PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday described the NIA raids against Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in Jammu and Kashmir as a “self-goal” for the Centre, saying instead of fighting an ideology with a better idea, the government was crushing contrarian thought with an iron fist. “NIA raids on Jamaat is emblematic of GOI (Government of India) waging … Read more
The Finance Ministry on Saturday said that no order relating to the payment of increments in dearness allowance for central government employees and dearness relief for pensioners has been issued. In a tweet, the Ministry said a document is doing the rounds on social media claiming resumption of DA to Central Government employees & Dearness … Read more
As the country reeled from a fierce COVID-19 wave, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the government’s “arrogance and suppression of truth is killing people”. He suggested that a clear vaccine strategy and income support are needed to contain the damage due to the virus. “We need humility, a clear vaccine strategy, and … Read more
SSS must turn viable over time, with less government intervention in fund use and gradually linking returns to markets. Synopsis The action to sharply cut interest returns on State-backed small savings schemes (SSS), and a quick correction to reverse it — in what would go down as the fastest rollback of a fairly important government … Read more
An important theme of this year’s Economic Survey is about how to make policies and decisions under circumstances of radical uncertainty. Given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on both health and economic trajectories across the world, this issue is obviously topical. The Survey, therefore, explains India’s ‘barbell’ strategy that combined hedging against worst-case outcomes, … Read more
Millions lost their jobs, walked thousands of miles to get home, starved, got sick, died. The lockdown following the Covid-19 pandemic was the worst catastrophe for India since the ‘Spanish flu’ influenza epidemic a century ago. Just how bad is documented by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Financial Stability Report (FSR; bit.ly/3oP9DBT) … Read more
On December 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a day of ‘special joy’ for the millions who provide Indians food: farmers. Farmers were to celebrate GoI’s promise to transfer Rs 35 billion in subsidies to them. Modi did not mean farmers who grew food grains, who number more than 250 million, but those numbering 15 … Read more
NEW DELHI: As India’s COVID-19 caseload surpassed the one crore-mark, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the unplanned lockdown did not manage to “win the battle in 21 days as the prime minister claimed”, but “destroyed” millions of lives in the country. The health ministry‘s data updated at 8 am on Saturday showed … Read more
By Ashok K GuptaWith every industry undergoing ‘new age’ transformations, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have become a significant tool for establishing systemic efficiencies in many markets. However, large-scale consolidations often present unique market structures that may pose challenges to competition.In these scenarios, competition regulation assumes greater significance to preserve competition and protect consumer welfare. The … Read more
By Rameesh KailasamBudget 2020 introduced Section 194-O of the Income-Tax (I-T) Act. Its primary intent was to widen the tax base by bringing the ecommerce ecosystem into it. Participants in this ecosystem, it was believed, neither paid taxes nor filed their tax returns, thereby escaping tax liability.194-O exempted non-resident ecommerce participants, set a ceiling limit … Read more