It is worth reconsidering if this fascination with either having a single party majority or Modi's leadership or, indeed, both, is such a great idea for India, says Udit Misra.
Back of the envelope calculations put government expense on each of the new schemes promised by the DMK and the AIADMK at tens of thousands of crores. But then, neither party has said how they are going to also address the mounting debt burden either, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Khajura Ram fears more the impact of an uneven monsoon on wheat, chana and mustard, sowing for which, he says, starts immediately after Diwali.
Fiscal discipline has been maintained but toxic assets worth Rs 7 crore are a massive headache
There were heightened expectations from Budget 2017 after the impact of note ban on different sections but most remain unfulfilled.
The going is not going to be easy for the DMK and its allies in Elections 2024. Despite the seats sweepstake in the 2021 assembly polls, the vote-share difference of 5.6% (DMK's 45.38% versus AIADMK-BJP's 39.72%) is not insurmountable on a bad day, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Today we see the worrisome phenomenon where honest officers who run afoul of the government being chased, hunted down and dirt being dug up on them.'
One popular strategy is to hire contract workers.
Tax Guru Anil Rego answers your personal income tax queries.
While most experts suggest the government loosen its purse strings and not worry about the fiscal deficit in a pandemic impacted year, it will be a tightrope walk for the government to increase spending without going overboard.
Nitin Gadkari has seven portfolios, but does not seem weighed down at all by the many things on his plate. The minister is brimming with ideas...
Atul Bhatnagar, COO, National Skills Development Corporation tells us how we can effectively tackle the issue of unemployability and make our youth more employable.
Double tax exemption on wages paid to women can encourage companies to hire, retain and compensate women better, argues Nitin Pai.
'Unless the State is a welfare State, unless the State has more welfare measures, it will not be able to deal with these kind of sudden situations.'
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
80-85 per cent of about 700 major infrastructure projects within the Centre's domain have been delayed.
As we eagerly wait to see what 'farq' it makes when it hits the screens on June 28, Sukanya Verma looks at the few occasions caste came up in Hindi movies.
'In the final analysis, all Budgets everywhere are like the schemes hatched by A A Milne's lovable Winnie-the-Pooh.' 'They may be well-intended, but often go awry.' 'Although Pooh and his friends agree that he 'has very little brain', he is occasionally acknowledged to have a clever idea, usually driven by common sense.' 'This Budget at a first glance does not appear to belong to that latter category,' says economist Shreekant Sambrani.
Thousands of villages in Maharashtra's Marathwada region have been devastated by the worst drought in a century. Thousands of villagers have fled Marathwada hoping to find some form of livelihood in cities like Mumbai.
Taking a sceptical view of MUDRA program, Shiv Sena sought to know when the distressed farmers get help and how does the government plan to curb their suicides.
With certain quarters demanding privatisation of public sector banks in the aftermath of the alleged fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB), Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister chairman Bibek Debroy tells Sanjeeb Mukherjee, Ishan Bakshi and Indivjal Dhasmana that reducing government equity even to zero would not mean giving up of government control over these banks.
An estimated 223 people have lost their lives since August 8 in Kerala's worst floods in decades that has caused damage worth more than Rs 20,000 crore.
The BJP believes that the only party still capable of leading a credible challenge against it is the Congress. Please note how BJP campaigners in states where the Congress may count for a cipher or thereabouts, mostly attack the Congress, observes Shekhar Gupta.
We need to invest in the science of monsoons and weather forecasting.
The 67-year-old hasn't only received a clear-cut mandate for an unprecedented fourth term but also done it on his own. From distributing tickets to planning party campaigns to chalking out strategies for the present and the future, the chief minister had played a stellar role throughout, and emerged successful in his endeavour. Bikash Mohapatra reports
Protests at this time when efforts are underway to strengthen the PLA and keep morale high would be worrying for the military leadership, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
Sops for middle class, poor and farmers on cards.
'Chamling's legacy is toxic.' '7 out of 10 teenagers in Sikkim abuse drugs.' 'The youth are dying and the future looks bleak.'
'There is a great scope for enhancing the use of organic fertilisers'.
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.
Without making any direct reference to the three new farm reform laws or to the three-month-old agitation by farmers, Modi said there is a need for expanding options for the country's farming community to sell agri produce.
'I am more worried about the BJP as I see lot of marginalisation of top leaders in the BJP.' 'I am really worried about the terminal decline of the Congress. And the greatest tragedy is that there are so many good people in the Congress.' 'It will take a couple of years, but this is the most appropriate time for a new political party and leadership to emerge.'
Public Money, Private Agenda -- The Use and Abuse of MPLADS by A Surya Prakash provides a comprehensive look at the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, which was launched 20 years ago in 1993. Excerpts from the book.
'The middle class stood by the BJP, especially after demonetisation, and they expected something in return.' 'Some section of the BJP believes the middle class is condemned to vote for the BJP as they have no other choice.' 'They think they can treat them any way, still the middle class will run to vote for it.' 'That's what the Budget seems to convey.'
The Congress has ruled India for 54 of the last 67 years; that it took the party over six decades to come up with bills that provide citizens their basic needs is a shame, not a moment of triumph, says Amberish K Diwanji.
Rangarajan said that growth has many dimensions to it.
Jaitley said a 10 per cent tax long on capital gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh made from the sale of shares has been introduced but those made till Janaury 31 would be grandfathered. A 10 per cent tax on distributed income by equity oriented mutual funds has also been proposed in the budget.
A Narendra Modi administration would believe more in decentralisation than would a Rahul Gandhi administration, says Arvind Panagariya.
Boosted by handsome royalty from oil facilities at Barmer, the Rajasthan government has spent nearly Rs 30,000 crore on various social welfare schemes in the last four-and-a-half years. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tells Business Standard's Mayank Mishra that the state's better performance on various socio-economic indices is a result of that. The excerpts:
