-Business Standard Budget of NITI Aayog may go up by 18.20% in 2015-16 In a classic case of back to basics, the National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), which since 2010 has been part of the erstwhile Planning Commission, will henceforth be an arm of the department of agriculture, as NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog is up for a rejig. NRAA's budget in 2014-15 was about Rs 31.50 crore, while...

-PTI Chandigarh: Punjab's farming sector has expressed disappointment over the Union Budget for not taking "pro-farmers" decision to provide much-needed fillip to the state's agriculture which has been suffering with "high" input cost and "lower" output prices. Even the farm experts have also expressed displeasure with the budget for not announcing any financial assistance to Punjab to promote crop diversification as state's wheat-paddy production has reached saturation point, besides taking a toll...

-The Indian Express The Union budget is largely about the intentions and policies of the government of the day, as well as the arithmetic of resource mobilisation and allocation to achieve certain ends in the economy. The diagnostics of various economic problems and their probable solutions are generally found in the Economic Survey. The Economic Survey clearly indicates that growth in agri-GDP in FY15 has collapsed to just 1.1 per cent, while...

-Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) This publication highlights a range of pertinent issues primarily focusing on social sectors (such as education, health, drinking water and sanitation, food security etc.) and the responsiveness of the Union Budget towards the vulnerable sections of the population, (such as, women, children, dalits, adivasis, religious minorities, persons with disabilities and the Urban Poor). In addition, a number of important issues pertaining to taxation, renewable...

-Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) Press Release   New Delhi: The direction indicated by the Finance Minister's Budget Speech in general and that of the taxation policies in particular indicate a quantum leap being taken towards market fundamentalism. In the absence of any increase in the overall spending capacity of the government (Centre and States combined), the steps for fiscal decentralization (from Centre to States) have been constrained, implying only...