Nearly half of the gold underlying Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) is fully backed by government reserves at current gold prices, senior officials told CNBC-TV18. The sources said the Centre has provisioned enough funding in the Gold Reserve Fund (GRF) to cover redemptions of 60–65 tons out of the 130 tons of gold currently outstanding under … Read more
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has released regulations for the implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) within the National Pension System (NPS). These updated guidelines, which will take effect on April 1, 2025, outline the qualifications and procedures for central government employees to enroll in UPS. Eligibility for UPS The regulations … Read more
The Centre faced much criticism when it adopted the National Pension Scheme and gradually gave up on the Old Pension Scheme. On one hand, government employees were dissatisfied with the change in policies over National Pension Scheme (NPS), several states and opposition parties were insisting on returning to OPS to woo the voters. In a … Read more
Instead, should countercyclical fiscal policy become part of our policy lexicon to be used judiciously, but unapologetically? The clamour for fiscal stimulus is, incidentally, not a product of the Covid pandemic. Synopsis Thus, it might be prudent to go the extra mile to consolidate debt when the economy is booming. A way to formalise this … Read more
The budget has laid the foundation for high growth over this decade, chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian said. In an interview with ET, he said the fiscal policy should be counter-cyclical. Edited excerpts: The Economic Survey called for fiscal relaxation. Does the budget go far enough in that direction? The survey has called for counter-cyclical … Read more
One of the most enigmatic elements of GoI’s approach towards the Covid-19 pandemic has been its dogged conservative approach towards fiscal management this year. We have seen how in the first half of 2020-21, when the economy was ravaged the most by Covid, central government spending was lower than it was in the corresponding period … Read more
One can never rule out downside risks completely, but in terms of just putting weight one can say that the upside potential is greater, says Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian. Edited excerpts: Let me first begin by asking you about your 11% growth projections. Of course it is in line with the IMF’s estimate … Read more