Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced income tax relief for the middle class, a Rs 2 lakh crore outlay for job creation schemes over the next five years and a spending splurge for states run by her party's new coalition partners as she unveiled the Modi 3.0 government's first budget after the general elections.
Granting SCS to the state has been a long-pending demand of the JD-U supremo and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose Bihar cabinet had even passed a resolution last year requesting the Centre to grant SCS to the state.
Rs 7,774 crore, has been provisioned for COVID-19 Emergency Response and the rest for medium-term support, ranging from one to four years to be provided under mission-mode approach.
To help revive the economy battered by COVID-19, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced a slew of measures, including Rs 1.1 lakh crore credit guarantee scheme for improving health infrastructure, and enhancing the limit under the ECLGS by 50 per cent to Rs 4.5 lakh crore for the MSME sector facing liquidity crunch. Sharing the details of stimulus package, the finance minister said this comprises eight relief measures and other eight measures to support the economic growth. She announced Rs 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme for COVID-affected sectors, including health sector, which includes guarantee cover for expansion or for new projects. Besides, she said, additional Rs 1.5 lakh crore limit enhancement done for Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) scheme.
Two full-fledged semiconductor fabrication plants are going to come up in India very soon entailing multi-billion dollar investment besides several chip assembly and packaging units, Minister of Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said. In an interview with PTI, the minister confirmed that the two projects include a $8 billion proposal submitted by Israel-based Tower Semiconductors and the other from Tata Group. "I am happy to share this with you and you are probably the first one I'm sharing this with.
MDH Spices has denied allegations that its products have traces of cancer-causing agent ethylene oxide (ETO), calling them "untrue" and "lacking any substantiating evidence." "Amid speculations doing rounds that there is presence of ETO in our products, we clarify and state unequivocally that these claims are untrue and lack any substantiating evidence," a statement released by the company said.
Four Samajwadi Party MLAs who cross-voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the February 27 Rajya Sabha elections have been allocated Y-category security, a senior government official said on Sunday.
'When Rahman reached the studio, he heard Sukhwinder fooling around on the mike. Rahman liked what he heard and incorporated it into Jai Ho.'
Australia's chairman of selectors George Bailey has defended the omission of explosive batter Jake Fraser-McGurk from their T20 World Cup squad, saying he is an exciting option going forward but their top-three, including David Warner, have been doing well.
Countries that raised concerns about the quality of Indian spices have called for urgent attention and action, Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said on Wednesday. The stakes are high since India exported spices worth about $692.5 million to the United States (US), Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Maldives in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), it said. During FY24, India's spice exports were worth $4.25 billion, accounting for a 12 per cent share of the global spice exports.
This is the full text of the address to the nation by President Droupadi Murmu on the eve of India's 78th Independence Day.
rediffGURU Shreya Shah answers diet and nutrition-related questions. Ask away!
Cricket has been suspended since March and the ECB approved an additional financial package of 35.7 million pounds ($44.71 million)
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the economy is showing "green shoots" as the country emerges from the coronavirus lockdown and underscored the importance of being focussed on both life and livelihood.
As the job markets open up, top IT services firms may look at a tiered strategy in which they hire entry-level talents at higher salaries, amid a major technological shift, say HR analysts.
While the coalition will not be unstable because of pressures, the effort from partners will be to constantly remind the central government and the BJP how much it is dependent on them.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying up to 46 per cent. Other winners were Bharti Airtel, L&T, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, HUL and HDFC -- rising up to 10 per cent. On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and Reliance Industries closed with losses. NSE Nifty finished 323.60 points, or 3.89 per cent, up at 8,641.45.
India should take 'measured approach' with stimulus packages to deal with COVID-19 by limiting interventions to the provision of food, shelter and basic necessities of life for all; forbearance on payments of outstanding loans; and extra provision of working capital including what will be necessary to cover outstanding wages from lockdown period to enterprises.
Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Thursday announced a ban on the New Year celebration in the country to express solidarity with the People in Gaza.
With the athletes bidding goodbye to Paris after another bone-tingling edition of the Olympics, Norma Astrid Godinho/Rediff.com, shares some interesting nuggets that made the Paris Olympics an event to remember!
Following a virtual meeting on June 16th, 2024, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced a change in leadership for the Senior Men's National Team.
Shane Warne added that Jos Buttler's positive approach helped his non-striker Chris Woakes, who struck a match-winning unbeaten 84 after having averaged only 5.22 in his last six Tests.
EY said out of the nearly Rs 21 lakh crore package, Rs 8.01 lakh crore is on account of liquidity enhancing measures taken by the RBI since February.
'The jungles of Doda covers about 250 km.' 'Sleeper cells are providing active help to the terrorists.' 'The terrain and situation is such that it is not possible to keep track of every inch.'
'The top five IT giants are not hiring, but most of the freshers want to start their careers with the top five IT firms.' 'In today's scenario this is a challenge.'
It is the first time that Biden has made such a statement, adding that the weapons sent could also be used in the operation to target the population centres.
'Corporations that were recruiting 15 or 20 [students] have reduced the number to two or three.'
Where do Vijay and his TVK expect to get their votes from? Vijay has a huge fan following among women, but will they automatically become his voters like they had done for MGR's AIADMK, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The world is learning about a side effect of the COVID vaccine called Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, he said.
The finance ministry is working on a second relief package for the Indian economy hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and the 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the contagion, sources said. Last month, the government announced a Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package in the form of foodgrains and cash transfers for the poor and vulnerable section of the society to help them deal with the hardships caused by the lockdown. Now, the government is working on a stimulus to be given to hard-hit sectors of the economy after the lockdown is lifted, sources said, adding that an announcement is expected in the next few days depending on the severity of the pandemic.
If you are looking for an average political thriller with good performances, Thalamai Seyalagam may interest you, suggests Divya Nair.
Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday assumed charge as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister for the second consecutive term and is slated to soon present the final Budget for FY '25 that is going to set the tone for the Modi 3.0 government's priorities and direction for Viksit Bharat. Upon her reaching the North Block office, Sitharaman was greeted by Finance Secretary T V Somanathan and other top officials. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was also present. Chaudhary assumed charge on Tuesday evening.
V V S Laxman hasn't applied for the post which will be both physically and mentally a taxing for next three and half years.
rediffGURU Shreya Shah offers expert advice on how you can improve your diet and lifestyle to fight illnesses and lead a healthy, wholesome life.
'There is no peace in the Kashmir Valley.'
Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said fans should be able to decide on the future of the Impact Player ruling in IPL.
FSSAI is looking to tap the Airport Health Organisation to ensure that such incidents aren't reported in the future.
Langer admitted that they had struggled in the powerplay.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government's Aatmanirbhar packages totalling Rs 27.1 lakh crore to deal with the COVID pandemic, accelerated the pace of structural reforms. In the first ever paperless Union Budget, Sitharaman also proposed the introduction of Aatmanirbhar health programme with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore.
As the new Tax Collection at Source (TCS) on foreign remittances is set to become applicable from October 1, travel agents' body TAAI has made a last-minute plea to the government, urging them to abolish the decision or defer its implementation until the next fiscal year to allow discussions on overseas tour packages. The government has raised the TCS on foreign remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) from 5 per cent to 20 per cent. This will be applicable to international travel, sending money abroad and other remittances.