-The Hindu The government's first full year budget is an excellent chance to recognise missed opportunities and take corrective action with regard to investing in addressing gender inequality The coming Union budget is significant for at least two reasons: first, this will be the new government's maiden full year budget. Second, with the NITI AAYog replacing the Planning Commission, the government is likely to abolish the distinction between plan and non-plan budgets. This...

-Livemint.com India's fiscal architecture is undergoing a radical overhaul this budget season. On Tuesday, the NDA government accepted the Finance Commission's proposal to enhance tax devolution to states. This, coupled with efforts to rationalize and reduce centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) through the chief ministers sub-group of the NITI AAYog, and the repeated calls for cooperative federalism together suggest that decentralization to states is the new mantra. Missing from this rhetoric of decentralization...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Modi government said on Tuesday that it has accepted the recommendation of Finance Commission to raise the share of states in central taxes to 42 per cent from current 32 per cent. As per the increased devolution suggested in the report of the 14th Finance Commission, the states will get Rs 3.48 lakh crore in 2014-15 and Rs 5.26 lakh crore in 2015-16. "The higher tax...

-Business Standard Financial position, spending capacity to play a big role, say sources The government might take a hard view on several social sector schemes, including the Prime Minister's pet projects of Digital India and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchaee Yojana in the coming Budget for 2015-16. These might get a renewed thrust but perhaps not in the form of a significant increase in Plan allocation. New ways in which funds will be raised...

-The New Indian Express   BALANGIR: The ongoing socio-economic survey to prepare the beneficiary list for the National Food Security Act (NFSA) is scheduled to be completed next month. The process, though, is going to leave out lakhs of migrants from Western Odisha districts, Balangir in particular, who will not be able to enrol themselves. This is because the seasonal migration cycle, which begins from September to June will deny the migrants a...