Punjab, Goa vote heavily in assembly polls

Chandigarh/Panaji, Feb 3 (PTI) Punjab and Goa on Saturday voted heavily with an estimated 70 per cent and a record-breaking 83 per cent turnout as the first round of assembly elections in five states concluded by and large peacefully, Election Commission said

Traditional rivals BJP and Congress are locked in a keen electoral battle in the two states where Arvind Kejriwal's AAP has made its maiden foray in the assembly elections, seeking to play a killjoy for the two major contenders for power

It is the first outing for Aam Aadmi Party in assembly elections outside Delhi where it rules with an overwhelming majority in the state assembly and all eyes will be on it to see if it can upset the applicart of the two major national parties

BJP is in government in Punjab in alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for two successive terms, while it also helms Goa, despite ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party having drifted away just after the announcement of elections to form a three-party combine

The elections to Punjab and Goa, which will be followed by those in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur, beginning later this month and spilling over to March, are being billed as a major test of BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity post-demonetisation

Barring minor skirmishes and technical glitches in EVMs and Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines which delayed voting for some time, polling passed off peacefully in Punjab where nearly 79 per cent electors had cast their votes in the 2012 polls

In Punjab, where SAD-BJP alliance has been in power for the past decade, today's polling will decide the fate of a number of political bigwigs, including 89-year-old Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, seeking a sixth term in office, his old political rival and Congress' CM face Amarinder Singh, who has declared it will be his last election, and Badal's son and deputy Sukhbir

Badar Sr. is locked in a keen battle with Amarinder for the Lambi seat, the pocket borough of the Badals. Amarinder, the scion of Patiala royal family, is also in the fray from his home town where ready to give him a run for his money is the former army chief J J Singh of SAD

Stand up comedian and AAP MP from Sangrur, Bhagwant Mann, who is a probable candidate for chief ministership if the party wins the election, is crossing swords with Sukhbir in Jalalabad. Navjot Singh Sidhu, the voluble cricketer-turned- politician, who quit BJP to join Congress just ahead of the polls, is trying his luck from Amritsar East seat, part of his former parliamentary constituency Amritsar

The other prominent candidates include Congress veteran and former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehragagga), Indian Youth Congress Chief Raja Amarinder Singh Warring (Gidderbaha), Badal's estranged nephew Manpreet Singh Badal on Congress ticket (Bathinda Urban)

Goa registered a record 83 per cent voter turnout with no incidents of violence and very little technical problem reported in the EVMs and VVPAT machines. In the 2012 assembly elections, Goa had recorded an impressive 81.8 per cent voting

Goa, where chief ministership has been as fickle as the loyalties of its political leaders, today's vote will decide the fate among others of five former CM's, besides incumbent Laxmikant Parsekar

While Ravi Naik, Digambar Kamat, Pratapsinh Rane and Luizinho Faleiro are in the fray as Congress nominees, Churchill Alemao is contesting on NCP ticket. The electoral fate of AAP's chief ministerial face Elvis Gomes, a former bureaucrat, will also be decided.

Hope to take GST legislations to Parliament this session: FM

New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) Keen to rollout the Goods and Services Tax by July, the government plans to take the supporting legislations to Parliament next month, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.

While the all-powerful GST Council has already decided on a four-slab tax structure for the indirect tax regime, the levy for different goods and services will be decided by May or June.

Jaitley said he hopes to get Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) draft legislations approved at the next GST Council meeting on February 18 and bring them in the second half of ongoing Budget Session. It will reconvene on March 9 after a month long break and continue till April 12.

"Now the main policy issues (with regard to CGST and IGST) over 9 meetings have been put to rest. Final drafts are now being prepared and once they are circulated with the legally vetted language, those drafts will have to then go to Parliament and state legislature (for SGST) for approval.

"We will meet on 18th of this month. Hopefully, my target currently is to finalise those drafts and take them in the second part of the budget session in Parliament," Jaitley said at a post-Budget meet with industry chambers.

While the CGST will subsume central taxes of excise, central sales tax and service tax, IGST is to be charged on movement of goods and services from one state to another.

States will also have to pass SGST or State Goods and Service Tax. Also, a GST Compensation Act needs to be approved by Parliament to provide for compensation to states that lose revenue from implementation of GST in first five years.

