The Union Budget for 2011-12 is likely to be a low-key affair for social sector spending, as the government is unlikely to come up with any big-ticket announcement for the sector in the next financial year.
Government support to Budget 2011-12 - or, gross budgetary support (GBS) - is likely to rise by 18 per cent over last year, taking Planning Commission estimates made at the beginning of the 11th Plan (2007-12). With those estimates, the government has with it resources worth Rs 3.73 lakh crore to fund the Budget for the last year of the Plan.
Estimates say finances to go 268% more than Plan allocation.
With Indian statistics facing heavy criticism from all quarters in recent times, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), which is responsible for coordination of statistical activities in the country and evolving and maintaining statistical standards, will have to explore ways to reduce dependence on outsourced secondary data collection.
"We have suggested a fund for drought or flood, and when our production is hit. The fund will be with the states which the Centre will provide. The implementing agency will be the respective state governments," said K V Thomas, minister of state for agriculture and food.
The fiasco over error-ridden national accounts for the first quarter of the financial year has prompted Anant, who used to teach statistics at Delhi School of Economics, to initiate a documentation of processes. Besides, at the behest of the National Statistical Commission, he has ordered an audit of the methodology of preparing the index of industrial production (IIP).
The issue is expected to be raised by some other European nations during the G-20 meet to be held in Seoul in November, a senior official in the agriculture ministry said.
Such an inclusion is not only going to tarnish the image of Indian apparel exporters but can also harm the flow of orders from the US.
The Plan panel is against an NHAI proposal to increase the cost allocation of building each four-lane highway by 33 per cent.
The Union finance ministry has endorsed the views of Gajendra Haldea, infrastructure advisor to the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, who had objected to recent changes in bidding norms by the National Highways Authority of India.
The food security Bill is likely to adopt a three-pronged strategy to ensure food for all, particularly for the most vulnerable sections of the society. The National Advisory Council (NAC) in its initial discussions on the Bill had talked about a universalised scheme.
Many in the Planning Commission are not confident that making more capital available for the development of tribal areas affected by the Naxalite menace will effectively narrow down the trust deficit in these areas.
The creation and maintenance of a business register and directory are expected to be an economic data framework for various needed statistical surveys, including the Annual Survey of Industries and others of the National Sample Survey Organisation.
Setting up business in China has never been easy, with the constraints such as language, vast differences in cultural experiences and a form of government radically different from most of the western and Latin American countries where Indian businesses have firmly established themselves.
The Planning Commission is likely to scale down the average growth rate for the eleventh plan period (2007-12) to 8 per cent from an earlier projection of 9 per cent.
Experts agree Bharat Nirman, which has completed four years, has indeed brought about significant improvements in the country's rural infrastructure.
The ministry of finance has assured the Planning Commission of at least 15 percent increase in gross budgetary support for 2010-11, over the 2009-10 budget estimates.
As the global economic scenario is improving, Ajay Chhibber, regional director (Asia and the Pacific) for the United Nations Development Programme, believes employment will be the major indicator to gauge the firmness of the economic recovery.
The economy has developed a resilience beyond expectations.
Aviva tries a new tool with Sachin Tendulkar to grab a bigger share of the life insurance market.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances