Keyword : Arun Jaitley

No more borrowing, says Jaitley and talks of cuts in spending

Finance minister Arun Jaitley does not believe in living on borrowed money. This means the government will not overshoot limits imposed on fiscal deficit. However, to maintain 4.1% f

Economic growth set to cross 7%

Economy grew at 7.5% during December 2014 quarter. The economy will grow 7.4% in the year through March 31, aided by a 7.5% increase in October-December, the ministry of statistics and programme im

DeitY wants Jaitley to look at revival of Nokia unit in TN

Finance minister Arun Jaitley can achieve twin objectives of getting an ally in Parliament and send signals to foreign investors about India’s tax regime by accepting a suggestion to revive N

RBI governor for better education loans regime

Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan on Saturday sought better student loan schemes as he felt that there were lot of stress on education loans. Taking the theme of rationalizing t

Ahead of union budget: Prepare to be rescued

In which country does December mark the middle of the year? That is when the mid-term report of our finance ministry was published. The economic survey, which is presented to parliament the day bef

What women want from the budget

Arvind Subramanian, the new chief economic adviser, has started a series of North Block Policy Charchas that focus on important policy issues of economic and social development, such as land acquis

Jaitley’s budget prepares India for a big take off

Announcing a budget aimed at high growth finance minister Arun Jaitley delivered his first full-year budget with proposals to boost investment and benefits to ordinary people. "

Budget extends financial inclusion, banks get big boss

What can be seen as a major step in making ‘financial inclusion’ a reality, finance minister Arun Jaitley announced in budget of 2015 the creation of MUDRA Bank to refinance microfinanc

Jaitley’s budget not going to increase India’s ratings

Despite finance minister Arun Jaitley’s good budget the country’s ratings are not likely to change due to subsidies, debt and missing reforms.The budget has in fact slowed the pace of f

Why Amitabh Bachchan is important for spectrum auction

Before the telecom companies jump into spectrum auction from Wednesday (March 4) they should pay a visit to superstar Amitabh Bachchan. For that matter the government also should hear out  Bac

Arun Jaitley’s juggling act may turn into bad politics

At first glance, the budget seems an annual ritual that strictly follows the colonial legacy in letter and spirit. Rarely does any finance minister deviate from the atmospherics and settings that m

New overseas black money law : A primer

Giving concrete shape to finance minister Arun Jaitley`s announcement of a bill to trace black money, the union cabinet has just approved a law to track unaccounted wealth by strengthening of the p

Coal and Mines bills passed, auction of mineral deposits too

The government was able to push through the coal and mines bills in Rajya Sabha on Friday. Both the bills have been approved by the Lok Sabha. The Coal M

MUDRA Bank to be launched on April 8

Giving a major boost to the micro-finance sector prime minister Narendra Modi will launch MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) Bank on April 8. Finance minister Arun Jaitley in his

Wealth of poor fascinates PM, asks RBI for financial inclusion roadmap

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked the Reserve Bank India to prepare 20-year roadmap for financial inclusion while focusing on the success of the prime minister’s jan dhan yojan,

Tax notice to FIIs is not tax terrorism, says Jaitley

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley has termed tax notices sent to around 100 overseas funds as as legitimate tax demand and not tax terrorism. Jaitley said taxes need to be paid where the demand w

Mudra Bank launched to help small business

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched Mudra Bank, which will provide credit of up to Rs 10 lakh to small entrepreneurs and act as a regulator for `micro-finance institutions` (MFIs).

Good and services tax bill introduced in LS, Cong walks out

With an aim to roll it out from next April, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday moved the constitution amendment bill for the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) in the Lok Sabha

LS to consider black money bill today

The black money bill is likely to be taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The legislation, known officially Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets Bill, provides for heavy penaltie

GST bill goes to Rajya Sabha panel after LS okay

The GST Bill has been referred to Select Committee of Rajya Sabha. It will be headed by Bhupendra Yadav. The report of the committee will be placed before house on last day of first week of next se

Simplified income tax return forms soon

Income tax return or ITR forms will be "far more simplified" assured Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday. However, there was clarity on the disclosure of bank accounts and f

Selection of heads for information commission and vigilance panel today

Finally, after months of being headless, the prime minister-led selection committees will on Saturday decide the names of chiefs of central information commission (CIC) and central vigilance commis

Jaitley assures honest taxpayers and allays fears of black money law

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has assured that the honest taxpayers have nothing to fear about the new black money law. Addressing the annual conference of top income tax officials o

PMJDY: Time to review

One year into office, prime minister Narendra Modi is still in a mission mode – to launch new or revamped government schemes. Even as he launched three new schemes on May 9, one of his first,

Govt to rework PPP model, to push for infrastructure projects

The PPP (the public private partnership) has become a favourite model for building infrastructure projects and after encountering numerous hiccups the government has constituted a committee to relo

Development must reach people at the margins: Arun Jaitley

Finance minister Arun Jaitley has been playing the pivotal role when it comes to ensuring the delivery of a slew of initiatives the prime minister has been taking over the past year. His hands

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana: Silent revolution

Good intentions often pave the way for the worst outcome. We saw it in the 1980s when a plan for rural poverty alleviation, known as the integrated rural development programme (IRDP), was launched.

PMJDY: An account of change

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, in his book ‘Development as Freedom’, referred to Mary Wollstonecraft’s classic ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’, in which she outlin

Money order: Bank on post offices

Soon after the 1998 Lok Sabha elections when Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to meet president KR Narayanan to stake his claim to form the government, he was asked to produce letters of support from alli

Banks will lower lending rates, EMIs to drop further

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley seems have put pressure and extracted a promise from commercial banks on further reduction of interest rates, thus making home, auto and other loans cheaper. The EMIs

CMD, Bharatiya Mahila Bank, Usha Ananthasubramanian on Jan-Dhan Yojana

Usha Ananthasubramanian is the first head of India’s first bank meant for women. Set up in November 2013, Bharatiya Mahila Bank, is the youngest and smallest of

Jaitley should forget Sushma and arrest decline in exports

Finance minister Arun Jaitley has left for the US on Tuesday to hold multi-city economic road shows to sell India’s growth story after vigorously defending his cabinet colleague Susham Swaraj

Green signal for policy to make skill development aspirational for youth

The union cabinet has cleared a three-tiered institutional framework for national skill development mission under the new skill development policy. Announcing cabinet okay for variou

Agri sector gets a boost with Rs 50,000 crore scheme

The government has unveiled an ambitious programme to increase agriculture sector output and efficient management of water resources. For this it will spend Rs 50,000 crore over the next five years

Mother of all data is out, zero-waste planning possible

This could be mother of all data. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has released socio-economic caste census for 2011, which will form basis for governments targeted policy planning. The current figure

Trade union strike in Sept against labour reforms

Opposing the NDA government`s labour reforms that are aimed at improving ease of doing business and to give a push to `Make in India` initiative, 11 national trade unions will observe nationwide st

PM Modi and Rahul in political shootout

Today is the day of loaded political discourse that can also serve as lessons to politicians. While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remained stuck to the rhetorical mud-slinging, prime minister Narend

Sushma ready for debate but unrelenting opposition parties force RS adjournment

The monsoon session of the parliament began on Tuesday. Even though the government is willing the opposition is not ready to allow the session to proceed smoothly. At the parliament

Govt may not okay financial code to dilute RBI chief’s power

After being forced to revise income-tax returns forms, finance minister Arun Jaitley may also revise the draft of Indian financial code (IFC) which proposes to dilute powers of the RBI governor in

Morning briefing: Kashmir bandh today over man`s death in beef battle

Kashmir is observing bandh today in protest against the death on Sunday of a man who was critically injured 10 days ago, after his truck was fire-bombed in Udhampur on rumours that he had slaughter

Jaitley blasts Sena’s intolerance

After president Pranab Mukherjee expressed his concern on rising incidents of intolerance in the country, finance minister Arun Jaitley today hit out at ally Shiv Sena and said that there was an ex

Morning briefing: Arun Jaitley to launch eSahyog and PAN camps today

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will launch eSahyog and PAN camps today. Through eSahyog he will launch the paperless initiative of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT ) under which notices to as

Morning briefing: Bihar votes in 50 constituencies for third phase

Fifty constituencies spread over six districts are voting on Wednesday in the third phase of the assembly elections in Bihar. The polling began at 7 am in 14,170 polling stations spread in six dist

Aadhaar uncertainty to be removed, new bill to make it legal

Aadhaar will receive legislative sanction with the government ready to introduce National Identification Authority of India (NIAI) Bill in the parliament. Finance minister Arun Jaitl

Jaitley stays positive on economy despite Bihar defeat

Trying to rise above petty politics and showing others that country comes first, finance minister Arun Jaitley today said it will not impact the economic reforms process. "I don

Morning briefing: Jaitley to meet PSU bank chiefs today to discuss NPAs, interest rates

Finance minister Arun Jaitley will meet heads of PSU banks today (Monday) to discuss loans, interest rate reduction and jan dhan yojana. The performance review meeting of public sector banks (PSBs)

Evening digest: India, China most affected by weather-related disasters, says UN report

India and China are among the countries most affected by weather-related disasters with the two nations accounting for more than three billion disaster-affected people between 1995 and 2015, a new

High-level panel to tackle bad loans in PSU banks likely soon

The government is planning to set up a high-level panel to effectively deal with the issue of bad loans or the non performing assets (NPAs). "That was discussed at the meeting o

Morning briefing: India`s GDP growth accelerates to 7.4% in Q2

Higher manufacturing output pushed India`s GDP growth to 7.4 per cent in the September quarter as compared to 7 per cent between April and June 2015. Analysts said GDP growth in Q2 was in line with

Morning briefing: Modi to address commanders meet being held outside Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addresses a combined commanders` conference onboard the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya off the Kochi coast. The Combined Commanders` Conference is an annual th

Morning briefing: US condemns Pathankot terror attack, wants Pakistan to take action

The US expects Pakistan will take actions against the perpetrators of the terror attack on Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, a top American official said, hours after Islamabad said it is working

Budget in the making: Govt committed to prudent fiscal policies and unveiling of road map for next few years

With union budget in sight and calls for deferring fiscal consolidation becoming louder, the finance ministry today made it clear that the government is committed to promoting and strengthening inc

Budget in nutshell: Governance and ease of doing business

* A Task Force has been constituted for rationalisation of human resources in various Ministries. * Comprehensive review and rationalisation of Autonomous Bodies.

Budget in nutshell: what Jaitley proposes for affordable housing

* 100% deduction for profits to an undertaking in housing project for flats upto 30 sq. metres in four metro cities and 60 sq. metres in other cities, approved during June 2016 to March 2019 and co

Finance minister gives Rs 2,18,000 crore boost to infrastructure

In its bid to give a major push to improving the infrastructure in the country, finance minister Arun Jaitley, has announced a total outlay of Rs 2,18,000 crore as capital expenditure for roads and

Tax reforms in mind, government abolishes 13 cess

While presenting the general Budget 2016-17 in Lok Sabha, finance minister Arun Jaitley said that the government has already accepted many recommendations of the Tax Administration Reform Committee

Budget in a nutshell: Financial sector reforms

* A comprehensive Code on Resolution of Financial Firms to be introduced. * Statutory basis for a Monetary Policy framework and a Monetary Policy Committee through the Finance Bill 2

FM’s word: deconstructing budget speech for keywords

Going purely by the number of times a keyword is mentioned (or not mentioned), it seems finance minister Arun Jaitley too has finally given up on the two big promises of the BJP: investment and gro

Budget 2016: Rs 2,059 crore allocated for ICT projects

 The government has allocated Rs 2,059 crore for several ICT projects, including e-learning, e-panchayat and land record modernisation in its 2016-17 budget tabled in the parliament by finance

As GDP accelerates to 7.6%, FM moots ‘Transform India’ agenda

India’s growth of GDP has accelerated to 7.6 percent in the current financial year. Announcing this while presenting the general budget for 2016-17 in Lok Sabha, union finance minister Arun J

Farmers to be introduced to online agri-wholesale market on April 14

Finance minister Arun Jaitely, presenting the budget 2016-17 on Monday, said that the national agriculture marketing (NAM) e-platform will be launched on the birth anniversary of Dr. Baba Saheb Amb

Government to introduce Aadhaar bill

In his budget speech in the Lok Sabha, finance minister Arun Jaitley said that as part of the `minimum government and maximum governance` framework, the government would introduce a bill on targete

Budget: farming sector gets a boost

In the budget 2016-17, union finance minister Arun Jaitley announced schemes for agriculture and farmers’ welfare and allotted Rs 35,984 crore for the same. Jaitley said that

Modi quotes Rajiv, Somnath; should’ve also quoted Sushma, Jaitley

Prime minister Narendra Modi, replying to the debate after the president’s address, once again called on the opposition to cooperate in pushing ahead parliamentary business and pending legisl

Budget 2016 neglects interests of farmers, say activists

A panel of civil society activists campaigning for right to food, education, rural employment, maternity and pension entitlements, has said that the 2016-17 budget does not serve the interest of fa

Jaitley argues why Aadhaar is money bill

 The Rajya Sabha witnessed the kind of debate it has not seen at least in recent decades as it took up for consideration the Aadhaar bill on Wednesday. Essentially, the opposition in the upper

Aadhaar presupposes privacy is fundamental right: Jaitley

Right to privacy is one of the hotly debated issues when the matter of Aadhaar comes up. On Wednesday, initiating a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the Aadhaar bill, finance minister Arun Jaitley

Jairam puts Jaitley on back-foot on money bill precedents

Jairam Ramesh of the Congress led the opposition attack on the government during the discussion on the Aadhaar bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, putting finance minister Arun Jaitley in an emba

Why Aadhaar is Niraadhaar: Jairam’s objections to the bill

After snubbing the finance minister in Rajya Sabha, Jairam Ramesh of

Why Aadhaar is baseless?

It was no less than a roller-coaster ride for Aadhaar, a programme formulated by the UPA government to assign a 12-digit unique number to every Indian resident. From the time it came into being in

Welcome Big Brother. And get ready for post-Aadhaar life

I assume that you already have an Aadhaar number. After all, 98 crore Indians have it. Why won’t you? And if you haven’t, it is time. The Aadhaar bill cleared by parliament on March 16

How not to disinvest

A decade after privatisation of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) was put on the back burner, the government has come out with a comprehensive policy to take up strategic sale more aggres

Is DBT a one-stop solution?

Even as the country lacks a legal framework to safeguard individual privacy and data security, the government is planning to integrate Aadhaar database, updated national population register (NPR) a

‘Good governance’, but through subterfuge!

The government has tabled the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016, in the Lok Sabha. It seeks to give a legal basis for issuing Aadhaar, t

Money Bill: Lost in translation

The government brought in the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016, to give statutory backing to the Aadhaar scheme launched in 2009. While

Citizen, surveillance and statistics

Aadhaar has faced a volley of criticism for limiting a citizen’s right to privacy. But Aadhaar is not alone in intruding into your life. You can stake a claim to genuine privacy and escape st

India’s growth story pegged at 7–7.5 percent, says Jaitley

Showing confidence in the Indian economy, finance minister Arun Jaitley said that India will be able to maintain the growth level of 7-7.5 percent despite challenges in the global economy. Speaking

Krishi Kalyan Cess to make eating out, mobile bills costlier

 June 1 onwards, people will have to pay an addition 0.5 percent tax whenever they go out to dine or buy a movie ticket. The Krishi Kalyan Cess, announced by finance minister Arun Jait

Cabinet approves biggest spectrum auction

The mega spectrum auction plan, which was recommended by the department of telecommunications (DoT), was approved by the cabinet today. This is the biggest spectrum auction which is estimated to fe

India well prepared for Brexit aftermath: Jaitley

As Britain voted to opt out of the EU Friday, India has asserted that it is well prepared to meet its consequences. “We are well prepared to deal with the short and medium ter

Seventh pay commission: A damp squib?

As the NDA government, aims for a double-digit growth trajectory of the Indian economy, a pay hike to almost one crore government employees and pensioners can come handy, as it will push demand. Th

Direct mailers: Government’s new outreach initiative

The NDA government has been quite active on the social media, sharing important developments on Twitter. In yet another initiative, it has now started sending out mailers so that the message can re

Price rise: Rahul Gandhi pulls up Modi government

 Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took the Modi government to task for price rise, particularly of food items like lentils. “Today in villages people are raisin

Modi’s statement on PSU show preference for revival

Prime minister Narendra Modi, during his independence day speech on Monday, said that public-sector behemoths like Air India and BSNL are now making profits. His reference to turning around of loss

DPE creating surplus land databank of PSUs

The department of public enterprises (DPE) is creating a databank of surplus land holdings of central public sector units (PSUs) across the country for auction.   The

Railway budget-Union budget merger: Let’s do away with general budget too

Now that the rail budget has chugged into history, the spotlight needs to be turned on the annual financial statement in Article 112 of the Constitution of India – better known as the general

Government wants to roll out GST by April 1, 2017: Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said that the government is working on a target date of April 1, 2017 for the roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the country. He

FM hints at DBT-like component in GST too

We had two parallel exercises in the government for the last 30-40 years. Every time we had a discussion on economic policy or budget there always was discussion on rationalisation of subsidies. An

Over Rs 65,000 crore disclosed under IDS: Jaitley

Calling it a significant amount, finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that black money worth Rs 65,250 crore has been disclosed under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) so far. Addressing a pres

A case for taxing agricultural income

At a time when the government is trying to shore up its revenues so that it can carry on its ambitious projects, a key sector that has been left out of taxation is agricultural income. Policy maker

PSUs to seek approval from Niti Aayog for joint ventures

 The NITI Aayog, besides identifying PSUs for strategic sales and monitoring the closure of loss making firms, will now also give approvals to the state-run entities to set up financial joint

Cabinet’s nod for Niti Aayog’s proposal for PSU strategic stake

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister c has given in-principle approval to Niti Aayog’s proposal for strategic sale in public sector undertakings (PSUs), on Thursday. The Cabinet meetin

ATMs to dispense new notes after 2-3 weeks: Jaitley

 It will take another two to three weeks for ATMs to get recalibrated in order to dispense new currency notes of Rs 500 and 2,000 denominations, said finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday.

MMS calls currency chaos organized loot, Jaitley delivers stinging retort

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Arun Jaitley sparred over demonetization in parliament on Thursday. Manmohan spoke of the “monumental management failure” in im

When, where and how are the ministers depositing ‘cash on hand’?

The prime minister has directed MPs of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to declare their bank transactions to the president of the party in a bid to lead by example to come clean on their actions a

Critical part of remonetisation already behind us: Jaitley

“Assessment can be unreal but revenue is real. And therefore many of these indicate that now with the critical part of the remonetisation already behind us, and there being significant impact

Demonetisation: Fifty days and still shaking

Winter mist hangs over Johra, a village of 928 people situated on the Ganga canal, 50 km east of New Delhi, in Ghaziabad. It is colder here than in Muradnagar, the nearest town, on the Delhi-Meerut

Demonetisation carried pain, admits Arun Jaitley

The implementation of the demonetisation decision carried pain. “It can lead to short term criticism and inconveniences. Drop in economic activity on account of the currency squeeze during th

Aspirational India put up with historic decisions: Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today linked the near lack of public resistance to the Narendra Modi government’s move to ban currency of high denomination to the “aspirational Indians&rd

India gets payments banks

Payments Banks have now become a reality for the Indian banking industry, with Airtel becoming the first licence-holder to roll out its services for 29 states. The leading telecom service provider

Govt approves listing of general insurance companies

The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi has approved listing of five state-run general insurance companies. The move is aimed at further acceleratin

Universal Basic Income an alternative to state subsidies: Economic Survey

The Universal Basic Income as an alternative to the various social welfare schemes to reduce poverty was advocated in the

Post DeMo, GDP growth in 2017-18 projected at 6.75 to 7.5 percent

Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that post demonetisation, once

Labour migration in India increasing

New estimates of labour migration in India have revealed that inter-state labour mobility is significantly higher than previous estimates, said the

GST a bold new experiment in governance: Economic Survey

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) will create a common Indian market, improve tax compliance and governance, and boost investment and growth; it is also a bold new experiment in the governance of In

Demonetisation impact transient: Arun Jaitley

Finance minister Arun Jaitley today invoked Mahatama Gandhi to justify the hardships faced by common people due to Narendra Modi Government’s decision of

Budget 2017: Rs 75 lakh for each online agriculture market

Each online agriculture wholesale market will receive Rs 75 lakh each for the development of cleaning, grading and packaging of the farmers` products. There are 250 regulated markets available on t

Budget 2017: Govt allocates Rs 48,000 cr to MNREGA

The government in its union budget 2017-18 has increased Mahatma Gandhi Nati

Bharat Net gets Rs 10,000 crore in budget 2017-18

For budget 2017-18 the government has allocated Rs 10,000 crore to Bharat Net project, which aims to provide high-speed broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country.

Budget 2017: No service charge for online railway tickets

Presenting the union budget 2017-18, finance minister Arun Jaitely announced 1.31 lakh crore for the capital and development expenditure of Indian Railways. A total of Rs 55,000 crore has been allo

Union budget will strengthen India’s economic muscle: FICCI

“This budget would tremendously strengthen the economic muscle of the country. It is directionally correct, fiscally prudent and strengthens the governance fabric of the nation,” said F

Twitter records over 7.2 lakh budget related tweets

Social media platform Twitter witnessed a record number of 7.2 lakh budget related tweets between January 30 and February 2. Everyone took to the platform for sharing their thoughts on the combin

Cash Donations: More opacity – with legal backing too

While presenting the budget, the finance minister made an announcement about making donations to political parties more transparent. If the proposals to amend the relevant laws are approved by parl

Why do we need Aadhaar?

 Aadhaar is arguably one of the most convoluted public policy interventions in India’s history. It has been more than eight years, yet there is little clarity on the exact purpose of the

Allow uninterrupted discussion on Finance Bill: Civil society to Hamid Ansari

Almost a week ago, Finance Bill, 2017, was passed in the Lok Sabha as a money bill in the midst of a walk out by the opposition.  In the 92-page document of the bill, centre has pushed 40 amen

One country, one tax from July 1

 After an intense seven-hour-long debate in the Lok Sabha, the cabinet gave a nod to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill. A green signal has also been given to the four crucial supplementary

When Jaitley sparred with Chidambaram

This is what Arun Jaitley had to say:   We want to take action which may either want to have an assault on what is the shadow economy or the parallel eco

Clean Money: Yet another follow-up to make the most of demo

Trying to make the most of the demonetisation drive, the government has taken yet another follow-up step and launched an Operation Clean Portal. Its aim is to “enable citizen engagement for c

On DeMo, yet another goal post change

Some think there is only one way to score a bull’s eye, by hitting the bull’s eye. Then there are creative souls, who first shoot, and then draw a bull’s eye around the

Why economy is not going to be BJP’s poll plank in 2019

A gasping economy means bad politics for the Bharatiya Janata Party that is hoping to recreate the 2014 magic when it won the parliamentary election with a brute majority. Demonetisation

Make PAN a part of Aadhaar

With the supreme court upholding the Aadhaar and PAN card linkage, it would be a good idea to have one unique number for both identity as well as for financial dealings. “Parliament

Strongest world growth expected since 2010: Fitch

 At a time when the government is claiming that the dip in the GDP is due to global economic slowdown and not because of demonetisation, the recovery in the global growth is in fact strengthen

Recalling a time when BJP opposed GST

The Bharatiya Janata Party is today going to town over the Goods and Services Tax (GST). But, there was a time in the recent past when the party opposed it tooth and nail, with the Gujarat govern

The missing links

At its most basic level the union budget is a laundry list of the government’s projected receipts and expenditure – just like a typical household budget. But it is a document which all

No central government scheme to run endlessly

Centrally sponsored schemes will now onwards run for a fixed period of time, thanks to a sunset date. An outcome review will also be carried out.   In public policy, a su

Sri Lanka gets patrol vessel from GSL

 SLNS Sayurala is the first Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) designed and constructed by Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) for Sri Lanka Navy. GSL delivered the vessel to Sri Lanka, 86 da

