-The Indian Express To avoid a substantial fiscal slippage at the state government level, a sizeable expenditure reduction or deferral is likely to be required, given that the borrowing limit set by the central government acts as a soft constraint to the size of the states’ fiscal deficits. There are growing concerns that the two major sources of tax revenues for State Governments, the state goods and services tax (SGST) and...

-Newsclick.in More than ‘short supply’, profiteering by traders is behind the ongoing high prices. But why is the government beating around the bush instead of acting fast? Within weeks – in fact days – onion prices have gone through the roof across the country, reminding everybody of the periodic spikes in the past that caused governments to fall. In Delhi, for instance, the price of onions at the local sabziwala is ranging...

-The Hindu Former PM Manmohan Singh says change undermines federal polity New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday remarked that the Centre ought to have consulted the State Governments before introducing additional terms of reference for the 15th Finance Commission seeking to create separate funds for Defence and Internal Security. Asserting that unilateralism was not good for a federal polity and cooperative federalism, Mr. Singh said the best course would have...

-Newsclick.in The Modi Government’s sudden modification of the terms of reference via a presidential order on July 29 is an attempt to squeeze the revenue share of states, say Opposition leaders. New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government’s decision to change the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission through a Presidential Order is aimed at further squeezing the revenue share of states, without even consulting them, various finance ministers of non-BJP...

-The Economic Times The group is also in favour of revising the sub-target for small and marginal farmers to 10% from the existing 8% of adjusted net bank credit with a roadmap of two years. KOLKATA: A Reserve Bank of India working group on agricultural credit has questioned the efficacy of populist measures such as debt waiver and interest subsidy on crop loans, while suggesting a slew of structural changes to boost...