PM Modi spoke to (Russian president Vladimir) Putin and (Ukraine president Volodymyr) Zelensky. He also spoke to (US president Joe) Biden when needed. The war stopped briefly so that more than 22,000 students stuck in Ukraine could be rescued and they returned home. Parents of these students were demanding that PM Modi rescue them."
It will expedite disposal of cases as they won't get inordinately delayed, Shah said.
Briefing reporters, Nadda said his party has proposed that if holding the three-tier polls together was not possible immediately, then Lok Sabha and assembly elections can be held together first.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak made a big statement about the demand to change the name of Lucknow and said that it is well known that it was the city of Lakshman.
Here are the key quotes from his Independence Day address.
The 'black paper', titled '10 saal anyay kaal' also alleged that issues such as rising prices, unemployment, subversion of institutions and farmers' 'distress' had plagued the country.
How much do you know about the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha on Monday and in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
'Who knows, they might now want to rename the Eden Gardens and call it Modi Gardens!'
Narendra Modi is India's most successful prime minister and the greatest global leader of current generation, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said on Wednesday as he flaunted his group Reliance Industries' Gujarati heritage and its over USD 150 billion (Rs 12 lakh crore) investment in last 10 years.
Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com decodes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech after the Pran Prathistha ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodha.
The four astronauts are -- Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Prathap, Ajit Krishnan, and Shubhanshu Shukla -- Modi said at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thumba near the Kerala state capital.
A 'White Paper' versus 'Black Paper' battle erupted on Thursday as the Centre and the Congress unveiled documents and crossed swords over the handling of the Indian economy during the nearly 10 years of the BJP-led NDA rule and the previous 10-year tenure of the Congress-led UPA government.
This is the first Budget in Amrit Kaal, she said.
Was C M Ibrahim's Rediff Interview the last straw for Deve Gowda?
President Droupadi Murmu on Monday asked scientists and policymakers across the world to give special attention to global warming and climate change which are leading to flash floods and droughts, warning that a "culture of greed" is taking "the world away from nature".
Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.
Ahead of the Parliament session, the government will hold a meeting with leaders of all parties on Sunday to brief them and hear their views, amid an intense buzz on whether it will have some surprise item up its sleeve during the five-day sitting.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her speech in Lok Sabha said, "Our vision for the 'Amrit Kaal' includes technology-driven and knowledge-based economy with strong public finances, and a robust financial sector. To achieve this, Jan Bhagidari through Sabka Saath Sabka Prayas is essential."
The surprise action comes weeks after the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and India.
The meeting was held at the newly built convention centre at Pragati Maidan, which will host the G20 summit in September.
According to the data, the tiger population was 1,411 in 2006, 1,706 in 2010, 2,226 in 2014, 2,967 in 2018 and 3,167 in 2022.
A cheetah translocated from Namibia to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh has given birth to four healthy cubs, officials said on Wednesday.
Defence exports have grown by 334 per cent in the last five years and India is now exporting to over 75 countries due to collaborative efforts, the government said on Sunday. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in a tweet: "The Indian Defence sector, the second largest armed force is at the cusp of revolution." "Defence exports grew by 334 per cent in the last five years; India now exporting to over 75 countries due to collaborative efforts," it said.
The real risk is that the core assumption -- that the votes for a candidate sponsored by an alliance will at least equal the sum total of its parts -- proves to be facile, observes T N Ninan.