"One parallel exercise is fitment of various commodities in to the rate structure for that the officer have to meet," Jaitley said.

The GST Council has fixed the four-tier structure of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 percent.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said a good or service will be put in a slab which is closest to the current rate at taxes.

"As far as fitment of rate is concerned there are four slabs. The present incidence of VAT plus excise duty, or VAT plus service tax it whatever is the incidence, the slab closer to that is the slab where it will fall," he said.

Also, there will be few items of exception which will go to the GST Council for discussion, he said. "We hope to complete the process of final rules and laws by 31st of March, rates can be decided even in the month of May or June.

US slaps new sanctions on Iranian entities after missile test

Washington, Feb 3 (PTI) The US today slapped more than two dozen Iranian entities with sanctions, two days after the Islamic republic dismissed President Donald Trump's warnings over its latest missile test as baseless and provocative.

The announcement also comes a day after Trump put Iran "on notice" for its alleged destabilising behaviour and carrying out ballistic missile test in violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which calls on Tehran not to test missiles capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.

The ballistic missile launch was the first by Iran since Trump became president.

According to reports, Iran's missile test occurred at a well-known site outside Semnan, about 225 km east of Tehran.

The Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile flew 600 miles before exploding.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said the multiple entities and individuals slapped with sanctions were involved in procuring technology and materials to support Iran's ballistic missile programme, as well as for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF).

"This action reflects the United States' commitment to enforcing sanctions on Iran with respect to its ballistic missile program and destabilising activities in the region and is fully consistent with the United States' commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," the Treasury said.

"Iran's continued support for terrorism and development of its ballistic missile program poses a threat to the region, to our partners worldwide, and to the United States," said John E Smith, Acting Director at the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

"Today's action is part of Treasury's ongoing efforts to counter Iranian malign activity abroad that is outside the scope of the JCPOA," he added.

The Treasury said OFAC designated several networks and supporters of Iran's ballistic missile procurement, including a critical Iranian procurement agent and eight individuals and entities in his Iran - and China-based network, an Iranian procurement company and its Gulf-based network, and five individuals and entities that are part of an Iran-based procurement network connected to Mabrooka Trading, which was designated on January 17 last year.

It also designated a key IRGC-QF-run support network working with Hizballah, including IRGC-QF official Hasan Deghan Ebrahimi, his associates Muhammad Abd-al-Amir Farhat and Yahya al-Hajj, and several affiliated companies in Lebanon.

Iran has previously warned that new US sanctions could constitute a violation of the nuclear deal, setting up a scenario in which the agreement could unravel something that hardliners in both countries would welcome.

The row comes against a backdrop of already strained ties between Washington and Tehran over Trump's travel ban on citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries.

Court discharges Maran brothers, others in Aircel-Maxis cases

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) A special court here today discharged former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran and others in the Aircel-Maxis deal cases lodged by CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

However, today's order would not have any effect on the two accused Malaysian nationals -- Ralph Marshall and T Ananda Krishnan -- as the court has already segregated the trial against them from that of Maran brothers and others.

The order was passed by Special Judge O P Saini who is exclusively dealing with the 2G spectrum allocation scam cases and those cases arising out of the investigation into it.

CBI had filed a charge sheet against the Maran brothers, Ralph Marshall, T Ananda Krishnan, M/s Sun Direct TV (P) Ltd, M/s Astro All Asia Networks Plc, UK, M/s Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia, M/s South Asia Entertainment Holdings Ltd, Malaysia and then Additional Secretary (Telecom) J S Sarma who died during the course of the probe.

They were chargesheeted for alleged offences punishable under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In the money laundering case, ED has chargesheeted the Maran brothers, Kalanithi's wife Kavery, Managing Director of South Asia FM Ltd (SAFL) K Shanmugam, SAFL and Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd (SDTPL) under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Besides Maran brothers, the court discharged two companies - M/s Sun Direct TV (P) Ltd (SDTPL) and M/s South Asia Entertainment Holdings Ltd.

During arguments on framing of charges, Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover had claimed that Dayanidhi had "pressurised" Chennai-based telecom promoter C Sivasankaran to sell his stakes in Aircel and two subsidiary firms to Malaysian firm Maxis Group in 2006.

The charge was strongly refuted by Dayanidhi. All the accused had denied the allegations against them made by the investigating agencies and had moved bail pleas.

Sensex hovers at 4-month high on Budget rally

Mumbai, Feb 2 (PTI) The Budget rally entered the second day today after the Sensex closed at nearly a 4-month high of 28,227, underpinned by healthcare and IT stocks amid mixed global shares.

Apart from auto, capital goods and infra, all sectoral indices notched up smart gains.

After moving between 28,070.81 and 28,299.92, the Sensex settled up 84.97 points, or 0.30 per cent, at 28,226.61. This is the highest closing since October 4 last when it closed at 28,334.55.

The index had rallied 486 points yesterday, spurred by a series of market-friendly budget moves.

The 50-share NSE Nifty finished higher by 17.85 points, or 0.20 per cent, at 8,734.25 after trading between 8,685.80 and 8,757.60.

"The turnaround in IT and pharma stocks and the weakness in the dollar after an unchanged US Fed policy have given some impetus to the market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

The rupee closed higher at 67.37 after the US Fed decided to keep rates unchanged and struck a cautious tone about policy tightening.

Market stayed in a tight range during the first half due to profit-booking after Wednesday's sharp rally and a weak trend in Asia, but revival in buying interest among domestic institutional and retail investors led stocks higher.

The Budget's significant allocation to infrastructure and focus on affordable housing, rural development and agriculture contributed to the rally.

Coming up next is RBI's monetary policy next week which is being closely tracked by investors.

Software stocks such as Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra were back in demand as they gained by up to 2.85 per cent.

Drug major Dr Reddy's walked away with top honour by jumping 3.31 per cent followed by Sun Pharma (2.64 per cent).

Overall, 15 scrips out of 30 Sensex stocks ended higher.

However, some like Hero MotoCorp, M&M and Tata Motors in the auto sector faced selling following disappointing January sales numbers.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net bought shares worth Rs 92.73 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) lapped up shares worth a net Rs 1,133.74 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Buying by retail investors continued in broader markets, helping the small-cap and mid-cap indices gain up to 0.95 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables gained the most by 2.18 per cent, followed by healthcare 1.79 per cent, IT 1.78 per cent and technology 1.68 per cent.

Other Asian markets showed a weak trend, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng ending 0.61 per cent lower and Nikkei losing 1.22 per cent.

European markets were in a mixed shape in their early trade, with Frankfurt rising 1.08 per cent and London's FTSE down 0.11 per cent. Paris CAC 40 shed 0.23 per cent.

India Celebrates Basant Panchmi on 01 Feb 2017

 

Vasant Panchami marks the onset of spring. Considered as an auspicious day, the festival follows the Hindu calendar and falls on the fifth day (panchami) of the lunar month of Magha. This year in 2017, Vasant Panchami is being celebrated on February 1. As per Panchang, the Panchami tithi begins at 3.41am and ends at 2.20pm and the puja mahurat is said to be between 7.13am and 12.34pm.

Basant Panchmi is celebrated on the fifth day (Panchami Tithi) of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the Hindu month Magh. From this day, Vasant Ritu (the spring season) begins in India. Saraswati Puja is also performed on this day. The celebration takes place when the Panchami Tithi prevails during the first half of the day i.e. the time between sunrise and midday.

Celebrated by Hindus, the festivals observed on this day include Saraswati Puja also known as Shree Panchami, Basant Festival of Kites in Punjab and Haryana, Sufi Basant and more. People visit the temple and pray to goddess Saraswati – the deity of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. Along with student, schools and educational institutions seek blessings from the goddess as well, and the famous Saraswati shloka, Ya Kundendu, is recited by most.

Significance and importance of Basant Panchami 2017

This day is also considered as an auspicious day to begin work. It is also considered very auspicious to get married or perform house warming ceremony (griha pravesh) on the day of Vasant Panchami.

If Panchmi Tithi begins after the midday and prevails in the first half of the next day then Vasant Panchami is celebrated on the second day. The celebration can only shift to the next day in one condition i.e. if Panchami TIthi is not prevailing in the first half of the first day at any point of time. Otherwise, in all other cases, the celebration will take place on the first day. That is why, sometimes, Basant Panchami also falls on the Chaturthi Tithi as per Panchang.

