-Hindustan Times Consumers pay more than 100% tax – central and state levies combined – on petrol and diesel. New Delhi: Fuel prices in India are at a three-year high, although global crude rates halved over the SAMe period, leaving many in the country to wonder why they must continue to pay more for petrol and diesel. The central government says that because states earn more in taxes on petrol and diesel, they...

-Scroll.in Hike government spending, pour money into rural areas, cut interest rates, refrain from disruptive moves like demonetisation. India’s economic growth is slowing but can the government bring it back on track? This is what Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reportedly discussed with ministers and officials Tuesday evening. While a concrete plan to address the problem is apparently being developed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blessing, a section of the industry and...

-Livemint.com While investment demand was anyway weak when the NDA came to power in 2014, private consumption has also started decelerating due to demonetisation New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a landslide in the 2014 general election with the promise of fast-tracking economic growth and creating jobs. It replaced the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that was mired in corruption scandals and had mismanaged the economy. Three years on,...

-Livemint.com The river interlinking project will adversely affect land, forests, biodiversity, rivers and the livelihood of millions of people Interlinking of rivers is a very expensive proposal. It has huge adverse environmental impacts on land, forests, biodiversity, rivers and the livelihood of millions of people. It is a socially disruptive proposition. It will not only add to climate change impact (destruction of forests means destruction of carbon sinks, and reservoirs in tropical...

-PTI 'If public spending is slashed, it will mean cutting down expenditure on social sector scheme." There is hardly any private investment,' explained Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley provided no indication today of any cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel to cushion the spike in rates, saying that the government needs revenue to support public spending without which growth will suffer. States levy a high amount...