'We might have lacked somewhere but our commitment was absolute. We might have made mistakes and fallen short to some extent. We might not have done something but what did you do'
Consumers are paying an exorbitant 180 per cent tax on petrol, and 140 per cent on diesel in Delhi and in most other towns in India. Little wonder then that the central government expects a staggering Rs 3.46 trillion by levying excise duties on retail sale of the two fuels this year, and Rs 3.2 trillion the next. States would generally have had reason to cheer, as they command a 41 per cent share in Centre's tax revenues. But as the Centre has raised excise duties in the form of "cess," the revenue proceeds are by nature not shareable with states.
From defending the shock announcement of demonetisation to spearheading the remonetisation drive that included the cumbersome process of printing and supplying new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes, his calm composure brought a sense of serenity to an otherwise chaotic situation.
The final rate will be worked out by the GST Council, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday.
States may face a GST compensation shortfall of Rs 3 lakh crore in the next financial year, a situation that will force them to borrow more from the markets, says a report. The states may face a shortfall of Rs 2.7-3 lakh crore as Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation from the Centre next fiscal. Out of that amount, the shortfall from cess collections will be at Rs 1.6-2 lakh crore, according to an Icra report released on Monday. In FY21, the states were facing a shortfall of Rs 1.1 lakh crore in GST compensation from the Centre but over 90 per cent of that amount has been cleared now.
The current estimate, however, largely covers only the cost of infrastructure such as pipes, construction of borewells, overhead costs among others and not the expenditure to be incurred on operation and maintenance.
Of the eight RBI governors who have held office since the 1991 economic liberalisation, Bimal Jalan had the longest stint and S Venkitaramanan, the shortest. Current Governor Shaktikanta Das will overtake Bimal Jalan before completing his second term in December, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
This Budget plans for an increase to 10.3% of GDP from 9.9%.
A well-functioning GST will enhance tax compliance and boost growth: IMF
Other decisions piled up include rationalisation of GST rate slabs, correction of inverted duty on certain items and inclusion of petroleum products.
The panel may include or seek inputs from former RBI Governor Urjit Patel, former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian, Sajjid Chinoy of the PM-EAC, Rathin Roy, among others.
Outlay for infra is also expected to see a significant increase in view of the government's Rs 111-trillion investment plan under the national infrastructure pipeline to develop social and economic infrastructure over five years.
'If because of El Nino, the monsoon is affected adversely in the current year, naturally it will affect income projections and consequently Budget numbers.'
IThe fiscal deficit target for 2020-2021 was originally set at 3.5 per cent of GDP. But the government's revenues have collapsed and its expenditure burden will only increase over the Budget estimates.' With the government having already planned for an additional borrowing of over Rs 4 trillion, the fiscal deficit for the current year would be much higher than the Budget estimate, notes A K Bhattacharya.
If the protected growth in GST revenue is reduced to 10 per cent, the Centre would save more than Rs 25,000 crore in 2020-21 if none of the states show any revenue growth. This would nearly amount to 0.1 per cent of the gross fiscal deficit and help the government in avoiding fiscal slippage to some extent in subsequent years.
This is the fourth such recruitment drive proposed to be undertaken by the Narendra Modi government which had in 2018 initiated lateral entry.
The result is a big blow to the military establishment, revealing the limits of 'political engineering'. It reflected the anger of the electorate, especially its younger voters, who have spoken decisively against the persistent harassment and victimisation of Imran Khan's political party, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The Biju Janata Dal will not oppose the government simply for the sake of opposing it, BJD Member of Parliament Bhratruhari Mahtab tells Aditi Phadnis.
The FRBM report, to be submitted on Tuesday, is likely to have 'excuse clauses', absolving the government of meeting its fiscal commitments under certain conditions such as war or conflict, global economic meltdowns or natural disasters.
The CrPC (Identification) Bill empowers the police to obtain physical and biological samples of convicts and those accused of crimes while the DMC (Amendment) Bill, 2022 seeks to unify the three civic bodies in the national capital.
'It is violation of the Model Code of Conduct.' 'It is a penal offence under the IPC to exert undue influence on voters.' 'Under the election law, it is a corrupt practice.'
While the responses of the candidates were predictable, depending on which side they belonged to, an interesting point slipped through when Rahul Shewale cited the Dharavi Redevelopment Project as a scheme that would add to Mumbai's importance. No big infrastructural project in Mumbai, he said, could be successful without the Centre's nod.
Addressing a massive public rally to celebrate the signing of the accord on January 27 that is expected to bring lasting peace to the troubled state, Modi said now the time was to work together for peace and development of the North-East.
States' demand for 5 years and Constitutional provision ruled out
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said B R Ambedkar had never thought of leaving the country despite being subjected to insult and discrimination.
Bihar expects transfers from the Centre to grow 28 per cent in 2016-17.
The HRD ministry is preparing a point-by-point rebuttal on charges that include infringing on the autonomy of higher educational institutions and a cut in the education budget.
The finance minister said the economy had been slowing.
Among the states due for election next year are AP, Haryana and Odisha, which have a fair share of agri credit. If these states individually announced debt relief, the combined waiver would be at least around Rs 600 bn to Rs 700 bn. Clearly, this will be a frightening challenge for Indian banks.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved the biggest tax reform since Independence.
If Modi wants to leave a real legacy, breaking India's strategic triangulation would be the real gift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
As deputy governor, Patel headed the RBI panel to draft the monetary policy report, which became the basis of the ongoing reforms at the apex bank
Being mandatory, these recommendations will have to be immediately built into the Budget for 2015-16.
Revenue buoyancy of GST will be key to improve the resource position of both central and state governments.
Six players -- Dubov, Nakamura, Aronian, Carlsen, Radjabov and So -- share the lead with 4.5 points after eight rounds.
There has been criticism of the official statistics ever since MoSPI came out with new methodology to estimate the GDP on the base year of 2011-12 compared to earlier 2004-05.
'We wanted the PM to speak, and he just refused to -- now we have the opportunity, not just in the Lok Sabha, but also in the Rajya Sabha, to lay the government on the mat.'
"Grassroots democracy must get precedence than any other considerations, including security," the functionary said.
'This country today is demonstrating to the world the true meaning of federalism, the true meaning of working in partnership between the central government and the state governments.'
The centre's promise of a new deal for the states is a welcome development.
