Political

Business

Budget@24: Free ration for a year, push to the farm sector

February 1, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: With global geopolitical, economic, and Covid uncertainties persisting, and ahead of crucial elections to the nine Vidhan Sabhas and the Lok Sabha in the months ahead, the government on Wednesday extended free ration support to the urban and rural poor for another year. In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala […]

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Business

Budget@24: FM balances growth, fiscal prudence, and coming elections

February 1, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: A huge increase in capital expenditure for infrastructure development to spur employment opportunities, fiscal prudence to reassure investors’ sentiment and attract investments, and income tax relief to the middle classes ahead of the crucial elections to the nine Vidhan Sabha elections this year, and the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, […]

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Business

Labor markets: India should work more, says IMF’s Gita Gopinath

January 18, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit     New Delhi: While applauding the Indian economy for doing better than many economies, International Monetary Fund (IMF)’ s Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said on Wednesday that the Asian nation needs to work more on labor markets and land. On the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF)’s meeting at […]

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Business

Roving Periscope: From this weekend, China may witness 36,000 Covid deaths, daily

January 18, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: Fears of a dark Covid-19  winter in rural China grew exponentially this week as the Asian country descended into uncertainty. Just four days ahead of the Lunar New Year (January 22-23), the media reported on Wednesday that China is likely to see nearly 36,000 Covid deaths a day during this […]

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Business

Pension: As Montek warns against ‘revadis’, RBI cautions states on reverting to the old scheme

January 17, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned the states against reverting to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for government employees, saying it poses a major risk on the “subnational fiscal horizon” and would result in the accumulation of unfunded liabilities in the coming years for them. Recently, several economists […]

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Business

Roving Periscope: China shocks Pakistan as UNSC declares Makki a “global terrorist”

January 17, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit    New Delhi: Failing rapidly as a nation-state amid collapsing economy, widespread famine-like conditions, and the looming threat of a civil war, Pakistan on Monday was rudely shocked when its “all-weather” friend China ditched it at the United Nations, enabling the Security Council to pronounce Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba deputy chief Abdul Rehman Makki a […]

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Business

WEF: India, B’Desh may benefit in likely global recession in 2023

January 16, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: A global recession is likely this year but India and Bangladesh may benefit from global trends, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said on Monday. Pressures on food, energy, and inflation may peak in 2023, the WEF, in its Chief Economists Outlook Survey, said, according to the media reports. Some economies […]

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Business

Entertainment: After Natu, Natu, RRR wins the CCA’s Best Foreign Language Film award

January 16, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: Act film director SS Rajamouli’s latest magnum opus, “RRR” continued its winning streak as the global blockbuster won two trophies within days — the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Song for Naatu, Naatu — at the Critics Choice Awards (CCA), the media reported on Monday. RRR is an […]

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Business

Covid explosion: Finally, China admits 60,000 deaths in a month!

January 16, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: A week before the worried Chinese celebrate their Lunar New Year on January 22, and amid hundreds of millions of people crisscrossing China for this 40-day-long event, Beijing, on Saturday last weekend, admitted witnessing almost 60,000 Covid-related deaths in a month, as the tides of deadly infections swept the country. […]

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Business

Roving Periscope: ‘One percent of Indians own over 40% of the country’s wealth’

January 16, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: The wealthiest one percent of people in India now own more than 40 percent of the country’s total wealth, while the bottom half of the population together share just 3 percent of the wealth, the media reported on Monday. Releasing the India supplement of its annual inequality report on the […]

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