India's growth is unlikely to slip below the 9% rate in the next few years, says the finance ministry's Economic Survey, but the downside risks have become stronger this year. Among those risks are the international subprime crisis and a slackening of growth in agriculture and manufacturing within the country. …
Not only is the United Progressive Alliance far from delivering on its National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) promise of allocating six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product to education but the allocation also dipped in percentage terms in 2007-08 compared to the preceding year. According to the Economic Survey …
Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram after presenting the Economic Survey 2007-08 in Parliament on Thursday. With the country's economic fundamentals strong and investment climate full of optimism, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday exuded confidence on achieving an average GDP growth of nine per cent during the Eleventh Plan period …
Pointing to the "loss of dynamism' in agriculture and allied sectors, the 2007-08 Economic Survey calls for a "second green revolution,' particularly in rainfed areas, to rejuvenate the sector and improve the income of those dependent on it. "Any deceleration in the growth of this sector is translated into a …
The central theme of Economic Survey 2007-08 is maintaining the strong economic growth momentum of the recent period. With the annual GDP growth exceeding 8 per cent since 2003-04, the economy has moved decisively to a higher trajectory. The official forecast of 8.7 per cent for 2007-08 accords with this …
Favours partial sale of profit-making non-navaratna PSUs, and tackling of inflationary impulses Holding out a warning that the current slowdown in the U.S. would have an effect on the Indian economy, the Economic Survey 2007-08 maintained that sustaining a high GDP growth of nine per cent while reining in inflation …
Any Budget can be evaluated on a number of criteria. Here, briefly, is a check-list of benchmarks by which today's pronouncements can be scored. First, from the perspective of the finance ministry's own domain, we need to look at what it does on the fiscal front. Mr Chidambaram has shown …
FOOD MANAGEMENT: Foodgrain stock at 19.2 MT on January 1 this year is 4% lower than the buffer norm of 20 MT. The Economic Survey 2007-08 points to the lower than normative foodgrain stocks for the third consecutive year, caused mainly by the decline in procurement of wheat and rice …
AGRICULTURE: Growth declines to 2.6% in 2007-08 from 3.8% last year. Presenting a grim picture of agriculture, the Economic Survey projects a decline in the growth of the sector in 2007-08 to 2.6 per cent compared with 3.8 per cent last year. It attributes the poor performance to reduced capital …
Govt's annual report doubts ability to eliminate revenue deficit. Calling double-digit growth a tough task, the government today cited foreign capital inflow and inflation as the macroeconomic challenge to high sustained growth in its Economic Survey for 2007-08. "If you wish me to sum up in one phrase the outlook …
THIS refers to the column "Far from failure' (February 15). The National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) is an inefficient way to revive rural economy. It would be better to improve infrastructure such as road and electricity in rural India and encourage the growth of industries. Only this would ensure …
The West Bengal Power Development Corporation's Bakreswar Thermal Power Project in Birbhum district. WEST BENGAL has emerged as one of the fastest-growing States in India and is the third largest economy in the country. So its growing reputation as a preferred investment destination should come as no surprise. The State …
The fact that the boom in growth has been consumption-induced, services-dominated and credit-fuelled has implications for its sustainability. WITH the release of the quick estimates of national income, which show that gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2006-07 touched 9.6 per cent, the government can legitimately claim that the recent …
The Minister for Railways, Mr Lalu Prasad, flanked by the Ministers of State, Mr Naranbhai Rathwa (left), and Mr R.Velu, arriving to present the Rail Budget on Tuesday. Review of Performance: 2007-08
Ashok Dasgupta Elections are due in many State Assemblies this year P. Chidambaram With Assembly polls due in a number of States during the year-end and the general elections in 2009, it is a foregone conclusion that the Union budget for the next fiscal, to be presented by Finance Minister …
N. Ravi The challenge before the Finance Minister in preparing a pre-election budget is to balance the minimal tax sops needed to keep the markets in an upbeat mood with massive spending programmes that will find resonance with the electorate. Preparing for the election-eve budget, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram must …
Surely car owners who get cheap petrol and rich farmers who get free water and power can't be aam? With the general elections due next year, there are obvious pressures on the finance minister to provide goodies for the aam aadmi. There are calls to abandon, or at least postpone …
By Devinder Sharma Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram should address the woes of those ailing farmers in the budget. General elections are around the corner. It is therefore more of a political compulsion than the requirements of a prudent fiscal policy that should have automatically diverted public funds for the …
A review of the role of planning should look at the possibility of expanding its role to municipalities, districts and panchayats rather than limiting it. Feb 23-29, 2008
