India

New Delhi, Feb 2: Traders in Delhi have called for a two-day bandh starting Friday to protest against the ongoing sealing drive in the national capital. It is expected that at least 8 lakh shops and a large number of factories would remain closed as part of the strike. The call for two-day bandh has been given by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). Notably, the Chamber of Trade and

New Delhi, Feb 1: Terming Budget 2018-19 "defeatist" and a "big letdown", the Congress today said the government has "thrown in the towel" and conceded that it has failed to address key issues in the economy. The budget proposals should have been "bold and radical", senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said. "It is a defeatist budget. I think they have thrown in the

New Delhi, Feb 1: India is firmly on course to achieving over 8 per cent growth and becoming the world's 5th largest economy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today. It has achieved an average growth of 7.5 per cent in the first three years of the Modi government, he said. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth of 6.3 per cent in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal signalled

New Delhi, Feb 1: The salaries of the President and the Vice President have been increased to Rs 5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh per month respectively, in a rectification of an anomaly. Announcing the hike in their salaries in his Budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the emoluments of the President, the Vice President and the Governors were last revised with effect from January 1, 2006. Jaitley

New Delhi, Feb 1: The Enforcement Directorate Thursday filed a charge sheet in a Delhi court against former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh in a money laundering case. The charge sheet, filed before Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann, names six accused, including the former chief minister and his wife. The court has kept it for consideration on February 12

New Delhi, Feb 1: A slew of measures for the agriculture and rural sectors, a new health insurance scheme for the poor and some relief in income tax for the salaried class and senior citizens, were announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today in the last full budget before the general elections. Presenting his fifth straight budget in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley raised the health and education cess

New Delhi, Feb 1: India has slipped to 42nd place on an annual Global Democracy Index amid "rise of conservative religious ideologies" and increase in vigilantism and violence against minorities as well as other dissenting voices. While Norway has again topped the list, followed by Iceland and Sweden, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), India has moved down from 32nd place last year

New Delhi, Feb 1: Government is launching 'Modicare', a flagship healthcare scheme to cover 10 cr poor families across the country, announces Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech in Parliament on Thursday. The scheme will also provide Rs 5 lakh per family per year. The government will take steps to boost exports of agriculture commodities which have the potential of reaching USD 100

Kolkata, Feb 1: The Trinamool Congress today surged ahead of its rivals in both Noapara assembly seat and Uluberia parliamentary constituency after the initial rounds of counting of votes for the bypolls. At Noapara, the ruling party stormed ahead by a massive margin of 30,000 after the sixth round of counting. TMC candidate Sunil Singh secured 46,281 votes whereas his nearest rival of CPI(M)

Hyderabad, Feb 1: As the day finally arrives for the Finance Minister to present the Union Budget, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has emerged as the main concern among retailers, who expect a relaxation in the tax slabs across various product categories. ANI asked the retailers of Hyderabad about their expectations from the budget, and the majority ascribed the dip in their business to GST and