(FE) Prime Narendra Modi on Wednesday constituted two cabinet committees to address the growth needs of the economy amid reports indicating an economic slowdown. The five-member cabinet committee on growth and investment led by the Prime Minister will have home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, railway minister Piyush Goyal and transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari as members. Modi will head another committee on skill development and employment. The members of the 10-member committee are Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, human resource development minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan, minister for agriculture and rural development…
Author: Aruna Sharma
(LiveMint) The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee led by governor Shaktikanta Das will announce its policy decision on Thursday amid slowing economic growth and global uncertainty. The market is expecting a 25-basis point cut in key policy rates, along with a change in policy stance to accommodative from neutral. Given the ongoing economic slowdown, with both the consumption and investment engines faltering, there are hopes that RBI will use monetary policy to stimulate the economy. The central bank’s actions will also set the stage for the Union budget that will be announced on 5 July. Das will also have to contend with a…
(FE) As many as 52 electricity transmission towers collapsed between October 2016 and March 2018, according to the latest report by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), which also points out rampant irregularities on the part of transmission companies leading to collapsing of the assets. Of the 52 dysfunctional towers, 41 failed within five years of commissioning. Most of the failed towers belonged to state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL), followed by Sterlite Power, L&T, Adani Transmission and Essel Infra. PGCIL, which owns more than 37% of the transmission lines in the country and ferries about 50% of the total electricity…
(PTI) State-run oil refiner Indian Oil (IOC) said it would contest a `4,000-crore excise duty demand on it, as the tax department’s claim “stems from difference of interpretation” of the Excise Act. The demand was based on the charge that the company evaded excise duty on ethanol-blended motor spirit (EBMS) sale. IOC received the demand notice from the Pune division of directorate general of GST Intelligence in April. The notice referred to investigation carried out by the department during 2016 on sale of EBMS by oil companies, and concluded that these firms had evaded tax on the assumption that as the…
(PTI) An informal ministerial group that included Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday reviewed state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd’s USD 2.2-2.4 billion investment proposal in a giant gas field in Mozambique as the government attempted to do deeper scrutiny of overseas investments to avoid the fiasco of the past. Sources said others in the group were Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and the review was a prelude to the investment proposal going to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for formal approve. Pradhan had in the past been critical of the nearly USD 6 billion spent by the Indian public sector firms to take 30 per cent stake in the Rovuma Offshore…
(DJ) पश्चिम बंगाल में 18 सीटें जीतकर ममता बनर्जी का किला भेदने वाली भाजपा अब अपना रुख पंजाब की ओर करने जा रही है। इस संसदीय चुनाव में अपने हिस्से की तीन में से दो सीटें जीतने और तमाम शहरों में प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी के नाम पर पड़ी वोट से उत्साहित पार्टी ने अपने गठजोड़ साथी शिरोमणि अकाली दल से 50 फीसद मांगने की तैयारी कर ली है। पार्टी की जिला प्रधानों और कोर कमेटी के मीटिंग में यह बात प्रमुखता से उभरी कि अब वक्त आ गया है जब भाजपा को पंजाब में अपने पांव पसारने चाहिए। पार्टी के पूर्व…
(FE) Tata Motors will start rolling out CNG cars in FY21, gradually reducing its dependence on diesel vehicles, which are tipped to become costlier once the BS-VI emission norms come into force, persons familiar with the development said. Government rules say starting April 1, 2020, all new vehicles must be fitted with BS-VI engines. Mayank Pareek, president, (passenger vehicles), Tata Motors, told FE the gameplan was to replace diesel vehicles with CNG in whichever segments the impact was felt. “This is hitherto an unexploited area in India and we have chalked out a detailed strategy,” Pareek said, adding, “We’re making our…
(DJ) देशभर में मंगलवार को ईद (Eid) का चांद दिखने के बाद आज ईद-उल-फितर मनाई जा रही है। ईद के मौके पर रोजेदारों ने एक दूसरे को गले लगाकर बधाई दी और देश दुनिया में अमन-चैन की दुआं मांगी। ईद का चांद दिखने के बाद एक महिने से चल रहा रमजान का पाक महीना आज खत्म हो गया है। रमजान के पूरे महीने मुस्लिम समुदाय के लोग बिना कुछ खाए-पिए रोजा रखते हैं। ईद-उल-फितर के मौके पर प्रधानमंंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने सभी को बधाई दी। आज ईद उल फितर (Eid Ul Fitr) केंद्रीय मंत्री मुख्तार अब्बास नकवी ने नई दिल्ली में कश्मीरी…
(DJ) चुनाव आयोग ने मंगलवार को कहा कि अमरनाथ यात्रा के बाद वह जम्मू एवं कश्मीर विधानसभा चुनाव के कार्यक्रमों की घोषणा करेगा। इस घोषणा के साथ ही स्पष्ट हो गया है कि इसी वर्ष चुनाव कराए जाएंगे। 46 दिनों तक चलने वाली अमरनाथ यात्रा मासिक शिवरात्रि के दिन एक जुलाई से शुरू होगी और 15 अगस्त को श्रावणी पूर्णिमा पर समाप्त हो जाएगी।एक बयान में आयोग ने कहा है कि उसने ध्वनिमत से फैसला लिया है कि जम्मू एवं कश्मीर में विधानसभा चुनाव कराने के बारे में इसी वर्ष बाद में विचार किया जा सकता है। जून 2018 में भाजपा…
(FE) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday held Samajwadi Party squarely responsible for the poor show of the Mahagathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections. Addressing the media in Lucknow, Mayawati also announced that her party will contest the bypolls in the state alone but did not rule out reuniting with the SP again. Asserting that the Samajwadi Party leadership failed to retain the Yadav votes and seats of Akhilesh Yadav’s family members, Mayawati said that she was “saddened by the loss of Samajwadi Party” and that they should learn about commitment and sacrifice from the…