Modi govt's maiden budget hinges on restart, repair, reform

July 7, 2014

New Delhi, July 7: Investors have very high hopes for the new pro-business Modi government's maiden budget on July 10. It has three priorities: restarting a stalled investment cycle, repairing the government's fiscal health and reforming the supply side of the economy.images

Addressing all three will be a daunting task. But with a mix of honesty and creativity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Finance Minister Arun Jaitley just might pull it off.

Fiscal repair is where honesty is needed the most. Admitting that last year's actual deficit was more like 5 percent of GDP, not the 4.5 percent announced by the previous government, would be a good start. That lower number was an accounting artefact; using it as a baseline for fiscal correction will either mean intolerable austerity or a return to book-keeping shenanigans. Instead, the focus should be on boosting revenue.

Speeding up privatization is one way to achieve that goal: the government is contemplating an ambitious asset sales target of $11.7 billion, Reuters reported on July 6. That's almost equal to the proceeds of the past four years. A creatively designed amnesty for bringing back wealth parked illegally in overseas tax havens could also help. Using the proceeds to invest in infrastructure and recapitalize state-run banks could ease the immediate resource crunch. The investment cycle would restart.

For a more sustained fiscal fix, the government will have to switch public spending from subsidies and handouts to facilitating jobs and investment. This will require supply-side reforms. Investors are expecting an ambitious plan for skilling up India's 435-million-strong workforce. Freeing employees from archaic labour laws is the next step.

Making the corporate tax regime more predictable, for instance by scrapping the retrospective amendment to tax laws introduced in 2012, will also help improve the business climate. Easing restrictions on foreign investment in defence, railways and e-commerce would help to deepen the country's manufacturing base.

By the time he presents his next budget in February, Jaitley will have had a chance to make reluctant state governments drop their objection to a long-delayed federal sales tax, which could well become the Modi government's most important legislative reform. For now, though, a judicious combination of restart, repair and reform should be enough to keep investors happy.

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February 29,2020

New Delhi, Feb 29: Amid the raging communal violence in the entire north-east Delhi earlier this week, there were people who were trying to save persons and families from the "other community" from the fury of the mobs of their own community.

Naeem Ali Pradhan, 34, from Shiv Vihar, helped at least 7-8 Hindus on the night of February 24 -- when the violence was at its peak-- escape to safer locations. Shiv Vihar is one of the worst affected areas in the violence.

According to Naeem Ali, that night mobs attacked dozens of shops on the road and later tried to enter inside the residential areas.

Suddenly, he spotted a group of youth who were looking hassled and frantically asking for directions.

"I saw them. Thye were Hindus who were trying to escape a mob looking to target them. They had lost their way inside the streets of our colony. I along with other Muslim men escorted them to the nearby Hindu locality," Naeem, who is also a member of the Aman Committee constituted by the Delhi police, told ANI.

"Several shops which were on the roads including some showrooms were attacked by a group. These Hindus were worried as a mob which was on the main road was attacking people. They asked me the address of a colony as they were unable to find their way," Naeem said.

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January 30,2020

Baharampore, Jan 30: Two persons were killed and one was injured in a clash over a protest programme against the CAA and the proposed NRC in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Wednesday, police said.

The incident occured after an argument broke out between the two sides at Jalangi over a protest programme opposing Citizenship Amendment Act.

According to the police, a scuffle broke out between the local TMC leaders and residents' forum 'Nagarik Mancha', which was observing a shutdown in the area against the amended citizenship act and the proposed country-wide NRC.

The residents' forum was asked to withdraw the shutdown and the situation turned violent as both sides came to blows and hurled bombs at each other. Several two-wheelers and cars were damaged and set on fire during the clash.

Local TMC MP Abu Taher, denied that the party was involved in the clash and alleged that the violence was by Congress and CPI(M) supporters.

"I have requested the police to look into the incident. The culprits should be immediately arrested," he said.

Senior Congress leader and MLA Manoj Chakraborty said that the party was not involved in the incident and demanded judicial inquiry into it.

The injured have been rushed to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital here, the police said.

The Muslim-majority district had witnessed violence and arson during the anti-CAA protests across the state in December last year.

West Bengal became the fourth state after Left-ruled Kerala, and Punjab and Rajasthan, where the Congress is in power, to have passed a resolution on January 27 against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The state assembly had on September 6, 2019, passed a resolution against NRC.

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February 29,2020

New Delhi, Feb 29: The father of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma, whose body was pulled out of a drain in northeast Delhi's riot-hit Chand Bagh, complained to police that goons had assembled at the residence of former AAP counselor Tahir Hussain and were throwing petrol bombs from the rooftop.

According to the FIR which was registered on Thursday on the basis of the complaint lodged by Ankit's father Ravinder, the goons were also firing from the rooftop.

On Tuesday, Ankit returned from his office at 5 pm and then went outside to buy groceries. When he did not return, the family started looking for him and later filed a missing report, the FIR stated.

They got to know from their neighbours that a body has been recovered from a drain… later it was found to be that of Anikt, it said, adding the body had multiple stab injuries on the face, head, back, and chest.

The family has alleged in the FIR that it was Hussain and the goons at his residence who killed Ankit. In the FIR, Hussain has been accused of murder, destruction of evidence and abduction.

Soon after the FIR was registered on Thursday, the AAP suspended Tahir Hussain from the primary membership of the party till the police completed its probe.

The death toll in Delhi's communal violence rose to 42 on Friday as the situation showed some signs of returning to normalcy and clouds of smoke cleared to reveal the extent of the damage from the worst riots in the city in over three decades.

A total of 148 FIRs have been registered and 630 people have been either arrested or detained so far in connection with the communal violence, a Delhi Police spokesperson said.

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