-The Indian Express There is an ambiguous provision to levy income tax on “dairying”. Either the provision should be removed or it should be clarified that it does not include dairy farmers. Dairying is a part of agriculture and as per the Constitution, it is a state subject. Those in power may not yet be accepting blame for the barrage of negative news on the state of the economy, but cracks are...

-The Hindu Haryana pollution board told to file report within a month The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) to furnish a report on a plea which alleged that waste water being discharged had damaged crops and contaminated groundwater. Taking note of a November 2019 report furnished by the pollution control board, a Bench headed by NGT chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said, “Let further action...

-The Hindu Utilisation certificates not given for 50% of money sanctioned after 2018 deluge, says Centre The Centre will not allot any additional assistance to Kerala from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as it has failed to produce utilisation certificates for 50% of over Rs. 3,000 crore fund allotted to it after the 2018 floods, a senior Home Ministry official said on Thursday. The Kerala government had demanded an additional Rs.2,000 crore...

-Livemint.com Taking into account a likely shortfall in revenue and off-budget spending, the real fiscal deficit could be as high as 5.5% of GDP in the current fiscal Mumbai: As India’s economic slowdown has intensified, so has the debate on whether the government should stick to fiscal consolidation or run a higher deficit to push growth in the upcoming budget, due on 1 February. However, data on revenue available so far suggests that...

-Down to Earth Activists voice concern about some recommendations by panel The subject of ‘health’ must be transferred to the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution from the State List, the high level group (HLG) formed for the health sector by the 15th Finance Commission has said. Since issues like medical education and family planning fall under the concurrent list, health also should, the panel said in a report submitted recently to...