-The Hindu The answer lies in the fragile state of the Centre’s finances, and its control over interest, pension and subsidy expenses To any layman watching India’s annual Budget jamboree, the entire exercise must seem very puzzling. After the Finance Minister has read out a long list of giveaways to farmers, small businesses, low-income earners and senior citizens in his speech, none of the beneficiaries seems entirely happy with their gifts. Commentators, after...
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Size of tax rebates is large as compared to spending by agricultural & rural development ministries
Believe it or not, the total revenue foregone in 2017-18 on account of special tax rates, exemptions, deductions, rebates, deferrals and credits -- broadly termed as 'tax expenditures' (an indirect subsidy) – that was given to corporate taxpayers has been more than 50 percent of the expenditure incurred by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoAFW) and the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) altogether in that year. In other...
More »75% Bohra women admit female genital mutilation: study -Shalini Nair
-The Indian Express While 33 per cent of female respondents said FGM has had an adverse impact on their sexual life, 10 per cent of the women reported having frequent urinary tract infections, and incontinence, with one reported case of excessive bleeding. New Delhi: Belying the government’s admission to the Supreme Court that there is no data on the existence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in India, a new qualitative study...
More »From plate to plough: The MSP smokescreen -Ashok Gulati & Ranjana Roy
-The Indian Express Government’s claim that it has given support prices that are 50 per cent over input costs to farmers is a sleight of hand. Tall talk could increase farmer resentment The finance minister (FM) has made a smart move by announcing in the Union budget speech that the government has already fulfilled its election promise of giving minimum support prices (MSPs) of at least 50 per cent higher than their...
More »Richest companies have the lowest tax liability -Tina Edwin
-The Hindu Business Line They milk tax breaks in ways that smaller firms can’t, paying only 23.9% tax on average New Delhi: India’s most profitable companies paid 23.9 per cent tax on an average on their profits for financial year 2016-17, about 10.7 percentage points lower than the statutory rate of 34.6 per cent, helped by a wide range of concessions and incentives, the latest Budget documents show. These companies, 335 in all,...
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