-Outlook The CPI(M) today castigated the government for foregoing over Rs 5.73 lakh crore as tax revenues by granting tax concessions to the rich, saying the amount was Rs 53,000 crore more than the fiscal deficit. "The budget proposals will further enrich the rich and impoverish the poor," senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters while reacting to the 2013-14 Budget. Quoting data presented in the budget, he said the aggregated revenue foregone...

-The Asian Age Sonia Gandhi’s economic and political ideology may have apparently triumphed over that of Manmohan Singh. The neo-liberal finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram may be conveying an impression that he’s turned socialist with a vengeance by increasing taxes on the rich in the run-up to the 16th general elections. But the truth is that Mr Chidambaram has made certain assumptions about subsidies, inflation and the expected growth of gross domestic product...

-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 Hindu On February 11, the Supreme Court issued notice to the government, seeking its response on making intelligence agencies accountable to Parliament. This question is pertinent and in some ways captures the sentiments expressed by many and best vocalised by two leaders in recent times. Vice-President Hamid Ansari had said in his 2010 speech on this subject “....responsibility to the legislature, and eventually to the electorate, is an essential element...

-The Guardian Communities have more hope than ever of seeing off companies trying to acquire their land, with support from media and NGOs A new report on land acquisition by the Munden Project/Rights and Resources Initiative brings an important angle to the land "grab" debate. Rather than focusing on the ethics of land grabbing, the report makes the business case for working with local communities, arguing that failure to inform or fairly...