-The Hindu If big money entirely funds elections in a secretive way, democracy as we know it will not exist The recent disclosures that the Election Commission (EC) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had expressed reservations about the Electoral Bonds scheme highlight the importance of this issue. In 2017, the then RBI Governor wrote to the then Finance Minister that “allowing any entity other than the central bank to issue...

-The Indian Express There is an emerging consensus among FMCG majors that, like their automobile counterparts, the impact of the slump is more evident in rural India and that, in geographical terms, the north is the worst hit. New Delhi: The impact of the deepening consumption slowdown is being felt beyond discretionary purchases such as vehicles and durables with fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies manufacturing small-ticket items such as soaps, biscuits...

In the financial year 2017-18 when tractor sales touched new heights, it was said by many of the NDA (viz. National Democratic Alliance) government supporters that rural demand has revived on account of adequate monsoon rainfall and higher minimum support prices for crops. Many economists and newspaper columnists also denied the existence of any rural distress. An alternative perspective, however, was also presented by rural economists like Dr. Himanshu who teaches...

-The Indian Express The emerging consensus within India Inc. on the need for a government-led stimulus notwithstanding, the Centre has limited fiscal space given the lower tax collections. The Budget was a missed opportunity in terms of signalling reforms New Delhi: India Inc’s clamour for a stimulus to restart the investment cycle points to a near unanimous view within the industry — that government has to do the heavy lifting first...

-The Indian Express Union Budget 2019 Date, 5 July 2019: Expected to outline the economic trajectory of the new NDA govt, the Budget, come July 5, will be watched as much for any big ideas to kickstart growth as the government’s patchy record on fiscal prudence. The Indian Express does the maths Union Budget 2019 Date: On February 28, 2015, at the customary post-Budget press conference, then finance minister Arun Jaitley,...