Vasant Panchami day is dedicated to Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. Goddess Saraswati is worshipped on Vasant Panchami day. Vasant Panchami is also known as Shri Panchami and Saraswati Panchami.

People worship Goddess Saraswati to get enlighten with knowledge and to get rid of lethargy, sluggishness and ignorance. This ritual of initiating education to children is known as Akshar-Abhyasam or Vidya-Arambham/Praasana which is one of the famous rituals of Vasant Panchami. Schools and colleges arrange pujas in the morning to seek blessing of the Goddess.

Purvahna Kala, which is the time between the sunrise and the midday, is considered to decide Vasant Panchami day. Vasant Panchami is celebrated on the day when Panchami Tithi prevails during Purvahna Kala. Due to which Vasant Panchami might also fall on Chaturthi Tithi.

Many astrologers consider Vasant Panchami as Abujha (अबूझ) day which is auspicious to start all good work. According to this belief whole Vasant Panchami day is auspicious to perform Saraswati Puja.

Although there is no special time to perform Saraswati Puja on Vasant Panchami day one should make sure that Puja is done when Panchami Tithi is prevailing. Many times Panchami Tithi doesn't prevail whole of the day on Vasant Panchami day hence we believe that it is important to do Saraswati puja within Panchami Tithi.

On this day, Goddess Rati and Lord Kamdev are worshiped in 16 ways (Shodhashopchar Puja) during the first half of this day i.e. the time between sunrise till midday.

Shodshopchar Puja Sankalp

ॐ विष्णुः विष्णुः विष्णुः, अद्य ब्रह्मणो वयसः परार्धे श्रीश्वेतवाराहकल्पे जम्बूद्वीपे भारतवर्षे,
अमुकनामसंवत्सरे माघशुक्लपञ्चम्याम् अमुकवासरे अमुकगोत्रः अमुकनामाहं सकलपाप - क्षयपूर्वक - श्रुति -
स्मृत्युक्ताखिल - पुण्यफलोपलब्धये सौभाग्य - सुस्वास्थ्यलाभाय अविहित - काम - रति - प्रवृत्तिरोधाय मम
पत्यौ/पत्न्यां आजीवन - नवनवानुरागाय रति - कामदम्पती षोडशोपचारैः पूजयिष्ये।

If husband-wife worship Rati-Kamdev after this Sankalp in 16 ways (Shodashopchar), their married life turns into a blessing from all the possible ways.

Rati-Kamdev Dhyan

ॐ वारणे मदनं बाण - पाशांकुशशरासनान्।
धारयन्तं जपारक्तं ध्यायेद्रक्त - विभूषणम्।।
सव्येन पतिमाश्लिष्य वामेनोत्पल - धारिणीम्।
पाणिना रमणांकस्थां रतिं सम्यग् विचिन्तयेत्।।

Saraswati Puja

On this day, at the above given worship duration, intellectuals (or people related to education, art, etc.) worship Saraswati. The Puja becomes even more powerful when worshipers recite Saraswati Stotra along with the other rituals.

Sri Panchami

Goddess Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth; also known as “Shri”) and Lord Vishnu are also worshiped together on this day. Some people worship Goddess Laxmi and Saraswati together as well. Usually, businessmen worship Lakshmi. It is considered highly auspicious if businessmen recite Shri Sukta on this day.

Above given Pujas (worships) should be performed in either 5 ways (Panchopchar) or 16 ways (Shodashopchar).

Saraswati Puja on Vasant Panchami /Saraswati Vandana

Saraswati Ya Kundendu is the most famous Stuti dedicated to Goddess Saraswati and part of the famous Saraswati Stotram. It is recited during Saraswati Puja on the eve of Vasant Panchami.

या कुन्देन्दुतुषारहारधवला या शुभ्रवस्त्रावृता
या वीणावरदण्डमण्डितकरा या श्वेतपद्मासना।
या ब्रह्माच्युत शंकरप्रभृतिभिर्देवैः सदा वन्दिता
सा मां पातु सरस्वती भगवती निःशेषजाड्यापहा॥

शुक्लां ब्रह्मविचार सार परमामाद्यां जगद्व्यापिनीं
वीणा-पुस्तक-धारिणीमभयदां जाड्यान्धकारापहाम्‌।
हस्ते स्फटिकमालिकां विदधतीं पद्मासने संस्थिताम्‌
वन्दे तां परमेश्वरीं भगवतीं बुद्धिप्रदां शारदाम्‌॥२॥

Budget ups public spending, halves basic tax rate

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) In a pre-poll Budget aimed at softening the demonetisation blow, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today halved the basic income tax rate to 5 per cent and lowered rate for small companies while boosting spending on rural employment, agriculture and infrastructure.

