-Business Standard Cess, surcharges come in handy New Delhi: Looking to leave its political imprint over spending in rural India, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has budgeted for a massive 31 per cent hike in its share of spending on nine big-ticket centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) in 2016-17 over last year's budgetary allocation. Last year's Budget mantra of 'cooperative federalism' has been sidestepped to favour political exigencies. To fund these schemes, which...

-Business Standard Most of the allocation would be spent on completion of existing irrigation schemes and their results would only be felt after a gap Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought to rely heavily on expanding the country's irrigation network to counter the ill-effects of two consecutive failed monsoons. Most of the allocation would be spent on completion of existing irrigation schemes and their results would only be felt after a gap. Around 89...

-Down to Earth But boost in agriculture budget not enough, say experts Sensing the prevailing agriculture crisis, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley announced in the Union Budget that budgetary allocation for the agriculture and farmers’ welfare ministry will be increased 45 per cent compared to last year. The government has set aside an allocation of Rs 35,984 crore which is Rs 11,000 crore more than that of last year. (See table)....

-The Asian Age The Economic Survey of 2015-2016 is a lovely document which goes into great detail on what is wrong with India on the economic front and offers good workable solutions to solve these problems. One of the points that the survey makes is regarding Indian agriculture becoming cereal-centric. The reason for this lies in the fact that the government procures rice and wheat from farmers at the minimum support price...

-Scroll.in The reservation protest wasn't a spur-of-the-moment agitation. It was a cynical political build-up that spilled over into the streets. Footprints of violence were everywhere in Chhavni Mohalla. A tractor trolley lay overturned right at the entrance of the residential colony in Jhajjar. A little inside, in the middle of the road, there was a gutted tractor. Small shops in a corner of the colony had been ransacked and burnt. The twisted...