-The economist Government borrowing generates inflation, widens the external deficit and crowds out much-needed investment. Can India now overcome its debt addiction? INDIA has grappled with its public finances for long enough. When presenting its first budget after independence in 1947, the finance minister of the day insisted that the country was not living beyond its means. Yet every budget since has failed to produce a surplus. India borrows more heavily...

-The Times of India Amid the debate on a super-rich tax, the pre-Budget Economic Survey on Wednesday argued against raising tax rates significantly; instead, it said that the focus should be on people who have a taxable income but don't pay any income tax. "It is much better to achieve a higher tax-GDP ratio by broadening the base which is taxed rather than increasing marginal tax rates significantly — higher and higher...

-The Business Standard State budgets are raining sops to pull farmers' votes With elections staring at them, several state governments are suddenly waking up to the demands of farmers and offering sops to the agriculture sector in their budgets, even as farmer organisations say the state and Central governments should do more.    Karnataka, which pioneered the trend of having a separate agriculture budget--similar to the railway budget at the Centre — brought...

-First Post With 10 state assembly elections this year and the general election in the next, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) faces possibly its sternest challenge since it returned to power in 2009. It goes without saying that the forthcoming electoral tests have been compounded by the perceptibly declining political standing of the ruling alliance caused by multiple scams and economic stagnation. In addition, defeats in a series of elections ranging...

-Tehelka The National Food Security Act is probably going to undergo many changes before it is presented in Parliament. But everyone seems to agree that it’s time has come Towards the end of January, a few days after Republic Day and a little over a week after the Congress’s conclave in Jaipur, large half-page advertisements appeared in major newspapers: “Celebrating the 63rd year anniversary of our Republic by putting food on everybody’s...