80% of beneficiaries in 300 districts to be linked with direct benefits transfer
Health and education sectors will get just 61 and 60 per cent of the funds earmarked in the 11th Plan period, according to estimates prepared by the Planning Commission.
However, 10 per cent economic growth rate does not seem feasible, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters here, a day before full Plan panel is to meet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Forum will host a special session on 'The reality of terrorism', to be initiated by Union home minister P Chidambaram. The deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma will be part of the Indian delegation.
Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, in an impromptu chat with reporters, sided with Sebi, while Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia cited the spat to make a case for setting up a Financial Development and Stability Council (FSDC).
Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (PMEAC) Chakravarthi Rangarajan has resigned following the defeat of the Congress-led UPA in the general elections.
The Union finance ministry has endorsed the views of Gajendra Haldea, infrastructure advisor to the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, who had objected to recent changes in bidding norms by the National Highways Authority of India.
The Planning Commission on Friday said expansion of healthcare will be one of its top priorities during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) and it aims to increase spending in the sector to 2.5 per cent of the GDP from around 1 per cent at present by the end of the period.
The food security Bill is likely to adopt a three-pronged strategy to ensure food for all, particularly for the most vulnerable sections of the society. The National Advisory Council (NAC) in its initial discussions on the Bill had talked about a universalised scheme.
Enthused by the prospects of good monsoon, the Planning Commission on Tuesday said the double digits inflation would decline by December, and sounded optimism that economic growth would exceed 8.5 per cent this fiscal.
The Planning Commission has offered an objective assessment of the unsatisfactory situation as far as Indian agriculture is concerned in its mid-term appraisal of the 11th Five-Year Plan.
The proposed National Food Security Act (NFSA) may have to be put off to 2012 due to financial constraints, going by a recent Planning Commission document which points out that additional resources of Rs 77,000 crore will be required to implement the programme.
Current account deficit, which represents flow of money out of the country barring capital movements, stood at $4.5 billion in the first quarter of previous financial year.
Construction of 12 greenfield airports in different parts of the country is likely to start soon with the government granting them approval, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Tuesday.
It is heartening to know that, on the eve of the formulation of India's 12th Five Year Plan, the Planning Commission is making an attempt to sensitise senior officers, advisers and experts to the country's ground realities.
India will set up a high-level committee to identify areas for expanding economic ties with the United States, from where it expects an estimated investment of $250-300 billion in infrastructure space.
To check onion prices, which soared to Rs 70-80 per kg, the government slapped a ban on onion exports till January 15 to improve domestic supplies and moderate price rise.
The chairman and CEO of Dow Chemicals Andrew Liveris will not attend the Indo-US CEO Business Forum meeting scheduled to be held in Washington.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is leading a high-powered team of policymakers, including Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia at the India-US CEOs Forum.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Planning Commission Deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia will also participate in the India-US Business CEOs Forum Meeting.
The Planning Commission on Wednesday said that Rs 50,000-crore (Rs 500 billion) Infra Debt Fund for financing infrastructure projects will become operational by beginning of next fiscal.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "I do not claim victory. These are ideas which are under discussion in various fora. The sherpas have been discussing these ideas and it is a process of give and take. But I do claim some credit that in my speech, I brought the development issue into the very forefront of sustainable, manageable growth process."
With over half the Plan funds that Parliament approves being spent through non-government channels, to cite the figure in CAG Vinod Rai's presentation to the Planning Commission, members of the Parliament have no way of knowing whether the money is properly spent.
Handed over the charge of BJP's campaign in the next Lok Sabha polls, Narendra Modi on Sunday virtually sounded the election bugle as he targeted the UPA government over various fronts and asked party cadres to work for "Congress-free Bharat Nirman".
The committee will suggest an action plan for abolishing the present system of classifying expenditure into plan and non-plan, an official statement said.
Three Indian-Americans are running from Union City, California in the coming November 2 election. They believe, "If you want to be the part of the community, they have to come forward and participate in the system."
India can raise funds through selling up to\n49 percent of its state-run firms, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the\nPlanning Commission, has said.
The nation's highest policymaking body, the National Development Council, will focus on five key areas, including the Naxal menace, power reforms and water crisis, at its meeting on Saturday.
Haldea's report requires serious rethinking of the NHAI model, not an outburst by Kamal Nath.
Government support to Budget 2011-12 - or, gross budgetary support (GBS) - is likely to rise by 18 per cent over last year, taking Planning Commission estimates made at the beginning of the 11th Plan (2007-12). With those estimates, the government has with it resources worth Rs 3.73 lakh crore to fund the Budget for the last year of the Plan.
With domestic production of just over 140 million standard cubic meters per day meeting barely half the demand, India is importing 10 million tons of liquefied natural gas per annum and is looking at unconventional sources like shale gas.
The rupee will soon join the elite currencies like the US dollar, the euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia says Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had warned him in advance that he was going to criticise the apex planning body in public.
Pitching for more public-sector role in health, Planning Commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Monday health and education are two areas where the private sector is welcome to make investments but the government needs to be dominant.
'Modi had promised to deposit money in the accounts of people, but he has done it only in the case of some rich businessmen like the Ambanis'
Industrialist Anil Ambani on Wednesday met Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who is reportedly in the reckoning for the post of Finance Minister in the new UPA government.
Emerging economies can expand at a "reasonable pace" in the next four to five years even if growth in developed nations is moderate, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
President Pratibha Patil has nominated five prominent citizens to the Rajya Sabha, based on recommendations made by the Union cabinet.
India should learn to live with high energy prices for rapid economic growth, said Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia after two of the state-owned oil companies hiked petrol rates this week.
'The Modi government must create conditions to integrate millions into the rural economy as many migrants are certainly not going to return to live an undignified life,' notes Ramesh Menon.
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