New Exchange Traded Fund announced

 Finance minister Arun Jaitley has announced a new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) —   BHARAT 22 which consists of 22 stocks of CPSE’s, public sector banks and strategic holding of

Final OROP instalment to be paid from August: Jaitley

The fourth and final instalment of One Rank One Pension (OROP) is due for payment from August, union defence minister Arun Jaitley said.   The government had issued o

Privacy a fundamental right, Jaitley said in Rajya Sabha

On March 16, 2016, while speaking on the Aadhaar Bill in the Rajya Sabha, finance minister Arun Jaitley stated:   “Is privacy a fundamental right or not? The pr

Jaitley unveils BEL’s advanced testing facilities

Defence minister Arun Jaitley unveiled an academy for excellence and two modern facilities— Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) test facility and Near Field Antenna Test Range (NFATR) at Ben

Production of HAL designed helicopter, Hawk-I aircraft begins

 Union minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the production of HAL designed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and dedicated upgrade program of Hawk-i (Hawk-India) aircraft to the nation. Jaitle

India, Japan look at collaborating on dual-use technologies

India and Japan are keen to further strengthen defence and security cooperation under the framework of the “Japan-lndia Special Strategic and Global Partnership”.  

Jaitley reviews PSUs’ capital expenditure programme

 Finance minister Arun Jaitley reviewed capital expenditure programme and status of dividend distribution of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) with secretaries of key ministries includ

Here’s how GST has been simplified

Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been simplified for small businesses and exporters. Here are the key changes that were introduced following a GST council meeting that was chaired by

Too little, too late: Congress on GST changes

The Congress has criticised the changes made in the Goods and Services Tax (GST), say

Slowdown effect of demonetisation, GST more or less played out: Jaitley

There is clear evidence now that slowdown effect of demonetisation and GST has now more or less played it out, said finance minister Arun Jaitley Participating in an interactive semi

Highlights of India’s growth story

Here are the key points regarding India’s macro-economic fundamentals.   India grew at a very strong pace of 7.5% p.a. in the three years of 2014-17 with growth

15th Finance Commission to be set up

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of the 15th Finance Commission. Setting up the Finance Commission is a Constitutional obligation

Electoral bonds: Not quite anonymous

Electoral bonds, which is yet another attempt to cleanse the system of political funding, is a classic case of something is better than nothing. In a way it is anonymous as it won’t carry the

Let’s make the budget more meaningful

Cloaked in obsessive secrecy, our budget process is rooted in our colonial past. By a single document, the government tries to lay down the roadmap of the economy for the coming financial year. I

Key recommendations for Budget 2018 for better healthcare

In India public sector accounts for only 30 percent of the total healthcare expenditure and investment in building and maintaining public health infrastructure needs priority in the upcoming budget

Real GDP growth to reach 6.75 percent this fiscal

A series of major reforms undertaken over the past year will allow real GDP growth to reach 6.75 percent this fiscal and will rise to 7.0 to 7.5 percent in 2018-19, said the Economic Survey 2017-18

Indian stock market is different, says Economic Survey

Over the past two fiscal years, the Indian stock market has soared, outperforming many other major markets. Since end-December 2015, the S&P index has surged 45 percent, while the Sensex has su

10 things people expect from budget 2018

When finance minister Arun Jaitley rises to present the union budget 2018 in parliament on Thursday, most Indians will be hoping that he leaves them with more money in their pockets. &nbs

Rs 171.15 crore was revenue in India’s first budget

India’s first budget was presented by RK Shanmukham Chetty, minister of finance, on November 26, 1947.   Here are the key highlights of the budget for the y

Gandhi sesquicentennial: Govt announces celebration plans

2019 will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, and finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech has announced that the government plans to celebrate the occasion.

Budget speech goes heavy on two pillars of governance: health and education

Ahead of general elections next year, the government has rightly decided to focus on two crucial pillars of development, namely, health and education. Finance minister Arun Jaitley&rsq

Budget aims to strengthen rural economy

 A significant portion of the budget pie on Thursday went to the farm sector. Union minister Arun Jaitley, who presented the union budget 2018-19, said the effort was to particularly

Common man, don’t worry: Budget promises ‘Ease of Leaving’

The budget promises to make it easier for the common man too – easier to leave, though it is not clear leave what.