Creating history, the Minister presented a merged railway and general Budget after advancing the dates by a month that provides a record outlay of Rs 3,96,135 crore for infrastructure schemes besides a capital expenditure of Rs 1.3 lakh crore on railways and Rs 64,000 crore on highways.

The Budget seeks to provide a record Rs 10 lakh crore in loans to farmers, boost funds for rural employment guarantee programme, bring one crore households out of poverty and promised to build one crore houses by 2019 for the homeless ahead of the crucial elections in five states including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

In view of the fact that the proposed GST is expected to be rolled out soon, he left indirect taxes largely untouched except for some changes in duties on tobacco products, solar panels and circuit for mobile phones.

While excise duty on pan masala has been hiked to 9 per cent from 6 per cent currently and that on unmanufactured tobacco to 8.3 per cent from 4.2 per cent, the same on filter and non-filter cigarettes of all length was also hiked.

Mobile phones will be costlier with the Budget proposing a 2 per cent special auxiliary duty on import of populated printed circuit boards (PCBs).

While the income tax rate for income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh has been lowered to 5 per cent, a 10 per cent surcharge has been slapped on income between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore. The 15 per cent surcharge on income above Rs 1 crore will continue.

While the surcharge alone would net Rs 2,700 crore a year, his give away on direct tax proposals will result in a loss of Rs 15,500 crore.

The change in the personal income tax rate for individual assessees would reduce the tax liability of all persons below Rs 5 lakh to either to zero (with rebate) or 50 per cent of their existing liability.

In order not to have duplication of benefit, the existing benefit of rebate available to them is being reduced to Rs 2,500 available only to assessees up to income of Rs 3.5 lakh.

While the taxation liability of people with income up to Rs 5 lakh is being reduced to half, all other categories of tax payers in the subsequent slabs will also get a uniform benefit of Rs 12,500 per person.

In the case of senior citizens above 60 years, there will be no tax up to Rs 3 lakh, while the exemption will be up to Rs 5 lakh in case of citizens above 80 years. Both the categories will attract income tax of 20 per cent on income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh and 30 per cent for income above Rs 10 lakh.

Against the backdrop of demonetisation intended to eliminate black money and introduce clean transactions, the Budget barred any transaction in cash above Rs 3 lakh. As a measure of transparency in political funding, he lowered to one-tenth the donation that political parties can accept in cash to Rs 2,000 per donor.

Also bearer Electoral Bonds will be introduced which a donor can buy from a scheduled bank through cheque or e-mode, for making donations.

The Finance Minister expressed confidence that the pace of remonetisation has picked up and would soon reach comfortable levels with effects not expected to spillover into the next fiscal. .

Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley Presented Economic Survey 2016-17 in the Parliament today

Economic Survey says economic growth to return to normal as new currency notes in required quantities come back into circulation and follow-up action on demonetisation is taken.

The CPI based core inflation remained stable in the current fiscal year averaging around 5 per cent.

The Economic Survey says that the rupee performed better than most of the other emerging market economies.

The total area coverage under Rabi crops as on 13.01.2017 for 2016-17 is 616.2 lakh hectares which is 5.9 per cent higher than that in the corresponding week of last year.

The area coverage under Gram (Channa Dal) as on 13.01.2017 for 2016-17 is 10.6 percent higher than that in the corresponding week of last year.

The Indian Economy has sustained a macro-economic environment of relatively lower inflation, fiscal discipline and moderate current account deficit coupled with broadly stable rupee-dollar exchange rate. The Economic Survey 2016-17 presented in the Parliament today by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley states that such a sustenance is despite continuing global sluggishness. It says :

·         As per the advance estimates released by the Central Statistics Office, the growth rate of GDP at constant market prices for the year 2016-17 is placed at 7.1 per cent, as against 7.6 per cent in 2015-16.This estimate is based mainly on information for the first seven to eight months of the financial year. Government final consumption expenditure is the major driver of GDP growth in the current year.

