The Expenditure Management Commission that was set up to suggest measures to rationalise Central government spending is likely to table its first report by the month-end.
Plans to set up a Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) now seem to have been put on the back burner and senior government officials indicate that it is unlikely to be taken up any time soon.
The labour ministry’s proposal to hike minimum wages to Rs 7,100 per month is based on a calculation that estimates prices of pulses at Rs 65 per kilogram, edible oil at Rs 80 per litre and non-vegetarian items at Rs 80 per
The government is seeking to significantly boost incomes of the country’s lowest paid workers by substantially raising the minimum wages payable to them.
Till now, the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana has received 1,184 claims while another 284 claims have been filed under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana.
Efforts are on to expand credit history coverage to include payments of mobile, insurance and utility services bills that can be used for background checks.
The revised bilateral investment treaty seeks to exclude taxation steps, commercial contracts between domestic and foreign firms from arbitration but is likely to have many changes to make it more investor-friendly.
A slightly relaxed stance on inflation targeting is likely to be kept under the monetary policy framework agreement signed between the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India earlier this year.
India at present has 14 totalisation pacts with countries including Belgium, Germany and France and has recently also signed a social security agreement with Canada.
DK Pant, chief economist India Ratings pointed out that the low crude oil prices have given a cushion on the oil subsidy as well as have led to higher collection of excise duty that jumped to Rs 37,545 crore in the first quar
The scheme would, however, be available only for low-cost housing and subscribers whose monthly salary is less than Rs 15,000. These workers constitute about 70 per cent of the EPFO’s five crore subscribers.
Nearly three months since they were launched, PM Narendra Modi led government’s new accident and life insurance covers have already received more than 300 claims.
The government is finalising a new health insurance scheme for those above 60 years, modelled on the lines of the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Bima Yojana.
The finance ministry is hopeful that capital spending will witness a significant rise in the current quarter as more projects get approved and Budget announcements are implemented.
The National Career Service portal, which is part of the labour ministry’s efforts to revamp employment exchanges, will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Announced as part of the Union Budget 2015-16, the NIIF will have an allocation of Rs 20,000 crore, half of which is expected to come from blue chip public sector units.
