-PTI Maharashtra, TN among States seeking relief; hold talks with Finance Minister New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday initiated discussions on a farm loan waiver scheme with the Agriculture Ministry and some States in line with the BJP’s promise ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Tamil Nadu Finance Minister D Jayakumar were among those who met Jaitley to discuss various issues...

-Frontline.in Recently released data from the CSO, which claimed that demonetisation had had no significant impact on the performance of the economy, raise more questions than provide answers. Official data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on the last day of February, which claimed that the national gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 7 per cent in the October-December period, the third quarter of 2016-17, came as a morale booster...

-Scroll.in In this environment of majoritarianism, we must seriously consider proportional representation, adds SY Quraishi. SY Quraishi, who was Chief Election Commissioner from July 2011 to June 2012, is known to be outspoken about several issues regarding electoral reform both when he was in the Election Commission and after he retired. He has asked for public funding of political parties, putting an expenditure cap on them, financial transparency among parties, and...

-The Indian Express One of the key issues that any incoming government in Punjab has to immediately grapple with is high state debt estimated at Rs 1.25 lakh crore in the last year’s budget. A clutch of other key reforms such as improving land allotment process and streamlining property registration would also need the attention of the new government. Punjab has steadily accumulated the debt over the years, resulting in its...

-PTI New Delhi: A Rs. 48,000-crore Budget for the national capital was presented today by the AAP Government, laying major focus on improving transport, health, water distribution and education infrastructure. In its third Budget, the Arvind Kejriwal Government abolished the Plan and non-Plan expenditure heads and presented it in terms of revenue and capital classification in line with the Centre’s decision. There was no proposal on levying any new tax. 'Outcome budget' In a first,...