In interview with ThePrint, finance secretary spoke on Budget, how central govt can encourage states to increase capex, MGNREGA allocation & if food, fertiliser prices will fall.
ThePrint looked at Budget documents since Modi govt came to power in 2014, to calculate gap between budgeted and actual revenue earnings, revenue expenditures & borrowings.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while announcing the allocation for lab-grown diamonds in the 2023 Budget, had called it an 'emerging sector with high employment potential'.
The Union Budget's impetus towards tourism and housing will help generate employment opportunities, plus rationalisation in food and fertiliser subsidy is a welcome development.
Cushion from a high nominal GDP base will not be around in FY24. Budgeted expenditure will be vulnerable to pruning in case of shortfall in revenue realisation.
For years, experts have argued the case for rethinking the Centre-state relationship regarding the police. The time to debate police financing is running out.
A dedicated fund for start-ups in rural India is a much-needed thrust but Budget 2023 has unexpectedly slashed allocation to the agriculture ministry and reduced funds for MGNREGA by 33%.
See the political messaging in this budget. It is an uncluttered continuation from last year and is a statement of confidence, bordering on overconfidence.
Israel's response to Iran's retaliatory attack was relatively small and also downplayed by Tehran. But there are factors that could jeopardise this perceived reprieve.
The 125 APAs include 86 Unilateral APAs (UAPAs) and 39 Bilateral APAs (BAPAs). The total number of APAs since the start of the APA programme has risen to 641, with 506 UAPAs and 135 BAPAs.
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