Refraining from tinkering with tax and duty rates in the interim Budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday made a huge allocation of Rs 30,100 crore (Rs 301 billion) to government's flagship rural employment programme and many other schemes in a bid to counter the economic recession.
The outlay for the flagship programmes, which -- in addition to the Bharat Nirman scheme -- include the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and others, is proposed to be raised to Rs 1,23,000 crore (Rs 1,230 billion) during 2009-10 from Rs 90,000 crore last year, representing an increase of about 37 per cent.
Drought hit Bihar plans to increase the number of days of work from 100 to 150 under the rural job scheme to check migration of the poorest of poor in search of livelihood by providing employment opportunity locally.
It was one of the key promises made by the Congress ahead of the 2018 assembly polls, following which the party returned to power in the state after a gap of 15 years.
The count of the unemployed mounted to 38.7 million in December 2020 compared to 27.4 million in November, registering a massive increase of 11.3 million, reveals Mahesh Vyas.
Amethi member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi's corporate style of electoral management is causing nightmares to those seeking Congress tickets for the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
important financial and economic bills, including the Chartered Accountants (Amendment) Bill, 2003, the Cost and Works Accountants (Amendment) Bill, 2003 and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill did not come up.
A quarterly index on jobs created is vital for policy action.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Wednesday that his government's action against corruption has made some people angry but he will not turn back in this fight against graft and nepotism, however big an alliance his rivals form against him.
Orissa, where the programme was already under a cloud after an NGO alleged false data were being entered on the state's NREGA website, is now uncovering more scams. A team of researchers led by economist Jean Dreze and Ritika Khera, which is doing a survey focussed mainly on the corruption in the programme in Orissa, recently dug out a doctored muster roll in Badhigam gram panchayat of Boudh district.
These villages don't have citizens and hence there is no National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme for them or any health services or cheap rations.
"Smart cards are a step towards financial inclusion. The idea is to inculcate banking habits among the poor," says Anita Ramachandra, director, rural development (self-help groups). The government is paying 2 per cent of the amount disbursed through smart cards to the banks to engage them in the initiative.
The thrust on agriculture, removal of Fringe Benefit Tax etc should help improve the earnings of the FMCG sector
'All my wealth I earned in the US. It is all money earned transparently. I have paid all taxes.'
In conversation with Jayamala, the first woman president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.
'We want to prove to the world that they will get the best code written from a small place like Wayanad.'
Suspended Jharkhand IAS officer Pooja Singhal was paid "commission" by subordinate staff from MGNREGA funds of Khunti district which she and her husband subsequently utilised for acquiring various properties, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed in a statement on Wednesday.
Govt's grand plans often go wrong. Although they seem good in theory, they don't work in practice. For instance, last Pay Commission, which handed out generous pay hikes to central government employees on the unrealistic recommendation (which quickly became an assumption) that the number of such employees would be reduced by 3 per cent each year, totalling up to a cumulative reduction of 30% in a decade. Success comes with a special set of circumstances, not as routine.
American brokerage firm Morgan Stanley on Thursday sharply cut its India FY23 real GDP growth estimate to 7.9 per cent, mainly due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on oil prices. Analysts at the brokerage also raised their inflation forecast to 6 per cent - the upper end of the tolerance band for the RBI - and flagged stagflation risks because of the ongoing events. "We believe that the ongoing geopolitical tensions exacerbate external risks and impart a stagflationary impulse to the economy," they said. It can be noted that stagflation involves a stagnancy in output or growth, coupled with high inflation.
High drama was witnessed in Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh on Friday when Rahul Gandhi was stopped by the police, while leading scores of farmers to meet the divisional commissioner, provoking the young Congress leader to sit on the road on a dharna.The general secretary of the Congress was on his way for a meeting with P V Jaganmohan in a carcade, which also included buses carrying the farmers, but could not proceed after the local administration barricaded all roads.
The labourers, who were using heavy equipment, had no time to escape when a 50-feet-high mound of soil caved in. Villagers rushed to the spot to pull out the trapped labourers from under the debris. Revenue and police personnel also joined in the rescue operations. Eight bodies were retrieved after a three-hour operation. Five injured persons were shifted to the government hospital at Korutla. Relatives of the deceased alleged that adequate safety measures had not been taken
At present, 100 days of work is provided to rural job card holders under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Higher inflation might just be the necessary cost that we need to bear in making a transition to a higher growth trajectory.
The finance ministry has appointed a Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, which will soon roll out a National Pension Scheme for the informal sector or for whoever wants to join.
The Nanavati Commission and the IMDT Act were discussed.
Govt, Left sort out differences over employment scheme
'The focus needs to shift towards the ability to collect payments, particularly in tier-3 to tier-4 areas where acceptance is still lacking.'
The main difference between China and us is that its government works. Ours is happy to doze.
The situation could become more acute as millions of migrants who had returned to their villages during the lockdown come back to the towns for higher wages and better livelihoods.
'If because of El Nino, the monsoon is affected adversely in the current year, naturally it will affect income projections and consequently Budget numbers.'
Union minister of state for commerce, Jairam Ramesh, said there was no proposal to fix the national minimum wage rate at Rs 60 per day under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
'I remain optimistic that 2021 will be better than 2020 because we have visibility of vaccinations this year.'
The 19th Congress of the CPI-M in Coimbatore on Wednesday discussed the uneven growth of the party in the country. It demanded scrapping the Article 355, 356.
'One of the biggest employment generators, the MSMEs, have not got much from the government.'
In spite of receiving much criticism for his Budget, it has to be acknowledged that FM Chidambaram has pulled the right strings to increase allocations in various schemes. He has effectively curbed govt's spending and has also seen to it that money is not misdirected to wrong pockets. Confronted by political demands, he has responsibly maintained fiscal health and political agendas. He has shown finesse in handling political games and deserves credit for his accomplishments.
