-PTI Says sharp decline in fuel subsidies points to a hike in petrol and diesel prices to international levels CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat today said that the Union Budget has "failed" to address the major concern of the masses and questioned the reason behind cutting oil subsidy and increasing the tax concession for the corporates.      "There has been a sharp decline in petroleum subsidy, for diesel, petrol and other oil products....

-The Business Standard For some people, travelling by train to their village 1,400 km away is a journey through hell. These are people who travel unreserved. Their suffering is all the more traumatic for being symbolic of the apathy of those who run the trains and the country. Saraswati Mondal, an illiterate domestic worker in Delhi, going to Murshidabad by Kalka Mail goes to New Delhi station, walks into a crowd of...

-The Times of India The UPA government is likely to reintroduce the Land Acquisition Bill with a mammoth 157 amendments in the Budget session of Parliament. Out of the 26 'substantive' measure the government plans to push through includes a provision that in case of acquisition for urbanization purposes, 20% of the developed land would be reserved and offered to the original owners at a price equal to the cost of acquisition...

-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 Economic Times Finance Minister P Chidambaram has allocated Rs 80,194 crore to Ministry of Rural Development in Budget 2013. Giving the emphasis on education, Chidambaram said Budget 2013 will allocate Rs 65,867 crore to the HRD ministry. My Budget's overarching goal is to create opportunities for our youth, he said. More than the fiscal deficit, Chidambaram said his greater worry is the current account deficit. In his Budget speech, he said the 'passion...