·         Fixed investment (gross fixed capital formation) to GDP ratio (at current prices) is estimated to be 26.6 per cent in 2016-17, vis-à-vis 29.3 per cent in 2015-16.

·         For 2017-18, it is expected that the growth would return to normal as the new currency notes in required quantities come back into circulation and as follow-up actions to demonetisation are taken. On balance, there is a likelihood that Indian economy may recover back to 6 ¾ per cent to 7 ½ per cent in 2017-18.

Fiscal

·         Indirect taxes grew by 26.9 per cent during April-November 2016.

·         The strong growth in revenue expenditure during April-November 2016 was boosted mainly by a 23.2 per cent increase in salaries due to the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission and a 39.5 per cent increase in the grants for creation of capital assets.

Prices

·         The headline inflation as measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained under control for the third successive financial year. The average CPI inflation declined to 4.9 per cent in 2015-16 from 5.9 per cent in 2014-15 and stood at 4.8 per cent during April-December 2015.

·         Inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) declined to (-) 2.5 per cent in 2015-16 from 2.0 per cent in 2014-15 and averaged 2.9 per cent during April-December 2016.

·         Inflation is repeatedly being driven by narrow group of food items, of these pulses continued to be the major contributor of food inflation.

·         The CPI based core inflation has remained sticky in the current fiscal year averaging around 5 per cent.

Trade

·         The trend of negative export growth was reversed somewhat during 2016-17 (April-December), with exports growing at 0.7 per cent to US$ 198.8 billion. During 2016-17 (April-December) imports declined by 7.4 per cent to US$ 275.4 billion.

·         Trade deficit declined to US$ 76.5 billion in 2016-17 (April-December) as compared to US$ 100.1 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.

·         The current account deficit (CAD) narrowed in the first half (H1) of 2016-17 to 0.3 per cent of GDP from 1.5 per cent in H1 of 2015-16 and 1.1 per cent in 2015-16 full year.

·         Robust inflows of foreign direct investment and net positive inflow of foreign portfolio investment were sufficient to finance CAD leading to an accretion in foreign exchange reserves in H1 of 2016-17.

·         In H1 of 2016-17, India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by US$ 15.5 billion on BoP basis.

·         During 2016-17 so far, the rupee has performed better than most of the other emerging market economies.

External Debt

·         At end-September 2016, India’s external debt stock stood at US$ 484.3 billion, recording a decline of US$ 0.8 billion over the level at end-March 2016.

·         Most of the key external debt indicators showed an improvement in September 2016 vis-à-vis March 2016. The share of short-term debt in total external debt declined to 16.8 per cent at end-September 2016 and foreign exchange reserves provided a cover of 76.8 per cent to the total external debt stock.

·         India’s key debt indicators compare well with other indebted developing countries and India continues to be among the less vulnerable countries.

Agriculture

·         Agriculture sector is estimated to grow at 4.1 per cent in 2016-17 as opposed to 1.2 per cent in 2015-16; the higher growth in agriculture sector is not surprising as the monsoon rains were much better in the current year than the previous two years.

·         The total area coverage under Rabi crops as on 13.01.2017 for 2016-17 is 616.2 lakh hectares which is 5.9 per cent higher than that in the corresponding week of last year.

·         The area coverage under wheat as on 13.01.2017 for 2016-17 is 7.1 percent higher than that in the corresponding week of last year. The area coverage under gram as on 13.01.2017 for 2016-17 is 10.6 percent higher than that in the corresponding week of last year.

Industry

·         Growth rate of the industrial sector is estimated to moderate to 5.2 per cent in 2016-17 from 7.4 per cent in 2015-16.During April-November 2016-17, a modest growth of 0.4 per cent has been observed in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

·         The eight core infrastructure supportive industries, viz. coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity registered a cumulative growth of 4.9 per cent during April-November 2016-17 as compared to 2.5 per cent during April-November 2015-16. The production of refinery products, fertilizers, steel, electricity and cement increased substantially, while the production of crude oil, natural gas fell during April-November 2016-17. Coal production attained lower growth during the same period.