Will Rs 1.48 lakh crore Capex help railways to become safer?

As the government allocates Rs 1.48 lakh crore for the railways for 2018-19, it is expected that this would improve safety and create better infrastructure. The railways got the Cape

Coming up: national logistics portal

Finance and corporate affairs minister Arun Jaitley said that to carry the business reforms for ease of doing business deeper and in every state, the government has identified 372 specific business

A health protection scheme for 10 crore families

The budgetary allocation for health has increased by 11.5 percent this year. It has increased to Rs 52,800 crores in 2018-19 from Rs 47,353 in 2017-18. Government in the budget 2018

Budget: Modi launches political psy-ops to rattle rivals

Prime minister Narendra Modi used the occasion of the budget presentation by finance minister Arun Jaitley to launch a “political psy-op”, to borrow a phrase used by intelligence agenci

Budget is growth and employment oriented: Experts

"It is a growth oriented budget. What we are doing now for the agriculture sector should have been done 20-30 years ago otherwise there will be food inflation and food crisis,” says Gaur

Budget forward looking, opine experts

The union budget will boost investments, accelerate innovation and generate new career opportunities, felt experts who noted that the focus on Artificial Intelligence is a timely move.

India may be able to reduce fiscal deficit by 2019-20: Official

India might actually be able to reduce its fiscal deficit to 3 percent by 2019-2020, said a top official. “Fiscal Deficit at 3.3% for 2018-19, backed with statutory commitment

Is divestment only way to bridge fiscal deficit, raise funds?

Even as the government has exceeded the target of raising disinvestment proceeds of Rs 72,500 crore in the current fiscal, the question of enhancing the CPSE’s efficiency largely remains unan

Budget: How Modi is shifting BJP’s social base

Political parties rarely survive on static social bases in a democracy. The BJP has been experimenting with shifting its social bases and coalescing them in a formidable vote bank in every round of

How transparent is our budget?

The ideas of ‘good governance’ and ‘budget transparency’ are intricately related where one practice often influences the other. Over the past few years, the importance of tr

GST: Minor shortfall in central government revenue

There is a minor shortfall in central government’s revenue following the implementation of GST, finance minister Arun Jaitley informed parliament.   He said that at

Doubling farmers’ income: Is Budget 2018 in the right direction?

 Farmers need higher returns for their produce to experience increased farm income. The government has continuously promised farmers at least 50 percent higher returns than the cost of their p

The case of the missing middle

The new year is barely a month old and, all of a sudden, it seemed the year 2019 was almost here. The end of December was the time of crucial state election results, and the beginning of February w

Tightrope walking meets poll dance

Budget 2018, forecast to be a “please all” budget, has come out as a “disappoint all” budget. The public is looking askance at a budget that gives with one hand but takes aw

What ails the latest Economic Survey?

The preface of the current Economic Survey concludes with the words of TS Eliot: “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another v

Governance of the self

The Razor’s Edge, a 1944 novel by Somerset Maugham, explores the dichotomy between materialism and spirituality. The title is derived from a line of Katha Upanishad: “The sharp edge of

Understanding interim budget

Narendra Modi-led NDA government is due to present its last budget on February 1, before the 2019 general elections. Finance minister Arun Jaitley, who is currently in US for medical treatment, is

Breaking down some key terms used in budget

The central government is set to present a complex and comprehensive report of its revenues and expenditures throughout the financial year in the budget address on February 1. Modi led NDA governme

Electoral bonds: All you need to know

A bench headed by chief justice of India Ranjan Gogoi in interim order on Friday asked all parties to submit receipts of the electoral bonds to the EC in sealed covers, while posting the matter

When Jaitley asked me to guess his age...

Sometime in 1999, I took Arun Jaitley out for meal for the column, “Lunch with Business Standard”. As is his wont, he chose his own place for lunch. It was at the Chambers at the Taj Ma

`Undeclared emergency`? Arun Jaitley`s answer recalls dark days

A New India: Selected Writings 2014-19 By Arun Jaitley, with a foreword by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Juggernaut Books, 384 pages, Rs 799 Arun Jaitley (

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


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