Corruption and inflation, the bugbears of UPA-2, dominated discussions Congress functionaries held with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee amid expectations from the party that a populist Budget would help check the negative tide against the Centre. Party leaders are hoping specifically for income tax relief for the middle class and concessions for rural populace as the budgetary antidote to the negativity post-2G spectrum scam. Mukherjee assured his party that prices would come down...

The Centre may announce a tax amnesty scheme to bring back black money stashed in banks abroad, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee hinted today. He declined to share the names of those who have black money in foreign banks “as it violates international law”. By one estimate, anything between $450 billion and $1.5 trillion is in these accounts. Mukherjee’s news conference was called today at the behest of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who...

Unfazed by opposition attacks and questions from the Supreme Court, government on Tuesday maintained that it cannot disclose information received from foreign entities on black money held by Indians abroad because of absence of legal framework. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, dismissed opposition criticism that it was not disclosing information because such disclosure could result in the government's fall. "Let us understand the issue. No information can be made available unless there...

Mai-baap. That is how poor Indians referred to the state ever since independence. The benign provider looking after its subjects like the rajas of yore. But, today, the people have started demanding accountability from the mai-baap. Why? Because a clutch of new laws, like the Right To Information Act (RTI) and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), are moving the government's developmental promises beyond "the realm of a privilege that...

The Supreme Court on Monday asked Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati to produce in a sealed cover a copy of the complaint received against corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, which formed the basis for the Income-Tax Department to tap her telephonic conversations.A Bench comprising Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly said this to the A-G after perusing the Centre's counter-affidavit in the petition filed by industrialist Ratan Tata, alleging that the publication of...