'While we note the very strong cyclical recovery in the economy, we believe there is still uncertainty over medium-term prospects.'
Incumbents Pushkar Singh Dhami and Pramod Sawant are the clear favourites but face some opposition
Chhattisgarh Police arrested Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh on Thursday over his alleged derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi, following which a court here sent him to police remand for two days, an official said.
Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states will be held on Friday amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties which have corralled their MLAs in hotels and scenic resorts, prompting the Election Commission to appoint special observers and order videography of the entire exercise.
It added that following this, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare of Ministry of Defence vide communication dated November 7, 2015, conveyed the policy of OROP for the defence force personnel.
People like Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram, who as finance minister had fully supported the NPS, refuse to exercise their moral and political influence to try and stop Ashok Gehlot and others hell-bent on wrecking the states' finances, notes Virendra Kapoor.
The prime minister spent about 20-25 minutes at Jaitley's residence.
Congress leader and ex-finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the Union Budget was the "most capitalist" with nothing for the poor and farmers while sops were being provided to big industrialists turning India into a very "unequal country". At a press conference after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a Rs 39.45 lakh crore Budget, he said because of the ruling party's "brute majority" the Lok Sabha pass the Budget but people will reject it. He claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party was going to elections, scheduled in five states, not with their performance or with the promises and assurances to the people, but solely "with the agenda of dividing the country and bringing Hindutva back to power".
The government's programmes should be expected to generate some momentum, but the macro-economic numbers are not encouraging, observes T N Ninan.
The BJP hailed teh package, saying it reflected the government's commitment towards creating jobs and stimulating the economy.
Amid Covid-19 protocols, here's how the monsoon session looks like.
Govt has decided to suspend Sections 7, 9, and 10, which are used to trigger insolvency proceedings for six months or a period not exceeding one year from the date they commence.
Prominent among the wish list include updating India-US bilateral tax treaty, emanation of double taxation on software revenue, 15 year tax holiday for software technology parks and special economic zones.
The prime minister tweeted, "On this day, last year, we lost Shri Arun Jaitley Ji. I miss my friend a lot. Arun Ji diligently served India. His wit, intellect, legal acumen and warm personality were legendary. Here is what I had said during a prayer meeting in his memory."
'They are also sitting on huge public sector assets without many returns.'
By asking Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to move the resolution authorising the Congress president to select the party's presidential nominee, Sonia Gandhi has strengthened her political position. Sheela Bhatt analyses
The finance ministry has asked all ministries and departments not to initiate any new scheme in the current financial year and said that there is a need to use resources prudently in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. However, funds for schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package and any other special package or announcement would be allocated, according to an office memorandum by the department of expenditure, which comes under the finance ministry.
Modi said that he wanted a vast and qualitative discussion on financial issues in both the houses.
Nirmala Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha that in case of medical emergencies, marriages and other crisis situations, a depositor of the Maharashtra-based PMC Bank can withdraw up to Rs 1 lakh by invoking the 'hardship provisions' of the RBI.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the Indian economy is on a sustained path of revival and cited rise in GST collections and direct taxes to support her assertion. She further said that the confidence in the Indian stock market is growing as retail and small investors are keenly investing money in the share market. She was addressing the media in New Delhi.
Of the cash outgo, Rs 64,598 crore is for enhanced expenditure on fertiliser subsidy under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 3.0 and Rs 20,466 crore for the capital outlay in defence services.
After questioning him for four hours in the morning, Chidambaram was taken to a special court in Delhi which sent him to CBI custody till Monday.
Wipro CFO Suresh C Senapaty on Thursday said there is hope of corporate sector sentiments improving after P Chidambaram assumed charge as Union Finance Minister and wanted the Centre to convert it into policy action.
As the finance minister rises in the House to present the Budget, some interesting facts about the annual financial plan for the country.
Responding to a complaint by Right to Information activist Saket Gokhale, the commission said it has found no violation of the provisions of the model code in the issue.
The government is considering a provision to provide an exit window to holders of cryptocurrencies (cryptos), keeping in mind that banning them outright could deal a blow to investors sitting on them for years. According to sources in the government, the framework in the making may propose a grace period of three to six months for investors before prohibiting the possession, trading, mining, and issuing of cryptos. A group of secretaries chaired by the Cabinet secretary is learnt to have met in mid-March and discussed issues associated with cryptos, including the consequences of banning them and also on possible substitutes of blockchain technology - an advanced technology Bitcoin uses.
Addressing a protest rally at Bankura against rising fuel prices and the proposed privatisation of trains on Saturday, Kalyan Banerjee demanded Sitharaman's resignation.
Mukherjee's mortal remains were brought to his residence, 10, Rajaji Marg, earlier on Tuesday from the army hospital where he breathed his last on Monday.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Monday amid protests by Opposition parties over their demand to revoke the suspension of 12 members of the House.
Sitharaman exhorted the states to work together with the Centre, stating that while the Union government sets the direction of economic growth, it is for the states to ensure effective implementation on the ground.
Well-known Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar died in Bangalore on Friday, October 29, following a heart attack, hospital sources said.
Facing an acute shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, the Odisha government on Monday decided to float a global tender for procuring the vaccine to inoculate the states entire population, Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra said.
It was also the shortest speech by Sitharaman, who had delivered the longest speech last year. Her first Budget speech in July 2019 went on for around 137 minutes and in 2020, it went on for more than 160 minutes and was cut short after she felt unwell.
The Indian economy can contract by 7.7 per cent in current financial year ending on March 31 and the growth could be 11 per cent in the next financial year, according to the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The contraction in FY21 is mainly due to coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and the visible damage caused by the subsequent countrywide lockdown to contain it. The survey unveiled two days before the Union Budget is broadly in line with forecasts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which has said it expected the country's GDP to contract by 7.5 per cent in the year ending March 31.
Congress' senior spokesperson Anand Sharma Sharma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must 'walk the talk' and announce the measures required by giving money in the hands of the poor and small and medium enterprises to help reboot the economy.
Existing vacant government-funded housing complexes will be converted into Affordable Rental Housing Complexes through concession agreements for 25 years.
'It has taken 7-and-a-half years for this government to understand the fundamentals of economics.' 'If the prime minister wants to leave an imprint, he has to see to it that this succeeds.'
The calculator, with a comparative table to compare taxes in the old and the new tax regime, for resident individuals (financial year 2020-21) has been hosted on the official e-filing website of the department -- https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.
The temptation to get into businesses that are hot is perhaps too great for any politician, no matter what his public slogans are. Nehru plunged into hot sectors of his time -- engineering and iron and steel. Modi has plunged into digital payments -- the hot sector of his time, notes Debashis Basu.
Jaitley told reporters that allegations by the top two officers of the country's premier investigation agency led to a 'bizarre and unfortunate' situation.
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