·         The performance of corporate sector (Reserve Bank of India, January 2017) highlighted that the growth of sales grew by 1.9 per cent in Q2 of 2016-17 as compared to near stagnant growth of 0.1 per cent in Q1 of 2016-17. Growth in net profit registered a remarkable growth of 16.0 per cent in Q2 of 2016-17 as compared to 11.2 per cent in Q1 of 2016-17.

Services

·         Service sector is estimated to grow at 8.9 per cent in 2016-17, almost the same as in 2015-16. It is the significant pick-up in public administration, defence and other services, boosted by the payouts of the Seventh Pay Commission that is estimated to push up the growth in services.

Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development

·         The Parliament has passed the “Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016”. The Act aims at securing and enhancing the rights and entitlements of Persons with Disabilities. The Act has proposed to increase the reservation in vacancies in government establishments from 3 per cent to 4 per cent for those persons with benchmark disability and high support needs.

English rendering of the Prime Minister’s address ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi delivering his statement to media ahead of Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on January 31, 2017. The Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar, the Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and the Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri S.S. Ahluwalia are also seen.

The 2017 Budget Session of Parliament gets underway today. The President’s Address to the Parliament, Budget and detailed discussion on several issues will take place during the Session.

In the recent past, there has been discussions with all the Political Parties individually and collectively. It is imperative to ensure that this Session should be utilised for a constructive debate in the larger interests of the public and yet at the same time, detailed discussions should take place on Budget.

For the first time, the Union Budget will be presented on 1st February. You may recall that earlier the Union Budget was presented at 5.00 pm. Its timing was changed in the morning when Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government came into power and Budget was presented just after the commencement of the Parliament Session.

Yet another new tradition comes into effect from today. Budget is being presented one month ahead and the rail Budget has now become a part of the Union Budget. There will be extensive debate in the Parliament on this issue and it will also reflect the ensuing benefits from the decision in the days to come. I am optimistic that all political parties will join hands to ensure a healthy debate in the Parliament in the larger public interest.

Prez lauds note ban, surgical strikes; favours joint polls

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Lauding the demonetisation decision and the surgical strikes across Line of Control (LoC) as "bold" decisions in the interest of the country, President Pranab Mukherjee today favoured a constructive debate on simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies and funding of polls to eradicate money power.

The Government, he said, is committed to combating the "grave challenge" of terrorism and to ensure that perpetrators of such acts are brought to justice.

In his address to the joint session of both the Houses of Parliament, marking the opening of the Budget session, Mukherjee spoke about a host of government schemes and initiatives covering aspects like housing, LPG connections, electrification, healthcare, education, farmers' welfare, welfare of the specially-abled, rural development and urban development.

When he referred to the demonetisation decision to fight blackmoney and corruption as also the surgical strikes across the LoC as "bold" decisions, there was thumping of desks by the members of the ruling alliance.

"My government has taken decisive steps to give a fitting reply to the repeated incursions on our territorial sovereignty," Mukherjee said.

"On 29th September 2016, our defence forces successfully conducted surgical strikes at several launch pads along the Line of Control to prevent infiltration by terrorists," he added.

The strikes were conducted in the wake of terror attack on army camp in Uri in Kashmir in which 17 soldiers were killed.

The mention about the surgical strikes in the President's address assumes significance as some quarters had questioned whether the action had actually taken place. There were also demands for showing proof in this regard.

"We are proud of the exemplary courage and valour displayed by our defence personnel and owe a debt of the gratitude to them," the President said.

He also talked about the issue of holding of joint elections to the Lok Sabha and Assemblies, favouring a debate on it.

"Frequent elections put on hold development programmes, disrupt normal public life and impact essential services and burden human resource with prolonged period of election duty.

"My government welcomes a constructive debate on simultaneous conduct of elections to Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Funding of elections to eradicate misuse of money power also needs to be debated," he said.

In the speech, the President said Government would welcome any decision taken by Election Commission in this regard after consultations.

On combatting the "grave challenge" of terrorism which India has been facing for the last four decades, he said the scourge poses a "serious danger to the global community".

India, he said, will "actively collaborate with other nations in decisively defeating these forces".

The President asserted that the government is committed to combatting terrorism and to ensure that the perpetrators of such acts are brought to justice.