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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Agencies
June 23,2020

New Delhi, Jun 23: "Coming up with a clinically tested, evidence-based medicine was a challenge," said Yoga Guru Ramdev as on Tuesday he launched Patanjali's Coronil tablet, which he claims is a cure for COVID-19. He also talked about various other immunity boosters at an event here during the launch.

Patanjali claims those administered the medicine were fully cured and none died. Ramdev even claimed that 69 per cent of them recovered within 3 days.

"We appointed a team of scientists after COVID-19 outbreak," said Balkrishna, Ramdev's close aide and MD of Patanjali Ayurved. He added that Patanjali conducted a clinical case study on hundreds of positive patients.

Patanjali has claimed that the clinical trials which were controlled in nature, was jointly conducted by Patanjali Research Institute which is based out of Haridwar and the National Institute of Medical Sciences, Jaipur.

Talking about the clinical trials, Ramdev said, "Under this 280 patients were included and 100 per cent of those recovered." He added they were able to control Coronavirus and its complications.

He said that in the next few days, data of the trail will be released as evidence to bolster claims. There are now over 9 million people affected by the pandemic since it broke out in China's Wuhan city in December 2019.

He said Ayurvedic elements are being used in the tablet. "There are more than 100 compounds used in the Coronil," he added. An entire kit is being made for that which consists of other Ayurvedic medicine as well which helps in immunity. The entire kit comes at Rs 600. However, he claimed that it will be given for free to those living below the poverty line.

As for doses, Panajali prescribes: "2-2 tablets should be consumed with hot water half an hour after meals. The above mentioned drug intake and quantity is suitable for people between 15 to 80 years of age. Half the amount of the above mentioned medicines can be used for children between the age of 6 to 14 years." These are the written instructions on the pack.

India has been battling the pandemic with close to 4 lakh cases in India on Tuesday and around 14,000 deaths so far.

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News Network
June 19,2020

Kolkata, Jun 19: The nationwide clamour for boycott of Chinese goods is getting louder amid the Ladakh face-off, with traders urging the Centre to direct e-commerce firms to restrict the sale of items from the Dragonland, which imports products worth USD 74 billion to India annually.

Of the total import from China, retail traders sell goods worth around USD 17 billion, mostly comprising toys, household items, mobiles, electric and electronic goods and cosmetics among other things, which could possibly be replaced by Indian products, a national trading body said.

"We, at 'Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal', are advising our members to clear their stocks of Chinese products and refrain from placing fresh orders. We are also requesting the government to restrict e-commerce companies from selling Chinese products," V K Bansal, the association's general secretary, told PTI.

Sushil Poddar, the president of the Confederation of West Bengal Traders Association, said its members have been told to shun trading in Chinese goods as much as possible.

Another national traders' body, The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), has decided to step up its movement against the boycott of Chinese goods, under its campaign 'Bhartiya Samaan-Hamara Abhimaan'.

It released a list of over 450 broad categories of commodities, comprising 3,000 Chinese products.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Mumbai, Jan 17: A 68-year-old convict of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, Jalees Ansari, went missing on Thursday morning while being on parole, officials said.

Ansari, a resident of Mominpura in Agripada here who is serving a life term, is suspected to be involved in many bomb blast cases across the country, an official said.

He was on parole for 21 days from the Ajmer Central Prison, Rajasthan, and was expected to surrender before prison authorities on Friday, he said.

During the parole period, he was ordered to visit the Agripada Police Station everyday between 10.30 am and 12 pm to mark his attendance, he said.

However, Ansari did not visit the police station on Thursday during the designated time, the official said.

In the afternoon, his 35-year-old son Jaid Ansari approached the police station with a complaint about his “missing” father, he said.

According to the complaint, Jalees Ansari woke up in the early hoursand told family members he is going to offer namaz, but did not return home.

On his complaint, the Agripada Police registered a missing case, he said.

The Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra ATS have launched a massive manhunt to trace him, he said.

Jalees, who is known as Doctor Bomb, was allegedly connected with terror outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahidin and taught terror groups how to make bombs, he said.

He was also questioned by the NIA in 2011 in connection with the 2008 bomb blast in Mumbai, he said.

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