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Manmohan Singh an overrated economist and an underrated politician: BJP

July 6, 2012

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New Delhi, July 6: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha Friday attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, calling him an "overrated economist" and an "underrated politician".

Reacting after the prime minister assured the nation that economic growth will be restored, Sinha, who was the finance minister during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, said the prime minister was only a "consultant" to the government.

"He is an overrated economist and underrated politician," Sinha said. "The problem with Manmohan Singh has been that he has always acted as a consultant to the government, saying what should be done, what need not be done.

You know he has been prime minister for eight years, before that he was finance minister for five years and clearly, he had all the opportunity in the world to implement what he believes in," said Sinha. "Now, at the end of eight years, he cannot say this should be done and that should be done," he added. Sinha also said that the prime minister should not blame his government's failures on the previous NDA government.

"The mess is domestically created and it is the government which has created the mess. This is something which has to be understood. I went through his interview and I find that he is constantly offering alibis, you know, and the worst part of it is that he says they had to undo what we did, when we were in the government," said Sinha.

"As if all the problems in India from 1947 onwards can be laid at the door of the NDA government between 1998 and 2004. Why was India partitioned? Because of the NDA government. Why is the Kashmir problem there? Because of the NDA government," he said. In an interview published in the daily Hindustan Times, the prime minister said:

"There is no realisation that a reversal to an earlier era is neither possible nor desirable; even a neighbour like China has understood the logic of an open economy and is developing the institutional framework which is required for this". Manmohan Singh also refuted charges of corruption against his government, saying "I do not think there has been any explosion in corruption under my watch". Sinha said this was "laughable".

"These are the most laughable of all comments made so far. He has defended his corrupt ministers to the hilt, it's only when the Supreme Court used its stick that they gave up. Why is he protecting (Home Minister P.) Chidambaram? He protected (former telecom minister A.) Raja earlier," Sinha added.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

New Delhi, Aug 7: India's COVID-19 cases tally crossed 20 lakh mark with the highest single-day spike of 62,538 cases on Friday, said Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The COVID-19 tally rises to 20,27,075 including 6,07,384 active cases, 13,78,106 cured/discharged/migrated and 41,585 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Maharashtra with 1,46,268 active cases and 3,05,521 cured and discharged patients continues to be the worst affected. The state has also reported 16,476 deaths due to the infection.

Tamil Nadu has 54,184 active cases while 2,14,815 patients have been discharged after treatment in the state. 4,461 deaths have been reported due to COVID-19 in the state.

Andhra Pradesh with 80,426 active cases is the third on the list. There are 1,04,354 cured and discharged patients and 1,681 deaths reported from the state.

Delhi now has 10,072 active cases and 1,26,116 cured and discharged patients. 4,044 people have lost their lives due to the disease in the Union Territory so far. 

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News Network
June 30,2020

New Delhi, Jun 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), a free ration scheme, for 80 crore people across the country till end of November.

In a televised address to the nation, Modi also said the government was working on a "one nation, one ration card" initiative.

On the extension of the PMGKAY, he said it will cost the government Rs 90,000 crore more.

Under the scheme, five kgs of wheat or rice and one kg of pulses per month will be given free of cost to the poor. The scheme was initially rolled out for three months.

The prime minister also said timely lockdown to contain coronavirus and other decisions saved many lives, but added that since "Unlock 1" has begun, people have shown negligence.

He said in comparison to other countries across the globe, India has done well in dealing with the pandemic.

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: Retirement fund body EPFO on Thursday lowered interest rate on provident fund deposits to 8.5 per cent for the current financial year, said Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar on Thursday.

The EPFO had provided 8.65 per cent rate of interest on EPF for 2018-19 to its around six crore subscribers. The decision was taken at a meeting of the the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) apex decision making body -- the Central Board of Trustee.

"The EPFO has decided to provide 8.5 per cent interest rate on EPF deposits for 2019-20 in the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) meeting today," Gangwar told reporters after the meeting here.

Now, the labour ministry requires the finance ministry's concurrence on the matter. Since the Government of India is the guarantor, the finance ministry has to vet the proposal for EPF interest rate to avoid any liability on account of shortfall in the EPFO income for a fiscal.

The finance ministry has been nudging the labour ministry for aligning the EPF interest rate with other small saving schemes run by the government like the public provident fund and post office saving schemes.

The EPFO had provided 8.65 per cent rate of interest to its subscribers for 2016-17 and 8.55 per cent in 2017-18. The rate of interest was slightly higher at 8.8 per cent in 2015-16.

It had given 8.75 per cent rate of interest in 2013-14 as well as 2014-15, higher than 8.5 per cent for 2012-13.

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